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  “Bogus company?”

  Matt nodded. “Sure sounds like it.”

  “What now?”

  Matt shrugged. Until they found the plane, there wasn’t much they could do. All they could do was wait.

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  FRIDAY EVENING

  The sun was beginning to set and darkness was spreading over the hills. Maggie loved to watch the changes of color that took place. Soon, the colors would deepen to a dark purple before it turned black. She loved the darkness too. Then would begin the sounds of the night. Crickets, birds and other animals she didn’t know what they were.

  It is now almost seven o’clock. Maggie knew there was one phone call she needed to make. Getting up from the lounge chair on the porch, she walked into the bedroom and picked up her cell phone. She turned it on and found she had now gotten seven calls since yesterday, and each had left a message.

  Going back out on the porch, she sat down again. Taking a deep breath, she went through each voice mail message. By the time she was finished, she wasn’t surprised at what she had heard. Her partner Sam had called to make sure she was all right. She liked Sam. He was seven years older than she was and was the only one of a very few men in the department who didn’t hassle her because she was a woman. She was a homicide detective with the Indianapolis Metro Police department. It had not always been easy working as a detective, but she had managed. However, she and Sam made a good team. She had learned a lot from him and they worked well together too. She considered herself lucky the day two months ago when she was partnered with him. He was sure better than her last partner was.

  Another call was from her boss. She leaned back against the lounge chair and remembered when he had called her into his office yesterday afternoon. He informed her that she was now on a mandatory two weeks off. She had been surprised at first, and then became very angry when she couldn’t talk him out of it. Now, he sounded concerned. Maggie knew Scott had probably talked to him, which was probably the only reason he was concerned. She didn’t intend to call him back.

  The remaining five calls, the last one just an hour ago, were from Scott. She knew she should call him, but what could she tell him? Scott Evans was also a detective. Same department, different partners. He was five years older and had lost his wife three years ago to cervical cancer. They had wanted children, but had found out too late she couldn’t conceive because she’d had cancer for a couple of years before they found it.

  Maggie had first seen him a year ago when she came into the Homicide Department. For six months, she rarely saw him and then only in passing. Then, six months ago, both of their cases ended up overlapping. That was the first, and last, time she had worked with him. It was also the first time she had really noticed him. After that case, she could hardly keep her eyes off him whenever she saw him. Scott seemed to have the same reaction. Two weeks after the end of the case, he caught up with her as she got off work one evening and invited her out to dinner. They have been inseparable ever since. Until now, that is.

  At the time, Maggie remembered how her interest in Scott had surprised her. Her ex-husband had pretty much taken out of her any desire for any kind of relationship with another man. For six long years, she had been without anyone in her life. Not that she really cared. She had been too busy working her way up from being on street patrol to a being a detective.

  Taking a deep breath, she opened her cell phone and pressed his speed dial number. It rang twice before he answered.

  “Where are you?” Scott demanded when he answered.

  “And hello to you too. Should I just hang up now and avoid the argument?” It was going as well as she had expected.

  He took a deep breath and slowly let his breath out. “Maggie. I’m sorry, but I have been worried sick. Why didn’t you tell me you were leaving town?”

  “How do you know I left town?”

  “I have a key to your house, remember?”

  “You went into my house?” It was now her turn to get angry.

  “Yes. When you didn’t answer the phone, I got worried and I went to your house. What was I supposed to do? I pounded on your door until my knuckles were sore. In the mental state you were in yesterday, I almost expected to find you on the floor inside. I panicked. So, I used the key. Then, when I went in, I not only found you were not there, but you took clothes with you. And you took your gun.”

  “Is there a problem with me taking my gun?”

  He paused a moment. “No, there’s not. But, then again, it all depends on what you are going to do with it.”

  “I took my gun because I wanted to. I left because I was forced take some time off and I decided I didn’t want to stay in town.”

  “Tell me where you are and I’ll stay with you.”

  “I don’t need anyone with me.”

  “Not even me?”

  Maggie thought he sounded hurt. While she really would like to have him here with her now, she couldn’t. She needed to be alone.

  “Not now.”

  “You shouldn’t be alone.”

  She sighed. “I am capable of staying alone. Besides, I don’t need anyone reminding me why I’m on this mandatory vacation.”

  Scott paused a long moment. “Alright. You win. Are you alright?”

  “I’m fine. I slept for ten hours. Most sleep I’ve had in years.”

  He laughed. “Yeah, no kidding. Did you take the pills you were given?”

  “You know about the pills too?”

  “Now don’t get mad. When I couldn’t get a hold of you, I got worried and called Lt. Petersen. He told me about the mandatory two weeks off and the psychiatrist he sent you to. The psychiatrist told him about the pills he gave you to help you sleep.”

  “Well, you can tell him the pills worked. I am on vacation, so they don’t need to worry about me. And, they don’t need to call. I will come back when I’m ready.” Or, when the two weeks was up, whichever comes first, she thought.

  “Honey…” he fumbled at his words. “You are coming back, aren’t you?”

  Maggie thought about it for a moment. “Right now, I don’t know.”

  “I don’t care if you don’t come back to the job. But, I do want you to come back to me.”

  She felt as if her heart was going to break. She knew she was in love with him, but they had both been cautious. Neither had shown much passionate emotion with each other, not wanting a reminder of the hurt both of them had gone through. They each had lost in their own way. He was telling her now, in his own way, without actually spelling it out, how he felt about her. It was as much as she could expect for now. Although, she hoped someday he would tell her, to spell it out, because she really needed to hear it.

  “I know. I just need some time away.”

  “I understand. I really do. I just miss you. And I’m worried about you.”

  “I appreciate that, but I’m fine.”

  “Get some rest and I’ll call you tomorrow.”

  Maggie thought about that for a moment. “No, I’ll call you.”

  “Why?”

  “Because I know you well enough to know that you would try to trace where I’m at. So, no, I’ll call you.”

  “Maybe you know me too well. Okay, but please don’t wait too long to call. I need to hear from you. I am glad you are all right, but I’m still going to worry about you, no matter what you say.”

  “I know.” She was missing him already. This was going to be the longest time they have been apart since they began their relationship.

  Right now, she needed to be alone. But was she ready for it? Would it really help? Could she do it without him?

  They said goodbye and Maggie closed her cell phone. She started to turn it off, then knew there was one more call she needed to make. She needed to call Sam. She was sure the whole office probably knew by now, but she needed to talk to him personally. It is not going to be great going back to work, she thought. If she thought things had been bad before, it was going to be worse when s
he got back. She wasn’t sure if she could take it this time. Right now, she really didn’t know what she wanted to do.

  Fifteen minutes later, she closed her cell phone. Sam had been worried too. While he didn’t know as much as Scott did, she didn’t tell him any more than he knew. Just let him know she was going to be off for two weeks. What bothered her was that they had already partnered him with someone else. Was it a permanent move? She hoped not because she liked working with Sam. Shaking her head, she turned her cell phone off, then took it back to the bedroom and plugged it in.

  Maggie walked back out to the porch and sat down on the lounge chair. It was now dark and the crickets were going crazy talking to each other. Looking over to the other hill, she could see the faint light of the airport. The night was quiet, except for the noise of the bugs outside. Her closest neighbor was a mile away. Hers was the last house on the road. It was a very private place. A perfect place to get away at. She was now glad she had thought about coming here.

  While she sat listening to the quietness, she thought of her conversation with Scott. She knew she was right; she didn’t need anyone reminding her of why she was now here. Fact is, she couldn’t get it out of her mind. Maybe it is time to deal with what happened. Maggie leaned back against the lounge chair, looked at the darkness outside, and let the events run through her mind.

  Richard Rivera was an angry man. He took his anger out on his wife. One day, she’d had enough. She packed up their two young kids and left before Richard came home from work. When he found they were gone, he became angrier. First, he went to her parent’s house. She wasn’t there and they told him that, but he didn’t believe them. A few minutes later, he left their house and two people were dead, gunned down. This was when Maggie and Sam became involved in the case. For two days, they looked for him. If someone hadn’t been able to call 911, they never would have known where he was until it was too late.

  Maggie closed her eyes, as she remembered the scene that was seared in her mind. Richard’s wife worked in a day care center a few blocks from where they lived. She had hid somewhere for a few days with their two children and then, thinking she was safe, went back to work. She had their two children with her, a three-year-old boy and a two-year-old girl. Who would have thought he would have gone to the day care center, and then locked the doors?

  But, that is what he did. What happened before they got to the day care center, Maggie wasn’t sure. However, based on what the medical examiner had told them, it was pretty much a slaughter. He not only gunned down his wife and their two children, he killed eight of the ten adults and ten of the twenty-five children that were inside the building. He opened fire on everyone he saw.

  Then he set the place on fire.

  Five more of the children died in the fire. The two remaining adult survivors gathered the rest of the children and hid themselves. Most suffered smoke inhalation and burns on their hands and legs as the fire spread quickly through the old wooden building.

  When Maggie and Sam had first arrived, flames were popping out the side windows and smoke was pouring out. The day care was located in an old one-story frame building. They tried to get in the front door, but Rivera had locked it from the inside.

  Two officers worked on the front door and three others went around to the back of the building. When the fire department arrived, there hadn’t been any shots for several minutes. Thinking it was safe, three officers broke through the back door, with the firefighters behind them. They found the survivors huddling near the back door trying to protect themselves against the fast moving fire. Someone had barricaded the door from the outside, so the survivors couldn’t get out. The police took them out of the building and the firefighters took over fighting the fire.

  In the front of the building, Maggie had done what she could to get inside the building. A large window was next to the front door. It hadn’t blown out and she could see the fire inside. Pulling the sleeve of her jacket down over her hand, she broke the front window with the butt of her gun. Just then, a blowback of fire came out. Sam pulled her backwards. He had saved her life, but the fire had singed her hair.

  Then they heard the sounds from inside. The screams of the surviving adults and children, the cries for help. Then came the final shot. Richard Rivera had killed himself.

  It was the screams and the cries of the injured children she couldn’t get out of her mind. Their screams still taunted her. She had wanted to go in there, to try to save some of them. She tried to find a way in, but there wasn’t any. Then, everything went quiet.

  After that, all she heard were the cries of the parents of the lost children.

  Then the dreams began. She saw the kid’s faces; she heard them cry. Night after night. She couldn’t get them out of her mind. She couldn’t sleep. Work became a stress she could hardly deal with and Lt. Petersen did what he had to do. She understood that. Last night was the first night in two weeks she hadn’t had her dream. It had been the dreams that had worn her down. He forced her to go see a psychiatrist, which was not her choice either. She knew the psychiatrist had talked to Lt. Petersen, which was why he put her on a mandatory two-week leave. She tried talking him out of it, but he didn’t waver. That made her angry. Made her want to get as far away from the situation as she could, which was why she was here now. Maybe the pills had helped. Then again, maybe the physiatrist was right. Maybe she did need to get away from her life.

  Maggie sat for a long time and let her mind switch back to the quietness of the night. Glancing at her watch, she saw it was now eight thirty. As she sat gazing outside, something caught her eye. On the other hill, a car pulled into the back of the house. She watched as a man got out of the car, walked to the back of the car and opened the trunk. He pulled out a rolling suitcase, extended the handle and pulled it towards the house. Then he opened the back door and walked inside, closing the door behind him. A moment later, a security light attached to the upper corner of the house came on. The light lit up the back of the house. Had someone bought the house? The light over the back door remained on. She couldn’t see very well, so she walked back into the house and got her binoculars out of the tote bag she used for work. Walking back out to the porch, she opened the door that led to the backyard. She walked to the back part of the yard, stopping just before the edge of the hill.

  Even though the man was in the house, she could see no other light coming on. Where had the man gone to? She continued watching for several more minutes, but nothing more happened. Just as she was about to go back in the house, she heard a sound. It was a motor sound. Since she hadn’t heard the car that had just come in, it had to be something bigger. So, she waited and watched. A few moments later, a bus pulled into the front driveway of the house, pulled around to the back of the building, and parked facing the house.

  The security light allowed her to see the detail of the bus. It was white and looked to be thirty feet long. There was a scroll marking down the side of the bus and there were six tall, darkened windows on each side. The bus appeared to be some kind of mini bus. Maggie remembered seeing similar busses in Indianapolis. They carted around tour groups. Was that what this is? Had the bed and breakfast started up again and they were staying here?

  From the way the bus was parked, she could see the door. It remained closed. A few moments later, the man came out the back door and walked to the right edge of the house. He walked down a set of stairs and disappeared inside the house. A few moments later he came back up and stood to the side of the stairs, and waited. Just then, the door on the bus opened, a man came out, and stood next to the door.

  One by one, several people stepped off the bus, each carrying a carry-on bag with rollers. Maggie counted seven people. The man standing at the stairs led the group of seven down the stairs, disappearing inside. Another man came off the bus and followed the last person down the stairs.

  Four more people got off the bus, walked to the back door of the house and went inside. Each pulled a carry-on suitcase behind the
m.

  Maggie was confused. If the property was now a bed and breakfast again, why did the people go down to the basement?

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  LATE FRIDAY EVENING

  Washington, DC

  James Fitzpatrick pulled his car into the driveway, pushed a button inside his red metallic Mercedes CLS 550 to open the garage door, and then pulled the car in. His wife’s silver Porsche was on the other side of the garage. He turned the car off, and then sat inside the car for a few moments. While the day had gone well, Glen Harper still bothered him. He knew he was doing a good job, but he knew Harper thought otherwise. He wanted the job of Administrator and he was going to get it. Until that day came, he wasn’t sure how he was going to work with Harper. Still, he had gotten good news. Things were going well and he had decided to celebrate at Zanzibar.

  Zanzibar is an exclusive Washington club. It has glitz and glamour, and enough privacy that suits him. He met some friends there and before he knew it, the evening was gone. Some of those he had spent time with tonight worked as aides for Senators and Congressmen. Still, none of them talked about their jobs. They just had a good time talking about everything else. Sports, women, favored vacations, but no politics. They had talked and laughed, and, for the first time in days, he’d had a good time. In the process, he had forgotten to call Kim. He was sure she was going to ruin what was left of the evening, if she was still awake.

  Kim was his second wife. He had gotten divorced from his first wife, Amy, six years ago, less than a year after they had moved to Washington. Or rather, she divorced him. She hated living here. The job was here, so here is where he wanted to be. She had understood that when they had first moved here, but she didn’t like the Washington lifestyle they had to live in. He had tried to reason with her. He wanted her to share his joy of getting the job he had wanted for a long time, but, after a few months, she couldn’t take it anymore. She had taken their three children, two girls and a boy, back to their house in Denver. Then she filed for divorce. Irreconcilable differences, was what she told the judge.