The drive from the New York Palace to the grooms' home reminded Catherine about taking a fieldtrip for school. The drive was a literal ride through Manhattan's history. From buildings under construction to the oldest ones, they passed by with every block. It was so mesmerizing Cat couldn't take her eyes from it…until her phone rang.
Catherine fished out her phone. "Chandler?"
"Are you sitting down?" it was Evan.
"We're on our way to the groom's. What's up?" she asked.
"Put me on speaker."
Catherine pressed the button. "You're on."
"I did a preliminary autopsy and discovered a rather…harsh bit of information." Evan began.
"Sounds ominous, Evan." Tess said.
"It is. Michelle was stabbed no less than ten times, but none of them were immediately fatal. They were meant to cause pain and suffering." He explained.
Catherine closed her eyes. "How long could she have survived, Evan?"
"Honestly, thirty minutes. At most." Evan answered.
"Thirty minutes and she couldn't dial the number?" Tess asked.
"She probably couldn't move because of them." he replied.
"Any ideas of what killed her?" Cat asked.
"Still working on that. I'll let you know." Evan hung up.
Catherine placed her phone back into her pocket and sighed. "Thirty minutes left. Michelle probably felt them slipping away one by one."
"This perp's one big sicko." Tess said.
They turned off the main road. The asphalt turned into stone guarded by an arrangement of trees. Lush fields of grass and dozens of blossoming flowers lined the yard beyond the trees. Cat watched the rose of trees and flowers pass by her window. They pulled up to an old, massive mansion. The mansion reached three stories high, made of layered bricks. The front steps were marble, either recently done or well maintained by the cleanliness and appearance of it. Textured glass windows dotted throughout the house, accented with white shutters. As Cat emerged from the car, she felt she was walking up the steps of the Natural History Museum.
"Looks like David made a living." She noted.
Tess nodded. "Maybe he can tell me what I'm doing wrong?"
Cat smirked and rang the doorbell. They waited for a few moments in silence. There was no sound emanating from the house. No music, no voices, no sound of any kind. For a home of this size, it could only mean that their suspect was out or he was ignoring them. Either way, it was not a good thing for any of them.
"Think he's out?" Tess asked.
Cat shook her head as she peeked through the textured window. "No way, there's someone in there."
A shadow crossed through the room toward the door. Through the glass Cat could make out the man's size. He stood just a few inches taller than her. His hair was a lighter shade of black, just starting to gray. She heard the latch shift from the other side. The door opened, revealing an older man, dressed in a white shirt and black slacks. His brown eyes looked both Tess and Cat over.
Catherine raised her badge. "NYPD. We need to talk with Mr. David Wilson. Is he home?"
The man nodded. "Yes. Come in ladies." He opened the door for them.
Catherine and Tess entered the home. The floor was a brilliant white tile. The walls were a soft shade of yellow lined with different pieces of artwork. Cat noticed the intricate brushstrokes in the far corner. There were numerous paintings that held the same stroke in the same corner. The textured windows were covered by heavy curtains that virtually hid the outside world. The man led them down the hall toward a large sitting room. There were numerous leather sofas throughout the room, all pointing toward each other in a circle. A thick carpet lay over the tile beneath the sofas. The walls were lined with different animal skins and trophies.
A man stood across the room from them, by the fireplace. He was young with short blond hair. He turned hearing them enter. He wore a dark green button up shirt and black slacks.
"NYPD Detectives, Mr. Wilson."
David nodded. "Thank you John."
John left the room.
"Mr. Wilson, my name is Catherine Chandler; this is my partner Tess Varges. We have a few questions for you." Cat said.
David nodded.
"Do you know Michelle Foreson of Ohio?" Tess asked.
David swallowed. "Yes, Michelle and I grew up in Ohio. She's in town for my wedding. Why?"
"Her body was found in her hotel room this afternoon. It looks like she was murdered." Tess explained.
David's eyes grew wide. "Oh my god." He walked to the closest chair and sat down. "Michelle."
"When was the last time you saw her?" Tess asked.
Catherine slowly walked around the room, inspecting the décor. There was a large bear stuffed by the window, several pheasants running alongside it, deer antlers above the fireplace. In the far corner was a cabinet. Catherine walked to the cabinet.
"Uh…yesterday." David answered.
"Before or after the bachelorette party?"
"Before."
The cabinet was filled with several rifles and hunting knives. On the bottom row was a large knife, the biggest one. Cat noticed in the hilt of the knife was what appeared to be blood. Cat noticed several knives had engravings on them.
"Are you an avid hunter, Mr. Wilson? Or do you just collect?" Catherine asked, turning to Tess and David.
"I hunt, yes." He answered.
"Alaska, Washington, Montana, right?"
David frowned. "How did you know?"
"Those paintings in the halls, and the animals." Catherine explained. "I also noticed that the paintings and the knives have the same signature on them."
"They were from Michelle. We used to hunt together. And afterword's, she'd paint the area." David explained.
"Was Carly aware of your little trips?" Tess explained.
"She knew I hunted."
"Just not with Michelle." Cat replied.
"No."
"Were you and Michelle seeing each other behind Carly's back?" Tess asked.
David turned livid. "Who the hell do you think you are?"
Cat's phone vibrated in her pocket. She reached in for her phone. The case slipped out of her grasp and clattered to the phone. She bent down for her phone. From beside her, something crashed through the window and slammed into her head. The force sent Catherine toppling to the floor. The room spun around her. She blinked several times, trying to regain her focus.
"Cat!" Tess called. She rushed to her partner's side. "What the hells was that?"
Cat reached up to her head. She felt something sticky and wet run through her head. On the floor beside her was a small rock. Cat frowned when she smelled something. It was an unusual scent, but she'd smelled it from time to time. It was gas. She turned to the fireplace. She could see the distorted air around the place.
"Mr. Wilson, do you and your fireplace on a timer?" she asked.
"Yes, why?"
"Cat struggled to her feet. "Get out through the window, now!"
"What's going on?" Tess asked.
"Go!" Cat ordered.
David pushed apart the curtains and opened the broken window. He climbed out quickly. Tess helped Cat to the window. She staggered through and fell to the ground. The bright sun seared her eyes, but she kept moving. Tess climbed out and helped Cat to her feet. They moved across the yard, as far from the house as they could get.
Behind them, the mansion exploded in a massive fireball. Glass, brick, and marbled hurled through the sky with such force. The ground shook with the explosion, sending them flying to the ground. Flames licked the air above them, burning the air. Catherine hit the ground on her stomach. She felt the heat from the explosion and felt the debris speed past her. Tess landed just a few feet behind her, on her back. David was lying unconscious just feet from them.
"Tess! You okay?" Cat called.
She heard Tess cough. "I'm good. You?"
"Good!" Cat looked to the house. It was a mere shell of what it had been. Flames ripped through the house, filling the sky with a massive cloud of black smoke. The roof had all but caved in. the room they'd once resided in was gone. A massive hole was all that remained of the trophy room. Catherine coughed from the thick air and pushed herself up. Her fist shook around her cell phone.
Tess knelt beside Catherine. "This is Detective Varges; I need Fire Rescue at my location and EMS. We have two confirmed injured, possibly fatality. One officer down."
i think this might be a record. two chapters in and i've already injured a main character. oops.