Broken Trust (17 page)
Authors: Leigh Bale
Two frown lines creased the
Colonel’s forehead. “Did Hooper indicate if the CIA has a suspect?”
Mac flashed a resentful glare.
“Yes. Me.”
The Colonel shrugged. “It doesn’t
matter. Treason is a federal crime. The FBI has taken the lead on this
investigation. They’ll work with NCIS to find out who might have caused the
ambush.”
“Knowing Andrus also survived puts
a new spin on things,” Mac said. “I think I’ll have a heart-to-heart chat with
the man.”
The Colonel sat back in his chair.
“Andrus is probably as innocent as you are, Mac. If you suspect he’s guilty of
some crime, notify me and work through the proper channels. No matter what, be
careful.”
They stood and Toni handed Mac his
cane. She waited patiently until he had it firmly in hand, steady on his feet.
Then, she walked inside the house and the Colonel lagged behind with Mac.
“How are you holding up on that
other issue, Sergeant MacKenzie?” the Colonel whispered for Mac’s ears alone.
Mac tensed, staring at the French
doors. “I’m fine, Colonel. It’s Toni and her family I’m worried about.”
The Colonel clasped Mac’s arm and
pivoted to look him in the eyes. “What happened to Lieutenant Hamilton wasn’t
your fault, Mac. Both you and I know it and a reports been filed saying so.
NCIS will complete the investigation into Eric’s death, but I don’t anticipate
much will come of it. You’ve got to let it go and get on with your life.”
Mac locked his jaw, his gaze
following Toni as she stood inside talking with Gwynne. “I want to move on, but
how do I tell Eric’s family the truth, Colonel? How do I explain what
happened?”
“You don’t.”
Mac stared at his former commanding
officer. “Are you suggesting I should never tell Toni the truth?”
The Colonel locked his jaw. “I am.
What happens in battle should stay there. It’s not something we speak of to our
women here on the home front. It hurts them too deeply. But you and I are
warriors. You can withstand this, Sergeant. You’re stronger than you think.”
Mac looked away, surprised the
Colonel would encourage him to keep such an important secret from Toni. He
respected the Colonel’s opinion, but deep inside, he didn’t feel good about not
telling Toni the truth. Until she knew everything, he didn’t think he could
ever be completely free.
“It’ll get easier, Mac. I promise.”
Mac gave a hollow laugh. “Easier? How?
Toni is a constant reminder of what I stole from her. I can’t live a life of
deceit.”
“You didn’t steal anything. Even if
you were responsible, it was still an accident. A casualty of war.”
Hearing Eric brushed off as a
casualty of war didn’t make Mac feel any better.
“Any idea when the ballistics
report will be completed?”
The Colonel shook his head. “Soon,
I hope. Regardless of the results, it’s classified and you must not talk about
it with anyone. No matter what. It won’t bring Eric Hamilton back.”
Right. But it still mattered. To
Mac.
Listening to the Colonel, Mac felt
skeptical. How could hiding the truth be a good thing? For the first time, Mac
doubted the Colonel’s advice. A heavy gloom rested over Mac, like a blanket of
storm clouds. A still small voice warned him that truth was the best policy.
But the Uniform Code of Military Justice prohibited him from discussing the
mission in Afghanistan. Mac knew what could happen if the media got hold of
this. They ruined good people’s lives, slathering muck across newspapers and
the TV without any concern for the havoc they created.
The Colonel regarded Toni through
the glass pane of the French doors. “Give it some time. No one said being a
marine was easy.”
What an understatement.
The Colonel clasped Mac’s arm.
“Give me your cell number and I’ll call you as soon as I find out anything.”
Inside the house, Mac scribbled his
number on a piece of paper and handed it to the Colonel. “I appreciate this,
sir.”
“Any time.”
The Colonel accompanied them to the
door. Mac glanced at Toni and found her watching him, a look of trust on her
face. His feelings of dread seemed to lighten just by looking at her. He must
not let her down.
There was something Mac wasn’t
telling her. Something big.
At the Colonel’s house, Toni had
noticed the men’s shared glances when they didn’t think she was looking. Then,
while she’d chatted with Gwynne in the kitchen, they’d stayed outside and
talked for several minutes, their expressions grim.
Sure, they could be discussing the
ambush in Afghanistan, but Toni sensed something more. Something with the power
to canker Mac’s soul.
While Mac drove them back into the
city and headed toward North Las Vegas, she didn’t say much. A dark foreboding
rested over her. Mac seemed distracted and filled with his own thoughts. When
he looked at her, she saw something in his eyes. A sadness she previously
believed was nothing more than grief. Now, she wondered if it were that simple.
His hesitant glances, his reticence to talk about what had happened. The
guarded look in his eyes seemed more like guilt.
Ah, she was being silly. Surely she
imagined it. Mac had done nothing to be guilty of.
Or did he?
“Is something troubling you, Mac?”
He glanced at her, startled. “Why
would you ask that?”
She cleared her throat. “You just
seem deep in thought. Kind of distant and distracted. Is there anything you
want to tell me?”
He opened his mouth, then closed it
and waggled his eyebrows at her. “No, not now. But I’ll try to think of
something for later.”
She laughed, wishing she dared rest
her head on his shoulder. It seemed a natural thing to do.
As he placed both hands on the
steering wheel, she peered at him. In spite of his reassurance, his eyes still
looked troubled. She couldn’t shake the feeling that he was keeping a secret
from her.
“If you ever need to talk, you know
I’ll be here,” she said.
His jaw hardened. “Thanks, I
appreciate it.”
The neighborhood where Lieutenant
Andrus lived contrasted sharply with the Colonel’s lovely home. Here, shabby
houses built seventy years earlier showed peeling paint and weathered roofs.
Broken fences needed repair and obscene graffiti covered almost every available
surface.
A frisson of apprehension scudded
over Toni as Mac parked his truck out front of Lieutenant Andrus’s house. She
didn’t want to stay longer than necessary.
“Mac, knowing Andrus survived the
ambush, do you think we can trust him?”
“I don’t trust anyone right now,
but I doubt Andrus would try anything. Besides, the Colonel knows we’re gonna
pay him a visit.”
She peered out her window at the
gray structure. Garbage, broken bottles and old tires littered the front yard.
One window had been knocked out in front, patched with cardboard and duct tape.
From her angle, she could see the screen door thrown wide, hanging on one
hinge. She could only imagine what the inside looked like.
“You want to wait here while I go
inside?” Mac asked as he killed the engine and pocketed his keys.
“And get mugged? Absolutely not.
I’m going with you.”
He chuckled and got out of the
truck. As they walked to the door, they skirted an empty milk carton and tin
cans littering the sidewalk. Drawing near, Toni saw the front door to the house
stood ajar. Dingy blue drapes had been pulled closed across the living room
window, sagging in places where they missed some hooks on the curtain rod.
Shadows clung to the covered porch. A feeling of gloom shrouded the entire
house.
Mac pressed the doorbell, but no
sound rang out. Instead, he rapped on the open door with his knuckles. “Hello!
Ryan Andrus, you in here?”
No answer.
Mac pushed the door open with his
cane. The stench of cat urine, filth and something rotten hit them like a wall
in the face. Toni pinched her nose.
“What is that awful smell?” she
whispered.
He shook his head. “Ryan Andrus,
it’s Mac MacKenzie. Anybody home?”
Silence.
The narrow entranceway appeared too
dim to see anything. Mac stepped inside, walking into the dark living room.
Toni followed close behind.
“Maybe he’s out back,” Toni
suggested.
“I’ll check.” Mac limped through
the kitchen to the sliding glass doors. He turned on a light, illuminating a
table and sinks filled with food crusted dishes and empty cans and cartons
strewn on the floor.
Toni grimaced and her stomach
rolled.
“Don’t fall,” she cautioned as he
skirted sacks of newspapers and trash with his cane.
Alone, Toni looked around,
unwilling to touch anything or sit on the soiled sofa and chairs. Drafts of
sunlight fought their way through one murky window, highlighting dust motes in the
air. Outside in the back yard, Mac called for Lieutenant Andrus.
Toni shuddered with revulsion. She
wanted out of here. If they found Lieutenant Andrus, she planned to suggest
they take him to a restaurant rather than talking here.
As she glanced about the living
room, her gaze lit upon something shiny lying in the matted orange shag carpet
near the hallway to the back bedrooms. Something familiar about the object drew
her near before she bent and picked it up. As she studied it, a feeling of
horror filled her and her heart skipped a beat.
“He’s not out back.” Mac spoke from
the kitchen doorway. “From the looks of things, he hasn’t been here all day. I
found the morning paper still lying in the driveway.” His gaze settled on the
shiny object resting on her open palm. “What’s that?”
She took a shuddering breath,
trying to control the hammering inside her head and the sick feeling in her
stomach. “It’s Cara’s necklace.”
“What?” He reached to take the
delicate silver chain and looked more closely at it.
“It belongs to Cara.” Toni stared
at the charm dangling over his long fingers, her insides clenching.
“Where did you get this?”
She pointed at the carpet. “I…I
found it there, lying on the floor. Cara was here, Mac. My sister’s been in
this horrible house.”
Her knees wobbled and she could
barely stand. With Mac following behind, she headed down the hallway, throwing
open doors, calling for her sister. “Cara! Cara, are you here?”
“How can you be certain it’s
Cara’s?” he asked.
Toni reached to her throat and withdrew
a similar chain she kept tucked beneath the collar of her blouse. Except for
the colors, the charms looked identical. A red rose surrounded by the spray of
a rainbow.
Mac’s eyes widened. “Maybe someone
bought the same thing. They mass-produce jewelry. It could be a coincidence.”
“No, remember my dad had these
necklaces made special by a jeweler. He gave them to us the Christmas before he
and Mom died.”
“Yeah, I remember, now.”
Distracted, she flipped the charm
over and showed him the cursive flourish carved into the back. “Look, these are
Cara’s initials. This necklace belongs to her.”
“But that would mean she’d been
here.”
The ramifications washed over Toni
in shattering waves. Was Lieutenant Andrus the kidnapper? Maybe Cara was here
now. A blaze of hope pierced her heart.
“Cara! Cara, where are you?” Toni
headed down the shadowed hallway, determined not to leave this house until
she’d checked every corner, every nook and cranny.
The third room she came to, she
thrust the door open. A putrid stench hit her hard. The stink of death.
Mac caught up to her as she stood
in the doorway. Her head swam dizzily and nausea clawed her throat. Reeling
with revulsion, she opened her mouth and screamed.
Toni turned into Mac’s arms, hiding
her face against his shoulder. “Oh, Mac! It’s so horrible.”
Lieutenant Ryan Andrus lay across
the bed fully dressed except for his bare feet. His body reclined against
several pillows. A book rested beside him on the rumpled sheets. His wide eyes
stared at them, as if he’d been taken by surprise. A thatch of red hair lay
across his forehead, almost covering a small bullet hole. A trickle of blood
showed where he’d been shot, but Mac couldn’t see a gun. From the angle of the
wound, he didn’t think this was a suicide.
“He’s the freckled man from
Clarkston, isn’t he?” Toni’s words sounded muffled against his shirt.
Dawning flooded Mac as he stared at
Andrus. “Yes, I think you’re right.”
Viola Bigby had told them a
freckled man had accompanied the ponytail man and used the telephone in the
General Store. Because he didn’t know Andrus well and thought the man had died
in Afghanistan, Mac hadn’t made the connection.
“This was no accident. We’re
getting out of here.” Mac wasn’t taking chances with Toni’s life.
“But Cara might still be in here.”
Toni moved toward the door.
He caught her hand and pulled her
back. “Toni, take my word for it, she may have been here earlier, but she’s not
here now.”
“How do you know?”
He realized she wouldn’t budge until
he explained. “I checked the basement. I found an empty cell with bars. It’s
been used recently.”
“Oh!” Her eyes widened with horror
and she clasped a hand to her mouth. “Mac, what have they done with my sister?
Where have they taken her? Who has her?”
“Don’t panic. Let’s go.” Mac led
Toni down the hall and out into the sunlight.
They gulped fresh air into their
lungs. The shattered look in Toni’s eyes was more than he could stand. How he
wished she hadn’t seen Andrus dead.
Without willing himself to, he
prayed silently for Cara’s safety.
Please, God, she’s just an innocent
child. If you have to take someone, then take me. But not Cara.