I’m back at doing the blogging thing. I kind of took a break after my brother passed. I guess it hit me much harder than I had thought. You just never know how you are going to deal with the passing of someone until it happens. I have been working on the story and working out the kinks of how exactly I want things to go. So here we go onto the next episode of Pray to the Shadowman.
All excerpts from Pray to the Shadowman, copyright 2016 by Wendy Siefken
It was late that night before Detective John and Detective Dan finally walked into the County squad room. Other Detectives were just coming on shift looked at Joh and Dan, “Holy hell, you two look like you have been through the wringer. Does this have to do with that Durbin murder?” one of them asked.
“You guys have a special treat waiting for you. This is definitely one that will go down in the books as completely off the rails.” Dan said as he rubbed the back of his neck. “Right now, all I want to do is take a shower and go home. I don’t think I will ever get those images out of my mind but I’m sure as hell gonna try.”
“Dan, you know we can’t go anywhere until the paperwork is done.” John said as he took a seat at his desk, which sat across from Dan’s. They had been partners for over six years now and had thought that between the two of them, they had seen everything. This was one of those cases you might catch if you lived in a big city like New York or L.A. Not here in Des Moines, Iowa. Sure, they had a few murders a year, burglaries, a few drug busts, and prostitution stings, but never anything on this scale. John knew they were going to have to involve a lot of agencies on this one from state all the way up to F.B.I. Missing children’s bureau and human trafficking department. He would be damned though if he was going to just hand over this case. Something about it had him hooked. He wanted to know who killed Durbin and why. How did the kids play into this? Was he trafficking kids through his house? Who killed the transients? There were far too many questions for him to “just let it go.”
“Dan, I don’t care what they tell us; I want to keep digging on this case.” John said looking at his partner across the desk from him.
Dan looked up and grunted. “Agreed, too many things left unanswered and right in our own back yard to boot.”
Several hours later, they finally had all the paperwork done and filed. “Come on Dan, let’s get out of here, and forget about this place for a while. I will see you tomorrow.” John said as he grabbed his jacket off the back of the chair.
Detective John Casey drove home through the late night streets. A few cars were out but not like during the day where traffic can be a real pain when you are trying to respond to a call for help. Thoughts of the case kept playing through his mind. The things he had seen in each of the rooms as well as Jack laying strapped to that bed. There were times he would have given anything to have chosen a different career path but no, his instinct and always questioning everything made him a perfect cop. He had started out as a local PD back in the day, worked his way up to county, and made detective.
Finally he turned down his own street heading towards his small two story house. It wasn’t fancy but it was home to him and his wife, Nancy. They had been married for over 20 years and the last kid had left for college this last spring. Now they were empty nesters and thankfully, they were still young enough to enjoy it. John chuckled at that last thought. He didn’t care what anyone else thought saying that young firm women were the hottest thing right now. He loved his wife and thought she was sexy as hell. Her soft curves, natural beauty, and her hair that she always had pulled back into a soft bun at the nape of her neck always made him feel proud to be her husband.
He pulled his car into the garage after hitting the garage door opener. Before the door slid all the way down again, John was out of the car and heading towards the door leading into the kitchen. He loved this house. It had seen to the raising of three kids through school, skinned knees, riding bikes, boyfriends, and girlfriends. He stopped a moment remembering some of the dates some of his children had brought home. Shaking his head, he opened the door to see his wife putting on the coffee.
“Nancy, did I wake you? Honey it’s only five thirty in the morning. Is that coffee you are making?”
“Don’t worry its decaf and I’m making you something to eat before you fall into bed.” She said with a soft smile tugging at the corners of her mouth. Walking up behind her he slid his arms around her waist. She had on a terry cloth bathrobe that was faded and worn, but it was her favorite. He buried his nose in her neck breathing deep as he felt the tension finally leaving his shoulders.
“Tough day?” she asked as she cracked the eggs into a pan along with a few hash browns, and put some bread in the toaster. After twenty years of marriage there wasn’t much they could hide from each other. Many marriages fell apart for cops but not John and Nancy. They had defied the odds.
“Today is one of those days that will haunt me for a long time. Nancy, do me a favor and try not to watch the TV much o.k.?”
“John, you know that I will hear about it one way or another, just give me the gist of it and I will do what I can to avoid the news.”
Sitting at the kitchen table, he rubbed his hands over his face wondering where to start. Finally, with a sigh, he folded his hands in front of him.
“Well, basically we found out a resident of Des Moines has been trafficking in children and it looks like he was murdering a few as well. We found this perp mutilated in his own home. They still have CSI there processing the scene. This could go on for several days depending on all what they find.”
As Nancy walked by John grabbed her hand and gently pulled her into his lap. A smile lit up her face as he hugged her close.
“Honey, if I don’t tend to those eggs they won’t be over easy.” With a quick kiss on his lips, she got up, grabbed a plate, and served up the food, setting a warm cup of decaf in front of him as she took a seat across the table from him. She knew him well enough to know, that now he needed quiet so he could decompress and just relax. She slowly ate her toast, dipping it into the yolk of her own over easy egg.
Finally, John sat back from his plate with a sigh of contentment.
“I don’t know where this case is going to lead or just how deep it’s going to go but I am sure glad I have you in my life to remind me there are good things as well as bad.”
Nancy slid from the chair, taking the plates she set them in the sink. She walked back over to the table, taking John’s hand she said, “Let’s go to bed John. You need to rest.”
With a nod of his head, he too got up, following his wife upstairs to their room.
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