“Great,” he mumbled. Cutting off the engine, he climbed out of the vehicle.
At least the rain had diminished to a light drizzle, and he didn’t have to worry about his clothes sticking to his body. When he reached the garage, he struggled to open it manually, but remembered his brother, Larry, telling him that the partition had jammed sometime before his leaving for vacation, and he wasn’t going to call a repair service until his family retuned shortly before Christmas.
“Damn.”
William jumped at the clap of thunder but relaxed when lightening flashed and illuminated the house. When he turned back toward the SUV, the raindrops suddenly quickened, and the wind picked up speed.
“Just get her in the house,” he said, feeling a new wave of frustration seized him.
After rushing to the vehicle’s back door, he wrenched it open. If he hurried, he could get them both inside before they were soaked completely. He climbed in and positioned himself to lift her when what he saw stopped him in his tracks.
Beautiful pearl-shaped tears leaked from the woman’s thick lashes as she once again wrestled against an invisible force. He wondered about the demons that chased her in her sleep, and then put the thoughts aside.
“Everything is going to be okay,” he assured her, then slid his arms beneath her body.
Instantly, her eyes flew open, and the unmistakable look of fear filled them. His arms feel away as their gazes met.
Her horrific scream filled William’s ears a fraction before a good right hook clocked him across the chi. His head snapped to the side and crashed against the window.
The screaming morphed into a mad wail and grew distant within seconds.
William blinked but had trouble shaking the stars from his eyes and the pain from his temples. When his vision cleared, she was gone.
“Christ!” He scrambled out of the SUV and was instantly drenched by the night’s sudden heavy downpour. “Wait! Come back!”
Racing after the wailing escapee, William felt his heart hammering inside his chest when he realized that she wasn’t heading back down the gravel road, but into the thicket of trees where God only knew what lay in wait.
“Josie,” he yelled, chasing after her and quickly receiving a solid whack across the cheek from a limp tree branch. He flinched at the raw sting but kept moving.
It was a marvel how fast she moved barefoot across slippery leaves and sharp, jagged rocks popping up sporadically from the earth. Surely, she couldn’t see where she was going, because the rain and darkness made it impossible for William to make out anything.
Then the wailing stopped.
His fear helped accelerate his pace and allowed him to dodge through the wet, heavy maze with surprising agility. “Please, God, don’t let it end like this,” he prayed.
From his peripheral vision, he saw a flash of white lying on the dark ground. His heartbeat nearly stopped. “No,” he moaned weakly, and raced toward the disheartening sight.
Dropping to his knees beside her, William reached out to turn her still body over for inspection, prepared for the worst.
Gently, he rolled her over. The slow rise and fall of her chest sent a wave of relief trough his tense body.
Lifting his head, he squinted up against the rain to see a thick tree branch and assumed that it was the cause of her being out cold.
Gathering her close, he lifted her into his arms and struggled through pure hell to hind his way back to his brother’s mountain hideaway home.
Detective Ming Delaney woke to a light tap on her shoulder. While stifling a yawn, her eyes took in her husband Conan’s bodybuilder frame and amused expression. “One of these mornings, I would actually like to wake up with you next to me.” He leaned down and kissed her forehead. Confused, she straightened in her chair and her stiff joints popped like a sky full of firecrackers on the Fourth of July. “What time is it?” “Seven.” “A.M.?” “As usual,” he responded with a wry smile as he passed her to head for the kitchen. “Coffee?”
“Yeah, sure.” She raked her fingers through her curtain of ink-black hair and pressed her hand against her chin so her neck muscles would ease into place. Seconds later, the wonderful aroma of coffee wafted out to the dining room and caused a smile to curve the corners of her lips.
“Maybe if I put the coffeemaker in the bedroom, it would solve all of our problems.”
“We don’t have any problems.” Ming rolled her eyes as she stood up from the chair and removed her gun and badge from the table. “I’m taking a shower.”
“Glad to hear it.” He poked his head around the breakfast bar. “You want pancakes or waffles?”
“Surprise me,” she said, flashing him a wink and a smile before disappearing into the back bedroom. Once there, she peeled off layers of clothes and turned on the shower to full blast.
For Ming, heaven was a showerhead with ten different control settings. She couldn’t count the number of times a puzzling case came together during an Herbal Essence moment.
However, she paid a price for being obsessed with her work. Her husband could testify to that. Though she would also argue that he was known what he was getting into when he married her, it didn’t stop her from feeling guilty.
Their marriage was hard enough when considered that both of their families opposed the union. Throughout Ming’s life, her father praised all the opportunities America offered but he in no way condones a daughter of his marrying outside her race.
And as for Conan’s family, they pretended to be the so call opened minded ones who always used terms like “you people” and “well, over here in America.” Her poor husband spent more time apologizing for his family’s arrogance than anything else. Holidays with the Delaney and Lee families could be best described with one word: hell.
Reaching for the shampoo, Ming allowed her thoughts to travel back to work and the Thornton case. Usually, the death of a wanted felon wouldn’t raise too many eyebrows down at the department; but the how and where Daniel Thornton died had Ming suspecting that this wasn’t simply a drug deal gone bad.
Yet, those close to Thornton had a severe case of ‘hear no evil, see no evil.’ And the man’s girlfriend was committed to Keystone Mental Institute shortly after his death.
Ming couldn’t help but believe that the incidents were too coincidental to be ignored.
Shutting off the shower, Ming acknowledge a tinge of disappointment for not discovering any new clues in the case, but her Herbal Essence routine didn’t perform its magic every morning.
Donning her favorite pink robe, Ming, wet hair and all, went to join her husband in the kitchen. But before she could settle down to her stack of buttermilk pancakes, the phone rang.
“Placing any bets?” Conan asked, peeking over his morning paper.
“It could be for you,” she said, with little conviction. She grabbed her coffee and headed over to the wall unit near the refrigerator. “Maybe it’s your mom complaining about my lackluster domestic skills again.” He chuckled. “What domestic skills?” “My point.” Ming smiled as she lifted the receiver. “Hello.” “Lee, I hope I didn’t wake you.”
Ming rolled her eyes at the sound of her partner Tyrese’s voice. “What’s up?” There’s no point insisting that he stop calling her by her maiden name. He would just pretend to forget. “You’ve finally got your wish,” Tyrese chirped. “What are you talking about?” “Keystone. We have a homicide...and a possible kidnapping. Thornton’s girlfriend seems to have managed a disappearing act.” Ming stiffened. “I’m on my way.”
“What are we going to tell the sister?” Dr. Rae Coleman asked Marcus Hines, Keystone Mental Institute’s practice administrator. “I say we wait until we talk to our lawyers.”
“Already one it,” Marcus said, pacing the worn patch of carpet in front of his desk. If he weren’t already balding, he would’ve been pulling his hair out for the past few hours. Instead, the few hairs horseshoed around his pale head were graying by the second.
Usually a quiet and reserved man, Marcus knew his quiet charm was what won him points with doctors and patients’ families. Staring at an Ecosphere and listening to a Frank Sinatra CD usually relieved work-related stresses. Not that day. “What is the police saying?” “At the moment, I don’t know any more than you do.” “Which is nothing.” “Bingo.” Rae clasped her hands behind her back while her forehead wrinkled. “Poor Meredith. I just can’t
