CHAPTER 1 15Please respect copyright.PENANAOGZVfRyNbm
The man’s labored grunting kept an eerie cadence with the wind whistling through the tall pines. Occasionally, he paused to catch his breath and gaze up at the hunter’s moon, a puff of chilled air rhythmically escaping his mouth, and a sheen of cold sweat on his forehead reflecting the moon’s pale glow. After a minute or so lost in thought, the man shook his head, spraying tiny droplets of sweat onto the small mounds of freshly turned dirt scattered around him, and picking up his shovel, he returned to his work. 15Please respect copyright.PENANA6Bycm8uaMU
Twenty minutes or so later, the man’s persistence paid off, as the last swing of his shovel resulted in a solid “thunk” of metal on wood. As if in agreement, the wind seemed to rise up for a moment, shrieking in glee, only to subside suddenly as the man let out a short, harsh bark when he realized that he had reached his goal. 15Please respect copyright.PENANA6cYvqgC60H
Reaching up out of the pit, the man set his shovel against a plain granite stone, then bent back down and, falling to his hands and knees, began to feverishly claw at the rest of the dirt covering his prize, his breath coming in faster gasps, as anticipation spurred a surge in his adrenaline. 15Please respect copyright.PENANA5xbKBa8HqE
Rapidly, the dirt was cleared away, revealing the outlines of a large, oblong, wooden box, approximately seven feet long and thirty inches wide. It was built from hearty oak and nailed solidly shut around the edges. But the man had prepared for this. With a nimble leap that belied the bulk underneath his heavy coat, he leapt out of the pit and walked over to his car, a beat-up, late 90s American model, its hubcaps missing and uneven dents bruising its tired frame. Reaching in through the driver’s window, he fumbled for the latch, then popped the trunk. Walking quickly around to the rear of the car, he rummaged through a burlap bag, eventually producing a chisel, a worn hammer, and an iron crowbar. 15Please respect copyright.PENANAF7Nfs2ZDJW
Slamming the trunk shut, he strode back to the open pit with his tools and jumped back in, a hollow, dull echo coming from the wooden box as he landed. Scrambling off the lid, he crammed himself between the box and the dirt wall of the open grave. Quickly, he took the hammer and chisel to the wood around the nails. When he had enough of a nail showing, he switched to his crowbar and began prying the nails loose. One by one, they came free, some of them screeching, as if in dying protest to being ripped from the wood. The man’s strident gasps had turned to pants of excited anticipation as his goal was finally coming into reach. 15Please respect copyright.PENANA7uyMJYMiKI
With a last, powerful tug, the final nail gave up, and with a small cry of triumph, the man tossed the tools out of the pit. Wedging his dirt-encrusted fingers under the edge of the lid, his thick shoulder muscles bunched under his coat, and he heaved up, straining against the weight of the lid. Then, with a mighty toss, he threw the box cover onto the wet grass above, turned, and gazed down at his reclaimed prize. 15Please respect copyright.PENANAHtrCv1agPb
There, nestled in the velvety innards of the oak box, was the slightly desiccated corpse of a woman. The skin on her face was drawn tight from dehydration, her hair a dark reddish brown, but brittle and wiry. Her eyes and mouth were both closed, but even with the ravages of time and the funereal makeup, it was readily apparent that in life, this was once a beautiful woman. 15Please respect copyright.PENANAk5VS6q8dDn
The man was now gazing down at her with something akin to rapture, his eyes wide and glowing in reflection of the watchful moon. His mouth was open, grinning wide, his lungs pumping out heavy bursts of the cold, chilly air. Straddling the dead woman, with his arms at her sides and his hands slowly opening and closing, and the cold mist coming off of his sweaty head in wispy trails, the man looked almost otherworldly. 15Please respect copyright.PENANAs2vZRVloes
Kneeling down over the woman, he fumbled in his coat pocket, finally producing a small bottle of petroleum jelly. With shaking hands, he hastily unscrewed the cap, and with a thick grimy finger, scooped out a small amount of the gooey product. Raising his finger, he began to apply the Vaseline to his lips. Just then, a large, dark cloud began to cover the moon as if to darken the innocent world of what was to come. The man then leaned down over the woman and, with his hand, gently brushed the dry hair away from her forehead. Bending lower so that his face was inches from hers, he gazed into her closed, dead eyes, his cold, moist breath caressing her cheeks. 15Please respect copyright.PENANAHRm1YFPO9t
“I finally found you.” He uttered in a hoarse, low whisper. Then, bending lower, he gently kissed her forehead, the wet Vaseline becoming an unholy bridge between his life and her death. 15Please respect copyright.PENANApopsd1KdlL
CHAPTER 215Please respect copyright.PENANAXozWRg4diE
It was dark, with only occasional beams of moonlight filtering through the dense canopy of trees. My lungs were bursting as I ran, ducking and weaving through the woods, branches whipping past my face. Ahead, a shadowy form flitted in and out of my vision, spurring me on to run faster. I could hear frantic panting interspersed with whimpers of fear as the shadow ran with even greater urgency, defying my attempts to gain ground. A distant part of my mind recognized this scene as one that I had experienced countless times before. Nevertheless, I pushed harder, frantically trying to close the distance. Summoning strength that I didn’t know I had, I uncoiled violently and leapt over a fallen log, ducking a bough as I started to gain ground. Then, suddenly, a gunshot cracked.15Please respect copyright.PENANAg8hEPcMy8S
I snapped awake with a groan, the dream dissipating as the clouds in my consciousness began to disperse. Just as my brain was beginning to accept the fact that I wasn’t chasing a ghost, I registered the repeated humming bleats of my cell phone. Muttering a low curse, I rolled over in the dim pre-dawn light and reached out, fumbling around on my cluttered nightstand. Finally locating the source of my irritation, I squinted at the bright blue rectangle and, recognizing the backlit name, hit the green button, officially announcing my entrance to the coming day. 15Please respect copyright.PENANAhUYJWIv6hT
“Jones,” I croaked out, my dry vocal cords protesting the rude awakening. 15Please respect copyright.PENANAJ5BjFWOGMU
“Harper, it’s Addison,” the voice replied curtly, identifying itself as Addison Barnes III, my newly minted Police Chief. “Sorry to wake you so early, but there’s been an incident relating to one of your open cases. You need to get down here ASAP.” 15Please respect copyright.PENANAzyIsF776II
Mentally shaking the cobwebs permeating my foggy head, I ran through my four open cases. Propping myself up on an elbow and clearing my throat, I replied, “Which one, Delacruz?” referring to my most recent case involving a smalltime thief who had been identified as the culprit who had knocked over two pawn shops and a jewelry store. 15Please respect copyright.PENANAZ0v7yds1xz
“No,” Addison replied. “It’s Newton. Alison Newton.” 15Please respect copyright.PENANAig31u2VS9Z
That name instantly cleared my head. My most confounding case, a vicious murder. One that I honestly felt would be making its way down to the cold case files in the very near future. 15Please respect copyright.PENANAf9keHNpjNW
“Newton?” I asked, fully alert now. “What the hell happened?” 15Please respect copyright.PENANAlSZqAh9JlD
“She’s been disinterred. I need you to get over to the cemetery. Now, before the media catches wind of it,” Addison added. 15Please respect copyright.PENANAhArsZ1ojxx
Dug up? Alison Newton? I asked myself, swinging my legs over the edge of the bed. Why? And Who? “On my way,” I replied to Barnes, thumbing my phone and casting my eyes around my bedroom, ignoring the sudden dizzying head rush that suddenly enveloped me. 15Please respect copyright.PENANAWTjE81qMuP
Clicking on my bedside lamp, I rose quickly. Rising and heading towards the bathroom, I paused at my dresser to pull out some fresh clothes. Grabbing a shirt, my eyes strayed to three framed pictures on the wall. The first showed six figures dressed in military camouflage, with five of them encircled behind my kneeling figure. All six of us were giving the camera a hard stare underneath black berets, and our right arms were held straight out, clenched fists facing down, each with a small tattoo just above the wrist. 15Please respect copyright.PENANADyjtiMHunX
The second photo was a family picture, depicting my parents, me as a teenager, and my toddler sister in front of a Christmas tree, with a golden retriever sitting happily at attention by our side, his pink tongue lolling out.15Please respect copyright.PENANA2iox2fTBkM
The third was a picture of my sister again, this time as a young adult. She was dressed in a blue graduation gown, and her long dark hair was pulled back under an indigo mortarboard. Her sparkling brown eyes matched her excited smile as she looked into the camera, clutching a rolled diploma in her right hand. 15Please respect copyright.PENANAYsXXWjv2P9
A pang of guilt hit my gut as my gaze passed over the photos. So much life in those vibrant eyes, I thought. I reached up and briefly stroked the picture of my sister with the tips of my fingers, then turned and strode to the bathroom to splash some water on my face. Dwelling on the past wasn’t going to help me. Not today. 15Please respect copyright.PENANASpNiwOUGt6
A few minutes later, after clearing soapy water from my tired eyes, I looked into the mirror at the face staring back at me. I was forty-two years old, with hazel eyes and dark wavy brown hair that was beginning to beat a steady retreat off of my forehead. The day-old dark stubble on my jaw was peppered with flecks of gray, and a white scar on my cheek that I had received from the wrong end of an assailant’s knife gave my face a toughened, weathered look. 15Please respect copyright.PENANABlTr3ZGaLb
Reaching up, I gently fingered the dog tags on a leather strap dangling from my neck. Squeezing the tags in my fist, the tendons in my forearm tightening under the small tattoo, I gave silent homage to Carter, Blackjack, and Payne. And Josie.15Please respect copyright.PENANAFhI0Vh1jJQ
Opening my eyes, I brought a hand towel to my face and scrubbed vigorously, feeling the satisfied sting of stimulated skin cells wakening to the morning. Striding back over to my dresser, I reached for my army-issue G-shock watch, and my glance drifted to a wedding band, mixed in with my keys and loose change in a small ceramic bowl. Grimacing slightly, I strapped on the watch, grabbed my keys, and finished getting dressed. 15Please respect copyright.PENANAOkkJobWwku
CHAPTER 3 15Please respect copyright.PENANAzfWaixjHZg
Five minutes later, backing out of the driveway of my suburban townhouse, I mentally calculated the quickest way to the Great Oaks cemetery that had a Starbucks on the way. Alison Newton? I wondered again, as I pulled out into the early morning traffic. Dug up? What the hell? 15Please respect copyright.PENANAPhzuQjiDpV
As I began the fifteen-minute drive, I reflected back to the Alison Newton case six months ago: 15Please respect copyright.PENANAvkFn9jUQEX
It was the first week of March, and true to its reputation, March was roaring in like a lion. At the time, I was on the night rotation, and on this particular night, the wind was fiercely whipping snow against the station’s frosted windowpanes like little flashing white diamonds, tapping lightly to get my attention. Inside, central heating was struggling to keep the old, leaky building warm, as evidenced by the noisy space heaters squatting in the corners of the room. 15Please respect copyright.PENANAz9WqSh5y4P
My partner and I were busy doing work on our computers when our phone line suddenly rang, jarring us out of our respective dazes. Startled, we looked at each other across our desks, then at the phone. My partner reached first and brought the receiver to his ear. 15Please respect copyright.PENANAPFMM5zo5CO
“Kaplan.” He growled. Anders Kaplan, my partner at the time, was one of those types whose voice fit his looks perfectly. A beefy, middle-aged Belgian immigrant in his late forties, Anders always sported a scruffy, graying beard, outlining his fleshy, careworn face, complemented by an untamed full head of wiry, graying hair. If he had ever worn a dress shirt and a tie, I had never seen it in the twelve years that we had worked together. Today, he had on a flannel red and black checkered shirt, rumpled trousers, and black work boots. The only way you could tell he was a detective was the shield strapped to his belt and his sidearm holster that fitted over his burly shoulder.15Please respect copyright.PENANAEdaONkaTmP
“Ok,” he said, after listening for a moment. “Where?” More silence. “On our way,” he replied as he hung up, jotting something down on a coffee-stained pad with a chewed-up pencil. 15Please respect copyright.PENANAQgINmI4wLu
I stared at him. Waiting. The room was dead silent except for the whirring of the space heaters and the ongoing scratching of Anders’ pencil. 15Please respect copyright.PENANAfjL5SWGEBc
“Well?” I finally asked impatiently. “What’s up?” 15Please respect copyright.PENANAb5tfBFo1ev
Anders looked up, seemingly oblivious to my tone, his pencil hovering. “Gimme a sec,” he muttered, returning to his notepad. 15Please respect copyright.PENANAsjs31lDP2D
Anders has been a naturalized citizen for almost sixteen years now, but he still has difficulty writing in English, which I have never quite understood, but have learned to work with. Sort of. 15Please respect copyright.PENANAsUtPaglIpA
Taking a deep breath, I waited. Anders finished writing and announced, reading from his notes, “Homicide off Wilkes, alley behind a strip mall. You ready?” he asked me, heaving his bulk out of his creaky chair. 15Please respect copyright.PENANAYvlldnR1kg
I stared at him. “It took that long to write down that one sentence?” 15Please respect copyright.PENANA4CI87CPMiA
Shrugging on his overcoat, he turned, glared at me, and was about to bite off a retort, but instead muttered something I can only assume was in Dutch, and headed for the door. Sighing, I let it go. Anders and I had been working together for twelve years. He was a solid detective and a good friend. And eleven years ago, he had saved my life. Twice. 15Please respect copyright.PENANAa6Yvr5whnL
It was a rare occasion where Anders and I had to use our sidearms. We were chasing an alleged kidnapper through a campground outside of Wolf Hollow. He was a deadbeat father who had swiped his five-year son from his ex-wife’s home and spirited him away while holding her at gunpoint. She had immediately called us, and we responded, tracking him to his campsite. There, we found the kid in a tent, but the father, seeing us coming, had fled. 15Please respect copyright.PENANAAraei5bLV3
Anders and I split up, with me pursuing the father while Anders raced to cut him off. The road curved around the campground, and as I was chasing him around a bend, the father suddenly wheeled, pulling his gun. I had been running full tilt, and when he stopped and whirled, it caught me completely by surprise. He had me dead to rights as he raised his gun and took aim. 15Please respect copyright.PENANAKFI6LpDrD7
As I prepared to throw myself to the side of the road, despite the sinking feeling that I would be too late, a shot rang out. The man jerked, spun drunkenly, then collapsed to the pavement. Pulling my gun, I raced to the prone body, keeping the barrel trained on his motionless torso. 15Please respect copyright.PENANAA7pD5eZD9K
I reached the body and immediately kicked the gun out of his lax grip. He had been shot in the right shoulder, but he was still breathing. Looking up, I saw Anders hustling up, gun pointed to the ground. 15Please respect copyright.PENANALcKMB4Bk2z
As I was about to compliment him on his shot, I heard the sudden roar of a car engine. Spinning, I saw a red souped-up sports car hurtling towards me from round the bend, the dim outline of a woman at the wheel. As I raised my gun at the streamlined hunk of metal bearing down on me, I was suddenly thrown aside as Anders collided with me, tackling me out of the way of the oncoming missile. As the car flew past, it clipped my leg, pinwheeling Anders and me into the ditch. 15Please respect copyright.PENANAxq9D6PjUFL
We found out later that the ex-husband had a girlfriend, and that she was caught twelve hours later on Route 1 on her way to Florida. I suffered a dislocated knee, which sidelined me for two weeks. But it could have been a lot worse if not for Anders’ marksman skills and quick instincts. 15Please respect copyright.PENANATwqe8ff9k6
Turning into the strip mall, we arrived at the crime scene in our unmarked car, just as the Medical Examiner’s van pulled up. Stepping out into the biting cold, I glanced over at Anders. True to form, he didn’t bother with gloves or a hat, his red cheeks the only indication that his body was reacting to the cold. He looked back at me, gave a quick frosty exhale, and a short nod. I nodded back. Time to get serious. 15Please respect copyright.PENANAu6RADzNmeZ
Wilkes was located in what we locals affectionately termed the “scruffy” side of Wolf Hollow. Where the more affluent homes and businesses were closer to the ocean, this lower income, working class neighborhood was at the base of the hills that eventually turned into an arm of the Blue Ridge mountains. Here was where the residents wore jeans and wool jackets, sported day-old beards, and lived in apartment buildings, duplexes, and two-bedroom houses with chipped paint and world-weary windows that stared enviously down at the neat and tidy shoreline. The businesses here were primarily in strip malls, and the restaurants and watering holes served fried foods, cheap draft beer, and downtrodden, grumpy service. 15Please respect copyright.PENANAA00aLutAnp
The strip mall that fronted the scene of this crime fit in perfectly. Scanning the storefronts as we made our way around to the alley in the back, I noted there was a hair salon, a coin-operated laundry, an insurance agency, and a small local taproom called The Wolf ’s Den, as well as three empty spots with “For Rent” signs and yellowed tape on the windows.15Please respect copyright.PENANATm5lqkkzFz
Walking around to the back alley, I nodded briefly to the officer guarding the scene, who raised the crime-scene tape as I showed him my badge and ducked underneath. About twenty feet ahead, next to a dumpster that looked like it served the salon and one of the vacant spots, the ME was already kneeling down, examining what appeared to be a young, deceased female, propped up against a dumpster. Walking towards the scene, I took a quick look around. The alley was bordered on one side by the back of the strip mall, and the other by a sixfoot-tall wooden slatted fence, which appeared to have a set of low-rise apartments behind it. Beyond the apartments, the wooded hills gently rose into the snowy dark sky. 15Please respect copyright.PENANAAjaFdgLiaV
Returning my gaze to the alley, I stepped carefully to avoid the evidence cones that marked footprints in the thin layer of snow and addressed the CSI investigator who was walking the scene with a camera around his neck. 15Please respect copyright.PENANA0wy7mN6xXc
“Make sure you get those prints first,” I told him, indicating the footprints, “with this weather and the swirling winds, those prints could disappear any minute.” 15Please respect copyright.PENANAi2DfH0Lg0b
“You got it, detective,” the young man replied, shivering. “I started on them as soon as we got here.” 15Please respect copyright.PENANAz9xAh9mJD6
Crouching down, I took a look at the prints. “What do you think, maybe a work boot?” I asked the CSI. 15Please respect copyright.PENANABmtcxyu4iJ
“That’d be my guess,” he replied. “Probably men’s size 11 or 12. I can run the tread when I get back to the lab, see if we can narrow down the manufacturer.” 15Please respect copyright.PENANAYBy7JFPIcL
“Sounds good, thanks.” Mentally filing that away, I returned to observing the scene. The body was in a sitting position, leaning against a scarred, gray-green dumpster, its head slumped to the side. The blood surrounding the body had melted the thin layer of snow, creating a goopy red slush. The ME was gloved up and examining the body, dictating to her assistant, who was standing next to her. Approaching, I could hear some metallic banging around, and looking up, saw the back of an officer standing in the dumpster, sorting through the rancid garbage. 15Please respect copyright.PENANA187M5CqP31
Reaching the body, I looked down and experienced a chill that had nothing to do with the frigid wind swirling around me. The woman looked to be around five foot four and slender underneath an open woolen sailor’s coat. She also had on a knitted black cap that was knocked slightly askew, nondescript pants, and worn sneakers. Underneath the parted coat, she had on a red turtleneck that was stained darker by the blood that had coagulated around a very obvious chest wound. Raising my eyes to her face, I saw dark brown eyes, a straight nose, pencil-thin eyelashes, and full red lips, all framed by dark, chestnut-colored curly hair. For a brief, shocking moment, I thought I was staring at the corpse of my ex-wife. Then my eyes traveled down to the exposed side of her neck, where my Angie had a brown circular birthmark. This young lady had no such birthmark, and I breathed a sigh of relief. It wasn’t Angie, though it could very easily be her twin. 15Please respect copyright.PENANAgegRtqOcCN
Shaking myself, I looked behind me at Anders, who was bent over with his hands on his knees, staring at me. 15Please respect copyright.PENANAfGKL7J3m9f
“You ok?” he asked. “She looks just like…” 15Please respect copyright.PENANAQ6qMiCT0gp
“I know.” I cut him off. “She’s not, and I’m fine. Doc, what have we got?” 15Please respect copyright.PENANAfrdDpwJFgv
Chief Medical Officer Jan Rojas looked up at me as she finished checking the victim’s core temperature. 15Please respect copyright.PENANAqF03ep74ug
And that’s when all hell broke loose. 15Please respect copyright.PENANAaDzkxyzdYO
“White fem…” she began, as suddenly a loud crack permeated the night, followed quickly by a sharp clang of metal on metal. Rojas, who had been facing me as she was answering my question, dropped her jaw open as her face was suddenly covered in red spray. Simultaneously, I felt what I thought was warm liquid hitting the back of my head.15Please respect copyright.PENANAQmtFgkVt7L
Instantly recognizing the sound of a gunshot, I shouted, “Down!” and instinctively rolled forward, pulling Rojas with me as I frantically reached for my gun. As I turned around toward where I estimated the shot had come from, I saw Anders toppling forward, his face a bloody mess from a very obvious exit wound. 15Please respect copyright.PENANA4jtsFRuTXN
I heard a shout, and above me I could hear a sudden exclamation from the officer in the dumpster as he took cover, hopefully drawing his weapon as well. Grabbing Rojas by the arm, I began pulling her around to the back of the dumpster, yelling at her assistant to go for cover as well.15Please respect copyright.PENANAlxR79mOPsK
Reaching the backside of the dumpster, I finally freed my gun just as Jan’s assistant scrambled around the corner. I silently hoped that the CSI and the perimeter officer had been able to find shelter as well. 15Please respect copyright.PENANAoUwo2Cr25K
“Officer!” I shouted. “Radio that there have been shots fired here. Have them send backup immediately! Shots fired!”15Please respect copyright.PENANA5BaqwIxqsH
I could hear him scrabbling around in the dumpster and then the panicked voice of the scared officer calling it in. 15Please respect copyright.PENANAdzFiWLAMtL
“Anders!” I shouted. “Take cover! Get out of there!” But there was no reply, and when I heard no movement, my gut turned ice cold. “Anders!” I shouted again. Nothing but howling wind swirling through the cold alley. 15Please respect copyright.PENANAWtVkJ6JhpY
15Please respect copyright.PENANAnq6COQk0hc
TORMENT - A HARPER JONES NOVEL
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