Ten
Frank was nervous about leaving Nancy alone, every fiber of his being screaming at him to turn around and put her back inside the car. It didn't matter that Joe had warned him about the condition of the body that was found. Sure, he wanted to keep Nancy away from that, but at the same time, he knew she had been faced with it before.
It was just a part of their job.
But if there was even the possibility of Wesley being behind this, he wanted to keep Nancy as far away from him as possible. That's not saying that the killer couldn't just jump out of the shadows and grab her at any time. Frank knew that was possible. Wesley had been an FBI agent for years, he knew his way around. Frank was sure that even though he was now a known murdered, he still had some connections.
It was one thing you learned in the business—some connections still held together, no matter the circumstances. It was why some of the best criminals were able to stay off the radar for so long. And why a lot of them were a pain in the ass to catch.
Been there, done that many times.
Instead of turning the car around and heading back to the apartment, Frank continued to their office that was just a few blocks away. The sooner he picked up Joe and they got to Indianapolis, the sooner that he could get back to Nancy. She would be okay. He had to believe that she would be okay.
Besides, he knew if there was a problem, she would call.
Nancy leaned back against the counter, staring at the eerie contents in the mason jars, unable to takes her eyes off of them. She wasn't sure what Wesley was hoping to attempt, what game he was trying to play. And while a huge part of her was scared to death of what he was doing, she was also angry.
Angry that he had taken the life of another woman. Angry that he had ripped another family apart. Angry that he was still able to instill fear into everyone.
But most of all she was angry that he was toying with her, making her wonder when he would finally strike out against her. Part of her wished he would just get it over with already. There was no point in dragging any other innocents into his twisted little game. If he wanted her, then he needed to come after her.
She was tired of waiting.
It was time to end this.
Chewing on her thumbnail, she seriously thought about calling the police. She knew it was the right thing to do considering the evidence pointed to another murder victim. She couldn't keep hiding what was happening—she was no longer the only target. The public deserved to know there was a monster on the loose, even though no one in the immediate area that had been attacked.
That didn't mean there wouldn't be, though.
Pushing away from the counter, Nancy grabbed up her cell phone and dialed the number she knew by heart, connecting directly to Chief McGinnis.
"Well, here's a voice that I haven't heard for a while," Chief McGinnis said as way of greeting.
Nancy felt a smile tug at her lips before it disappeared. She hadn't spoke with the chief of the River Heights Police Department since she'd seen him after she'd woken up in the hospital. Usually, she talked to him at least two or three times a week, whether it was about a case she and the Hardys were working on or just catching up on the latest news.
"Hey, Chief."
"How are you, Nancy?"
"I'm okay…"
Chief McGinnis instantly clued in on the hesitation of her voice. Nancy should have known better—he'd always been good at reading her, even by the tone of her voice. "What's going on, Nancy?"
Nancy took a deep breath and let it out slowly as her eyes traveled to the grisly package she'd received. "I have something here that you might want to take a look at. I'm at my apartment."
"What is it?"
"Let's just say that I have good reason to believe that Wesley Levine is back."
"So, did the Indianapolis police tell you anything over the phone?" Frank asked as he drove across the Indiana state line, the large sign welcoming them to "The Hoosier State".
Joe leaned forward in his seat as he stretched his back, his body stiff from being in the same position for a while. As soon as Frank had picked him up, they immediately set off towards the latest crime scene, hoping there would be some answers. "They didn't really tell me much. They knew we had an interest in Taylor's disappearance, so I'd told them to call us if anything happened."
"We don't know if it's Taylor that they found?"
"No. They're waiting to get the body back at the morgue before they'll give a positive identification."
"Sounds reasonable," Frank said with a nod. "I just hope the police were right before, saying that Taylor was a runaway. I would hate it for Cam if it turned out to be her."
"Me too," Joe agreed, but he also didn't want some other family to be torn apart from a senseless murder. They'd seen more of their share of that throughout their investigations. It was never easy to watch, especially when they were the ones to have to deliver the news.
The rest of the ride was made in companionable silence, each brother lost in their own thoughts as the car ate up miles. Soon, they were welcomed by flashing red and blue lights, the road ahead of them blocked to traffic both ways. A convoy of police cars, an ambulance, coroner van and reporters occupied any available spot that would get them closer to the chaos unfolding. Yellow crime scene tape blocked off an area to the right, a group of officers looking at something lying on the ground.
Getting out of their vehicle, the brothers made their way to the detective they had met when they when they arrived in Indianapolis a couple of days ago. Breaking away from the crowd, Detective Huey Sanders held the tape up so the Hardys could step under it.
"Where's your other partner?" Huey asked as he led the way to where the body was lying, covered by a white sheet.
"She stayed back," Frank answered.
Huey nodded. "It's probably for the best."
"What happened?" Joe asked as they came to a stop by the body. The detective didn't make any indication to move it, so they just stood there studying each other.
"We got a call this morning from a passing motorist, saying they thought they saw a dead body lying in the ditch." Huey nodded to the white sheet. "When the first responding officer got here, this is what they found."
"Can we see the body, Detective?"
Huey nodded and walked a little closer to the body so he could lift the sheet up. "I'll warn you right now, it's pretty gruesome."
Frank and Joe exchanged a look with each other before moving closer so they could get a better look. Joe instantly felt bile rise in the back of his throat as he took in the woman's appearance. Dried blood covered the bottom half of her face and neck where there was a cut so deep, you could almost see bone. There was also a gaping hole in her chest where her heart should be. Lesions and dark bruising surrounded her wrists not to mention across the top of her forehead.
"What happened to her?" Joe asked, holding the back of his hand over his mouth. He didn't dare try to take a deep breath, the stench of decay overwhelming.
"Based on a preliminary examination, her throat was slit and her heart was removed from her chest," Huey said grimly. "But that's not the worst part."
"There's something worse than this?" Frank asked, the surprise evident in his voice. Joe noticed that his brother was still staring at the woman's body, almost as if he couldn't turn his eyes away.
Huey nodded, unable to mask the disgust on his face. "Her tongue was cut out."
"What?" Joe asked, sure he had heard the detective wrong.
"The sick son of a bitch took her tongue," Huey repeated. "We won't know until the coroner gets her on the table if it was before or after death."
Joe turned away and took a few steps away, desperately needing fresh air after what the detective said. He couldn't even fathom someone being alive as their tongue was cut out of their mouth. It was sickening and barbaric, something that might be excusable during the Medieval period.
Not now.
"You okay?" Frank asked softly, joining him.
"No, Frank. I'm not," Joe answered. "And I know you're not, either. This isn't something we should be dealing with, Frank. We're supposed to be investigating insurance fraud and embezzlement cases. Not something as sick as this."
"Yeah…"
Joe shook his head as he walked back to their car. He didn't feel like standing there anymore, having everyone stare at him. The groups of reporters were practically salivating as they tried to gather any information they could, yelling at the brothers as they walked by. Joe wasn't going to give them anything.
They didn't need the nightmares that would surely plague him for days to come.
"Detective Sanders wants us to meet him at the morgue. They're leaving with the body now," Frank said as he got into the driver's seat and turned them around to head back the way they came.
Joe nodded his agreement, but said nothing.
"When did you receive the package?" Chief McGinnis asked as soon as they had taken a seat in his office. It was still the same as Nancy remembered it—the same worn furniture cluttered by piles of papers, photos and awards gracing the wall behind his large secondhand oak desk. The laminate tiles that were once white, was now a muddy brown color from years of people walking in and out of the office.
"It was in the mail today," Nancy answered, focusing her attention on the man that she had always looked to as her second father. He'd known her since she was a small child, having worked on cases with her father, Carson Drew. He'd watched her grow up and got her out of more trouble than she cared to admit.
For the past couple of hours, since she got off the phone with the chief, her apartment had been swarmed with police and forensics, gathering what evidence they could. Nancy knew no matter how hard they searched, they wouldn't find anything to lead them to Wesley. But she had allowed her home to be searched, hoping there wouldn't be any other surprises that she was unaware of.
So far, she'd been lucky. She just hoped that luck continued.
"And this wasn't the first thing you've received?"
"No. I got the other box your team found a few days ago. It was sitting on my bed when I got home from…some errands." Nancy didn't want to admit to her mentor that she'd finally given in to see a therapist. It wasn't that she was afraid of the chief judging her because she knew he would never do that. She just didn't want to admit her weakness.
"It was sitting on your bed?"
Nancy nodded.
Chief McGinnis let out a sigh as he leaned back in his chair, fixing her with a disappointed glare. "Nancy, why didn't you call us then?"
"Because Frank, Joe and I wanted to handle it on our own," Nancy admitted. "We didn't want to get you involved if it turned out to be nothing."
"Nothing? You think this is nothing?" Chief McGinnis blew out a breath, running a hand through his thinning salt and pepper hair. "Nancy, you know as well as I do that Agent Levine is still on the loose."
"Not until a couple of days ago…" Nancy muttered.
"Excuse me?"
"I didn't know he was still out there until a couple of days ago. Everyone kept that little tidbit of information from me because they thought they were protecting me." Anger flashed through Nancy's eyes as she narrowed them at the chief. "Including you."
Chief McGinnis seemed momentarily shocked by her outburst, but quickly recovered. "I thought the boys had told you."
"That's not an excuse and you know it."
"No, it's not. I should have said something to you, considering what he did to you."
"You're right," Nancy said, feeling some of her anger fade away. She didn't want to be angry anymore, especially not with her mentor. She'd already forgiven Frank and Joe for their betrayal, and she owed the same courtesy to him. "I'm sorry…things have been kind of stressful lately. I didn't mean to lash out at you, Chief."
"It's okay, Nancy. No one could exactly fault you for your reaction."
"So, what happens now?"
Chief McGinnis leaned forward in his chair, forming a steeple with his hands. "Well, right now we start sending patrols out to your neighborhood and keep an eye out for Agent Levine."
"Do you really think he would be stupid enough to show up again?"
"When it comes to you, yes."
"Thanks."
"The man is clearly obsessed with you, Nancy, and presumably upset that you managed to get away from him the first time. The FBI hasn't had any luck tracking him down—he's pretty much managed to drop off of every radar there is."
"I don't want to be followed twenty-four-seven," Nancy said with a sigh. "You and I both know you don't have the manpower for that."
"You're right, and they won't be following you," McGinnis said. "At least, not until Agent Levine actually tries to do something."
"Let's hope that doesn't happen."
"I agree." Chief McGinnis looked up as the door to the office opened, an officer sticking his head in. "What is it, Walters?"
"We just got a call from the Indianapolis Police Department," Walter began, shooting Nancy a quick look before returning his attention to his superior. "They found a woman's body there."
"That's where Frank and Joe were heading," Nancy said.
Chief McGinnis glared at the rookie officer. "Why would we be concerned about a body that was found in Indiana, Walters?"
"Because, according to the detective in charge, the woman was missing her heart and tongue."
By the time that Nancy got out of the River Heights Police Department, it was nearing eight o'clock. She was exhausted, not to mention starving, since she hadn't eaten anything since breakfast only to throw it back up when she'd opened the package from Wesley. Frank had left a message on her phone earlier, saying that he and Joe were sticking around Indianapolis for a little longer and they wouldn't be back until later that night.
He'd seemed hesitant about that, especially after Nancy had called him to tell him about the heart and the tongue. He'd wanted to rush back immediately, but she had convinced him to stay there until they were finished with their investigation, since she now had the police aware of what was going on. That had seemed to alleviate some of his fears and Nancy was grateful for that. The last thing she needed on top of police detail was an overprotective Frank Hardy.
Nancy figured she would just grab some Chinese takeout and bring it back to their apartment, so the brothers could at least have something to eat when they got in. It was too late to cook anything, and to be honest, Nancy wanted to avoid the kitchen for as long as she could.
At least until the next morning when she had to have her coffee.
Pulling into the restaurant, Nancy placed her order and sat at the counter as she waited for it to be completed. She was surprised it was so quiet in there, considering it was usually busy. But now that she thought about it, traffic had been pretty light on the drive over. It was almost eerie—even though River Heights was relatively small, there was still always something going on.
Finally after fifteen minutes, her meal was brought out to her in two large paper bags. After paying for it, she headed out to her car and pulled out of the parking lot, driving back towards her apartment.
Braking at a red light, Nancy bobbed her head to the song playing on the radio, singing the familiar lyrics softly to herself. What she didn't expect was for the passenger door to open and someone slip inside.
And what she really didn't expect was for that person to be Wesley Levine.
Oh, no…it's a cliffhanger! I would apologize for it, but I haven't had one of those in a while…
Thanks to my lovely reviewers: Michelle Gallichio (The story does get darker from this point on…), misslady92 (Frank and Joe may not have been able to react to the little gift, but they will certainly be reacting now…), Caranath (You just never know about any of my characters…), max2013 (Nothing gross in this chapter, but there will be more! I'll warn you when to cover your eyes!), Cupcake (Yay, recruiting! But, please, do not send Wesley after anyone who doesn't want to read…I could never live with myself!), FreshKicks (Thank you! Glad you're loving it!), SC15 (Nancy has pretty much gone several miles back at this point…), Lady Emily (Aw, you wouldn't want a present like that? I'll keep that in mind, my friend!), MinecraftDanny (Get better soon! And thank you for the compliment…I truly appreciate it!), and Alicia Hardy (Welcome, my friend! And holy freaking crap, why did you disappear for so long? I've missed you!)
Love you guys and everyone who is reading and adding me to their alerts!
I apologize for any mistakes and let me know what you think!
