CHAPTER TWELVE
“It doesn’t look as if the suspect pool has diminished in any way.”
Lance was seated a few tables away from where Shae was talking with Detective Kendrick. A forensics team had already come and gone with only one bag of evidence to show for their efforts. The patrons at the bar had been questioned one by one, and now the Cavern sat almost completely empty.
Jace never had any intention of showing Shae the darkness that lived inside his soul. That facet was reserved for enemy combatants. It was put there purposefully through many years of hard training. He needed that part of himself to deal with the environment he’d been forced to live within, and the resulting carnage that combat produced.
The combat veterans that our country developed were never meant to interact with civilians after the crucible. For them to bear witness to the changes the forge had left behind served to set them further apart.
Once the die had been cast, one couldn’t unmake the tool he or she was meant to be. Time was powerful process. It was capable of smoothing the harsher edges, however, the metal of men’s souls remained.
The uninitiated couldn’t possibly begin to understand, because all the living witnesses were cloaked in self-imposed silence. The process we call strife has a beginning and end. The passage of which takes with it the best we had to offer and returned the byproduct of scarred and rendered souls. The only intact souls in this room had gotten up to refresh their beverages, lending a moment’s time for the warriors to speak unheard.
“How do you stop yourselves from hunting our adversary?”
It was evident the question had caused his younger brothers to become speechless. That was saying something, but Jace didn’t find any humor in what he’d accomplished. He truly wanted an honest answer from them before he decided to take measures into his own hands.
The demented and warped mind of a psychopath had dragged Shae into whatever game he’d been playing the last twelve years…if not longer.
That reality was unacceptable to those who truly knew how to deal with evil.
“It’s not our place.” Noah leaned forward and tapped the table hard with his finger to make his point. “I don’t know what’s going on between you and Shae, but this is a matter for the police. Support her, comfort her, protect her…but don’t go doing something that will land your ass in jail. This is not a free fire zone. They have rules of engagement here.”
“Noah’s right.” It was clear that Lance wanted to add on an asterisk to that admission. It was rare that Noah and Lance agreed on anything. Instead, he forged ahead to give his brother’s advice some credence. “We’ve all been touched by this, but the smart thing to do is let the police handle the investigation. If this case gets botched because one of us acts outside the law or gets our hands dirty, we would be the ones to blame if the son of a bitch walked free.”
“He can’t walk if he’s in the morgue.”
Jace recalled the conversation he’d had with Shae about how she viewed him when they were younger—straight-laced and determined. She was right, in a manner of speaking. Yet she was also very, very wrong.
He didn’t play by the rules when the quarry required adaptation to eliminate it.
He’d established his own set of moral imperatives.
“You can tell Brynn that Shae won’t be needing the apartment upstairs anymore.” Jace stood, not caring when the legs of the chair scraped the hardwood floor. It got the detective’s attention. “She’ll be staying with me.”
Jace pulled out his cell phone and without hesitation, dialed the first number on his list of favorites. He walked across the bar to where the pool tables were located to get some privacy, all the while letting the line ring. There was always one person a sibling could depend on no matter what the stakes—their older brother.
“Jace, how’s the homecoming going?” Mitch asked in greeting, his confusion over the call evident. They’d spoken three days ago and would usually go a hell of a lot longer than that between phone conversations. “Uneventful, I hope.”
“I wish I could tell you what you wanted to hear, but it’s actually just the opposite.” Jace and Mitch had numerous discussions in the past over how Noah and Lance always had trouble following them wherever they went. It was true in most cases, but this thing was over the top. What was happening in Blyth Lake was on a much bigger scale than any personal issue they had to deal with in the past. “You’ve tapped out, right? There’s nothing holding you there but checking out of the command, right? When does your terminal leave start?”
“What happened?” Mitch didn’t bother to answer Jace’s questions, but rather he got right to the point. “Are Noah and Lance okay?”
“They’re fine, but Shae Irwin returned to town a few days ago. Believe it or not, the same day I arrived back home.”
Jace gave Shae a reassuring smile when she looked his way, having done so a few times over the course of her conversation with Detective Kendrick. It wasn’t that his comfort was needed. Not in the least. Something had changed in her from the time she’d run into him at the top of the stairs to when he came back out from having searched her apartment. It was something unpredictable, and it sure as hell put him on edge.
“And?” Mitch asked after Jace had fallen silent. He dragged his attention back to the call he’d initiated. “Was Shae hurt?”
“The bastard broke into the studio apartment where she’s staying and left behind the boots Emma Irwin was wearing the night she disappeared. He was inside the Cavern, amongst us, and nobody noticed anything out of the ordinary.” Jace could literally taste the disgust of such an insane action. “Mitch, we need you here. You understand that Sheriff Percy is on suspension. The town will all but force his resignation, if they’re given an alternative. Byron Warner has taken over the responsibilities in the interim, but you and I both know he’s not up for dealing with something of this magnitude.”
“Why does this sound personal?”
Jace fell silent, unable to answer Mitch’s question. In reality, he hadn’t spoken to Shae at length in over twelve years.
They were old friends who had reminisced about the past.
Nothing more.
And that was a complete lie.
“It is personal,” Jace replied honestly, leaning back against the pool table for support. He’d been moving non-stop since early this morning, as well as rearranging furniture and unpacking boxes. He was physically exhausted, but mentally aggravated. That wasn’t a good combination. “I’m asking you to come home. Take over the sheriff’s position like dad and the rest of the towns’ elders are asking of you, and we’ll get rid of this bastard that’s terrifying our friends and neighbors.”
“The Ohio State Police took over the investigation already,” Mitch said, his tone suggesting there wasn’t anything he could do if he did decide to return to town sooner rather than later. “I’ve spoken to Detective Kendrick. He seems like a capable investigator, Jace.”
“I’m not saying Kendrick isn’t doing his job, but no one knows these people like we do, Mitch.” Jace didn’t have a single doubt that someone from Blyth Lake was responsible for all this bloodshed. No stranger could have gotten inside this bar without someone noticing him. As for the outside perimeter, the most likely avenues of approach were covered by video surveillance. “You can make a difference here. I intend to help you make that difference.”
Mitch was silent on the other end of the line. Jace gave his brother the time needed to make a decision. He understood all too well how hard it was to leave one life behind for another. Mitch had been in the Marines for sixteen years.
He would have completed his twenty, but the Marine Corps was putting him out on an early medical retirement. He was more than capable of keeping up with his civilian counterparts, but the pins in his hip would keep from completing a three-mile run anytime soon. His injury put a hitch in his step, but the sense of duty the Corps had instilled in him hadn’t erased, nor could it be removed by a few classes given by the transition team assigned to ease his adjustment to civilian life.
Jace used the minute or two to go over the facts in his mind about the day’s events. Shae had unpacked early this morning before leaving the apartment to visit old friends. Those boots could have been placed amongst her own shoes at any point during the elapsed twelve-hour period…maybe even longer. No unusual activity was picked up by the security feeds, so that could only mean that one of the patrons who’d stopped in for a drink throughout the day into the early evening was the guilty party. It would have been nearly impossible to avoid the cameras without drawing attention to himself or herself.
“Give me two weeks.”
“I’m afraid we don’t have two weeks.” Jace wasn’t going to sugarcoat the situation. “We need someone on the inside of this, Mitch. Kendrick already tried formally questioning anyone and everyone who had a personal connection to this case, and look what happened. Deputy Wallace was murdered in cold blood, Lance and Brynn were almost reduced to nothing but ashes, and the people we grew up with are turning on one another like rats fighting for the last scrap of meat. You and I both know what Kendrick is going to do with the people on the list he’s managed to compile from the security cameras.”
Jace allowed his words to sink in, taking note that Detective Kendrick was bringing his conversation with Shae to a close. Time was running out before this entire case turned into a royal goat roping rodeo and the governor decided to request the FBI take lead on the investigation. Once the feds took over, the community they loved would never be the same again. It had nothing to do with Kendrick’s abilities as a detective, and everything to do with the inner workings of a small town. One just couldn’t question the integrity of the whole community without driving some wedges between folks.
“I’ll be there tomorrow. They can give me compassionate leave for a family emergency. My last two weeks will be unpaid.”
Jace sighed with relief and wasn’t even offended when Mitch disconnected their call. He had shit to do, and little time to do it in. His dance card just got filled.
“Thank you, Detective.” Shae and Kendrick were both standing by the time Jace reached their table. She had her arms wrapped around her waist, though her chin was tilted upward in confrontation. “As I said, I’m not leaving Blyth Lake. I appreciate your concern, but this is about my family.”
“You can reach Shae at my residence.” Jace picked up Shae’s cell phone and purse she’d set on the table. “She’ll be well protected, and I’ll make sure she doesn’t go anywhere without armed security.”
“You don’t get to make that decision, Jace.”
“I already did. Sue me.”
“Jace is right on this one, Ms. Irwin,” Detective Kendrick said, warding off an inevitable argument. “An apartment above a bar isn’t exactly the most secure location. You got half the town’s population in and out of here on a regular basis. It’s how this killer was able to gain access to your belongings without anyone being the wiser. I have enough to substantiate putting a cruiser out front, but I think it’s time we face the undisputable facts that have been laid out for us—it’s more than likely that you all personally know the individual responsible for your sister’s disappearance and the murder of Whitney Bell. An officer stationed outside a popular tavern can’t stop something from happening should the threat come from someone you allow into your personal space.”
Kendrick reached into the inner pocket of his suit jacket, pulling out his cell phone and glancing at the display. From the way his gaze landed on Jace, he pretty much gathered Mitch was giving the good detective a call about the future plans of Blyth Lake and the local sheriff department’s involvement. It would be smart for Jace to let his father know that Mitch was returning sooner rather than later. The mayor would be able to appoint Mitch as the sheriff pro tempore until such time as a midterm election could be arranged or the next official election was scheduled. Special elections cost money and most small towns avoided them, if at all possible. The town council would have to be involved to determine which avenue they wanted to pursue.
“You’re not my keeper, Jace.” Shae took her cell phone and her purse, standing in front of him to finish their conversation in private as Kendrick answered his call. “Is this about me telling you why I showed up at Nick’s get-together for you? That was twelve years ago, and it was a crush that has long since faded. You know, worn out its mojo. I’m a grown woman who has managed to get this far in my life without having a man make my decisions for me. I appreciate what you—”
“Faded? Worn out its mojo?” Jace closed the space between them, no longer caring who saw them in a compromising position. If he had his way, she’d be spending the night in his bed. Well, he’d most likely be sleeping on the couch from her most recent reaction, but she would still be under his roof. “Shae, you and I could burn this place down with one kiss. And you have it all wrong. I’m not telling you what to do. I’m stating what I am going to do—and that is to escort you from this unsecure common area to an environment I can control for security reasons.”
“Did I mention I don’t like people who can rationalize any situation in their minds to suit their own needs?” Shae asked, not backing down as she met his gaze with her overly stubborn one. It took every ounce of strength he had not to reach for her in front of their friends and his family. “You’re edging very close to that category, Jace.”
He leaned in close so that only she could hear his confession. His lips barely touched her flushed cheek.
“Now you’re beginning to understand the real me, Doc.”