Читать книгу Christmas Conspiracy - Susan Sleeman - Страница 13

FOUR

Hair-raising screams greeted Jake when he parked in Rachael’s driveway and opened his car door. Deputy Hill was already out of his car and jogging toward her house, his gun drawn.

Jake drew his service weapon as adrenaline raced through his veins.

Thankfully, he’d come back. He’d traveled a short distance but couldn’t forget the forlorn look on Rachael’s face as he departed, so he’d turned around. Looked like he’d done so just in time.

He charged across the lawn to step in front of Hill.

“Update me,” Jake demanded as he marched toward the entrance.

“No movement near the house,” Hill said. “The woman just started screaming from inside.”

Jake shot a look around the yard. “You’re sure you didn’t just miss someone?”

“Positive. I didn’t take my eyes off the property.”

Jake knew nothing about Deputy Hill, so there was no telling if he’d actually been as attentive as he claimed, but if his tone of voice was any indication, he was telling the truth.

Staying aware of his surroundings, Jake climbed the steps. At the door, he took a quick look through the window. He could see through the foyer, and he spotted Rachael standing in the living room, but he couldn’t tell if she was alone. Her arms were wrapped around her waist, her head thrown back, but her wailing screams were subsiding.

He had to get into the house, but he couldn’t endanger her more by racing inside without knowing if she was alone. If someone was with her, Jake could force a hostage situation and that was the last thing he wanted.

He turned the knob and tugged. It didn’t budge.

Rachael must have heard him, as she suddenly spun around and peered at him for a long moment. Then, like a zombie, she strolled toward the door and her trembling hands hovered over the lock before she turned it. Not saying a word, she stood back. Terror filled her eyes.

He stepped into the foyer and moved her between him and Deputy Hill for her safety. “What is it?”

She lifted an arm and pointed into the living room.

“He...he was...he was here.” The words came out in a strangled whisper.

He had to assume she was talking about the intruder.

“Wait here,” he told her and glanced at Hill. “Back me up.”

Together they eased forward, Jake’s gaze traveling every inch of the space in search of a threat. At the wide doorway to the living room, he glanced back to be sure Rachael was okay. She remained frozen in place, so he ran his gaze over the living room. He saw a message written on the mirror above the fireplace.

Talk and You Die.

If the kidnapper left the message, he meant that if she told anyone she’d seen him he would kill her. She was right. The intruder had come here.

Jake finished his visual search of the room to confirm no threat existed, and spotted a lipstick lying on the floor.

“You think the mirror’s the thing that scared her?” Hill asked from behind. “I mean, even I’d be a little freaked out if I found a message of any kind written on my mirror, but one that said, ‘Talk and You Die’? That’d freak me out big-time.”

Jake wouldn’t admit his fear when they had a job to do. “The suspect could still be in the house, and we can’t let Ms. Long out of our sight. You stay with her while I clear the rest of the house again.”

Jake took his job seriously, and the first rule of law enforcement was to protect life at all costs, so he waited for Hill to return to Rachael.

“Stay alert,” Jake warned, his gaze connecting with her eyes. He acknowledged her with a quick nod, then turned his attention back to the house and moved through the rooms ending up in the kitchen. The door leading to the yard stood wide open. He checked the door and the frame. He wasn’t surprised to see pry marks, raising his unease.

Jake continued onto the small back porch, then searched the postage-stamp-sized yard and her garage again. Certain the intruder was gone, he grabbed his phone and dialed Skyler. He told her of the break-in and why he thought it had been the kidnapper who’d left the message.

“I need forensics here ASAP,” he said.

“You’re sure Rachael didn’t write this message herself to draw us off track?”

He didn’t take any offense at Skyler’s question, as it was a logical one, and she wasn’t here to see Rachael’s abject terror declaring her innocence. “I’m sure. The back door has been jimmied.”

“Our resources are already spread thin today.” Skyler sighed. “But I’ll get someone out as soon as I can. I’ll likely have to pull someone off the center to cover it.”

The county had limited forensic resources, and he hated that processing Rachael’s house would slow them down, but it couldn’t be helped.

“How soon before you’ll get here?” he asked.

“I’m at the center and can be there in five.”

He wanted to ask if she’d located anything new in her investigation, but he could do that when she arrived, and Rachael needed his attention. He disconnected his call and stepped back into the kitchen, taking the time to look around as he grabbed a glass from an open shelf and filled it with water for Rachael. The bright space had white cabinets and a light swirly granite countertop. Red stools sat at a big island, and she’d also included red items throughout.

Back in the living room, he ran his gaze over the space, looking for any lead he might have missed. Beyond the message, what he noticed most was the absence of Christmas, which was just a week away. His gaze moved to the message that was written in the plum-colored lipstick lying on the floor. The letters were sloppy and hastily scribbled.

A worn wood fireplace mantel was mounted below the mirror and held a picture of Rachael and a man looking very much in love. Her deceased husband, Jake suspected. The room was immaculate and spotless, just like the kitchen, but besides the frame there weren’t any personal touches in the room, making the house feel sterile and cold. It was the opposite of his first impression of Rachael.

Intrigued even more, he joined her in the entryway. She was sitting in a chair in the corner, chewing on a fingernail. She looked up, terror still lingering in her expression. He gave her the glass. She cupped it between both hands but didn’t take a drink.

Jake faced Hill. “The house is clear. I found the back door open.”

“He came through the alley, then,” Hill said, sounding relieved that he hadn’t missed seeing the kidnapper. “You need me for anything here, or can I go out to my vehicle and check in with dispatch?”

“Go,” Jake replied, then turned his attention to Rachael.

“He was in here, wasn’t he?” she asked.

“Yes,” Jake said as calmly as possible when all he wanted to do was slam a fist against the wall.

“I was in the shower, and he was out here prowling around my house.” She shuddered.

Anger burned in his gut at the intruder for causing her fear, but it wouldn’t help to let his anger show. Remaining calm and moving forward was the best way to help her deal with her emotions. “I’m assuming he used your lipstick to write the message?”

She looked up and pointed at her handbag sitting on the entry table. “It was in my purse.”

At the look of utter violation on her face, he wanted to take her hand, but after Skyler’s comments, he ignored his instinct in favor of keeping things professional. “Once our forensic staff processes your house, I’ll need you to make a thorough inspection to see if anything has been disturbed or is missing.”

She nodded, but it was wooden.

“Is there anyone I can call for you?”

In the ambulance, she’d said she had no one, but he hoped she had a close friend who could come over and help her handle this latest shock.