The next room appeared to be some kind of home office. The room opposite it was a child’s bedroom. The bed was short and unoccupied. He motioned to the closet, and Allen slid the doors back. No one there.
The master bedroom was the only place left. Jack sent up a silent prayer, hoping that the residents had abandoned the place, and he could strike this address from their list.
No such luck.
There was a body on the bed. A woman, young, maybe late twenties at most. Even with the marks on her face, Jack could tell she’d been pretty.
“Dead at least a day,” Allen said, leaning over the body.
There was a doorless walk-in closet along the wall on their right. Jack looked inside. Clothes and shoes, both women’s and men’s.
He eyed the door to the en suite bathroom. Not wanting to, but knowing they needed to be thorough, he forced himself over to the opening.
From there he could see it was a good-sized room. Comfortable. Dual sinks, a linen closet, separate shower and bath. The only thing out of place was the body lying in the tub.
It took all of his will to step over the threshold and walk across the tile floor for a better look.
Not just one body, but two.
The man, presumably husband to the woman lying on the bed, took up a majority of the space. Curled across his chest was a little girl.
Jesus, maybe I should go home, too.
There was something in the guy’s right hand, shiny and metallic. Jack only needed to take another step closer to see it was a gun.
Oh, God. Had the guy killed his little girl then himself?
The message the man had left on police voicemail had been transcribed and included in the notes they were given. Even in print, the man had sounded desperate — a father scared of what would happen to his daughter after he died. Having not received an immediate response, had the guy decided he had no options left?
Wait, wait. Where’s the blood? There’s no blood.
Perhaps the man had been unable to follow through. Or maybe he’d succumbed to the flu before he could. Whatever the case, Jack was thankful the trigger hadn’t been pulled. That was one sight he didn’t think he would be able to stomach.
Still, they were both dead, which meant he and Allen had to—
He froze.
The girl was looking at him. Her eyes were only slits, but she was definitely looking at him.
He dropped to a knee. “Hey, there. Are you okay?”
Her eyes squeezed shut and she turned her face against her father’s chest.
Jack looked back at the clipboard and skimmed through the man’s message again. “Are you Ellie?”
He could tell this surprised her. After a moment, her head twisted enough so that she could look at him with one eye.
“Don’t be afraid, Ellie. I’m a fireman. I’m here to help you.”
“Fireman?” she whispered.
“Uh-huh. Your daddy called us to come get you.”
“Daddy won’t wake up. Mommy, too.”
“Yeah, they’re in a deep sleep right now. That’s why your daddy wanted you to come with us.”
“He did?”
“He sure did.”
“No,” she said, shaking her head. “I stay with them.”
“Hey, Allen,” Jack called out. “I found the girl.”
When Allen entered the bathroom, Ellie pulled tighter to her father.
“It’s okay,” Jack said. “He’s my friend. Another fireman.”
“She’s alive?” Allen said, surprised.
“Yeah.”
“Sick?”
“I don’t know. Can’t tell yet.” To the girl he said, “It’s okay. Can you tell me how you are feeling?”
It took a bit more coaxing before she finally said, “Scared.”
“Of us?”
She nodded.
“Don’t be scared of us. We’re only here to help.”
“Okay,” she said, less than convinced.
“Can you tell me if you’re feeling sick? Headache? Sore throat? Have you been coughing?”
She shook her head. “No. Just…just hungry.”
“I think we can do something about that. What’s your favorite thing to eat?”
She thought for a moment. “Peanut butter and jelly sandwich.”
“Why don’t I go make you one?” Allen suggested.
“Okay. Grape jelly. Not Mommy’s strawberry.”
“Grape. Got it,” Allen said, then left.
Jack held out his arms. “Let’s go into the living room and let your father rest.”
She hesitated.
“It’s okay,” he said. “I’m not going to hurt you.”
She held on to her father a few seconds longer, then reached up. Jack picked her up and carried her out of the room.
“Why do you have that on your head?” she asked, touching his hood as they headed for the living room. “Makes your voice sound funny.”
“It does, doesn’t it?”
“Uh-huh.”
“It’s one of our uniforms,” he told her. “For special days like today.”
“Because it’s Christmas time?”
“No, no,” he said quickly. “Not Christmas. I just meant some days we wear them.”
“Oh.”
Allen appeared a short time later with a peanut butter and jelly sandwich wrapped in a paper towel. “Here you go,” he said, handing it to her.
She took a big bite, and stopped mid-chew. Through a stuffed mouth, she said, “Tanks.”
“Ellie, how about you eat that in our truck?” Jack asked.
Her head moved rapidly from side to side. “No. Have to stay here with Mommy and Daddy.”
“Remember what I told you? Your daddy asked us to come and get you?”
“Stay here.”
“Someone will come to take care of your parents,” Allen said. “We need to take you someplace else…someplace where you can have more peanut butter and grape jelly sandwiches.”
Looking skeptical, she said, “But Mommy and Daddy.”
“Your mommy and daddy wanted you to come with us,” Jack said. “Okay?”
She looked like she might cry, but she said, “Okay.”
As Jack carried her toward the door, she suddenly stiffened and looked over his shoulder. “Bear!”
“What?”
“Santa brought me a bear. I need it!”
He looked at the toys around the Christmas tree but didn’t see any bear. “Where is it?”
She began squirming in his arms. “I’ll get it.”
Not sure if he should take the chance, he set her down. The moment her feet touched the floor, she bolted across the room and into the hallway.
“Do you want to draw her blood or do you want me to do it?” Jack asked Allen as soon as she was gone.
“She’s gotta have it already,” Allen said. “She’d been breathing the same air as her parents. God only knows how long she was lying there with her dad.”
“We still have to check.”
Allen frowned. “Yeah. I guess. All right. I’ll do it.”
A few seconds later, Ellie ran back into the room, a black, curly-haired bear hugged to her side. Jack lifted her up.
“Ready?” he asked.
She nodded.
“All right. Let’s go.”
17
The first thing Ash felt was the IV needle in his hand. Of course, he didn’t know it was a needle at the time. To him, it just felt odd. Next came the pain in his ribs, tight and throbbing. His knee was sore, too. And there was an especially sharp pain along his abdomen.