When the Serpent Strikes: A Cimarron/Melbourne Thriller - Book Two Read online

  “Any luck?”

  Dawn shook her head regretfully. “No. Nada. Zip. According to Trent Reyerborne, he and his wife, Antoinette, had dinner at about five p.m. on the night she disappeared. At about six o'clock, she left in her car to meet her book club group at a local restaurant. Meanwhile, Trent Reyerborne was picked up by a friend of his at about six-thirty; they drove to a local sports bar to watch the football game. It was a Sunday, and the Broncos had the night game. After the game, the same friend drove Trent home. It was about midnight by then. According to the friend, Wally Olanter, Trent was concerned when he didn't see his wife's car parked in the driveway. She was usually home before eleven o'clock on the nights she met with her book group. Trent called her on her cell, but he couldn't reach her. He and Wally went into the house then to look around, but there was no sign of Antoinette. So Trent started calling the other members of her book group. They confirmed that she'd left at about ten-fifteen. She had mentioned that she thought she was coming down with a cold and was looking forward to going home and straight to bed.”

  Dawn paused for a moment to fiddle with the picture on her desk before continuing. “Reyerborne then called Antoinette's father and sister to see if they had heard from her, but they hadn't. So, at about one in the morning, he called the police. Asked them if there had been any accidents reported along the route Antoinette normally took home on the nights she met with her book group. When they responded in the negative, he wanted to file a missing person’s report, but was told that he'd have to wait until she had been missing for at least twenty-four hours. He was upset about that, so he and Olanter decided to drive the route themselves, looking for Antoinette or her car. But there was no sign of her. Olanter finally dropped Reyerborne off back home at about four a.m. and returned to his own house.

  “Reyerborne said that after a couple of hours of sleep, he reported off work that morning and spent the day driving around town, looking for Antoinette. Nick dug up a ton of witnesses who saw him doing just that. Later that same afternoon, Reyerborne drove here to headquarters, walked into the Missing Persons Department, and insisted on filling out the paperwork that was needed to open an investigation into his wife's disappearance.”

  “If it was a Missing Person's case, how did Nick get involved?” Lieutenant Westbrooke asked. “I always wondered about that.”

  “Turns out that Antoinette's older sister, Helena, had married an old friend of Nick's,” Dawn replied. “She called him and begged him to look into the case. She was convinced that her sister was dead, and that Trent Reyerborne had killed her.”

  “What made her suspect that?”

  “Couple of things. Antoinette had confided in her that Trent was a real control freak, almost impossible to live with. Ordered her around, wanted her to wait on him hand and foot, and expected to have everything his own way. Antoinette had actually considered leaving him and filing for divorce at one time, but he'd charmed her into forgiving him and giving the marriage another chance. He'd been a model husband for a while, but then – same old pattern started all over again. Helena told Nick that Antoinette was getting fed up and talking about leaving her husband for good. She also hinted that there was somebody else, another man in her life.

  Dawn stopped to take a sip of coffee before finishing up her story. She put her cup back down on her desk and resumed, “After listening to everything Helena said, Nick paid Reyerborne a visit. He walked in with an open mind; he walked out convinced that Helena was right; that despite his seemingly airtight alibi, Trent Reyerborne had indeed killed his wife.”

  “And still no trace of her?”

  “Unfortunately not. Antoinette Reyerborne is as missing as ever. And there is no evidence to indicate that she was even murdered, let alone that her husband had anything to do with it.”

  “What's the husband up to nowadays?”

  “Oh, Trent Reyerborne waited until the requisite seven years had passed and then had Antoinette declared legally dead. He got married again not long afterward. I actually met the second wife, Faye, at a charity auction I attended with my mother-in-law last week. That's what got me thinking about the case again.”

  “Nick ever have anything except his gut to suggest that she hadn't just gone away on her own, that her husband had actually killed her?”

  “Nope. Not a thing. Meanwhile, Reyerborne has made quite a name for himself as a vice president at a local brokerage and investment management firm - Chanteclair Financial Corporation. A real success story.” She broke off as her phone rang. Answering it, she said automatically, “Homicide.” She listened intently for a minute or two, then hung up and turned to Lieutenant Westbrooke.

  “This one is going to be a mess, LT. There's been a shooting over at the Wealdstone branch of the public library. Multiple victims,” she said.

  Moe Westbrooke felt her gut clench. The library, she thought. Almost as bad as a school shooting. Dear God, please don't let there be a lot of dead kids. But nothing of what she was thinking or feeling showed on her face or was betrayed by her tone of voice as she said evenly, “Get over there, Cimarron. Send me an initial report as soon as possible. Meanwhile, I'm going to have to notify the chief.”

  *****

  The black and whites had formed a perimeter around the library, and patrol officers were busy hanging up the crime scene tape. As Dawn got out of her car and badged her way through, she heard the sound of a noisy altercation. Two officers were physically restraining a man who was trying to mount the front steps of the library.

  “Let me go! My little girl is in there!”

  “Sir, calm down. As we told you before, the building has already been thoroughly searched once, and we'll notify the officers inside to do a second sweep. So far, however, it looks like no one who fits your daughter's description was inside when the shooting occurred.”

  The man wasn't very tall, but he was built like a tank, and he succeeded in throwing off one of the officers. Turning around, he took a swing at the other before the first cop got ahold of him again and wrestled him to the ground.

  “She's in there, I tell you! My baby, my Jolene!”

  Dawn, who had been about to bypass the scene and mount the steps herself, swung around at that.

  “Cal?” she said.

  The man on the ground turned his head and stared up at her. “Dawn? Oh, thank God! You've got to make them let me go! Jolene's in there!”

  “You know him, Detective?” one of the officers inquired.

  Dawn nodded. “He works for my husband. Let him up.”

  Cal was back on his feet an instant after the officers let him go. Grabbing Dawn's arm, he said urgently, “She likes to use a study carrel in the back left-hand corner. For God's sake, make them let me through so I can look for her, Dawn!”

  “I can't do that, Cal. But I'll go right in and look for her myself.”

  “Okay, but hurry!”

  In response, Dawn sprinted up the stairs, bringing up a mental picture of Cal's younger daughter in her head. The thirteen-year-old, she thought. A tiny little thing at only about 4'8”. Slender build, hair the color of caramel toffee, eyes that resembled her friend Desiree's favorite topaz earrings.

  She registered the fact that there were numerous crime scene techs and paramedics on the scene, and she could see that there were a number of victims. But she bypassed everything and headed for the back corner on the left.

  “Detective! We've hardly begun processing the scene!”

  Dawn turned and recognized Walsh, one of the crime scene techs. “We may have missed one of the victims, Walsh. Back there,” she said, pointing at the study carrel in the corner.

  Walsh understood immediately. Saving a human life trumped preserving the integrity of the crime scene.

  “Okay,” he said. “But put these on first.” He tossed her a couple of sealed packets. It took Dawn only seconds to rip them open and put on the gloves and booties they contained. Then she moved quickly to the study carrel.

  At first
, it appeared to be unoccupied, and she was tempted to breathe out a sigh of relief. But when she pulled the chair completely away from the carrel and bent down to peer underneath the desk, she spotted what she had dreaded she would find: a small, inert figure lying in a pool of blood.

  Chapter 2

  Shouting for the paramedics, Dawn felt for a pulse. There was one, but it was very faint. Then the paramedics were shoving her aside so that they could begin administering emergency treatment. Meanwhile, she got on her radio to contact one of the officers detaining Cal outside the library.

  “Jordan? Tell Cal that I found Jolene. She's hurt, but she's alive. The paramedics are here, and they're already working on her.”

  When the paramedics were ready to transport Jolene outside to the ambulance, Dawn followed the gurney out the doors and down the steps. At the sight of his daughter, Cal broke loose from Jordan's restraining hand and raced toward the gurney. This time, neither Jordan nor his partner made any attempt to stop him.

  When he reached the paramedics and their fragile burden, Dawn moved forward to intercept him.

  “Cal, let them get her into the ambulance, and I mean right now. She's badly hurt, and time is of the essence. They need to get her to the hospital and into surgery as soon as possible.”

  Cal nodded. After one agonized look at his small daughter, he raced to the passenger side of the ambulance, opened the door, and climbed in. The last thing Dawn heard before the ambulance took off for the hospital was Cal's voice: “C'mon, c'mon, Tess! Answer the freakin' phone!”

  There was something she could do for him before she returned to the crime scene. Pulling out her cell phone, Dawn punched in the number for Lewellen Air. When the receptionist answered, she said, “Milly? When is Ty's flight due in?”

  “Any minute now. You need me to give him a message when he lands?”

  “Yes. Tell him to get to Mountpelier General immediately. There's been a shooting at the library, and Cal's daughter Jolene is one of the victims. She's alive, but she's badly injured.”

  “Dear God! I haven't heard anything about this on the news!”

  “You will shortly. All the major news organizations are now on the scene. I want Ty to hear it from you first. And let my partner know at the same time, will you?”

  “Will do. Keep me posted, Dawn. Poor Cal! He must be beside himself!”

  “He's managing. I've got to go now, Milly. I'll try to get back in touch as soon as I can.”

  Re-entering the library, she spied a couple of familiar faces in the foyer. Nodding to the two patrol officers, she addressed the taller of the two.

  “Eddleston - you first on scene?”

  He shook his head. “No – that was Gulkana and Terramanni. Garrone and I were called in as back-up.” He hesitated for a minute before adding, “They're real shook up about missing that little girl when they did the initial sweep of the scene, D.C.”

  “Understandable. Where are they now?”

  Eddleston jerked his head toward a flight of steps off to the right. “They're doing a second sweep upstairs. There's a conference room, a couple of offices, and a storage area up there. Door was locked when they arrived, and there was no sign that the perp ever attempted to access that part of the building, but they wanted to make extra sure that there was no one up there. Duncan from CSU went up with them.”

  There was a sound of the clumping of boots from that direction just then, and a minute later the door was shoved open as Officers Gulkana and Terramanni entered the foyer. They hesitated for a minute when they saw Dawn talking to Eddleston, but then walked forward to greet her.

  “Detective Cimarron,” Gulkana greeted her formally.

  Both men were known to her, and she exchanged a nod with Terramanni before turning back to Gulkana.

  “You find anything interesting up there?” she asked, indicating the stairs to the upper floor.

  “No. Nothing unusual or out of place. We searched the area thoroughly, but we found no indication that anyone was up there either during or after the shooting. The doors were secured, and there's no evidence of tampering. We have determined that that section of the building is not part of the crime scene, and CSU concurs.”

  “Yeah, I heard that you had Duncan with you. He still up there?”

  Gulkana shook his head. “No. There's a second, separate entrance that goes down to the back of the library. Duncan went down that way. He wanted to get something out of his car, and he decided that if he slipped out to it that way, there was less of a chance of having to deal with the media outside.”

  “Smart move on his part,” Dawn commented. She considered for a moment, then said, “It will be a while before I can begin my investigation. CSU is still in the middle of photographing the scene and processing the evidence. Coroner's on scene as well. It's Dr. Chandalar, and he's one who doesn't like anyone else, including the primary investigators, anywhere near the bodies until he's done his on-scene examination. Usually takes his sweet time about it, too. Any chance that there's a coffee maker in one of the second-floor offices?”

  Gulkana nodded. “We saw one up there.”

  “Good. I could use a hit. Why don't we go up and get some coffee while you give me your initial report?”

  “Sounds like a good idea. I could use a cup of coffee myself.” Gulkana turned and led the way upstairs, with Dawn following and Terramanni bringing up the rear.

  Upstairs, Dawn found herself in a large open area. A long, rectangular conference table was parked in the middle of the space. To the right, she noticed a couple of doors that she assumed led to the offices. Terramanni, whom she knew to be a man of few words, walked over and disappeared into one of them. Meanwhile, she and Gulkana moved to the conference table and took their seats. From the direction of the office that Terramanni had entered, she soon caught the welcome scent of brewing coffee.

  Dawn turned to Gulkana. “Okay – let's get started. When did the 911 call come in?”

  “Witness called it in at sixteen thirty-nine hours.”

  “Name?”

  “Davina Templor. Student at Mountpelier University.”

  “She see anything useful besides the dead bodies?”

  “Negative. Didn't see anyone going in or out of the library. Just walked in, saw the victims, and had the sense to back out again and dial 911. Didn't do anything to compromise the crime scene.”

  “When did you and your partner arrive on scene?”

  “We were only a few blocks away, so we rolled up at sixteen forty-two. The witness had locked herself in her car. She got out when she saw us, ran up, and told us what she'd seen. Officer Terramanni and I called for back-up, instructed the witness to return to her car and lock herself in, and then proceeded up the stairs into the library. We saw that there were multiple victims on the first floor. We did an initial sweep of the scene, checking to see if the perp was still on the premises. We had just finished clearing the scene when we heard someone groaning, so we immediately proceeded to check the victims for signs of life. Five of the victims appeared to be DOS, but one of the female victims still had a faint pulse. Terramanni put pressure on the visible wounds while I proceeded to administer CPR to the victim until the paramedics arrived.”

  “What time was that?”

  “Paramedics arrived on scene at sixteen forty-seven. They did their best, but it was too late. The female victim expired a few minutes after their arrival.” Gulkana stopped and cleared his throat, just as Terramanni joined them at the conference table. He placed a cup of coffee in front of Dawn, and another in front of his partner. He went back into the office, returning a minute later with a cup of coffee for himself in one hand and a basket filled with packets of sugar, artificial creamer, and plastic spoons in another. Gulkana nodded his thanks, then continued his report.

  “Officers Eddleston and Garrone arrived on scene as back-up at sixteen fifty hours. Officers Jordan and Klutina arrived seconds later. My partner and I proceeded with Officers Eddleston and Garrone
to check the upper floor of the library. We determined that the doors giving access to the upper floor were locked, but there was a possibility that the perp had fled upstairs to hide and had locked the doors behind him. We therefore forced the doors, proceeded upstairs, and checked and cleared the second floor of the library. Officers Jordan and Klutina, in the meantime, were dispatched to sweep the parking lot and other outdoor areas surrounding the premises. Once they had cleared the areas surrounding the library, Officers Jordan and Klutina were instructed to secure the perimeter and close off the whole area with crime scene tape.

  “As my partner and I were about to descend the stairs from the second floor of the library, we were contacted by Officer Jordan at sixteen fifty-five and informed that Officers Innoko and Selawik had arrived on scene and were assisting in securing the perimeter of the crime scene. At sixteen fifty-six, Officer Jordan again contacted us and informed us that he and officer Klutina had received information that an unaccounted-for minor female was possibly on the library premises. Officer Jordan also informed us that you, Detective Cimarron, were on scene and proceeding to begin a second sweep of the crime scene in order to determine the whereabouts of the unaccounted-for minor female. We immediately moved to assist. By the time we returned to the first floor, however, we discovered that the minor female victim had already been discovered in a place of concealment and was receiving treatment from the paramedics.”

  Terramanni spoke up for the first time. “Have you received any word from the hospital on the little girl's condition, Detective?”

  Dawn shook her head. “Not yet. The paramedics had her stabilized before they took her off in the ambulance. Her father is with her. If I receive any updates, I'll be sure to let you know. Right now, I want to talk to the witness who made the 911 call – Davina Templor. Where is she at the present time?”

  “Officer Selawik took charge of her. He put her in the back of one of the patrol cars.”