by Shelly Knox
“Sure. Where?”
“See the cloth sticking out of that fallen tree base?”
“Right. Let me check it out.”
Crew headed closer to the base and then quickly covered his nose with his hand. He slipped medical-grade gloves onto his hands and carefully fingered the cloth until a foot protruded from the death shroud. He cautiously retreated in the footprints he had already made and then pushed the button on his mike.
Chapter 24
Thirty-eight minutes later, the woods were filled with the Texas Rangers and crime scene investigators collecting evidence. They were discussing how to remove the body so they would lose as little evidence as possible, and not collect new evidence by the shroud being dragged over the floor of the forest.
It took two hours, but finally the body was removed, and on a stretcher, so she could be carried out. The CSI team collected evidence as she was removed from the fallen tree, which was why it took so long. Every piece of evidence collected had to be photographed as well. It was a tedious process.
Tazzie and Piper exited the edge of the forest. Before they had completely cleared the trees, Luke ran to her.
“Is it Angela?” He repeated the three simple words over and over: “Is it Angela?”
His eyes were extremely red and swollen, more so than she would have imagined from crying. “Oh, Luke, I don’t know. No one does yet. They won’t know until the medical examiner gets a chance to look at the body.” She tapped his forearm for comfort and he pulled away sharply.
“How could you have found her and not know? You bitch! You think I did this!”
Taken aback, Piper stood silent for a moment. She’d never dreamed he did it, but to call her such a derisive term? When she finally did answer him, her voice was tight. “Luke, no. We think there’s a serial killer involved—which I shouldn’t have just told you—but no one thinks it’s you and I don’t want you to think they do.”
He scrubbed his face with his hands. “Right. Sorry.”
Mortified she let slip the information Jaxson had made her promise not to divulge, she pleaded with Luke. “Please, please don’t repeat what I told you. I know it may be tempting, but the longer the Rangers can hide their theory, the easier it will be to catch this person, man or woman.”
“No, I understand. I appreciate you thought enough to share. I won’t break your confidence.” He gave her an awkward hug and then added, “I’m going to go back to the house to wait for word. I pick Natalie up at the hospital in a couple of hours.”
“Yes, perfect. But don’t tell Natalie about the serial killer angle.”
“I promise. No one hears this from me.”
She watched him walk away until someone called after her.
“Piper!”
She turned toward the direction of the voice as she wiped the perspiration from her forehead. As she suspected, it was Jaxson.
“The whole task force is impressed. It was as if Tazzie walked straight to the body.”
Piper chuckled under her breath. She imagined wet circles under her arms and breasts, as well as down the center of her back; at least the damp stickiness had her guessing they were wet. She feared Jaxson would smell her body odor and wished she had a perfume to spray.
“Tazz and I kept up a fast pace. I don’t think she headed straight for our find, but I’m nevertheless proud of her. And for all we know, the killer didn’t take the body straight away to the makeshift grave. Tazzie could have followed the trail they took, rather than picking up her scent and taking the fastest path.”
“That could be a vital analogy you just made. Too bad we didn’t mark that path.”
Piper couldn’t help but grin, almost to the point she had to chuckle.
“What? Why are you laughing?”
“Crew was afraid we wouldn’t find our way out, so he did mark the path. I don’t know if his marks are still there—you might want to find him.”
“Thanks! Give me a few and I’ll be back.” Jaxson sprinted away with his finger on his mike. “Crew Evenson. Meet Ranger Wyatt at the HQ tent.”
He disappeared into the crowd and his voice disintegrated onto the light breeze and was carried off beyond Piper’s hearing.
Mumbling aloud, Piper said, “What am I doing? I’m setting myself up for heartache again.”
Chapter 25
Once Jaxson had the team following Tazzie’s trail to the body and collecting any possible evidence along the path marked by Crew, he scanned the area for Piper. He couldn’t seem to get enough of her. He knew he shouldn’t let his heart get involved, especially after his attempt to make love to her, but how could he not? He had believed from almost their first meeting that he would spend the rest of his life with her. Her mettle back then enamored him. His movements slowed as his mind took him back to that day when they first met.
A younger Piper stood before him with her arms crossed over her chest and a stern look on her face. “Look, Detective, have you ever heard of the First Amendment?”
“Really?” A smile tugged at the corner of his mouth and he fought hard not to let it win. He didn’t want to show her this early how she quite nearly had him wrapped around her little finger. Her blonde hair and turquoise eyes mesmerized him in a way no woman ever had. “You are not seriously asking me that question?”
She burst out laughing. “I thought I’d give it a try.” She shrugged and tilted her head to the side.
Jaxson couldn’t hold back the tug any longer and it worked itself into a full-blown smile. “Well, it didn’t work.”
“Are you sure? You’re giving me a pretty flirty smile.”
He shook his head and did everything he could to wipe the smile off his face, but there was no way it was coming off. “I can’t help it. You’ve been arguing with me for,” he glanced at his watch, “fifteen minutes for a blip of a quote.”
“That just means next time you’ll remember it’s quicker to give me the quote than to argue with me.”
Against his better judgment, he gave in. “Okay, okay. You win. I’ll give you a quote and then an exclusive interview later. But you can’t print anything until I tell you it’s okay. You also can’t list me as your source. The press is supposed to go through Public Affairs for information and quotes.”
“Promise. I wouldn’t do anything to get you in trouble, Detective Wyatt.”
Her head tilted to the side, and she absently began to twirl her long blonde hair around her index finger. Her blue-green eyes sucked him in and all he wanted to do was to kiss her, big time. Not a little peck on the cheek—no, he wanted to take her lips into his mouth and learn every groove and curve, run his tongue into every crevice and outline it until he had every twist and turn memorized and her mesmerized.
“Are you okay? You’re a million miles away.”
He heard Piper’s voice, but the words didn’t seem to fit with their setting.
“Jaxson?” Piper touched his cheek with the backs of her fingers and caressed his rough stubble.
The closeness brought him back to the present. He wrapped the palm of his hand and fingers around her small wrist. “Hi, sunshine.”
“Are you okay?”
“Absolutely. Just lost in the past for a minute.”
“If you’re sure.” She tugged on her hand and he released it. She tucked a flyaway strand of hair behind her ear. “I have a huge favor to ask you. I don’t have any clean clothes. Can you drive me to Austin? I need to get my suitcase from Keri and she took Tazzie’s dog food. I know I can always buy new dog food, and of course I did buy a small bag, but I don’t want to go and buy new clothes.”
“Actually, I have the afternoon off. The drive with you will be nice.”
Nearly four hours later, he pulled onto Keri’s street. He loved being with Piper under any circumstance, but he had to admit he would have preferred her to be awake during the drive. After parking in front of the Keri’s house, he took the tips of his fingers and pulled the hair from her face, tickling her cheek w
ith the tips of his fingers to wake her.
Piper stretched and yawned. “What happened?”
“You and Tazzie slept the whole way to Austin.”
Piper’s cheeks grew red. “I’m sorry. I ask for a favor and then can’t even keep you company. I think Tazz and I were just wiped from the hike.”
“I have no doubt. You three covered a great deal of land in that forest. I would have loved the company, but I’m glad you got some sleep. The last couple of days, neither of us have slept much.”
As Jaxson talked, Piper tried to make herself a little more presentable. When he finished speaking, Piper opened the door and said, “Okay, into enemy territory.”
Chapter 26
Piper rolled her eyes as the doorbell played “Deep in the Heart of Texas.” Metal clanked as someone on the other side of the door began to open the heavy oak piece. It amazed Piper that Keri and her husband Jack Allen could afford a home like this, but then, the housing market in Texas wasn’t as expensive as it was in other states. Even Georgia, a state that had reasonable home prices right now, was more expensive than Texas homes.
But the beautiful Austin Stone, in which the house was covered in from head to toe, just made this two-story home seem more elegant than it really was. Inside, the construction was mid-range, with no moldings around the ceiling or floors, no fancy lighting fixtures, and average plumbing fixtures.
Finally, the door swung open and Keri stood in the light-oak doorframe, looking very surprised. “What are you doing here, Piper?”
“Nice to see you, too, Keri. I’m here to pick up the luggage you absconded with the other day.”
“How did you get here?”
Piper followed Keri into the family room. Her suitcase sat off to one side of the room. “I’m sorry, sis, I don’t have time for a long conversation. I really only have time to pick up the luggage. I need Tazzie’s dog food, too. If you’ll tell me where it is, I’ll get it.”
“It’s in the garage. I’ll be right back.”
While Keri stepped away to get Tazzie’s dog food, Piper crossed the middle of the family room to retrieve her purple and lilac backpack. It held a lot of clothes and was easier for her to carry. Turning to move back to the spot she had been waiting in, she slowed as her gaze caught a familiar item on Keri’s couch. It was identical to her journal. But how could Keri have her journal? She wouldn’t invade her privacy like that, not now that she was an adult, would she? Piper set the backpack down and headed to the sofa. It was as if she were stalking a prey that she didn’t want to catch. Her trembling fingers picked up the open journal, saved to a specific page near the back of the bound book.
She read a line. “Jaxson pulled into the roundabout just as the nurse pushed me outside. The timing couldn’t have been better.”
Piper slammed the book closed. She couldn’t focus. “Damn her!”
“Did you say something to me?”
Piper swirled around, holding the journal toward Keri. “How could you? How could you invade my privacy like this? I did not give you permission to read my journal! This book contains my memories and beliefs of the worst part of my life!”
“Don’t overreact, Piper. I had to read your journal so I could understand how vulnerable you are—and know when to press situations like we had in Plano, and when to let them go.”
Keri’s sense of entitlement incensed Piper. “It’s not your concern!”
Keri moved toward her sister, but Piper held her hand up to stop her. She frowned and said, “How can you say that! I’m the one who has taken care of you since the incident.”
“Took care of me? I lived with you and Jack! I didn’t know I was such a burden that you considered it taking care of me. Exactly how did you take care of me? Let’s see, you didn’t give me medication; I could handle that on my own. I paid rent for my one room from my settlement—which helped you and Jack buy a new car, if I remember correctly. I bathed myself, put myself to bed, played maid for you and Jack, and even made at least half the meals, if not more. And, I might add, the ones you made were because you wanted to try a new recipe, not because you had to cook for me.”
“I was an emotional support for you.”
“News flash, Keri, that’s called being a sister. I’m your emotional support right now because you’re having a baby. Does that give me the right to read any of your diaries?”
“That’s not the same and you know it!”
Piper’s anger hadn’t been this intense in so long. She couldn’t remember the last time…
“Come on, Piper, let’s not fight. Reading the journal helped me know what you went through.”
“If I wanted you or anyone to know what that animal did to me, I would have told you. I didn’t want you to know. That was my private information. Very private parts of my life. How dare you!!”
“Uh, knock-knock. It’s just me. I heard a lot of screaming. Is everything okay in here?”
Keri started, “Yes—”
“No. Can you grab Tazzie’s dog food from Keri? I’m ready to get out of here.” Piper headed for the front door, grabbing her backpack.
Keri called after her. “Don’t leave like this, Piper. Please. I honestly don’t think I did anything that wrong, but if you want an apology, I’m sorry.”
Piper slammed the backpack on the ground. “You bitch! That’s the problem right there. You think you’re entitled to do anything you want to do. Guess what? You’re not! And you want to toss me an apology you don’t even think you should have to give, so how sincere is that?” Piper grabbed the strap of the backpack, squeezing so tight the edges dug into her palms. She stormed toward the front door, slowing only a second. She turned and noticed Jaxson getting the dog food, his face a neutral slate.
She turned back toward the door and then yelled, “And don’t ever call me again.” Piper picked up her pace again and fumed as she moved toward the SUV.
Keri called out, “Piper, don’t do this.”
She ignored her sister, got into the car, and slammed the passenger door. She slipped the backpack behind the driver’s seat on the floor. Tazzie whined and pawed at Piper’s arm, and then the back of her seat after Piper turned to face forward without even acknowledging her. She breathed and counted to ten. Tazzie’s whines broke through her anger. When she reached twenty-five, Jaxson had opened the back of the SUV and put Tazzie’s food in the very back. Before he made it inside the vehicle, Piper turned around and petted Tazz’s soft fur. “I’m sorry, Tazzie. Mom’s sorry. I wasn’t mad at you.”
He opened the driver’s door and slid inside. “You want to tell me what the hell that was about? The whole neighborhood could hear you putting down your sister. Of course, I hate to admit it but I loved it a little bit. She always does just what she wants without thinking about who it will hurt.”
“And that’s exactly what she was doing this time. She stole my journal out of my backpack and read it.”
“Your daily journal?”
She could see he didn’t know why she made such a big deal over that.
In a quiet voice, she answered, “The journal I kept during my recuperation.”
Piper knew she didn’t need to tell him what recuperation she was talking about; he knew she meant after the attack by Samuel.
“You’ve never even let me read that journal. Why would Keri think she had permission?”
“Keri didn’t think she needed permission.” Piper made her voice appear entitled. “Keri believed it was her right to read it since she took care of me since the kidnapping. She took care of me? Right! She was working then. She was a substitute teacher and wasn’t positive if she would work until 7:00 a.m. every morning. So, I took care of the house, the dishes for all of the meals, made both Jack and Keri a lunch every morning, and cooked about half the dinners. It would have been more, but Keri liked cooking on the weekends. She enjoyed trying new recipes.” Piper noticed that Keri rushed from the front of her house, following the walkway down to the edge of the road wher
e they were parked.
“Get out of here. Let’s go, now.”
“Yes, ma’am. You got it.” He pulled away from the curb and had turned onto the main drag and into thick traffic before Keri made it to the end of the driveway. Once he settled into the flow, he glanced at Piper. “I’m really sorry she did this to you. Are you okay?”
“Actually, I am. It was nice to have someone else almost witness what Keri was really like.”
“Oh, I witnessed a lot more than I let on. I heard her admit she considered it her right to read the journal. I almost stepped into the house then, but I also knew you needed to go through this on your own to mount the pain and climb down the other side.”
Piper smiled at him. She couldn’t help it. She marveled at how smart he was. “For your reward, maybe I will let you read parts of my journal.” As soon as she said the words, she wanted to reel them right back inside her mouth.
He could never read her journal.
Chapter 27
By the time Jaxson, Piper, and Tazzie returned to the Plano area, it was late. They entered the hotel room they shared, due to Keri’s rude release of Piper’s reserved room. The cool air washed over them as the three made it inside the room.
“Finally, we’ll cool down.” Piper tossed her bag on the floor near the credenza.
“Do you want to shower first?”
Piper needed to think. “You can shower first. I need to feed and walk Tazzie. You’ll probably be done once I finish taking care of all of her needs. Then I’ll shower.”
She tried not to watch as he grabbed clean clothes out of his suitcase, but she couldn’t help it. As soon as he entered the bathroom and closed the door, Piper collapsed onto the bed in a seated position. She repeatedly rubbed her hand through her hair as she contemplated the case. She turned over the two bodies found and what it meant. She couldn’t let her mind go where it was headed. She couldn’t think about it being a serial killer. No.
