New Year Heroes: The Sheriff's Secretary / Veiled Intentions / Juror No. 7

Chapter Four

“I don’t know if it’s a crank or not,” Wally said as Lucas and Mariah walked through her front door. “I’ve got it taped and I checked the number the call came from with the phone company. It was the pay phone behind Jimbo’s gas station. I already called Jimbo to see if he saw anyone using the phone, but no one did. I also sent Maylor over there to check out the phone and try to lift some prints.”

Lucas had little hope that the caller had been dumb enough to leave prints, and he wasn’t surprised that nobody had seen anyone using the phone. The area behind Jimbo’s was filled with old wrecked cars and used tires. It was more a junkyard than anything else, and Lucas figured few people even knew there was a phone back there.

“Let’s hear it,” he said, and gestured to the recording equipment.

Mariah leaned against one of the kitchen chairs, her face as pale as paper as she stared at the phone. He couldn’t believe the strength she’d exhibited so far. Most women would be in the care of a physician, swallowing tranquilizers to get through the ordeal. She’d definitely earned his respect.

Wally punched the Play button and his voice filled the air. “Harrington’s residence,” his taped greeting said.

“I know the sheriff isn’t there, and I have no desire to talk to you, so just give him this message.” The voice was low, a guttural whisper. It was the same person who had called Lucas on his cell phone.

“A game isn’t fun unless two can play. I’ll give you a little clue for the day. They’re safe in a place where no one can hear, where the cries of the dead ring loud and clear.” The caller paused. “Tell Sheriff Jamison to send his men home, to send everyone home. I don’t like extra players in my game. Tell him I’m watching his every move and trust me, he doesn’t want to break my rules.” There was an ominous tone to the already creepy voice.

“Listen, why don’t you—” Wally’s reply was cut off by an audible click as the caller hung up.

For a moment the three of them said nothing, but simply continued to stare at the machine, as if answers to their questions were forthcoming.

It was Mariah who broke the silence. She drew in a deep breath and met Lucas’s gaze. “He said they were safe and sound.” Her voice trembled slightly but also held the hope of a woman grasping at anything.

“That’s what he said,” Lucas replied. There was no way he was going to tell her that the word of a kidnapper wasn’t the most reliable in the world.

Mariah turned her gaze to Wally. “You have to go. You heard what he said, he wants everyone to leave and he’s watching us. I don’t want anyone here except me and Lucas.”

Wally looked at Lucas, his forehead wrinkled into a hundred frown lines. Lucas felt the weight of his next decision in the very pit of his gut where tension burned with hot flames. Although he didn’t want to play games with a criminal, he was also aware that he wasn’t willing to gamble with Billy’s and Jenny’s lives.

“Wally, head back to the office and keep all the men away from here. Let Agent Kessler know what’s going on. I’ll be in touch with each of you on my cell phone.”

“Are you sure?” Wally asked.

Lucas nodded. “I can’t risk not playing by his rules, at least for the moment.”

Dusk was deepening into night as Lucas walked Wally to his patrol car. “I’ve got Louis checking out Phil Ribideaux. The rest of you try to locate Remy Troulous. If you find him, bring him in and call me. Keep questioning whoever you think might have any information that might help us find Billy and Jenny. It would help if we could find somebody that saw them yesterday. Keep me posted on progress. I’m putting you in charge of coordinating things from the office. Make nice with Agent Kessler. If he needs anything, see that he gets it, but just make sure all the men stay away from here.”

Wally nodded. “Anything else?”

“Yeah, see what you can dig up on a Frank Landers, last known address in Shreveport. The authorities there haven’t been able to locate him, but I’m not sure how hard they’re looking. And check around, see if anyone has noticed any strangers hanging around lately.”

“Got it,” Wally said.

Lucas watched Wally drive away. He stood for several minutes in the driveway and stared around the area. Tell him I’m watching his every move and he doesn’t want to break my rules.

The people who lived on this street were good hardworking people who valued family and friends. He knew these people … or did he?

Suddenly every drapery drawn at a window might hide a kidnapper, every closed door implied secrets. Was somebody watching from next door? Across the street?

With a sigh he returned to the kitchen where Mariah was seated at the table, playing the message again. She pushed the Stop button when he came in. “The clue. I’ve been thinking about it.” Even though the timing was completely inappropriate, he couldn’t help but notice how pretty she looked with her hair coming loose and springing around her shoulders and her cheeks filled with color that had been lacking for most of the day.

“What about it?”

“He said they’re where the cries of the dead ring loud and clear. It’s got to be the cemetery, Lucas. Maybe they’re in a crypt. We’ve got to go there and check it out.”

“Whoa. We aren’t going anywhere. I’ll go and take a look around.”

“If you think I’m going to stay here, you’re crazy,” she replied. “I can either ride with you or I can take my own car, but one way or another, I’m going to the cemetery. That’s where the clue leads and that’s where I need to be.”

“It could be dangerous,” Lucas protested. “You know that even under the best of circumstances the cemetery isn’t a good place to hang out, especially at night.”

She stepped closer to him and placed a hand on his arm. This close he could see that her blue eyes had silver flecks. Those eyes pleaded with him. “Lucas, please. I have to go with you. It’s my son. I don’t care about any danger. This is the first real clue we’ve had. Don’t make me fight you on this.”

He tried to imagine somebody trying to keep him from going to find Jenny. There was nobody on the face of the earth who could stop him—and he wouldn’t be the one to stop her.

“All right, then, let’s go.”

Minutes later they were in his car heading toward the north side of town where the Conja Creek Cemetery was located. His car beams penetrated the deepening darkness, and tension coiled like a snake in the pit of his stomach.

“We could be walking into a setup,” he said.

“What kind of a setup? If somebody wanted to kill either you or me, they could have done so without all this drama,” she said. “If we’re the targets, then why involve Jenny and Billy?”

He tightened his hands on the steering wheel. “I don’t know. I can’t get a handle on this.” The words fell from him involuntarily, and he hit the steering wheel with his palm. “He’s obviously playing with us and I don’t know why. This is probably nothing more than a wild-goose chase.”

“Don’t say that,” she exclaimed with fervor. “Right now my hope is the only thing holding me together. Please don’t take that away from me.”

He glanced in her direction. “You’re one of the strongest women I think I’ve ever met. Most women would be basket cases by now.”

“I’ve had to be strong to survive the choices I’ve made in my life.”

Again he realized how little he knew about her, and new interest stirred inside him. “Bad choices?”

“Only one. I married the wrong man. Why aren’t you married, Lucas?”

“I was once. I’d just graduated college and gotten married when my mother died. Jenny was twelve, and so I moved back to the family home with my new bride. The marriage lasted for six months, then Kerry told me she hadn’t applied for the job of helping to raise a twelve-year-old. She gave me an ultimatum—make other arrangements for Jenny, or she was leaving. I helped her pack.”

“I’m sorry it didn’t work out for you,” she said.

He offered her a tight smile. “I’m not. Oh, it hurt at the time, but I hadn’t realized until that moment how selfish Kerry was. She definitely wasn’t the kind of woman I wanted to spend the rest of my life with.”

“And there hasn’t been anyone since?”

He wasn’t sure if she was really interested or if she was just making conversation to keep her thoughts off their destination and the high stakes involved.

“Jenny has managed to take up most of my time and energy. There’s never been much left for anyone else.”

“Jenny has been an adult for a while now. Don’t you think it’s time you give her less time and attention?”

“I think the reasons we’re here now put to rest the idea that Jenny doesn’t require my time and attention,” he replied dryly.

“You still think Jenny had something to do with all this?” Her voice held an edge of exasperation.

He didn’t answer for several long seconds. Mostly because he wasn’t sure what was in his heart. He desperately wanted to believe that Jenny was nothing more than an innocent victim, but he just wasn’t sure.

“Jenny doesn’t always make the best choices in her life,” he finally said.

“From what I’ve seen, Jenny rarely makes any choices in her life,” she countered. “You make them all for her.”

He cast her a sharp, sideways glance. “Are you trying to pick a fight with me?”

She flushed and looked down at her clenched hands. “No. I’m sorry. Your relationship with Jenny is really none of my business.”

There was something in her tone, a vague disapproval that made him want to continue the conversation, but at that moment the rusted ironwork of the gates to the cemetery appeared in his high beams.

Conja Creek Cemetery was like dozens of other Louisiana burial grounds. Sun-bleached tombs rose up from the earth, some simple square structures, others like miniature houses complete with fencing around them.

There was no caretaker living on-site, and the cemetery was on the edge of town with no surrounding houses or buildings.

“I’ll get the gate,” he said as he put his car in Park. He pulled his gun as he got out of the car, his eyes scanning the area and his ears listening for any sound that didn’t belong.

The gate screeched in protest as he opened it, announcing to anyone who might be inside that they had arrived. He stared inside the gate to the narrow rows that led between the structures. Cities of the dead, that’s what people called the cemeteries in Louisiana. He just hoped this particular city of the dead didn’t hold the bodies of Billy and Jenny.

MARIAH DIDN’T THINK her heart could hurt as much as it did as Lucas pulled the car through the cemetery gates and parked in the space provided just inside.

Was Billy here? In one of the tombs? She reached her hand in her pocket and touched his inhaler, as if it were a talisman that would lead her to him.

She was light-headed and sick to her stomach, a combination of too much coffee and too little sleep. She just wanted her baby back home where he belonged.

“You stay in the car. I’ll check things out,” he said as he turned off the car engine.

“I’m not staying in the car,” she replied. “If you find them, and Billy is in a full asthma attack, he’s going to need immediate medical attention. I didn’t come all this way with you to sit in the car.” She opened her car door and ignored his muttered curse.

The night air was thick, hot and steamy, and for a moment she leaned against the car door and tried to imagine Billy in this place of death. The very atmosphere itself would work against him, so thick and sultry. Add fear and stress, and he could be in real physical danger.

Lucas joined her and put an arm around her shoulder. For a moment she leaned into him, drawing from his strength. She might not like the way he treated his sister, but at the moment she couldn’t think of anyone else she wanted by her side.

“Stay close to me,” he whispered. “We don’t know what we’re walking into.”

She straightened and nodded as he once again pulled his gun. Together they left the car and headed for the first “street” between tombs.

“Billy!” The scream tore from Mariah’s throat. She waited to hear an answer, but there was nothing.

The area was lit with small electric lights low to the ground, the illumination creating a contrast of eerie shadows. They walked slowly and checked each tomb to see if one might hold a sign that Billy and Jenny were inside.

“Billy, are you here?” Over and over Mariah cried out, desperate to hear the sound of her son’s voice.

Lucas moved slowly, cautiously. He’d take a few steps then stop and cock his head, as if listening. The only thing she heard was the buzz of mosquitoes and the continuous click of insects.

Billy, where are you? Her heart screamed as loud as her mouth.

“Jenny, are you here? Make a sound, give us a clue, do something to show us you’re here,” Lucas called.

Mariah had never been afraid of places. Scary movies didn’t bother her. Spiders, snakes and gators didn’t concern her. The only fear she’d ever felt was of the man she had married. Frank.

Was he behind all this? Certainly a sadistic game of hide-and-seek wasn’t out of character. One of the deputies had called Lucas earlier to let him know that her news story had been picked up by the wire services.

If Frank wasn’t behind this, and if he’d been watching television and had seen her, then he would know that she and Billy were in Conja Creek. She rubbed her left wrist—the wrist that he’d broken on the day she’d left him.

The thought of seeing him again sent a shiver of fear through her and she moved closer to Lucas, as if he could keep all the boogeymen out of her life.

As they continued to search, the hope that had filled her began to waver. Had they perceived the clue incorrectly? Where the cries of the dead ring loud and clear, that’s what the caller had said. Where else could that be but a cemetery, and this was the only cemetery in the town of Conja Creek.

When they reached the last wide aisle between the tombs, despair quickly usurped hope. And when they reached the last tomb on that aisle, the strength that had been holding her together vanished.

She fell to her knees, unable to take another step as the grief that she’d been shoving away since the moment she’d awakened from her nap and found Billy gone rushed in to consume her.

Tears blinded her, and she was unable to control the deep, wrenching sobs that ripped from her throat. She collapsed to the ground, vaguely aware of Lucas holstering his gun and bending down beside her.

“I know,” he whispered as he physically pulled her into his arms. “Shh.” He stroked her hair as she continued to sob, unable to stop.

“They were supposed to be here,” she cried. “Damn him. Damn whoever has them, for putting us through this.” She clung to Lucas, surprised to find his arms provided the comfort she needed.

As she remained in his embrace, she became aware of the frantic beating of his heart against her own. She realized at that moment that his despair was as great as her own, his disappointment was as black as the one that filled her.

She raised her head and looked at him through her veil of tears. His eyes held the same rage that filled her, a rage at the man who had brought them here, the man who had ripped the very fabric of her soul.

“Jenny didn’t do this,” he said, his voice hoarse with emotion. “She’d never put us through this.”

“That’s what I’ve been trying to tell you,” Mariah replied. She could tell by the dawning horror in his eyes that the realization that Jenny was in terrible trouble was just now sinking in.

“Come on, let’s get out of here,” he said, his voice filled with rough emotion. He stood and held out his hand to help her up off the ground.

She had just stood when a crack split the air and Lucas threw himself at her, tumbling her to the ground as he covered her body with his.

Chapter Five

Lucas couldn’t tell where the gunshot had come from, but he heard the ping as the bullet hit the tomb behind where they had just been standing.

His first impulse was to protect Mariah, and as he lay on top of her, adrenaline pumped through him. He tightened his hold on his gun as he scanned the area.

Dammit, there were too many shadows where a shooter could hide, too many trees and tombs for him to discern the hint of a person. The shot had caused a cessation to the insect noise, but as the minutes ticked by the cacophony of bugs resumed.

As time passed, in the back of his mind he became more aware of Mariah. Her hand grasped the front of his shirt, as if she was afraid he might jump up and run away. Her heartbeat raced against his own, and despite the circumstances, he couldn’t help but notice the softness of her lush curves under his body.

Irritated by his lapse in concentration, he rose to a crouch above her. “Stay here and stay down,” he commanded. “I’m going to take a look around.”

She tightened her grip on his shirt and in the faint moonlight her eyes shone more silver than blue. “Be careful. He could still be out there.” She reluctantly released her hold on him.

Still in a low crouch, Lucas moved away from her, toward the area where he thought the shot might have come from. He didn’t think the shooter was still there.

In fact, he didn’t think the shooter was still in the cemetery. It was a gut feeling coupled with the knowledge that if the man had wanted to kill one of them, he could have with that single shot.

He might have missed because he was a terrible shot, but Lucas didn’t think so. He thought the bullet had missed them because it was just another game the kidnapper was playing. He was taking pleasure in terrorizing them.

He straightened to his full height, making himself an easy target, but no other shots were fired. He walked back to where Mariah was still lying on the ground.

“I think he’s gone.” He held out a hand to help her up.

“Are you sure?” She didn’t move from her prone position.

“As sure as I can be. If he wanted to hurt us, he could have shot us at any time while we were searching the area.” He grimaced. “I think that shot was just a playful reminder that we aren’t the ones in charge of this game.”

She slipped her small hand in his and he pulled her up. “They aren’t here, are they? Billy and Jenny aren’t here and that clue was just part of his stupid game.”

He nodded. “Let’s get the hell out of here.”

It was a long walk back to the car. Lucas kept his gun ready and every muscle tense as he watched for danger that didn’t come.

They got into the car and he started the engine, immediately turning on the air conditioner to relieve the sweltering heat and humidity.

As he pulled out of the cemetery, neither of them said a word. The adrenaline that had surged inside him eased away, leaving him not only exhausted but also defenseless against the dark thoughts in his mind.

Jenny. Pain seared through him as he thought of his sister. He’d spent all his adult life trying to protect her, both from herself and from others. He’d tried to guide her, to make her better than she was, better than the mother who had given her life.

“Are you okay?” Mariah’s soft, weary voice pulled him from his thoughts.

“As okay as you are,” he replied.

“Then you aren’t okay,” she said with a surprising touch of dry humor.

“No, I’m not,” he agreed. “I’m frustrated and worried and I don’t think this is about a ransom anymore.”

“Then what is it about?” she asked.

Lucas frowned and tightened his hands on the steering wheel. “I think it’s personal. I think the perpetrator wants one of us to be afraid, to suffer.”

She leaned her head back and closed her eyes. “Then he’s succeeded.”

Those were the last words spoken for the remainder of the drive home. When they arrived at her place, the first thing Lucas did was check the phone messages as Mariah got them each a bottle of water from the fridge.

The first message was from Mayor Richard Welch. “Lucas, I’ve heard through the grapevine that you’ve sent your men home, but Billy and Jenny are still missing. I hope you know what you’re doing. I need to be updated and maybe we need to put our heads together to see what’s the best way to deal with this situation. The public deserves to know what’s going on in this community.”

Lucas puffed out a sigh. “I wish he’d spend his time governing the town instead of trying to govern me.”

Mariah sank into a seat at the table, her weariness evident in the slump of her shoulders and the hollowness of her eyes. “He’s just trying to be helpful.” She unscrewed the lid on her water and took a long, deep drink.

“It would be helpful if he’d just leave me to the job of upholding the law.”

The next three messages were from neighbors, offering to cook, offering to help. Another two were from reporters looking for an interview. The next message shot a new burst of adrenaline through Lucas.

“Touching scene in the cemetery.” The familiar voice filled the room. “Is she consoling you, or are you consoling her?” The sound of insects was background noise. “A minute ago I stood so close to you both that I could see the sweat on Lucas’s forehead and I could smell that flowery perfume that Mariah wears.”

Mariah jumped as the sound of a shot filled the room. The sound was followed by a low laugh. “I could have killed you just now,” he said. “I’ll be in touch.”

The line went dead.

Mariah released a loud gasp. “He was watching us as we searched. He was there all along.” Emotion choked her voice and she backhanded her water bottle off the table, unmindful of the water that spilled across the floor. She jumped up, her eyes wild. “What kind of person does something like this? What kind of monster is he?”

“I don’t know.” But there were things Lucas needed to do, and with that in mind he pulled his cell phone from his pocket and punched in the number at the sheriff’s office.

“Ben, first thing in the morning I need you to check out the cemetery for me. Somebody took a shot at Mariah and me out there tonight. I want you to see if you can locate the bullet.” He quickly explained to his deputy where they had been standing when the gun had been fired and where he thought Ben would find the bullet. It would at least tell them what kind of gun it came from.

The next call he made was to Ed Maylor. “Ed, did I wake you?”

“Nah, I was just sitting here watching the boob tube. What’s up?”

“I was wondering if you could do me a favor. Would you run by my place and tell Marquette to give you my overnight bag and a couple of clean uniforms, then meet me at the station with them?” He looked at Mariah, who stood with her back to him as she stared out the window into the night. “I’m going to be here at Mariah’s until this is resolved.”

“Sure. When do you want to meet?”