Untainted: (Crime Romance: The Photographer Trilogy #3)

  “Brown sedan. Why?”

  “Fuck, he is here. And I see one car parked up near the stable. I think it’s Derrick’s car, but I’m not positive.” She groaned into the phone as she pulled up behind the parked car, partially hidden by the trees.

  “Snow, do not go into the stable until I get there! Just sweep the perimeter and scope it out. Do not go in!” He warned.

  “Got it.” She said as she hung up and shoved her phone in her pocket.

  She checked her gun holstered to her side, making sure it was ready if needed, then slid out of the car. Feeling the hood of the brown sedan in front of her, she realized it was still warm.

  She sighed a bit of relief thinking that at least he hadn’t been too far ahead of her and maybe she got here before anything went too far.

  Following the tree line, she circled around the side of the stable using the woods to hide her as she looked for any signs of life. She found a spot toward the back of the stable where she was close enough to run to the back door of the stable, but also still had eyes on the main road so she would know when McCraig arrived. Since she still didn’t hear anything, she hunkered down against a tree to wait, ready to spring into action.

  ~~~~~~

  “That’s one hell of a headache.” Annie moaned as her sister sat her up and Derrick stood.

  The duo were relieved to see her coming around and both were eager to get out of the stable and as far away from Frank as possible.

  Their assailant was still unconscious in the corner of the office, beaten into oblivion by Derrick who still had his blood sprayed across his shirt and on his knuckles. He didn’t notice as he reached down and took her extended hands, assisting her to her feet as Kate hovered over her sister.

  “You shouldn’t have come out here, Annie. What about the police? Why didn’t you just tell them where I was? You could have been seriously injured.” Kate crooned, fussing over her.

  “I wasn’t sure you were here. I don’t know, everything just seemed so urgent. I just wasn’t thinking I guess.” Annie sighed as they walked toward the office door, one arm over Derrick’s shoulder and the other over Kate’s as they helped her move since her head was still spinning a bit.

  “You gave us quite a scare, Kate. Hell, everything about today did. But it’s all over, we got through it and things can only get better from here.” Derrick smiled, slightly apologetically, as he let go of Annie and stepped behind the girls so that they could fit through the doorway.

  Are you feeling okay, Kate?” Derrick asked, concerned as he saw her limp slightly, clutching her side where her ribs were bruised.

  “How is it that you always manage to see the silver lining in everything, Derrick? I’m bleeding from my head here.” Annie said and Kate chuckled.

  “Derrick’s always been a glass-half-full kind of guy. Well, you try to be, right, Derrick?” Kate was smiling, and it felt amazing.

  She felt like everything that had plagued her the last few weeks was finally gone, a huge weight lifted from her shoulders.

  “Derrick?” Kate turned around as she exited the office and helped Annie into the hallway, wondering why he was being quiet.

  She saw him standing in the office doorway, staring back at them. His gaze was intense and he wasn’t blinking, his expression confused.

  “Derrick?” Annie echoed, looking at him questioningly.

  It was at that moment that a trickle of blood slid off the edge of Derrick’s lip and fell to the ground.

  A coughing noise followed as he took one staggering step toward them, before his knees buckled.

  He fell on the ground before them, the doorway behind him revealing a swollen, yet conscious Frank.

  He was standing there smiling with a large knife raised in his hand.

  The entire knife, up to the handle, was dripping in fresh blood. Their eyes followed down to see the coinciding wound on Derrick’s back.

  Everything stopped.

  The world went deafeningly silent and thunderously loud at the same time.

  A blood curdling scream that would make anyone shiver in terror just hearing it leapt from Annie’s throat with no end in sight.

  Kate dropped to her knees, wailing, as she lay her head down on Derrick’s back.

  And Frank laughed.

  A belly-filled, joyous laugh where his head tilted backward in order to emit the full throttle of his enjoyment as his amusement joined their screams and sobs.

  “Guess you’re not the only one who is going to die today, my little Kate.” Frank grinned as his laughter subsided and he stepped around Derrick’s body on the floor.

  He grabbed Kate’s hair, yanking her off of him and dragging her toward Annie, who was already backing up in a panic.

  Kate was struggling to get free, but he reached down and slid his forearm under her chin. Pulling her up against his chest, he pinned her neck between his arm and himself, threatening to choke her as he tightened his grip. The knife in his hand was aimed at Annie as her back finally hit the wooden stall at the other side of the hall, leaving her nowhere to run.

  “Please, please don’t do this! Let her go! You already took Derrick. Just let Annie go!” Kate screamed, her voice strained as he crushed her throat and her legs dangled, kicking around in an attempt for freedom.

  “Kate!” Annie cried.

  “Everybody freeze!” An unfamiliar voice shouted behind them.

  “What the-” Frank turned around, Kate still in his grip, to see Detective Snow standing in the entrance with her gun drawn and aimed squarely at him.

  “Put the knife down, Frank. Now.” There wasn’t a hint of fear on her face as she squared off with him.

  “Or what?” He scoffed at her, bringing the knife up to Kate’s throat and pressing the tip against her skin.

  “Or so help me, I will shoot you right here and now.” Her jaw clenched tightly.

  “And risk hitting our little Kate? I don’t think so, Detective.” He waived a finger at her, still holding the knife.

  “This isn’t a game, Frank. It’s over. My team is outside. The entire building is surrounded. You’re not leaving here in any other way except the back of a squad car.”

  “Surrounded, huh? But they sent you in by yourself? Bullshit.” He called her bluff.

  “You’re a smart man, Frank. You know I wouldn’t come here alone or without backup.” She continued pushing the ruse, hoping he would buy it.

  Frank eyed her skeptically, pushing the point of his knife a little harder against Kate’s skin as she yelped in pain, continuing to struggle against him.

  “Shit.” He mumbled under his breath, then dropped the knife to the ground with a loud thud.

  He pushed Kate roughly back toward where Annie was still cowering against the wall, then raised his hands, resting them on his head in surrender.

  Detective Snow kept him at gunpoint as she approached slowly, one hand reaching behind her for her cuffs that are attached to her belt. Kate rushed around them both, back to Derrick and gently feeling his neck, hoping for a pulse.

  Snow circled Frank carefully and yanked his arms down, twisting them behind his back. She holstered her gun and carefully pinned his wrists in her hands as she began to put the handcuffs on.

  “There’s a pulse!” Kate shouted out.

  “What?” Snow looked at her for a moment and Annie grinned, rushing over to her sister to see if Derrick is okay.

  Seeing a moment of opportunity, Frank threw his head backward and smashed it into directly Detective Snow’s face.

  There was a loud crunching sound as her nose collapsed under the impact and she screamed in pain. Having not fully finished tying his restraints, he easily shook them off and spun around to face the bleeding detective as she clutched her face in agony. In one swift move, he grabbed Snow’s gun from her holster and raised it to her face.

  “No!” Snow yelled in a muffled voice as her hands still covered her nose.

  She took several fast steps backward until she hit t
he wall, terror in her eyes as she stared down the barrel of her own gun.

  “Liz!” Kate screamed and jumped up, taking a step toward them.

  And again, time stopped.

  Everyone froze and ran at the same time.

  Panicked and stilled in the same moment.

  Silence and screams fighting for attention.

  Everything changed before Kate could take another breath.

  Just as Detective Liz Snow’s back hit the stable wall, Frank’s finger pulled the trigger and a wicked grin spread over his face as she crumpled before him. A look of shock frozen in place as blood slowly began to create a larger and larger stain on her stomach, following her as she slid down the wall. Both sisters screamed, but Kate bolted forward in some misguided attempt to stop him.

  His smile spread even wider as Frank turned to see Kate barreling toward him, fury in her expression. With a frightening level of ease, he lifted the gun again and aimed it right at her.

  She jerked to a stop at the sight, but it was too late. Her ears began ringing with the loud explosion from the end of the gun and Kate closed her eyes.

  He had shot her.

  He had been right.

  She was going to die today.

  But she didn’t feel any pain, not the slightest twinge. Opening her eyes, Kate blinked as she looked down and realized there was no gunshot wound, no blood, nothing. She was fine.

  Looking up at Frank, she didn’t see him. Instead, she was looking directly at the back of Annie’s head, her light brown, straight hair flowing all the way down to the middle of her back. Annie dipped, her knees giving out in front of her sister as Kate watched her stagger, stumbling down.

  “Annie?” Kate’s hoarse voice croaked out, her eyes wide.

  “Help-” Annie couldn’t say anything else as Kate rushed forward and wrapped her arms around her sister’s waist, lowering her down to the ground with her.

  The girls collapsed in a bundle, Kate sitting with her legs bent under her and Annie laying out with the back of her head on Kate’s chest. Kate cradled her, carefully bringing her to lie flat on her lap as her sister’s hazel eyes looked up at her.

  Scanning her sister’s torso, her fears were realized. There was a gaping hole in the side of Annie’s chest bleeding profusely. Blood was trickling from her lip and her soft eyes were brimmed with tears. Annie had jumped in front of Kate to take the bullet for her.

  “Katie?” Annie whispered, her hand reaching up to grab Kate’s and pulling it against her chest as if she were hugging her arm.

  “Why? Why did you do that, Annie?” Kate sobbed, choking on her words as she leaned down and pressed her forehead against her sister’s.

  “It’s okay, Katie,”

  “No, it’s not! I can’t lose you, I’ve done everything to keep you safe!”

  “I know, Katie, that’s why it’s my turn.” Annie’s voice was quieter with every passing second.

  Kate just shook her head as she still had her forehead against her sister’s, her tears traveling down to Annie’s face. A few moments went by where only tears filled the surrounding air.

  “Katie, it hurts,”

  “It’s okay, baby. It’s okay, it will stop soon, I promise,”

  “Don’t be mad at me, Katie.”

  “Never, Annie. Plus, birds don’t get mad, remember?”

  Annie’s eyes were closed, but a slight smile turned up at the corners of her lips when she heard Kate’s response.

  “We’re birds?” Annie whispered back softly, coughing up blood with the attempt.

  “Can’t you feel those wings under you?” Kate kissed Annie’s forehead and held her tighter, trying to hold back the sobs threatening to burst out.

  Annie just nodded yes.

  “Let’s fly away together, okay? Anywhere you want, Annie.”

  “I’ll be happier as a bird, right Katie?”

  “So happy, baby girl. You’re going to love it.”

  “Are you coming with me?” Annie’s voice was almost gone now.

  “I’m flying right behind you, baby girl. I’m right here, I’ll never leave you. We will fly anywhere you want, Annie.” Katie looked at her lovingly, wiping a tear off of Annie’s face.

  “Is it okay if I fly away now, Katie?” Her little body jolted slightly in Kate’s arms, then stilled, sagging slightly.

  “Fly away, Annie. It’s okay. I’m right behind you, baby girl.” Pulling her tighter up against her chest, Kate felt Annie’s body go completely limp.

  A loud sob escaped her lips as she rocked back and forth, still holding her sister in her arms.

  “It’s kind of fitting, isn’t it?” Frank’s deep voice broke through the moment and Kate threw a glance up at him as she continued to rock her sister gently.

  “Right in this spot, it’s where you took my family from me. Right from that beam above you, all because of you and your lies. And now, what is it, twenty years later? All your loved ones die in the same spot.” Frank had his arms crossed, the gun still in one hand and tucked under his other forearm.

  He seemed to be genuinely enjoying watching her in pain, but she refused to say anything to him or to respond at all.

  “Karma’s a bitch, isn’t it, Kate?”

  CHAPTER TEN

  “McCraig, what’s your location?” The radio crackled in the car as the older detective raced down the road at record speeds, his siren on allowing him to weave around cars.

  “I’m a mile out from Fallen Oaks Stable.” He grabbed up the radio held it to his mouth.

  “I’ve got that information you wanted on a Frank Bild’s father.” The radio operator told him and McCraig immediately focused his attention on the sound.

  “Seems like he took his mother’s last name, because his father went by the name of Stanley Smith. He was an administrator at an elementary school, first worked as vice principal, but then was principal for a few years. The only actual report on him in the system is his death. It looks like there were a few complaints that were filed against him a few years before that, but they were all dropped.”

  “What were the complaints? Who filed them?”

  “Child sexual abuse, a few different families over the span of two years at the school he worked at. You were right, your victim’s name is on here. Kate Jackson was one of the children, her mother filed the complaint, but then her father withdrew it.”

  “It was unsubstantiated?” McCraig was puzzled.

  “Legally yes, but the amount of complaints and the level of similarities between them all makes it look pretty likely. Stanley Smith was then fired by the school shortly after the last complaint, too.”

  “Any reports after that?” McCraig questioned as he saw a sign indicating Fallen Oaks to be the next turn.

  His anxiety built as he moved quickly, worried that he hadn’t been able to contact Liz again. His years of experience and his keen instinct were shouting at him that something was wrong.

  “Just around his death a month or so later. It was ruled a suicide. He was found on his property, Fallen Oaks Stable, by his son. Hung himself from one of the stable’s ceiling beams.”

  “Thanks, I think that’s all the information I need. I’m pulling up to Fallen Oaks now. How far away is backup?”

  “Not even a minute behind you, McCraig. We’re coming in strong.” The operator reassured him just as McCraig pulled up to the front of the stable and slammed his car into park.

  ~~~~~~

  “You don’t scare me, Frank.” Kate hissed at him, refusing to budge from where she sat on the stable floor, holding her sister’s body tightly against her.

  “Because you know that you are going to die. It’s a freeing feeling isn’t it? Knowing there is nothing that you can do about it and that you’re never going to have to feel all this pain anymore. Knowing you will see your family again.” Frank paced slowly in front of her, rambling dreamily.

  “What the hell would you know?” She spit out, hatred seeping through her every pore.
>
  “Ah, my dear Kate, I know because I’m feeling the same thing. I just killed a cop. And your man, your sister, and soon you. You think I can run from that?” He chuckled sinisterly.

  “Running isn’t the plan, my little Kate. I’m going to go the same way my dad went, just as soon as I finish with you. It’s poetic how all of this is playing out, isn’t it? Better than I dreamed.” He grinned, stopping to look down at her.

  “You’re going to kill yourself?” She was shocked.

  “Don’t be selfish, Kate. You’re not the only one who gets to see her family and escape all this heartache.” He lifts the gun toward her again.

  “You’re going to hell, you bastard.” She didn’t move, she refused to be scared as she stared into the cold, metal barrel.

  “Maybe we can be roommates down there,” he winked at her.

  “Goodbye, Kate.” She closed her eyes and tensed her body, holding Annie against her as tight as she possibly could.

  A crackling sound came from behind where Frank was standing and he turned his head to see what the noise was.

  Liz was still slumped against the wall, but the police radio attached to her hip was on. Kate’s eyes flew open at the sound and she saw Frank’s attention shift.

  Instinctually, she catapulted forward and threw her arm down against his wrists, causing the gun to drop before he realized what had happened. With one arm against his hands, the other scooped up the weapon with ease and she twirled to face him. The situation was suddenly reversed and Frank’s jaw dropped as he realized what had just occurred.

  “Kate, you don’t want to do this.” He said steadily, his hands up in defeat.

  “The hell I don’t!” She shouted at him, shaking the gun slightly as she felt rage coursing through her.

  Looking around her, she saw Liz against the wall, her sister laid flat on the ground, and Derrick face down.

  All because of him.

  “You really think you can live with yet another death on your hands?” He spoke slowly.

  “What are you talking about?”

  “My father. All those women before you. That’s a lot of blood shed because of you. Can you really handle more?”