Chapter 13
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Tawny set down her coffee mug. Her heart rate kicked up a notch. She draped a blanket around Precious’ shoulders and handed her a cup of coffee. Forgetting that she was an inmate, she asked, “Precious, what happened after you and Joy left with Colfer?”
“At first, everything was okay, right, Joy?”
Joy nodded and gripped the edges of a blanket tighter around her. “Right. We headed north like we planned, and then?—”
“Then the path got narrower, so we walked single file?—”
“Colfer said for us to walk ahead of him, so we did. We couldn’t see much, and we got tired and thirsty, so?—”
“So, we said we wanted to head back to camp. We figured he’d throw a fit, but?—”
“But nothin’. We looked behind us, and he was gone. Just gone .” Precious shuddered. “Gave me the heebie-jeebies because we didn’t hear a thing.”
“Not a thing,” Joy echoed.
“He vanished like a ghost. Like he wasn’t even real.”
“Did you look for him?” Tawny asked.
“Hell, yeah,” Precious answered. “Joy and me, we were scared out there by ourselves.”
“We thought he fell off a ledge or somethin’ like that,” Joy picked up the story. “We looked everywhere for him. Screamed his name. Nothin’.”
“Not a sign of him. So, we decided to head back here. Barely found our way. Hell, we’re lucky nothin’ happened to us .”
There had to be a clue to Colfer’s disappearance that Joy and Precious missed. Tawny turned to the others. “We need to organize a search party. Colfer might be seriously injured and unable to call for help.”
Everyone stared at her, some with their mouths agape at her audacity.
“Tawny’s right.” Moira’s voice rang with authority. “Captain Ward will take his men, and I’ll take any of you Titans willing to go back out and search for Colfer.”
“Not me.” Precious shook her head. “I ain’t goin’ back out there. It’s too spooky.”
“Me either,” Joy added. “My legs feel like jelly.”
“I’ll go,” Yolanda volunteered.
“So will I.” Terrin stared straight at Tawny. She nodded her approval.
Captain Ward, Moira, and Tawny gathered around the map. Tawny pinpointed the spot where Colfer, Joy, and Precious headed north.
“There’s rough terrain in that area,” Captain Ward noted. He looked at Joy and Precious. “How far north do you think you traveled?”
“Don’t know. We walked and walked. Seemed like forever,” Precious replied.
“Probably two or three miles,” Joy suggested.
“It’s going to take too long to hike up there,” Moira commented. “We need to use our vehicles to get as close as possible to Colfer’s last known location.”
“He had his cell phone with him,” Tawny interjected.
Captain Ward continued Tawny’s train of thought. “I’ll notify Sheriff O’Grady and explain we have a missing guard. He’ll be able to ping his phone. I’ll ask for air support, too. In the meantime, we need to get back out there.”
Tawny knew Hutch could ping Colfer’s phone in seconds, bypassing the bureaucratic red tape that would take the sheriff’s department too long. She chafed at this backseat role she had to play. As she, Moira, Terrin, and Yolanda climbed into their rescue truck, Tawny hoped Colfer had suffered an unfortunate accident and nothing more sinister.
Terrin must have read her mind. “What do you think happened to Colfer?”
“Maybe he slipped and fell.” She shot Terrin a look meant to keep her from pressing any further.
Yolanda glanced first at Terrin, then at Tawny. “What am I missin’?”
“Nothin’,” Terrin answered.
“You’re lyin’.”
“I’ll explain everything when we’re back at fire camp,” Tawny promised.
God help me. I’m in deep, deep trouble. None of the guys would have made such a colossal mistake. Neither did Jiena, and she was undercover a lot longer than me.
They traveled into the hills of the state park until the terrain prevented them from continuing any farther. The two teams met outside their vehicles to coordinate their search. Captain Ward spread out the map on the hood of his truck.
One of his men shone a flashlight on it. “Here’s our location. We need to fan out and head northwest. Do not split up. Is that clear?”
“Yes, sir!” everyone chorused.
“All right. Move out.”
They shouted Colfer’s name every few minutes, but he didn’t respond. Tawny’s gut wrenched with the uncanny knowledge that he wouldn’t, couldn’t answer them. Above them, the helicopter’s blades whirred , drowning the sound of their voices. At least the spotlight illuminated the thick darkness. When Captain Ward informed Moira that Sheriff O’Grady hadn’t been able to trace a signal off Colfer’s cell phone, it confirmed Tawny’s worst fear.
Nearing the top of their third hour of searching, the helicopter hovered over a spot several hundred yards to their east. The walkie-talkie crackled with an incoming communication.
“Captain Finnigan, we see something that resembles a body northeast of your location. Over.”
“Copy. We’re headed in that direction now. Over.”
They increased their pace and reached the designated area within several minutes. Looking down a steep hill, they spotted Colfer’s misshapen body. Slipping and sliding toward it, their flashlights revealed his crushed skull. Yolanda and Terrin gasped in horror.
“Oh, my God! He’s dead!” Yolanda cried.
“Stand back,” Moira ordered. “We don’t know his cause of death.”
“Like hell!” Terrin exclaimed. “Somebody bashed his head in with a rock!”
Moira called it in. “Captain Ward, we found Gary Colfer. He’s dead. It appears as if he died from blunt force trauma. Over.”
“Copy that. Alerting Sheriff O’Grady now.”
Tawny crouched next to the body. She examined Colfer’s bloody skull. Brain matter oozed from the gaping gashes. Mixed with blood, strands of hair, and bits of brain, she saw fragments of stone.
“He was murdered,” she declared in almost a whisper. “Not only that but he was struck multiple times. Enough to do this amount of damage. It was an act of rage, and it was personal. Colfer might have known his murderer.”
“Sweet Jesus!” Yolanda dropped to the ground next to Tawny. “You’re a?—”
Terrin reacted swiftly and covered Yolanda’s mouth with her hand. “Shh!” she hissed in her ear. “For the love of God, don’t say it out loud!”
Yolanda nodded her understanding, and Terrin let her loose. She wore a wild, wide-eyed doe expression, and Tawny thought she’d bolt. Instead, she threw her arms around her in a fierce hug.
“I won’t say a word to nobody. I promise. We’re blood sisters, and no matter who you are, I got your back. Always.”
“You bet your sweet ass you’re keeping your mouth shut,” Moira ordered. “For all our sakes.”
Yolanda and Terrin turned to stare at her.
“You knew?” Yolanda asked.
“Yes. It’s why I’m here.”
“We can discuss this later,” Tawny interjected. “Right now, we need to find the rock the murderer used, if he or she left it behind. It will have blood and hair on it. Soon, this area will be crawling with cops and crime scene investigators.”
Sweet Jesus is right! I’m in over my head!
Though fear of discovery sickened her stomach, Tawny’s mind debated two possible scenarios. Either Whitcomb arranged for Colfer to be eliminated because he wasn’t part of the drug trafficking organization, as Tawny assumed, and posed a threat, or Joy and Precious conspired to kill him. Maybe he’d sexually assaulted one or both of them. Or—Tawny’s eyes narrowed in speculation—Whitcomb had already approached Joy and Precious to run drugs. But with what incentive? False promises of freedom? Money? Both possibilities made sense, especially since Joy and Precious were the last two people to see Colfer alive.
Lost in thought, she tripped over something hidden beneath creepers and pine needles. She pitched forward and landed on her knees. Her flashlight flew out of her hand and sent a crazy beam in front of her. Tawny cursed and grabbed the flashlight. She brushed away the vines and pine needles and found the object that caused her to trip. A medium-sized rock. Excitement raised her pulse. She examined it closely and observed dark stains, most likely blood and brain matter.
“Captain Finnigan! Come here!”
Moira, Yolanda, and Terrin tramped across the ground toward her. “I tripped over it,” Tawny told them as they leaned over her shoulder.
“Is that it?” Yolanda asked, almost reverently.
“Yeah. The murder weapon. We need to leave it where it is for the investigators.”
It turned into a long, hellish night. The California State Police and the Chino Hills Police Department converged on the crime scene with a pair of detectives, the San Bernadino County medical examiner, at least a dozen officers, and the forensics specialists. External lights were set up as the crime scene investigators bagged and tagged evidence.
One of the detectives treated Tawny, Yolanda, and Terrin like the criminals they were when he pulled them aside and questioned them extensively about their involvement. “We’ll be running fingerprints and other DNA evidence we find on the body and murder weapon, and if they’re traced back to one of you, you’ll be charged with homicide and sent to prison for the rest of your miserable life.” He intimidated them with his threat. “This is the only opportunity you have to come clean about killing Gary Colfer.”
Yolanda lost her temper. “We didn’t do nothin’! We weren’t anywhere near him!”
“And yet you found the murder weapon.” The detective offered a smug smile. “You know what I think? You three and your girlfriends back at base camp conspired to bump off Colfer. What did he do? Force you to have sex with him? And bashing his head in with a rock was your way of getting revenge.”
“That’s a dirty, filthy lie! We didn’t?—”
Tawny laid a restraining hand on Yolanda’s arm. “Don’t say another word. He’s just itching to pin Colfer’s murder on us. He thinks we’re trash. Isn’t that right, Detective?” She memorized his name and badge number and intended to pay him a visit after she solved her case. Detectives like him infuriated her.
“Not true. I’m on your side. Just tell me the truth.”
Moira stepped in front of the detective. “Stop harassing my team.”
“Your team?” he scoffed. “They’re convicts who have no business being among decent people.”
“Go do your job and leave these women alone.”
After the crime scene technicians finished their tasks and the medical examiner announced a preliminary cause of death, the cops transported Colfer’s body to the coroner’s vehicle. The various agencies disbanded, leaving the night eerily quiet and still.
On their way to the command base, Tawny confessed her true identity. “My real name is Tawny Westfall, but I’m a sergeant in the Laguna Beach Police Department. Lucy Conner was my friend, and I’m determined to find out who murdered her and to protect all of you. There’s definitely something going on, and I’m starting to put the pieces together.”
“Never thought I’d be blood sisters with a police sergeant,” Yolanda declared. “But you’re cool. Like I promised, I got your back.”
“So do I,” Terrin vowed.
“We have to trust each other. Our lives depend on it.”
“And did you and Captain Finnigan know each other before you went undercover?” Yolanda asked.
Tawny grinned. “I’m dating her brother. Remember Smith? The hot firefighter? That’s him.”
Yolanda burst into laughter. “No kiddin’! I knew you two were hot for each other!”
“Only he’s not really a firefighter. He’s LA SWAT.”
“Oh, fuck me!” Yolanda almost fell off the bench they sat on.
Tawny and Terrin laughed and pulled Yolanda upright.
As soon as they reached the command base and climbed out of the rescue truck, the Titans left behind burst from the tent, screaming, “Captain Finnigan! They took Joy and Precious! The cops dragged them away in handcuffs!”
“Where?” Moira demanded.
“We don’t know!”
Moira whipped out her cell phone and contacted Sheriff O’Grady. “Did your officers arrest Joy and Precious?”
“They’re not under arrest, but they are persons of interest. I can hold them for seventy-two hours without charging them, and that’s what I intend to do until I either get their confession or proof that condemns or exonerates them.”
“Like hell!” Moira exclaimed. She ended the call and made another one. “Cameron? It’s Moira Finnigan. I’m sorry to bother you so late, but we have an issue. How fast can you get to Chino Hills?” She paused. “Perfect. Thanks.”
“Who’s Cameron?” Yolanda asked.
“Cameron McAdams is a former U.S. Attorney for the Department of Justice who specialized in eradicating drug cartels. He still holds the record for putting a major dent in the drug trade,” Tawny explained.
“And what’s he gonna do?”
“Descend on Sheriff O’Grady like a hurricane. In fact, that’s his nickname. “Hurricane” McAdams.”
With nothing left to do, the Titans gathered their equipment and supplies and headed back to the bunkhouses.
“Where the hell have you been? It’s after three o’clock in the morning!” Whitcomb shouted when they approached the main bunkhouse.
No one answered him. They shuffled past him, entered Bunkhouse A, and dropped their gear. Yolanda started a pot of coffee, and Terrin and Tawny set out deli meat and cheese and jars of mayonnaise and mustard for sandwiches. Dee opened a bag of potato chips. Someone went into the bathroom, and a moment later, they heard the water running.
Whitcomb followed them inside and demanded to know what happened. “And where the hell is Colfer?”
Everyone froze.
Moira stepped forward to deal with him. “Colfer is dead. Someone murdered him while we were searching for Layla Murray. And Joy and Precious are in custody.”
Whitcomb let out a string of expletives that didn’t fool Tawny.
He’s overreacting. But why? Jesus Christ! Did he arrange to have Colfer killed? Was my scenario right? Again, why?
“If they killed Colfer, I’ll make damn sure they spend the rest of their lives behind bars!”
Yolanda turned toward him with a butter knife in her hand. “Yeah, we already heard that once tonight. Get off the train, man.”
Whitcomb’s face grew beet red. “Why you slutty?—”
Moira cut him off. “Stop. Get the hell out of here, Whitcomb. I’m staying to take care of my team. Go home. We don’t need you. Your presence is upsetting all of us.”
“I’m not going anywhere.”
“Perhaps Director Dickinson would have something to say about it when I call him and file a complaint. Now, go outside and wait for an Uber. I’ll even pay for it myself. Nothing is going to happen, but if it does, I’ll take full responsibility. Trust me, no one is going to squeal that you left your post.”
Murder shone in his eyes before he spun on his heel and slammed the door behind him.
“Good riddance,” Yolanda muttered as she handed a ham and cheese sandwich to Susan.
They didn’t speak much as they gobbled down a platter of sandwiches and munched on potato chips. After they ate, the women of Bunkhouse B returned to their quarters.
Moira, Yolanda, Terrin, and Tawny took turns using the bathroom. Moira kept extra clothes in her office and changed into cotton sleep pants and a T-shirt. They found a rollaway cot for her and pillows and blankets in a linen closet. Within a few minutes, everyone fell asleep.
The sound of Moira’s angry voice roused Tawny. She glanced at the alarm clock on the nightstand and groaned. She’d only been asleep for four hours. She rubbed her eyes and swung her legs over the side of her bunk. The scent of something baking and the aroma of coffee filled the room. Tawny stretched and listened to Moira’s side of the conversation.
“Suspending my team is a mistake, Chief Pierce. Yes, it’s true I forced Carey Whitcomb to leave, and we were without a guard for the night. Don’t forget, it was three of my members who found Layla Murray.” A pause. “No one on my team murdered Gary Colfer. He’d still be alive if he hadn’t taken Joy and Precious off by himself. Have you asked yourself why he disobeyed orders?” Another pause. “Fine. We’ll sit tight. And when my team is cleared of any wrongdoing, you’ll owe us a huge apology.”
Moira ended the call and swore like her brother. “Idiots!” She saw Tawny watching her and strode forward. “How much of that did you overhear?”
“Enough to know we’re suspended.”
“But not disbanded. That’s the good news.”
The timer on the stove buzzed. Moira grabbed an oven mitt and removed a pan of blueberry muffins. She’d already scrambled eggs and fried pieces of ham. Tawny set the table, and by the time everything was ready, Yolanda and Terrin strolled into the bunkhouse with Dee, Debbie, Ronette, and Susan. Barbie, the shyest, poured coffee and orange juice for everyone.
After they filled their plates, Moira announced, “Titans, I heard from the fire chief this morning. We’re suspended until further notice.”
Exclamations of disbelief went around the table. Moira allowed them to voice their objections and disappointment, then held up a hand.
“I understand how you feel. But take heart. No one is talking about disbanding us. So, while we wait to hear back from Chief Pierce, we’ll continue our training and stay prepared for the next emergency. Today, however, I want you to rest. You went through a lot yesterday.”
The words were barely out of her mouth when the door flew open, and Whitcomb crossed the threshold. His eyes blazed, and he wore the expression of a lean and hungry wolf.
“I’m back.”