Читать книгу Scene Of The Crime: The Deputy's Proof - Carla Cassidy - Страница 9

Chapter Four

“You both need to stop this cycle,” Josh said impatiently. He glared at the couple seated on a sagging sofa in one of the shanties that stood near the swamp on the west side of town.

Daisy Wilcox sported a split lip, and her husband, Judd, had scratch marks down his cheek. This wasn’t the first time Josh had been called here for a domestic situation.

“I should just take you both in, let you spend some time in jail,” Josh said, aware that time was ticking by and it was just a few minutes before he was supposed to meet Savannah in her backyard.

“It was just a little lover’s spat,” Daisy protested and grabbed Judd’s hand. “I overreacted and shouldn’t have called the sheriff’s office. We’re fine now. There’s no reason to arrest us.”

“Yeah, we’re cool,” Judd said and patted his wife’s ample thigh.

The small room reeked of alcohol and pot. Daisy’s words were slurred and Judd’s pupils were huge. Josh had cause to take them in, but they weren’t bad people. They were part of the poor of Lost Lagoon, swamp people who had little hope and tried to escape that hopelessness by masking their pain with whatever was available.

Besides, if he ran them in, there would be paperwork to fill out, processes that needed to be followed. It all took time, and he was aware of every minute that ticked by. In any case, each of them would refuse to press charges against the other, and it would all be a waste of time.

“If I’m called out here again tonight, then you’re both going to be arrested,” he warned them as he had a dozen times before. “Put the booze and whatever else you’re using away and stop this nonsense.”

“We will,” Daisy replied and leaned into her husband. She smiled up at Judd. “You know I love you, baby.”

Judd returned her smile. “Back at you, babe.”

Minutes later, as Josh drove to Savannah’s house, he thought about the couple he’d just left. About once a month one officer or another was called to the address to respond to a fight.

Usually by the time the officer got there, the fight was over and the two were lovebirds once again. Their injuries were usually superficial and always sported by both. Josh swore to himself that the next time he was called out there, he would make arrests and let the both of them cool their heels in jail and hopefully make them think about abuse and love. Some people just didn’t get it. Love wasn’t supposed to hurt.

His thoughts quickly shifted to Savannah as he looked at the clock on his dashboard and cursed inwardly. It was midnight. She was probably already making her ghostly walk.

By the time he parked in her driveway and ran to the backyard, he figured he might as well just wait. She should be coming back up at any moment.

Dammit, he’d wanted to take this final walk with her. Even though he thought what she was doing was more than a little bit crazy, he knew tonight’s walk would be emotionally difficult for her.

He’d wanted to be by her side. The darkness of her eyes and the obvious emptiness in her life haunted him. He felt partially responsible for how isolated she’d become, for the obvious grief that still ate at her.

He had so many memories of the laughing, flirting Savannah who had stirred his senses, a woman he’d wanted desperately. He wanted to find that woman again, to help her heal not just for herself, but for him. Time hadn’t erased his desire for her.

Would things have been different for her if he’d pushed Sheriff Trey Walker in the investigation of Shelly’s murder? If the case had been closed and the killer was behind bars, would that have given Savannah the closure she needed to move forward in a meaningful way?

The problem was, she had nobody to offer her support and encouragement. Her parents had left town, and she apparently wasn’t close to her brother. Whatever friends she’d possessed had either drifted away or been shoved away by her, leaving her alone to cope...and she hadn’t coped.

Every muscle in his body stiffened as he thought he heard a faint cry coming from the hole in the ground. He turned on his flashlight and shone it down, seeing nothing but earth.

Had he heard her crying? Weeping because she knew this was the end of her walks? Should he go down and console her? Or let her cry in private? He had a feeling that if she was crying, she wouldn’t welcome his presence.

He heard her again, only this time instead of weeping, it sounded like a scream of terror. With his gun in one hand, his flashlight in the other and adrenaline pumping through his body, he dropped down into the hole.

The first thing he saw was the penlight beam, shining at him from the floor in the distance. What he didn’t see was any sign of Savannah.

“Savannah!” He yelled her name and it echoed in the air.

He quickly walked forward, his gun leading the way and his heart pounding a million beats a minute. Where was Savannah? Why was her flashlight on the ground? What in the hell was happening?

“Josh, help!” Her cry seemed to come from all sides of him. He moved faster, and when he came to the first entrance of an offshoot tunnel, he spun to shine his flashlight and gun down into the darkness.

“Savannah,” he shouted again.

“I’m here.” Her voice came again. He shone his light back up the main tunnel and saw her crawling out of one of the offshoot passageways ahead of him.

He ran toward her, his heart still beating at a dizzying speed. She crawled toward him and began to cry. Before he reached her, she got to her feet and raced toward him, slamming into his chest and holding tightly to him. “Somebody grabbed me,” she managed to gasp between sobs. “He tried to drag me down the tunnel.”

Josh peeled her away from him. “Get out of here and get into your house. I need to check it out.”

She grabbed his arm. “Be careful.” She quickly turned and hurried toward the exit. Josh shone his light on her until he saw her leave the tunnel. Then he turned around and headed forward.

Every nerve, every sense he possessed tingled with hyperawareness as he approached the passageway where, according to Savannah, somebody had jumped out and grabbed her.

He didn’t even want to think about how frightened she’d been, how filthy she’d looked and how helpless she’d appeared crawling along the floor out of the unexplored tunnel.

When he reached the place she’d crawled out of, he shone his light to illuminate the utter blackness of the underground. Nothing. He couldn’t see anything as far as his flashlight beam could reach.

Tightening his grip on his gun, he walked down the unfamiliar tunnel. There was nothing to distinguish it from the one he’d just left. He followed it until he came to a fork and didn’t know which way to go. Uncertain whether he could find his way back if he ventured too far, he gave up the hunt. Besides, he imagined Savannah’s attacker was long gone by now.