The fact the pick-up is black, and has a white bed topper, was new information and it helped narrow the search. The problem was vehicle records don’t list bed toppers and the number of black pick-ups in the greater San Antonio area was huge. Still, each piece of info helped.
They thanked Brooke for her help, took the picture of her friend she’d brought with her, and got a description of what Stephanie was wearing. Jason promised to call if they found anything.
Vanessa sat at her desk looking at the picture of the missing girl while Jason walked Brooke out to the parking lot. When he came back, she looked up at him, and Jason saw the strain on her face. She spoke for both of them.
“Man, I hope we’re wrong about this one.”
Chapter 9
Norman waited patiently for the red light to change. He didn’t hear any noise from the back of the pick-up, and he liked it that way. Only once did he have to stop and re-secure one of the girls. That had been Marcie Walker, and he’d made sure it hadn’t happened again.
The light turned and he headed around the west side of Canyon State Park. He’d seen the pictures on TV of the service road, and figured it likely the gate was locked, or watched, or both.
He knew of an unattended archery range down a gravel road and, being that it was summer, no one was likely to be there. It wasn’t archery season and there were no lights to shoot by. It was just getting dark when he pulled up.
He sat in the truck for nearly a half hour to make sure there wasn’t any activity. He’d passed a logging truck about a mile back, but figured they would have gone home by now.
He got out and went around to the back of the pick-up. Lifting the topper hatch, he found the girl laying on her side, staring at him.
I love the fear in your eyes, Marcie.
Grabbing her taped ankles, he dragged the naked woman toward him. She tried to kick loose but it was pointless.
Once he had her on the tailgate, he slit the duct tape around her ankles, and made her walk in front of him toward the woods. The girl frantically looked for a place to run, someone to save her, but they were alone.
They entered the woods, and walked about fifty yards, when Norman decided it was far enough. “Stop here.”
He turned her around and forced her to sit by the base of a large tree. She started to whimper through the tape over her mouth.
Norman reached into a bag he was carrying, and pulled out a wine glass, setting it down near the girl. Next, out of the bag came his nine-millimeter pistol. The girl’s eyes got huge, and she tried to get up, but Norman pinned her to the tree with his foot. The time in captivity had taken most of the fight out of her, and she slumped back, resigned to what was coming.
Norman took the gun and placed it against the girl’s chest, directly over her heart. He watched as she pressed her eyes closed, waiting.
*******
Joe stumbled over a root, falling forward, and the chain saw he was carrying went sailing. “Dang it! I told you it was getting too dark.”
Jonathon helped him to his feet. “Oh, stop your whining. We needed to finish the last tree so it could be brought out tomorrow.”
“Yeah, well, it won’t do us much good if we’re dead from falling on our own saws.”
“Whatever! Just watch your step and take your time. You sure the truck is back this way?”
“Oh, great. Now we’re lost!”
“Shut-up!”
“I will when I want….”
“No, shush! Look over there.”
Joe stared out towards the direction his friend was pointing. Through the growing darkness, he could see someone sitting against the bottom of a tree.
As they struggled to make sense of the scene in front of them, the standing figure removed something from a bag, and laid it on the ground. Next, he removed something else that looked to Joe to be a gun. “Is that a gun?”
“I think so.”
The figure on the ground tried to get up, but the person standing pinned them to the ground with their foot. The gun came up to the chest of the person against the tree.
Jonathon had been crouching, but now he jumped up. “Hey!”
*******
Norman held the gun to her chest. He hadn’t heard anyone coming, and as he pulled the trigger, a voice reached him.
“Hey!”
As the gun went off, he flinched. The girl slumped over. Norman searched the woods for where the voice had come from. Unable to find the source, he quickly cut the zip tie from her wrists and pulled the tape off her mouth. He didn’t take time to pick up the wine glass, he just ran.
He didn’t hear the girl moan.
*******
Jonathon heard the gun go off and dove for the ground. Joe was already there. They stayed low and watched as the man gathered some things and ran for the road.
When it was clear he was gone, the two loggers got up and headed to where the girl was. It was now almost completely dark, and the men dropped their saws to run.
When they reached the tree, they found a young girl slumped over moaning. Blood poured from near her shoulder. Joe pressed on the wound while Jonathon called 911. He kept looking toward where the man had run, praying he didn’t come back.
“911. What is your emergency?”
“I’m in Canyon State Park, near Archery Road, and a woman has been shot.”
“Is she still alive?”
“I think so, but there’s a lot of blood.”
“Where was she shot?”
“Looks like in the chest or near the shoulder. My friend is keeping pressure on it.”
“I’m sending help. Was this an accident?”
“It didn’t look like it. My buddy and I walked up to see this guy shoot her.”
“Okay. Can you get to the road to flag down the EMT’s?”
“Yeah.”
Jonathon hung up and looked down at his friend. “I gotta go to the road.”
Joe’s face was almost as pale as the girls. “Why?”
“Help is coming and I have to wave ‘em down.”
“Okay. Hurry.”
Jonathon took off at a dead run for the road. He risked running into a tree and knocking himself out, but his adrenaline wouldn’t let him slow down. The ambulance appeared a few minutes later, and he stood in the road until its headlights were on him. It stopped and a flurry of activity led to Jonathon leading two EMT’s to where his friend and the girl were.
“I’m back, Joe.”
Joe looked scared. “I don’t know if she’s still alive. She stopped moaning a few minutes ago.”
“It’s all right, Joe. The EMT’s will take care of her.”
The men moved in and started assessing the girl. Joe got up and walked over by Jonathon. They both stood there, watching silently. Jonathon was praying quietly under his breath. Joe looked at him. “I was doing the same thing the whole time you were gone.”
Jonathon put his arm around his blood-covered friend.
“She’s in God’s hands now.”
*******
Jason’s phone rang. He squinted at the clock. One a.m. “Hello.”
“Jason, this is Patton.”
“Yes, sir.”
“There’s been a shooting. The victim’s description matches your missing girl.”
“Stephanie Morris?”
“Yeah.”
“You said shooting… is she still alive?”
“Just barely. She’s at SAG”
“I’m on my way.”
Jason hung up, his heart was pounding, instantly awake. A survivor could put a face on this guy, assuming it was the same killer. He called Vanessa and Rob answered. “Hello?”
“Rob, this is Jason. Sorry to wake you but I need to talk to Vanessa.”
He heard some rustling and his partner came on. “What’s up, Jason?”
“The lieutenant called. There’s been a shooting and the victim matches our girl, Stephanie Morris. She’s at SAG.”
“I’ll be ready in fifte
en.”
“I’ll be there in ten.”
Chapter 10
San Antonio General Hospital, or SAG as locals call it, is on the west side of town between Seaworld and Lackland Air Base. They arrived and parked in the main lot.
After showing their badges at the desk, they were informed Stephanie Morris was in Intensive Care on the second floor. They took the elevator up and when the doors opened, Jason was relieved to see two uniformed officers guarding Stephanie Morris’ room. He walked up to them and showed his badge. “Has she had any visitors?”
“Just one, the girl sitting over there.”
Jason looked over in the direction the officer pointed. Sitting alone was Brooke Donald. Jason turned to Vanessa. “I’m going to talk to her. Can you see if you can find the doctor?”
“Sure. Be back soon.”
Jason walked toward Brooke. The young girl gave him a half-hearted wave when she recognized him. “Hello, Detective.”
“Hi, Brooke. How you holding up?”
“Okay. Steph came out of surgery about an hour ago, but they said I won’t get to see her until this afternoon at the soonest.”
“I’ll make sure the officers know you’re allowed in when the doctor clears it.”
She gave him a slight smile. “Thank you. I knew something was wrong. I kept hoping she was okay, but when the phone rang during the night, I wasn’t surprised.”
“If it helps, Stephanie may be the key to stopping this guy. She’s probably seen him, and if she can describe this animal, we’ll get him. I promise.”
“I know you will. Thank you, Detective.”
Jason saw Vanessa coming down the hall. “Will you excuse me, Brooke?”
“Sure.”
Jason patted her on the hand before meeting Vanessa down the hallway. “Did you find the doctor?”
“Yes. Surgeons name is Mary Nance. She operated for five hours.”
“What’s the prognosis? Is our girl gonna make it?”
“She said the bullet missed the heart, hit the shoulder blade, and bounced around until landing near her spine. She got it out, but doesn’t know if she’ll have any paralysis.”
“Poor girl. When does the doc think we can talk to her?”
“Dr. Nance said the girl lost a lot of blood and will likely be in an induced coma for at least twenty-four hours, maybe forty-eight.”
“Crap! Well, I guess we wait. We need to interview the two guys who found her, as well as go to the scene. Let me tell Brooke what we know and I’ll meet you downstairs.”
Jason spoke to the officers, and then went over to where Brooke was sitting. “She’s doing okay. They’re going to keep her sedated for at least twenty-four hours.”
“Okay.”
“Do you need anything? A ride?”
“No. I’m just going to stay near her for a little while longer.”
Jason gave her a smile. “You do that. Stay as long as you want. I’ll check with the doctor to see if you can sit in the room.”
“That would be great. Thanks.”
*******
Jason spoke to the surgeon and got permission for Brooke to sit in the room. He got her settled before going downstairs to find Vanessa.
She was in the lobby and hung up her phone as Jason approached. “Lieutenant gave me an address for each of the guys that found her. They’re loggers, cutting for Weyerhaeuser. They were at the end of their day when they stumbled onto the girl.”
“We need to visit them, but first, you want to take a ride to the woods?”
“Sure. We need to get out there before they clean it up.”
“Works for me.”
*******
The scene was well lit when they arrived, but didn’t yield much in the way of evidence. The wine glass had been bagged for evidence. The killer had left nothing else behind, as usual. Officers at the scene interviewed the two men who found the girl. Jason and Vanessa reviewed the notes.
The sun had started to come up and Jason was hungry. “Wanna’ get a bite before we go interview the loggers?”
“Sure.”
Jason drove them to an IHOP and, after some eggs and coffee, they left for the first logger’s house. Joe answered their knock on the door with no apparent surprise. “Yes.”
“Joe Dixon?”
“Yes.”
“I’m Detective Jason Strong, and this is my partner, Detective Layne. We’d like to ask you some questions about last night.”
Joe stepped back and opened the door for the detectives to enter. “Sure, come in.”
Joe, like his name, was average in every way. Average height, average build, average brown hair, etc. He led them into a small living room. A beer sat keeping an easy chair company. Joe sat next to the beer. “I told the cops everything I could remember, last night.”
Jason took a chair across from Joe, but Vanessa remained standing. She opened a pad to make notes and let Jason ask the questions. It was their routine. One asked the questions and watched the face of the person they were questioning while the other observed the surroundings and took notes.
“I’ve had a chance to read the report, but we like to follow up the next day, anyway. Just to make sure nothing occurred to you.”
“Okay. I don’t mind. I called in today, didn’t feel like working. Nothing has come to mind but I’m glad to help.”
Joe took a sip of the companion beer and leaned forward. “How’s the girl? I tried calling the hospital, but they won’t tell me anything.”
“She’s doing okay. The doctors put her in a drug-induced coma while she heals. You almost surely saved her life.”
Joe appeared uncomfortable with the idea he was some sort of hero. Vanessa reinforced her partner. “Detective Strong is right. You most likely saved that girls life.”
“I just did what my friend, Jonathon, told me to. He’s the calm one.”
“You’re both heroes to that girl.”
Jason turned the man’s attention back to the details. “You said you were walking back to your truck after cutting wood. It was kinda late, wasn’t it?”
“Yeah, I was chewin’ Jonathon out for just that, when I fell. He helped me up and we’d gone just a short distance farther when we saw them. Actually, Jonathon saw them, and pointed them out to me.”
“What exactly did you see?”
“Somebody standing over someone who was sitting against a tree. Then things just took on a life of their own. Jonathon yelled at him, a gun went off, and we dove for cover. When we got up, the shooter was gone,” he paused. “That poor girl. It was awful.”
“Could you describe the shooter or his vehicle?”
“It all happened too fast. I didn’t get a good look at either one.”
Jason looked at Vanessa. She shrugged and put away her notebook. Jason took out his card and handed it to Joe. “Do you know if your friend is home, as well?”
“He is. He called in, too.”
“Joe, thanks. You think of anything, please call.”
“Sure. If you get a chance, let me know how the girl’s doin’.”
“You bet.”
*******
The stop at Jonathon’s went the same. It was clear these two men had been thrown into a situation as bad as any they could imagine. They had done above and beyond what could be expected from any normal person, so it didn’t surprise Jason when Lieutenant Patton gave them the news.
They had just returned to the station when the lieutenant waved them into his office. “The mayor wants to present those two men with medals from the city.”
Vanessa, however, was surprised. “Shouldn’t he wait until they’re sure she’s going to make it before doing a publicity stunt?”
“The mayor’s people are telling him she’s going to be fine.”
“The mayor’s ‘people’ are idiots!”
Jason smiled. Vanessa was not one to prance around an issue. Still, it did seem too soon. Jason still hadn’t had a chance to talk with her, never mind knowin
g if she was going to be ‘fine’.
“Has anyone talked to her doctors since this morning?”
The lieutenant shook his head and Vanessa volunteered to call the hospital. She went to her desk.
“When do they want to do the medal ceremony?” Jason asked.
“Day after tomorrow, two p.m.”
“I guess Vanessa and I will be required to attend?”
“If I gotta’ go, you gotta’ go.”
“Who made that rule?”
“Me. Deal with it.”
Jason laughed as Vanessa hung up and came back over. “Her condition hasn’t changed. She’s still stable but unconscious. I told them we want to know the second she comes around. Apparently, they’re going to keep her under awhile longer so she heals more.”
Jason understood, but it was still frustrating. “Did they say how long before they will let her wake up?”
She shook her head. “The nurse said it depends on her progress.”
Jason was tired, they’d been up since one a.m. “Well, nothing to do but call it a day. I’m going home. Sandy has the grill warming up for me.”
Vanessa was worn out, too “Sounds like a plan. Goodnight, JD. See you tomorrow, Lieutenant.”
“You two be back here bright and early. We’ll need to prep for the mayor’s ceremony.”
The two detectives rolled their eyes and headed out.
*******
Norman watched as the two detectives came out of the station. They walked together until the man reached his car and got in. The female detective waved, laughed at something said, then continued on to her car.
Norman sat in a gray Malibu, not his truck, since he figured by now they would be onto that vehicle. The sun was starting to go down, Norman’s favorite time of day, but he would not be going to South Presa Street tonight. He had a different mission this evening.
Detective Vanessa Layne pulled out of the lot and into traffic, Norman following about ten car lengths behind her, with a car between them. They drove for nearly twenty minutes before she turned into a subdivision on the south side of the city. When she pulled into her driveway, Norman kept going, and circled the block.
BLOODSTAIN (Det. Jason Strong(CLEAN SUSPENSE Book 2) Page 5
