Seal of Secrets by William Cook

Author:William Cook [Cook, William]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: UNKNOWN
Published: 2016-12-09T00:00:00+00:00

24. Jack's Plan

Canyon Road seemed little more than a footpath on the outskirts of town, with only three houses scattered along its length in a most unneighborly fashion. The Miller duplex was at the end of the cul-de-sac, bordered by a forest of firs and oaks. Jack parked his car along Goosewing Lane and walked down Canyon. Moonlight silvered the road just enough to prevent his stumbling. He saw lights on in the first two houses he passed, and he heard the eerie hoot of an owl deeper in the woods.

He slowed his pace as he approached the Miller house. There were lights on in the back. He crept through the underbrush along the side until he reached a window. He raised his head to peek inside. The house appeared empty and his heart sank. He inched along until he came to another window, but all he could see was a broken coffee pot on the floor. I've missed them, he thought, as his misery ratcheted up another notch.

Jack tried the back door and found it unlocked. A small pane of glass had been broken out of it. That's how he got in. He entered, hoping to find some clue that Kaitlynn had been there. He refused to admit the possibility that she had already been killed, but that thought lingered at the periphery of his awareness like a bad dream forgotten upon awakening, nudging him to a discomfort he could not name.

There was water on the floor around the broken coffee pot, as well as wrappers from a sandwich and potatoes. Smells of greasy fast food persisted at the open door of a closet, the way they did in his car whenever he ordered a burger and fries. Someone has been here very recently, he thought, but that provided him slim consolation. Was it Kaitlynn . . . or her murderer? That thought burst from his suppression like a dog from its leash. “No!” he shouted aloud to the empty house.

“Freeze! Put your hands in the air and turn around slowly.” The stern voice brooked no contradiction. “Now!”

Jack turned and found himself face-to-face with Esperanza, standing with his feet apart and his gun aimed directly at him.

“Jesus, Jack! Are you trying to get yourself shot? What were you thinking? I told you to stay put and let us handle this.” He called to his partner, who had been covering the front. “All clear, Charley. Come around back.” Then he holstered his weapon and cursed under his breath. “Have you touched anything, Jack?”

“Just the door knob coming in.”

“Keep it that way. Did you see anything when you got here?”

“They were already gone.”

“How do you know it was Raven and Kaitlynn?”

Jack hung his head. “I don't.” His admission left him feeling worse than he had felt at the AA meeting.

“Jack, go home. For Chrissakes, let us do our job.” The policeman pleaded for reasonableness.

“Have you found any video footage of them? Street cams? Store surveillance?”

“Our little burg is way behind the times, Jack.

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