Soul Eater (2 page)

Brody hung his head, and for one terrifying moment she wasn't sure what he would do. The fact that he was angry was unmistakable. It emanated from every fiber of his body.

"Get dressed!"

To her surprise there was no evidence of his obvious anger in his voice, only regret.

"I'm not a little girl Brody. We can do this ... and I want to.” Jenna pleaded with him, wanting him to crave her as badly as she did him.

He shook his head. “You're too innocent to understand. If we do this ... it will distract me.” Brody didn't elaborate and she didn't bother asking him to explain further.

So many feelings hit her at once. Her naive heart was shattering into a million pieces as wave after wave of shame washed over her. She had innocently hoped that he would fall in love with her and nothing else about her would matter.

Brody had already dressed, but Jenna was still where he'd left her. Her devastation was so complete that she couldn't move. Brody picked up her blouse and handed it to her.

"Get dressed,” he told her again, his voice soft.

Jenna complied without a word. There was something about his manner that alarmed her.

Brody looked away from her and out over the black water of the lake. For a long time he said nothing, and when he did speak he did so in a very low and dangerous voice. “Your father has been trying to lock me up for a long time. I guess now he will want to get me more than ever."

"I have no intention of telling my father.” Jenna stood and straightened her clothes the best she could.

"Someone should tell him.” He had risen with her and had her arm clasped in a steel grip. “The next time you might not be so lucky. The guy may not stop, or worse he could hurt you."

Tears pooled in her eyes, blurring her vision. Her heart could take no more of this pain. “There would have been no one else Brody Silver Wolf.” Jenna's words came out in sobs. “Are you so dumb that you can't tell? I love you. I have since the first moment I saw you. This would have happened with no one else. You're the only man I have ever wanted."

She thought she saw a flicker of emotion in his dark eyes.
Could he actually care about her?

"You're just a kid. You don't even know what love is. Believe me, when you're older, you will look back and wonder what you ever saw in this Indian anyway.” His words were soft and spoken with a slight smile that was intended to numb the sting.

Before he could stop her, Jenna brushed his lips with a kiss.

"You're wrong Brody. I will love you until the day I take my last breath, but ... never again will I give you the opportunity to hurt me."

Jenna walked away, leaving Brody to watch her disappear onto a darkened path.

"Wait, let me walk you home,” Brody called after her.

She didn't even break her stride. Jenna promised herself she wouldn't look back and she would never again let Brody Silver Wolf fill her heart with pain.

Blinded by tears, she relied on memory to find her way through the dark. Their house was located on the edge of town, about a mile from the lake. Jenna was so submerged in grief that her father's warning completely escaped her memory. That is until she realized that she was utterly alone and surrounded by the dark forest.

The sun had still been up when she'd walked to the lake. The walk home was something she hadn't taken into consideration. On further thought, Jenna had to admit that wasn't entirely true. She'd just been so full of hope for this evening, she'd felt it would be worth it.

Jenna froze, behind her had been the sound of a branch breaking. Holding her breath she listened. The night was silent, unnaturally silent. There wasn't even a hint of the usual sounds of crickets or coyotes.

The conversation she'd overheard this morning came rushing at her.

Another victim.

A drifter.

Found in the foothills.

This time there had been a witness, but all they saw was a shadow near the victim.

Again, there was that noise coming from behind her, the sound of rustling leaves in the wind ... but the night was still ... without the slightest hint of a breeze.

She picked up her pace until she was practically running, looking over her shoulder every few seconds.

Then she saw it, a silhouette in the moonlight that moved. A sound resembling a squeal erupted from her throat and she shifted gears to high. Blinded by panic, she ran, not knowing or caring where she was going.

She felt herself falling and at the same time burning pain ripped through her ankle. Then there was nothing but the terror of the dark figure looming above her and the coldness that wrapped around her throat. Her screams shattered the stillness of the night before the gripping chill cut off her air and she sank into darkness.

Someone was shaking her and she began to flail wildly at whoever had her in their clutches.

"Jenna, stop it! It's me, Brody!"

"It took a minute for his words to penetrate her terror, but finally she stopped fighting, and her screams turned to unrelenting sobs.

"It was the killer.” Jenna told him while her body trembled with shock.

He pulled her into his arms trying to warm her. “It's okay now. Whoever it was is long gone."

Jenna shook her head, “No, he might still be around. We have to get out of here."

"I think whatever it was is gone. It took off through the trees when I got here.” He tried to reassure her.

"I want to get out of here.” Still panicked she tried to get to her feet, but collapsed against Brody with a cry of pain.

"I think my ankle is broken."

With gracefully swift movement, he picked her up and cradled her in his arms. Brody made his way through the woods with the efficiency of an animal, but Jenna didn't miss the way he kept looking around, as if they were being hunted.

"Is he out there?” she asked in a barely audible whisper.

"Yes, don't make a sound.” His lips were up against her ear.

Fear crawled over her skin like a million tiny spiders. She found it hard to even breathe. Finally the dirt path gave way to a paved road and the lights of town came into view. Jenna knew he had to be tired by now, but he kept walking. Only a little ways further was her house, she could see it from where they were.

She didn't have to tell him where she lived. Her father's police cruiser was clearly visible in the driveway. Upon reaching the house, he put her down, but continued to support her so she wouldn't have to put any pressure on her injured ankle.

"You know he's probably going to try and find a reason to put me in jail over this.” Brody spoke in hushed tones.

"Wait.’ Jenna stopped moving, forcing him to do the same.

For some time she stared at the darkened house, not moving, not saying a word.

Finally, Jenna looked up into Brody's curious eyes. “Something's not right.” Her words cracked through the night.

"What is it?"

"It's only 10:30 and the house dark."

Brody shrugged. “Maybe they are in bed."

Jenna rolled her eyes. “My sister never goes to bed before midnight."

"Well, maybe she isn't home,” he offered

Jenna shook her head. “No, she told me she was staying home tonight because she didn't feel well, and besides, my dad never goes to bed until we're both home."

"Where does he think you're?"

"The movies,” Jenna answered guiltily.

"Sit here, while I check it out.” Brody helped her onto the grass on the front lawn.

At the door, Brody rang the bell a couple of times and then waited. Nothing stirred within the house. Once more he tried, this time he pounded on the door, but still there was no response of any kind.

Finding the door unlocked, he slowly pushed it open. Jenna watched as lights began to come on throughout the house. A moment later he returned.

"The house is empty. No one's here at all."

"That's impossible. Their cars are here!"

Shrugging, he scooped her up in his arms and carried her into the house. The warmth of the lit living room should have quieted her trembling, but it only grew worse. Brody gently set her on the sofa.

"You have to get to the hospital and have that looked at.” He motioned toward her injured ankle. “Is there someone you can call?"

Jenna's gaze was fixed on an area of the carpet that was soaked with blood. “Something's happened to them."

He looked to where her gaze rested on the carpet. With a sigh, Brody picked up the phone that was sitting on the end table. “I must be insane,” he muttered. “Never thought I'd see the day I voluntarily called the police in this town."

The rest of the night passed in a haze of flashing red and blue lights, the hospital, doctors and an endless stream of questions from the police.

Three days later her Aunt Alison arrived from Texas, and there had still been no trace of her family.

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Ten Years Later

The early morning sun rose above the horizon to shroud the surrounding aspens and pines with its golden light, but the town of Sinister Wyoming still lay deep within the shadow of Eerie Mountain.

Jenna pulled to the side of the road and studied the town from the slight incline of the highway. It had been ten long years since she'd laid eyes on her hometown, but ten years hadn't been long enough. Just the sight of Sinister sent shivers down her spine.

So many times over the years she'd thought of coming back here to put the ghosts of the past to rest once and for all, but each time she'd contemplated driving into this dark little town, her stomach lurched and her skin would crawl with fear. For a long time she'd wake up in the middle of the night, trembling from nightmares that wouldn't let her rest.

Had fate brought that unfortunate girl through Sinister? Senator Brodrick's granddaughter had been on her way to Jackson Hole to meet up with some friends, but she had never made it. Her car was found abandoned on the Indian Reservation and her body discovered floating in the Sweetwater River near Sinister.

The official report said that Mary Brodrick was another victim of the Eerie Mountain Killer, but Mary was only one in a long line of victims.

This was her first field assignment for the FBI and Special Agent Jenna Claremont had been given this assignment specifically because of her history in Sinister.

With cold determination, Jenna pushed the hellish images away and pulled back onto the road. The streets were still quiet, almost unnaturally so. Though the town had grown, it couldn't be called a city by any stretch of the imagination.

She was surprised when she pulled up to the police station on the west end of town. No longer was the station housed in the shabby little red brick building she remembered. What greeted her was a larger, ultra modern white building. She wondered if the Sinister Police Department now consisted of more than five officers.

Jenna had been sure she would know just about every soul in town, but she didn't recognize the uniformed officer at the front desk.

"I'm Agent Claremont with the FBI. Could you let Captain Findley know I'm here?” Jenna flipped open her identification for the officer to examine.

A few moments later, Jenna sat across from the person who had been her father's best friend. The man who peered at her with eyes set deep in a fleshy overweight face, bore little resemblance to the person she remembered.

"What a pleasure to see you again, Jenna. So you followed right in your daddy's footsteps?"

Gordon Findley gave her a hearty welcome and a smile, but Jenna couldn't shake the feeling that something just wasn't right with her dad's old partner.

"I would be happy to even be half the officer my father was,” Jenna returned the captain's smile.

Captain Findley drummed his meaty fingers on the desk in what Jenna took as impatience.

"What's the status of the Brodrick case?” Jenna attempted a smile but just couldn't make the muscles of her face cooperate.

"Girl, it's fantastic to see you again. All grown into a fine young woman, and an FBI Agent to boot ... but I do have to tell you that I think your trip here was a waste of time."

"Why's that?"

"We took the perpetrator into custody last night. We'll be bringing charges up on him within the next day or two."

"Really, after all this time?” Jenna's green eyes widened in surprise and she couldn't help but wondered at the fact that the killer had eluded the police for nearly fifteen years, but was caught so quickly after this case.

"How did that come about?"

Gordon leaned back in his chair. “A witness saw him leaving the area where the car was discovered and tracks matching Ms Brodrick's car were discovered on a road leading to this gentleman's property."

"How interesting. Do you mind if I take a look at the case file?"

Jenna was quick to notice Gordon's slight hesitation, but she was sharp enough to keep it to her self.

Skimming through the file, she stopped to stare at the larger than life, crime scene photos. The girl lay pale and lifeless against a blanket of dry leaves. Jenna felt her stomach tighten at the sight of the close up of the girl's neck. Discoloration of the neck and lack of blood attested to the Eerie Mountain killer's MO.

After looking through the rest of the file Jenna was a little unnerved to see that there was no autopsy report, nor a report on the arrest made the night before.

"What happened to the autopsy report? There must be one by now."

"No autopsy,” the captain smiled. “The cause of death is obviously loss of blood. I saw no reason to waste the tax payers’ money on ordering an autopsy."

Jenna peered at the man in disbelief. “An autopsy is an automatic when dealing with a homicide case, captain. You must know that."

Gordon shook his head. “City ordinance says that we only order an autopsy if the cause of death is not immediately obvious."

Jenna knew that the state law would definitely override that, but she refrained from commenting further for the moment.

"What about the arrest report?"

Gordon lifted his hands in a gesture of helplessness. “The arresting officer hasn't finished writing it yet, but I can tell you what you need to know."