people!
say?”!
!
“The! two! out! back! here?! Nothing.! I! heard! shouting! from!
inside! the! house.! Didn’t! understand! most! of! it.! Someone! said,!
‘They’re!not!here.’”!!
!
Roberts! squinted.! “‘They’re! not! here?’! You’re! sure?! Not,!
‘They’re!gone?’”!
!
My!fingers!curled!into!my!palm.!“I’m!sure.!Right!after!that!
someone! else! yelled! an! order! to! fall! back.! The! guy! who! came!
from! over! there—”! I! pointed! toward! the! far! corner! of! the!
garage.! “—he! fired! a! couple! more! rounds! and! split.! A! few!
moments!later!I!heard!a!vehicle!take!off.”!
!
“Could! be! someone! has! a! vendetta! against! Jones,”!
Lewandowski!said.!“He’s!got!a!wife!and!two!kids.!Someone!may!
have!come!looking!for!them.”!
!
I!leaned!forward,!the!sudden!movement!causing!a!couple!
of! them! to! recoil.! “Charlie’s! parents! are! gone!! That! doesn’t!
seem! like! ‘attempted’! anything.! Seems! like! the! real! thing! to!
me.”!
!
Before!I’d!pulled!out!my!cell!phone!to!dial!96161,!Charlie’s!
second! thought! had! been! Clayt! and! Connie.! Charlie! was!
bleeding!out,!but!he’d!made!me!run!into!the!house!to!check!on!
his! parents! before! calling! for! help.! I’d! searched,! yelling! their!
names,! yanking! open! doors! and! upending! furniture,! but! after!
wasted!minutes!scouring!every!inch!of!the!house!and!garage,!I!
came! to! the! same! conclusion! that! still! echoed! in! my! ears—
they’re*not*here .!!
!
“They!didn’t!just!vanish,”!I!said.!“How!would!anyone!know!
Charlie! was! going! to! be! here?! And! why! would! they! think! his!
wife!and!kids!would!be!here,!too?!If!they!followed!Charlie,!then!
Night&Tide —Sherer&
54&
they’d! know! Babs! and! the! boys! weren’t! with! him.! It! doesn’t!
make!any!sense.”!
!
The!cops!exchanged!glances.!No!one!ventured!a!guess.!Or!
maybe! none! of! them! considered! my! questions! worth!
answering.! Hartson! looked! at! me! and! rolled! his! eyes,! but!
Lewandowski!frowned,!eyebrows!knitting!as!if!he!doubted!his!
own!suggestion.!!
!
“Who!was!he!anyway?”!I!jerked!my!head!in!the!direction!of!
the!body.!!
!
“We!don’t!know!yet,”!Roberts!said!quietly.!“No!ID.”!
!
A! patrol! deputy! hurried! across! the! patio! from! the! house.!
“Lieutenant,!Detectives,!we!found!something.!You!need!to!come!
see!this.”!
!
The! three! county! cops! rose! and! headed! for! the! house.!
Lewandowski! and! the! uniform! from! Port! Orchard! followed.! I!
didn’t!wait!for!an!invitation,!and!no!one!told!me!to!stay!put.!I!
brought!up!the!rear!as!they!trooped!into!the!house.!The!young!
deputy!led!us!to!a!small!security!panel!on!a!wall!in!the!kitchen.!
!
“There’re!a!few!more!of!these!panels!in!the!house—one!by!
the! front! door,! one! by! the! door! to! the! garage,! another! in! the!
master!bedroom,”!he!said.!He!pointed!to!a!small!screen!on!the!
panel.! “We! found! cameras! around! the! property,! tripped! by!
motion! detectors.! There’s! one! out! by! the! road.! Like! an! early6
warning!system!when!visitors!show!up.”!
!
Wordlessly,!he!turned!and!led!the!way!down!a!hallway.!We!
fell! into! single! file! to! avoid! more! deputies! and! another! crime!
scene!detective,!moving!from!room!to!room!dusting!for!prints!
and! collecting! evidence.! The! group! fanned! out! inside! the!
master!bedroom!and!clustered!around!a!small!linen!closet!next!
to!the!bathroom!door.!I!stood!up!on!the!balls!of!my!feet!behind!
them!to!get!a!good!look!over!their!shoulders!at!a!gaping!black!
hole!in!the!bottom!of!the!closet.!Propped!against!a!wall!inside!
the!closet,!a!section!of!flooring!held!back!a!flap!of!carpeting.!
!
“What!the!hell?”!someone!said.!
Night&Tide
say?”!
!
“The! two! out! back! here?! Nothing.! I! heard! shouting! from!
inside! the! house.! Didn’t! understand! most! of! it.! Someone! said,!
‘They’re!not!here.’”!!
!
Roberts! squinted.! “‘They’re! not! here?’! You’re! sure?! Not,!
‘They’re!gone?’”!
!
My!fingers!curled!into!my!palm.!“I’m!sure.!Right!after!that!
someone! else! yelled! an! order! to! fall! back.! The! guy! who! came!
from! over! there—”! I! pointed! toward! the! far! corner! of! the!
garage.! “—he! fired! a! couple! more! rounds! and! split.! A! few!
moments!later!I!heard!a!vehicle!take!off.”!
!
“Could! be! someone! has! a! vendetta! against! Jones,”!
Lewandowski!said.!“He’s!got!a!wife!and!two!kids.!Someone!may!
have!come!looking!for!them.”!
!
I!leaned!forward,!the!sudden!movement!causing!a!couple!
of! them! to! recoil.! “Charlie’s! parents! are! gone!! That! doesn’t!
seem! like! ‘attempted’! anything.! Seems! like! the! real! thing! to!
me.”!
!
Before!I’d!pulled!out!my!cell!phone!to!dial!96161,!Charlie’s!
second! thought! had! been! Clayt! and! Connie.! Charlie! was!
bleeding!out,!but!he’d!made!me!run!into!the!house!to!check!on!
his! parents! before! calling! for! help.! I’d! searched,! yelling! their!
names,! yanking! open! doors! and! upending! furniture,! but! after!
wasted!minutes!scouring!every!inch!of!the!house!and!garage,!I!
came! to! the! same! conclusion! that! still! echoed! in! my! ears—
they’re*not*here .!!
!
“They!didn’t!just!vanish,”!I!said.!“How!would!anyone!know!
Charlie! was! going! to! be! here?! And! why! would! they! think! his!
wife!and!kids!would!be!here,!too?!If!they!followed!Charlie,!then!
Night&Tide —Sherer&
54&
they’d! know! Babs! and! the! boys! weren’t! with! him.! It! doesn’t!
make!any!sense.”!
!
The!cops!exchanged!glances.!No!one!ventured!a!guess.!Or!
maybe! none! of! them! considered! my! questions! worth!
answering.! Hartson! looked! at! me! and! rolled! his! eyes,! but!
Lewandowski!frowned,!eyebrows!knitting!as!if!he!doubted!his!
own!suggestion.!!
!
“Who!was!he!anyway?”!I!jerked!my!head!in!the!direction!of!
the!body.!!
!
“We!don’t!know!yet,”!Roberts!said!quietly.!“No!ID.”!
!
A! patrol! deputy! hurried! across! the! patio! from! the! house.!
“Lieutenant,!Detectives,!we!found!something.!You!need!to!come!
see!this.”!
!
The! three! county! cops! rose! and! headed! for! the! house.!
Lewandowski! and! the! uniform! from! Port! Orchard! followed.! I!
didn’t!wait!for!an!invitation,!and!no!one!told!me!to!stay!put.!I!
brought!up!the!rear!as!they!trooped!into!the!house.!The!young!
deputy!led!us!to!a!small!security!panel!on!a!wall!in!the!kitchen.!
!
“There’re!a!few!more!of!these!panels!in!the!house—one!by!
the! front! door,! one! by! the! door! to! the! garage,! another! in! the!
master!bedroom,”!he!said.!He!pointed!to!a!small!screen!on!the!
panel.! “We! found! cameras! around! the! property,! tripped! by!
motion! detectors.! There’s! one! out! by! the! road.! Like! an! early6
warning!system!when!visitors!show!up.”!
!
Wordlessly,!he!turned!and!led!the!way!down!a!hallway.!We!
fell! into! single! file! to! avoid! more! deputies! and! another! crime!
scene!detective,!moving!from!room!to!room!dusting!for!prints!
and! collecting! evidence.! The! group! fanned! out! inside! the!
master!bedroom!and!clustered!around!a!small!linen!closet!next!
to!the!bathroom!door.!I!stood!up!on!the!balls!of!my!feet!behind!
them!to!get!a!good!look!over!their!shoulders!at!a!gaping!black!
hole!in!the!bottom!of!the!closet.!Propped!against!a!wall!inside!
the!closet,!a!section!of!flooring!held!back!a!flap!of!carpeting.!
!
“What!the!hell?”!someone!said.!
Night&Tide
Similar Books
