Shadow Dancer (The Shadow Series Book 1) (23 page)

"What? How long have you known this?"

"I actually just found out the other day. I told Uncle Frank. We stopped by but it didn’t look like anyone was there. I was visiting Melissa at her flat one night this week, and I saw Kendricks come out of the apartment next door, keys in hand. Melissa said he's lived there for years. She’s keeping an eye out for us.”

“Dad, are you listening to this?!" Bridgette bellowed.

"I'm on the phone!" Angus shouted gruffly.

"Dad, it’s important!"

"So is this!"

"Dad!"

"I know the swine lives in Elkhart, I'm already on it!" Angus roared, pink rotary phone still at his ear.

"The guy you are looking for is at 10 Farringer Road, Third Floor, Elkhart. I'd rather not give my name."

Angus hung up the phone in a huff, glaring at Bridgette. "I know you're upset, we all are, and we are all doing the best we can. Simmer down."

Before Bridgette could reply, Moira came in the room. Still dressed in a floral house coat and hair cap, she was clearly not ready for a house full of relatives this morning. She walked into her kitchen and grabbed her frying pan from the pot rack that hung overhead.

"Who wants breakfast?"

Collectively, all the boys in the house lazily groaned "We do!"' Bridgette looking around, yelled "No you most certainly do not! You all had breakfast already!"

"It was just cereal Mom..." protested Shane.

“He's still hungry... I'm making pancakes” said Moira. Bridgette rolled her eyes as she slumped down into a kitchen chair, too exhausted to argue.

Moira finished preparing breakfast and Bridgette helped her set the
table, placing the pancakes, bacon, hash browns, biscuits, and orange juice on the table. Everyone devoured their breakfast, even Bridgette, who hadn't had an appetite lately due to recent events. After everyone had eaten, they remained at the table, too full to move. Blake kept eyeing his aunt, appearing as if he had something he wanted to say, but too skittish to do so.

"Something on your mind, kid?" Bridgette asked giving her nephew a wary look.

Blake, looking embarrassed that she had caught him, "Err, yeah..."

"It's about last night, isn't it?"

"Yeah. I have
some questions."

"Go for it. Things have been kept a secret for far too long in my opinion."

Surprised at their aunt's response, Tommy, Adam and Blake perked up, straightening their posture in their chair, eager to hear what she had to say.

"What was she like?"

“She was kind. Always doing something for someone else. Very giving. She always went out of her way to make sure people were well-fed and were comfortable in the house. She was energetic and laughed a lot, and boy, did she love your father. But on the days where her worry took over, she could be quite cold and distant. It was really sad to see, because as warm and
vivacious as she could be when she was okay, her anxiety could get the best of her on days when she thought Kendricks might be lurking about.

"Did that happen a lot?" asked Tommy.

“He showed up a lot… there are photographs that your father keeps locked in his office that show a family gathering where you can see Kendricks lurking in the background. He sent her letters. Every single day. Jack had to start intercepting them because they upset her so badly. Then when Catherine started to ignore him entirely, not even so much as a leave me alone, he got really upset. Started coming out to the house, begging her to leave with him.”

Blake's face looked surprised.

"Were you two friends?"

"Yes, I looked up to her when I was younger. I loved her like my own sister.”

"Why didn't he tell us?"

"He honestly was trying to protect you. It took him years to come to grips with her death, and in some ways, he still hasn’t come to terms with it… and you all were so young. He knew he'd have to tell you someday, but he had to wait until you all were old enough to understand. He was most worried as to how Tristan was going to take it."

"She didn't take it well."

"She actually took it better than I thought she would. She found out the hard way. Frank and I tried to get him to open up, but he was beside himself. It wasn’t our place to tell you."

A lull in the conversation presented itself, and Bridgette capitalized.

"Let's do something. Shane get the board games out. I'm in the mood to kick some butt."

"You're not gonna win!" said Shane, smiling as he went to the cabinet to pull down the games.

“Get the Monopoly! She sucks at that game!” Shane yelled.

“Anything but the Operation!” Liam added.

“Oww… I’m great at that game,” Bridgette said, pretending to pout.

* * *

"Sarge, I think we found something," the female investigator said to DiNolfo as they walked swiftly down the hallway, Jack trailing on their heels. "We were dusting for prints, and we found several unique fingerprints throughout the house." DiNolfo looked alarmed. She replied, "Show me."

The investigator went into Tristan's room and showed how on most of the surfaces the fingerprint pattern was the same. They believed this to be Tristan's fingerprint because it touched all the surfaces in the room. However, on the windowsill, there is a unique fingerprint, one they hadn't seen any of the other bedrooms. "It was here on the windowsill. It looks like the person entered through the window. We found identical prints on the doorknob to Jack's bedroom, and also on the access door to the third floor. We tried opening the door, but it is locked."

DiNolfo remained still for a moment, contemplating her next move. "Jack, we need the key to the third floor." With some hesitation, Jack agreed reluctantly, "Hold on, I'll get the key." Jack went back into his study to fetch the key, but when he looked on the wall behind his desk, it wasn't there. Panicking inside, Jack was absolutely dumbfounded.

Where the hell is the key?!

His children knew not to touch it.

"What's keeping you, Jack?" asked DiNolfo as she entered the study behind him. "The key... It was right here. It’s gone..." DiNolfo stared at Jack with a raised eyebrow as if she didn't believe him. "Hernandez!" DiNolfo yelled for one of the other investigators.

"Yes?"

"Kick that door down. Now."

Eddie Hernandez walked quickly down the hallway and up to the third floor, intent upon bringing down the door.

Chapter Thirteen

In Darkness

October 8, 1997

Before Dawn
Location Unknown
The darkness was overwhelming as Tristan opened her eyes. With little idea as to where she was, she scratched her head in confusion. The left side of her face hurt, and her right leg lay limp and badly injured. After some jostling, she was able to get to her feet, although she couldn’t bear much weight on her right ankle. Still unable to see anything, she stretched her arms out, seeing if she could feel anything before her. Tristan’s hands were scraped with splintering wood. Her hands moved quickly across the rough surface, desperate to find a door knob or a latch, but she found none. Panic intensifying with each passing moment, Tristan moved faster, her hands becoming raw from the splintering wood. Finally she found a loose board in the wall. She started to bang her hands rapidly against the wall, it gave way slightly, releasing a metallic sound from the other side. She recognized the sound immediately. A shed door with a lock on it. She didn’t know where she was, or how she got there, but she knew if she kicked hard enough, she could break down the door.
She began kicking at the door with her good leg, eventually resorting to pushing her full weight against the door. Suddenly, someone was banging on the outside with brute force. “Keep it down in there!” said a hoarse voice from the other side. “Let me out!” Tristan yelled. “Shut the hell up!” At the top of her lungs Tristan screamed, “Help!” From the other side of the door, Tristan could hear keys jingling and the metallic clang of a lock coming undone. Tristan decided. This was her chance. As soon as the door opened she would run for it and never look back. She braced herself, ready to bolt. Slowly the door creaked open, and before she had a chance to run, she was staring down the barrel of a Winchester rifle.

Chapter Fourteen

The Missing Suspect

Morrow Manor
Fox Hollow, PA
October 9, 1997
 

Jenna DiNolfo stomped down the main staircase in the Morrow house, agitation clear in her stance. She had waited impatiently for Hernandez to take down the door. Upon his fourth forceful kick, the door creaked open, but the officers were sorely disappointed in what they found. As DiNolfo looked around the third floor she was finally convinced that Jack Morrow had nothing to do with Catherine’s death or Tristan’s disappearance.
While she let Eddie continue searching for prints, she headed back to her squad car, eager to catch up on her work.
Poor guy is still trying to come to terms with his wife’s death.

She had to continue to try to get in touch with Bernard Kendricks, wherever he may be, Earl and Amos had some explaining to do, and she wanted to try to speak with some of Tristan's friends from school to see if they knew anything. She wanted to get a jump start on the search and she decided she would start at the school. It was a weekday after all, Kendricks should be arriving about now to the school to teach his first class of the day.

* * *

Car E5 sat hidden in the brush just beyond the southbound entrance of Cavegat Pass, approximately a mile from the Morrow Manor as the sun came up. Earl and Amos sat talking quietly in between sips of hot coffee.

"I'm telling you... She knows something..."
 

"I don't think she's that smart to figure it out."
 

"You don't? I do... She's already got the case files. It's not going to take much to figure out. She's been snooping around, all because that stupid Morrow girl decided to run away. I bet you she thinks that there is some connection..."

"Well she can't pin the latest nonsense on us."

"This whole thing smells of Kendricks. You seen him lately?"

“No, he's ducking me. He still owes me money."
Amos shook his head as he let out a laugh in disbelief.

"So what are we going to do?"
 

"We have to get a hold of that case file, before she has the chance to read the whole thing."

* * *

Jenna's patrol car came to a stop outside the massive Steeplechase Academy, and she pulled into the gravel parking lot and made her way up the marble staircase that led
to the school's entrance. She decided she would stop inside the administration office first. She approached the desk where a young woman with blonde hair and blue eyes was sitting with a smile on her face.
"How can I help you, Officer?"

"I need to speak with Bernard
Kendricks, is he here?"
 

"Oh, no... He was out yesterday
, too. He called yesterday saying he was sick with the flu."
 

From behind the desk, a door creaked open and Principal Maynard walked out with a disgruntled look on his face. He faced Jenna, and she could tell that her presence alone was making his
day so much worse. The young receptionist waved, catching the Principal's attention.

"Sergeant DiNolfo is here to see Bernard."