Phantom Scars (22 page)

Chapter 42 - The Search is On

I burst through the post office doors, and Jessup hopped the counter when I came in. "You were right! That was the FBI, and Ms. Vivien is missing, Jessup. They say some crazy is hiding her in a bunker somewhere underground. In fact, it's the same bald man I threw out of here. How are we going to find her?"

Jessup ran to the front window and looked out at the black SUV that was parked across the way and quickly closed the blinds. He looked around and clapped his hands.

"What are you doing?" I asked.

"Listening for an echo or feedback, don't want them yanks listening in," he said and then waved me over. "So, underground bunker you say?" I nodded yes. "That shaved-up feller took Ms. Vivien?"

"Yes, they said they don't even plan on looking for her!" I nearly shouted.

"They must’ve found out I liked her! They're always going for the ones we love. Damn soft spot," he said rubbing his chest over his heart.

"We have to get a search party together, but how are we going to search so much land underground! How are we going to find her underground?"

He smiled. "Oh, that's easy." I looked at him confused, waiting until he rolled his eyes. "Metal detectors, silly, I'll call the club, and we'll get us a group out. We can do pole sticks, like they do for avalanches."

"Genius! I knew I could count on you. I'll go round up a posse. We're going to need some help. We'll have a detector, a pole poker, a shovel man, and a guy with a gun on each team, that bastard won’t get out alive!"

"Yee-haw! Let's boil us a hog!" he shouted and hopped over the counter, getting on the phone.

"Meet us at the restaurant. I'll get some maps of the area, so we can spread out and search, and if someone finds something, they can call back in to Ma," I said.

He smiled and nodded, as I took off across the street. It was time to call on the townsfolk, and I hoped they had all tolerated Vivien enough to look for her, because I didn't care who she was, she was someone's girl, and she needed to be found.

When Tyson realized I wasn't kidding about finding Vivien, he decided to join the search party, along with a few of his FBI buddies. Jessup wasn't too thrilled about it, and apparently, he’d set them all up on the same team with the metal detector guy who was a possum licker. Jessup's words, not mine. I think that meant he wasn't anti-government or something. I didn’t ask about it.

I decided to be on Jessup and Merle's team. Actually, I didn't think anyone else would volunteer to work with them, but since Jessup was really the lifesaver on finding a way to look for Vivien, I played it off as I was fighting to be on his team. Eli joined us as well. Clayton and Warren were chosen to stay behind with the girls and my momma at the command center. They were joined with a few other women, and to be on the safe side, Warren and my momma were armed. The women were all assigned teams to stay in contact with and mark their movement on the map to be sure they didn't waste time covering a spot that had already been searched.

I think Tyson was a little surprised how quick the whole town just shut down and came to the rescue of Ms. Vivien. We had twenty teams in all, and most of the wives and daughters were left in the safety of the restaurant, unless they were known to handle a gun well. What could I say, we southern gentlemen didn't think our women should be toting shovels or digging, and it took some real muscle power to shove the pole into the ground. We weren't being sexist.

In true Jessup and Merle fashion, we took the parcel next to the FBI team to “keep an eye on them.” I carried a phone and a GPS as well. I didn't tell them that was what it was, though. I didn't want them to freak out that we were being “tracked.”

Eli carried a gun, I carried a shovel, and Merle had the pole. Apparently, all his years of delivering mail had given him quite a bit of upper-body strength. Jessup was running the metal detector, and any time we hit something, Merle would shove the pole down. If it knocked on something partway through, I would dig. So far, we had dug out some rocks, a couple of groundhogs and a rabbit. Of course, Jessup didn't waste any time. While I was digging, he would go on searching the rest of the area. By the end of the night, we had covered one square mile.

Toward the end of the evening, there were calls going out to the search parties, suggesting we break out into even smaller teams, so we could cover more ground. My momma said she and the Adams Dairy would foot the bill to cover the extra metal detectors. Mr. Adams was already headed to the closest outdoor store to get them. He had called ahead and told them what was going on. They promised to hold the doors for him and offered a generous discount.

It was time to turn back, when Jessup surprised me. He cut across our line onto the FBI section and started going over it. "I don't trust them. I don't think they're really looking. I don't want to miss her, Devin. We can't miss her."

Eli wanted to get back to his new wife, so he passed me the gun, because let's face it, Jessup and Merle should not be armed.

We had a good method by then, and so we were covering the land fast. We had turned back at nightfall to get home, but we didn't show up until after eleven o'clock that night. It put Jessup's mind at ease, though, and he insisted he wanted me on his team, because Merle needed to keep an eye on those other possum lickers.

That night when I got home, I was exhausted. I took a hot shower after I picked up Emma from the restaurant and saw her to bed. I collapsed on the bed and buried my face in her hair, thankful that it wasn't my girl we were looking for.

The next morning came too fast. Emma passed me a bacon and egg sandwich and took me down to the restaurant-slash-headquarters to pick up the GPS and a gun. I would be carrying them and the shovel, and Jessup would be using the metal detector and the pole to check if I should dig. Merle ended up on Eli's team, and they were going to shadow the other FBI team. The agents split into two groups, and Agent Green was now with Agent Falkner. They were on the parcel next to ours.

The new smaller teams let us cover more ground, only searching a half mile spans each and heading outward. About halfway through our parcel, Jessup stopped me. "Boy, give me that thing you got. I know they're tracking you," he said holding his hand out for the GPS.

"Oh, well, I didn't think you'd like it. I figured it wouldn't be as bad if I was carrying it, so if something happened, you could still get away."

He smiled at me. "That's mighty kind of you. I'll be fine, just pass it here," he said.

After a few passes with it, he looked up at me upset. "Them damn yanks, they ain't doing their job right. They're leaving ten-foot gaps," he shook his head, and I looked over at Tyson’s team. His partner was the one with the metal detector. "We're going to have to go over their parcel again."

I nodded okay, because really, if there was any chance they had missed her, it would be horrible.

Chapter 43 – Snake in the Grass

After we covered the neighboring parcel, it was late, past eleven o'clock again, before I was able to get back to the restaurant to collect Emma. I promised Jessup I would talk to Tyson about his partner's mess-up. I hoped to get it rectified, because I didn't know if I could handle another late night and early morning. I had actually gotten used to getting some real rest with Emma by my side.

I noticed as I walked her upstairs that she was shaking, and so once we were safely inside, I pulled her into my arms and had her look at me. There were tears running down her face.

"Hey, what is it?" I asked picking her up and taking her to our bedroom. I knew she felt safest in there.

She burst into sobs once I sat down with her, so I carefully removed our shoes and pulled her up to the top of the bed and snuggled her safely under the blanket. I kissed her head softly, squeezing her tight. "Hey, I'm here, you're safe," I tried to comfort her, but she only sobbed harder.

"Wh-what a-a about wh-when you're not!" she stuttered through her sobbing.

"I'm always going to be here, honey," I promised.

She shook her head no. "How…" she sniffled, trying to get control of herself, "How am I gonna let you leave?"

"Let me leave? I'm not going anywhere. You say the word, and I won't go out tomorrow. I'm sure Clayton wouldn't mind taking a turn out in the field."

She shook her head no. "How am I supposed to let you go back on the ship…" she sniffled, "if I can't even handle you being g-gone during the day?" she broke into another loud sob.

I pulled her tightly to me and passed her some tissue. "Hey, I told you, I don't have to go. Honestly, I don't want to go. You think you're the only one who struggles when we're apart? I need you, too," I said kissing her head. "I don't want to leave you."

She settled down in my arms, and I kissed the last of her tears away. I was surprised when she pulled away from me and tugged on my shirt. I pulled it off, not wanting to make her feel uncomfortable for asking, but I wondered where this was going. Next thing I knew, her shirt had followed, and she was undoing my pants.

"I’ve got them," I said nervously and kicked them off under the covers, still hiding myself from her. She wiggled out of hers and then snuggled her bare back into my naked chest.

"I just need to feel you next to me tonight," she mumbled.

I kissed her cheek and shoulder softly, letting her know I understood, and then I pulled her tightly against me and settled down to sleep.

I was having a very vivid dream, so vivid that I was going to lose it in my shorts. My eyes popped open, just as I shot off, and I found myself on my back, with my wife writhing on top of me, still fast asleep. My release didn't seem to stop her, as she continued rubbing against me in my sensitive state. Her body stiffened, before her eyes opened, and she looked up at me sheepishly. I leaned up and kissed her lips softly. "Morning, beautiful," I said smiling, hoping she would know not to be ashamed of what she had done. I was sure this was part of her moving forward in our relationship in the bedroom.

She blushed, and I pulled her into a bone-crushing hug, kissing her neck and shoulder. "How are you doing this morning? Should I tell Clayton to take my place on the search?" She ducked her head in my shoulder. "Hey, honey, if you want me to stay, it's fine. I'll stay."

She let out a deep breath and then looked up at me. "You should go. I've heard a few stories about your partner. I don't think anyone else could handle the crazy postman like you do."

I let out a laugh. She was probably right. "Yes, Jessup is an animal of a different color."

"You're not a possum licker, are you?" she asked with a smirk.

I chuckled and tickled her sides. "Possum licker, I'll show you a possum licker!" I teased, as I leaned down and licked her cheek. She squealed and tried to wiggle away, but I just tickled her again and attacked her neck. She squirmed just so, and the next thing I knew, my mouth was just above her nipple, with my tongue pressed against her skin. I paused for a moment, but decided best to just play it off. I licked up to the hollow of her neck and realized that everything had changed.

Her fingers were tangled in my hair, and her breathing was hard. I was worried I had upset her, but when I looked up into her eyes, I didn't see an ounce of fear. I leaned down and kissed her softly, asking if she was okay with me doing this. She knew she could pull away at any time. She moaned into my mouth and wrapped her legs around me. The problem was I already had a mess in my shorts from this morning. I didn't know how I was going to explain that sticky goo she was going to encounter. Then again, considering how she had woken up, she could probably figure it out.

There was a loud banging on our front door, making Emma jump into my arms. "Hey, boy, don't tell me you turned into a possum licker!" Jessup shouted through the door.

Emma burst into giggles, and I tickled her sides for teasing me, as I climbed off the bed, throwing on my pants. I shut the door to hide my wife from Jessup's view. "Hey, Jessup, sorry, I ended up having a late night with my wife.”

"Wife? Boy, when did you get married?" he asked confused.

"I got married on my last run. Emma’s shy. She likes to stay under the radar, if you know what I mean," I said knowing it would endear her to him even more.

A few minutes later, Emma came out dressed, but her hair was still a beautiful mess. Jessup punched my shoulder, "Why, you dirty dawg," he teased causing Emma to blush. She brought us both a cup of coffee. "It’s mighty nice to meet you, Mrs. Clemens. It looks like Devin is a very lucky man." He gave her a wink, causing her to blush again and hide in my side. "She's a sweet one, isn't she?"

"I think so," I said kissing her head. "I'll meet you downstairs in twenty. I need to grab a quick shower."

"I'm sure you do," he said with a wink and slipped out the door.

I hopped in the shower, but I made it fast. I didn't know if Emma would need one as well. I told her to go ahead, and I would wait for her. I dressed quickly and found her pills. I didn't want her getting that upset again. When she came out dressed, I tucked them into her pocket. "You take these if you get upset, baby. I don't want you falling apart if I'm not there."

She nodded okay, and I took her hand and led her down to the restaurant office, where she had been spending her days. I kissed her goodbye and went to find Jessup and Tyson. I found Tyson looking more stressed than usual. I walked up and patted his shoulder. "You alright, man?" I asked.

He glared over at Agent Falkner. "No, my partner is an asshole. I get why he was upset, but it's obvious that buddy of yours has a few screws loose."

"My buddy?" I asked confused.

"Yeah, your partner," he said in a duh voice.

"Jessup?" Well, that was true; he did have a few screws loose.

"Yeah, when we came in this morning, he got on our case about conspiring against him and stealing his one chance at true happiness, something about being possum riders or some crap, I don't know. Anyway, Falkner should’ve kept his mouth shut, once he realized the guy wasn't all there. I mean, you don't upset crazy people. Jessup started accusing him of being in league with Chester, saying we weren't covering our parcel like we should, but we weren't going to get away with it, because he was going over it again."

"Jessup did point out that you guys were leaving ten-foot spaces unchecked."

"What?" Tyson asked confused.

"Yeah, I double checked it myself with our GPS. I'm sure you know we're on the parcel next to you, and we can see you through the brush as we make our passes. You guys are walking too wide. We've been re-covering your parcel once we're done with ours because of it. That's why we get in so much later."

"Falkner said he turned it up, so he could detect a wider range. Is that possible?" he asked.

I waved Jessup over. He came over, scowling at Tyson. "Jessup, Tyson here says his partner turned up his metal detector to cover a wider range. Is that possible?" I asked.

Jessup let out a frustrated breath. "Of course not, if you turn it up higher, it just looks deeper, and it should already be on max, so we can detect the bunker," he said with an annoyed headshake.

"Sir, would you mind showing me how to run that thing? Neither of us has any experience with them," Tyson asked.

Jessup looked at him nervously.

"You know, we probably should make sure everyone knows how to use the equipment properly," I said. "I'm sure it’d only take a few minutes, and it’d be better to be safe than sorry."

Jessup nodded in agreement, so him, Merle and a few other guys from the detector club stood up on a couple of long tables and did a quick demonstration. I hoped that made Jessup feel a little better about everything, but he still insisted he get the same parcel right next to them.

We were halfway down our parcel later that day, when we heard fighting on the other side of the brush.

"Is it even on? What the hell, man?" I heard Tyson yell.

"I just turned it down! I was getting a headache," his partner complained.

"Give me that fucker. I'll run it from now on!" Tyson yelled.

"Back off, Green, I know what I'm doing!"

"No, you don't! A fucking crazy dude had to show you. Now hand it over!"

We heard the distinct sound of a gun cocking. "Back off, Green, or I'll put you in your place. I rank higher than you."

"Whoa, just settle down, man. I'm just trying to help find a girl and catch a killer," Tyson said.

"We shouldn't even be here. In fact, why don't we just stay right here, and when it's time, we'll walk back and say we covered our search area."

"Dude, why not search?" Green asked.

"Do you really want to let a bunch of hicks find this guy? It should be us! More specifically, it should be ME! It'll make my career, once I catch the world-renowned serial killer. He'll have killed more women than any other serial killer in history. I'll be a national hero!"

"Man, we only know of four missing women, now five. That's hardly a huge number, and I'd rather stop it before it gets too far out of hand."

"That's where you're wrong, Green. We're going to let him have his fun and build up the story. We're going to be famous. We just have to wait to catch him, let him have another year or two to get his numbers up higher. I'm sure he'll be talkative and tell us of the others."

"Dude, you're sick! Give me the damn metal detector and get out of here! I'll do this myself," Tyson said.

"NO!" Falkner yelled at him, and I looked over at Jessup to see if he was getting this.

His face looked pissed. "Get your gun, boy, we're going in," he whispered and pulled back the trench coat he had been wearing. I should have known Jessup wouldn't go anywhere unarmed. He pulled out a sawed-off shotgun and cocked it. I did the same to the nine millimeter I had.

We snuck through the brush onto the next parcel and came out right behind Falkner. "You better drop that gun, or you're going to be missing your head," Jessup said in a deadly tone.

I had my gun trained on Falkner as well. "You okay, Tyson? We heard you guys arguing and decided we better come give you a hand."

"Yeah," he said stepping forward and took the gun from Falkner. "I'm a lot better now. Thanks for stepping in. I don't know what his problem is. He's crazier than Jessup right now."

Tyson patted his partner down, pulling out another sidearm and a knife. Then he cuffed him with arms wrapped around a tree, so he wouldn't be able to take off, and made sure he didn't have keys to let himself out. Tyson didn't want to waste any time and took the metal detector and headed a ways back from where they had come.

He hadn't gotten far, when he called out to us, “Hey, guys, I think I found something!”