Runs Deep (24 page)

CHAPTER 65

N
inety minutes later, Declan pulled into the parking lot of the elementary school. It was packed. He had to circle a few times before finally giving up and parking on the cement playground. He hopped out of the car, jumping over puddles as he made his way to the entrance.

He’d gotten Dee situated. He’d only had time for a cursory examination. He’d bagged her hands, but he wasn’t hopeful about getting anything from them. Dee only had one wound—at the neck. She’d bled out within seconds. Most of the blood was on her clothes and her car.

And she had only been dead for a little while when they found her—her body wasn’t even cold yet. He figured her time of death was sometime between seven and eight. Dee had been scheduled to start at eight, so she was probably killed as soon as she arrived. And the lack of defensive wounds meant she knew her killer
.
She hadn’t seen it coming—just like Mel and Elise.

That fact kept repeating in his brain. This killer was someone who raised no red flags—who all three victims knew. Which meant it was probably someone that Declan knew, too. And Declan had no idea who it was.

Declan pulled open the school’s main doors and hurried down the hall. He was running late. The meeting had begun a half hour ago.

It looked like everyone from town was here. Even before he reached the gymnasium he could hear the crowd.

And they weren’t happy.

Declan ducked in the back door of the gymnasium and stopped just inside the entrance. Tall windows lined each side of the room, providing light. Folding chairs had been lined up into rows. All of the seats were taken, and more people were lined up along the sides and in the aisles.

Keith stood on the stage, a few deputies lined up behind him. Russ stood at the end of the deputies, his eyes downcast.

Declan searched the crowd and found Jack standing against the wall on the left. His arms were crossed over his chest, a frown on his face. He spotted Julie as well. She didn’t look any happier.

He recognized another dozen people from town who seemed to be experiencing a range of emotions—confusion, anger, fear, annoyance, and a host of others, none of them good.

Up on the stage, Keith waved for people to quiet down. He spoke through a bullhorn. “I realize people are upset, but things are under control.”

“Under control?” a man in the front row yelled back. “Two people have been killed. And Micah Donaldson was almost killed.”

“When are you going to arrest Steve Kane?” another man yelled.

“As I’ve said, we know who the perpetrator is,” Keith said. “It’s just a matter of time until we find him. If you see Steve Kane, do not approach him. Call us, and protect yourself however you deem necessary.”

However you deem necessary
? Keith had practically just given the town a shoot-on-sight proclamation. Declan watched in growing disbelief. His mouth hung open and his anger grew with every word Keith uttered.

“Chief, have you questioned Steve Kane?”

“Yes, we’ve questioned him.”

“Why isn’t he locked up?”

“State authorities intervened to prevent it.
I
wanted him locked up,” Keith said.

Son of a bitch
, Declan thought.

As the questions continued, Keith did absolutely nothing to suggest that anyone other than Steve was responsible for the murders and attempted abduction. By the time Keith was done, Declan was seething.

Finally Keith called an end to the questioning, and the meeting was over. Keith handed the bullhorn to a deputy and stepped off the stage, surrounded by his deputies. Some of the people started to make their way out of the gymnasium, but many of them stayed in their seats, talking with each other or shouting questions at the chief.

Declan made his way down the main aisle, noticing more than one glare as he passed.

One man stepped in his way. “Why the hell are you defending that murderer?”

Declan glanced up at the man. It was Andy Hanover, one of Keith’s buddies from high school. The man easily outweighed Declan by fifty pounds, and he had a good few inches on him as well.

Declan began to step around him. “Excuse me.”

Andy grabbed Declan’s sleeve. “I’m talking to you.”

Declan grabbed Andy’s hand and twisted it to a ninety-degree angle. Andy’s arm contorted, his elbow facing the wrong direction. He bent at the waist with a yell, trying to relieve the pressure on his arm.

Not much of a height issue now
, Declan thought. He leaned down so Andy could hear him clearly. “What you just did is called assaulting a police officer. Now, I’m willing to forgive and forget, but only if you take yourself home right now. Do we have a deal?”

“I’m not going to—”

Declan twisted Andy’s hand in one direction and pulled lightly on his elbow in the other—as if he were wringing a towel.

Andy winced, his face growing redder. “Okay, okay.”

Declan released him and stepped back.

Andy stood. “Screw you, Declan.”

“Go home, Andy, before I have you arrested.”

Andy’s wife put her hand on his arm and pulled him down the aisle.

Declan shook his head and turned back for Keith.
All the idiots are out today.
Ahead, the chief was still surrounded by townspeople peppering him with questions.

Declan pushed through them and stood right in front of Keith. “I need to speak with you.”

The man Keith had been speaking with turned to Declan. “Hey, I was—”

Declan glared at the man, who wisely shut up. In fact, most of the townspeople took a step back.

Keith smirked. “I’m a little busy right now. It’ll have to wait.”

Declan grabbed Keith’s arm and pulled him to the side. “Right now.”

“Get your hands off me,” Keith said.

One of Keith’s deputies stepped forward. Declan didn’t blink. He was about done with the Millners Kill police force. He turned to the deputies. “Unless you want to be arrested for interfering with police business, you’ll back the hell off. This is state business.
All
of you need to leave.”

The deputies looked at Keith, whose face was turning a bright shade of red.

“Now,” Declan barked.

The townspeople backed off first. The deputies took a little longer to move away, as if to make sure Declan knew he wasn’t the boss of them.

Keith shook Declan free. “How dare you. You just—”

Declan gritted his teeth and stepped toward Keith, his anger barely contained. “Shut up.”

Keith took a quick step back.

Declan kept walking and Keith kept backpedaling until Keith bumped up against a wall. “You just put a shoot-to-kill order out on Steve,” Declan growled.

“He’s killed two people.”

“You have no proof of that. In fact, you have proof of the exact opposite. He has alibis for both killings. You’ve done zero investigating. You have two bodies, and you’ve just assumed it’s Steve.”

Keith smirked, some of his attitude returning. “He’s the only murderer we have in town. Anyone with a half a brain—”

“Well, that rules you out.” Declan took a breath, but it didn’t reduce his anger. “What happened to the clothes from the Granger case? You took them, didn’t you?”

Keith’s jaw dropped. His lips moved but no sound coming out. “What? No, I—”

Keith shifted his eyes away. And the truth hit Declan like a ton of bricks.

“You weren’t sure it was Steve,” Declan said, pointing. “You took the evidence to make sure that even if he was innocent, he still went to prison.”

Keith paled and shook his head. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“You made sure he went away because Steve’s case made your career. And you weren’t going to let a little thing like his innocence get in the way of that.”

“Even if that were true, it wouldn’t matter. The courts found him guilty, even without the clothes.”

Disgust rose up in Declan. He stepped forward. “At a minimum, you obstructed justice. And when we establish communication with the mainland, I’m bringing you up on charges.”

Keith seemed to be regaining his confidence. He smirked. “You have no proof.”

“I have an affidavit sworn out by a witness. It says you were in the police station the night the evidence disappeared.”

Keith narrowed his eyes. “Who?”

“Guess you’ll find out when I file charges.”

Keith pulled up his belt and hitched it over his stomach. “You mean after I bring in Steve Kane for the second time? It’ll be a shame if something happens to him before he can be brought to trial.”

Declan tried to calm himself down, but he was still envisioning beating Keith bloody when he counted to ten, and he didn’t have time to count to a million. “I swear, Keith, if anything happens to him, I’m coming for you.”

“Ooh, I’m shaking. Little Declan Reed’s coming after me.”

Declan had to keep himself from punching the smug bastard through to the next room. He moved even closer to Keith and dropped his voice. “You forget, Keith. I’m not that little kid you pushed around in high school. And remember, Steve isn’t the only one in town who’s killed people. Don’t forget that.”

He shoved Keith back against the wall and then forced himself to walk away. Because if he was in the man’s sight for even one more minute, he wasn’t sure he would be able to control himself.

But he was sure he’d enjoy it.

CHAPTER 66

H
e looked around the gymnasium. People were agitated. Then Declan walked in. The state policeman looked upset.

He struggled to keep the smile off his face, waiting. He listened as Keith finished up the question-and-answer session. He forced himself to frown, but it was so hard, when all he wanted to do was laugh. Keith had just declared Steve enemy number one. No mention was made of anyone else possibly being the murderer.
Oh, sometimes it’s just too easy.

But his frown turned real when Keith ended the meeting. Where was the announcement of Dee’s death?

Disappointment and annoyance washed over him. Here he was, carefully making all of these plans, and no one was following them. He knew Dee’s death was discovered. He’d driven past the parking lot and seen her car; she was no longer in it. So what had happened?

He scanned the room. It appeared that no one was in a hurry to leave. His gaze skimmed past the groups of people until it came back to the only person who could have messed up all his perfectly laid plans: Declan. He was the only one in this town who would be able to hide Dee’s death. And the only one who would even consider doing so.
Damn it.

He scanned the room again.
There must be a way…

He spotted a woman in her sixties, sitting in an aisle seat, her hair a shade of yellow not found in nature. He watched her for a moment as she spoke with someone behind her, her red lipstick standing out even in the dim light.
Yes, she’ll do.

A disturbance at the front of the hall pulled his attention. Declan had a man in an arm lock. He had to keep from laughing.
Declan Reed pushed to violence. Things are definitely heading in the right direction.

He pulled a notebook from his jacket pocket and jotted something down, careful to write only in block print. He ripped the paper from the pad and folded it carefully.

His target was involved in an animated conversation with the couple seated behind her. He walked toward her, keeping a pensive look on his face. When he reached his target, he pretended to check his watch while he surreptitiously dropped the note in her lap. She never turned. Never even saw him.

Then he made his way back to his spot. He stood there, watching her, with his arms crossed. After a moment the woman turned around and picked up the note from her lap with a frown. She opened it—and her mouth dropped open. She looked around frantically and then nudged the person next to her, gesturing to the note. Her neighbor shook her head and looked around as well.

He bit back his smile and watched an angry Declan back Keith up against the wall. A minute later, Declan marched away from Keith.

He swallowed his grin.
Who knew Declan was such a badass?

The woman was now striding toward Keith. He settled back.
Showtime.

CHAPTER 67

D
eclan stormed down the side of the gymnasium, his blood boiling. People quickly got out of his way. It took him a moment to realize people had stopped chatting among themselves and were turning back toward the front of the room.

“Chief? Chief?” A voice rose above the din. Everyone turned as Sheila Tidley marched toward Keith.

Declan turned too, dread coursing through him. Sheila was the owner and operator of the
Millners Kill Gazette
. Normally, the most exciting thing they had to report on was the annual spelling bee. But Sheila was obsessed with the murders; she had been updating her website almost hourly before the power went off.

Keith turned. “Yes, Ms. Tidley?”

Sheila held up a piece of paper. “I just received an anonymous report that Dee Pearson was killed in front of the police department this morning. Do you have any comment?”

Keith’s mouth dropped open. He looked like a fish dropped onto dry land.

The room erupted. Keith tried to say something, but the crowd drowned him out.

Oh, shit
. Declan looked around frantically for Jack. He spotted him in the same position against the wall, near the flagpole on the other side of the gym. Declan hastened toward him, but the crowd seemed to swell. He started pushing people out of his way.

A deputy grabbed a bullhorn and handed it to Keith, who climbed back onto the stage. “Calm down!” Keith shouted. “Everyone calm down.”

Sheila shook off the deputy who tried to grab her arm. She strode up to the edge of the stage. “Chief? Comment?”

“We have no report of any additional murders. We will investigate and release a report shortly.”

The room erupted in shouts again.

Declan finally reached Jack’s side. Jack stared at the stage, his eyes large. Declan grabbed Jack by the arm, pulled him out the door, and into the hallway.

Jack turned to him. “Is it true?”

Declan looked around—they were alone for now. He nodded wearily. “Yes. Russ and I found her this morning. We were trying to keep it quiet to avoid just this reaction.”

“Oh my God.”

Declan gave Jack’s arm a little shake. “Jack, I need you to call Steve. Get him and your grandmother out of their house. “

“The cell phone towers are down.”

God damn it.
Frustration rolled through him. “Your grandmother has an old rotary, doesn’t she?”

Jack nodded.

“Good. Try the office. They have a landline.”

Jack stared at him for a moment before giving himself a shake. “But where can I send them? My apartment’s the only other place I can think of, and I don’t know how much safer that’ll be—people will know to look for them there.”

Declan paused for a moment, trying to come up with some place for them to hide. He thought about bringing Steve to the jail for safekeeping but he didn’t trust anyone in Millners Kill’s police force except for Russ. “Send your grandmother to my sister’s,” he said.

He wanted to send Steve there too, but his sister would lose it—she would surely balk at housing Millners Kill’s most famous murderer, especially now that she believed he was killing again. And Declan was pretty sure Steve wouldn’t want his grandmother to be anywhere near him anyway, not if there was a chance of any violence. Declan wouldn’t place his sister and her family in that position either.

“And tell Steve to go to my dad’s place,” he added. “There’s no one there now. The key is under the frog in the back garden.”

Jack ran his hands through his hair, scanning the hall. “Okay, good. That’s good. What are you going to do?”

Declan glanced back at the gymnasium. The crowd could be easily heard through the doors. “See if I can calm any of this down.”