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Jeremy and Kelly Thompson had just returned from their cruise. It had been a great vacation and neither wanted to return home. Kelly’s parents agreed to watch the kids, so they could have some time together. Jeremy had never gotten used to being a member of a close knit family. Hell, he hadn’t spoken to his brother in over a decade. Once he turned eighteen, he left and never came back. When their parents died, Jeremy wasn’t able to locate him. He knew his brother wouldn’t come home for their funeral. His parents were never loving, affectionate parents. Jeremy had a hard time shedding a tear for their deaths.
Jeremy hadn’t even gone back home to check on the old house or camp. The properties were probably decrepit by now. With the market the way it was, the property wouldn’t even sell. One of these days, he would face his demons and go back home.
There was a stack of mail and newspapers on the counter. Cheryl, his mother-in-law, had a nice meal waiting for them and she was anxious to hear all about their vacation. “Jeremy, I put an article on top of the newspapers that you might be interested in reading first. The little town you grew up in has made the news. Several prominent members of the town have gone missing. There is also an article and even a sketch of the person they believe is a serial killer the FBI is searching for. If I didn’t know better, I would say it’s you. There are an awful lot of similarities in your appearance and the one in the sketch.”
He remembered how his brother always talked about how much he hated the “elite” in town. They always seemed to bully him and teased him relentlessly. His brother wouldn’t be involved, though. He swore he would never step foot in that town again. Jeremy picked up the sketch and looked at it. Sure enough, he would swear that was his brother. He couldn’t believe it; there was no way his own brother could be a suspected serial killer.
Jeremy went into his office and closed the door. He decided it would be best if his family didn’t hear this conversation. He wasn’t even sure if he should be making this phone call. However, if Lance was involved, then Jeremy didn’t want him looking up Jeremy or his family. Jeremy’s life was perfect right now and he didn’t want any problems. His own wife didn’t know much about Jeremy’s childhood and he wanted to keep it that way. She didn’t need to know he grew up in poverty and how bad his childhood was.
Dread came over him as he dialed the number. “This is Jeremy Thompson, may I please speak with Agent O’Riordan. I believe I know the identity of the man in the sketch. The one he is looking for.”
“Hold on one moment, please. “ Ellen couldn’t believe her ears. The article had run a while back and they hadn’t had any good tips come in. “Agent O’Riordan, there is a Jeremy Thompson on the line. He says he knows who the man in the sketch is. I know we usually look into the tips before calling you, but he is from West Virginia, sir.”
“This is Agent O’Riordan. How can I help you, sir?”
“Agent, I won’t beat around the bush. I believe the man in the photo may be my brother, Lance Thompson. I haven’t seen him in years, so I can’t say for sure, but there is a family resemblance. My own mother-in-law thought it was my picture. My family owns a house and an old pig farm in Lake Hamilton, West Virginia. That’s where we grew up.”
This may indeed be the break they needed. He wrote down the addresses of both locations. They would need to send a SWAT team to each address. Since Jeremy was part owner of the properties, he gave permission for the search.
Agent O’Riordan informed Sheriff Ourso, “It looks like things may be falling into place. I received an ID on the man in the sketch. I even have the go ahead to search the property where the perps may be hiding out at. I can get the task force up and at your office in no time. Do you think you can line up SWAT again?”
“I will give them a call right now.”
Agent O’Riordan repeated the information that Jeremy Thompson had given him and said, “Let’s get everything moving. Do you know the area well?”
“I do. The pig farm is located in a woody area, lots of places for the perps to hide. We need to go in as silent as possible. It may even help to have air support, in case they take off on foot. Not that we have a good chance of catching them if they do escape. Lance grew up in those woods and he will know every hiding place there is. Going in silent is our best chance. I don’t think they are at the house. The neighborhood isn’t a busy one, but a motor home would have been noticed. A pig farm may explain why no bodies have turned up. We can only hope that we are able to locate the bodies, if there are any. We also need to go in during daylight hours. This is one place we don’t want to go at night.”
“The task force is on their way. I’ll make a call to see about air support. I’ll have everything I need to do on my end ready for 1:00 p.m.”
“That sounds good. We don’t have to worry about evacuating anyone out there either. My team and I will meet you out there. Agent O’Riordan, please express to everyone the importance of going in silent. Noise echoes out there and we don’t want to give them an advantage.”
***
JOSH ROBINSON FELT uneasy about what they were planning. “Stephen, are you positive about doing this? Maybe we should have gone to the sheriff?”
Stephen cocked his gun and glared at Josh, “If we had gone to the sheriff, he would have waited until he had enough evidence to request a search warrant. Well, I don’t want to wait! I want my wife back now, alive.” Stephen looked over at the men, “Does everyone remember the plan?”
Everyone nodded in agreement and swallowed back their fear. Even from here, they could smell the death and hear the strangled moans that filled the still air. Pure, unadulterated rage consumed Stephen at just the thought of everything his wife must have endured.
***
BY 12:50 P.M., EVERYONE was there, suited up and ready. The Kevlar vests felt heavy in the heat of the day. Air support would give them a two minute head start, as to not scare them off with the sound of choppers approaching. With guns drawn, Agent O’Riordan gave the signal to move in. As they approached the farm through the woods, they heard the muffled cries. Sheriff Ourso and Agent O’Riordan looked at each other. The cries could only mean that there was someone here and they were indeed still alive. Agent O’Riordan gripped his Glock a little tighter and moved forward cautiously, searching for any sudden movement. He heard another distorted moan. There had to be more than one person in there. As they moved closer to the barn, he could also make out talking. His adrenaline kicked in. Sheriff Ourso moved into his line of vision and held up two fingers and pointed to the door.
They inched to the doorway, guns drawn. “FBI!” As if on cue, SWAT moved in from the rear of the barn. FBI agents, SWAT, and deputies charged in with guns drawn. Nobody was prepared for what they saw.
Sheriff Ourso went pale as a ghost. “Holy Mary, Mother of God.” Everywhere you looked, there was carnage. Several men and women were shackled in makeshift cells, and others were restrained to inhumane torture devices. Even with all his years of experience, Agent O’Riordan had never seen anything like this.
A man was strapped to a chair, writhing in pain. A naked woman, with streaks of blood running down her body and eyes hollowed out from obvious signs of malnourishment, knelt over him screaming, “Now, how do you like that, you bastard.” She had somehow managed to stab him in the groin with the same knife he had tortured her with. Looking into her tear-filled eyes, he could only imagine the horror she had been through.
Besides the knife in the groin, the group had repeated some of the same tortures on him as they had been forced to endure.
The glint of the gun barrel caught Sheriff Ourso’s attention. “Son, drop the gun. Let us take over. They will not get away.”
Stephen shook his head “He has to pay for what he did. At least let me kill him first.” Sheriff Ourso felt the hate emitting from Stephen.
O’Riordan recognized the desperation in this man’s eyes. They had to do something quick, most of the survivors were near death. Placing his hand on the barrel of the gun, he pointed it down, “Son, he is near death. I promise you, he won’t live much longer.”
O’Riordan pointed at Lance Thompson’s restrained body to reaffirm his comment. An involuntary shudder racked through his body at the sight in front of him. This group of individuals had sought out their own justice. He was too near death for saving. Perhaps if they had moved in an hour sooner.
It took a moment for the situation to register in his mind, “Wait a minute. Where is David Thorguson?” Looking Stephen directly in the eyes, he asked, “What happened to the other man with Lance?”
Stephen looked at O’Riordan with a dumbfounded expression, ”There was only one man here.”
Son of a bitch! Agent O’Riordan got on the phone. “We need to get paramedics in here now. Forensics can move in, but let the coroner know he will need a van.”
The next call was one call he dreaded making, “Alex, David isn’t here. We are searching the area now, but so far there have been no signs of him.”
Adele pushed away the water Stephen tried to give her and rasped out “He...He...He...said that he had a need...” Taking a breath in, Adele tried to finish her sentence, but O’Riordan feared he knew what she was going to say.
“Alex, he is headed your way.”
O’Riordan knelt down to the injured woman, “Do you know how long ago he left here?”
In a weak voice, she responded, “Lost track of time. At least one morning .”
O’Riordan hollered out, “Someone figure out how long it takes to get from here to Hope, Louisiana.”
As dusk fell over the heavily overgrown property, the forensics team was still gathering evidence. They found the wood chipper the men used to help dispose of the bodies. It looked as if the bodies were dropped right in and the chute dumped the remains directly into the hog trough. Agent O’Riordan wasn’t sure if he would ever be able to eat pork again. There was no telling how many bodies were disposed of here.
***
JORDAN LOOKED AT HER watch and grimaced. It was only two o’clock in the afternoon and she was ready to call it a day. On top of everything else, she could not get comfortable. As she walked out the door, she informed Detective Johnson, “I’m going to call it a day. Call me if anything happens.”
He looked at her and saw just how pale her face was. “Sheriff, you don’t look so good. Why don’t you let me drive you home?”
Before she could answer, a pain gripped low in her back. She was ready for this baby to make its entrance into the world, and give the inside of her body a break. Shaking her head, “No. I’m okay. Just tired. Besides, Alex will be home soon.”
They had found a house they agreed on. Alex was overseeing the movers at the new house, and she didn’t want to disturb him. With the mood she was in this afternoon, she would rather have a few hours to herself. Let him deal with the headache of moving. As she buckled the seat belt, a sharp pain gripped her stomach. For a moment, she considered calling Alex, but decided a warm bath may help ease her aching muscles.
If this was labor, then she still had a while to go before it was time to go to the hospital. She would rather pass away the time at her home than in a hospital bed.
***
AFTER TRYING JORDAN’S cell phone with no luck, Alex called the Sheriff’s Office, “Please tell me that Jordan is there.”
“No sir. She told Detective Johnson that she was going home. She looked tired when she left here.”
Damn it. The realization that Jordan may at this very moment be held by a sadistic serial killer scared the shit out of him. He instructed the dispatcher, “Send an ambulance, SWAT, and whatever else you have to my house. I think David Thorguson is headed there.”
As he drove home, Detective Johnson called, “I tried to reach her on the radio and her cell phone with no luck. It just rang and rang.”
“I know, I can’t reach her either. Jordan wouldn’t ignore a phone call.”
“She wasn’t feeling good. Maybe she fell asleep.”
Even after Detective Johnson spoke the words of encouragement, neither man truly believed them. Detective Johnson kept blaming himself. He should have insisted on driving her home.
Alex pushed the car to its limits, as he rushed home. He prayed that he arrived in time. Cold fear constricted Alex’s heart, as visions of the victims flashed through his mind.
***
AS JORDAN DROPPED HER keys on the entryway table, she heard a noise in the kitchen. She was surprised that Alex was at home. She didn’t recall seeing his car out front. “I’m surprised you are home already. I thought for sure you would wait until the movers were done.”
When she walked into the kitchen, the blood in her veins turned to ice.
“Did you miss me, cher? As much as I enjoyed playing with my new partner, I couldn’t stop thinking of you. You are all I thought about when I took a woman. No one else would do, I had to have you. I couldn’t wait any longer.”
Jordan inched her hand up to her holster as she listened to him talk. Fear started to take over and she pushed it aside. She drew in a deep breath as another sharp contraction hit her. Now was not the time for her to go into labor. She had to focus on protecting herself and her unborn child.
A smirk formed on his face and his features turned cruel and harsh. His voice became deadly, as he aimed a gun right at her bulging stomach. “You know you should be very afraid of me. I have never played with a pregnant woman before and right now my mind is full of ideas.”
Jordan bristled, “You should also know that I will not allow you to harm my unborn child.” As she talked, she slowly withdrew the gun.
Before he could react, she aimed her gun at him. “It appears we are both armed now.”
Another sharp pain seared through her lower stomach as a hard contraction hit her. The intense pain caused her to stumble, but she managed to keep her balance. David saw this as his chance and lunged at her with the knife he wielded in his other hand. His only mission was to injure her enough to subdue her.
Jordan reacted out of instinct alone, and fired her gun. A stunned David fell, and landed hard on top of her. Her hand moved to her left side, as white hot pain tore through her body. Warm blood began to flow between her fingers at an alarming rate. She felt her body go limp, as she slipped into darkness.
Both Detective Johnson and Alex had made it to the house at the same time, when they heard a shot ring out. Alex kicked open the door, and felt his world come to an end when he saw Jordan crumpled on the floor.
Voices began to talk all around her at once. Dark shadows moved in as hazy images appeared. Her brain tried to process what was happening.
Jordan’s last conscious thought was how she would never see her baby’s face. Time stopped as a peaceful silence enveloped her.
Detective Johnson made sure that David was restrained before rolling his body off of Sheriff Hamilton. He didn’t want to take any chances where this man was concerned. Alex called for the First Responders waiting outside “Get the medics in here now. She has lost a lot of blood.”
Detective Johnson kneeled down by David Thorguson and checked for a pulse. “It was a kill shot. He’s gone.”
Alex squeezed Jordan’s hand and called out to her, “Jordan, I need you to hold on, sweetheart. The medics are here.”
Jordan heard someone calling out to her. In a weak voice, she said, “The baby...”
The First Responder gently moved Alex out of the way, “Sir, you have to let us work.”
Alex moved out of the paramedics’ way, so they could tend to her injuries. One was busy taking her vitals as the other started her on fluids. The medic informed his partner, “We have to go. The baby’s heart rate has dropped drastically. Call the hospital and let them know we have a pregnant police officer coding. It appears that the knife entered the womb.”
Alex felt the ground underneath him open up. If only he had arrived sooner. The ride to the hospital seemed like an eternity. He didn’t know what he would do if he lost her. He picked up one of her hands and squeezed it, “Jordan, hold on. I can’t lose you or our baby. Think of your family, and how excited they are about the baby. We all love you.”
Before Alex could wrap his mind around what was happening, they had arrived at the hospital. Everything was all a blur as her body was draped and wheeled into the operating room.
Detective Johnson patted his shoulder firmly, “She is in good hands. Just think, it won’t be long now before you can meet your baby. Soon, we will find out if you have a son or daughter.”
Alex watched the operating room doors as he waited to hear what was happening with Jordan. His stomach was in knots as he thought about what all could go wrong.
Alex couldn’t get the picture of Jordan’s pale face and the puddle of blood around her out of his mind. He had never been this scared before. He could not get over how life could change in the blink of an eye. Just when he had found love, it could be snatched from him.
He didn’t know what he would do without Jordan. He loved her and their unborn child, more than life itself.
As soon as the nurse walked into the waiting room, he worried that the news wasn’t good. The beep of the heart monitor echoed in the hospital room. The shuffle of feet beyond the room, muffled voices, and the clatter of rolling carts went unnoticed by him. Alex couldn’t move from this spot, as he stared at the small figure lying in the bassinet next to her mother.
Jordan looked so small and frail in the hospital bed. He despised seeing all the IV’s and tubes that were going into her body. He tucked the blanket around her small frame, needing to touch her.
Jordan heard someone calling her name, “Jordan...Jordan...Come on, honey. Open your eyes for me just once, my love.”
Another voice, a female voice, was talking, “The doctor prescribed her something for the pain. It should help her feel better soon.”
Jordan cleared her throat and tried to speak. Alex stood above her with worry etched on his face. He gently squeezed her hand.
She barely whispered, “The baby?”
Alex smiled as he told her, “We have a beautiful little girl. She is perfect. She has the blackest hair I have ever seen. The biggest eyes and sweetest face you could ever imagine. She looks so much like you; it is unbelievable.”
Alex placed the baby into the anxiously awaiting arms of her proud mom. Jordan smiled down at her child with tears in her eyes. This may not be how they envisioned their baby coming into this world, but she would be very well loved.