18. Crime Scene
EIGHTEEN
Crime Scene
CJ
The scene in Melissa’s house was a walking nightmare. CJ had an intimate familiarity with death but had seen nothing as cold as this. Not even when he’d taken his father’s life or logged his first official kill. Those moments had been filled with passion, anger over the brutalization of his mother night after night, and fear for what his sister may one day endure. He’d been left with no other option. The next kill had been a snake of a man who’d kidnapped two innocent girls.
Each of those kills had been justified, but irrevocably scarred his heart.
This?
It was pristine, methodical, emotionless.
Which begged the question. What were Patterson’s motives?
Fuck, he’d spoken to his sister’s murderer on the phone the day Patterson had escaped.
The police responded within minutes of his call. Ignoring all the questions he had, he asked Melissa if she knew who the girl was, but Melissa shook her head. She hadn’t said a word since that bloodcurdling scream.
Someone should’ve had this house under surveillance. What the fuck were all those National Guardsmen doing? Couldn’t one of them have been spared to watch this house?
Jenny and Mac helped him clear Melissa’s home. Scott Patterson wasn’t inside although Mac had seen a man hopping over the back fence. He’d given chase but returned empty-handed. If Melissa had come home by herself, she would’ve walked into her husband’s madness defenseless and alone. CJ scrubbed a hand over his face, blocking that terrifying scene from his mind.
After recovering from the initial shock, her tears began, and he held her until the police arrived and separated them. At least that part followed standard procedure.
The next hour had been spent under the scrutiny of the police and a barrage of questioning.
He put in a call to Sam. His boss was already all over the case, calling his contacts. Due to the high profile, there was no doubt the FBI would be called in to assist.
Melissa looked nothing like the fragile woman accused of assisting her husband in the deaths of so many girls. She’d been a platinum blonde during the trial. The woman he’d saved from a tornado bore little resemblance to the wife of Scott Patterson. No wonder he hadn’t recognized her during the storm.
He kicked a pebble with his shoe. The police had finished with him, and now he listened on the phone while his boss chewed his ear off.
Melissa perched beside Jenny on the porch steps. Even the modest house she lived in was a far cry from the palatial estate Patterson had owned.
Despite all the insinuations during the murder trial stating her culpability, Melissa hadn’t been connected to Patterson’s crimes. Claims of an abusive relationship came to light, as did the release of her medical history and emergency room visits. The story had been buried under the current headlines of the day. She’d been found innocent, but the wreckage Scott Patterson wrought upon his wife persisted.
It looked like she had done as much as she could to escape her past. Why she remained in the small town which had dragged her through the mud remained a mystery. An even more concerning issue was why she still wore that damned ring?
A detective held a notepad in one hand and pencil in the other while he grilled Melissa. He scribbled down her answers, asking all the wrong questions.
No way had she been involved in the mess inside. He’d already gone over her hospitalization with the detective.
Melissa’s eyes were a swollen mess. He could see the puffiness from halfway across the lawn. Her cheeks were wet with tears, and she sat with a rigid spine. Like the rest of them, she wasn’t allowed inside where the crime scene was located, nor was she allowed to leave.
He was taking care of that.
The police didn’t care she’d been released from the hospital a little less than an hour ago. They had questions and wrote on small pads of paper with the scratching of their pencils. The noise had CJ gritting his teeth.
A second cop sauntered over to where the lead detective grilled Melissa. He rested his foot on the lowermost stair and leaned in, towering over her.
Poor thing wrapped her arms around herself and hunched inward. Her face pinched with pain. She wasn’t fully recovered from surgery and now had to deal with the horror of seeing a girl murdered in her home.
He should be over there, comforting her, but instead, he was on the phone, arguing with his boss.
“I want her protected,” he said for the tenth time.
“You know the drill. Time is of the essence.”
“Look, Jenny finished with the Police Chief; we’re going to go over the files and strategize. Jenny and Mac can do that while I make sure Melissa is set up someplace safe. You said the FBI is on the way. Melissa’s security detail isn’t going to interfere with the Henrietta Jones’ case. I promise.”
“I know, but I also know you. You’re too close to Scott Patterson. I need you focused on Jones’ case.”
“I am.”
“He’s making a statement.”
“She’s our only link to Patterson, and as you said, he wants her. The best way to catch him is to keep Melissa close. Let me do that, at least until the Feds arrive.”
“Let the locals see to her protection.”
“They’re stretched to breaking. They should’ve had a guard on her the moment Patterson went missing, but the whole town is in turmoil. They couldn’t even locate her in the hospital, and they should’ve had someone watching her house the moment he escaped. I’m telling you, they’re not set up for this.”
“I know,” Sam said with a heavy exhale.
CJ ran a hand over the top of his head. “Do you have an ETA on the Feds? We need someone with half a brain to look at this crime scene before the locals destroy it.”
“I don’t, but thanks to our new boss, we have an in with the FBI, a man named Ben Chambers. He’s working to mobilize a team. The rest of Delta team should be there within the hour. In the meantime, get Melissa Evans to a secure location. Let Jenny run the Henrietta Jones’ case, but don’t leave her hanging. She needs a good mentor.”
He caught Melissa’s eye. Torment filled her face, and an aura of hopelessness radiated outward from her small form. He wanted to tell her everything would be all right.
Sam’s clipped voice returned. “It’s all arranged. I’m texting you the information for the hotel. They have tight enough security; she’ll be safe there. Get her settled and then rejoin with Mac and Jenny. Don’t fuck this up.”
“Thanks, Sam.” He marched over to Melissa and pulled her into his arms. “We’re leaving.”