‘You’ve got a couple of dead kids we’ve been asked to take a look at.’
Rebecca felt her heart sink.
‘Are you talking about the church murders? But that’s my investigation.’
Hickok stared at her for a long moment, his expression unreadable. She couldn’t figure out if he already knew that.
‘It’s Senator Hogan’s nephew. He’s been pulling strings at the top; wants the FBI personally involved.’
‘And so they sent you?’
He grinned at her. ‘And so they sent me.’
7
Shannon Castle lived her life by routine and Wednesday night was grocery shopping night.
Some people might call her boring, but Shannon liked things in boxes, everything in order. It made life so much less stressful. Monday evening was the gym; Tuesday she would stay home and catch up on her favourite TV shows, Wednesday night was for groceries.
As always she had her list and spent a pleasant half an hour perusing the aisles of the local grocery store, filling her cart with essentials and a few treats. At the checkout she made small talk with Marcie the cashier while the groceries went through, then loaded her bags, paid for her shop and exited the store, already planning her dinner.
Because Wednesday night was grocery night, it meant she would be home late, so it was also takeout night, and tonight Shannon was favouring Mexican. As she pushed her cart over to her car in the corner of the parking lot, she was trying to decide if she fancied a beef or a chicken burrito, and if it would be greedy to have a side order of nachos. Popping open the trunk of her car, she started to load the grocery bags.
A sound came from behind her.
Shannon started to turn, the nachos dilemma still on her mind, and caught a glimpse of black as something heavy smashed into her face.
The grocery bag in her arms dropped to the floor, cans spilling over the parking lot as she collapsed.
When she awoke the first thing she was aware of was the smell of soil: in her face, up her nostrils. Her head was groggy, then the pounding kicked in, bringing with it nausea. Shannon groaned and tried to roll over.
Her arms wouldn’t work. Panic kicked in as she tried to move her body. Her arms were behind her, pulled tight, and as consciousness crept back she understood why. Her wrists were tied.
Memories from the grocery store flooded back, of loading the bags from the cart into her trunk, the sound behind her and the glimpse of black. Someone had attacked her. Someone had brought her here.
Hysteria overtook panic and she started screaming.
This did not figure in her Wednesday night plans, did not fit in any of her boxes, and she had no idea how to cope with it.
Where the hell am I?
The earth beneath her told her she was outside, but she couldn’t see and the darkness enveloping her suggested she was in some kind of outbuilding or barn.
Who had taken her? What did they want?
Fear bubbled in her throat. She was a good girl. She never broke the rules and always played it safe. This kind of thing wasn’t supposed to happen to her.
Her car was at the grocery store. Someone must have found it and realised she was in trouble. They would be looking for her. They would find her, right?
Overhead came a creak: the sound of a door opening. With it came light. Not a lot, but enough to let her know it wasn’t completely dark outside and to see she was right about being in a barn. Shadows fell on hay bales stacked high and a wall lined with various rakes and shears.
Shannon shuddered, her eyes moving towards the doorway.
A figure stood silently watching her: dark clothing, features indistinguishable. For a moment she thought her heart had stopped, she was that frightened.
‘What do…?’ Her voice was a squeak and her mouth so dry she couldn’t finish the question. She heard a click; a harsh beam of light blinded her. She couldn’t see the figure, but was aware he – she assumed it was a ‘he’ – was moving towards her.
Shannon whimpered and tried to roll away.
The flashlight beam was in her face and she felt her attacker push her onto her back before straddling her, forcing her legs down and her bound arms to crunch uncomfortably beneath her.
Oh my God. Oh my God. He’s going to rape me.
She started screaming and the man smacked her hard in the face with the flashlight. The pain was sharp and white hot as her teeth smashed together; as she tasted blood, her screaming became moaning sobs.
He put the flashlight down and she was aware of him pulling something from a pocket. A knife?
No, dear God no, please don’t let him cut me.
Pathetically she wriggled beneath him, going nowhere.
The click of a lid, the shake of an aerosol can. Her heart thumped.
What is he doing?
He began to spray the can at her chest; the smell of fumes filled her nostrils, her sobbing becoming choking. When he was done he sat back for a moment, as if admiring his handy work, before roughly pushing her over onto her belly, forcing her face into the dirt as he sat on her thighs.
Shannon heard the spray of the aerosol again, this time on her back, and her brain scrambled to understand what was happening.
Eventually the spraying stopped. Again there was a pause, then another click. This time there was no mistaking the sound of the blade opening.
She started screaming again, now hysterically, waiting for the slice of the knife. How was he going to do it? Was he going to stab her in the back or pull her head back and slice open her throat?
Unexpectedly he went for her wrists, cutting through the binds holding them together. Her arms fell limply by her sides as the weight on her back shifted. She heard footsteps. Were they fading? Was he leaving? For a long moment she lay on the barn floor, barely daring to breathe, let alone move.
Was he gone?
Eventually she pushed herself up onto her elbows. Her arms were hurting from how they had been forced behind her back. She glanced around. The door of the barn was still open and the man nowhere in sight.
Was it a trick, a test to see if she ran?
Tentatively she climbed to her feet, wrapping her arms around her body to check she was still in one piece. Aside from the pain in her banging head and bloody mouth, she was okay. Struggling to stop her heels sinking into the soil, she cautiously made her way towards the door on shaking legs.
From the dusky light outside, Shannon guessed it was about nine, nine thirty. There was maybe another ten minutes of light before darkness took hold; time for her to establish where she was and get the hell out of here.
Her heart sunk as she exited the barn and realised exactly where she was: the middle of nowhere. The only other buildings she could see were two further barns, both large in size. They appeared to be used for storage as she could see no grazing animals nearby. All three were surrounded by open fields, a dirt trail running from the barns past the fields and into woodland in the distance.
Why had he brought her here and then left?
Remembering the aerosol, Shannon glanced down at her blouse. Crude red paint had ruined it. Two red circles, one inside the other.
What was it supposed to mean?
Knowing she was going to struggle in her heels, she removed them. The dirt trail was probably stony, but she would walk better barefoot. Besides, the stiletto heels of her shoes were sharp and the only potential weapon she had should her attacker return.