BLOODY BELL

by Jeremy Waldron

  King answered after the second ring. I told him I had been thinking about him and after we exchanged pleasantries, I asked, “Did you hear about Cameron Dee?”

  “I’m at the scene now.”

  King shared the location and I knew immediately it was Tyler’s place. “Does Tyler have anything to do with this?”

  “Why would you ask that?”

  “Because Erin and I were there yesterday speaking to Tyler’s roommate about Cameron.”

  “Jesus.” King’s gravel voice was the rockiest I’d ever heard. “Where are you?”

  I told him I was with Ms. Dee at the hospital, waiting for the doctors to give us an update.

  “She’s alive?”

  I glanced over my shoulder to Ms. Dee’s ghostly figure.

  “For now.”

  King filled me in on what happened as much as he was allowed, pausing between words as if needing to gather his emotions about to crack through the surface. “It was horrific; her baby was ripped from her womb, Sam.”

  I couldn’t believe Tyler did this. What else did we have wrong? It now felt like Tracey’s disappearance had nothing to do with Cameron or Kate.

  “There’s a press conference scheduled one hour from now,” King said. “I suggest you attend.”

  Chapter Forty-Seven

  By the time I arrived, everyone was there. Word spread like a brush fire and anticipation was high. News vans from all the local stations were set up and waiting to hear what had happened. I didn’t waste any time in pushing my way to the front.

  Erin elected to stay with Ms. Dee so that I could fulfill my assigned duties to the Times. I relayed what I knew before I left, and Erin promised to find a way to watch the press conference so we stayed on the same page.

  Colleagues greeted me as I passed, but even I was feeling a little caught off guard with this one.

  Tyler’s black Range Rover was still parked like he had been driving while a sleep at the wheel. The house, now cordoned off, was marked by several evidence tags dotting the lawn—the same yard I had walked only yesterday. What did that scumbag do? And where had Cameron been hiding all this time?

  There was movement in the corner of my eye and I spotted Chief Gordon Watts of DPD and his team of PR personnel moving toward the podium like a flock of geese with Mayor Noah Goldberg leading the way.

  Every single one of us was dancing on our toes, unable to keep our minds from guessing what, and how much, they were going to make public. Even though I assumed I knew more than most other reporters, the suspense was buzzing in my ears.

  My cell phone rang. I answered. “Dawson, I’m at the press conference.”

  “Good. That’s what I was hoping you’d say.”

  “Any idea what they are going to reveal?”

  “I have my guesses, but honestly, this seems to be much bigger than anything I could have imagined.”

  Dawson had heard about Cameron and I summed up my day—making sure he knew I’d been at the hospital with Ms. Dee. “I want this to be tomorrow’s headline, understand?”

  A flash of heat rushed through my body. “These aren’t sex workers, Dawson. They’re young women who found themselves in impossible situations with tough decisions to make.” I knew at least that much to be true.

  “All the same, Sam.”

  It wasn’t. I was willing to cover what was about to be said, but I wasn’t about to fall into the trap of glorifying what had happened to Kate or Cameron until I knew I had their story honest and true.

  Chief Watts stepped up to the podium. The tentacles of microphones raised and lowered in front of his face. Cameras raised and everyone held their breath to listen.

  “I gotta go. I’ll call you later,” I said to Dawson.

  As soon as I was off the phone with my editor, I set up my voice recorder app and pointed it toward the chief of police just as he began speaking.

  “What happened here today is not an isolated case.” The air went still and, when the chief recognized his opportunity, he shared Cameron’s name and that she was currently in critical condition. Everyone gasped with disbelief when Watts mentioned what happened to her baby. “We believe that our suspect, Tyler Lopez, may also be responsible for the death of Kate Wilson,” he paused and turned to look at a tall slender man I assumed was Kate’s father, “as well as the disappearance of Tracey Brown.”

  I bit the edge of my lips and shuffled my feet, feeling the crease between my brows deepen.

  “Tracey Brown is still missing and she is our top priority. We don’t know if our suspect is with Tracey now, but we’re treating it as if he is.” Chief raised his gaze and looked out into the sea of reporters. “Again, just to reiterate, Tyler Lopez is considered armed and dangerous.”

  This wasn’t right. I shook my head. Kate’s and Cameron’s crime scenes were too different. Tyler wasn’t responsible for both women. As far as I could tell, he had nothing to do with Kate. Why were the police doing this? What was their end goal? I needed to talk with King.

  As I stood there feeling the blood leave my face, I felt a pair of eyes boring a hole into the side of my head. When I turned to look, my breath hitched.

  Detective Campbell had an evil smirk stamped on his ugly mug as his beady little eyes stared me down.

  I stared back, refusing to be intimidated by him.

  Campbell brushed shoulders with Mayor Goldberg and now my head was really spinning. Why did it seem like they were trying to make this case far simpler than it actually was? Tyler may have been a piece to the puzzle, but he certainly wasn’t the complete board.

  Suddenly, a roar of questions exploded around me.

  Early reports said Cameron was pregnant. Can you confirm? And, if so, is Tyler the father?

  What are the police doing to find Tracey?

  Is Tyler also responsible for Tracey’s parents’ deaths?

  Does Tyler have a list of priors?

  Was a ransom ever demanded for any of these women?

  I thought about my meeting with Tyler and his arrogance, but as I retreated into the open fields behind me, all I could think about was Ms. Dee and how it wouldn’t be long before the media found that video of her and Tyler.

  A hand clamped around my arm and dragged me behind a large police van. King.

  I wanted to kiss him, have him hold me and tell me that they had it all wrong. Instead, all I could say was, “This isn’t right.”

  A knowing glimmer caught his eye.

  “I was just with Ms. Dee,” I pleaded. “She’s at the hospital waiting for Cameron to come out of surgery. Tyler can’t be connected to all the crimes they’re claiming he committed.”

  “You’re right.”

  “I’m right?”

  “It wasn’t my call.”

  “Then who’s was it?”

  “Goldberg’s.” King anticipated my next question and answered it before I even asked. “He’s trying to close this case ASAP before it takes on a life of its own.”

  I pressed my fist to my mouth and felt my head pound harder as King briefed me on the meeting Chief Watts had with the teams working the case.

  “The mayor is afraid of what the public thinks is happening with these women and he’s applying pressure for Chief Watts to solve this thing,” King went on.

  “You mean he’s afraid of bad publicity.”

  King nodded.

  I shook my head and cursed the newly elected mayor for his cowardly decision. “And what does he think will happen when this backfires?”

  King shrugged. “Tyler presented Campbell with an easy opportunity when he decided to flee the scene. If Campbell can pull this off, he’ll be a hero in the eyes of the chief and mayor.”

  “A hero?”

  “It’s all perception sometimes, Sam.” King set his hands on his hips and sighed. “But Tyler also gave the public a face, which is far better than the alternative.”

  “You mean, having the police look incompetent?”

  King’s expression pinched. />
  I kept shaking my head. My arms were crossed, my muscles stiff. I knew we didn’t have much time before we risked being seen, but Mayor Goldberg’s decision was just plain wrong.

  “Ms. Dee said Cameron responded to an online ad like you said Tracey did.” King’s mouth snapped shut. “It’s a doctor doing this; I’m sure of it.”

  “Did you get a name of who was behind the advertisement?”

  I shook my head. “But I have my eye on North Denver Reproductive Medicine.”

  King tilted his head and gave me a funny look. “Why that clinic?”

  “You have a different health center in mind?”

  King’s head bobbed up and down. “I spoke with Kate’s father over the phone and he believed it was Mile High Health Clinic who Kate went to for her prenatal care.”

  “Then we check both clinics out and keep looking for the ad we believe lured the women in. We’re only one step away from discovering what is happening here, and Tyler isn’t it.”

  Suddenly my phone rang. I took Erin’s call. “Cameron just came out of surgery,” she said.

  “How is she?” I looked directly into King’s eyes.

  “Lucky to be alive. The doctor is speaking with Ms. Dee now but, Sam, there is something you need to hear.”

  “What is it?” I plugged my opposite ear with my finger to drown out the noise.

  “Cameron’s wounds indicate a C-section.” Erin paused. “And the doctor is certain that a kitchen knife couldn’t have made the cut they sewed up. Whoever did this to her was a professional and knew what they were doing.”

  Chapter Forty-Eight

  Baby Miracle fussed beneath the incubator lights. Her face stretched with her little cries and the Guardian Angel thought it was the most adorable thing in the world. She was hungry. It was feeding time for the little girl.

  The Guardian Angel approached with a proud father’s smile reaching up to his eyes. He delved his hands into the clear plastic tub and opened Miracle’s swaddle. She needed a diaper change.

  After a quick change, the Guardian Angel picked his beautiful creation up and examined her growing strength. Supporting her weak neck, he ironed his hand down her back, measured her length, and recorded her weight. She was perfect, just as he had known she would be.

  “See, there is nothing to fear.” The Guardian Angel peered into the baby face that resembled a little of his own. “Look at you. You are beautiful. Healthy. Everything just as it should have been if you were conceived naturally—only better.”

  He swaddled the baby once again and moved to the rocking chair near the window. The curtains were drawn as he sat, giving her a bottle. The baby latched on to the nipple and settled into his arms.

  Rocking back and forth, he reflected on how far his technology had come and said a quick prayer for Mystery. The two girls were his—from the moment he’d created them—and he would do anything to ensure their future was bright and full of opportunity as any father would.

  With the bottle empty, he put baby Miracle back to bed, telling the little girl, “Now let’s go see about your brother.”

  Knowing the girl was warm and on her way back to sleep, he exited her room and moved down the empty hall. The clinic was noticeably silent—a stillness in the air that relaxed the doctor. It felt more like a nursery in his home than his place of work. He liked that and could see himself sleeping here.

  Once at the patient’s room, he stopped just shy of the door, held his ear close and listened. A fan hummed as it swirled the stale air around the room. All was quiet minus the light drumming of his heart.

  Opening the room, he flicked on the light.

  The young woman lifted her head and blinked the sleep out of her eyes. He moved closer, feeling the heat of arousal spin in his lower spine. She was gorgeous, alone, vulnerable, and scared. All the ingredients needed to take advantage and manipulate her into feeling like he was the only one who could save her.

  He lowered himself down on the edge of her bed, the mattress sinking beneath his weight. Her brown doe eyes glistened beneath the bright lights as she stared and waited for him to speak.

  The Guardian Angel glanced to the plate of food on the table next to her. It had barely been touched. The vitamins he had given her were still lying next to the juice box.

  He frowned with disappointment and audibly sighed.

  With a furrowed brow, he worried that his last remaining patient might have heard too much of what happened in the room next door.

  “Is everything all right?” she asked him.

  He chuckled and rolled his neck to face her. “Funny, I was going to ask you the same.”

  His gaze softened, along with his voice. He watched her respond with an empathetic grin before casting her gaze to her hands. “I was just…” Her words trailed off and tumbled over the edge into oblivion.

  He knew she was going to say scared. What she heard earlier couldn’t be suppressed. He did what he could to manage the situation but there was only so much he could do before the loud wails seeped through the thick walls. Lucky for him, there was only one patient left—her—and now she would receive his complete, undivided attention to ensure his baby boy was born healthy and strong.

  “Scared?” he asked.

  The woman raised her eyes and nodded once.

  “I apologize for not coming to check on you sooner, but there was an issue with the breaker box that needed my immediate attention,” he lied.

  After a moment of silence, she lifted her head and asked, “Have you heard from my parents? It isn’t like them to not respond to my calls.”

  “I’m sorry, but I haven’t.”

  She tucked her hair behind her ear, turned her head, and visibly tensed as she stared across the room with a wrinkled brow.

  “I’ll keep trying,” the Guardian Angel said.

  “I tried watching the news but there were only movie channels available.”

  He stared into her beautiful eyes, getting lost in the sparkle of fear exploding with each new admission to her feelings of terror. “It’s the package the clinic purchased.”

  “And where is my phone? Do you really expect me to stay cooped up here inside this small room for the next two months without it?”

  The Guardian Angel slid his hand beneath her gown and reached for her bare thigh. She shivered against his invasive touch. Gripping her leg tightly between his fingertips, a radiant heat zipped up his arm and hitched his breath. He stroked her soft tissue with his thumb, feeling his swelling arousal grow. “Don’t worry, sweetheart, as long as you’re with me, you’re in good hands.”

  Chapter Forty-Nine

  Allison was bored out of her mind. Patty was doing a perfect job keeping the business going while Allison was cooped up, but she was ready to take the helm and get back to doing what she loved.

  Allison ate what she was given, if only to pass the time. The food tasted like cardboard and she was tired of walking the halls that didn’t sleep, traveling in an endless circle until her ankles swelled. She was more than ready to pack up her bags and hitch a ride home when she suddenly stopped surfing the channels.

  Her lips parted as she turned up the volume.

  She listened to Chief Watts’s speech, taking note of the names and the incident he described. It was the same man Allison knew Samantha had on her list of suspects when going after the missing women, but she felt her heart stall in her chest when she heard the name Cameron Dee and what the police were accusing her boyfriend, Tyler Lopez, of doing to her baby.

  Allison covered her mouth to stifle her gasp when learning what happened to Cameron.

  Was Samantha right about Cameron’s mother having an affair with Tyler Lopez? Could it be this simple? What about the other women and their babies?

  A shiver worked its way out from her core. Allison was sickened by the thought of a baby being cut from a mother’s womb. She closed her eyes and shook the image out of her head.

  Feeling completely helpless, Allison was antsier t
han ever. She wanted to do something—wanted to help Samantha with her investigation—when suddenly she received a call from her friend.

  “I was just thinking about you,” Allison answered.

  “Ali, I need your help,” Samantha said.

  “Anything. But please tell me you’re going to bring me dinner now that the police have labeled a suspect in your case?”

  “Don’t believe what Chief Watts said,” Sam shot back. Allison’s eyes widened. “It’s all for show, Ali, and I’m certain the police have this investigation all wrong.”

  Allison’s mind raced to keep up with Samantha’s fast talk. “You mean Tyler Lopez didn’t do it?”

  “Exactly. Look, I don’t have time to explain. I’m here outside the press conference and reporters are chomping at the bit to be the first to break something big.”

  “Whatever you need, I’m ready.”

  “I was hoping you would say that.” Samantha’s tone lightened.

  Allison felt her closed lips tug to her ears, happy to accept a new project to take her mind off of being cooped up like a chicken inside a cage she couldn’t get out of.

  “I need to know how to erase a video from an Instagram account, and fast.” Samantha told her whose account it was and the importance of getting rid of the video on Tyler’s account. “You can hack it, right?”

  “Sam, everyone in the state of Colorado is looking for Tyler.” Allison glanced to the closed door and dropped her voice down to a whisper. “I’m not about to hack into an account everyone is already searching.”

  “Ali, I need this.”

  Allison sucked back a deep breath of air. “Tell me about the video.”

  Allison already knew about the alleged affair between Ms. Dee and Tyler, but she didn’t know about the video confirming it. Samantha described it with enough detail for Allison to be sure Ms. Dee would suffer immense public shame if it got out. “I don’t care about Tyler. But if the media learns that Ms. Dee is on that video with him, they’ll slaughter her before the world has a chance to learn about Cameron and her missing baby.”