CHAPTER 30
Reaching the main level of the station, I strode quickly past Turk, who raised a bushy eyebrow at me questioningly.
“If Barnes is looking for me, tell him I went to lunch!” I spat, reaching for the handle of glass front door.
“Harper, it’s five-thirty…” Turk replied hesitantly.
“Then tell him I’m going to an early dinner! Or happy hour! I don’t care, make something up!” I shouted, yanking the door open and charging out.
My phone started buzzing as I strode towards my car. Looking down, I saw it was Barnes. He and the feds can pound sand while I need to think, I thought to myself angrily, jamming my phone into my back pocket.
I reached my car, got in, threw the files onto the seat next to me, and reached to turn on the car. Stopping, I cursed furiously, and threw the keys on the floor. I can’t afford to throw a tantrum, I realized angrily, there’s probably a serial killer somewhere in Wolf Hollow, possibly hunting for another victim right now.
Digging my phone out of my pocket, I thumbed it on and called Barnes.
“Detective!” Barnes yelled through the phone, “where the hell are you!”
Taking a deep breath to steady myself, I replied “In my car, in the lot. And I’m not going anywhere dammit!” I said, as I could sense an explosion from Barnes coming.
Barnes responded by lowering his voice an octave “Good, because we may have a serial killer here, and I need you to play nice with these agents!”
“Trust me Barnes,” I replied, “the only reason I’m still in the parking lot is because this Jericho is on the loose.”
“Good. Now get back up here so these guys can finish briefing you.” Barnes said.
I sighed. “I will. Give me fifteen minutes to clear my head, and I’ll be up.”
“It’s ‘Chief Barnes’ by the way, and you’ve got five.” Barnes snapped and hung up.
Clicking my phone off, I tossed it on the seat next to the FBI files, and closed my eyes. After a minute, I opened them back up and looked down. I picked up the file labeled Sabrina Velotti and glanced at my watch. Twelve minutes, I muttered to myself, and opened the file.
Sabrina Velotti was twenty-eight years old when she died. Born and raised in Colorado Springs, she went to Cheyenne Mountain High School. Graduating with honors, she was all set to go to University of Colorado when her parents were tragically killed. Her father, who was an amateur pilot, had tragically crashed his single engine airplane into a wooded mountainside with his wife aboard. That part of the cover story didn’t stray far from the truth, I thought grimly. The Velottis also had a younger daughter, Amber, who was nine at the time of the accident. With no other living relatives, Sabrina, distraught by her parents’ deaths, changed her plans, and opted instead of going to college, to stay home and care for her younger sister. For seven years, she worked as a waitress, and raised her younger sister as her parents would have. Then suddenly out of nowhere, Jericho kidnapped Sabrina after her shift at Barnaby’s, the restaurant where she worked. Then, after Sabrina worked herself free from Jericho’s sadistic clutches, it was decided that Sabrina and her sister would come under the care of the U.S. Marshals, at least until Colton Jericho was caught. Alison had a sister?! I thought wildly. And she was here? In Wolf Hollow? Then where the hell was she?
Thinking feverishly, I returned to the file. The U.S. Marshals moved Sabrina and Amber to Wolf Hollow and gave them the new identities of Alison and Serena Newton. Serena, sixteen at this point, entered Wolf Hollow High School, and Alison, twenty-five began working for Dugan’s Storage.
The next notation was three months later, where Lin Chu, Alison’s protector of the Marshals, was called suddenly to Alison’s home. The night prior, Alison had had come home from work to find Serena suddenly gone. She had left a note for her sister, saying that she couldn’t stand being in the program anymore, and was leaving to “be herself”, and would contact Alison once she was settled. A search for Serena was immediately conducted, but despite the authorities’ best efforts, she couldn’t be found. As a result, Alison became extremely upset and withdrew even more into herself, eschewing any friendly human contact. Agent Chu had then arranged for a therapist for Sabrina, but that didn’t seem to help. Alison remained quiet and a loner, as Jericho continued to terrorize the northwest, preventing Alison from returning to being Sabrina, and possibly finding her sister. And then, almost three years later, Alison was stabbed in the alley behind the Wolf’s Den, precipitating the events that led me to today.
I closed the file and leaned back. The poor kid. I thought. She thought she had everything going for her. Good upbringing, high school graduate, going to college. Suddenly, her parents die tragically. She then has to cancel college and go to work to raise her younger sister. By pure chance she’s then kidnapped, then escapes, and has to go into Witness Protection with her sister for their safety. Her sister, sixteen by this point and probably frustrated and angry, decides to leave Alison and go out on her own. Alison, who now has nobody, becomes reclusive and undoubtedly depressed. And then, apparently by pure chance, Alison is the victim of a murderous stabbing. And to add insult, six months later, her still-fresh corpse is dug up and violated by the same man who had kidnapped her three and a half years ago.
I shook my head and thought what a shit sandwich, as I closed her file. She didn’t deserve any of that. And what happened to her sister? Did she ever contact Alison?
Abruptly, my phone started buzzing. Thinking it might be Medora, I grabbed it out of my pocket and looked at it. Barnes, I thought with exasperation, thumbing my phone.
“On my way Chief.” I said without preamble.
“Good.” Barnes grumbled loudly. “I was starting to think my watch stopped working.”
I pressed “end” and dialed Medora again. After hearing it go to voicemail again, I clicked my phone off with a grunt of annoyance, and opened my car door. I didn’t know if I could play nice with the feds, I thought, but for Alison’s sake, I had to try.
A few minutes later, I pushed open the door to the conference room with one hand, my other hand holding the two files.
Agents Walsh and Cabot were talking with Barnes, Marshal Chu was on her phone, and Marshal Devlin was reading through a file. They all stopped what they were doing when I entered, with Chief Barnes giving me a hard glare of welcome.
“Chief, agents,” I began, “I’m sorry for my outburst. This case has always been a little personal for me, especially with my partner, Detective Kaplan, also being killed at Alison’s crime scene. And with all of the lack of closure surrounding these acts, it’s been…frustrating.” I said, finishing my mea culpa and taking my seat.
Agent Cabot smiled and nodded at me. “Of course, Detective. We understand, particularly with the murder of your partner. It must have been very difficult for you.”
Chief Barnes didn’t appear to share Agent Cabot’s forgiveness, but he bit his tongue as Marshal Chu finished her phone call and Agent Walsh began anew. “So going back to where we were before your…departure. Chief Barnes filled us in on the murder of Kenny Brainwell while you were gone, and based on the almost certainty that Jericho is here in Wolf Hollow, I’d say that he was also involved in Kenny’s murder.”
I looked at Barnes, then realized that I hadn’t had the opportunity to fill him in on what Medora and I had found out about Kenny’s murder this morning.
“Kenny was killed by Jericho.” I confirmed. “Based on this photo,” I opened Colton Jericho’s file, “and the description of a man who interacted with Kenny Brainwell last night, I think it’s safe to say that we can confirm who killed Kenny.” I then briefly filled everyone in on what we found out this morning from Karla.
The agents processed this, then Cabot said “so clearly it seems like Jericho is here, and he is active, though he hasn’t kidnapped anyone yet, that we know of. Right now, preventing that should be our number one priority. To that end, I think we should make some sort of media announcement that Wolf Hollow has a potentially dangerous person in its midst, and release a composite description of the type of victims our man is known to go for.”
I looked up from scanning the bio of Colton Jericho. “What do you mean, ‘type’”, I asked slowly.
Agent Chu looked at me, a mild look of surprise on her face. “Jericho has consistently taken women with certain characteristics.” She indicated the file. “It’s in there, where his victims are listed.”
With a growing sense of dread, I flipped through the pages, until I reached the section that detailed his eight victims, including Sabrina Velotti. Scanning the pictures of the victims, my dread became a full-blown panic. Long brown, chestnut colored curly hair. Young, twenty-five to thirty-five, athletic, pretty face, intelligent eyes. In fact, if one didn’t know any better, they could all be related, even sisters. My memory instantly flashed back to seeing Alison Newton the first time, propped up against the dumpster, and my initial thoughts at seeing her. And they could all be related to Angie!
CHAPTER 31
Medora opened her eyes and looked around impatiently. She was lying in a hospital bed in the Wolf Hospital Emergency room, after having come there directly from the police station. She regretted having to lie to Chief Barnes, but when she had heard that federal agents were on their way to the station, and the purpose of their visit was Alison Newton, she couldn’t risk it. Too much was at stake.
She rolled over as she heard the insistent buzzing of her phone. Seeing it on top of her folded clothes next to her detective’s shield, and without looking at the screen, she knew it had to be Harper. By now, he would have returned to the station and probably had met up with the federal agents. And just based on the little she knew about him from the past two days, he was not going to be in a good mood.
Sighing, she rolled back onto the bed, cinching the hospital gown tighter against the sterile chill in the emergency room. Glancing up at the clock on the green cinder block wall irritably, she wondered what was taking so long. She had presented with abdominal pain concentrated in her pelvic area, hoping that they would show appropriate concern, and just keep her for observation for an hour or two. Unfortunately, the ER doctor she drew was an older woman doctor who insisted on being thorough, and had sent her for an MRI, concerned about her “female hardware”, as she put it.
Suddenly, Medora heard a distinct rustling outside of her curtained bedroom, and a second later, the curtain was pulled back, revealing an older, grey-haired woman dressed in a doctor’s coat with horn-rimmed glasses perched low on her patrician nose.
“Hello, Ms. Dunning, how are you feeling?” the doctor asked pleasantly, sliding her finger across the tablet she was holding.
Squinting, Medora made out the name “Emilia Watson MD” on her lab coat, and replied, “much better doctor. I think I’m ready to go home now.” Medora really wanted to get back to Harper before he forged too far ahead in the investigation.
Dr. Watson looked up from the tablet she had been studying and addressed Medora. “Well, your labs and your MRI both came back pretty quickly. You’re lucky, it’s a slow day here in the ER.” She continued, flipping through some screens. “Blood tests all came back negative, and the MRI images don’t show any damage or abnormalities to your pelvic region…”
“Good.” Medora interrupted, sitting up. “Does that mean I can be discharged?”
Dr. Watson looked down at Medora over her glasses, a slightly annoyed look on her face. “I did see that you had some significant scar tissue built up over your lower ribs on the left side.” She paused. “Did you break your ribs recently?”
Shit. “A few years ago,” Medora replied, “I was injured in a take-down of a violent suspect. He hit me several times with a two-by-four. Roughed me up pretty bad and put me in the hospital for a few days.” Not exactly the truth, but close enough.
Dr. Watson nodded understandingly. “I see. Did this assault do any damage to your pelvic organs as well? Did a broken rib puncture your liver or maybe your pancreas? That could explain the sudden pains you were experiencing this afternoon?”
Medora shook her head as she swung her legs over the bed and took the pulse oximeter off of her finger. “No, just the broken ribs. They were painful for a while, but they’re fine now.” She pretended to think for a second. “Maybe it was just a case of really bad indigestion from the Tio Juan’s Taqueria burrito I had for lunch.” She suggested.
Dr. Watson eyed Medora skeptically. “That could certainly be it. “She allowed. “It wouldn’t be the first time Juan’s customers have graced my beds.” She continued to swipe through the tablet. “Are you sure you aren’t feeling any more pain? How long ago were your ribs broken?” Dr. Watson probed.
Medora shook her head again in an annoyed manner as she reached for her phone. “No, I’m fine. The pain is gone. And the ribs were broken a few years ago. Can I go now?” She asked again impatiently.
Dr. Watson sighed. “Okay, I’m going to release you. But” she raised a finger, “if you feel pain coming on again, I want you to come back immediately. Those hits you took from the two-by-four might have also damaged some of your internal organs, and you might have done something recently to re-injure them.”
Medora nodded as she strapped on her watch and glanced at her phone. Three missed calls from Harper. Dammit, she thought, I have to get out of here. Looking up at Dr. Watson, she nodded shortly in agreement, and reached for her clothes.
Dr. Watson looked at her for a long minute, then tapped the screen again on her tablet. “Okay, you’re all set. I’ll have the discharge nurse come in with the exit paperwork for you to sign. Have a good day,” she paused, “and you might want to stay away from Tio Juan’s for a while.”
“Thank, you doctor, will do.” Medora replied, fumbling at the ties to her hospital gown.
Dr. Watson smiled briefly, stepped out and closed the curtain behind her. Instantly, Medora reached for her phone.
CHAPTER 32
Immediately, I stood up so fast, my wheeled leather chair tipped back and slammed on the ground. Groping for my phone in my pocket, I stood rigidly, while the agents stared at me open-mouthed in surprise. Quickly, I punched Angie’s quick-dial button and put the phone to my ear, a worried expression on my face.
My fear escalated as each ring tone echoed in my ear until finally, a click, and Angie’s voice intoned her unavailability, and for the caller to please leave a message.
Grim-faced, I hung up, and scrolled through my contacts, looking for Angie’s desk number at the television station while Barnes and the agents looked on.
“Harper?” Barnes asked, looking at me questioningly. “What’s going on?”
I gestured to his copy of Jericho’s file as I raised my phone to my ear. “The women.” I said, as the ringing began again. “Angie, my ex-wife. She could be their sister.”
Barnes looked at me with confusion, then he looked down at the file in front of him and understanding suddenly dawned on his face. Being the Wolf Hollow Chief of Police for just over three months, Barnes had never actually met my wife when we were married, but had undoubtedly seen her as a television reporter, and had quickly made the connection.
Looking at the agents as I continued to listen to the empty rings, Barnes quickly explained who Angie was and why I was suddenly concerned for her safety.
A few seconds later, Angie’s recorded voice came again through my phone again, and I hung up with a curse. Thinking quickly, I searched on Google for the tv station’s main desk number and dialed that while everyone looked on. Two rings later, and I finally connected with a human voice.
“Wolf Media Channel 6, this is Michelle, how can I help you?” A bright, chirpy female voice asked me.
I quickly told Michelle who I was, and that I was looking for Angie, but couldn’t reach her at her desk or on her phone.
“I’m sorry, but I believe Ms. Renfro has left for the evening.” Michelle chirped.
Hearing Michelle refer to my ex-wife as “Ms. Renfro” instantly sent me over the edge of my patience. Thinking quickly, I snapped, “Michelle dear, I’m not calling to ask her out on a date. This is a matter of life and death, and I really need to get hold of her.” Not really life and death yet, but I felt like shaking Michelle right now, and that just wasn’t physically possible at the moment.
There was a pause, and a slightly flustered Michelle came back on the line. “I’m sorry Detective, but she really has gone for the day, left around four o’clock. But her producer, Brian McCole, is still at his desk, he might now where she is.” She lowered her voice and whispered confidentially. “I think Brian and Angie are, you know, together, so he probably knows where she is.”
I gritted my teeth as I responded in a tight voice, “Thank you Michelle. If you could please put me through to Mr. McCole.” I thought for a second. “And just for your ears only,” I whispered back, “I’ve heard that he has been seen coming out of Scarlette O’Hare’s house some early mornings recently.”
I could hear a sudden gasp of breath over the phone as Michelle responded, “The lady who owns the diner? Really? Oh, dear.” A pregnant pause, then she continued, “I’ll put you through to Mr. McCole right now.”
I smiled grimly as a click signaled the transfer to Brian’s desk.
“McCole.” Brian’s voice was clipped, as if he was in a hurry.
“Brian, it’s Harper. Where’s Angie?” I demanded.
A silent pause as Brian digested my question. “Harper, hi. Angie? She’s gone for the day…”
“Brian.” I cut him off. “Cut the crap. I know she’s gone. I’ve tried her at her desk and her phone, and she’s not answering. There’s a…” I paused, “a situation that I’m dealing with, and I need to get a hold of Angie. Do you know where she is?”
“Detective, like I said, she left…”
Instantly, I lost it on Brian. “Brian, goddammit. I know you’re sleeping with Angie. It’s gotta be the worst-kept secret in Wolf Hollow. And right now, I don’t give a shit. Now do you know where she is?”
Brian paused again, uncertainly. “Detective, like I was about to say. Angie left around four. She grabbed one of our station cameras, I think she was going out to the beach to take some photos for her upcoming story on horseshoe crabs. They’re starting to take over…”
“Brian, I don’t give a crap about the crabs. Do you know where on the beach?” I fairly shouted into my cell.
Now I could detect a slight strain in Brian’s voice, as some of my anxiety began to infect him. “No Harper, I don’t. She just said she was going to take some pics, and then we were going to meet for a late dinner at Atilio’s.”
Dammit. “Ok, well call me the minute you talk with her. Tell her to call me.” I said, a little harsher than I intended.
“Ok, but why…” Brain’s voice was sharply cut off as I disconnected the phone and grabbed the two files from where I was sitting.
Barnes, who had been tracking my movements wordlessly, now addressed me as the feds looked on silently. “Harper, I’m sure she’s fine. We’ll have the FBI put together a statement for the media. And as soon as your partner is back in the building, let’s meet again to discuss forming a joint task force…”
“Chief,” I cut him off, “Angie and I would be having the greatest sex known to mankind, and if her phone rang by the bedside, she’d answer it! Something’s off, and I can feel it.” Amid the suddenly embarrassed faces from the agents, I left the meeting for the second time in the past hour. “I’m heading to the beach. It’s where Brian said she was going. I’ll let you know if I find anything.”
“Harper, wait!” Barnes shouted, but the door was already closed behind me as I raced down the hallway. Reaching the stairs, I felt a sense of déjà vu as I first called Angie, and then Medora, with no response. Cursing, I vaulted down the last three stairs and ran towards the main door. As I passed Turk, his desk phone rang, and I hesitated, glancing at Turk. Turk picked up the phone, listened for a second, looked back at me, and replied into the phone, “I’m sorry Chief, you just missed him. He just ran out the front door. Do you want me to try and chase him down?” Another pause, as he listened. “Yes Chief, I’ll try and call him.” He hung up the phone and met my eyes.
“Thanks Turk.” I said, as I resumed my trek towards the door. “I’ll call you back as soon as I find anything.”
Turk nodded at me. “Do what you have to do Harper. Call if you need help.”
I acknowledged him with a wave, and pushed out the front door, heading towards Wolf Hollow’s crab-infested beaches as the sun began its slow descent over the mountains behind me, ushering in the dusk of another day.
CHAPTER 33
Miles away, up in the wooden forests surrounding the base of the Blue Ridge mountains, the buzzing of a cell phone snapped Angie out of the dazed trance her terror and pounding headache had cruelly thrust her into.
Looking up with her bleary eyes, through the wire mesh of her cage, she could see her phone on the old wooden desk, vibrating, the sound like a violin bow drawing across her frayed nerves.
She caught movement out of the corner of her eye and she saw the hulking figure of the man moving towards the desk. Reaching for the phone, he picked it up, looked at who was calling, then suddenly looked at her with a piercing glare.
“Who is Harper?” He demanded in a low growl.
Shaking her head mutely, Angie was only able to stare back at him with her large, frightened eyes.
The man stepped forward, crouching, and thrust the phone towards the cage, showing her the soft glow of the screen, with Harper’s name stenciled across it. “Who is Harper, mother?” He snarled. “Is he one of your…’friends’ that came over and fucked you?”
He pulled the phone away and stood up. “Is he the one who told you to…hit me? To hurt me?” He swung towards her, his face a rictus of anger and pain. “Is he?” He repeated, shouting now.
Angie screamed in fear, scrabbling away from him towards the far corner of the cage. “What are you talking about? I don’t even know you!” She screamed incoherently. “Who is mother?”
“Don’t lie to me mother!” The man shouted, grabbing the wire lattice and shaking it violently, causing the metal to scratch loudly on the old wooden planks of the floor. “Is he the one? Is he why you hurt me?”
“No! I don’t know what you’re talking about! Just please, let me go!” Angie cried, sobbing fearfully, curling into a protective ball in the corner.
Abruptly, the phone in the man’s hand went silent, and like a switch, the manic look in his eyes disappeared, and the hut was suddenly enveloped in an ominous silence. The man broke his gaze from Angie and stared down at the phone. As the screen slowly faded to dark, he then looked back up at Angie, who was still whimpering quietly in the corner.
“I don’t understand mother.” he said quietly. “The lessons. Obedience. Subservience. Respect. You taught me, but it seems that you’ve forgotten what you taught.” He paused, his gaze drifting towards the tools on the desk. “Now I have to teach you what you’ve forgotten.” He slowly rose and walked towards the desk, the phone suddenly forgotten in his hand.
Gently, he picked up a pair of pliers, gently caressing the shiny new rubber handle. “Do you remember these, mother?” He asked quietly. “Because I do.” Putting her phone back on the desk, he palmed the pliers as he approached Angie in the cage again.
Angie cowered against the cage in the corner of the hut, and sobbing openly, shouted “No, no! I’m not your mother! Please! Just let me go!”
But Angie’s words fell on deaf ears, as the man crouched at the cage door and began to work the lock, his breathing harsh in anticipation.
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