The Dark Rift: Ascension (The Dark Rift Book Series 1) (7 page)

Jodie nodded, thinking that quiet was something she would enjoy for a change. If she could ever find quiet, that is.

"I ended up having to come back anyway because my mother wasn't doin' so well. She got cancer. I had to help my dad take care of her before she died. He couldn't go on alone and passed not too long ago, too," Debi said.

"Oh, Debi, I'm so sorry to hear that. They were so young. That must have been very difficult." Noticing the large wedding ring on Debi's finger, "I see you're married now," Jodie said.

"Yeah, I married Bill. You remember Bill? He was a tight end on the football team. I always thought that fit, lookin' at his ass. Used to call him the tight end with the tight ass." She let out a gravelly laugh.

Jodie did remember Bill because he always seemed protective of Debi. She couldn't ever remember him making fun of her, either, like the other football players did. "Yes, I do remember Bill. He was one of the good guys, as I recall."

"Yup, still is. He works at Hayward Farms, north of here. How about you? You still, well, maybe it's none of my business, but are you still, uh, are you--"

"Gay?" Jodie finished the sentence for her to speed up the process she'd been through so many times before. She thought that question was analogous to asking someone if they were still breathing. But she didn't think Debi was malicious in her questioning, so decided to allow the conversation to continue.

"Uh, yeah," Debi said.

"Yeah, Debi, although I'm single right now," Jodie said. She was starting to remember why she loved the city so much before John Nelson came into her life. No one there would ask her a question like that.

"Oh, well, don't worry. You'll find somebody, honey. You were always so pretty ... in an athletic sorta way ... what I'm tryin’ to say is you look great, even though you do look a little tired tonight," Debi stammered.

"Well, thanks," Jodie said, even though she was a little irritated with the idea Debi thought she had to find someone to be complete. "Like I said, it's been a long day."

"Oh yeah, I forgot about the accident. Were you hurt?"

"No, I'm kind of exhausted, though. I just spent a few hours waiting for Officer Wending to process my statement."

"You don't remember him, do you?"

"Remember who? Officer Wending? No, I guess not. Where would I know him from?"

"Well, high school, honey. He had such an enormous crush on you. Bet you didn't know you broke his big ol' heart, did ya?"

"I'm sorry, but do you have me mixed up with someone else?" Jodie tried to remember Wending from high school, but had no recollection of ever meeting him.

"Well, no ma'am. Chuck Wending was a junior when you came outta, whadya callit, the closet. He was heartbroken. From how long he kept you at the station, sounds like he remembers you," Debi said.

"Are you sure, Debi? I mean, I don't remember him. At all. And he looks older than both of us combined."

"Well, he is older. He spent three years of his life in the sixth grade, ya know," Debi said, smiling. "I know he seems like he doesn't have a whole lotta manners, but deep down, he's a good man. He had a lot to deal with today." Debi stopped talking for a moment and looked out the diner window into the darkness. She seemed deep in thought and her weathered face gave Jodie the impression Debi had probably dealt with a lot over the years, too.

"Did you find out who that woman was you hit?" Debi asked.

Jodie thought, by now the entire town must know the details of her accident. As always, word traveled fast in Mountain City. "Huh? Uh, no ... no word on who she was yet," Jodie said, still a little thrown by the revelation that the poor treatment she'd received from Wending was the result of a fourteen-year old unrequited love she knew nothing about until that moment.

Debi leaned further into the booth, making herself comfortable. "Did you hear about what happened at the dam earlier this week, with the dead man and those two boys?"

"Actually, I met one of the boys at the police station. Noah, his name was. He was with his mother, Christy," Jodie said.

"Yeah, Christy's a nice person. She had a hard time for a while, after her husband was killed in Iraq. What a shame for that boy to have to grow up without a father," Debi said.

Jodie's phone rang and she reached in her pocket. "Excuse me, Debi," she said, taking the call. She was happy to see Bob's number appear on the caller ID.

"Hi, Jodie, we're on approach. Pilot says we'll be landing in about ten minutes."

"Okay, I'm on my way," Jodie said, closing her cell phone and starting to slide out of the booth.

"You meeting someone this time of night?" Debi asked.

Jodie was surprised at the lack of boundaries in Debi's questioning. Yet, she started thinking there was no better way of finding out what was going on in town than to let Debi talk. To get a little, she'd have to give a little. "Yes, I'm meeting one of my team members. I'm an FBI agent and we're working on a case."

"You're a what? The FBI? Really? Wow. Promise me you'll come back and tell me about it. Nothing ever happens here in Mountain City. At least, not until lately."

Jodie reached in her pocket to pull out some cash.

"Let me put your coffee in a to-go cup. I'll wrap up the plate, too," Debi said, taking Jodie's meal, disappearing behind swinging doors, then reappearing with a brown bag and Styrofoam cup in hand.

Jodie left a generous tip and took the to-go bag and coffee. "Thanks for keeping me company," she said. She waved as she drove away from the Drive n' Dine, realizing it felt good to talk to someone, even if that someone was Delicious Debi.

The airport was only one runway with a group of small hangars and a maintenance shed. Budget cuts eliminated traffic control some time ago, so it was quiet and lonely as Jodie pulled into the parking area and sat in the car with the doors locked. She could see lights from a small plane off in the distance, dropping lower as it approached the runway.

Jodie was tired. It had been a taxing day and she was glad Bob was almost there now. She could always think clearer when he was around and maybe she would get some sleep tonight after all, with him there to keep a watchful eye out. Then again, why did it matter? Sleep didn't come to her without horrific nightmares filed with visions of John Nelson mutilating unsuspecting young women. As their faces flashed through her mind, she contemplated what she might do to Nelson if she came face to face with him. Maybe she would take him somewhere and perform her own brand of surgery on him. Maybe she would-- Her thoughts were abruptly interrupted by a loud knock coming from the passenger side window. Jodie jumped, instinctively reaching for her gun, but her hand came away empty. She looked up into Bob's face.

"Jesus H. Christ." Jodie got out of the car. "You scared me half to death."

"Sorry about that. You looked like you were off in dreamland somewhere," Bob said.

"I wouldn't exactly call it a dream, but I never did get that nice, long rest I was ordered to take. Maybe I dozed off."

"I hope it's safe to give you this," Bob said, smirking as he handed Jodie her service revolver.

Jodie knew she hadn't fallen asleep. She was wide awake, but afraid she was unraveling. She just wanted it all to stop. Part of her hoped Nelson would show up right then and there so she and Bob could blast him full of bullets until there was nothing left to do but scrape pieces of his body off the pavement. Directing her response to the revolver, Jodie said, "Old friend. I missed you. Oh, and you too, Bob."

"I always knew I came in second," Bob said, laughing.

They both watched as the plane made a U-turn and readied for takeoff. Just off the runway, a slight-looking black man, carrying two large cases, walked toward them. As he approached, Bob moved quickly to help him with the cases and said, "Jodie, this is Isaiah Thomas from Forensics."

Over the past few years, she'd heard of Isaiah. He was rumored to be the best of the best in solving the unsolvable, with unquestionably the most thorough and reliable methods of anyone in the bureau. "I'm so glad to finally meet you, Isaiah. I've heard nothing but rave reviews over your work. We sure could use your mind on this case."

"Happy to be here, Agent Watts. I've heard nothing but great things about you, too. Bob about bored me to tears with accolades on the trip here. He said we had to get to work fast so you could get your vacation underway."

"Accolades, huh, Bob? There's a first for everything, I guess," Jodie said, grinning at Bob.

"I just told the truth. You'll have to get used to it. Some of us like you," Bob said.

It was less than a day since she'd talked to Bob and Jodie was realizing how much she depended on him for moral support. "Well, let's get going then. I'll fill you in on what's been happening while we drive to my cabin. By the way, Isaiah, please call me Jodie. Bob, you can continue to refer to me as your highness." Jodie's joke earned a laugh from the two men. "I'm sorry. God, I'm so tired and giddy. I'd better watch what I'm saying." She opened the trunk for Isaiah's equipment cases. She heard him shuffling things around and laughing, then remembered how much wine was in the trunk.

"Good choice," Isaiah said, holding the bottle of Pinot Noir up to the light and reading the label. "Although this trunk is packed. I'll put my equipment in the back seat." Isaiah closed the trunk, stowed his gear and crawled into the small area left for him to sit.

Driving to the cabin, Jodie found conversation easy with Bob and Isaiah. Jodie explained how she hadn't been to the cabin in quite some time, so she would need to get it up and running while Bob and Isaiah made sure all of the entry points were secured. She told them about the woman in the road, realizing hours passed since she first dozed off. She was already beyond exhaustion at that point and knew she was starting to run desperately low on energy. Soon, sleep would be one luxury she wouldn't be able to pass up.

"Well, good thing is, I had the presence of mind to pick up that wine on the way, not that any of us are going to want to drink much of it tonight. In the morning, we'll need to meet with the local cop, Officer Wending, and find out what he knows about the woman, whether she's been ID’d or if there was anything on her that could give us a clue as to why she was lying in the middle of the road."

"Where is her body being kept?" Isaiah asked.

"The County Coroner's office. That reminds me, some strange things have been happening up here in the past few days. A kid was fishing and got dragged over a dam by a corpse floating in the water."

Bob and Isaiah sat quiet, exchanging curious glances. Jodie continued, "Weird enough, I know, but it seems the kid and his entire family - mother, father and him - disappeared a day after the kid was rescued from the bottom of the dam. The kid, he had a strange name, like Fester, or something like that, was with his friend. I met the friend, Noah, and his mother, at the police station today. They were trying to get the local cop to follow up on their possible disappearance."

"There's never any quiet time for you, is there?" Bob said. "Who goes on vacation, hits a dead woman in the middle of the road and ends up at a police station listening to a story like what you just told us?"

"Only me, I guess," Jodie said, laughing. "It's strange. It's only been a day since the kid and his family went missing, but that kinda thing doesn't happen around here. I'd like to check it out for Noah and his mother."

"Ah, home, sweet home, I take it," Bob said as they turned into the driveway, directly in front of the cabin.

Jodie thought, that’s the second time I've heard that phrase today. She remembered the massive frame of Nick standing outside the ambulance door, looking like Bigfoot. She pictured Mei Chen, remembering the warmth of her smile. "Yeah, we're here," Jodie said, shifting her focus back to their immediate situation.

"Wow, when you said it was a cabin, you didn’t mean that in the traditional sense of the word, did you? I mean, this is quite some house. It must be three thousand square feet," Isaiah said.

"My grandparents built it. It's one of the largest homes around here," Jodie said.

Jodie and the other two agents unlatched the holsters on their service revolvers and each brought out a flashlight. Jodie got out of the car, followed by Bob and Isaiah. She slowly crept toward the stairs leading to the front door with Bob right behind her. Isaiah waited near the car, scanning the front of the cabin. She and Bob drew their guns. Jodie opened the front door and shined her flashlight inside. When she was satisfied that nothing was moving or appeared out of place, she leaned in and looked around. Nothing looked tampered with. She walked past the front door and turned on a lamp in the living room. Bob made his way in, passing her in the living room, gun pointed ahead. Jodie motioned toward the crawl space trap door in the floor. She held up one finger, signaling Bob to wait and went toward the back of the cabin. She swung into the first door on the right and went in, gun pointed. She came out with a vanity mirror on a stand and handed it to Bob. Jodie flicked a wall switch and the crawl space beneath them became illuminated. She pulled up a trap door leading to the space and Bob lowered the mirror down, rotating it slowly to get a view of the entire space.

"All clear, Jodie," Bob said.

Jodie and Bob continued from room to room, finding nothing out of the ordinary. Jodie signaled the all clear to Isaiah, who walked the perimeter of the cabin before starting to bring in his equipment. Bob and Jodie retrieved the wine, groceries and two stacks of firewood before Jodie locked up the Camaro for the evening.

Once inside the cabin, Bob went from room to room again, checking windows and pulling the blinds. Thankfully, the cabin's foundation was far enough above the ground that a ladder would be needed to enter the ground floor windows. The only entry points would be up the front or back stairs. Bob latched the screen doors on the front and back porches, locked the doors, and bolted them from the inside. Before he was finished, Bob called Isaiah over to make a final sweep with him through the entire house. Jodie was happy for their thoroughness. There would be nothing worse than being locked inside with a serial killer, so she was glad the two men made certain they were alone. Once Bob called out the all clear, Jodie started to relax a little.

"What in the world is that smell?" Jodie asked.

"I think some of your groceries didn’t quite make it through the day. I had to pitch some of it before I brought one bag in, but the odor is still lingering," Bob answered.

"Okay. Well, it’s a little late for that nice dinner I intended to make for myself anyway. I'll make a fire and warm this place up. Bob, why don't you and Isaiah check out the two guestrooms on the right side of the hall and make sure you've got what you need? Sorry, but anything here might be a little dusty. I haven't been here for quite some time," Jodie said.

Jodie glanced over at Isaiah, who stood in the expansive living room adjoining the open concept kitchen area. She thought the house looked bigger to her now that her grandma and grandpa were gone.

"Dusty is just fine with me. I was expecting cots and a propane stove," Isaiah said.

"When my grandparents passed away, I stopped coming up here because it seemed so lonely without them. I thought about selling, but could never bring myself to do that."

"It must be very quiet. I didn't get the idea Mountain City was a thriving metropolis. How big is this town?" Bob asked.

Quiet doesn't quite cover just how desolate the area can be at times, Jodie thought. Yet, until the accident, she was happy for the opportunity to return to her childhood home. Alone time was what she thought she needed. "It's a large town with a small number of people. It covers about twenty square miles, but there's only around seven thousand permanent residents. It’s big enough to have everything you need, like the airport you landed at, a small hospital, two liquor stores, an all-night diner and a big river that draws a lot of people in for vacation."

"Who takes care of the place when you're gone? It looks to be in great shape and I see you've got a pile of firewood out there that doesn't look very old," Bob said.

"There's a neighbor up the hill who used to be good friends with my grandparents. He says he comes down once a week on his way into town and checks on things. I contacted him to tell him I was coming so he wouldn’t think anyone was breaking in. I'll have to visit him tomorrow and thank him for the wood. What a sweetheart," Jodie said.

Bob picked up his duffle bag and Jodie’s suitcase. "I’ll take your stuff back, too." Pointing to the hallway, he asked, "Which one is yours?"

"Last one on the left, next to the back porch," Jodie said.

Bob dropped off Jodie’s bag and then he and Isaiah went off to separate rooms, each with an overnight bag. Jodie thought how comforting it was to have them with her. She lit the fire, taking in the aromas of Douglas fir and maple. There was nothing like a fire to conjure up memories of a happy childhood spent in the woods. Not even the dark cloud of high school could snuff out those memories. Jodie thought about Nelson, hoping he wouldn't defile this sanctuary with his presence. But, nothing seemed like it fit into Nelson's pattern. Everything seemed all wrong with the idea of Nelson being involved with the woman she hit and the town's recent events.

Bob came out of the guestroom wearing sweat pants and a t-shirt that said 'EAT MORE KALE'. Jodie laughed. "Like the shirt," she said.

"Me, too. My wife gave it to me. She's trying to get me to eat healthier, so she whipped me up what she called a smoothie a couple weeks ago. She hands me this thing. It looked like it could be alive or something. It was green, but not quite, you know? It smelled like pineapple. Just bringing it to my mouth made me wanna puke. Oddly enough, it tasted great. I drink one a day now with my eyes closed. You should try it, seriously."

Jodie laughed. "Good for you, Bob, but I think the only thing I'll be able to drink with my eyes closed is some wine."

"Shall we?" Bob asked.

From the second guestroom came, "I thought you'd never ask." Isaiah laughed as he strolled into the living room, then casually toward the window to peek out at the front porch. "All clear. On second thought, one of us has to remain sober enough to point a gun. I'll volunteer. I think Jodie could use a drink more than any of us."

Jodie prepared some snacks from the groceries she'd purchased hours ago. Her appetite was back now that Bob was with her. "I've been thinking about Nelson and what happened today. The woman I hit … I didn't see what actually happened to her face. I mean, it was really strange, not like the usual Nelson surgery. She had scars like some of Nelson's victims, but there were also some odd markings on each side of her head. Something was wrong with her teeth, too. They looked hollow or something. I got so freaked out when I saw her. I immediately thought of Nelson, but she doesn't fit his victim profile, nor do any of the other people who are dead or missing in this town. Nelson was interested in young twenty-something women, not middle-aged women and men, or children, for that matter."