The American Soldier Collection 3: Amazing Grace (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) (21 page)

“Yeah, I’ve never seen a female patrol officer who made the uniform look that good before,” Frank added.

“I thought Sandstone’s eyes were going to pop out of his head when Grace first walked through the door,” John added.

“Donald and our eyes popped out of our heads when we first saw her, too. The guys are still taking about it.” Frank and John began laughing.

“I hope she’ll be safe with this Sandstone guy. He’s a very attractive man and big, to say the least,” Sarah stated.

“Maybe you’ll get that son-in-law you’ve been wishing for, Mom,” Frank teased and the others began laughing.

“What? You guys think something is going on between those two? He’s only known her a few days,” Eric said, sounding concerned. Sarah knew that Eric cared for Grace as if she were his biological daughter. Even when she was away, he made sure he was home whenever Grace planned on calling.

Sarah put her arms around Eric’s waist.

“Honey, you didn’t catch their reaction to one another when they first met?” Sarah told them and the men hadn’t seen exactly what she had. The instant attraction, the chemistry, and if a relationship emerged between them she would recall both of their first reactions to one another. She would never forget it and would cherish the fact that she was able to witness it. She often wondered if Grace had any relationships while she was in Europe. She never wrote about any or mentioned any over the phone. She knew her daughter was old enough to be sexually active and responsible enough but she worried about her handling the emotional part.

Grace closed herself off when Clara died. She put up a wall around her heart and she resisted emotional commitment. It would take someone strong and special to tear down that wall. Grace was stubborn, independent and strong willed. She felt she could do anything and everything on her own. She preferred it that way and probably felt content and in control relying solely on herself. Sarah was sure that Grace and Sandstone would bash heads in that category but she hoped he could keep her safe.

Sarah laughed as she went about adding the fresh celery to the potato salad. The men continued to talk about the case and still wondered who the killer could be and what he wanted with Grace.

“How are Maggie’s parents doing, John? Do they need anything?” Sarah asked as John leaned against the kitchen counter.

“They’re doing all right I guess. They have a lot of family in the area so they’ve had a lot of company the last few days. Once things settle down I’m sure it will start sinking in more.” John looked down at his shoes with his hands in his pockets.

Sarah wiped her hands on her apron and took her son’s hand.

“We know it’s going to be hard for them. It’s tough to lose a daughter, a sister, anyone you love, to murder. You be there for them, Johnny, just like people in the community were here for us,” Sarah told her son and John gave his mother a hug.

* * * *

“The medical examiner’s report shows a blow to the head just above the right temple. She was stabbed with a long, sharp weapon, twenty times,” Sandman told Grace as he read certain parts of the medical examiner’s report.

Grace took a deep breath as a tear fell from her eye.

“What kind of object do they think she was hit in the head with?” Grace forced herself to ask.

Sandman looked at her a moment, amazed at her strength. He could see the fight in her eyes. She was determined.

“Well let’s see what it says here.” Sandman scanned over the documents. “The medical examiner said a possible weapon used was something made of hard metal, thin like a tire iron. The evidence found at Stew Parker’s house contained one tire iron with your sister’s blood on it.”

Sandman looked through the file.

Grace thought about it for a minute and felt she knew her sister really well.

“What are you thinking?” Big Jay asked her as he looked up from the laptop. Even Duke sat nearby. He didn’t look happy at all about the situation.

Grace put down the file.

“My sister knew those woods inside and out. We used to always play in those woods then walk that same highway to get back home. Everyone in town knew Stew Parker. He was the poor guy who lived in the shack off the highway. Kids made up stories about him and a friend of our father’s who was the sheriff told us to stay clear of Stew, that he wasn’t mentally fit and we did,” Grace told them.

“Would your sister have given him a ride if she saw him walking the highway? That would explain the fibers from his coat that were found in the passenger seat,” Big John asked.

“No, she would never do that and the killer probably planted that evidence, too. At the time I was so distraught I didn’t know one day from the next, we were all confused, and scared. It was terrible. The entire town was on lockdown and in pursuit of a killer. I don’t think there was a person alive in our town that hadn’t been affected by the incident,” Grace replied, looking toward the slider doors instead of directly at the men.

Sandman figured she had a hard time talking about what happened. Sharing her feelings and experience with them was difficult for her.

“Clara would have never picked up a hitchhiker, a stranger, or Stew. If someone needed help, then she always carried her cell phone. She would call someone else to come help the person. My brothers taught us to be street smart, be aware of our gut feelings, and know when circumstances seemed wrong or unnerving. I think my sister knew the killer,” Grace stated confidently and Sandman moved forward in his seat.

“Other people were questioned in the area. All other suspects were accounted for, including her boyfriend at the time. The detectives checked their alibis, confirmed their whereabouts at the time of the murder,” Duke added.

“I’m telling you that Clara knew the person she let into her car. I should have known this then. I just wasn’t thinking clearly and then the detectives and the police found out about Stew and the evidence in his home. What exactly was found in his house?” Grace asked.

Sandman stared at her a moment before he looked down at the paper. He was utterly impressed with her strength. She wasn’t the type of woman to sit back and have everyone do all the work. She was a team player and it made him feel proud. That was an odd feeling to have, considering his other thought was how badly he wanted to sink his cock into her sweet, tight folds and make love to her for hours. He wanted to take her mind off of all this blood, gore, and heartache and just hold her, get lost in her body as he and his brothers explored what was theirs. He knew he sounded possessive, obsessed in a way, but he didn’t care. When all this was done and over, he and his brothers would take Grace away for a while and get lost in themselves.

“Sandman?” Big Jay said, interrupting his thoughts. Sandman cleared his throat and looked back at the papers.

He looked at the list from the file again as he read it off to Grace.

“One tire iron with blood stain, one set of plastic adjustable ties, one winter coat, a set of leather restraints with blood stains and some rope.”

Grace put her head down on the table. She was trying to think. She felt in her heart there was something there but she just couldn’t see it.

They had been working on the file for a couple of hours. They went over the other cases and Grace looked exhausted.

“Let’s take a break for now, Grace. I’ll call Donald and find out who else was on the detective’s list as a possible suspect at the time. My agents will find out more about them and recheck their alibis. If you think she knew her killer, then we may have something to work with. Good job, honey,” Sandman told her as he gave her a kiss on the cheek.

* * * *

Grace stepped outside for some fresh air. Her ears absorbed the sounds of the pond and waterfall as well as the birds singing and peacefulness in the isolation and safety of the men’s home.

She took a deep breath as visions of her sister’s body kept flashing in her mind. The evidence that was found in Stew Parker’s home disgusted her. The ideas of what the killer had done to her made her stomach churn. She knew her sister suffered, she knew she was raped and tortured like some animal. This killer had no respect for human life, for body or soul. He had no soul of his own. Though after listening to the similarities in the cases and the way he killed each of his victims, Grace couldn’t help but feel the killer was killing with conviction. To him he had a purpose, a rationale. Kind of like a hobby. He was exact in all the killings. The way he tied them up or used the handcuffs to control them and keep them in place and then placed tape over their eyes. He tortured each of them the same way and he didn’t deviate from his pattern. The only exceptions were the males that were found murdered in a similar fashion that Sandman, Big Jay, and Duke thought were connected somehow. Those men weren’t raped but they were left on public display and exposed naked.
What the hell did that mean?

Although she couldn’t handle looking at most of the crime scene pictures, she did notice that there wasn’t a lot of blood. The killer may be meticulous.

Grace shook her head in amazement and shock. What the hell did she know about police work or homicides, crime scenes or any of the gruesome procedures and skills that went along with it? She was a civilian, a photographer. Maybe that was it. She was used to looking at a scene or subject in a different way as a photographer. The person was an object that she had to portray and make them come across in certain ways.

She made models look even more beautiful, goddess like, or like fine art. That was why she had the reputation she did. She was an expert in the field and the models wanted Grace to take their pictures, beautify them, enhance their qualities, make magazines want them over other models and Grace did just that.

Sandman, Big Jay, and Duke stepped out onto the patio to join Grace, and she explained her thoughts and feelings with them.

“It’s amazing how in tune you are to this. You do come from a law enforcement background. Maybe it’s in your blood?” Big Jay asked as he took her hand and placed her palm against his lips. She smiled at him and wondered if he was right.

“Technically, you’ve come up with a profile for this killer without even knowing it. We’ll work on that next, right now there’s something else I could really use,” Duke stated then pulled her into his arms and kissed her deeply.

In a flash, Duke was lifting her up and she was straddling his waist.

* * * *

Grace grabbed ahold of Duke’s cheeks and held his gaze. “I feel desperate,” she told him as he pressed her back against the wall of the house. Sandman and Big Jay stood on either side of Grace, staring down at her. She absorbed their facial expressions, their ginormous sizes and how attracted she was to all three of them.

“Desperate for what?” Big Jay asked then pressed a strand of hair back behind her ear. She closed her eyes as she absorbed the tingling sensation from his touch, combined with Duke’s cock that was pressed hard against her mound.

“Desperate for all three of you to always be with me, part of me…in me.” She immediately saw the change in Duke’s eyes.

“In you is where I need to be right now, baby.” Duke covered her mouth and kissed her deeply. She wrapped her arms around his head and thrust her pussy against his cock. She felt every sensation and sensed the movement around them and the sounds of the small waterfall descending into the Koi pond. There was the beat of their hearts, the scuffling of clothing, and belt buckles banging to the porch wooden flooring. She ravaged Duke’s mouth, felt the hands moving up both thighs, and knew they belonged to Sandman and Big Jay.

Duke released her lips and kissed along her throat as he undid his pants, shoved them down as fingers ripped her panties from her body.

“Oh God, yes, yes, please,” she begged of them, head tilted back, and legs wide. Suddenly a cock shoved into her pussy.

“I need you so badly it hurts, baby. It actually fucking hurts.” Duke thrust into her hard. He stroked her pussy repeatedly, grinding his cock through her vaginal muscles as she gripped his shoulders and counterthrusted. She wanted to get lost in the intense need and desire these men brought on.

“More. I need more.”

Duke pulled her from the wall and turned then sat down in a long chaise lounge. He spread his thighs and increased his thrusts as she fell to her back on top of the cushion. She locked gazes with him and then Sandman and Big Jay who stood there naked with their cocks in their hands stroking themselves and watching her.

“I want you, too,” she said, and Duke paused in his strokes.

“Together, baby? Are you sure?”

“I’ve never been more sure. I want to feel you all everywhere. I want to taste you,” she said to Big Jay.

Duke stood up then lifted Grace up, too. He took position on the chaise lounge, spreading his thighs over the edge. Big Jay pushed over another chair and kneeled on it. She wondered what they were doing then understood as Duke turned her in his arms so that she straddled him.

“Ride my cock, baby,” Duke whispered as he pulled off her shirt and Sandman unclipped her bra, removing it while his thighs tapped against her shoulder blades. She lowered herself onto Duke’s shaft, sucking in a deep breath because his cock felt so hard. “Come down here.” He cupped her breasts and tweaked the nipples before kissing her lips. The kiss was so sensual she felt her body release small spasms and lubricate Duke’s pathway in and out of her pussy.