Stolen Innocents (The Shadow Series Book 2) (21 page)

“He’s
cute
,” said Jenna facetiously, knowing that cute was certainly not a word that Hunter McCord would want to describe his dog.

“Cute? He’s supposed to be a vicious guard dog.”

“Oh, really? What’s he guarding?” asked Jenna slyly. She didn’t miss a beat.

Hunter broke eye contact and he mumbled, “Nothing.”

Jenna eyed a faint white residue on Hunter’s kitchen counter. She ran a finger along the surface and brought her white tipped finger just a half inch from her nose. She smelled it, careful not to inhale, then quickly rinsed her finger off in the sink.  She turned around with a scathing expression on her face.

“If I find out that you’re running this shit through my town, or supplying dealers, I will not hesitate to send your ass back to Pennington.”

“It’s sugar.”

“McCord… You’ve known me for over twenty-five years now. When have you ever known me to be stupid or naïve?”

Hunter sheepishly responded, “Never.”

“So don’t even try to bullshit me!”

Hunter’s smile quickly faded as he looked to the ground. He jumped as the phone rang. DiNolfo could tell he was on edge. Hunter had no intention to pick up the phone and instead he let the answering machine pick up the call. Suddenly, Angie’s voice filled the living room.

“Hey, it’s Angie. I posted your bail, so you should be out by now. Give me a call. Something horrible has happened.”

So it was Angie who bailed out Hunter. Interesting.

“Okay, Hunter,” said DiNolfo seriously, “Let’s get down to business.”

Hunter sat down as he waited to hear what DiNolfo had to say.

“I was wondering if you could explain to me why a gun that is registered to you was found at the scene of a murder?”

“I was in jail all night. You saw me there yourself.”

“Indeed. But still, a Glock 17 registered to a Mr. Hunter Harrison McCord was found just feet from the body with just one round discharged. Do you know where that round was discharged?”

Hunter shook his head in denial, but he had a good idea thanks to the news report.

“In the back of Courtney O’Mara’s head!”

Hunter went on the offensive, “Look, somebody broke in here while I was locked up. They stole two of my guns… Two Glocks.”

The story sounded farfetched. Who on earth would break into an ex-convict and known drug dealer’s trailer when they knew he was heavily armed? But as DiNolfo watched Hunter’s face, she knew he was telling the truth.

“How do I know that you didn’t give your two Glocks to one your trailer park idiots that do your bidding for you?”

“Do I look stupid?” asked McCord with an exasperated look on his face.

“Do you really want me to answer that?” asked DiNolfo with a smirk.

“Why would I give my guns that are registered to me to some loser who would get me caught?”

DiNolfo had to admit that McCord had a point.

“Alright, lead the way…”

Hunter showed DiNolfo his gun cabinet and told her how he found the trailer earlier that day. DiNolfo offered to file a police report. As she was writing the report on a white slip, Hunter looked at her with a worried expression.

“Someone is setting me up.”

Without looking up, DiNolfo responded, “Certainly appears that way.”

“But who?”

“I don’t know Hunter. It could be anyone. You’ve burned a lot of bridges and made a lot of enemies in this town.”

Hunter rubbed his hand over his face as stressed pulsed through his body. Jenna gave him a stern look.

“Lay low, but don’t leave town.”

***

Angie’s leg tapped nervously as she sat in a wicker chair by her bedroom window.  She was trying to get her mind off of her sisters, Courtney and Tiffany, but she was not having much in terms of luck. Although twenty years had passed since Tiffany’s death, it felt like no time at all. The same dark eerie mood that existed then still roamed free and unchecked. The sickness loomed over Elkhart and threatened to pollute Angie’s mind. She wanted to rest but every time she closed her eyes, she saw Courtney’s face. Angie continued to stare out the window as her memories consumed her thoughts.

***

Natalie Piedmonte opened the front door of 25 Caribou Road as she eyed the rain with irritation. She pulled her hood over her head as she waited for her brother on the porch. Natalie couldn’t seem to shake the unsettling feeling that she was being watched. She stared down Caribou Road, but it was eerily quiet. She could hear nothing but the sound of the rain pounding hard on the roof. The front door opened behind Natalie as Cole emerged from the house with a tired look on his face. He locked the front door with a swift turn of his key.

“Ready to go?” asked Cole.

Natalie nodded as she continued to stare nervously around her. Natalie followed her brother to his Jeep. As Cole unlocked the vehicle something caught Natalie’s attention. There was a silhouette in the second floor window of the O’Mara house. Angie, who was looking out her bedroom window with a nervous expression on her face, appeared to be staring right at Natalie. Cole noticed his sister staring up at the window.

“What’s wrong?” he asked with a perplexed look on his face.

“That woman gives me the creeps.”

Cole looked up at the window as Angie backed out of sight.

“Everyone is on edge, Nat. Her sister was killed. How would you feel if that happened to me?” Cole asked patting his sister on the shoulder.

“I’d be a wreck, too.”

“Right. C’mon. Let’s go…” urged Cole as Natalie broke her focus on the window.

***

Angie continued to stare into the distance as the flood of memories came to a sudden stop. Something had distracted her. A girl was staring at her. Natalie Piedmonte from next door was staring at her strangely from outside. The girl stared with a hard gaze as she stood in the pouring rain. A chill ran down Angie’s back.

“What a strange, strange girl…” Angie commented as she backed away from the window.

***

A knock at the front door broke Angie from her thoughts. She immediately recognized the voice, but she wasn’t in the mood to talk. Especially after everything that had occurred. Then there was the issue of that god forsaken jewelry box. It was a frightening reminder of her dead cousin and the message he left still induced shivers down her spine. It was a chilling reminder that the insane and the obsessed do not forget who wronged them, no matter how much time has passed.

***

Roger O’Mara opened the front door for Jenna and led her to the living room where Gwen was still stifling back tears.

“She hasn’t moved from that spot. I think she’s in shock,” said Roger with worry in his voice.

“Of course I am, Roger! Another of our daughters has been murdered!” Gwen screamed through her tears.

Jenna looked at Mrs. O’Mara somberly, truly feeling awful for her. Roger nodded for Jenna to follow him. He led her out to the patio and motioned for her to take a seat.

“Do you have any leads yet?” asked Roger with a glimmer of hope in his voice.

“Some. Mostly dead ends, but we’re following all leads. How are you holding up?”

“As well as can be expected,” Roger choked.

DiNolfo nodded in understanding.

“Do you have any idea who would have done this to your daughter?”

“I have my suspicions…” Roger said as he cleared his throat. “Part of me thinks maybe the same person responsible for Tiffany’s death also killed Courtney. But another part of me suspects that boyfriend of hers. Tommy Morrow. That boy has a temper.”

“Who do you think is responsible for Tiffany’s death?”

“Oh, Bernard Kendricks. Without a doubt. But he’s dead now, so he couldn’t be involved this time around.”

Hearing Bernard’s name made Jenna’s skin crawl.

“How did you know Bernard?”

“I’m surprised you don’t know. Bernard was my wife’s cousin. Angie and Bernard were very tightly knit for a while, but then something happened. She became afraid of him. She was absolutely terrified. I couldn’t stand the creep.”

“I had no idea that Angie even knew Bernard. She never mentioned him before,” said Jenna suspiciously.

“She can be very guarded. It’s hard to get information from her, sometimes.”

“Don’t worry. I always get the information I need, one way or another. Thanks for your time Roger.”

***

Angie shot an agitated look in the mirror as someone knocked loudly on her bedroom door.

“Go away! Please…” Angie pleaded.

“Angie, its Sergeant DiNolfo. Open up.”

Oh, its Sergeant, is it? She must feel so important. Try acting like you’ve known me for the last twenty years!

Against her greatest wishes, Angie opened the door. Jenna noticed that Angie hadn’t masked her disdain at her presence outside her door.

“Hi again,” said Angie in a bored tone. “Can you please respect my privacy? My sister just died.”

“Hi there, Angie. I had some follow-up questions I wanted to ask you.”

“Come in. I have some of my own.”

This surprised DiNolfo.

“Oh?”

“Something important of mine has gone missing.”

“Okay, what is the item?”

“It’s an antique jewelry box.”

“Did it have anything of value inside?”

“No, but the box itself has value.”

“Does the box have any special markings or designs?”

“It’s an antique. It is a metal jewelry box with Victorian filigree work on top of the box. There are initials inscribed on the lid. BEK.”

BEK.  Bernard Ellis Kendricks, perhaps?

Jenna took note with how pained Angie’s description of the box sounded. She must
really
want it back. It sounded as if it was an item of great importance.

“Okay, we’ll file a police report. Do you know who might have taken it?”

“No, but it could have been anyone at that party.”

DiNolfo scrawled in her notebook as Angie talked.

“Let’s talk about Courtney for a moment,” said DiNolfo. She watched as she saw Angie’s eyes grow heavier.

“Who do you think would have had reason to kill your sister?”

“I don’t know. She was a sweet girl. I mean, don’t get me wrong, Tiffany had her moments and she had made enemies, but Courtney was a sweet girl and she seemed to have a lot of friends. I don’t know of anyone that disliked Courtney, whereas ninety percent of our senior class was jealous of Tiffany.”

Jenna sat quietly for a moment as the gears in her head turned round and round. No, Tiffany wasn’t a sweet girl, but she also didn’t deserve to die. Neither did Courtney. Jenna got the impression that Angie knew more than she was leading on to.