Cameron's Quest

by Cameron's Quest [Evernight] (mobi)

  His frowning countenance concerned her. So did the unlocked door. Someone had been in the house. Might still be there.

  “You girls stay together here in the kitchen while I search the rest of the house,” Cam said on his way out of the room.

  Lacey waited with her daughters, nervous and tense, wondering who had been in the house and if he or she was still there. It came as a great relief when Cam reentered the kitchen.

  “All clear. I’m going to make that call.”

  ****

  The house was silent except for Rena’s quiet sobs. It just about broke Cam’s heart to hear her crying and not be able to do something for her. He’d ushered them into the living room, away from the ghastly frozen corpse, to await Michael and the Crime Scene Unit. The phone lines were down due to the storm, and cell phone reception back here was sketchy at the best of times, but Cam kept his satellite phone charged for emergencies and he’d called the station, requesting that they patch him through to Constable Grayson. Michael would need to commandeer a road plow in order to get his team to the ranch. A quick call to Luke assured him that he’d send the tractor to break a path to Cam’s place. Now they waited.

  So much for Michael’s day off. With something this big going on, he’d be in charge and leading the investigation. Cam couldn’t think of anyone better. After working homicide in Vancouver for several years, Michael had come home for his brother’s trial and decided to stay. Cam rose to put another log on the fire.

  Such a difference in the brothers. One was a devoted cop, the other a convicted felon. Roy’s trial was finally over. He’d been convicted on enough counts to put him away for the rest of his life. All that was left was the sentencing. Would the judge show Roy leniency for turning state’s evidence? His testimony had enabled them to round up the rest of the crew Roy had worked with to capture and terrorize his nephew’s wife. Zakia had borne it alone for quite a while, but Cam figured returning to Luke for protection was the smartest thing she’d ever done. It was plain to anyone who saw them together that she and Luke were still very much in love.

  Like him and Lacey. He glanced over at her. Rena was cuddled close by her side as they sat on the sofa. How was it that Rena had dreamed of this exact scenario? The blizzard, the dead man buried in snow? Had the patio door been unlocked today or had it been unlocked all night? He was certain he’d locked up before heading to bed last night, but with Lacey in his arms, he could’ve forgotten.

  The far-off rumble of an engine signaled that the tractor was on its way. Glad to have something to do, Cam rose to put on his outdoor gear. “I’m going out front to clear the path again. The way this snow is coming down, it might be an all day job. You girls gonna be okay in here?”

  “We’ll be fine, Cam. Go do what you have to do,” said Lacey.

  He nodded and went into the foyer to grab his jacket, boots, and a fresh pair of gloves. The wind had picked up again, and snow swirled and danced before his eyes, making it difficult to see as he stepped outside. As fast as he shoveled it away, fresh snow took its place, drifted almost to his shoulders in places where he hadn’t shoveled yet. This was one humdinger of a storm.

  Cam rested his arms on the D-handle of the shovel and watched as the tractor made slow progress up his driveway. He sure was glad they’d invested in the blower attachment. The plow would never have been able to punch a hole through the drifts that easy.

  Luke brought the tractor to a stop and jumped down, leaving it running.

  “Hey, Unc. I managed to get a path through so you don’t feel stranded out here, but what’s going on? Why is Michael coming out in this storm?”

  Cam filled him in and Luke was horrified.

  “Walt Carson? Why would he even be on our property?”

  “I don’t know, but I’m hoping Michael and his team of experts can figure out what happened.”

  “Do you need anything?”

  “No, just the driveway plowed.”

  “You got it. I’ll widen it on my way back out. Take care and keep me posted.”

  “Will do.”

  Luke climbed back on the tractor, widened the yard for a turn-around spot and enough room to park a few extra vehicles, and headed back to the ranch proper. Cam turned to retrace his steps to the house and groaned, realizing he’d have to scoop more snow out of the way first. That fire was gonna feel real nice when he got back inside.

  ****

  Lacey heard the front door open and left Rena’s side to go meet Cam. “My Lord, you must be frozen stiff.”

  “I am cold.”

  She helped him off with his coat and hung it to dry in the downstairs bathroom along with his hat and gloves. The boots he propped against a heater in the kitchen. Then he held his hands over the wood stove to warm them.

  “How are the girls holding up?”

  “Rena’s a basket case. She’s blaming herself. Thinks she should’ve warned him somehow.”

  “How could she? It was a dream,” he said.

  “We now know that it wasn’t just a dream. She’s seeing things…premonitions. I’m afraid this might just drive her over the edge.” She chewed on her bottom lip, a nervous habit that she thought she’d overcome.

  Cam turned and enfolded her in a warm embrace. “We won’t let that happen. Come on, let’s go sit with the girls. Michael should be here before much longer.”

  “Okay.”

  His arm remained around her waist as they traversed the short hallway. Lynne and Abby were now seated on either side of Rena on the sofa, so they moved to sit in the armchairs.

  “You take the recliner. It’s closer to the fire,” Lacey suggested. “You need to get warm.”

  Rena’s tears had dried, but she huddled between her sisters, shivering uncontrollably. Lacey grabbed an afghan and draped it around her, feeling as if she should say something, anything to break the strained silence. “Michael will be here soon, and everything will be all right. You’ll see.”

  “He’s going to think I’m off my nut,” said Rena, the first words she’d uttered since they came inside.

  “Nonsense. The police work with psychics all the time.”

  “Is that what I am now, Mama? Psychic?”

  “It sure seems that way.”

  “But why here? This never happened to me at home.” Her voice held a plaintive note, as if she truly wanted to understand.

  “I don’t know, honey. We’ll have to do some research. See if we can find out how these things work. Okay?”

  Rena nodded. “Yes, all right.”

  At the sound of an engine, everyone seemed to hold their breath.

  “Here’s Michael now. You ready for the inquisition, Rena?” asked Cam.

  “As ready as I’ll ever be,” she said, reaching for her sisters’ hands.

  She held onto them with a white-knuckled grip as if to a lifeline. Things were changing. Lacey could only hope they’d get through this relatively unscathed.

  Chapter Ten

  Michael stomped the snow off his feet and stepped inside.

  “Sorry to have to call you out here in such a storm. And on your day off, too.”

  “All part of the job, Cam. I wouldn’t leave it to anyone else. Not that they’re incapable, but I’ve had more experience with this sort of thing.”

  “That’s why I called you. It’s kind of a sticky situation.”

  “I’ll get to that in a minute after I get my crime guys working on the scene. Where did you find the body?”

  “We were clearing snow off the back steps, and there he was, frozen stiff, with a knife sticking out of his chest.”

  “And you say it’s Walt Carson? I thought he’d been banned from the ranch.”

  “He is…was. I have no idea what brought him here.”

  “All right. I need to take your statements, but let me bring my team up-to-date so they can get to work on collecting evidence. The coroner should be arriving soon.”

  “Go ahead, Michael. We’ll be in the living room waitin
g for you.”

  Cam closed the door behind him and went to watch out the kitchen window. When he saw Michael leave to go back around front, he joined the women. “Michael’s coming in to take our statements.”

  Lacey nodded but the girls remained mute as Michael let himself in.

  “Cam, did you want to go first?” he asked.

  “Well, sure, but I thought you’d take them all at the same time.”

  “Protocol dictates that I take your statements one at a time behind closed doors. Can we use your den?”

  “Daddy, maybe it’s best if I go first,” said Rena as she let go of her sisters and pushed up off of the sofa. “I’d like to get this over with.”

  “Okay with you, Michael?”

  He nodded slowly, his eyes never leaving the distress apparent on Rena’s lovely face. “That’s fine with me. And just to let you know, I’ll be making notes as we talk, but I’ll also be recording each of your statements as this is a homicide investigation.”

  “You won’t have any problems with us. We’ll tell you what we know.” Lacey rose to give Rena a comforting hug and then let her go. “Go easy with her, Michael. She’s taking this especially hard.”

  The puzzled look on his face spoke volumes, but he didn’t ask any questions. “Just doing my job. Come along, Rena.”

  One by one, Michael called them aside. Cam went last. The forensics unit was now in the house. Cam had no idea what they were looking for, but he didn’t protest. When the interviews were finished, Michael took their fingerprints.

  “A precautionary measure. If any prints show up, we can narrow the search down by having yours on file.”

  “No problem.”

  Cam was at the kitchen sink washing the black ink off his fingers when he saw one of the technicians bag his knife block, knives and all. “What are you doing with those?”

  “Sir?” The officer glanced over at him.

  “My knives. Why are you bagging them?”

  “They match the one used in the stabbing of the victim and there’s one missing.”

  Cam shook his head. “It’s probably in the dishwasher.” He dried his hands and opened the door to look inside. Empty. He searched the drawers thinking one of the girls might have put it away by mistake. No luck. Damn!

  “Does anyone have a key to your house?” Michael asked.

  “That’s the strangest thing. After we found the body, we came in through the patio door. It was unlocked.”

  “Maybe one of the women unlocked it.”

  “Nope.”

  “So who else has a key?”

  “Luke has one. He checks on the place when I’m not here.”

  Michael jotted a note in his notepad. “Do you know where he keeps it?”

  “On a hook in the kitchen. Why?”

  “There’s no sign of forced entry, and it appears that one of your knives was used to commit the crime. I’ll have to speak with Luke and see if anyone has had access to it lately.”

  “And if not?” Cam had a bad feeling about all this…real bad.

  “We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it.”

  “That’s not an answer,” Cam said, frowning his concern.

  Michael shrugged his shoulders. “That’s the best I can do until I’ve gathered all the facts.”

  “Am I a suspect?”

  “Honestly? It doesn’t look good. Happened on your land with your knife. And this was after he accosted Rena at the bar.”

  “Damn!”

  “Just let me do my job, Cam. Hopefully, the evidence will lead us to the killer.”

  Cam nodded and left the kitchen, his mind in turmoil. What would Lacey and the girls do if he was arrested? Even the thought of it was mind-numbing. His family was here, together, to experience life on the ranch. Why did something like this have to happen?

  “Cam? What’s wrong?”

  Lacey’s Irish brogue broke through his thoughts.

  “Where are the girls?”

  “Upstairs trying to convince Rena to rest for a while.”

  A sudden chill invading his body, he crossed the room to sit by the fire. “Michael says I could be the main suspect. My property, my knife, opportunity, and motive.”

  “What? That’s ridiculous.”

  “It’s beginning to appear as though someone set me up, Lacey. But who? I don’t have any enemies. None that I’m aware of anyway.”

  “But Cam, Michael knows you. He can’t honestly suspect you.”

  “He has to go where the evidence leads, honey. He’s not a man to play favorites because I’m family, and I wouldn’t expect him to.”

  “But you’re innocent!”

  “Yes, but I just wanted to prepare you for the worst. You have your return tickets if you decide you want to go home.”

  “No way. I’m not leaving you. We probably wouldn’t be allowed to leave anyway under the circumstances.”

  Cam heaved a heavy sigh and rested his head against the back of the chair, closing his eyes. “No, I suppose not. Nothing like a murder to put a halt to family plans.”

  “We’re not under house arrest. Once the police are finished here, we can still continue with our plans.”

  He opened his eyes to glance out the window drifted high with snow. The storm showed no sign of abating. “There’s plenty of snow for skiing and such. Maybe once the storm stops, we could take the girls out on the snowmobiles.”

  “They’d love that.”

  They sat in silence broken only by the crackling of the fire. Cam got up to put more wood on it then sat back down, immersed in thought.

  Suddenly, Michael was in the doorway.

  “We’re finished for now. The coroner removed the body, and the Crime Scene Unit is packing up to go to the lab.”

  “Will he do an autopsy?” Cam asked.

  Michael nodded. “For sure. Once I have the time of death, I’ll track Walt’s last movements and hope to find some answers. Is there anything I can do for you?”

  “Just find the killer, Michael. Find out who did this. Walt might not have been one of my favorite people, but he didn’t deserve to die like that.”

  “I know, Cam. I’ll be in touch. And I hate to say it, but don’t leave town…any of you.”

  Cam noted the concern on Michael’s face, concern for him and his family. “We’ll be here.”

  ****

  The afternoon had gotten away on them. No one had thought about lunch and it was now dinnertime. Lacey went into the kitchen and sighed in dismay at all the black fingerprinting dust covering every surface. She couldn’t even open a drawer or door without getting some on her, so she filled the sink with soap and water and went to work. A half hour later, everything sparkled and she felt much better for expending the energy. She wasn’t used to sitting around and doing nothing. But that had been the order of the day.

  Her heart hurt at the thought that Cam could be considered a suspect. Please God, make it not be so. Just sending up that one silent prayer calmed her enough to start dinner. Something fast and easy tonight. Macaroni and ground beef goulash with peas, tomatoes, and tomato paste would do nicely. She put the water on to boil and set the frozen meat in the microwave to defrost. Dinner was well underway when the girls came into the kitchen.

  “Hi, Mama. Need a hand?” asked Abby.

  “You could set the table, dear.”

  “Okay.”

  Lynne spoke from directly behind her. “I’ll make coffee. I know I could sure do with a cup.”

  “Good idea.” Lacey darted a glance at Rena to see her staring out the patio door. She stirred the macaroni into the boiling water and knew she had to get her youngest daughter moving. “Rena, would you chop up some onion and green pepper for me and add it to the frying pan to cook with the meat?”

  “Sure, Mama.”

  None of her girls was used to being idle in a kitchen, and performing a task appeared to do the trick for Rena. Lacey relaxed and tended to the pasta only to be brought up short at Rena’s
sudden yelp of pain.

  Lacey turned to see blood spurting from a cut on her thumb. She grabbed Rena’s hand and held it under the cold water, applying pressure above the knuckle until the flow of blood slowed. Rena didn’t cry, didn’t flinch at all. She just kept staring at the blood. Was she going into shock?

  “Lynne, grab the first aid kit. I think Cam said he kept it in the bathroom.”

  “Be right back,” Lynne said as she rushed from the room.

  “He wasn’t killed here, Mama.” Rena spoke in a voice so low that Lacey barely heard her.

  “He wasn’t?”

  “No, there wasn’t any blood.” She turned her head, a dazed look in her eyes as she searched her mother’s face. “Am I going crazy, Mama?”

  “Not at all. Your visions might just help Michael find out what happened, but right now, we need to bandage that thumb. Thankfully, the cut isn’t too deep.”

  “What happened, Rena? It’s not like you to be klutzy,” said Lynne as she returned with the kit.

  “I saw Daddy’s filleting knife in someone’s hand, and I forgot what I was doing.”

  “Oh, wow! I’d forget too. Did you see anything else?”

  Rena shook her head. “Just that there wasn’t any blood when the knife…when the knife…”

  “It’s okay, baby. Don’t get yourself all worked up.” Lacey squeezed a generous amount of antibiotic cream on the cut then applied gauze and tape.

  “It was snowing. Walt seemed to be looking up, one hand reaching out as if to defend himself, but when the knife went in, he never moved. He was already dead.”

  “Abby, tell your father to call Michael and get him back here.”

  Abby ran from the room but was back within minutes. “He’s on the phone with him now.”

  Lynne closed in on her sister. “The hand you saw, can you describe it?”

  Rena closed her eyes as if to make the image clearer. “Left hand, black leather glove, tan-colored jacket sleeve.”

  “Wow! That’s eerie,” Lynne remarked.

  “You’re telling me,” Rena said. “I just wish they’d go away.”

  Hurried footsteps sounded in the hall and Cam joined them. “Michael’s on his way. Are you all right, Rena? Abby said you cut yourself.”