Sins of the Father

by Winter Austin

  “So you’re going to let me go?”

  “It’s looking very likely that you’re not our guy, now that Jolie and her parents are missing. Go, take Cadno, and find her.”

  The dog seemed to understand what was going on and directed his gaze straight at Xavier.

  “You know the commands?”

  “We had a German shepherd when I first deployed.”

  Con walked around him and headed for the hall. “Then get to it.”

  Xavier smiled. “Komm.”

  Rising, Cadno walked to him, sniffed his hand, and then licked it. The dog had been around Xavier at The Killdeer Pub, and sometimes Con’s home when Nic insisted Xavier share a meal with them. Xavier had played with Cadno, so this pairing wouldn’t be a total bust.

  “Okay, Cadno, let’s find Jolie.”

  • • •

  Back in the clothing he was wearing when they brought him in, Xavier drove Con’s truck to the Murdochs’. It was unnerving to know he’d been set free, but had they actually charged him with anything? Far as he knew, the county attorney hadn’t even been contacted yet.

  What did it matter in the scheme of things? Jolie was missing, and to him, that was all that mattered.

  Next to him on the seat, Cadno panted, staring out the window. The dog was a quivering mass, like he knew what was coming. Xavier reached over and ruffled Cadno’s scruff, earning a grunt of contentment.

  Xavier’s muscles tightened as he made the turn leading to the Murdochs’ place. He was going on the hunt, like so many scouting trips into the field, searching for Jolie’s abductor. The new enemy combatant. A familiar sensation started in the pit of Xavier’s gut and spread through his torso, increasing his heart rate. He parked the truck along the side of the road behind the sheriff’s vehicle and killed the engine, but Xavier sat there as the fervor overtook him. A curse to all men who had been in, lived through, and watched comrades die in combat. This was a syndrome of war, especially of combat. He was overly aware of everything around him and could taste the fear rising in his throat. Adrenaline poured into his muscles, and ingrained memory began to kick in; he found himself reaching for a gun that wasn’t there.

  A warm, wet tongue on the back of his hand jolted Xavier back to the present. For the first time in his civilian life, a calm washed over him. The dog mounted the console between them and lowered his head to press against Xavier’s. They stared at each other. Something broke inside of Xavier, and a wave of relief gushed through him, taking the fear in the flood. This wasn’t war. It was a simple search-and-rescue mission.

  “Is this what you do for Nic when she’s on the verge of losing it?”

  The GSD grunted low in his throat and lifted his head. Those black slashes over his eyes bobbed, and then he let out a sharp bark.

  “A’right, we’re going.”

  Xavier barely had time to exit the cab before Cadno clawed his way over the console and onto the pavement. He paused long enough to look at Xavier.

  “Voraus.”

  The dog took off toward the trio of men conversing in the middle of the drive. Xavier did his best to keep up, but it was pointless. Cadno might be older, but the dog could still move faster than the cripple following him.

  “Where’s Con?” Hamilton asked when Xavier joined them.

  “Dealing with a crisis in town. Cadno will apparently work with me, so I’m here to help.”

  “Sir,” Nash said, “this is ... highly irregular.”

  “I agree, but we all know Hartmann isn’t our suspect,” Hamilton said. “Murdoch hit on something, and she came here to her parents’ house. Whatever, or whoever, that something is has now upped the stakes.”

  Cadno barked, turned a circle, and lay down next to Jolie’s squad car.

  “I didn’t give him the command to track, so what’s he doing?” Xavier moved toward the dog, but Hamilton’s hand shot out and blocked him.

  “That dog is smarter than all of us combined. He’s waiting for us to give him something of Jolie’s to scent.” Hamilton peered at the sky. “We’ve got about three hours of daylight left. Let’s hope wherever the Murdochs were taken isn’t far.”

  “What does the house look like?” Xavier asked.

  “Clean and meticulous, like Ginny always keeps it. No signs of struggle or injuries. Let’s hope Cadno can give us more.” Hamilton pointed to his two deputies. “You two in Nash’s car. I’ll follow in my vehicle with Hartmann. We let Cadno lead the way.” He exited the circle and pulled out his phone.

  Xavier left the other two men for Jolie’s car. He opened the door and froze as her scent—orange and jasmine—barreled into him full force. His chest constricted so tightly it stole his breath. He better get to smell her wearing that all the time. What had happened to her? Would she be okay when they found her? God, let it be so. He’d just found a bright spot in his fucked-up life. He couldn’t lose it now.

  Wiggling between him and the vehicle, Cadno hopped inside the car and smelled the interior. Xavier leaned in; searching for anything he could carry for Cadno to reacquaint himself with Jolie’s unique signature scent. A towel lay on the passenger-side floorboard. Xavier grabbed it just as Cadno went to pick it up. The GSD buried his nose in the cloth at the same time Xavier took a whiff. He could tell this wasn’t clean, but for Cadno it would be a smorgasbord of smells.

  “We’ll take this,” he told the dog and beckoned. Cadno jumped out and watched Xavier.

  “Such.”

  Off Cadno went, first going to the house, sniffing around to the backside, and then trotting around front, following whatever trail Jolie had left behind.

  “Eider police are having trouble,” Hamilton called out to them. “The Maddox father is demanding that ex-sheriff Eli Murdoch come to the funeral home and tell the town what he did to Grace. If Eli isn’t there within the hour, he’s going to take matters into his own hands.”

  “Shit,” Xavier spit. “What nut cracked his skull?”

  “Grief.”

  “Sir, do you think it’s possible Eli’s been the one behind this the whole time?” Nash asked. “He took Grace and killed her, and now has Sarah?”

  “Why would he take his wife and daughter?” Jennings asked. “No offense, Nash, but that doesn’t make sense.”

  “Unless Jolie figured out it was him this whole time and confronted him in front of Ginny,” Hamilton said. “Hell, all this crap would explain why Ian went off the deep end.”

  Xavier shook his head. “I don’t believe it. Eli might be a first-rate jackass, but he’s no child snatcher and killer. He might hit hard, but not hard enough to knock me out.”

  “Hartmann has a point,” Jennings said. “Eli isn’t in the best of health, not to be pulling off something like this.”

  Cadno tore past the men, running straight for the road. He skidded to a stop at the end of the drive, dropped to the ground, and pointed in the direction of Jolie’s house.

  “How far does that road go?” Xavier asked.

  “All the way to the county line and past. Load up, boys. I think Cadno’s ready to get this show on the road.”

  Xavier climbed into the passenger side of Hamilton’s truck and gave Cadno the command to go. The dog took off down the road.

  “I hope he can keep this up,” Hamilton said, “because I’ve got a bad feeling the Murdochs aren’t in this county any longer.”

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  Jolie hated not being able to tell the time. She wasn’t sure how long it had been since she came to and didn’t know when this mysterious “he” that Sarah referred to would show up. While she waited, she plotted and cleaned up her vomit using the bucket, which she was seriously considering as a weapon against her kidnapper. The ass deserved to get a face full of piss, shit, and puke.

  As Jolie paced and worked up her muscles for an attack, Sarah cowered on the bed, knees tucked to her chest. Once she got the girl out of here, Sarah was going to need some pretty extensive therapy. She’d been under this kidnapper-
rapist’s thumb for a few days, but he’d worked her over good, physically and mentally. Wendi wasn’t going to recognize her daughter.

  Jolie reviewed everything Xavier had shown and taught her about bringing down and subduing someone bigger than her. While she plotted, she kept reminding herself to find a key for Sarah’s shackle and to figure out what had happened to her own parents.

  “Sarah, when he came here, do you know what time of day it was?”

  The girl shook her head. “He kept it so dark down here when he wasn’t here, I don’t know. If I had to guess, it might have been at night.”

  Jolie paused next to the wood door. What was behind it? Sarah mentioned she’d hear the sound of metal creaking before the door opened. Did he have a heavy metal gate on the other side? And were there stairs and a cellar door? By the looks of this hole, it’d been used before, maybe even set up to be a prison for other girls. How many had been here before Sarah? What had been done to them? What was “training” them supposed to mean?

  How many had been here before Sarah? And was this where Grace Maddox had died?

  Her head being bashed into the stone wall could have inflicted the hole in the back of Jolie’s skull. Jolie wanted to hurl at the thought of other girls being brought here as personal sex toys. God only hoped that it wasn’t many, and that if they left here alive, they hadn’t gone on to some worse horror.

  Swallowing hard, she turned from the door and paced back to the lantern. By now, Hamilton would have been alerted to her stationary car. After the problems they’d had with no radio or cell reception in remote areas of the county, Hamilton had had GPS systems installed in every department vehicle and every radio. That way he never lost contact with his deputies. But now that she’d been relieved of that radio, how were they going to find her?

  All the more reason for her to escape and find some way to contact them.

  The rattle of chains broke the silence.

  Jolie grabbed the lantern. “Remember,” she hissed, “the element of surprise.”

  Sarah nodded and lay down. Above them there was a loud groan of wood and metal.

  Jolie set the lantern in its spot and blew it out. She felt her way back to the place where she planned to hide, and waited, her muscles coiling. Heart pounding at her rib cage, Jolie stared at the dark spot that was the door. Who would come through that portal? Deep in the back of her mind she was convinced that this man was someone she knew, someone she didn’t want it to be.

  Oh, God, please let me be wrong.

  Next to her, there was the clatter of a key in a lock. Seconds now. The door creaked open, allowing a mere sliver of light, like that from a penlight, to enter.

  Jolie narrowed her eyes, ready for the flare of light from the match. He would soon find out that the lantern had been in use, since the glass would be hot when he went to light the wick. Inching along the door, Jolie balled her fists.

  “Put as much weight into your punch as you can. Make sure you aim for their temple. A good, solid punch to the side of the head can knock a man out. Do it wrong, and all you do is daze him.”

  I’ve got this, Xavier.

  “What the hell?”

  Jolie stiffened at the voice, the blood rushing from her face. It couldn’t be.

  The lantern flared to life, and he turned. A shadow was cast across his face, but she’d recognize it anywhere.

  “You bastard!”

  His face registered shock milliseconds before her fist crashed into his cheek. Losing his balance, he staggered a few steps, almost falling over, but a hand against the wall helped support him. Righting his body, he faced her. “You’ll pay for that.”

  “Not as much as you will, Josiah.”

  Josiah Richards straightened to his full height. “I should have taken care of you properly when I dropped you in here.”

  “Hmm, guess you should have.”

  He came at her, making Sarah squeak in horror, but Jolie wasn’t swayed by the distraction. She lowered her body and dodged to the side. Richards blew past her, exposing his side to her, and she kidney-punched him. A groan broke past his lips as he staggered forward into the wall. Jolie danced away, resetting herself, and faced him.

  Holding his side, Richards turned. “I think you bit off more than you can chew.”

  “Looks like we’ll have to see.” She brought her fists up, the pain in her knuckles barely a blip on her radar. “Got a problem with a woman who can defend herself? Does it piss you off when you can’t overpower her? Use her?”

  That haughty sneer she was so used to seeing during his rants about women and their place crossed his face. “Once I get done with you, I know the perfect man to keep you.”

  Jolie scowled. “Is that where you were taking Sarah? To some sex fiend who likes young girls? All that training to teach her her place in a man’s world. On her knees, taking it willingly.”

  “I almost had you. Six years ago. But your brother got in the way.”

  A fraction of her fight seeped from Jolie. She’d been one of his picks?

  “But there are men who will pay top dollar for used goods.”

  “Some guys try to get inside your head, mess with you to make you angry. You’ve got to ignore them, push past what they’re saying or doing, and fight on.”

  Xavier had been right—she couldn’t let Richards’s taunts and threats rattle her. Jolie chanced a glance at Sarah, her resolve strengthening. She had to push through it for both of them, or they wouldn’t be getting out of here alive.

  Richards must have thought he had an opening. He came at her again, throwing punches. Jolie dodged them, swaying to the right and bringing her knee up, landing a hard crack to his ribs. She skirted out of his reach, throwing a punch to the side of his head. Richards lost his balance and flopped to the ground, where he rolled and regained his footing before Jolie could come in with a finishing blow.

  Blood trickled from his ear. Satisfaction warmed Jolie’s body and refueled her fight. He was getting what he deserved.

  “I’m done playing with you.”

  This time, when he came at her, he lowered his center of gravity and moved faster than she expected. Grabbing her in a bear hug, he lifted her up and pushed her toward the wall. With the back of his neck exposed, Jolie brought both elbows down hard on the juncture of his neck and shoulders. His grip loosened, but he kept his forward moment. Another blow to his neck, and he lost his hold on her and crumpled. Jolie fell with him, landing on top. Kicking free, she popped up onto her feet.

  Groaning, Richards pulled his arms up under him. Jolie rushed in and brought her fist down for another crushing blow to the side of his head. This time he collapsed to the dirt floor and lay still.

  Breathing hard, Jolie straightened. She’d done it. “Holy crap.”

  A key. Disgust roiling through her, she forced Richards’s limp body onto his back and patted his pockets. Finding a ring, she jerked the keys free of his pocket and staggered over to Sarah.

  “Let’s get out of here.” The first key was wrong. “Damn, of course there’s a ton.”

  Jolie was on the third key when Sarah gasped. Jolie looked up just as an arm wrapped around her throat. Choking on a squeak, she was yanked backward. She clawed at the arm putting pressure on her jugular. The edges of her vision were growing dark as she gasped for air. Bracing her body, she flung it sideways, making Richards move around, but he kept his grip on her.

  “I’m going to enjoy stripping you of everything you are, you little bitch.”

  Jolie tightened her neck against the pressure, but the blackness was winning. Her efforts to claw at him weakened.

  “No!”

  The stench of body waste assailed Jolie’s nose just as she was released. She flew forward, gagging and gulping in air. Turning, she looked up to see Richards, on his knees, prying the bucket off of his head. Behind him, Sarah looped the chain around his neck and yanked back, choking him as he spewed waste from his mouth.

  Every breath tore at Jolie’s th
roat, but she fought through the pain. Sarah wouldn’t be able to hold him much longer. Picking up the metal bucket, Jolie swung as hard as she could and cold-cocked Richards alongside his head. He crumpled, the chain dragging Sarah forward; she let go as he hit the floor.

  “Keep a hold on it, like this.” Jolie showed her how to twist the links so that if Richards gained consciousness again he’d be choked with no way of ripping it out of Sarah’s hands.

  Working through the keys, Jolie finally found the one to unlock the shackle. With Sarah free, they clamped the cuff onto Richards’s ankle. Taking the keys, the girl, and the lantern, Jolie made good on her escape.

  “Thanks for the save, Sarah. Though I smell like a sewer.”

  “Sorry, but I didn’t know how to avoid getting it on you.”

  A heavy cellar door was all that stood between them and freedom. Bracing her back against the wood, Jolie pushed. The hinges squealed and the wood groaned as she managed to open it wide enough for Sarah to crawl through, then once on the other side, she helped pull the door off Jolie.

  Outside, Jolie surveyed their surroundings. “None of this looks familiar.”

  The cellar was yards from an old farmhouse with cracked and peeling paint a putrid green color that looked like a throwback to the ’70s. Through the thick brush and trees, she spotted several outbuildings that had toppled over or caved in on themselves.

  “There’s a door open,” Sarah said, pointing toward the house.

  Barefooted, they picked their way carefully through the overgrown yard. Tiptoeing up the old cement steps, Jolie started to feel sick from smelling the ick on her back.

  “Maybe I’ll get lucky and find something to wear in here.”

  “Both of us,” Sarah said, picking at the sheath barely covering her.

  A roar from the cellar brought them to a halt. Jolie glanced back at the gaping maw where their sicko kidnapper remained chained.

  “Must suck to have a taste of his own medicine.”