NightScream

by Morgan Hannah MacDonald

  She pursed her lips. “Thanks a lot.”

  “Don’t mention it.” He took a sip of coffee.

  “My point is, although no one deserves to die, there’s just something particularly obscene about killing kids. They’re so innocent. They can’t defend themselves. More often than not, they die at the hands of someone who’s supposed to love them, who should protect them. The one place anyone should feel safe is in their own home.” She shook her head as she stared down into her coffee.

  Jilly appeared so vulnerable that Cody was having a hard time containing himself. He yearned to comfort her, a hand on her back, a touch to her arm. But he didn’t dare. Somehow he felt it wouldn’t be welcomed.

  He hadn’t known her well in the past, but he’d always admired her spunk. He knew women in law enforcement had to work twice as hard to prove themselves. There was no doubt in his mind that she’d succeeded.

  Robin had told him she never let her softer side show around the men she worked with. Any sign of weakness and they’d walk all over her. So Cody knew he was seeing a side of Jilly rarely shown. She wouldn’t appreciate it being acknowledged. He needed to tread lightly to make sure she didn’t shut him out.

  He’d run a background check on her the night before. She was the only female detective in her unit. That couldn’t have been easy. Since she’d run into him yesterday, literally, she’d been on his mind.

  And not just because he wanted to separate her from her pants. He wanted to learn everything there was to know about Jillian Reid. Suddenly he realized she’d stopped talking and he’d been staring at her mouth a little too long.

  He scooted back his chair and stood. “I need to. . .” He pointed at the door and escaped. He headed straight to the restroom to splash cold water on his face.

  NINE

  Meagan clicked the link and a newspaper article came up. It was from The Pigeon Creek Gazette.

  Reverend Samuel Miller Steps Down From Pulpit

  This week Reverend Samuel Charles Miller is vacating The Holy Trinity Church of Pigeon Creek. The good reverend was quoted as saying: ‘It is with a heavy heart I leave the good people of Pigeon Creek, but the heavenly father has spoken.

  Just last night as I prepared my Sunday sermon, the Lord visited me and told me I had a new mission. I am to depart the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains, my home since the day of my birth and go forth to spread the gospel among the heathens in the outside world.

  I want to thank all of those who have given me and my family such love and support throughout the years. I promise I will never forget you. But I must take my leave and go where I am most needed.’

  A replacement for Rev. Miller has not yet been announced. His last sermon will be held this Sunday at 10:00 a.m. I’m sure I’ll see you all there. This is certainly a sad day for Pigeon Creek.

  Okay, so he’s a religious nut. But that doesn’t make him a pedophile. Meagan put Pigeon Creek, Kentucky in the search engine. It was a small town, population 10,592. The pictures on the internet were beautiful.

  Next, she decided to do another search on this guy now that she had more information on him. She typed in Samuel C. Miller, Pigeon Creek, Kentucky. A bunch of Samuel Millers filled the page, and she decided to click on the one that promised her his full information for free.

  So she entered the site and clicked on his name.

  “Holy crap.”

  Samuel Charles Miller, Rev., possible relatives: Lorraine A. Miller, Mortecai S. Miller, Jeremiah D. Miller, Mark L. Miller, Luke C. Miller, Mary L. Miller, Abraham S. Miller. It even had a rural route address.

  “My god, it’s a stalker’s paradise.”

  “What are you doing?” Thomas stood in the doorway in a pair of boxer briefs, his hair stood on end.

  “Oh, hi, honey. Just doing a little search on the computer.”

  He yawned. “At six in the morning? I woke up to use the head and you were gone. Not just gone, but your side of the bed was cold.”

  That’s what she got for being in love with a detective. Nothing slipped past him. “Sorry.” She looked out the window and noticed a sliver of light in the sky. “I had no idea what time it was.”

  “You think you could do this a little later? You know I have a hard time falling to sleep without you beside me.” He rubbed his eyes.

  He was so damned adorable when he was like this. He had such a rough exterior that when he showed his softer side, she melted. “Sure, honey, I’ll be right there. Just let me print this and turn the computer off.”

  A toilet flushed upstairs and Thomas looked at the ceiling. “Cody’s up.” He walked over to the desk and grabbed her hand. “Come on, it’s cold down here. I need you to warm me up.”

  Meagan laughed. “Okay, okay, I’m coming.” She left everything as it was and let him drag her off to bed.

  Later that same morning, Meagan awoke alone. She rolled over and checked the clock. It was after eleven. She threw back the covers and sat up. Her phone vibrated on the nightstand and she looked at the screen. “Crap.” She scooted her butt so her back was against the headboard and fluffed a couple of pillows. This call could take awhile.

  “Hey, Jace, what’s up?” She tried to sound lighthearted, even though she felt anything but. Her sister was running around with a con-man, but she wasn’t about to share that information with her brother-in-law. He was doing a fine job of working himself into a frenzy on his own.

  “Did you find her yet?” he blurted.

  “Well, I. . .no. It’s not like I’ve had the time. Jason, you’ve got to trust that I have Bridget’s best interests at heart.”

  “What does that mean? You plan on hiding her from me?”

  “Jason, calm down. Samuel hasn’t done anything bad to Bridget. In fact she says she’s very happy.”

  “Now. That’s because he hasn’t abused her yet. You have to get her away from him. Didn’t she tell you where she was?”

  “They’re on the road.”

  “What does that even mean?”

  “Evidently they drive from town to town ministering at different churches. Nothing nefarious about that.”

  “Didn’t you have Thomas look into him?”

  “I did a search myself after I got off the phone with you. I found an article about him leaving his church in Kentucky, but it didn’t say anything about a scandal or have any accusations of him molesting children.”

  “Maybe they covered it up.”

  “Maybe.”

  “You have to dig deeper.”

  “Look, Jason, I love my sister and I’ll do whatever needs to be done to make sure she’s safe. But it’s going to take some time. Did you get any sleep last night?”

  “A little,” he said, barely audible.

  “Why not?”

  “I called Lorraine back after I got off the phone with you. We talked. She’s really a sweet person. She doesn’t deserve any of this. I sent you a picture of her ring, did you get it?” The last sentence rushed out.

  “I don’t know. I’ll look after we hang up. Jason, you have to stop obsessing.” Then a thought occurred to Meagan. “Where are you right now?”

  It got quiet. “Home. I called in sick,” he said, finally.

  “How many days have you called in sick?”

  “Just a couple.”

  That pissed her off. “Jason, you can’t lose your job. Not only do you need the income to support your family, but the medical insurance as well.”

  “Don’t worry, Meggie, they love me. Besides, my boss knows what’s going on. It’s cool.”

  Famous last words. Thomas walked in with a cup of coffee and handed it to her. She mouthed the words, thank you. He kissed her on the top of the head.

  “Oh, yeah, it’s cool until it’s not. Jason, you need to get your act together. Do you think Bridget will come back to you if you lose your job? Just how long did it take you to find a permanent position this time?”

  “It’s fine,” he ground out. “They won’t fire me.”


  Thomas sat on the bed next to her and looked on with concern.

  Meagan rolled her eyes and took a deep breath. “I’m sorry, but I have to go. I’ll talk to you later.” She hung up.

  “He’s lost it.”

  “I take it that was Jason again?” Thomas asked.

  “Who else?”

  “Poor guy. I don’t know what I’d do if you left me.”

  She reached out and stroked his cheek. “Good thing you’ll never have to find out.”

  “What were you searching for on the computer this morning?”

  “Oh, that. Jason woke me in the middle of the night with this crazy story and I was looking to see if there was any truth to it. So far, I came up with nothing.”

  Meagan explained everything, including what she’d found on the computer.

  “If that’s true, we really do need to get Bridget away from this guy.”

  “You believe it? Bridget said the wife is a train wreck. I can’t help but feel like this Lorraine is making stuff up to gain sympathy and con Jason out of what little money he has. Money he should be using for bills and supporting those girls.”

  “But what if she isn’t? Babe, I’ve seen some pretty sick things over the years. I don’t want to scare you, but I think we should be taking this seriously. I’ll call Shadowhawk now and get her to do a total background check on this guy. See if he has any priors.”

  “I do love you.” She leaned forward and kissed him.

  “That’s a relief.” He chuckled and stood. “Now come on and get out of bed. Your breakfast is waiting. I have it in the oven keeping warm.”

  “You are the greatest.” She tossed back the covers. “How will I ever repay you?”

  His eyes slithered down her naked body and he grinned. “I can think of a few things.”

  Meagan giggled, grabbed his hand and pulled him onto the bed. While passionately kissing, she slid her hand down to his body. The phone started vibrating. Thomas broke the kiss.

  “Ignore it,” Meagan pleaded, and covered his mouth with hers.

  “You know that’s impossible. The moment it started buzzing, your entire body tensed. I want your undivided attention. Just deal with it so we can get down to business.”

  “Fine.” Meagan reached for the phone.

  “What now, Jason? I’m a little busy.”

  “The minute I got off the phone with you there was a knock on the door. I’ve been served with divorce papers.”

  “Whoa, that was fast.”

  “Then she texted me that I need to put the house up for sale immediately. I called her back, but she let it go to voicemail. She won’t even talk to me. Where will the girls and I live?”

  Meagan didn’t know what to tell him. If this were a normal divorce, the girls would be living with their mother. But there was nothing normal about this situation, and she didn’t want to feed him anything that would send him over the edge.

  He was teetering as it was. She decided to treat him as if everything was on the up and up.

  “Jace, I’m sure you’ll be fine. Just take your half of the sale and buy a place.”

  “The amount I get won’t be enough to buy a condo!”

  “What are you talking about? You’ve been living in that house for twenty years, I’m sure you have enough equity built up to turn a hefty profit.”

  “Not after the first and second mortgages are paid off.”

  “I had no idea. But you had savings.” Meagan stared at Thomas.

  “That was what was left from the inheritance Bridget got when your grandfather died last year. We needed more money to get by while I was searching for employment. Bridget wouldn’t get a job.”

  “To be fair, she had the girls to care for. With the cost of childcare nowadays, you would have been lucky to break even.”

  “You sound just like her.”

  “It’s a valid point.”

  “Whatever. You have to talk her into coming back,” Jason stated.

  “I’m not making any promises. Even if she does leave this guy, it doesn’t guarantee she’ll come back to you.”

  “She will. This guy has brainwashed her. Once she comes to her senses, she’ll beg to come back. Oh, Meggie, the stories Lorraine tells. This guy is sick and kinky. I can’t even repeat the terrible stuff he’s done to her.”

  “Good, ’cause I don’t want to hear it. I’ll look into this further. In the meantime, don’t do anything stupid. Get your ass to work and take care of those girls.

  “Remember, this whole mess is not going to get worked out in a day. It’s going to take time and might not go the way you want. Just focus on work and those girls. Got it?”

  “Okay. Thanks, Meggie.”

  “If I have anything to report, I’ll call you back. Until then, stay strong.”

  “Right.”

  Meagan ended the call. “What a nightmare.”

  “Sounds like it,” Thomas said.

  Meagan checked her text messages and found the picture of the ring. “Wow, preachers make a lot more money than I would have guessed.” She showed the picture to Thomas.

  “Doesn’t mean those are real diamonds. In fact, I would wager they’re not.”

  “Figures. Cheapskate. You need to go call Shadowhawk.”

  “I thought we were busy?” He gave her his best pout, which only looked ridiculous on his rugged face.

  She snickered and gave him a quick smooch. “I’ll make it up to you later. I’ve kind of lost the mood. I’m going to take a shower.” She got out of bed and headed to the adjoining bathroom.

  “You’re cruel. Fine, I’ll give her a call. But I am going to be calling in that raincheck later.”

  She glanced at him over her shoulder and shot him her sexiest smile. “I’m counting on it.”

  Meagan found Thomas in the downstairs office in front of the computer. “Any news yet?”

  He glanced up from the screen. “No, she said she’d get back to me as soon as she had something to report. The captain has her paired up with Malone while I’m gone and they’ve caught a new case.”

  “How are Malone and Gail? We haven’t seen them in weeks.”

  “All’s good as far as I know. Thanks to you, Gail no longer has to find suitable women for me to date. God, that was awful.”

  “I think it’s sweet. She only did it because she cares.”

  “Right. Hey, you up for a hike?”

  “Good idea. Maybe it will take my mind off of Bridget for a few hours. Just let me get some nutrition in me first. By the way, I was wondering if we could have the girls up here this week?”

  Thomas stared at her a minute before answering.

  “What?” she asked nervously.

  “I think you should sit down.” He pointed toward the two leather seats facing the desk. Cautiously, she made her way to the nearest one and sat.

  “Okay, what’s wrong?” She couldn’t imagine what he had to say. She knew he loved the girls. Why was he hesitating having them join them? Or did this have to do with her sister?

  “You’re scaring me. Out with it.” She rubbed her hands along the tops of her thighs.

  “The reason Cody couldn’t join us last night was because he was working.”

  “Yeah, he told me.”

  “When did you talk to him?”

  “He was still up last night when I got that call from Jason. I came in here to use the computer and he was just going to bed. I don’t understand what that has to do with having the girls up.”

  His brows arched. “Did he tell you anything about the case?”

  “No. Why?”

  “It seems they found a body dump yesterday. Seven women, discarded in the lake.”

  “Oh, my, God. Up here?”

  “Yeah, I know. Pretty fantastic, huh?”

  “Not the word I would use, but yeah. I still don’t understand what that has to do with the girls.”

  “It looks like Big Bear has a serial killer.”

  TEN

  Cod
y left the building and relished the crisp, clean air on his face. The outside temperature was forty-nine degrees. One of the things he loved best about being on the mountain was the climate. The hottest month of the year was July, and even then the average was only in the upper sixties. Being 6,700 feet above sea level had its advantages.

  The Los Angeles basin was full of smog, and the summers unbearably hot. The traffic was such that one had to be overly aggressive to get anywhere. No one was about to let you in their lane, even when driving the most expensive cars.

  Every day getting from point A to point B was like playing a game of chicken. That’s why he loved coming home. Although incorporated as a city in the early 1980’s, Big Bear was a small town. The year-round populace was only in the low 5,000s.

  Sure, in peak season, the population could grow to as much as a hundred thousand people, but that never changed its core. Up here, people cared about one another. Helped each other out. They always waved and said hello.

  They waited for you when you backed out of a parking spot. They gave you the right-of-way when you needed to merge onto the road. That’s why whenever Cody needed to decompress, he came here. It was almost like magic the way the stress fled his body at the first sign of pine trees along the highway.

  No matter how cold, he’d crack his windows to let the scent fill the car. Home. It’s true that home is where the heart is, and Big Bear had captured his heart at fifteen and never let go.

  By the time he’d gotten back to the station, the conference room was full; everyone was waiting on him.

  He brought everyone up to speed on the case. Deputies young and old listened with rapt attention. Even the sheriff took notes.

  “In closing, I need you all to be super vigilant. We aren’t used to having this type of predator in our area. Keep an eye out for anything or anyone that looks suspicious. I’m not a profiler, but I’d say this UNSUB is Caucasian and in his early thirties to early forties.

  “I know I don’t have to tell you to be careful, but keep in mind he is most likely armed and dangerous. If you have any information, or questions, please contact Deputy Reid or myself.”