He took a moment to catch his breath, and it was only then that he realized that he was absolutely soaked in Trent’s blood. He cursed to himself as he pushed the larger man’s body over and came to his feet. He could feel Trent’s blood running down the inside of his shirt and down his pants leg. He dreaded cleaning clotted blood from his boots, but he still had work to do.
He bent low and dragged his hand through the mess, searching for the dropped pistol and the Bowie knife. In the distance he heard Lana yell, “I’m coming baby! Hold on!”
Simon sighed and came to his feet. He knew that with the low light, there was a risk of her shooting him by mistake.
He trudged up the hill and pushed through the brush at the edge of the camp. He froze when he heard her pump a round into the shotgun. “Hold it!” He held his hands up as he stepped closer. “It’s me.”
Lana squinted in the low light and shook her head. “Simon?”
He stepped further out of the brush and her eyes widened. “Good lord…”
He held his hands out to the side, blood running down his arms and puddling beneath him.
“It’s done.”
2
Missy hummed a tune as the warm water beat down on her. She soaked herself then turned the water off, preserving what little still remained in the park’s water tower. She lathered up as Hatcher rifled through the stuff strewn across the locker room floor. “Why would somebody dump all their crap and just leave it?”
Missy continued to scrub the dried bits of blood from her skin as she thought. “Maybe they were looking for something in particular?”
Hatcher leaned back and cocked his head to the side, his mind trying to imagine the perpetrator’s actions. “I’m not seeing it.” He shuffled, putting his back fully to the showers. “They dumped all the lockers.”
“Maybe they didn’t find whatever they were looking for?” she replied before turning the water back on to rinse the soap off.
Hatcher slowly came to his feet and shook his head. “For the life of me, I can’t imagine what it might have been. We only kept changes of clothes and a few personal belongings…” his words trailed off.
Missy stepped from the shower, dragging the terrycloth towel across her body. Hatcher made no effort to gawk. “What kind of personal belongings?”
He gave a slow shrug as he pushed the items around with his foot. “Photos, mementos, that kind of thing.”
She stepped beside him and studied the layout. He glanced at her then turned for the door. “I’ll give you a moment.”
“Pfft.” She wrapped the towel around her middle then turned to her open duffel. “Like I’m packing anything you haven’t seen before.” She pulled her spare clothing from the bag and Hatcher made a point to turn his back.
“Regardless.” He sighed as he stared at Shelly’s locker. “Shelly’s locker is bare. But Dwayne’s stuff is here, just…everywhere.”
“Dwayne?” Missy asked as she hopped into her pants.
“Fisher.” Hatcher pulled the locker door open fully and smiled at the photo taped to the inside. The three of them were all smiling at the camera. His hand slowly extended and pulled the photo away. “This was when he first came on.”
Missy appeared beside him, buttoning her uniform top. “Is that Shelly?”
He nodded before he tucked the photo back into the locker. “And what has me confused is why her personal stuff is missing.”
Missy shrugged. “Maybe she came back and collected it?”
Hatcher slowly shook his head. “She would have needed a change of clothes but her spare uniform is still here.”
“Is that her only spare, or did she have more than one?”
He pushed Dwayne’s locker shut. “You’re missing the point. I don’t think it was Shelly that came back here and tore shit up.” He turned around and leaned on the lockers. “She wouldn’t need to go through mine or Dwayne’s stuff.”
“If she needed something specific she might.” Missy laced her boots and raised a brow at him. “Ammo maybe?”
He shook his head. “We didn’t keep ammo in our lockers. We kept all of that….” His voice trailed off and he turned to give her a curious stare. “Hold that thought.”
She watched him march out of the locker room and quickly trotted to catch up. “Where you headed?”
He rounded the rear of the station and reached for the knob on a door marked: Authorized Personnel Only. “Here.” He pulled the door open then stepped back. “Somebody left it unlocked.”
She appeared next to him and whistled low. “Wow. You guys were loaded for bear.”
“That’s one way to put it.” Hatcher stared at the weapons and ammunition, his mind trying to take an inventory. Missy reached past him and grabbed the clipboard hanging on the inside of the door. “Let’s see who was the last person here.”
Hatcher shook his head. “I doubt they’d sign in—”
“Here it is.” She held the clipboard out to him. “SAM.”
Hatcher blinked at the initials and recognized them. “There’s no way to know when this was.” He pushed the clipboard away. “That could have been before.”
Missy nodded and hung the clipboard back on the door. “Would she have left this much firepower unlocked?”
Hatcher froze, his grip on the doorknob tightening. Slowly he shook his head. “No. She wouldn’t.” He pushed the door shut and tried to put the puzzle pieces together in his head. “But again, whoever left it unlocked probably didn’t sign the clipboard either. She could have been the last person to check something out, and then somebody else came in after her.”
Missy watched him push the door shut then she stepped beside him. “Is the door jimmied?” She bent low and peered at the lock. “I’m not seeing anything.”
He bent next to her and stared. “It looks fine.”
She stood straight and sighed. “Then whoever left it unlocked had a key.” She turned and raised a brow at
