Page 11 of Fighting for Julia (Laguna Beach Cops #6)
THE PRESENT
Staunton, Virginia
Miguel and Julia
Julia’s heart stopped for a beat, then pounded so hard and fast that it roared in her ears like the whitewater rapids she’d navigated in West Virginia.
A terrible sickness coiled in her stomach, and bile rose in her throat.
She swallowed heavily and hid her inner turmoil behind a neutral expression.
“Julia?” Detective Carroll’s head whipped around to face her. “Coincidence?”
Julia’s gaze shifted toward Trey and Miguel. Both communicated with a slight tilt of their heads for her to remain silent.
“The more urgent question is what this means,” Trey answered. “The time and attention it took to carve the cinder block is indicative of an obsessive-compulsive personality. What we’re observing as chaos is order.”
He traced the words with a finger, following a pattern only Trey could see with his brilliant, mathematical mind. “Look how the double O’s all lead—” He stopped speaking as the implication hit him.
“To Julia,” she finished for him. “She must be someone important to him. Or possibly a ghost leftover from the intense brainwashing techniques Dr. Schow used on all three siblings.”
“I’ve witnessed the devastating consequences of those techniques,” Trey played along. “Not only on Axis and Axalia, but on former Special Agent Nash Carter. It’s taken almost four years of intense therapy to deprogram him. Thank God I was able to release him from my care.”
Detective Carroll frowned as he studied the wall. “So, you’re saying Julia may be a phantom Axis created in his mind.”
“Possibly. Or the name is a code word for a goal he and his sister have in mind,” Trey suggested.
“We’ll have Tex do a deep dive,” Miguel interjected. “See if the Anderson siblings met anyone named Julia while they were living with their foster parents in Hawaii.”
“I’m curious why anyone would think it wise to put a knife or a carving tool in the hands of a psychopath,” Julia commented. Her heart still pounded from abject fear. She’d experienced fear before, it came with her job, but nothing compared to the sheer terror racing through her veins now.
“To keep dark thoughts at bay,” Trey explained. “That’s important for someone with OCD. These carvings are like looking into Axis’ mind.”
They tossed the room but didn’t find anything.
No notes. No rendering of an escape plan.
Nothing to indicate the siblings’ intention except the bizarre carvings on the wall.
The question uppermost in Julia’s mind was why the double O’s ended with her name.
Was she on Axis’ mind because she was the last connection he and Axalia had to their mother?
Or had they somehow figured out her identity and planned to come after her?
Or worse, make their way to her grandfather in Mexico and align themselves with him?
Their brainwashing made them perfect soldiers of destruction.
Female patients were housed in another wing on the same floor, and the group made their way to Axalia’s room. Unlike her brother’s walls, hers were covered in beautiful charcoal drawings and paintings of various subjects.
“Interesting,” Detective Bartenope murmured. “Axalia has great artistic skill.”
They snapped pictures with their cell phones. Trey perused each drawing and painting as he tried to ascertain a pattern or message.
“One would almost assume these were created by a rational person,” Miguel commented.
“Almost,” Trey agreed.
While the others tossed the mattress on the steel-framed bed and examined the walls for clues that might lead them to the Andersons’ whereabouts, Julia checked the desk drawers to see if Axalia left anything behind.
At first, it didn’t appear so, but when she slid her hand beneath one of the drawers, she discovered a leather-bound journal taped to its underside.
Julia flipped through the pages until she reached the last entry.
Mama’s back! Mama’s back! They said Brielle McAdams killed her, but I never believed it. Mama’s come back, younger and more beautiful than ever! Axis insists it’s Julia, our long-lost half-sister, but he’s wrong. Wrong! Wrong! He said he can prove it. Soon…soon…soon…
An icy chill crawled across Julia’s scalp. She glanced over her shoulder to see if anyone was watching her and slipped Axalia’s journal into her bulky coat pocket. She continued to search the desk but didn’t find anything of value.
Miguel joined her. “Anything?”
Unable to deceive him after the care and concern he showed her in the middle of the night, Julia took his hand and pressed it against her coat pocket. His eyes widened in surprise, but Miguel didn’t betray her. Somehow she knew he wouldn’t.
“No” she declared loud enough for the others to hear. “You?”
“We’ve got nothing,” Detective Carroll answered.
Because the Staunton PD lacked Quantico’s resources, Trey said, “Continue your investigation, Detective Carroll. Talk to witnesses. Expand the search for the Andersons. An APB is already out on them. Keep us in the loop. In the meantime, we’re returning to Quantico and interrogating Dr. Manfredi again. ”
“All right,” Detective Carroll agreed. “I’ll have a patrol officer drive you back to the airfield.”