My eyes flew open, and I rushed from the room and down the stairs. Heads turned as I skidded to a stop. “I know where the house is.”
32
Time had not been kind to the older home. The paint was peeling, shingles were missing from the roof, and the windows were covered with dust, making it impossible to see inside.
“Doesn’t look like anyone has been here in years,” Max said.
I unhooked my seat belt. “Looks can be deceiving. Gabriel, please take charge. I feel fine, but…”
“I’ve got a question first. When we talked about the naval base, you hinted he might have it booby trapped to explode. Is there any reason to think he would have done the same here?”
“I don’t know. I guess it’s possible. Maybe I should go in alone. Do we have any flashlights in here?”
“No one is going anywhere alone. Max, you and Karen cover the back. Dakota and I will enter from the front. There’s an old barn in the distance there. Keep an eye on it.” He opened his door and stepped out. “Don’t hesitate to shoot if you have to.”
Max lowered the lift. “Should be a couple of flashlights behind the seat. I still think we should call for backup.”
“You’re probably right.” Gabriel took out his cell phone. “But I’m calling Don, not Wagner.”
I retrieved the flashlight while Gabriel finished the call.
“Good news on the bones in the gravesite. Don’s just outside Beaufort now. He’s going to call Wagner then meet us here.”
I joined Gabriel on the sidewalk, a memory nudging at the corners of my mind. “I did call for backup the day I came here.”
Max frowned. “Nobody said anything about a call coming in from you. Who did you talk to?”
“I don’t remember. I just remember I called for backup.” I glanced at Gabriel. “Are you sure you don’t want to take my gun before we go in, or let me go in alone?”
“Positive. I’ll let you go in first.” We climbed the steps together, and he checked the door. “It’s unlocked.” He pushed it open slowly.
I stepped around him, leading with the gun. Holding a finger to my lips, I pointed at the hallway. A humming, sobbing sound was coming from below. A glance in the living room affirmed no one had been there in a long time. Spiderwebs hung from the ceiling to the floor. The hallway was similar, and I grimaced as we carefully moved toward the door at the end. I knelt and removed my boots before turning the door handle and opening it slowly. Cobwebs covered the entrance, and below was a dark, looming hole. I turned on the flashlight and peered down the stairs. “If he’s using the basement, he isn’t coming in and out this way,” I whispered.
Gabriel nodded and removed his shoes. “Go down a step at a time and be careful.”
I kept my back against the wall, gun ready as I descended slowly. The bottom opened up to a small area without spiderwebs. A light shone beneath a door in the distance. Although we were closer, the humming and sobbing was growing weaker.
Gabriel motioned me to the left of the hallway as he took the right, and we moved forward until we were even with the door. He reached for the doorknob, turned it, and raised an eyebrow. I nodded, holding up three fingers. Gabriel nodded in return, and I lowered a finger. My heart thudded wildly, and the familiar pain started in my right temple. I’m an officer of the law. I lowered the second finger. That was then, and this is now. I lowered the third finger, and Gabriel turned the knob and flung the door open.
I did a rolling entry, twisting and turning as my eyes searched the entire room before coming back to the pitiful creature seated in front of the cage. I fired a quick shot, knocking the blade from Jasmine Elam’s hand, before rushing forward. “We need an ambulance!”
Kicking the knife across the room, I holstered my gun, then I ripped off my jacket and tried to stem the flow of blood gushing from Jasmine’s wrists and arms. “You’re going to be okay, Jasmine.” I knew in my heart I was lying and avoided looking at her face. The eyeballs lying next to her told their own story. I’d wanted to rip my own eyes from their sockets too.
Gabriel knelt beside her and felt for a pulse. “She’s gone, Dakota. So is Rowena.”
Footsteps pounded down the stairs as Gabriel helped me to my feet. “Is this the room he kept you in?”
“Yes.”
A group of officers entered, led by Sergeant Wagner. “Jesus Christ. Are they both dead?”
Gabriel took my arm and walked the two of us through the doorway. “It took you long enough to get here. See for yourself. Salyer was right under your nose all this time, and you ignored it.”
Wagner glared at him. ““Hate to bust your bubble, Browne, but it wasn’t Salyer.” Wagner jerked a paper from his pocket. “The lab was able to retrieve enough DNA from one of the leg bones in that grave to run a match. Christian Salyer is dead.” He turned his eyes on me. “Dakota Dale, you’re under arrest for the murder of Christian Salyer. You have the right to remain silent. Officer Herald, finish reading her rights, cuff her, and take her in.”
“Let it go, Gabriel.” I placed a hand on his arm. “It has to be this way.” I placed my arms behind my back, and Herald zip-tied them.
The stony look on Gabriel’s face relaxed as Don Sampson came down the stairs. He took in the situation and smiled. “I think you’d better take off those cuffs.”
“What are you doing here, Don?” Wagner puffed out his chest. “You should have gotten my email. Besides that, you’re out of your jurisdiction.”
“I guess you called that news crew outside?” Don grinned. “You’re going to look pretty stupid.” He held up a report. “And you might want to talk to the lab again before you do that conference. I asked them yesterday to send a forensic entomology expert to the site to judge how long those bones had been there. According to preliminary tests, less than a month.”
Wagner’s face flushed. “What the hell is a forensic entomology or whatever you said?”
“The study of bugs in the gravesite and sometimes the corpse to judge how long a particular grave has existed or if the body was moved from another site.” Don smiled. “That’s the gist of what I got from the conversation. There’s also a question about whether the bones discovered actually belong to one person. Most bodies don’t have two right arms. We’ll be asking for a full examination into that lab report you received. Seems like somebody there falsified records.” He glared at Herald. “Get those cuffs off her.”
Herald removed the ties, and I rubbed my wrists. “Thank you, Chief Sampson.”
“You okay, Gabriel? Let’s get you two out of here.”
We climbed the stairs, and I grabbed my shoes and continued outside. Karen was leaned against the van with Max a few feet away from her. The two of them watched me approach. “I’m fine.” I turned to study the old house. “At least for the moment.”
“Were they inside?” Karen asked.
“Yes. Jasmine killed herself, and it appears she killed Rowena Sparks.”
“Sampson looked pretty lethal when he went in there.” Max wheeled closer to me.
“Wagner placed me under arrest and handcuffed me.” I glanced at the media van being held at bay by several officers. “He must have planned a huge media campaign of walking me out. Chief Sampson had me released.” I met Karen’s worried gaze. “That entomology thing you asked for showed the grave had been there less than a month.”
She gave me a high five. “Hot damn. About time something went our way.”
“Don’t be too happy. I don’t think they’ll find anything to tie this to Salyer.”