The Dead of Winter (Seasons of Jefferson: Book 2) (10 page)

Just like always, the pharmacy is swamped. I tap my foot impatiently as I stand in line and wait with Jenna. As we move closer to the front, my eye catches a newsstand. “Hey, hold my place in line for a sec. I want to grab a paper. I haven’t been able to keep up with football since Thanksgiving. I’ve gotta see who’s got a shot at the Superbowl.”

I snag a paper and walk back to the line with Jenna. “Here, hold half. It’s kinda hard to do with one arm.” Jenna helps me fumble through the paper trying to get to the sports section. When a familiar image grabs my attention, I stop turning the pages.

“What’s that?”

“Take a closer look, Jenna. Don’t you recognize it?”

“No way. Is that a picture of the cabins?”

“Pretty sure. Let’s see what it says.”

The headline reads,
Who’s Been Sleeping in My Bed?

The unsettling thought of Goldilocks crosses my mind, as the cheesy title jumps out at me. That fairy tale always creeped me out. The only noises uttered between the two of us are gasps of shock as we read through the article. The story tells of several cabins at Forks of the Salmon that had been plagued by unexplained visitors during the week of Thanksgiving. No one was reported to be inside at the time of the break-ins. There were, however, reports of ruffled blankets, missing food and alcohol, and even a case of a broken chair. Oddly, there were no reports of stolen items of value. Investigators believe it was a homeless person looking for clothes, food, and shelter.

“See, I told you there was something in the creepy cabin. I bet it was him. So we’re not crazy after all. Just wait til I get to rub this in Brody’s and Mason’s faces. Crap dude, we could’ve been killed!”

“Yep, it’s all pretty crazy. What are the odds of those break-ins happening while we were there?” I’m finding humor in her reaction, so I decide to mess with her a little. “Maybe we should give the sheriff a heads up when we meet today. Let him know about your flying phone,” I chuckle, knowing full well it was a raccoon that spooked Jenna into throwing it. I cough the word “raccoon” into my hand, laughing.

Jenna backhands me, protesting my continued taunting.
Thankfully it’s on my good arm.

We make our way up toward the register.
Thank goodness, it’s Gordy. He’ll get me all straightened out.

“Aww. There’s that beautiful girl that reminds me of my own granddaughter. How are you doing today, Jenna?”

“Hey Gordy. Just bringing this lug in to talk to you about his prescription.”

“Oh, I’ve already talked to his doctor. We’ve got it all straightened out for you. Let me just go grab it.”

Between the time Gordy leaves and returns with the bag, Jenna’s already managed to give me two more noogies and a wedgie. “Take it back,” she whispers in my ear, as she tugs my underwear higher. I fake a smile as Gordy begins to speak.

“Sorry about what happened down river to you kids. I’m glad you’re doing better. These should help. Be careful, they’re pretty powerful.” He hands me the bag and looks at Jenna. “You make sure to keep him under control,” he winks.

“No problem.” she laughs, turning to me. “See, just doing my job.”

Tugging at my underwear, we continue our banter on the way out the door. “Jenna, you can be such a little pill sometimes.”

“Guess that’s why Gordy likes me so much.”

WHEN WE PULL UP AT
the house, I see the police officer’s and sheriff’s vehicles are both parked in the driveway. I never thought I’d see those big, white SUV’s marked with thick, black
Police
lettering lining my driveway.
This is so surreal
. I take in a deep breath, clearing my mind. I am ready for some answers, and hopefully today is the day I will finally get them.
Here we go.

When we enter the house, everyone is gathered in the living room.

I instantly recognize the toned backside of my favorite cop. She turns, and flashes her gleaming, white smile. “Good afternoon guys,” Officer Marnia greets us. She flips her long, brown ponytail over her shoulder.
Damn, I’d forgotten how hot she is.
I force my eyes to look at the guy standing next to her, so I can actually pay attention to what she’s saying. “I’d like to introduce you to Detective Edward Ferrara. Since this all happened outside of my jurisdiction, he’s handling the investigation. Though I am working closely with him because of my history with your case.”

The tall, muscular detective stands up to shake my hand.
This guy makes the hulk look small.
“Nice to meet you. I’ve already told the others they can call me Eddie. I know we’re jumping into this pretty fast. Do you kids need any time before we get started?”

Time? That’s all I’ve had for a week. I don’t want any more time. I need answers.
“I think we’re good. Let’s get to it.”

Jenna and I sit down on the long couch next to Kaitlyn and Brody. My parents look fidgety and oddly uncomfortable. We kept everything from them for so long that I think they’re both still in shock at the criminal level of Pistol’s activity. Even Jenna’s, normally chipper parents, sit solemnly on the couch opposite us. The mood in here is intense, to say the least. All eleven of us anxiously crowd the unbearably quiet room, staring at each other, waiting for the officers to begin.

Officer Marnia speaks first. “Detective Ferrara and I have reviewed my previous documentation on all criminal behavior involving Pistol. He’s up to date on the history of violence, drinking, and stalking behavior. Because they both involved physical attacks with injuries, I made sure to fill him in on the details of the assault after Kaitlyn’s swim meet in October, and the second attack at the barn dance. Those offenses give us cause to believe this may not have been an accident. Eddie has been down at the site of the accident, investigating the possibility of Pistol’s involvement with the crash being premeditated. He’s also been investigating his whereabouts.”

I can’t get the questions out fast enough. “And? Where is he? Did you find him?”

“I’m sorry to say, his whereabouts are unknown at this time. That being said, Kaitlyn, you still need to be on high alert. I don’t want you going anywhere alone.”

I watch Kaitlyn tense, as Brody tucks her under his arm. She pulls her hands through her hair, and I can see she’s terrified. “I’m so sorry guys, this is all my fault. I should’ve said something that first night when my room was trashed.”

“What are you talking about, Kaitlyn?” I hear the shock bleeding through the hurt in my mom’s voice.

Crap. We’re going to get it now. I knew we shouldn’t have kept that one a secret.

“It was after the homecoming dance. When I got home, I found my teddy bear from Pistol. Its throat was slit, and the stuffing was all over my room.”

“Don’t forget about the picture that was torn in half,” Brody cuts in.

“Or the weird text about your pajamas the next morning,” Jenna adds.

I watch the color drain from Kaitlyn’s face. Jenna and Brody have just thrown her under the bus, and she looks like she just swallowed the bitter pill of betrayal.
They’re gonna get it now.

Officer Marnia lifts her perfectly sculpted eyebrows as she quizzes Kaitlyn. “Kaitlyn, do you have something more to tell me? I don’t have any of this in my reports. What’s this about a pajama text?”

“It’s nothing. I think Pistol was just trying to scare me, you know, make me think he was watching me.”

“What does that have to do with pajamas, T?” I snap, annoyed that I haven’t heard about any of the crap that happened the morning after the dance.

My sister grows silent, clearly not wanting to talk about this in front of all our parents.

Jenna looks sternly at Kaitlyn as she finally speaks, “If you’re not going to tell them, I will.” She looks at Officer Marnia and then to Detective Eddie. “The night after the homecoming dance, Kaitlyn got a text from Pistol telling her he liked her new pumpkin pajamas. She was freaking out because it was the first time she’d ever worn them, not to mention, he’s never seen her in pajamas before. We couldn’t figure out how the sicko knew about them. That’s all.”

“Jenna, he was probably watching me through the window.”

“Yeah, but Kaitlyn, you and I both decided that the windows and curtains were closed all night. That’s impossible.”

A new look of concern crosses the officers’ faces. Officer Marnia looks over to the detective. “That certainly throws a new monster into this case.”

“Indeed, now we’ll need to determine if Pistol’s also a peeping Tom, or if he was actually inside the premises that night. Kaitlyn, I’d like to take a look around your room just to get a look at the layout. Maybe I can get better insight into how this character operates.”

Kaitlyn breathes a deep sigh and lets it out slowly. She stands up steadily, addressing all of us, “I’m so sorry guys. I should’ve spoken up sooner.” She shakes her head back and forth continuously, “I thought it would stop. I never, in a million years, thought Pistol could go to these lengths to get back at me.” Her lips turn down and she looks as though she’s fighting back tears. Then shakily she motions to the detective, “My room is this way, sir.”

A minute later Kaitlyn returns to the living room alone. Both officers have stayed back to search her room. We all sit quietly. My eyes study the pattern of the carpet beneath my feet. I can’t imagine what’s going through her mind right now. Even
I’m
a nervous wreck.
What if they figure out that Pistol was in her room? How did I let him get past me and creep in on my sister like that?
I’m disgusted with myself that I wasn’t a better bodyguard. I look up to find the adults peering back and forth from one to another, shaking their heads. “I thought we raised them better than this,” my mom finally speaks up.

My dad reaches for my mom’s hand and quietly says, “Shhh, now, Jacie. I’m sure they did the best they could to handle the situation. Nobody could’ve seen this coming. We raised ourselves country kids. Stuff like this doesn’t happen around here. They’re not equipped for it. You teach high school. You know that.”

Jenna’s mom, Cinda, looks toward my parents bobbing her head up and down in agreement. “He’s right, hon. We work with teenagers all day long. We both know these small town country kids don’t have any exposure to these kinds of situations. They’re all too trusting of people.”

“I know, but …” my mom looks at both Kaitlyn and me, “I thought I’ve always made it clear that you kids could come to me with
anything
. I’m not that mom who you have to hide things from. I understand things happen to kids. You can always come to me.”

My mom’s emotional grilling stops when we hear the officer’s footsteps make their way back down the hallway. Officer Eddie holds something in his hand. “What can you kids tell me about this?” He holds a small, white contraption in the palm of his hand.

A curious look grows on Mason’s face. “Let me see it.” He studies the object closely before handing it back to the officer. “I’ve seen something similar to that at my house. My dad used to have it attached to our computer when I was little. Can’t say I know what it is though. He took all of his gadgets with him when he left,” Mason replies quietly.

“I’ve never seen that before. It was in
my
room?” Kaitlyn sounds genuinely surprised.

“I was checking out your computer. My fingers grazed it when I ran my hand under your keyboard tray. I almost missed it. The color blended right into the white of the desk. I’m pretty sure it’s some kind of a camera, but I’ve never seen another one like it. I’m going to have to send it to the lab to find out more. Look, I didn’t see anything else, but just in case I may have missed something, keep your eyes open. If you find anything in your room, house, or car that you don’t recognize, let me know immediately. I’ll have it checked out. You’d be surprised to see what they can hide spy cams in these days. If Pistol is still out there, who knows what else we may find.”

I’m sitting at the feet of Detective Eddie when he turns to Officer Marnia and whispers, “This seems a little sophisticated for a rodeo cowboy from the valley.”

Without saying a word, Officer Marnia nods her head. I don’t know if they realize I am within earshot, but a new level of worry finds its way into my head.
I might just keep this one to myself for a while.

The detective turns to us and speaks once more. “Look, I know you kids have been through the wringer, and this discovery is a lot to deal with right now, but this just goes to show you how serious the threat still is. Was there any other interaction with Pistol before you collided on the mountain? Did you see him? Did you know he was out there? Did you get any phone calls? Texts? I’m looking for anything here, guys. All I know right now is the little bit of information Officer Marnia gathered that first night in the hospital when you kids were still pretty dazed. It’s not a lot to go on. Have any of you remembered anything else?”

Determination fills me as my mind races back over the scattered memories of our time at the Forks. I note the intent looks on the faces of my friends and sister, too. I really can’t think of anything I haven’t already told Officer Marnia. She knows about the broken out windows, my missing gun, the bottle of Jack Daniels …
Was there anything before that? Think.