Deadly Dozen: 12 Mysteries/Thrillers (139 page)

Mandy shot toward the back. Joshua stayed near the evidence, looking at the wall and then back to the flames as if torn about leaving. “Go,” I ordered him.

“Watch out,” he said with panic in his voice, pointing to the approaching flames. A heat wave pinched my skin and curled the hair on my face.

As I neared the wall, I raised the shovel and aimed for the top of the board. With a cry, I slammed the shovel into the wood. It splintered in two, right above the urine stains. The board was ajar, leaning at an awkward angle. I grabbed the bottom of it and wrenched it sidewise, tearing it from the wall just before the flames reached it.

I followed Joshua at a run. He moved surprisingly fast for his hefty frame. I saw him take something from his coat jacket—a handkerchief. The fire raged behind us. I heard beams crashing and walls collapsing. Just as he passed the door, in one fluid motion he bent down and picked up the candy wrapper with the handkerchief.

The fire reached the door before I did. Sparks shot out of some electrical wires and I flinched. I wasn’t going to make it in time. Taking a deep breath, I leaped hands first through the exit.

The doorframe collapsed behind me. A spark landed on my arm, singeing my sleeve, and then burst into flames. I clapped my hand over it, quelling the fire. Pain seared my palm.

I sucked in deep breaths of clean air. Mandy stood at the end of the field, eyes wide and pierced with panic. Beside me, Joshua clutched my arm and pulled me away from the barn.

I coughed out all the air in my lungs before breathing felt right. We turned to watch the pillar of smoke rise to the sky and I heard sirens in the distance.

Collapsing to the ground, I saw the barn fall in. It had been destroyed so quickly. Setting the board down beside me, I was thankful we had at least found what we needed. Joshua still held my arm, as if needing a presence near him.

I trembled and looked up at Mandy. She was scared, but there was a hard, angry edge about her eyes. I recognized it because it was the way I felt at the moment. We had been so close to dying.

I wanted to scream, but I was frozen. Orange flames licked up the remaining barn walls and I knew who was behind this. But there was a difference between what was true and what could be proven in court.

“Is everyone okay?” Joshua tore his eyes from the blaze and looked Mandy and me over.

“I’m fine,” Mandy whispered.

Joshua cleared his throat and looked into my eyes. He didn’t need to say anything—we both knew what the other was thinking.

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

THE DETECTIVES CAME AT the same time as the fire engines. There was no barn left for the firemen to save, so they sprayed down the yard and border of the fields to make sure the fire was contained.

We handed over the evidence to the detectives, with detailed descriptions of where we found it. They watched as Mandy loaded the pictures onto her phone, emailed each one to them, and then deleted them. We had to make sure no one could suspect us of tampering with the evidence, although I knew we wouldn’t be able to use it. They promised they’d write in their report that they’d collected the evidence at the scene of the crime so we’d have a stronger case.

We rode back to town in silence. Joshua had a soft Hawaiian song playing, almost like a lullaby. He loved Samoan music and had just about every CD ever recorded in Hawaii—it was one of the only parts of his heritage he clung to. The singer crooned us into a near-sleep state.

My body felt like a train had hit it at full speed and then backed up to finish the job. My lungs hurt, my eyes ached, and my head felt swollen.

“Want me to stay at your place tonight, Sarah?” Mandy asked. It was kind. I did want her to stay, but I knew she didn’t need me right now. She needed Rick. So I refused, saying I’d sleep like a log whether she was there or not. We dropped her off at her house and then Joshua and I went back to the office. We were covered in soot, sweat, and grime. I just needed to pick up my car.

“You’ve got that meeting with Hannah Williams in the morning,” Joshua reminded me.

I nodded. “We got a lot done today. Hopefully we’ll take a few more steps closer tomorrow.”

Joshua adjusted his glasses and turned to leave. For some reason I reached for him and gave him a big hug. I melted in his arms, and he felt good and safe.

Without another word, we went our separate ways.

I soaked in the bath until my fingers and toes looked like prunes. I went into the water smelling like a cloud of smoke and came out smelling like vanilla. A layer of grime lined my tub when I drained the water.

After drying off and brushing my hair, I just lay in my bed. The covers were soft and warm against my naked skin.

I felt restless. Although I was tired, I was nowhere near falling asleep. The adrenaline was still in my body, fueling my thoughts. The events of the day reeled through my head like a movie. There were several things I wished I had done, things I would change.

I wished I had run outside the barn as soon as I heard the car pull into the driveway.

I wished I’d been there when Williams had gotten out of his car with those Molotov cocktails.

I wished I’d kicked him back into the car and thrown the bombs in after him.

This evening I’d been reminded once again what he’d done to Tracy Mulligan—had seen where he raped and beaten and killed her. And then he’d tried to kill my friends and destroy the evidence. I had no proof, but I knew it was him.

One side of me wanted him to come to justice the slow, modern way—through the judiciary system.

The other side of me wanted him to see justice the ancient, blood-feud way—and watch him burn.

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

SWEAT POURED OFF THE tip of my nose as I pounded the stair climber. Eminem ripped my heart out in my earbuds and I lost myself in the sound. This was my escape, my world to bend and create what I wanted.

I had barely slept, and now I was up and doing my early morning exercise routine. I had a weight problem when I was a kid—I just couldn’t lose the baby fat. Being teased at school led to more eating, and at my highest weight I began to have some medical problems. I also ate when I was stressed, and my home environment was the opposite of stress-free.

I wanted to be healthy, and then that day came…

It still hurt so much, but in a way, my mom going away on a life sentence was the best thing that ever happened to me. I didn’t like to think about it. But when I worked out, in the middle of punishing my body, I let it drive me.

Thinking about my mom made me think about my father. He’d never left me, but he’d never been there for me, either. In the midst of Mom’s craziness, he never stood up for me. That’s why I had done what I did that night. And even though I longed for him, I knew that I was longing more for the idea of someone than the real person.

My mom was gone too, for all intents and purposes. She’s still angry. When I call her, she answers me in monosyllables and then hangs up after a minute. I tried to see her the first year, but she wouldn’t come out of her cell. And it was hard for foster parents to get me there anyway, so I gave up and took to the gym.

One hundred pounds later, I was in the best shape of my life. For the first time, men noticed me, and it took me about a year to figure out how to handle male attention. Most just wanted one thing, and I was not in to one-night stands.

“Just gonna stand there and watch me burn …”

My legs screamed and I pushed harder. The more they hurt, the louder the music, and the easier it was to drown out my thoughts. Was it healthy to try to bury all my feelings? Probably not, but I wasn’t ready to stare that monster in the face.

The song ended and I eased up for a full minute. When my heart rate slowed a little, I cranked up the resistance and hit it as hard and fast as I could.

I thought about Hank Williams and how he was trying to break me. Why? What did he have to gain by pushing me to the edge? Was he really planning to kill me, or was he just scared?

One of the most dangerous things was a man with money and nothing but time on his hands, and Hank Williams had both.

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

THE DOORBELL RANG AND I jumped. It was barely six in the morning and I’d just stepped out of the shower. I grabbed my robe from the hook on the back of the bathroom door and wrapped it around me. Who could it be at this hour?

Peering through the peephole, I saw a mass of flowers. Sighing, I turned and leaned against the door. My hair was wet and I felt naked. Wait—I was pretty much naked under my robe.

I unlocked the door and smiled as a tall, thin man handed me the roses—a dozen of them, and a card. He had me sign for them and walked away after checking me out. I blushed as I shut and relocked the door.

Who would be sending me flowers? If it was Dan, I was going to have to talk to him again—he couldn’t flirt with me like this. He was married and I was not going to sleep with him, no matter how hard he tried.

I set the vase down and breathed in the wonderful scent. The roses were amazing, red and full, all in bloom. I slid the card from the envelope and turned it over. It had a puppy on the front with huge eyes and a silly smile. I laughed in spite of myself and opened it.

You think you escaped, but all you did was sentence yourself to death. Enjoy the roses.

HW

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

TWO HOURS AFTER I’D dumped the roses in my trash can, I was late. I’d dropped off the card at the police station, filed another report, and then hightailed it to the office. My meeting with Hannah Williams was in forty minutes and it was all the way across town.

I rushed down the hallway. My heels sounded funny on the marble floor, like horse hooves on pavement. I entered the common room and waved Joshua over. He was talking with some other interns. Then I entered my office. Someone moved from behind the door and grabbed my arm.

Acting instinctively, I yanked my arm out of the grip and elbow-jabbed him in the chest.

He cried out. Doubling over, he grabbed his chest, trying to catch his breath.