Shadows from the Grave (8 page)

Chase pulled himself together and dialed Gordon’s number. When the FBI agent answered, Chase explained the situation.

“You’re kidding me, right?” Gordon asked. He cursed virulently. “Well, the son of a bitch has balls; I’ll give him that.”

“How do you want me to handle this?” Chase asked.

Gordon was silent for a moment. “Let me call Stacy Kirchner. Sheriff Dixon has her running point on this over there in Leroy. You’re at the office, you said?”

“Yeah,” Chase responded. “I’ll be here the rest of the afternoon. Should I put the letter in a bag or something?”

“Let me get hold of Stacy first. She may be able to head over and take care of it. I’ll call you back, or she will.” He paused. “Chase? I’m sorry this is happening, but it’s actually a good sign. Sending you that card was a stupid move. He may be devolving a little. This is the first time he’s contacted anyone related to the victims. That means he should be that much easier to catch, finally.”

Chase gave a bark of bitter laughter. “I know that, Gordon. I’m trying to convince myself this is a good thing, but it isn’t easy. Not after everything else.” Gordon had been instrumental in helping solve the mystery of Beth’s disappearance last fall. He understood what was at stake, the additional stress the receipt of this letter would cause the entire family.

“Hang in there. I’ll call you back shortly.” Gordon hung up.

While Chase was waiting for the phone to ring, his thoughts kept going back to the letter, back to the details of the night Kiely had been killed. What had been done to her... What could be done to Annie, to Beth. To Joely.

The phone rang, and Chase jumped. He sighed, trying to stay calm as he answered the call. “Hello?”

“Chase, it’s Stacy Kirchner. I hear you received some disturbing mail.”

Chase’s jaw clenched. “You could say that, Detective.”

“I’m here at the sheriff’s department. I’ll be over there in just a few minutes. Gordon said you’re at your office?”

“Yes,” Chase answered. “How long will you be? Do I need to bag this up until you get here?”

“No, don’t touch it. I’ll be there in about five minutes, ten at the most.”

Chase assured her he would leave it alone. As soon as he hung up, Gordon called.

“Hey. I just talked to Stacy,” he told his friend by way of greeting. “She’s on her way over.”

“Yes. She’s going to expedite the package to the crime lab here in Louisville,” Gordon said. “Hopefully there will be some kind of evidence on it. I’ll let you know just as soon as I know anything.” He paused. “How long has it been since you talked to anyone in Lexington about Kiely’s case?”

Chase shrugged. “Detective Farris retired in July of last year, and I talked to him just before that. I just couldn’t make myself call the new guy. Hart, I think his name is. I wanted to move on, Gordon. It’s past time I let Kiely go. Now I get this letter… I don’t know what to think.”

Gordon was quiet on the other end of the line. His wife, Mallory, had died from cancer a few years ago. Of all his friends, Chase knew Gordon understood better than anyone. “I understand, Chase. You know that. I don’t think anyone would judge you for trying to move past her, except maybe you. In any event, I’ll give the detective in Lexington a call. You said Hart, right?”

“Yeah,” Chase said.

“I talked to him earlier this spring, when we first connected the dots,” Gordon said. “Maybe this will be the break we need.”

“We can hope. Hey, listen, can you drive up tomorrow evening for a powwow at Ethan’s?”

“Let me check.” After a moment, Gordon sighed. “I can, but it’s going to probably be seven or later before I can get there. Is that going to be too late?”

“Shouldn’t be. We’ll see you tomorrow, then.”

After hanging up, Chase waited impatiently for Stacy. When she arrived, he led her back to the kitchen and showed her the package. She studied the papers Chase had spread out on the counter as she pulled on a pair of latex gloves.

“When did this come in?” she asked.

“I’m not sure,” he answered thoughtfully. “Sometime in the last couple of days, I imagine. The postmark is from Saturday. When Nellia gets back, I can ask her. She keeps a log of all the office’s correspondence.”

“Good,” she replied. “So she didn’t open this? You did?”

“That’s correct. Given the fact that I lost my grandfather last week, she figured it was personal correspondence. Obviously, it is, but not the way we expected. He fell silent as she read the contents of the letter.

Raising her gaze to Chase’s, she studied his tense posture before she spoke. “This is pretty blunt. Other than the shock value, was there anything in this that jumped out at you?”

Chase shook his head. “No, not really. How this guy met Kiely, if it’s the truth. That stands out a little, because we never knew before. It doesn’t really help the here and now, though.”

“Maybe, maybe not. Maybe these words will mean something to the detectives in Lexington.” She slid the card and papers into an evidence bag. “I’ll need to get your fingerprints, as well as your staff’s, for comparison. Who’s your mail carrier?”

Chase told her, then added, “Nellia and Gina should be back from lunch soon.”

Stacy filled out the label on the evidence bag, then got out her fingerprint kit. “Roll your sleeves up, Counselor. You don’t want to get ink all over that pretty shirt.”

Chase looked down at the shirt he was wearing. “Probably not,” he said with a sigh. “Beth got me this for Christmas.” He unbuttoned the cuffs and moved the sleeves out of the way before giving Stacy his left hand. She quickly rolled his fingerprints and then did the other hand. As she finished, they heard the front door open. Nellia's and Gina’s voices floated back from the front room.

Chase stepped over to the kitchen door. “Would you mind coming back to the kitchen for a minute? We’ve had a little incident,” he called. He moved to the sink to wash the ink from his hands as the women hurried back through the office.

Gina came into the kitchen ahead of Nellia. “What’s up, boss? Oh, hi, Detective Kirchner,” she said, startled. “Everything okay?”

His face grim, Chase explained the situation. “I can’t go into too many details, but I received a card from someone possibly involved in the death of Kiely Turner. Detective Kirchner needs to get fingerprints from both of you for comparison to rule out contamination.”

“Sure thing, boss,” Gina said, concern evident on her face. “Whatever you need.”

Stacy had gotten a new card ready, and she motioned Gina over. As she took the prints, she asked Nellia about the correspondence log. “Chase mentioned you keep track of all the mail?”

“Yes, I do,” Nellia confirmed. “Because so much of what comes in here is related to current or pending court cases, it’s necessary to record everything. It makes life a lot simpler. I’ll get that log for you as soon as we’re finished here.”

“That will be tremendously helpful.” Stacy started taking Nellia’s prints. “The card I need the information on was mailed from Lexington, Kentucky.” When she finished, Nellia washed up and went to get the log.

Chase remembered his lunch and opened the microwave to pull it out. With a sick grimace, he dumped the food in the trash, his appetite gone. “When will you know something?” he asked Stacy as she packed up her evidence kit.

She shrugged. “Depending on how fast Gordon can push this through, and depending on what evidence there is on the package, we could have something as soon as tomorrow. Keep in mind, though, this guy is smart. Chances aren’t great that there will even be anything to find.”

Chase crossed his arms over his chest and shrugged. “All we can do is try, and hope we get lucky. His making contact is more than we’ve had in ten years’ time. Maybe he’s gotten sloppy, and we’ll hit pay dirt with this package.” He walked to the front office with her, and Nellia gave her the information about when the card had come in.

Stacy tucked the note into a pouch on her bag, and stopped at the door with her hand on the doorknob. “I’m driving this down to Louisville now. You’ve got some top-notch investigators working on this, Chase. If anything is there, we’ll find it.”

“I know,” he said. “Are you available tomorrow evening?”

Stacy raised her eyebrows. “Are you asking me out?” Despite the tension, Gina and Nellia both snickered. Chase just looked at Stacy, aware that there was no good response.

She let him off the hook. “I know better, Chase. What are you planning?”

“Dinner at Ethan and Beth’s with the crew,” he said, relieved. “A powwow, of sorts. To discuss all this.”

“Sure, what time?”

“Probably around seven, maybe a little earlier.”

Stacy nodded. “See you then.”

After she left, Chase made sure Nellia and Gina didn’t need anything more from him before he went back to his office. He closed the door and leaned back against the cool wood, his head tipped back, eyes closed. He felt old from the inside out, haunted by a ghost whose reach he couldn’t seem to escape. Not for the first time, he cursed the day he had met Kiely Turner. The rage he felt was a cold, festering fury, and if the killer had been standing in front of him at that moment, he would have strangled him with his bare hands.

Chase arrived at his parents’ farm shortly before six-thirty that evening. He was surprised to see that his father’s car wasn’t in its usual spot. Ethan had texted him while he was picking up pizza from the take-and-bake place to let him know they’d dropped Annie off, so Chase had assumed his parents would be there. He felt a quick rush of concern and told himself he was overreacting, but at the same time, he knew he wouldn’t feel better until he’d laid eyes on Annie.

As he parked, he saw her come around the corner of the house, water hose in hand. She had apparently been watering some of the profusion of flowers that graced the landscape of the pool area, which separated the main house from the guesthouse. Her hair was pulled back in its usual style, held off her face by a clip. She was dressed in worn denim shorts and a loose tank top, and as Chase watched, she pointed the hose in his direction and gave a quick squirt, the water falling short of his car by several feet. She grinned widely and pushed a curl that had sprung loose back behind her ear, only to have the wind tug it loose again. Chase felt his heart turn over in his chest, and he knew then just how deep he was in emotionally. The idea that a monster could be bearing down on her was almost more than he could bear. Shaking himself free from the thought, he grabbed the food and the folder with the lease and climbed out of the car.

Annie finished rolling up the water hose and walked over to meet him. “Hey,” she said. “Your parents called. They got held up at the office, but they’re on the way.” Richard was a doctor in a small practice in Leroy, and Jackie was his office manager. It was an arrangement most married couples would have found too close, but somehow they made it work.

“Where’s the kid?” Chase asked, referring to Joely. He followed Annie into the guesthouse.

Annie gave a spurt of laughter. “You know she’s twenty years old, right?” Annie asked with a smile. “She really isn’t a kid anymore, Chase. You have to get used to the idea sometime.”

Chase returned her smile with a sheepish grin and a shrug. “I know, but she’s my kid sister, Annie. I’m a typical big brother—I’m not ready for her to grow up. So she’ll probably always be a kid to me.” He set the pizzas down on the counter and tossed the file onto the small table in the eat-in kitchen.

Annie just raised an eyebrow and shook her head. She turned on the oven and unbagged the salads Chase had brought with the pizzas. “If she hears you say that, I hope she doesn’t have the same right hook Beth does,” she said. “And to answer your question, she’s spending the night at Beth and Ethan’s.”

“You all had a good day, then?” he asked, leaning against the counter to watch her move around the kitchen.

“Pretty good. I finished getting what I need for day-to-day living.” She kept her voice deceptively casual as she unwrapped one of the pizzas. “So what’s going on that has you so upset?”

Chase paused in the unwrapping of the second pizza. “What do you mean? Nothing’s going on.”

One hand on her hip, Annie turned toward him. Her expression was incredulous. “Chase Hudson. I’m not some ditzy bimbo who can’t put two and two together. You called me and left a message, sounding frantic. Then you called Beth, and whatever you said to Ethan, he went on high alert.” Chase frowned, and she waved her hand. “Oh, not like that. He just got—hyper vigilant, I guess. He kept it pretty casual, but it was obvious something was up. So what gives?”