Suffer (2 page)

PAUL ATTEMPTED TO CALL HIS wife on the satellite phone a few times during the trip back to Sugarloaf Key. He wasn’t concerned when she didn’t answer, thinking that she may be down by the water preparing their lunch. He did become concerned when they arrived; there was no one in sight and no sign of cooking on the dock.

“Hey, could you guys secure the boat?” asked Paul. “I’m gonna go check on Kate and see if she needs a hand bringing anything down.”

“Will do, Captain,” said Evan. “Holler if you need us.”

“Thanks, guys.”

Paul moved with a determined stride up the front side of the sand dune, but picked up his pace on the way down to the back gate of his property. He had an uneasy feeling something was wrong. On a perfect summer afternoon, Kate would have every window and door wide open to take advantage of the breeze coming off the water. He was walking toward a house that had every window and door closed with all the shades and curtains drawn. He turned the knob on the French doors, but they didn’t give.

He patted his shorts and realized his house key was still on the boat. Paul banged on the doors and stood there hoping she would open them with a thermometer hanging out of her mouth. For what seemed like an eternity, he waited to hear footsteps. When none came, he walked to the side door and found it locked as well; all the doors were locked.

He tried replacing the feeling that something was wrong with more logical thoughts. It was possible she forgot something and was at the store. She could’ve taken Caleb over to the Petersons’ house to play with his friend while she cooked. These thoughts didn’t slow his run to the top of the dune or hide the concern in his voice when he yelled down for Grey to bring him his keys.

“Okay, buddy!” replied Grey.

“That didn’t sound good,” said Evan.

“No, it didn’t,” replied Grey. “Secure that bow line and come on up. Make it snappy, shipmate.”

“Aye-aye.”

Grey noticed the heightened sense of urgency when Paul yelled down to them. His awareness intensified when he saw Paul turn and run off the dune. He wasted no time reaching the top. On the other side, he saw Paul trying to peer inside the locked house.

“Everything okay?” asked Grey, coming up behind him.

“We never lock the doors,” said Paul. “Not even when we go to the store.”

Paul went through the doorway first with Grey close behind. He stopped a few feet into the kitchen. There were at least two dozen candles along the counters and on the dining room table. Fingers of cooled wax covered most of the surfaces with a few candles still burning. There wasn’t a single light turned on downstairs. Food and cooking utensils were left out in the dim spaces. Three place settings were on the table with half-eaten portions. Everything in front of him was wrong. Kate always kept a meticulously clean home.

Within seconds of entering the house, Grey’s mind was transported from the bright villa to the darkness of his case files. He was no longer looking at the familiar kitchen and dining room where he had enjoyed countless meals with his friends. He was looking at a crime scene.

“Kate!” yelled Paul, moving toward the stairs. “Caleb!”

“Paul, hold up,” demanded Grey.

“What?” said Paul, glaring.

“We need to wait for Evan.”

“What?” asked Paul, unable to comprehend Grey’s words. “No. Something is very wrong here. I need to find them, Grey. I’m getting a little spooked.”

“Me, too, buddy,” said Grey, trying to stall him. “I’m sure there’s an explanation for this. Do you remember if she said anything about visitors coming over for dinner? Maybe she stepped out for a few minutes.”

“No, she would’ve told me or left a note,” said Paul, moving up the stairs.

“Paul, please let me go first,” said Grey, following but running out of options.

“Oh, dear God. You think…”

Before he finished the sentence, Paul bolted up the stairs. Grey was two steps behind, but it was too far to stop him from turning the corner and running into the master bedroom. Paul didn’t notice the blood trail and smears in the hall, but Grey did.

Paul stopped dead in his tracks when he entered the alien world.  His mind told him it was the bedroom he shared with Kate, but his brain couldn’t process the scene in front of him. The images were so horrific he could only manage a throaty moan as if the wind was knocked out of his frozen body.

Paul didn’t feel Grey’s arms wrap around him in a tight grip as he spun him away from the bloodbath and back into the hall. He forced Paul down to the ground and yelled for Evan at the top of his lungs. It seemed an eternity later when Evan came running up the stairs.

“Jesus Christ, Grey!”

“Hold him down, Evan,” said Grey, out of breath. “Don’t let him up. Do you hear me?”

“Caleb!” cried Paul, fighting Grey’s hold. “God, please, no! My baby!”

“They’re in there, Evan,” said Grey with a slight tremble in his voice. “Don’t let him up and don’t look inside. I need to go in and check them.” With his hands free, Grey flipped open his cell phone and disappeared into the bedroom.

*****

Ten miles from the Freemans’ home, Police Chief Tony Hill was sitting in his office with a local resident, taking her complaint. “Mrs. Habersham, I absolutely agree with you this is a serious matter, but I’m not sure how we can identify the dogs in question.”

“Well, don’t you boys have a DNA lab?” asked Mrs. Habersham.

“Um, yes, ma’am, we do,” replied Chief Hill. “But it’s in Miami and we’d have to take samples from every dog on the island for comparison. It’s a very expensive process, and we don’t have that kind of money in our budget.”

“Well, then I’ll pay for it,” said Mrs. Habersham, becoming frustrated. “Do I have to remind you I play bridge with the Senator’s wife every other Monday?”

“You already did, ma’am. Twice.”

“I didn’t pay four million dollars for my house and private beach to step in dog crap on my morning walk, sir. I want to know what you’re going to do about it.”

“Yes, ma’am, I promise I’ll exhaust every possible –”

“Chief Hill,” interrupted Officer Parker. “We have a situation.”

“I’ll be out in a minute, Parker.”

“Sir, we have a possible double signal five.”

“Signal five? Are you sure?”

“9-1-1 just took the call from a man identifying himself as a federal agent. He’s at the scene now, sir.”

“Excuse me, Mrs. Habersham. I’ll be right back.”

Chief Hill walked out of his office with Parker and headed to the dispatch center located down the hall. “You do know a signal 5 is a homicide?”

“Yes, Chief,” said Parker. “That’s why I came to get you. I’ve never heard it used since I’ve been here. I had to look it up to make sure.”

They walked into the dispatch center where the supervisor, Bill Clayton, was relaying information to the officers responding to the call. “Set up the roadblocks at both entrances to the subdivision. We’re contacting the state troopers now to assist with the roadblocks at the bridges, over.”

“What the hell are you doing, Bill?” barked Chief Hill.

“The FBI agent requested we set up roadblocks and checkpoints around the island, sir. He believes the killer may still be in the area. He also requested I contact the FBI field office in Miami so they can get mobilized as quickly as possible.”

“FBI agent? Bill, don’t make another call until I tell you,” said Chief Hill.
“We don’t know if there’s an actual crime scene yet, and we sure as hell don’t know if this guy is a real FBI agent.”

“Sorry, Chief,” said Bill. “He sounded official.”

“Is anyone on scene?” asked Chief Hill.

“Car 23 is five minutes out,” replied Bill. “The ambulance should be pulling up any second. Should I cancel them?”

“No. Keep them rolling. I’ll head out there myself and let you know if we need assistance.”

“Yes, Chief.”

“Here, these are for you,” said Chief Hill, handing Bill the bag of evidence Mrs. Habersham had provided.

“What is it?”

“Truffles.”

“Is there dairy in it? You know I can’t eat dairy, Chief.”

Chief Hill looked up at the ceiling and sighed. “Why did I leave Philly?”

*****

Paul was catatonic on the floor with Evan’s arms and legs wrapped around him. Grey walked out of the bedroom with no expression. His hands were covered in blood.

“Let’s get him outside. The police are on their way.”

“What happened, Grey? Paul keeps mumbling for God to help them.”

“We need to get him out of here,” repeated Grey.

They helped Paul to his feet and guided him out of the house into the front yard. An ambulance was parked on the curb as a police cruiser pulled into the driveway. Grey sat Paul on the lawn and approached the officers alone.

“I’m Special Agent Grey Collins with the FBI. The man sitting there is Paul Freeman. We just discovered his wife and son murdered upstairs in the bedroom. The house isn’t cleared. The only things I touched were the victims to check for pulses. I couldn’t find one on either. Are the roadblocks in place?”

“Our chief will be here in a couple minutes, Agent Collins,” said the first officer. “He’ll explain everything.”

“That’s a yes or no question, officer.”

“We need to clear the house. The chief will be here shortly.”

As the officers entered the Freeman home, several other emergency vehicles arrived on the scene. A few moments later, the medics were cleared to enter. Grey was on the phone with an agent out of his field office in Atlanta when Chief Hill made his way across the yard.

“I need to speak to Mr. Collins,” said Chief Hill.

“I’m Special Agent Collins,” replied Grey. “The first officers couldn’t tell me if the perimeter had been set up. The unsub may still be in the area. He should be easy to spot because he’ll be the guy covered in blood.”

“Unsub?”

“Unknown subject,” answered Grey.

“First things first, son,” said Chief Hill. “I’m going to need to see some credentials.”

“Credentials? Are you kidding me?”

“No, sir, not at all. I have no idea who you are.”

“I’m the guy who discovered two butchered bodies upstairs in that house,” said Grey, stepping closer to Chief Hill. “I’m also the guy who strongly believes the killer may still be in the area. Every second you stand here trying to verify my credentials is more opportunity for him to escape.”

“That may be true, but until I know what’s going on here, I need to see your badge.”

“It’s going to take me a minute, Chief. My badge is on a boat behind the house. Could you at least go inside and verify that a crime has taken place? Or are you going to leave and come back later when I have my ID?”

Grey ran down to the dock to retrieve his badge. Chief Hill walked into the house and up the stairs. When Grey returned, the Chief was coming out of the house holding a handkerchief over his nose and mouth. Grey took a moment to catch his breath and presented his credentials to the Chief.

“It doesn’t get much worse than that, Chief,” said Grey in a disarming tone. “The victims are my best friend’s wife and child. They’re practically my family. I apologize if I seemed short with you.”

“I’ve never seen so much blood,” said Chief Hill, “and I worked the streets in Philadelphia for fifteen years. My God, that poor child.”

Several radios crackled in the background and additional EMS personnel started converging on the house. “I don’t know how, but she’s still alive,” said a paramedic, passing by the chief. Grey followed them inside.

They were bringing Kate down the stairs on a stretcher as Grey and the Chief stood in the hallway. The numerous stab wounds to her face, chest, and abdomen were covered with blood- soaked dressings. An EMS helicopter from Key West was launched to take her to the closest trauma center. Nobody on the scene expected her to survive the long flight to Miami.

EVAN AND GREY RETURNED TO the boat to gather their bags while the medics attended to Paul. He snapped out of his semi-catatonic state when he heard Kate had survived the vicious attack.

“Grab Paul’s stuff as well,” said Grey. “He won’t be able to take anything from the house.”

“Please tell me you’re coming with us,” said Evan, stuffing clothes in a bag.

“I’ll come up as soon as I can, but the best chance we have to catch whoever did this is in the first forty-eight hours. The local cops haven’t seen a murder here in over ten years. They’re going to need my help.”

“Paul needs your help, Grey,” said Evan. “Didn’t you see him? I’m freaked out and I didn’t even go in there.”

“Be glad you didn’t, buddy,” said Grey. “It was a nightmare.”

“Hey,” said Evan, stopping and grabbing Grey’s arm. “I’m going to be the only guy in the car with him for over three hours. You need to tell me what you saw up there. I don’t want to give him blank stares when he starts trying to talk to me. If you’re not coming, you need to at least prepare me for what he might say.”

Grey opened a bottle of water and motioned for Evan to join him at the galley table. They both sat silent for a moment. Grey took a long drink to gather his thoughts.

“Kate was gagged with duct tape and sitting up in the bed with her back against the headboard. Her hands and feet were bound to the posts. It looks like he forced her to watch what he did. Caleb was gagged and tied to a small chair a few feet from the end of the bed.”

“What did he do to them?” asked Evan.

“Are you sure you want to know? I’m not calling you weak, but what I tell you will be impossible to get out of your head.”

“He’s our best friend,” said Evan. “I can’t help him if I don’t know what he saw. Tell me.”

“They were both tortured,” continued Grey. “Probably for several hours. Caleb had dozens of deep cuts up and down his arms and legs. I’m sure it was done more to torture Kate than hurt Caleb. I imagine he was conscious the entire time. There were at least four puncture wounds in his abdomen. Those were made to hurt him, but what killed him was cutting his throat.”

“Jesus Christ,” said Evan, lowering his head. “And Kate?”

“She had at least four stab wounds to her chest and abdomen, but he focused on her face. It looks like he tried to take out one of her eyes. She was mutilated almost beyond recognition. He also took trophies from both of them.”

“Trophies?”

“Caleb is missing his little finger on his left hand. Kate is missing her ring finger and wedding band. That’s why I want you to take this,” said Grey, handed him his gun.

“I don’t understand,” said Evan.

“Caleb and Kate were the victims, but I believe Paul was the target. Whoever this guy is, he went to a lot of trouble to make sure Paul found them that way. I don’t think you have anything to worry about, but just in case, fill the tank at the first gas station you come to and don’t stop again. I’m going to have agents meet you at the hospital in Miami. I’ll get my gun back from you when I get there.”

“I know you see it all the time, but who would do that to a child?” asked Evan, losing control of his emotions. “A little defenseless six-year-old boy? And Kate, my God, making her watch her own son bleed to death. That’s just pure evil, Grey. Who would do that?”

Grey moved to the other side of the table to comfort his friend. “That’s why I need to stay here. I plan on finding out.”

Evan leaned back, took a deep breath, and rubbed his eyes. “Guess I need to get moving, huh?”

“Yeah,” said Grey. “The sooner you get him away from this place, the better. Try to keep any conversation focused on the fact Kate is still alive. I know it’s going to be one very long, shitty drive, but focus more on Kate than Caleb. I wish I could tell you how to do that, but I have no idea.”

“I’ll find a way,” said Evan.

“I know you will.”

Grey stood in the middle of the road and watched Evan drive away with Paul. He was thinking about their painfully long journey to the trauma center in Miami. Their world had turned upside down since they tied the boat up to the dock. Grey was no longer standing in front of the beautiful vacation villa that held nothing but amazing memories for them all. He never imagined the place he went to escape the chaos would end up as just another murder scene.

He had spent his entire career being an outside observer to the most devastating and unthinkable things human beings could do to each other. He was a witness to both the carnage of the events and the sorrow-laced rage of the families affected. He always sympathized with them and did his best to understand their emotional trauma, but he was able to walk away and leave it behind when work needed to be done.

There was always a voice in his head telling him to find the animals and make them pay. On that afternoon, he heard the familiar voice of a child. He turned to face the house when Caleb called down to him.

It’s time to go to work, Uncle Grey.