Alpha Me Not (31 page)

Joe, Kieran, and Gray secured the perimeter of Vance Ellison’s home while Tate neutralized the security system.

At Tate’s signal, Kieran stalked to the back of the house. Tate took Kieran’s spot on the back left of the property. Gray prowled the opposite corner.

Joe sprinted to the driveway and crouched behind a mulberry shrub, a position that afforded him a clear view of the entire front area.

One of the frat houses on a nearby road reverberated with the exaggerated bass of a rap song. Joe figured the campus cops would be too busy keeping an eye on the frat party to focus much on College Circle.

Campus security was a mixed beat comprising both a regular patrol car and golf cart surveillance. Fifteen minutes later a golf cart hummed its way past Ellison’s house. Joe hoped Kieran could obtain Ellison’s full confession before the cart made its second round.

Kieran appeared not eleven seconds later. He nodded at Joe and gave him a thumbs-up.

All had gone according to plan.

On the way to Vance’s house, the men had all agreed on how the story would unfold. In the morning Coach Ellison would be discovered dead by his own hand.

Tate would leak the shower scene Petey had somehow taped on the Internet, but blur the young victim’s face. Kieran had volunteered to contact Detective Taunton once they had identified the boy and the team had decided to let the Hallie special victims professionals in the police department handle informing his parents about the abuse.

After the fanfare of tonight’s ceremony, the reasons for Vance Ellison’s suicide would be apparent: fear of exposure of his horrific secret life.

Tate had assured Kieran there was no way the tape could be traced back to Petey.

Joe signaled, and they all moved out. When they reached the incline behind the Arnolds’ house, he motioned for a conference. They gathered in a tight circle.

“Ellison did it?”

“Yeah. Petey was hiding in a locker. The kid who was in the shower with him is one Ryan Wood. Ellison and the boy left the lockers, and Petey came out of his hiding place. Ellison forgot something, went back to the locker room, and bumped into Petey. He said he offered Petey a ride home. I’m guessing Petey somehow managed to hide the camcorder in a locker. Ellison knew nothing about the camcorder.

“He questioned Petey and panicked. Stashed him in the cave under the rock. Ellison said he took Petey food and water. He said he didn’t want to kill Petey, but he couldn’t take a chance on letting him go. My boy was in that fucking cave for three days. I can’t fucking imagine how scared he must have been.” Tears streamed down Kieran’s cheeks. He shook his head and scrubbed a hand over his eyes. “Barb never knows this. Petey fell and broke his neck. That’s the official story.”

The anguish in Kieran’s voice raked Joe’s heart. But he forced himself to focus on the operation and what they needed to know. “How’d Ellison know about the cave?”

Kieran’s abrasive half laugh, half jeer rent the silence. “Swampy and Ellison occasionally hunted together. Swampy let it slip once.”

“What about the other boys? Eric? The dead kid from the ravine?”

“Not Ellison. Don’t get me wrong. Ellison molested God knows how many over the years, but Petey’s the only one…” Kieran shuttered his eyes and bowed his head.

Joe could see all the pent-up rage fizzing like a dart-popped balloon out of Kieran, and he felt for him. That Kieran hadn’t taken the ultimate revenge and set Ellison free only to hunt him down and kill him like the vermin he was spoke volumes of the grief still buried. “You’re positive Ellison told the truth?”

“Absolutely.”

“The Arnolds are still in play then. Go back to my house. Go to the kitchen, get water or something, and make sure Sands and Johnson can establish the time.”

“Joe’s right. We’re ahead of schedule. No way you could’ve been at Ellison’s and Joe’s home in the time we’ve been gone. Not humanly possible.”

Not only did Gray have a sardonic sense of humor, he also remained remarkably poised under dire circumstances. Joe counted himself fortunate to have Gray for a brother-in-law. Susie’s parting words soared into his soul, but he willed away the elation. Duty always came first.

“No one’s going to associate me with Ellison’s ‘suicide.’ I don’t—”

“We’re not taking any chances. Think of Barb.” Joe didn’t intend to back down. They
all
had to stick to the plan.

“Man, you
are
paranoid.” Gray prodded a twig with his boot.

“For good reason. Go back to Joe’s, buddy. Go take care of your wife.” Tate backslapped Kieran and gave him a shove.

“Fine. But I want to know the minute you return.” After uttering the half-snarled statement, Kieran left them, breaking into a sprint almost immediately.

The three men followed his path until he vanished into a dense copse of shrubs and pines. Joe knew Kieran would take the maximum time getting back to his house, and the panther would rage and wreak havoc on the way there.

Concentrating on the task ahead, Joe swiveled to face the Arnolds’ house. Darkness shrouded the second floor. On the first floor, two dim, yellowy glows reminiscent of night-lights showed. Another similar glow came from the living room. Not a peep came from the house, not even a slight snore.

“Gray, you take the top floor. I’ll take the bottom. Tate, you’re in charge of the grounds.” Joe had portioned the areas according to their abilities.

Tate would do the grounds as a wolf. In the morning it would appear that a pack of wolves had demolished the carefully dug vegetable and flower beds that filled the Arnolds’ back and front yards.

Gray’s stealth would help him explore the bedrooms, and, provided no one woke, there would be no trace of his presence.

Joe’s agility meant he could make a quick exit, and his presence on the street could be taken as normal, even way past midnight.

They met back at the incline not twenty-five minutes later and headed to the house, going through the preserve. Joe’s heart rammed his throat when the cottage came into view with what looked like every light in his home blazing.

All of them ran like the wind.

Jesus. What had happened?

It took every gram of Joe’s discipline not to hurdle the deck steps, but stick to the plan and race around to the front of the house. He zipped across the lawn, slowed to a normal pace, took the steps two at a time, unlocked the door, and left it open for the others. He marched into the living room and halted on a dime.

Susie sat on the sofa speaking with Detective Sands. But the second she saw Joe, she flew to him.

“It’s okay. Everything’s fine.”

He studied her features. No cuts, bruises, or obvious wounds. Checked her scent—normal, maybe a hint of fear, but otherwise A-OK. “What happened?”

Barb strolled into the living room carrying a tray loaded with Mama Maria’s array of desserts. “I had a craving. Sorry it took so long. Kieran was fussing and tried to trick me into lying down.”

“A craving?” Joe zeroed in on her first sentence. He’d run into a conversation minefield.

“She’s pregnant.” Kieran relieved his wife of the tray and pointed to the couch. “Sit. Feet up.”

“Great news, huh?” Susie tiptoed to kiss Joe full on the mouth.

“I don’t think we need the good officers anymore, do you, Joe?” Gray stood next to Tate in front of the kitchen door.

Knowing explanations would go smoother if there weren’t any danger of eavesdroppers, Joe gritted his teeth and corralled the lead detectives into his study.

Frustration made Joe terser than usual in his dealings with Sands and Johnson. He thanked them for their services, paid them, and added a bonus. The living room was empty when Joe escorted the hired men off the premises. He wound his way to the kitchen to find everyone all talking at once.

The aroma of the coffee had him salivating. He poured a cup, ambled over to the bench, sat, hauled Susie onto his lap, and barked, “Pipe down and pay attention.”

Silence fell.

“You don’t have to raise your voice,” Susie admonished.

“Yeah. I did. Listen up. Tomorrow morning the shit’s going to hit the fan. We’ll have media everywhere and a ton of questions thrown at us. Before we all hit the sack, we need to get our stories straight. What happened while we were gone? Susie, Barb?”

“You tell them, Susie.” Barb, cradled in Kieran’s arms, had already chomped down two miniature tiramisus, yet she reached for another.

“When I went to give Barb a cup of tea, she told me that two of the doctors who examined her earlier told her she might be pregnant.” Susie shot Joe a quick glance and shook her head, the movement imperceptible to the others in the room.

He understood right away. Susie had opted not to give Barb the sedative. Joe didn’t know the affect sleeping pills had on an early pregnancy, but his mate had been right not to chance injuring the baby.

“I didn’t want Kieran to know until I knew for sure. We’ve had so many false alarms.” Kieran picked a mini chocolate confection from the tray and tickled Barb’s lips with the delicacy. She opened her mouth and chomped down the entire pastry.

“I called Azzo and asked him to buy two pregnancy tests and bring them up. By then, Barb was starving. She hadn’t touched her food at Chez Pierre, so we ordered some desserts to go. You know, two birds, one stone.” Susie rolled a shoulder.

Azzo was the first person she’d turned to? Joe intended to have a long talk with the stud.

“Azzo brought the tests, but his cousins had once again not shown up for their shift. The kitchen was totally behind and the desserts weren’t ready. So he said he’d send them later with Billy.”

“Both tests were positive.” Barb didn’t pause chewing but curved a hand over her stomach. “I’m still reeling.”

Tears glimmered in Kieran’s eyes, and he covered her hand with his.

“The doorbell rang, and I remembered that I hadn’t given Billy a tip the last two times he’d delivered, and I dashed to the door.”

Joe gave her a warning squeeze and glared.

“Honestly, Joe, I was in a house full of armed men. Anyway it
was
Billy with the food, but he was all red in the face and talking a mile a minute. Turns out he had spotted Jeffrey Arnold hiding behind Mama Maria’s dumpster. Long story short, he and Azzo called the police and the cops started a search of the neighborhood. Detective Sands and Johnson turned on all the lights in the house, even though I told them over and over that it wasn’t necessary.” Susie kissed his cheek, but he wasn’t appeased. She had once again disobeyed an order.

Tate braced one elbow on the counter. “You
argued
with men trained to protect?”

Susie crossed her eyes. “Seems to me there’s a midpoint between following procedures and being practical. For heaven’s sake, the good detectives were
in
the living room.”

“And you were trying to distract them so Kieran could sneak back into the house. Detective Johnson almost caught him.” Barb seemed to have finally scarfed enough food. She tucked her legs to one side and rested her head on Kieran’s shoulder.

“You could’ve distracted them with food or coffee. You don’t contradict an order from the men assigned to protect you. Honest to God, Susie, there are times when I long to thrash your ass.”

Gray voiced Joe’s thoughts to a tee. His palm tingled with the urge to spank her bottom.

Barb yawned. “Sorry. Long night.”

“Well, this all reinforces what we learned tonight.” Tate slumped into a chair opposite the dessert tray. “Buried under those garden beds of the Arnolds’ are human bones.”

Susie gasped. “Human bones? Oh God. Joe and I saw Jeffrey digging a new bed yesterday. Was he burying bones then?”

When Susie shuddered, Joe squeezed her in reassurance. He decided not to tell everyone about Gemma Arnold’s generosity with vegetables and fruits. Crap, the notion bothered even
him
. He’d eaten fruit fertilized by human remains.

“No. The bones I found weren’t fresh. As far as I can tell, none of the bones in the yard are recent.” Tate reached for a pastry. “The bones in Hallie Forest Preserve are newer. It seems obvious now—Jeffrey’s a teacher, has access to young boys, and he’s reclusive. Question is—is the grandfather, Carmine, involved? And how much does Jeffrey’s mother know?”

“I can’t see how she wouldn’t have some suspicion. What I’m wondering is—are the vats in the preserve somehow connected with the bones on Hallelujah Mountain?” Gray, carrying a coffee mug, took a seat next to Tate.

Joe kicked Tate under the table. He didn’t want Barb reminded of Petey, and he didn’t want the discussion to veer onto that topic.

Tate got the message. “The cops must’ve checked the Arnolds right away. Did they find Jeffrey’s mother? And what about the old man?”

“They did. Gemma Arnold claims Jeffrey’s been having psychotic problems for some time now, and she hasn’t seen him for two days. But I told Detective Sands and Johnson we had seen Jeffrey in his backyard. I didn’t even mention he was digging.” Susie’s voice wavered a tad on the last sentence.

Joe massaged her knee. “He’ll be in lockup soon. Don’t even go there, babe. So Jeffrey’s on the loose. What about Carmine and Gemma?”

“I’m not sure. Detective Sands was waiting to hear from someone at the precinct,” Susie replied.

“I’ll check things out in a bit,” Tate volunteered.

“I can go track Jeffrey,” Gray offered.

“No. We’ve risked enough tonight.” Joe had to find a way to ensure the authorities incarcerated Jeffrey before end of day tomorrow. Either that or the man died. He’d take no chances with Susie’s safety.

Tate stretched his arms high. “Time to wrap up. The cops are going to be here early in the morning, and we’re all going to have to account for our time.”

The men had all decided not to disclose anything about Vance Ellison; better that the women learn of it from the news.

“Agreed. We’re all beat, and you and Gray have a long drive ahead of you. And Barb, you look dead on your feet. Okay. This is how it goes. Kieran and Barb didn’t leave us until near dawn.” Joe paused. Susie’s reaction to the next part of their alibi was crucial.