“I know, Tom, and it is about time. I’m afraid of what he will do if we don’t catch him soon.”
“Just keep tough, Maddie, and don’t let your guard down, even for a minute,” Tom said, his voice sounding authoritative. “I’ll let you know as soon as I find out anything. In the meantime, if you can run into town and get a new phone without being detected, I’d highly advise it then give me a call with the number.”
“I’ll run in right after lunch. Oh, and Tom?”
“Yes?”
“Just on a hunch, see if there are any buildings or businesses, even streets in Bellevue with mythological names. Zeus fancies himself the king of the gods, so it would make sense for him to be affiliated with something mythological.”
“Good idea, Maddie. We’ll check it out.”
Maddie disconnected the call, stuck Erik’s phone in her pocket and went back to the kitchen where Lena was just finishing up lunch preparations.
Leaning over toward Maddie, she whispered, “What was that about?”
“Can’t tell you now. Talk later,” Maddie whispered back, then helped set the food on the table. They were just pouring tea in the glasses when the men came in and washed up.
Erik eyed Maddie a few times, and she smiled at him. He seemed a little wary, but she hoped he realized what a great help he was earlier. When the guys got up to leave after lunch, Maddie stood close to Erik and switched back phones with him. Dragging him to the office, which she thought was safe, she whispered her thanks.
“You did great, Erik. Thank you. And I hope you know I didn’t mean a word I said.”
Erik folded his arms around her and kissed the top of her head. “I know you didn’t. I hope my poor acting was a help, though.”
“A huge help. I’m going to run into town and pick up a new phone then I’ll be back. Ask Danny to keep an eye on the house while I’m gone please?”
“Sure, Maddie.”
Erik gave her a quick kiss then walked outside and back to his work.
Maddie was just coming through the kitchen when she saw her dad lingering over another glass of tea at the table.
“What’s up, Pop?” Maddie asked, sitting down beside him. Although she’d been home for weeks, she hadn’t really spent much time visiting with him one-on-one.
“Not much, cupcake. Just wanted a minute to talk to you. Want to walk me back to the four-wheeler?”
Maddie nodded her head and preceded her dad out the door.
“Maddie, I know this has been hard on you and you blame yourself for bringing this particular case right to our door, but don’t. You are an amazing cop and a fine woman and I’m real proud to have you as my daughter.”
“Aw, Pop,” Maddie said, standing on tip-toe to give her dad a hug and a kiss on his weathered cheek. “You’re going to make my mascara run.”
Ethan laughed and gave Maddie a warm hug. “I love you, cupcake. No matter what happens, I love you. So don’t forget it.”
“I won’t, Pop. I love you, too.”
When Ethan drove off on the four-wheeler, Maddie took Zach’s pickup to town and parked on Main Street. There were several cell phone dealers downtown. She just needed to figure out a way to get in one unseen.
Casually strolling down the street and stopping to look in a few store windows, Maddie finally entered a store she knew had an alley entrance. Browsing her way through the store, she was quickly at the back door, down the alley and in rear entrance of one of the cell phone stores. It took no time for her to have a new phone in her hand and she hurriedly retraced her steps. She stopped in the store she originally entered, picked out a little gift for Aunt Lena, paid for it and then walked back out the store’s front entry, sauntering over to the pickup.
Driving to John’s office, she found him at his desk on the phone and he motioned her in. Taking a seat, she waited for him finish the call then filled him in on the latest developments of the case. Before leaving his office, she placed a call to Tom on the new phone, knowing the sheriff’s office was one of the few places she could count on not being bugged.
Arriving home, she felt her old phone vibrate in her pocket. Taking it out, she didn’t recognize the number, but answered anyway.
“Maddie, dear, I’ve warned you before not to start digging for information,” Zeus’s voice came across the line. She still couldn’t place the accent, but she certainly recognized the voice. It taunted her at night in her worst nightmares. “You know what happens when you do, Maddie, dear. No more warnings. I hope you told your daddy goodbye after lunch today.”
Before Maddie could say a word, the call disconnected. Racing into the kitchen, Maddie yelled at Lena to call John and tell him it was an emergency. Dialing in Tom’s number on her old cell phone as she took the stairs at a run, she asked him to trace the last call info because it was Zeus.
“Tom, he’s going after Dad. I hope I’m not too late.”
“Take Danny with you, Maddie. Don’t face him alone.”
“I won’t,” Maddie said, disconnecting the call as she pulled the Glock out of her nightstand. She always carried small gun in her pocket, but she needed to have the Glock in her hand when she took down Zeus.
Lena caught up with her mid-way down the stairs. “Did you call John?”
“He’s on his way,” Lena said, following Maddie as she ran into the kitchen.
“Lock the doors and windows and go down to the basement and stay there. I mean it Lena. Stay there until one of us comes to get you.”
“Okay, Maddie. Be careful.”
“I will. Love you, Lena.”
“Love you, too, kiddo.”
Maddie sprinted across the yard to Zach’s pickup, screaming for Danny as she ran. He raced out of the shop and jumped in the pickup. Maddie tore out to the field where she knew her Dad was baling and Zach was stacking hay. Maddie explained the phone call from Zeus as she drove.
The stacker was nowhere to be seen, but the tractor and baler sat at the far corner of the field, unmoving. Chills raced up Maddie’s spine and a cold sweat broke out on her forehead.
“We’re too late, Danny,” Maddie said, her hands clenching the steering wheel as she drove right through the windrows of cut hay. “I just know it. We’re too late.”
“Maybe your Dad broke down. Don’t jump to conclusions, yet.” Danny hoped and prayed that was all that was wrong. His gut told him otherwise.
Pulling up next to the tractor, it and the baler were both running. “Maddie, stay here, please. Let me check things out.”
“No, Danny, I’ve got to see.” Maddie said, grasping the door handle.
“Please, Maddie, just let me take a look first.”
Swallowing, Maddie nodded. She knew what Danny found was going to pile tinder on the growing fire of her hate for Zeus. She knew to the very core of her being that the hug she shared with her dad after lunch would have to last her the rest of her life.
When Danny didn’t immediately come back, she finally opened the pickup door, climbed in the tractor and turned it off, then walked around to the baler. The gruesome sight that met her made her legs go weak and her breath come in short little gasps. Struggling to stay upright, she fell to her knees and felt numb.
It appeared her Dad had been trying to remove a plug in the baler and got pulled into the machine.
Maddie knew different. Her father’s mangled body was the direct result of Zeus sending her a very clear message.
Danny turned and knelt in front of her. “Don’t look, Maddie. Don’t look. Remember your Dad from lunch today, joking and laughing. Burn that image in your mind, Maddie.”
Putting his arms around her, he held Maddie, blocking her view of the baler. He waited for her to cry, to scream, to show some emotion. Instead, she just leaned into him, stiff and silent. He knew she was in shock, but he kept waiting for her to say or do something.
Before Danny could suggest he help her back to the pickup, Erik was there, picking her up in his arms, and holding her close. It was
then Maddie turned her head into Erik’s chest and cried, great wracking sobs that broke both Erik’s and Danny’s heart.
“Why can’t he just kill me and be done with it? Why did he have to take Pops? He’s never hurt anyone. He didn’t deserve to die.” Maddie said through her tears, knowing there weren’t any answers to her questions.
Erik looked at Danny and nodded, carrying Maddie to the pickup and leaning against the door as he held her.
Taking out his phone Danny called Tom and quietly filled him in. “Zeus has been here. Ethan’s dead.”
“Danny, is Maddie… how’s she taking it?”
“About as well as you’d expect. Erik’s going to try to get her to go to the house then I’ll call you back,” Danny said, shutting his phone.
Zach returned in the stacker and drove up to their end of the field. Danny met him before he could step out of the cab and told him what had happened. Zach pounded the steering wheel and sat drawing in shaking breaths before he got out and walked to where Erik held Maddie.
“Why don’t you take her back to the house, Zach, and I’ll help Danny,” Erik said, attempting to place Maddie on her feet.
“No!” Maddie screamed, clinging to Erik’s neck like he was the last thing that stood between her and the complete loss of her sanity. “No!”
Finally, she drew a deep breath and let go of Erik’s neck. He carefully set her down. Taking Zach’s hand, she squeezed it then turned to Danny. “We’ve got a crime scene to process, so let’s get to it.”
“Absolutely not, Maddie. I can’t let you do this,” Danny said, barring her from going back around the tractor to the baler. “You aren’t physically or mentally prepared to handle this so I’m telling you no. If you won’t listen to me, I’ll have Tom tell you, but you aren’t doing this.”
Just then they heard a police siren blaring in the distance. Erik jumped on the four-wheeler he rode to the field and flagged down John, who followed him back out to the baler.
Getting out of his car, Danny shook his head as John walked up to Zach and Maddie, offering them both a word of comfort before going around to see Ethan’s body.
John came back around the baler, pale and obviously disturbed. “Erik, would you mind taking Maddie and Zach back to the house?”
Erik agreed and helped Maddie climb in the pickup. Zach climbed in the passenger’s side while Erik slid behind the wheel and drove them back to the house.
Zach slowly got out and plodded inside. Maddie seemed frozen in place. Finally, Erik touched her arm and she turned to look at him, eyes filled with raw, undiluted pain.
“I’m so sorry, honey,” Erik said, pulling Maddie across the seat and into his arms. “So sorry.”
“It’s all my fault. First Mom, now Dad. It’s all my fault,” Maddie muttered against Erik’s chest.
He pushed her back and looked into her eyes. “Nothing about this is your fault, Maddie. Not a single thing. You can’t control Zeus. You can’t control the choices anyone makes but your own. What he did to your mom and your dad is unthinkable, but you weren’t the cause of it. Zeus made that choice. Your dad made the choice to stay here rather than go into protective custody. We all did. You gave us options and we made our choices. So no, Maddie, it isn’t your fault.”
Maddie stared at Erik, unable to believe his words, but wanting desperately to do so.
Erik got out of the truck and picked up Maddie, carrying her into the house and setting her down at the kitchen table.
“Lena?” Erik called, but got no answer.
“I told her to stay in the basement,” Maddie said, remembering her aunt.
“I’ll go get her,” Erik said and walked to the door. Calling down the stairs, he heard a noise then saw Lena looking up at him. “It’s okay to come out now.”
Lena climbed the stairs, knowing what she would find would break her heart.
“Is everyone okay?” she asked as she reached the top and Erik put an arm around her shoulders.
“No, Lena,” Erik said quietly. “It’s Ethan.”
Lena’s step faltered and she would have fallen to the floor if Erik hadn’t caught her in time. He helped her to the kitchen where she sank into a chair next to Maddie’s. The two of them embraced each other and cried.
Erik backed out of the room and went in search of Zach. He was sitting in the office at the desk, staring out the window.
“Can I do anything for you, Zach?” Erik asked, fighting down his own sense of loss and pain. Not only had he grown close to Ethan Weber, the experience was forcing him to relive the day Sheila died.
“No, but thanks,” Zach said, continuing to stare out the window.
“I’ll be close by if you need anything,” Erik said and went back the kitchen. He didn’t know what he could do, other than be available if any of them needed help or protection.
Despite the heat, Erik made Lena and Maddie both a cup of hot tea. They were sipping it when Maddie’s old phone rang.
Looking at the number, sheer terror blazed across her face before she sucked in a gulp of air and answered the phone.
“Maddie, dear, you really need to heed my warnings more closely. Maybe the next time you’ll listen more attentively unless you want to say goodbye to someone else you care about. Just so you don’t forget what happens when you disobey me, here’s a little reminder.”
Zeus hung up but a photo soon popped onto her phone screen. One that made all color drain from her face and a cry of pain rip from her throat. Erik grabbed the phone away from her. Zeus had taken a photo of Ethan just before he shoved him into the baler.
Turning off the phone and throwing it on the table, Erik picked up Maddie then sat down, cradling her to him until her trembling ceased.
“I’ve got to get in touch with Tom,” Maddie finally said. “But first, we need to clean house.”
Maddie pulled the bugs out of the kitchen and dining room and ground them beneath the heel of her work boot. Then she called Tom on her new phone and discussed moving Lena, Zach and Erik to Seattle where they could be kept safe.
“I’m not going, Maddie,” Erik said. “I’m not leaving you here.”
“Please go, Erik. I can’t bear the thought of him hurting you and I can’t focus if I’m worrying about you. You need to go, please. You all need to go. I’ll face him myself. Alone.”
“No, you won’t,” Zach said from the doorway. “He took our parents, Maddie. He’s terrorized this family all I’m going to stand for. I’m not leaving and I’m certainly not going to let you fight him by yourself.”
“But Zach...”
“Not up for discussion.” Zach strode out of the kitchen back toward the office. Erik heard the door click shut.
“Lena, will you please go. Please? For me?”
“I’ll go, kiddo. I won’t like it, but I’ll go. Right after we lay your father to rest.”
Maddie and Lena began crying again and Erik felt at a loss as to what he could do. He decided to cook dinner. He realized none of them would probably feel like eating, but he needed to keep busy and Lena was in no shape to think about a meal.
Finally, the two of them left the kitchen. Lena went to lie down and Maddie went to her father’s room. Erik decided to just let them be.
He was setting the table when the back door opened and Danny walked in followed by John. They both bore the look of men who had seen things no one should ever have to see.
“I’ve got dinner ready if you want to try and eat something,” Erik said, pouring tea for everyone.
“Sure, Erik,” Danny said. “Then we can discuss our next steps.”
“Maddie removed the bugs earlier, so we should be free to talk,” Erik said before turning down the hallway toward the office. Softly knocking on the door, he stuck his head inside to see Zach still sitting at the desk.
“Danny and John are back and dinner’s ready. Will you come sit with us, Zach?”
“I’ll be right there,” Zach said, although he didn’t move.
Erik left the door open then went to Lena’s room where he repeated the process of knocking gently and inviting her to join them for dinner.
Finally he went upstairs to Ethan’s room, where Maddie was curled on the bed, a photo of her parents clutched in her hand. He thought she was asleep, but when he turned to leave the room, she called out to him.
“Don’t go,” she whispered, holding out her hand.
“I’m right here,” Erik said, sitting down beside her.
Maddie sat up and wiped her cheeks with her palms. “Thank you for being here, Erik. For caring. It means so much.”
“I know, Maddie.” Erik gently rubbed her back then put a protective arm around her. “Danny and John are back. Do you want to come down and discuss plans?”
“Yes. Just let me wash up first. Then I’ll be right there.”
Erik went back to the kitchen and stood by his chair, waiting for Maddie. She soon came in with red, swollen eyes, and took her seat. Erik sat down beside her and squeezed her hand in his, hoping to share some of his strength with her.
“We went over the area with a fine-tooth comb, but didn’t find anything that will be exceptionally helpful in tracking down Zeus,” Danny said as he filled his plate and took a bite of the meal. He wasn’t hungry, just eating out of habit and something to do with his hands. He had come to respect Maddie’s father in the weeks he’d been out here on the farm. It was devastating to think of him being gone, especially so cruelly, so unnecessarily. His resolve to bring Zeus to justice multiplied. How much suffering would the Weber family have to endure before they caught the madman?
“We found some footprints in the dirt at the edge of the field,” John said. “You should be able to process the tread. Maybe it will turn up something.”
“How long will… when will…” Zach tried to speak, but kept clearing his throat. “When will the body be released so we can plan funeral services?”
“We will work on getting clearance as quickly as possible. We should be able to release it soon,” Danny said.
Maddie had to draw on every ounce of training she’d ever had to be able to sit at the table and endure the conversation taking place. She wanted to scream and rant, cry and plead. She wanted her mom and dad back. She wanted Zeus dead. She wanted to stop living in constant fear of who would die next.
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