Breaking Steele Part 4

But I wasn't about to let him trick her for long.

Chapter 12.

DAN AND I DIDN'T say a word. Joshua shyly asked what had happened, and I gave him the stark answer: "Mistrial."

He groaned and collapsed into a chair.

"Get up, buck-o," I said. "If you think we were buried in work before the trial, you haven't seen anything yet. Better bring your pillow to the office."

My pep talk wasn't exactly gracious, but it got the job done. Joshua jumped out of the chair and followed me down the hall, taking notes as I gave him a list of paperwork he needed to pick up for me. Dan left without saying goodbye, off to lick his wounds. This was going to hurt his run for office.

After a few hours at the courthouse filling out forms and other paperwork, we were finally free to leave.

"Are you hungry?" Joshua asked as we walked outside and down the steps.

At the question, I suddenly realized how famished I was. It was already past lunchtime. "How about-"

"The Casaba?" he finished for me. It was our favorite gyro joint. "What do you want to drink?"

"Orange juice. And order me a second helping of fries," I said, grinning up at him.

He patted his round belly. "I think that's just what I need, too."

"And fill up on gas on your way back to the office," I said. "We're taking your car to the scene of the crime."

"I've never been there," he said. His eyes crinkled in worry.

"It's important to see it," I said. "It'll help us start fresh, see if we missed something important." We were pretty desperate. "I'll need your eyes," I said.

He looked down, embarra.s.sed but pleased.

There was still something bothering me from the kidnapping that I had to check out. "Oh, and call the prison and see what Hank Williams was doing last night, if he had any visitors or doctor's visits."

Joshua gave me strange look, but nodded.

I heard my name called in a high-pitched voice from across the road. Angela, Jessie, and Ca.s.sandra waved at me with huge smiles plastered on their faces.

A bus drove by, blocking them from view. My head was still in the case, but I quickly put a mask up for the girls. Once the bus pa.s.sed, blowing my hair out of my face with its speed, they galloped over, waving metals.

"I did it, I did it," Angela exclaimed. She clutched my arm and shoved her 1 place metal in my face. "I won the tournament!" She giggled, eyes shining. "I couldn't wait to see you so we came here."

I brought her in for a hug, so happy for her. "I'm so proud of you," I whispered in her ear. "You worked so hard for this. And now you're the best of the best."

Jessie winked at me. "Well, she hasn't fought you yet so we can't say that."

I high-fived Ca.s.sandra and ooo'd and ahh'd over her 3 place metal. And then I listened as Jessie told me that she landed on her ankle wrong and had to quit the tournament early. "If I hadn't," she said, "I'd have beat Angela for sure."

Angela rolled her eyes and I laughed. Joshua took a step back. "You wish," Angela said.

"Oh, hey," I said. "You have to meet Joshua Tasi. He's an intern at the DA office, and is my right-hand man on this case."

Jessie and Ca.s.sandra looked down shyly, intimidated by his powerful form. But Angela stuck her hand out for a hearty handshake.

Suddenly, a shadow fell across my face. I turned and saw Hank Williams. His attorneys stood a few feet away next to a dark limo that idled by the curb. No reporters in sight, I guess they were on to the next story.

Joshua took a step toward the girls, as if wanting to shield them.

I put my hands in my pockets and stared at Hank Williams with animosity. I knew the evil he had done, and I wasn't going to pretend he was anything other than a dangerous man.

"Are those your little sisters?" he asked.

The voice gave me the chills.

I didn't answer. His back was to the sun and I squinted up at him, not wanting to look away. It was a nosy question and there was no way I was giving him any information about them. He glanced up and down at Angela and heat crept up my neck.

It was the first time I had been close to him. His hair was dirty blonde, with gray streaks. He had a trimmed goatee and bushy eyebrows, with a fat chin and ears that were too big. His dark eyes were beady and watery, as if the sunlight hurt them. There was nothing more I'd like to do than dropkick him in the nose.

"You tried your best, dear," he said. "There was nothing more you could do." He rubbed his jaw, then smoothed down his mustache.

The girls behind me were silent. They knew a creep when they saw one.

I didn't move, didn't let any recognition in my eyes. I just waited for him to move on. Sometimes the best comeback was letting him know he wasn't even worth a reply.

Williams leaned forward and I smelled Old Spice on his jacket. Yuck. "I'll be seeing you later," he whispered. "It'll be great to get to know you better."

That was when I broke his gaze. If I held it any longer I would lose my self-control. I swallowed the rising wall of anger breaking against my chest like a wave.

When he saw he wasn't going to get a rise from me, he glanced up and down at Angela again, and then sauntered away. His limo disappeared around the corner and I unclenched my fists.

I let out all my breath.

Now that he was out, nowhere was safe. I had to get him back behind bars as soon as I could.

Chapter 13.

THE CARAMEL COLOR OF the scotch made him feel better at once. Dipping his finger in a shot of water he knocked off a few drops into his gla.s.s. The bouquet filled his lungs and he let the liquor spread over his tongue.

This was the life. Back home and free to hunt again. There was only one small hiccup, a minor inconvenience that in some ways was almost as fun as hunting.

Office lights off and sitting in the dark, he checked his cell. One missed call and one message. He hit the voicemail key and listened to the message.

"We've got a problem, the fox is at the henhouse. Let me know what you want to do about it."

The message was short and to the point. Fingers clenched around the gla.s.s of scotch, he threw it across the room and cursed. The heavy gla.s.s. .h.i.t the far wall and broke through the plaster and embedded itself in the wall.

Hitting redial, he waited. Three rings, then an answer. "Hey, what you want I should do?" The accent was all but gone, but he still got words mixed up.

Taking out a clean gla.s.s from the liquor cabinet, he poured another shot of scotch. "I want you to fix it, clean it up." His voice was low, demanding.

"Will do."

"This time make sure it stays fixed."

There was no answer. The line disconnected and the tall man sat back down with a heavy sigh. This was going to be fun.

Chapter 14.

WE PULLED INTO THE driveway at the old abandoned farmhouse three hours later. It had taken awhile to get through dinner. The girls wanted to talk and I tried to pay attention, but seeing Williams had me on edge. When we finally arrived at the farmhouse, it was near dusk.

Mandy was in the back seat, wide eyed and clutching her camera. I'd called her and asked to borrow her camera, but she gave me an ultimatum: either she goes with it or I don't get it. Since I didn't want to use any of the c.r.a.ppy digital cameras the office gave out, I decided to let her come. After all, it wouldn't be dangerous.

The moon was already out, even though it was still light. It cast an eerie glow over the cornfield to our left.

I couldn't help think of a Stephen King novel, if this was the sort of place he saw in his nightmares as he wrote. I didn't like being here in the daytime let alone at night. But it would probably take an hour to thoroughly search the place. It'd be dark by then.

I glanced at Joshua, who was driving the company car. He took out a handkerchief and wiped the sweat off his shaved head. "Come on, Sherlock," I said. "Let's see what we can see."

"There's no light on." Mandy whispered.

"Yeah, it's an abandoned farmyard." I said dryly. "And they taped this area off-I would be worried if there were lights on," I said and exited the car.

My eyes took a moment to adjust. I strode towards the barn, intent on my destination.

The crickets were making music full force. A crow occasionally chimed in, as if he didn't want the crickets to get all the glory. The gra.s.s weaved and danced in the wind creating a rustling backdrop. I'd missed hearing this country music. Real country music. I'd spent every summer with my grandparents on a farm, until they died when I was ten. The sounds were familiar to me.

Two car doors slammed shut.

I sighed and turned, walking backwards. "You don't have to come in, Mandy. Unless we find something for you to shoot."

"Shoot? Don't use that phrase," she said.

"Shoot with your camera," I clarified.

Joshua hurried to catch up with me.

"Don't think for a minute you're going to leave me in the car," Mandy said.

"Fine," I said. "But you have to be quiet. I know how you like to talk when you are scared."

"I don't talk when I'm scared. I mean, maybe a little but it's *cause it calms me down, gives me something to think about, something to take me mind off whatever I'm scared of and-oh, G.o.d, I'm doing it right now."

I smiled. "Yeah, that ... don't do that."

We came to the barn and stood together. More police tape stating CRIME SCENE DO NOT CROSS lined the barn doors. I pulled it free and I touched Mandy on the shoulder, making her jump and mutter a curse.

"This is where it happened," Joshua said in a haunted whisper. His black eyes glanced from one corner of the property to the other, taking it all in.

"Are we even supposed to do this?" Mandy asked, her voice shaking. "Is this legal?"

"Give me some credit," I said. "I called the P.D. before I came and got permission. n.o.body wants to come out here anymore."

I motioned to Joshua and he helped me slide the heavy double doors open. They groaned on their hinges and the sound stopped the crickets' serenade.

On my right was the horse trough. The one where Tracy died-drowned all alone and scared. On my left was the grain closet, the one where he'd kept her all day while he was gone. My heart was pounding so hard in my ears I swear Mandy could hear it.

I went to the middle of the barn and stood there. My mind always worked best when I was still. Imagining the barn as it was when they were in it, I looked it over, trying to notice anything that had changed. I put myself in Williams' shoes. Where did he go? What did he do? And what kind of evidence would he have left?

Joshua started near the horse trough and scoured the area one foot at a time. I bet he recognized most of it from the crime scene photos. Mandy stood with her back against the wall, looking frightened.

Breathing through my nose, I concentrated on the scene playing out in my head. He'd park out front, come through the double doors, walked to the grain closet, and dragged her out. She'd been bound, and too weak to struggle. And then where would he take her?

One corner of the barn was littered with rotten wood, rusty tools, and hay. It looked like it hadn't been touched in twenty years. Another corner held a gutted tractor. Another had a small door leading to the back. And the last corner ... that was where he would take her.

There was a clear path in the dust and hay to that corner. It was where the horse trough was. There had been a ratty blanket there, which had been taken for evidence. A pitchfork and shovel leaned against the wall. And then there'd been a stainless steel bucket with granola bar wrappers in it. The autopsy had revealed granola bars and water in Tracy's stomach, the only things he'd given her to eat.

The police had combed the area with a fine-tooth comb. It's where they had collected most of the DNA. Joshua started pacing up and down the area, blocking my view of it.

My gaze strayed to the back door. I walked over and knelt in front of it. It was getting darker, so I yelled for Mandy to get the flashlights that I'd left in my purse in the car. She complied with a scowl.

There was something interesting about this back door. A groove lined the floor, and the lock was busted as if it'd been forced open. If Williams always parked in front, why would he need to get out this door? I hadn't seen anything in the police report about it, so I walked through.

There was a field in the back. And only a field. A narrow dirt drive circled the barn and led here. Kathleen, the neighbor, hadn't mentioned seeing two cars. But what if someone had parked back here without her seeing?

It was the first time I'd thought about it. What if Williams wasn't the only one there?