Page 17

17

DEATH

“The flock moves as one, but solitude moves through the lost lamb's bones like winter.” ~ Anonymous

I led the men up the stairs to Ella’s bedroom. The rug had been haphazardly replaced over the loose board, and I wondered if whoever had broken into the home and stolen her had also found the information she’d been working on. I knelt, then pried the floor up, revealing a dark hole.

Reaching for my phone, I flipped on the flashlight and shined the light into the floor. To my surprise and relief, the contents were still there. Maybe Ella had cleaned up after I’d left. I reached in and hesitated. “Hang on, I see something else.” I adjusted the light and spotted a white envelope.

“Don’t touch it,” Ryan ordered. “Do you have gloves somewhere?”

“In the bathroom, second drawer.”

“What is it? Can you tell?” Kip asked.

“A white envelope. I’m not sure if it was in the original manila folder or not. I don’t remember seeing it, but I haven’t been myself lately.” I held out my hand to Ryan as he returned with the latex gloves. Ella always kept a box around for when I returned from a kill and required some medical attention. The first aid kit was loaded with anything needed to patch me up.

“Thanks,” I muttered as I slipped them on. Silence hung in the air as I reached in and retrieved the unfamiliar item. Carefully, I lifted the unsealed flap and pulled out a little piece of paper. My nostrils flared. “This is the same cream paper that was used on the note in the warehouse.” I glanced at the men before I read the words out loud. “Hello, Death. Glad you could join us. Just because I’m so happy you’re here, I’ll give you another clue to where your precious Ella is. Some ghosts never leave. Some rooms remember everything .”

“What the hell is that supposed to mean?” I muttered. “And how did the bastard get into my home undetected?”

“Let me see the note.” Dope reached out for it. “My guess, if it wasn’t here last time you looked at the contents, then he was here when those men grabbed Ella. They came into the house and trashed it, remember?”

I grunted at him; the memories were dark and faded.

“Whoever kidnapped Ella and left this for me must have put the papers under the floor and then took a chance that I would look through this information again.” I stood and paced the bedroom, ready to tear someone apart.

“We should search through the manila envelope to make sure they didn’t leave anything else for you,” Ryan said. I hadn’t noticed earlier, but he’d also slipped on a pair of gloves.

“I need my laptop. I’ll be back.” Dope rubbed the back of his neck as he left, then proceeded down the stairs.

“If anyone can figure out that clue, it’s Dope.” Kip said, walking the length of the room.

I reached into the hole and removed the manila envelope. “I’ll have to look at it all again. I remember most of the contents, but I was so angry that Ella had gone behind my back, I don’t recall all of it.” I walked to her bed and opened the flap, pulling out the newspaper clippings, notes she’d made, and photos.

Ryan released a low whistle. “She’s been busy from the looks of it.”

“No kidding.” I grumbled as I began to sort the items from what I knew I’d seen and what I wasn’t sure about. “I doubt the piece of shit left any other clues other than the riddle.”

“Even so, you might see something important that you didn’t the first time.” Kip pointed to the pile. “Since I won’t be of much help here, I’ll find Dope and make sure he’s staying on task.”

Ryan tipped his chin at Kip. “Good idea. I’ll help Death.”

“Check on Cami and the kids, Kip,” I snarled. “I don’t trust her right now.”

“Same.” Kip nodded and then left us to our work.

Over the next half hour, Ryan and I sifted through everything Ella had gathered. Even though there were some notes I hadn’t seen earlier, nothing stood out to me as important. I collected the information and slipped it into the envelope, my mind spinning with the riddle in the note.

“Ella must still be alive, or whoever has her wouldn’t have risked leaving a hint.” I glanced at Ryan before I walked to the bedroom window that overlooked the back of the property.

“It’s a good sign. In fact, he might not want to kill her at all. You’ve gotten a phone call and a hidden clue. I don’t think this is about Ella.”

I turned slowly, the impact of his words weighing on me. “It’s about me.”

“Somewhere out there, you’ve pissed someone off.”

I glowered at him. “Not helping, asshole. I’ve pissed off a lot of people.”

A flicker of anger registered in his eyes, then disappeared.

The sound of footsteps running up the stairs caught my attention, and I hurried to the hall as Dope and Kip joined us again.

“I have an idea. I haven’t confirmed it yet, but as soon as I heard you read the note, I had a sneaky suspicion. And I think I’m right.” Dope coughed as he struggled to catch his breath.

He must have made a mad dash up here, but he needed to lay off the smoke for damn sure.

“What is it?”

“The clue said ‘some ghosts never leave. Some rooms remember everything.”

“Yeah, and?” I asked impatiently.

“What if they’re talking about the kitchen in your childhood home? The one you lived in before you moved in with me and my family.”

I shot him an inquisitive look. “What about it?”

“For being a genius, you’re kind of dense sometimes.” Dope’s voice was filled with exasperation. “Dude, your parents were brutally murdered in that kitchen. If the walls had eyes, they would remember everything. And the ghost … it’s haunted you and Sebastian your entire life.”

“How the hell did you get all of that?” Kip asked.

I was glad Kip spoke up because I was wondering the same thing.

Dope rocked back and forth on his heels. “Since the first phone call with the caller asking for Death, I suspected this was all about him … not Sebastian and someone pissed about the society helping them escape. I mean, I could still be wrong, but I don’t think so. Then, once Death read the new note, it started to make sense.” He tapped the side of his head. “Death, one room changed your entire life. Nothing has had that kind of impact on youagain … until Ella, but she’s the good part of all of that.”

“Keep going,” Ryan said.

The excitement in Dope’s gaze dwindled as we just stared at him.

“Okay, I can tell you think I’m reaching for anything concrete, and maybe I am, but it’s literally the best hope we have.” Dope turned to me. “We need to go to your childhood house, especially the kitchen. I suspect your next clue is there.”

A heavy knot formed in my gut at the mention of returning to that scene. I’d worked hard to block out that home and everything that had happened there. Now I was about to rip that nightmare open again.

“Ryan and I will go. Kip and Dope, you stay here with Cami and keep looking into any other ideas.”

“Got it.” Dope hurried down the stairs.

Kip ran his hand through his hair, hope in his expression. “I think he’s on to something. Let us know what you find at the old place.”

“Ryan, you up for a walk into my personal hell?”

“Let’s go.” Ryan patted my back as he passed by me.

Only time would tell if Dope was right, and I had a sickening feeling there was very little of it left.

The flight on my plane from New York to Minneapolis, Minnesota, where my childhood home was located seemed like an eternity instead of only three-and-a-half hours. Once we landed, I sent the plane back to New York in case there was an emergency, and I needed to get the twins to safety.

The old neighborhood was another forty-two minutes from the airport, but Ryan offered to drive the rental car, a black Camry, which blended in well enough with the other cars on the road. When I grew irritated that he was driving the speed limit, he reminded me that being pulled over could be very problematic for me. He had a point. The FBI was trying to solve the Portland serial killer puzzle, and I couldn’t take a chance on one of them getting too close to me. I couldn’t risk some cop having a gut feeling something was wrong and sticking his nose where it didn’t belong.

My blood boiled as I reluctantly returned to Minnesota, a place that held nothing but fucked-up memories. I hadn’t been back since I’d moved away. There wasn’t any reason to … until now. The thought of stepping foot in the place that stole my childhood and parents ripped me apart like a dog with a stuffed toy, but it was the only hope I had at saving Ella.

My heart skipped a beat with worry for her safety. Had that son of a bitch hurt her? The mere notion of another man laying a hand on her ignited a blazing fury within me, sending electric currents of rage pulsing through every fiber of my being.

“I wish we knew what the hell we were looking for,” Ryan said.

“It’s not like this guy has been forthcoming other than the fact that he has Ella. I suppose we will figure it out when we get there.”

Ryan glanced at me, then his attention returned to the road. “Going back to the house has got to be fucked up, man.”

My brow arched. “I wouldn’t know. I haven’t returned since leaving for college.”

“Not sure I’d want to go back either.” He paused before he continued. “We’re almost there.”

I stared out of the passenger-side window as the houses grew more familiar. Young seedlings that had just started to grow when I’d lived there were now huge oak and maple trees. Cars lined the streets next to the sidewalk, and a few dogs safely ran alongside the Camry behind their chain-link fences.

“It used to not be so busy. Dope and I used to walk up the middle of the street at night.” I rubbed my jawline, my fingertips tingling with my anxiety.

The sound of the turn signal filled the car, and then Ryan made a left onto Madison Avenue. He slowed to the mandatory twenty-five mile an hour speed as I stared at the changes in the neighborhood. A handful of memories flashed through my mind, some good and some bad.

“Slow down.” I pointed to the two-story navy-blue home with brown trim. “That’s Dope’s old house. It used to be yellow. I lived with him and his parents after mine died. But you know that already.”

“Did you have good times there?” Ryan asked as he pulled over and parked the car. He shifted into park and let the engine idle.

“I had a few, but not many.”

“Makes sense. I think Sebastian was here most of the time, and you were just starting to appear from what Dope and Kip have told me.”

I resisted shoving my friend’s head into the passenger window. The mere mention of Sebastian sent me into a tailspin, and if I ever met the motherfucker, I would end him. There was only enough room for one of us in Ella’s life. When she needed us most, I was the one who was here. Fuck Sebastian. A pain shot through my skull, and I grunted while I massaged my temple.

Ryan’s eyes widened. “This is not a good time, Sebastian. Don’t fucking do it. Ella is counting on you staying put for now.”

“You’re a crazy motherfucker if you believe I’m buying that shit that he and I are the same person,” I snapped.

“Doesn’t matter what you think right now. We have to find Ella, so deal with it.” Ryan shifted the car into drive and slowly steered the car to the end of the street.

I glanced at Ryan, then said, “The pain in my head is gone.”

“Good. That means he heard me. I’ve never been able to talk to him before when you’re Death, so something is definitely changing with the two of you.”

Ryan could think whatever the hell he wanted about Sebastian. I had other plans for the fucker who thought he could share a bed with my little lamb.