Authors: Shanna Hatfield
It seemed like half the county was in
attendance at Ethan Weber’s funeral. Maddie and Zach flanked Lena,
all three sitting quiet and solemn in front of the casket with the
rest of the attendees gathered behind them. Family members had
arrived and, along with friends and members of their church, the
number well exceeded four hundred in attendance.
Erik stood to the side, wearing dark
sunglasses like most of the crowd, battling his own roiling
emotions. This was too much like the day he laid Sheila to rest, a
beautiful blue sky overhead with temperatures that made it
uncomfortably warm to be dressed in a jacket. Trying to keep his
own painful memories in check, he turned to watch Maddie as she
struggled with her composure.
She tried to keep the tough-cop façade in
place at all times, but she was a tender woman who had suffered
more pain and loss than most people could fathom. He honestly
didn’t know how she held herself together so well. Today, she
seemed more composed than Zach, who was struggling to keep from
breaking down. Erik could see his chin quiver, which in turn made
Maddie’s face turn an even paler shade of white. Lena sat between
them, openly crying, swiping at her tears with a hankie that had
been soggy half an hour ago. Without thinking, Erik stepped forward
and handed Lena a clean, dry handkerchief from his pocket. She took
it with a grateful nod and Erik stepped back again.
He might be a simple farmer, but his mother
insisted he learn to carry himself with good manners. He never went
to a funeral or a wedding without a spare, pressed handkerchief in
his pocket.
John, Danny, Tom and some of Maddie’s friends
from work were positioned around the perimeter of the crowd,
keeping an eye out for anything remotely suspicious. No one knew
who Danny was and none of the crowd thought anything was out of the
ordinary to have the sheriff attend the funeral of a good
friend.
Maddie wore a simple black dress with a
fitted black jacket that hid the gun she carried in a shoulder
holster. She had a small semi-automatic in her handbag, prepared
for what may happen, but hoping Zeus would at least give them a day
in peace to honor her father. For the first time in many years,
Maddie prayed. She prayed for peace, for deliverance, for a
blessing upon her father.
As soon as the service ended, close family
and friends returned to the church for a meal put out by their
church friends. Erik felt oddly at home there with the warmth of
the people being so similar to that which he knew from his own
church-going years at home. Until that moment, he hadn’t realized
just how much he missed his friends and family. Missed the shared
fellowship of worshipping with them on Sundays. Missed the
familiarity of being home with people who truly knew him.
As the gathering broke up and people started
to leave, Lena clung to Zach then Maddie, shedding another round of
tears along with the hugs she dispensed.
“Maybe I should stay, kiddo,” Lena whispered
to Maddie as she swiped at her tears.
“No, Aunt Lena. I need you to be safe. Tom
will take good care of you.” Maddie gave her aunt one more hug and
a kiss on the check before Tom escorted her to the waiting car. He
would fly with her back to Seattle then move her to a protected
apartment where she would be safe until things ended with Zeus.
“Just think of this as that relaxing vacation you’ve always
wanted.”
Lena offered a watery smile. “Sure. I can
catch up on my reading and sleep and watching soap operas and game
shows.”
“See? Doesn’t that sound like fun?” Maddie
tried to tease, but her aching heart kept the comment from sounding
light-hearted.
“Don’t give up or give in, Maddie. You have
to finish this for your mom and dad. You have to finish this and
not let their deaths be in vain.”
Maddie sucked back a sob and hugged her aunt
again. “I won’t give up, Aunt Lena. I promise I won’t.”
Lena wiped the tears from Maddie’s cheeks and
kissed her on the forehead. “Be safe, kiddo, and know I love
you.”
“Love you, too,” Maddie whispered and closed
the door on her aunt in Tom’s rental car.
Tom gave Maddie’s arm a gentle pat. “I
promise we’ll take good care of her and keep her safe until this is
over.” He got in the car and waved goodbye.
Maddie felt alone and bereft. Before she
could further explore those feelings, she sensed a presence behind
her and leaned back into Erik’s warmth and strength. For just a
moment she rested in him, rested against him, absorbing the comfort
he could offer before straightening up and turning around. As he
gazed down at her with his amber eyes warm and soft, she could see
the pain in her heart reflected there.
Placing her hand on his cheek, she tipped her
head and tried to smile. “Thank you for being here with us today,
Erik. Thank you for caring.”
“Where else would I be, Maddie?” Erik asked
in a voice rough and quiet with emotion. “I need to be here with
you all.”
Taking her hand, he walked her back to his
pickup, where Zach was already waiting with Danny.
“Let’s go home,” Zach said, climbing in the
backseat of the truck.
<><><>
Placing Lena in an apartment not far from his
own home, Tom arranged for round the clock guards to stay with her.
If Lena was anything like her niece, Tom knew she would be climbing
the walls in just a day or two, fighting against her Maddie-imposed
isolation.
After checking in on her to make sure she was
doing fine and the guard was clear on his duties, Tom drove on to
Bellevue. He was meeting a few of his team there, in hopes of
finding something, anything, that would help them move on with this
case.
Tom was tired of hitting dead ends in their
chase to bring Zeus down. Three years, several dead officers and
civilians, thousands of dollars spent, and they still were no
closer to bringing him to justice.
Now that they finally had a solid lead with
the art gallery, the judge was dragging his feet, asking for more
evidence to disrupt the life of one of Bellevue’s upstanding
citizens before he would issue a search warrant.
If Tom’s hunch was right, that judge had been
paid off to look the other way.
Sitting in a car watching the alley of the
building, Tom knew a car with two officers waited out front.
He’d sit here night after night if it would
turn up even the most infinitesimal clue they could use.
After another hour of waiting, Tom’s patience
paid off when a hulking brute dressed all in black stomped to the
back door of the building and stood looking around. When he thought
the coast was clear, he moved a brick along the back wall and
pulled out something in a plastic bag, shoving it into his pants
pocket before putting the brick back in place. He leaned against
the wall, biceps the size of tree trunks crossed in front of him,
waiting. Tom watched him for a good forty-five minutes.
“We’ve got a live one in the back alley. I’m
not taking any chances. This is going to be a team effort. Be ready
to go in five,” Tom said through his live feed.
Tom hoped beyond anything that this oversized
cavedweller was one of Zeus paid thugs. Waiting until he had the
signal from his men that they were in place, he got out of his car
and approached the man.
“Good evening,” Tom said, walking up to him.
The guy appeared to be half-asleep and looked at Tom with glazed
eyes. Great, already stoned, Tom thought as he quickly decided on
the best way to get what he wanted.
“Nice night, isn’t it?” Tom asked, hoping the
guy didn’t get physical. At well over six feet and weighing what
had to be close to three hundred pounds with a lot of it muscle,
the man would be particularly challenging to take down.
The guy just looked at Tom and jerked his
head. “You need to keep walking mister.”
“No,” Tom said, pulling out his badge. “No, I
think I’ll stay and talk to you instead.”
Seeing the badge in the light from the alley,
the guy turned, ready to bolt, only to find himself surrounded by
police officers with guns drawn.
“You ain’t got nothing on me,” he said,
looking cocky and self-certain. “You aren’t getting me to
talk.”
“That’s right, because I already know
everything I need to,” Tom said, hoping his bluff would work.
“You’ve already told me everything I need to know.”
“I didn’t say nothin’.”
“Sure you did, I could hear you talking since
you walked up to the back door.”
“Huh?” the thug asked, confused.
“Yeah, that’s right. I could hear what you
were saying. You were hoping that your drugs would be in the secret
compartment behind the brick and you wished that Zeus would hurry
up and get here because you’re tired of waiting on him. What time
was it again he was supposed to meet you?”
“He said to be here at midnight. That he’d
have a special job for me. He said the powder was to reward my past
good behavior and the money after the job was done would have a
nice bonus if I did everything just like he told me.”
“Oh, that’s right,” Tom said. “But Zeus isn’t
showing up tonight, is he? He left you standing here all alone, to
take the heat all by yourself. I bet he warned you not to talk,
didn’t he?”
The thug began to look a little worried. He
knew you didn’t cross Zeus and live to see another day.
“Yeah, he did. But I didn’t talk. You already
knew. You listened in my head,” the thug said, starting to grow
upset.
“No, you were talking. Singing like a bird.
We’ll have to make sure Zeus knows that. What does he do to his
friends who betray him? Does he shoot you point blank or toy with
you awhile? I heard he likes to hunt. Is that true? Does he hunt
down his friends like prey? I’m quite fascinated by the details.
What do you think he’ll do?”
The thug moaned and sank to his knees,
covering his head with his hands.
“Please, just shoot me now. Don’t let Zeus
know. Don’t turn me over to Zeus. Please, you’ve gotta help
me.”
“And why would that be?” Tom asked, inwardly
thrilled at how easy this take down had gone so far.
“He’ll torture me. I know. He’s done it to
others and it ain’t pretty. Then he’ll go after my family. Please,
you’ve got to help me.” Their tough guy hung his head and began to
sob. “Please, help me.”
Tom put a hand on his shoulder and patted it
gently.
“Sure, we’ll help you. We just need a little
help in return. You tell us what you usually do when you come meet
Zeus and we’ll take very good care of you.”
“Promise?”
“I promise to put you somewhere that Zeus
can’t touch you. That is an iron-clad guarantee.”
Loading up the hulking mass of sobbing
crybaby thug didn’t take long. Tom couldn’t keep from smiling as he
walked back to his car. With the evidence and testimony of Zeus’
stupid friend, he wouldn’t have any problem getting that search
warrant in his hand first thing tomorrow.
He couldn’t wait to tell Maddie and Danny
about this interesting development in the case. Finally, finally
they were making progress.
<><><>
The next few days passed quietly without
incident. Tom continually checked in with Danny who was trying to
keep an eye on things. Zach and Erik attempted to do the work that
needed to be done. Some of the neighbors came over and finished
baling and stacking the hay. Now that they were gearing up for
wheat harvest, some extra hands were going to be needed.
“I think we can get the boys we hired last
summer to help again,” Zach said to Erik over dinner one evening.
Maddie was attempting to cook and the guys valiantly attempted to
eat what she prepared. Some days she did great, others they ate
sandwiches in the backyard as the stench of burnt offerings filled
the house. But she was learning. It gave her something to do while
they waited for Zeus to make his next move.
Maddie was in the midst of trying to figure
out how to bake a chicken when her new cell phone rang.
“Hey, Tom. Do you know anything about baking
chickens?” Maddie asked good-naturedly.
“Not a thing, other than they are quite tasty
to eat,” Tom said with a laugh. “It’s good to hear a smile in your
voice, Maddie.”
“Thanks, Tom. I’ve got to keep living one day
at a time and humor seems to be the only thing keeping me sane
these days.”
“I understand,” Tom said then cleared his
throat. “I’ve got some news for you.”
“What sort of news?”
“We finally got a search warrant for the art
gallery. We should have had the warrant days ago, but we kept
getting the run around. I’m starting to think Zeus has some friends
in high places.”
“It wouldn’t surprise me. Some people can be
easily bought,” Maddie said, disgusted by the truth of her
statement.
“We found a few interesting things there.
Quite interesting,” Tom said, knowing what they found would both
disturb and excite Maddie.
Maddie sensed his hesitation. “Just spill it,
Tom. I’m a big girl. I can take it.”
“Apparently Mr. Johnson has an upstairs
apartment at the art gallery that even the store manager didn’t
know about. We discovered a hidden door in the storage room and
followed it upstairs to quite a spacious and luxurious apartment.
It was surprisingly clean and sterile. No family photos, not much
of anything that made it look lived in or personal, except for one
room. An office.”
“What was in the office, Tom?” Maddie asked,
completely abandoning the chicken and sitting down at the table.
“What don’t you want to tell me?”
“There were photos of you, Maddie. Hundreds
of photos plastered all over the walls. Photos of you working.
Photos of you taken through the windows of your apartment, of you
shopping for groceries and at the mall. There were also several
photos of you on the farm and with your family.” Tom let out a
sigh. “Maddie, he… he has many photos of you sleeping.”