Gone to Her Grave (Rogue River Novella Book 2) (10 page)

What had Darren done with his wife and daughters?

“Gary, the police are on the way,” she said.

No one answered.

Carly scanned the porch. The Adirondack chair was empty. Gary was gone. He was going after his mother and sisters.

No. No. No.

Wait. Breathe.

She calculated the distance to the Fisher house. It was at least five miles, maybe six, straight out into the country. He couldn’t possibly get there faster than her. The whine of a small engine carried over the meadow.

Unless he had a dirt bike.

Carly ran for the Jeep. There was someone close by who could help.

Seth.

It was ten o’clock. He should have dropped Brianna off an hour ago. She dialed his number.
Please be home.

Unable to face the emptiness that filled his house, Seth sat on the back porch step. The concrete was hard under his ass, but an uncomfortable seat was better than being inside—alone. Brianna’s laughter had filled the house for a few hours tonight. Now that she was gone, the heavy silence had returned. Quiet smothered the walls with loneliness.

Why hadn’t they gotten a dog or cat or something?

Oh, yeah. Because they were always working. The poor animal would have been alone.

Like Seth.

A pity party was a sucky way to end a night.

The chirp of crickets wasn’t enough to drown out the replay of his conversation with Patsy. Her words echoed in his head, and her arguments made more sense each time he listened to them.

Great. He had a good idea of what was wrong but no idea how to fix his marriage. Was that a step in the right direction? Behind the ache in his heart, certainty rested. Each painful beat verified that he loved his wife with every cell in his body. He’d give his life for her in an instant, but he couldn’t let her do the same. Was that, in some twisted way, selfish?

Was his grip on her too tight, too desperate? Was he suffocating her with his love?

Did he need another talking-to from Patsy?

The answer was yes on all counts.

His phone vibrated in his pocket. He dug it out of his cargo shorts. Alarm rushed through him as he read Carly’s number on the screen.

He stabbed the “Call” button. “Carly?”

“Seth. I need help.” Her words were rushed, her voice breathy, as if she was running. Over the line, he heard an engine start. “I called Solitude PD, but there’s no one available.” She outlined a terrifying scenario. “I’m scared, Seth. Gary has a head start on me, and he’s going through the woods. He might beat me there. I don’t know what Darren has done with his family, but I can’t let him hurt Gary.”

Seth rushed into the house, the screen door slapping shut behind him. His gun, stored in its safe while Brianna was home, was soon in his hand. “What’s the address?”

Carly read it to him.

“Promise me you won’t go without me.”

Her response was garbled. She was moving west, out of range of the local cell tower, away from him.

“I’ll be right there,” Seth yelled into the phone. “Damn it, Carly. I’m on my way. Don’t you go in there without me. Wait for me a half mile out.”

Static roared in his ear.

“Carly!”

Seth swiped his keys off the hall table and bolted for the front door. He had to get there before Carly. The connection broke before she could answer, and all that sounded in Seth’s ear was dreaded silence.

Carly put the Jeep in park and turned off her headlights. She lowered her window. Humidity, thick and heavy in the air, muffled the night sounds of the forest. The buzz of insects surrounded her vehicle. Nearby an owl hooted. Electricity hovered in the air. Overhead, storm clouds roiled, blocking out the moonlight and leaving the rural road dark.

A car approached. She turned and looked through her rear window. Headlights sliced through the blackness. The car parked behind her, and a figure got out. Even in the dark, she knew the shape of his body.

Seth.

He walked toward her Jeep. The sight of him, capable, confident—and armed—tempered her fear.

“You waited.” Relief poured through his words.

His reaction brushed Carly’s nerves like a backward stroke to a cat’s fur. “Of course I waited. I don’t carry a gun. In this situation I’d be useless in there alone.”

Did he really think she would run into a potentially explosive situation without any backup? No wonder he’d always been so freaked out by her job. He thought she was a complete idiot. She compartmentalized the anger stirring in her chest, to deal with it later. Even if she wanted to protect Gary, running in without law enforcement support would likely make the situation worse. She’d provide Darren with a ready hostage.

He nodded, then straightened to scan their surroundings. “Any sign of the boy?”

“No. But he shouldn’t have beat me here.” She prayed. “His trip was a bit shorter, as the dirt bike travels, but the dark would slow him down.” Carly thrummed her fingers on the steering wheel. “What now?”

“County sheriff deputies are ten minutes out. We wait if we can.”

She nodded. In her head she knew Darren had already had plenty of time to hurt his family. His wife and daughters could very well be dead. She’d been to more than a few domestic disputes with children caught in the middle. Alcohol and drugs often fueled already volatile emotions. But Darren hadn’t looked drunk or high when she’d seen him that morning.

Just mean. Plain mean.

Had Darren been simmering for a long time? Or had losing his job triggered his rage?

Seth paced the dirty asphalt. In cargo shorts and a snug T, he didn’t look much like a cop, but his body radiated tension in the coil of his muscles, as if he were still a running back waiting for the snap. This was no game. His posture and hard body were badass.

The high-pitched whine of a dirt bike pierced the humidity.

“Shit.” Seth stopped. His head tilted as he listened. No sirens. “You wait here.”

Carly shook her head. “No. I wouldn’t go in alone. Neither should you.”

“Okay.” He spit the word out as if it hurt. “But you do as I say.”

“Fair enough.”

“Wait a second.” He jogged to his car and opened the trunk. He pushed a Kevlar vest through her window. “Put this on.”

“But what about you?”

“This is not negotiable. Better hurry up. I don’t hear that bike anymore.”

Carly froze. Thunder rumbled overhead. After it faded, the lack of engine whine made the night seem eerily quiet. Gary was home.

“Okay.” She got out of the Jeep and shrugged into the too-large vest. Then slid behind the wheel, flipped her headlights back on, and shifted into drive.

He pulled in front of her. She followed him down the dark road to the Fishers’ dirt drive. He shut off his headlights as he made the turn.

Seth parked some distance from the house. She parked next to him. Grabbing her flashlight from the glove compartment, she got out of the Jeep. The dogs were barking loud enough to wake anyone within a half mile. No sneaking up on Darren.

The forest canopy nearly met over the home. Gloomy in the daytime, the property was totally
Friday the 13th
at night. Carly was no camp counselor, but her head was filled with images of Darren with his ax.

Though an ax would likely be the least of their worries. What good old country boy didn’t own a couple of rifles?

Seth closed his car door and walked over. A powerful flashlight protruded from his pocket. He handed her his backup piece, a subcompact Beretta she’d fired before.

She shook her head. “Agency policy—”

“You have a concealed carry permit, and I know you can shoot that thing. Screw agency policy.” Seth pushed the gun into her hands. Then he checked the straps on the vest. “Would you rather let Darren Fisher put a bullet in my chest?”

“I shouldn’t be wearing your vest.”

“Nonnegotiable.”

She took the gun and let him lead the way up the driveway to the front of the house. Seth stood aside and motioned for her to do the same. Before she could knock to announce their presence, angry voices emanated from the back of the house.

“You worthless little piece of shit!” Darren yelled. “You hand that over right now.”

“Where’s my ma?” Gary’s voice shook.

Seth tucked Carly behind him as they ran for the backyard. In the light of the shed, Gary was pointing a handgun at Darren. Less than ten feet separated the two. Gary’s back was facing Seth and Carly.

“Police!” Seth yelled. The beam of his flashlight spotlighted the confrontation.

With one glance, Darren sized up the situation and stepped to his left. The movement put Gary in the direct line of fire and turned the teenager into a human shield. Gary’s head whipped around to see who was behind him. Darren lunged, his movement much faster than Carly would have expected from such a large man. He ripped the gun from Gary’s hands and spun the boy around. Darren immobilized him with a beefy hand on the boy’s shoulder.

He pressed the muzzle against the boy’s temple. “One more move and the kid’s dead. Drop the gun.”

“I can’t do that, Darren.” Seth kept his gun leveled at the psycho with the gun
and
hostage.

Worst. Fucking. Nightmare.

Sweat dripped down his temple. What he wouldn’t give for the county SWAT team and a sniper. But without those things his best option was to stall for time and hope that when Darren saw the flood of county vehicles and armed men, he’d come to his senses.

But Darren had other ideas. He started dragging the kid backward, toward the woods.

Carly eased away from Seth. She was clearly trying to circle around and flank Darren.

“Stop right there, bitch.” Darren angled the boy to ensure his body was blocking any possible shot. “This is all your fault, you and your interference. The government don’t have the right to tell a man how to treat his family. Kids should be happy with whatever food they get, not go crying to social services for a fucking handout.”

“It’s no shame to need help,” Carly said.

“Yes, it is,” Darren yelled. “We ain’t a charity case. My family is greedy.
That’s
the problem.”

But Darren didn’t look like he missed any meals. No doubt his wife and kids got the scraps after he was full.

“Where are they, Darren?” Seth asked.

“They’ve been taught a lesson they won’t forget.” Emotion left Darren’s voice, making his statement cold enough to raise the few hairs on the back of Seth’s neck that weren’t already standing upright.

Darren and Gary had covered fifteen feet. The trees lay just a few yards behind them. The kid’s face remained impassive, as if he’d shut down.

The first raindrops hit the ground, plopping into the dirt and leaving tiny moist craters in the dry earth. The thin wail of sirens floated over the patter of steadily increasing rainfall and the now-frenzied barking of the dogs.

Darren continued to pull Gary backward toward the forest. Seth followed, his gaze and his gun steady. His peripheral senses kept track of Carly’s presence to his side. Behind him he could hear the first responders pulling into the yard. Sirens and strobe lights punctuated their arrival. But Seth kept his direct attention riveted on Darren.

“Come on, Darren. Give it up. You’re outnumbered,” Seth reasoned.

Darren dropped the kid, ducked behind a tree, and disappeared into the darkness.

Seth glanced over his shoulder. Four deputies stepped out of two county sheriff cars. Carly was helping Gary get to his feet.

Seth grabbed him by the arm and hauled him to the deputies. “Lock him in a vehicle.”

“You can’t—”

The cops ignored the kid’s protest and put him in the backseat of the first cruiser. Another car pulled into the drive. Seth gave the county cops a two-sentence summary. Two officers went with Carly to the house.

Seth’s heart protested as he watched her move away from him. He wanted to protect her. But an armed and dangerous Darren was running loose, and he had to be stopped. Seth jogged toward the woods with two deputies, leaving the newly arrived cop to stand vigil over Gary and direct any more arrivals.

The rain picked up to a downpour. They entered the forest, the sound of water hitting foliage drowning out the sound of their movements.

Three high-powered flashlights cut swaths through the gloom. Rain poured through foliage, and water dripped into Seth’s eyes. He shook his head and scanned the woods around him. The beam of his flashlight stopped on a footprint. He signaled to the other cops and followed the direction of Darren’s flight.

Had he run? Or was he hiding in the darkness, armed and waiting?