The Iron Quill (7 page)

Turns out I was right. But somehow, it wasn’t the response I was looking for. Officer Petty was the only one who greeted me in the lobby, and he was the less friendly of the two.

“Where’s the other officer?” I asked.

“You mean Officer Wright?”

“I guess so.”

“He’s in court this afternoon. What can I do for you?”

I wished they were both there, because I’d always gotten the vibe that Officer Wright was the more sympathetic one. Officer Petty has this accusatory look in his eyes. Like when you talk, he tilts his head back slightly as if he’s trying to get a better angle as he dissects each word.

I shook off the feeling that he was seeing through to my core, discovering my previous lives or how I’d saved Wes or the secrets I now held. Instead I tried to focus on the here and now. The most pressing matter: Tim Walters.

I cleared the itch in my throat. “I have some information on Mary Payne’s murder.”

His eyes widened and he nodded his head. “Well then, let’s go to my desk and talk about it.”

Within minutes we were seated across a desk with papers sprawled out all over it. Even though there didn’t seem to be a method to their arrangement, he uncovered the file with ease, opened it, and said, “Alright, let’s see, I last interviewed you a few weeks ago and you knew nothing. What’s changed, Ms. Slone?”

“Well, I found out that a boy I used to work with witnessed the murder. His name is Chase Chambers and he said Tim Walters killed Ms. Payne, because he had a vendetta against me. Tim is Andrew Walter’s grandson, and he blamed me for his grandfather’s death, then created an opening at Healey’s so Chase could work there to basically torment me and seek his revenge.”

I was talking so fast that I wasn’t sure if any of it made sense, but Officer Petty nodded and leaned back in his chair. “So you
are
involved?”

“What? Me? No. I’m not involved. I just—”

“Relax, Ms. Slone. I meant that we figured it was not a coincidence that two crimes occurred around you. So now that we know we were correct in our assumption, let’s get this on paper.”

I told him everything Chase said in his video, and everything was going well until he asked me where he could find Chase. That was a problem.

“Um. He’s actually not living anymore . . . he’s . . . dead.”

“He’s what?”

“He killed himself last night.”

He raised a brow and pulled the pen out of his mouth.

“You mean Chase Chambers is dead, too? Three people you know?”

I opened my mouth to speak and then snapped it shut.
What was he suggesting now?

He finally spoke. “Look, Ms. Slone, this is getting deeper and deeper every time I see you. If Chase is no longer with us, then how am I supposed to proceed with this new information?”

That was easy. I pulled Chase’s phone out of my purse and put it on top of the highest mound of forms on his desk. “He mailed me this before he died. It’s a video message. A confession, actually.”

“Hmm. Alright. Let me take a look.”

After a silent viewing, the officer looked up at me and pressed his lips together before parting them to release words I’d heard too many times on TV. “Ms. Slone, this is not enough to prove anything. We can’t arrest anyone based on a dead person’s video message. Not to mention the fact that we can’t prove he wasn’t coerced into saying these things. Or the fact that—”

“Listen,” I interrupted. “I’m just the messenger here. I’m not in the business of arresting anyone or saving the world from criminals. But this guy is a murderer and he’s after me. I don’t
want
this guy locked up. I
need
him locked up. My life depends on it.”

And it did. It wasn’t a lie. Wes’ life depended on us finding him, and his life was my life, so yeah,
my
life depended on it. I stood up gaining more confidence. “Now, I have given you solid proof and if you went out there and looked into half of what Chase says on here, you might not just close your case, but you could save a few more lives.”

“Alright. Alright.” He put his hand up. “I won’t make promises, but I will look into it. That’s all I can say.”

I shook my head and felt my eyes watering, so I just turned around and walked out of there with my head down.

I knew at this point that Wes was in serious trouble. There’s no doubt that he would’ve called me by now. I knew he couldn’t and
if
he couldn’t, then that meant whoever had him wasn’t planning on letting him go any time soon.

Words cannot describe the urgency that was flaring through me. I didn’t have any more time to wait on other people to come through. I confirmed my decision, right there in the police station parking lot, to find Tim and confront him on my own. What other choice did I have?

I called Danny and asked him what nights the fight club met and he told me I was in luck.
Hardly.

“Why do you want to know?”

“I’m just curious.”

“Well, if you were thinking about telling them about Chase, you don’t have to worry. I already called Tim and told him what happened.”

What?!
“You told Tim?”

“Yeah, he was his only other friend besides me.”

Trying not to sound too irritated, I managed to speak calmly. “What did he say?”

“He said it was messed up. I just wish he would come to the funeral. That’d be nice. It’s the least he could do considering how much money Chase made him at the fight club.”

I knew why he wasn’t going to come. That would be the ultimate twisted, no-conscience-having scum, but I was extremely curious to hear
his
explanation for bailing on a so-called friend.

“Why can’t he come?”

“Said he’s moving this weekend.”

At that point I could no longer keep up the façade. “This weekend?!”

“Yeah, and Dad says the funeral won’t be until next week, so it’ll just be us, unless we can track down some family somewhere.”

“I gotta go. I’ll talk to you later.”

This weekend? Moving? Oh, no. No, no, no. I had to corner him. Even if that meant going directly into the lion’s den. Did I have a plan for when I got there? No, but that didn’t stop me. Dark, creepy rooms with sweaty, drugged up guys beating each other’s brains out were not going to keep me from seeing Tim, face to face. Scared to death or not, I was running out of time.

Around 9:00, I found myself parked in the creepy, dark alley that led to the back entrance of the building where the fight club met. I’d thought about asking Dawn or even Danny to come with me, but hadn’t wanted to put them into a dangerous situation just because I was chicken.

That meant it was up to me to work my way into the sweaty, stinky, loud basement to confront Tim. I mean really, what could he do to me in front of everyone? No, not just everyone else. Men, lots of them . . . just as intimidating as Tim.

I took a deep breath and got out of my car, slowly making my way through the narrow opening between the Dumpster and the brick wall of the neighboring building. My heart was racing, but this time I wasn’t concerned with possible rats at my feet. The fear was a result of threats homing in on me from much higher. Piercing my back, my side, my front. Everywhere, I felt dark, hidden, back-alley eyes on me.

I looked around, paranoid, and saw only darkness, which was just as unsettling. The moment I stepped past the Dumpster, I froze.
What am I doing here?
I’m no superhero with an invisible protective shield.

If my time with Wes was any indication of my invincibility, it was clear that I was the complete opposite. I wanted Wes home more than my own breath, but more importantly, I wanted to give Wes everything he’s ever asked of me. And at the top of his list would be
not
purposely putting myself in dangerous situations.

A zillion warnings whispered through my mind telling me I shouldn’t be going there, alone, at night, by myself. Conflicted, I found myself carrying on a conversation with Wes.

His urgent, but soothing tone, told me he was proud of me, and what I was attempting was amazing but stupid, so please turn around and find another way. “You don’t belong here,” he said. “You belong with me, safe, and in my arms. Have patience. Be smart.”

I grunted loud enough for any vermin lurking in the potholes to hear me, and then sighed, surrendering to the rational thoughts that told me to back up. To the safe confines of my car.

I was desperate, but not stupid. Once inside, I locked my doors and smacked the steering wheel with both hands.

I felt like a chicken, a failure . . . selfish for not having the guts to march in there and demand the information I needed, but the gravitational pull from the opposite direction was stronger. Wes certainly wouldn’t go looking for a fight or conflict. Every bone in his body was kind, calm, and collected. Regardless of my frustration, I couldn’t go against the aura that surrounded who he was, who I needed to be if I was going to make it through everything that fate had to throw at us.

After several reflective minutes, I made peace with my decision to find another way.

Just as my engine revved, the sound of sirens in the distance reminded me of the dangers in the world, and I shuddered. An eagerness to leave rose within as I eased my Jeep out of the parallel space.

Suddenly the sirens ceased, but several sets of headlights were coming down the narrow street, straight toward me. A glimpse into my rearview mirror was greeted by even more headlights approaching.

I hadn’t seen another car the entire time I’d been there. That was odd. Curious, I slowed my Jeep and veered to the right.

There were no yellow lines dividing the narrow road, so I came to a near crawl to prevent grazing one of the parallel-parked cars to my right or running head-on into the blazing stampede of approaching cars to my left.

What in the world?
I asked myself as the first ones passed. Cop cars? Even though their sirens were off, I slid back into the first parallel parking space to see what the heck was going on. Three cruisers, three vans, and two ambulances went by.

I turned around to peer out over my headrests and saw the cars stop in front of the alleyway leading to the fight club. Someone was either injured or in trouble, and I couldn’t figure out which, until it dawned on me that the emergency vehicles were silent.

I watched as an entire SWAT team hustled out of their vehicles and stealthily moved into the alleyway. The same alleyway I had
just
backed away from. Talk about a huge feeling of relief, but there was no time to relish it. An icy jab shot through my spine as a loud pound shook my window.

I jumped, nearly knocking my head on the roof of the Jeep.
Geez
! I whipped my neck around to see a uniformed officer standing at my window. Major flashbacks of Andy pierced my thoughts as I sat like a deer in headlights.

The officer motioned for me to roll down my window. Naturally, I tensed and froze. “Miss, roll down your window, or I’m going to have to ask you to step out of the vehicle.”

That was something I definitely didn’t want to do, so I pressed down on the switch, lowering the window in two-inch increments until there was enough space for him to talk.

“May I ask you what you’re doing here?”

“Um. I was heading down this street and I pulled over when I saw you guys coming. I . . . I was just curious.”

I found myself pointing behind me, hoping he would understand my rubbernecking.

“What brings you down this street?” he asked pulling out a flashlight.

The blinding glare in my eyes caused my heart to jump out of my chest. My breathing became labored.
What’s wrong with me?
Oh, my gosh!

“Miss?”

“Um, can you please move that light? I’m sorry,” I nearly started panting. I wanted to throw my Jeep in gear and drive off faster than he could blink.

I glanced at him one more time with pleading eyes, and the light moved away and very quickly, I saw a look of possible recognition in his eyes.

“Oh,” he said. “Do you have ID?”

I turned quickly, rummaged through my purse, and nearly tossed him my wallet. “Oh,” he said again seemingly more to himself than me. “Ms. Slone, what brings you to these parts this evening?”

He took a step back, which helped calm me. I blinked a few times and shook my head hoping my senses would return.

“I was looking for someone, but I changed my mind.”

“Good decision,” he said handing me my wallet and nodding. “I think it would be a good idea if you went home. Have a good night.”

Finally, I had my chance to escape the déjà vu moment, but I was s
till
curious. “Officer, what’s going on back there?”

A soft smile reached across his face. “We’ve heard some illegal activities are taking place there, and we’re going to make some arrests.”

I immediately thought of Tim. “Who’s getting arrested?” I blurted out.

He had already taken a few strides toward the other gathered officers, but he turned and dropped his chin. “Everybody, and unless you want to be included, I suggest you head home.”

“Okay.” No need to tell me twice. I pulled out of the space thanking my lucky stars that I had
not
gone inside. I’d be in handcuffs right now, and explaining that to my mother was not on my to-do list.

But Tim? He was in there, and the officers would include
everyone
when it came to being arrested, and that meant I would have him right where I needed him.

D
uring the long walk back to my office, I wondered how things had gotten so out of control. I had been making significant progress toward curing my patients, and most importantly, we were beginning to have long-term success. Many of the soldiers who had been through my treatment had gone back to active duty or had decided to take the offered honorable discharge and education assistance package.

Things were going quite well in my opinion, so the fact that the sergeant major ordered the abduction of a well-respected civilian just didn’t make sense. Not to mention the fact that he attempted to drug him. There was no way this situation was going to end well.