Heart of Fire (16 page)

CHAPTER TWENTY SIX

A thud from the outside caused Danni to jump, it sounded like something hitting the window, although this was louder, not some bird, at least not that loud.  With her hand firmly gripped around the handle of the gun, she held it close to her side as she looked out the window. 

The storm moved in which brought strong winds within its wake, Danni watched as the trees danced and the storm door opened and then slammed shut several times keeping her on alert.  The night sky lit up as lightening whipped across it and the woods around the cabin were a mixture of leafless trees and rotting foliage.  Dead leaves hung in clumps from a few low branches that slammed against the side of the cabin.  Danni was amused how they resembled bats in the dimness of the thick shrubbery.  She noticed about thirty feet up through the trees the early sun rays lit up the east side of the sky.  The golden rays reached just above the treetops and into the pale blue winter sky.

By the time dawn approached O’Sullivan was asleep on the sofa wearing only a pair of boxers and one of Frank’s dress shirts that was too big for her.  Her arm, which had a deep gash, was stitched and bandaged.  Danni watched her sleep from across the room, she still did not believe her entirely, but Frank believed her story had some validity.  He told her to stay put and to protect her with her own life which she thought to be an awkward request since that was what she had done since the day she became an officer.  When she chuckled he dismissed her and went on to say he believed O’Sullivan would now be a target since she knew the truth.  When he left, he called in his official report that the suspect was in custody, and being held at the cabin.  If there was a mole in the office, he knew it was only a matter of time before they would draw out the mole.  She hated the baby sitting duties that came along with this case that were wasting her skills as a trained investigator. 

Danni snapped out of her thoughts by the sound of forced footsteps from behind, she quickly turned her head as O’Sullivan made her way to the window and stood next to her.  She peered out the window but no words were spoken as she watched the trees whip from side to side.  Only a sigh escaped her lips as she leaned against the window frame.  Several times throughout the blissful moment of silence, Danni’s mind played tricks on her, she was ready to take her on if she attacked but she just stood there as if waiting on the pending disaster to come.  She could see the worried look form around her swollen eyes as her brows came together and a single tear spilled over the brim of her left eye.  Danni knew from past experience that the quiet ones were always the most dangerous.  It never failed.  She had witnessed the wild ones how they would scratch and thrash, but in the end they could only harm you physically.  She was aware the quiet ones were tricky, and could get into your head.  If you weren’t careful, the quiet ones could bruise your mind with words.  Luckily Danni thought, this one was not quiet in fact once she started to talk she wouldn’t shut-up and never once did she ask for an attorney.

“Are you hungry?”  Danni offered directing her eyes towards the kitchen

“A little,” she whispered and walked
past her.  “I’ll make coffee,” her voice echoed from the other room.

The aroma of breakfast cooking filled the small three room cabin.  Danni looked around for the first time, feeling comfortable enough to take in her surroundings.  It was definitely male decorated in nature.  There were no pictures only a few deer heads hung on the wall.  Poor bastards she though looking into the eyes of the beautiful creature that only walked the woods and some asshole put a bullet in them.  No regard for life she shuddered shaking her head.  The curtains that hung on the windows were worn from the years of hanging, they were dusty and dirty.  It was obvious to her that no one had cleaned the place in years, and the couch the one good seat in the house was worn and tattered. 

She eyed the wood framing; it reminded her of a home from the early nineteen hundreds, unfinished and rugged.  She already noted when they first arrived there was no microwave, a stove top percolator for making coffee and the pans were caked with years of unwashed grease.  She was surprised there was hot and cold running water, she half expected to have to use an outhouse.  Frank told her it was not much to look at, but it was secluded and no one knew about it.  She made a mental note to never go on fishing trips with Frank if he ever asked. 

“Foods ready and coffee is made,” O’Sullivan said from the distance.

Danni smiled and seated herself at the table, the crispy bacon was just the way she liked it, and the coffee was very hot but amazingly good.  She tried not to show any emotion and had to stop herself several times from complimenting her cooking skills.  She took the moment to really look at her.  She had a delicate frame, not the frame of someone who could overtake her. 

“I have a few holes I would like you to fill in for me?” she asked and took the last sip of her coffee.  “The man we arrested for assisting in the murders showed your number and when we pulled your phone records, the call coincided with the conversation I heard.

“I took that phone from my cousin,” O’Sullivan just looked at her as she sighed.  She was tired of answering questions.   She was emotionally exhausted by the whole situation and wished she never went to her supposed aunts’ house, and that is the way she would rather remember her.  Her mother was a wonderful mother, who took care of her, wiped away her tears when she was scared, and kissed her goodnight each evening after tucking her in.  She knew she could not escape the questions that she was not sure she even had answers too.  How could she admit out loud that her aunt was really her mother and her cousin was really her sister?  How would she admit that her whole life had been a lie and it was not until she went to her aunt and spoke with her that she was told the truth.  Her aunt admitted to her that she was really her mother but gave her away to her only sister who could not have children.  Her aunt explained the reason her sisters name was on the birth certificate was because she had no insurance and was using her sisters insurance.  She admitted she was going to give her up for adoption but Marlene begged her to keep the baby and let her raise her.  So not only was her entire life a lie, her biological mother and the only knew mother she knew committed insurance fraud.

Danni sat back and watched her expression as she went back to earlier thought how she seemed smaller, thinner and frailer than the woman who attacked her.  Maybe she was telling the truth, but she still had her doubts and was on guard. 

Patricia put her head down.  She knew it was time to tell Danni the entire truth.  She explained every her aunt told her that day, and then the outburst that followed when her cousin walked in the room screaming after she heard the conversation in its entirety.  “My cousin is really my sister and my aunt was really mom.  That was a lot to accept but it hit my cousin I mean my sister harder than it did me.  She said I had a better life than she did growing up with a whore.  She told me horrible things that happened to her and my aunt, I mean my mother never protected her,” she cried and put her head down.  “She left my aunt’s house that and never went back.”

“Are you telling me you never called this man?” Danni snapped the question out getting irritated that the answers she was getting were not what she needed to hear.

“No, I never called him, I needed a phone and I borrowed hers.”  With a deep outward breath she looked Danni in the eyes.  “I’ll tell you what I know.”  She half smiled.

“Tell me about the night in the cemetery.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”  She shrugged not understanding what Danni was asking.

“I’m asking about the night you and I had an altercation by your mothers’ tomb stone.”

“I was never there, and no one ever told me where she was buried,” the confusion in her voice spoke louder than her objection.  “I thought she was cremated.”  The tears threatened to spill over her lids as she thought about it.  She never went to her mothers’ graveside; she never knew there was one.  The night her mom passed on social services took her to the boarding school and she never got to say her goodbyes.  As she grew older she thought that was probably better and rationalized it would have torn her up seeing her only parent she ever knew lowered into the ground.  Well at that time that is what she thought, how strange things turn out. 

Danni sat back and watched her expression as she went back to earlier thought how she seemed smaller, thinner and frailer than the woman who attacked her.  Maybe she was telling the truth, but she still had her doubts and was on guard. 

“Tell me more about your cousin and her stature,” Danni asked as she filled her cup with the last of the coffee.  “I want to know everything about her, even if it seems insignificant to you, I want to know anything from birthmarks to bad habits.”  She picked up the pen to her left and opened the note pad beneath it.

O’Sullivan described her mannerisms and went into great detail on her likes and dislikes.  Danni held back to let her finish, she refrained several times from interrupting her.  Finally she gave a description she was waiting for. 

“She’s about your height.”  She closed her eyes to get a mental picture.  “Her hair is my color but has blonde streaks going throughout her head.  She works out all the time and she is built like a body builder.  I think she was in last year’s woman’s body building contest at the civic center.  I bet they have a picture of it in the newspaper.”  She smiled knowing she gave the best possible information she had.

The information was encouraging, she finally had something to go on, there were pictures floating around of her.  Danni hesitated at first but knew this was information she needed to share with Frank right away.  She would personally pull up the Globe News online but there was no internet access in the cabin.  There was no answer so she left a brief voicemail giving the cousins full name and a timeline when the event occurred.

She was sure Frank already tried to find her using the department of motor vehicles but after O’Sullivan said that her cousin did not have a driver’s license and she only knew that because she was teaching her how to drive. 

The day went by slowly and Danni was bored, she was tired of looking at the four walls.  There were no comforts of home, not even a deck of cards to keep her entertained.  So when O’Sullivan said she was tired Danni secured her to the bed with her handcuffs.  She knew she could not leave since both doors were dead bolted and the few windows were nailed shut.  If she tried to break out of one of them, Danni would hear her and stop her right away.  She was also secure in the knowledge that if she did manage to get out, they were miles from civilization, but she still did not trust her.  It was easier to shackle her and if she fell asleep there was no risk in her sneaking up and knocking her out or worse.  The thoughts crossed her mind as it would any good cop. 

The wind picked up but the rain ceased, the cool breeze welcomed Danni as she sat on the foot of the porch.  She giggled when she saw a few raccoons chase one another around the yard.  They looked like children playing tag.  She laughed as they chased one another up the surrounding trees then would jump down and start all over again.  In the distance she could see a mother deer with her fawns, they grazed the land together never straying far.  The spots on the babies were visible from the distance and she was in awe of their beauty.  Then she cringed when she remembered the two deer heads displayed on the walls.  She wanted to shield them from being hunted, but no matter what she said or did they would one day be hunted for their meat or hang like a trophy on someone’s wall. 

She was so caught up in the moment she did not realize how long she was seated out there.  It only seemed like minutes but when she looked at her watch, several hours had passed.  She could not stop the yawn that forced its way out.  She needed to get some sleep but she did not want to go back into the depressing cabin.  She stretched out on the swing and allowed the wind to rock her, but her sore tired muscles begged for comfort.  She finally gave in and settled on the couch, she checked the phone one last time.  NO missed calls from Frank, it worried her if he got the message and the unknown would keep her awake all night.  She dialed his number, but this time he answered.

“I was going to call you but I had to spend an evening with my wife,” he explained his voice urgent.  I’ll check into that in the morning, I need to mend fences here before I end up in divorce court.”

“Enjoy your evening Frank,” Danni replied and ended the call.

One last call before bed she thought and started to dial Annabel’s cell but stopped when she assumed she was already asleep.  She remembered their earlier conversation, she had told Danni she barely slept the night before and was going to make it an early night.  She complained several times that the headaches were still not easing up and she hated taking the pain killers because she could not function.  Danni begged her to take a half of one and maybe it would help.  How she wished she could be there to take care of her, she missed the sparkling blue eyes and the tender touch as they fell asleep.  She frowned when she realized it had been a few weeks since she fell asleep in her arms and woke feeling like she could take on the world when she woke.  She missed her and cursed the day she agreed to take on the case. 

A sudden realization occurred, if she did not get assigned to the case Annabel would never have transferred and become not only her partner in the fight against crime, but also her partner in life.  Strange how things happen for a reason, she smiled at the thought.