Travesty, p.18
Travesty, page 18
“What? Where the hell are you going?” Kate yelled above the sound of the moaning roof beams as they bent inward.
I pointed toward the field. “I think that’s the county garage over there, and I thought I saw headlights. Maybe somebody knows what happened.”
Kate shook her head. “That doesn’t make any sense. They would have called it in. Somebody needs to be here when the fire trucks arrive.”
“And you guys are. I’ll be back in a few minutes. Check the parking lot perimeter thoroughly. The ME could be lying out there in the weeds.” I ran for the car, jumped in, and spun out of the lot. What I thought were headlights looked to be on the other side of the field. I’d have to take the driveway back to Luds Lane then turn right on the next road farther down. As soon as I turned, I pressed the gas pedal to the floor. It happened so suddenly. In a flash, I saw something heading for the nose of my car. I slammed on the brakes and swerved left, but it was too late. The impact was coming—it was too close—and I braced for the hit.
Chapter 56
“Son of a bitch, how do I shut off these damn headlights?” Matt fumbled with the stick alongside the steering wheel as he tried to figure out how to turn them off. He wanted to watch from a safe distance and make sure the building exploded into oblivion, leaving no trace of Tom, the DNA data, or the medical examiner. He saw the sheriff’s cruiser pull in just minutes after he reached Marie’s car. Not knowing the ins and outs of brand-new vehicles, as soon as he touched the door handle, the headlights came on. In the dark, those headlights were like a beacon announcing his location. Matt saw somebody round the burning building, but from that distance, he couldn’t tell who it was.
I wonder if they saw me. I better sneak out of here while I can.
Matt backed away from the building, made certain the headlights were off, and inched forward in the darkness toward Luds Lane. He’d head to his motel room and lay low while the detectives were preoccupied with the burning building. By morning, the news stations would reveal how successful he’d been in his attempt to cover up evidence.
The car turning right out of the driveway was heading his way. That told Matt he had been spotted. He pounded his fist on the steering wheel and gunned it toward the oncoming headlights.
“You aren’t going to screw this up for me. I don’t give a shit if you’re the law or not.”
Matt headed for the right front fender of the vehicle. With any luck, he would cause the cruiser to slide into the ditch, and he could make a clean getaway without doing much damage to Marie’s car. He had twenty yards to go, now ten, and then he braced for impact. With a sharp turn of the steering wheel, he hit the cruiser and sent it into the ditch. He wasn’t expecting the detective to climb out.
He advanced on her while she appeared shaken. It was that damn Detective Monroe, the nosy bitch who wouldn’t let up. She reached for her weapon, but Matt beat her to it. He knocked it away before she had a chance to draw it on him. With a hard punch to the gut, he doubled her over then kicked her into the ditch. She moaned as she writhed on the ground only feet away.
That wouldn’t do. He needed to knock her out to buy some time. With three steps down, he lifted his foot over her to deliver another blow. She grabbed his leg and gave it a hard twist. Matt lost his footing and fell. In a second’s time, the detective was on his chest, delivering rounds of fists to his face. He grabbed her by the arms and flung her to the side. Matt lunged at her and held her by the throat as he stared into her eyes. “You’re lucky I don’t have time to enjoy this. I just happen to have a tie in the car, but we’ll save it for another time.” He delivered a blow to Amber’s face, and she went silent. Matt pushed off his knee and brushed himself off then dragged her into the cornfield. “There you go, bitch. Enjoy your nap. That ought to give me some time.”
He climbed out of the ditch and drove away as the fire trucks arrived at the blazing building. Enjoying the safety of his motel room with a cold beer in his hand sounded pretty good right then. He’d turn on the ten o’clock news for early reports of the fire and drink his beer as the blazing building aired on TV.
Chapter 57
“We don’t know how it started.” As the fire raged, Jesse explained how they’d come upon it. “It looked like this when we arrived. There had to be an accelerant to cause it to ignite so quickly.”
The fire chief nodded as he yelled out orders. “It looks that way, Detective, and our fire inspector will know more tomorrow.” He cupped his hands around his mouth. “Squelch those flames by the vans first. We don’t need an explosion on our hands. Let’s get another truck out here and fast. This fire needs to be contained before it lights up the surrounding fields.”
Kate joined Jesse at the chief’s side. “We haven’t located the ME outside anywhere. His car is parked in his designated spot, and we were supposed to meet him when we got here fifteen minutes ago.”
“You think there’s somebody in the building?”
Kate nodded. “Yes! He was still inside working when we called. Like I said, we haven’t found him anywhere.” She jerked her head toward the building. “He’s in there, I just know it.”
The fire chief yelled out more commands then turned back to Kate. “Ma’am, there’s no way in hell anyone can get inside right now. The flames are too intense. It would be suicide.” He shook his head at the carnage playing out in front of him. “If he really is in there, there’s no way he survived, but we’re doing our best to get it under control.”
“Oh my God.” Kate tipped her head to catch Jesse’s attention. “Come over here where we can hear each other talk.”
Jesse followed her to the edge of the parking lot.
“What is it?”
“Shouldn’t Amber be back by now?”
“Shit, once the firemen arrived, I was busy answering their questions.” He looked around. “Are you sure she isn’t here? Maybe she went around the building and is watching from the back.”
“I walked the perimeter a few minutes ago. I didn’t see her or the cruiser.”
“Maybe you missed her call or text. It’s hard to hear anything in all this commotion.”
Kate pulled her phone from her pocket and checked.
“Well?”
She shook her head. “No messages, but I’ll try calling her.” Kate dialed Amber’s number, and it went directly to voicemail. “I don’t get why she doesn’t answer. I’m starting to get a bad feeling about this.” Kate closed her eyes and rubbed her temples. “I need to find Amber right now. Something’s wrong.”
Jesse gave her a questioning frown. “Suddenly you’re a psychic?”
“Yeah, actually I am.” Kate increased her pace until she was jogging down the driveway.
“Hold up, I’m going with you.” Jesse caught up to Kate and ran alongside her. “What do you mean you’re a psychic?”
“That’s a conversation for another time. Right now, we have to find Amber.” They reached the end of the driveway and turned right. No streetlights were in that secluded area off the highway, and the night was as black as ink. “Where the hell is she? I can’t see anything in the direction she said she was going.”
“Wait, there could be something up ahead off the left side of the road.”
“Where?”
Jesse pointed. “Follow my finger.”
They took off at a full run and didn’t stop until they reached the vehicle that sat jammed against the ditch at the driver’s-side door. Kate ripped open the passenger door and peered in.
“Amber, where are you?” She looked over the backseats and checked the floor—nothing. She stretched across the console, reached under the dash by the driver’s door, and popped the trunk. “Check the trunk, Jesse. Hurry!”
He ran to the back of the car and lifted the lid. “It’s empty. Isn’t there a flashlight in the cruiser?”
“Hang on, I’m getting it.” Kate jumped out of the cruiser and handed him the light. “Here, check under the car.”
Jesse flattened out on the pavement and shined the light under the tilted vehicle. “The grass is tall, but I don’t see anything else.”
Kate cupped her hands around her mouth and yelled out Amber’s name while Jesse panned the surroundings with the beam of light. Kate grabbed his shoulder. “Don’t move. I think I heard something.”
They stood silently and listened as crickets chirped in the nearby grasses. The light caught the eyes of a feral cat as it wandered by.
“Do you really think you heard something?”
“I’m sure of it. Let’s spread out.”
“But we only have one flashlight. Just stick next to me. We’ll find her.” Jesse jerked his chin toward the field. “Let’s go that way.”
“How could this have happened? Did she swerve to avoid a deer?”
“Not likely. A near miss wouldn’t crunch the front of the cruiser.” Jesse aimed the light back at the car. “No blood, no dead deer.”
“So a hit-and-run?”
“What exactly did Amber say when she left?”
Kate rubbed her brow. “Um… she said something about seeing headlights or what she thought were headlights.”
“Then it had to be a hit-and-run. The new ME’s office is in flames, she saw headlights in the distance, and now the cruiser is destroyed and Amber is MIA? That sounds like an intentional act to me.”
“Matt?”
“Who else would it be? He’s already killed two people in Madison—it’s his old stomping grounds—and the news aired that DNA was found in the case. Matt had to realize it was from Tom scratching his face. He came to destroy the evidence and sent the whole building up in flames, likely with the ME inside. At least he didn’t know we have evidence bags full of his DNA in the car.”
“Jesse, what if he took Amber?”
“You said you heard something, right?”
Kate nodded.
“Then she’s out here.”
They walked the ditch in both directions then stepped over the ridge. A cornfield stood in front of them.
“Shit. Cornfields make finding entry points more difficult. Let’s head back to the car and go straight out from there.”
They created a starting point at the driver’s door and entered the cornfield.
“Stop! I heard moaning. Amber, Amber, are you out here? Where are you?” Kate spread the cornstalks and picked up her pace. “Shine the light over here, Jesse! The sound came from this direction.”
Jesse pointed the beam left and moved it slowly to the right between the rows of cornstalks. “There she is!”
Her legs, exposed between the rows ten feet in front of them, moved as if she were trying to get up. Kate raced to her side.
“Amber!”
“Kate, is that you?”
“It’s me and Jesse. How badly are you hurt?”
“I don’t know. I’m dizzy, and my face is throbbing. I think he knocked me out.”
“You probably have a concussion. Close your eyes. I’m going to shine the light on your face.”
When Jesse pointed the light in Amber’s face, Kate gasped.
“That bad, huh?”
“Sorry, it was an involuntary reaction. I wasn’t expecting to see so much blood.”
Jesse knelt at Amber’s side. “Looks like he clocked you good. Your lower lip is split, and your right eye is swelling up.”
“No wonder I can’t see for crap.”
“We have to get you some medical attention.”
Amber reached up and grabbed Jesse’s shirt. “Hang on a second and help me to a sitting position.”
Kate and Jesse gingerly righted her.
“How’s that?” Kate asked.
“Better—I just need things to stop spinning. Before anything, you guys have to get the locals out looking for him. It was Matt, you know.”
“We assumed as much. Could you see what he was driving?”
Amber shook her head. “No, his headlights were off, and he charged me before I had time to react.”
Jesse stood. “Kate, stay with her. I’ll run back and grab one of those firemen. I’m sure they all have EMT training. Make the call to the Madison PD while I’m gone. Tell them to button down all of the main exits out of the city. We have to find that nutcase and fast.”
Amber spoke up. “If he’s driving Marie’s car, tell the cops it’s a new silver Camry, and the front passenger side will show some damage. There may even be black paint from the cruiser on it where the cars collided. Let them know the plates aren’t going to be a factor. They’ve likely been swapped out several times by now.”
“I’m on it. Go ahead, Jesse, get one of those firemen down here.”
Kate helped Amber to the pavement. “Sit here while I get the first aid kit out of the trunk. We can clean you up a bit while we’re waiting.”
“Thanks, but don’t wipe the blood off my hands. I’ve got his DNA all over me. See if you can find my cell phone too.”
“Sure, just stay put.”
“Kate?”
“Yep?”
“He said if he had more time, he would have killed me with the tie he had in the car.”
Kate shuddered. “I can’t even imagine.”
“At least I got in a few good punches to his face before he knocked me out. Tell the cops that too and about the scratches he has.”
“I will, and I better make that call now, and then I have to let Jack know what’s going on.” Kate cracked the instant ice pack. “Here, hold this against your eye.”
Chapter 58
The cashier stared at Matt’s face as he paid for his purchase.
“What? You’ve never been attacked by a crazed cat before.”
“Sorry, man, I didn’t mean to stare. You’re lucky it didn’t claw out your eyes.”
Matt smirked. “Well, that cat isn’t long for this world anymore. It sounded like his ribs cracked pretty hard when I kicked him in the side.”
The cashier winced.
Matt pushed open the minimart door and took several steps toward Marie’s car at pump six. He carried a fifth of whiskey, a two-liter bottle of soda, and a bag of chips. Just then, a Madison police car pulled into the driveway on his left and parked near the entrance. Matt kept his head down and increased his pace.
Shit, I’ve got to get out of here.
He climbed in behind the wheel, tossed his treats on the passenger seat, and pressed the start button. He checked his side mirror—the officer was approaching his car.
Damn him.
The officer yelled out, “Sir, hold up a minute.”
Matt gunned it, squealing the tires as he spun a doughnut in the lot and sped out of the driveway onto the busy street in front of him. Cars swerved, and brakes locked up. He looked back and saw the officer running to his cruiser. A hit on his back bumper sent the car over the curb and onto the cross street. Horns blared. Matt checked his rearview mirror and saw two cars collide. He let out the breath he had been holding. The commotion behind him would keep that cop busy for the time being, but he was sure to call in this incident. Matt needed to get out of sight and fast.
He made it to the motel without a light bar flashing in his rearview mirror. Matt pulled Marie’s car around to the back of the single-story flat-roofed building and snugged it against the dumpster. He doubted that the motel manager would give a shit, and the guy was likely watching an adult movie channel in the office, anyway. Matt grabbed the booze and chips, locked the car doors, and rounded the building. His room was the second one from the end. He went inside, plopped down on the bed, and turned on the TV. He had to know if the law was breathing down his neck and how soon he could get out of town. If he needed to steal a different car, he would, and then he’d be on his way, heading south toward the Sunshine State.
Chapter 59
Jesse and Kate stood next to Amber as she sat on the bumper of the chief’s car. An EMT firefighter was tending to her wounds.
“You’re lucky. It doesn’t appear that you’ve suffered a break anywhere, but you’ll have a headache for a few days, that’s for sure.” The EMT looked toward Jesse and Kate. “You’ll need to keep her awake and make sure she’s responsive. That guy knocked her for a loop.”
Amber rubbed her head. “You’re telling me. Can I have a few ibuprofen?”
“Yeah, I guess that’ll be okay. I’ve used butterfly stitches on your cheek and above your eye. You should heal up just fine. Maybe small scars at first, but they’ll fade in time. Keep those stitches dry for at least forty-eight hours.”
“Sure thing. Thanks for the help.” Amber looked down at her hands. “Sir?”
The EMT turned around. “Yep, what can I do for you, Detective?”
“Can you take a sample of the blood on my hands and preserve it?”
He walked to her. “Let me take a look.”
Amber turned the backs of her hands toward him. “This isn’t my blood, but I need to preserve it as DNA evidence.”
“Understood. It’s dry enough that I could scrape some off and put it in a baggie.”
“That would be perfect, thanks.”
Seconds later, Kate’s phone rang, and she walked away from the noise to answer. “Hi, boss.”
“Sorry I couldn’t get to the phone earlier. I was on a conference call with the task force. Tell me in detail what’s going on.”
“It’s a disaster. We arrived to see the medical examiner’s office engulfed in flames. The firefighters just got it under control, but the building is a total loss. The worst part is we’re pretty certain the ME was inside. Nobody has seen him anywhere, and that would explain why.”
“Damn it! The firefighters haven’t discovered his body yet?”
“Nope, it’s still too hot to enter. The chief said they’d try shortly, though. They’ve got the fire hoses spraying what’s left of the structure to cool things down.”
“Are you thinking arson?”
“Given the fact that the building was primarily brick and nearly everything inside would be stainless steel, yes. It was a raging inferno by the time we arrived. There had to be an accelerant. The fire chief said the inspector would go through everything in the morning.”
