CHAPTER FIFTEEN

Angus stood in the doorway that led from the house to the garage and clenched his jaw as he looked at the body of Terrance Jefferies. Guilt flooded him because of this death. He'd known the risk and hadn't taken Terrance out of the house to protect him. It didn't matter that he hadn't had any evidence to do that. He could have prevented this and hadn't.

Terrance's body was upright, bowed over the top of the long chest freezer that stood against the back wall of the garage. The lid was open, and Terrance's head rested on one of the items inside the freezer. Blood trickled from the boy's mouth, but even more horrifying was seeing how the car had crushed Terrance's body between the grill of the car and the freezer. The car still sat in place, holding the body upright. Terrance's feet dangled just off the ground as if the car had forced him up just a few inches before crushing him to death. With Terrance's height, the car had hit his pelvic area, but that had been enough to kill him. Terrance had fallen forward, his head inside the open freezer. It was one of the most horrific things he'd seen, and he'd seen a lot.

Terrance's mother had come home to find him that way. Angus didn't want to think about the shock she'd had when she'd opened the garage door and pulled her car in beside the other car that had crushed her son.

She'd called for help right away, but Terrance was already gone. So was their suspect. Johnny Jefferies was nowhere to be found. Angus already had people searching for him in the area, but it was clear that the murder had happened earlier in the day. That gave Johnny time to run. The question was, where would or could a fifteen-year-old run to?

He could hear Mrs. Jefferies crying in the living room as she spoke to Franks. Angus was glad Franks was dealing with her, because every time Angus looked into her grieving eyes, another wave of guilt rushed through him. He'd thought he had time. Thought that Terrance would be safe with his parents around. He figured the parents would be home over the weekend. He had no idea Mr. Jefferies usually went into the office on Saturdays, and that was something he should have confirmed. Mrs. Jefferies had gone shopping. She was only gone for a few hours, but it had been enough.

Angus watched as Mack walked back toward the body. He'd already looked over the scene but hadn't started to deal with the body yet. There was so much more than just confirming the body was dead. Angus was shocked to see Lance walk in behind Mack. He narrowed his eyes, wondering what he was doing there. He slowly made his way around the back of the car to where Lance stood, looking at Terrance's body. "Hey?"

"Hey, sorry to intrude, but Gail insisted on coming. It was easier for me to drive her." Lance kept his voice low. "I assume the new ghost I see with Gail might be your victim."

Angus's eyes went wide. "Seriously? He's here?"

Lance nodded but didn't say more as Mack moved closer to them.

"His brother is missing. We're assuming he did this, which means he's somehow managed to kill all of them. I've got people searching, but he could be anywhere now. I've sent an officer to Gavin's home and to the hospital to keep an eye on them until we find Johnny." Angus looked at the body and shook his head. Now wasn't the time to cry on Lance's shoulder, but he really wished he could get a hug right now.

"Has forensics finished with the car? We need to move it back so we can retrieve the body." Mack asked.

Angus didn't want to be here for this, but it was his job. He went over and spoke the man who had been collecting evidence. The whole car would be taken to the lab, but someone would have to at least get into it and reverse it to release the body from where it was being held. After speaking to the man, Angus walked back to Lance and Mack. "Give him five minutes, then he'll back it up a bit. We're waiting on the flatbed wrecker to get here to haul it, but we need to remove the body before opening that second garage door."

"That's fine. We only need a little room to work." Mack sighed. "Horrible way to die."

Angus knew it had been Terrance's biggest fear. Again, he fought back a wave of guilt. He should have prevented this.

"You okay?" Lance looked concerned.

"Yeah, I will be." Angus wasn't up to talking about everything now. Tonight, with a cold beer, he'd talk to Lance about his feelings, but here at the scene wasn't the place. He gestured Lance to move away from Mack for a moment, then leaned in. "I need to speak to Terrance if he's still around."

"I know. Ray and Bethany won't let him go into the light without at least speaking to me first," Lance told him quietly. "He appears upset. They're outside in the driveway right now."

Angus nodded but didn't say more as Mack started to move toward the body.

"We'll talk once this is done." Lance nodded to the body. "Go do your job, and I'll do mine."

Angus groaned. If he'd been doing his job correctly, maybe Terrance would still be alive. He gave Lance a nod, then turned to start back into the house when he heard screaming from out front. Turning back, he quickly made his way to the front of the house to find an officer holding Mr. Jefferies back from crossing the crime scene tape. Angus hurried over. "Mr. Jefferies, your wife is inside. Let's go through the front door and talk to her there."

"I need to see. Is it true? Is Terrance really dead?" Mr. Jefferies tried to move past the tape again.

Angus gripped his arm. "It is, but we're collecting evidence right now and can't have you there. Your wife needs you. Let's focus on her and let them finish up here." He kept a tight grip on Mr. Jefferies' arm as he led him up the front steps and into the house.

Franks glanced up as Mrs. Jefferies ran to her husband. She cried hard against his chest as he held her to him. Angus moved into the living room and leaned in. "Lance is out helping Mack. We need to interview the others after."

Franks brows went up. "Others?"

Angus nodded, hoping Franks would catch on that Terrance's ghost had remained. "Lance will help us on that once we finish up here." He watched as the Jefferies took a seat on the couch, both of them crying.

"They think Johnny did this," Mrs. Jefferies cried. "They think he's responsible for all this."

Mr. Jefferies looked up. "Is this true? Where is Johnny?"

"We don't know. He wasn't home when I got here." Mrs. Jefferies wiped at her tears with a tissue. "I called for help and rushed into the house to make sure Johnny was safe, but he was gone. I don't know where."

"Do you mind if I have a quick look around Johnny's room?" Angus asked. He could wait for a warrant, but if the family would give permission, it would help hurry things along.

"You think my son did this?" Mr. Jefferies shook his head. "Impossible. Johnny isn't capable of killing someone. He's not an angry kid."

"Then where is he?" Mrs. Jefferies turned on her husband. "Where is your son? He never leaves the house, yet he's gone now? My son is dead, and yours is missing."

Mr. Jefferies stood up. "Johnny would never do something like this. Maybe the killer took him." He stared at Angus and Franks. "That's possible. Maybe my son is in danger while you sit here calling him the killer."

Angus understood the need for a father to defend his son. And the father was right, it was possible, but not probable. With the information they had, Angus was sure the kid was a killer. The problem was, all he had was information and not evidence to back up his thinking. "We are looking at every possibility. I have people out there now, searching to find your son. We want to make sure he's safe, but we also have questions we need to ask him."

"No way. Johnny couldn't do something like this." Mr. Jefferies shook his head as he stared at his wife. "You can't think he could."

"Then where is he?" she yelled at him.

Angus exchanged a look with Franks. This was not what he needed right now. "Let's stay calm. We can't solve anything if you're fighting."

Franks nodded. "Is there somewhere your son would go? A friend's house or another family member's? Maybe he saw what happened and got scared."

Angus didn't believe it for a moment, but Franks' questions seemed to calm everyone down.

"No, all his friends were online. I don't know of anyone local that he hung out with. He might go to my mother's house, but even that is doubtful." Mr. Jefferies sighed.

"Can you call her and see if he's there?" Angus asked.

Mr. Jefferies huffed out a long breath but pulled out his phone. "I'm not telling her about Terrance now. I need to do that in person." He quickly hit a button on his phone. "Hey, Mom, how are you?" Mr. Jefferies' tone had gone soft and gentle. He seemed to listen for a minute, then nodded. "Hey, I'm looking for Johnny. Did he happen to come over there today?" Mr. Jefferies' eyes widened, and he cast a look at his wife. "What time?"

"He's there?" Mrs. Jefferies gripped her husband's arm.

Mr. Jefferies shook his head, still focused on the call. "Okay, Mom. If you see him, please call me." He ended the call and looked over at Franks and Angus. "He came by to get her car a little over an hour ago."

"He doesn't have a license." Mrs. Jefferies frowned.

"His learner's permit, but Mom wouldn't know the difference." Mr. Jefferies sighed. "What does this mean?"

"Did he say why he needed her car?"

"He wanted to run to the mall to get a new set of headphones." Mr. Jefferies shook his head. "Johnny hated the mall. He ordered everything online. He never goes shopping. Mom said he promised to be back in a few hours."

"We need your mother's name and any information about her vehicle that you know." Franks had his notepad out.

"I can't believe this is happening." Mr. Jefferies looked at his wife. "Call Edward. If Johnny is a suspect, he's going to need a lawyer."

Angus groaned inwardly. A lawyer would only delay them getting information they needed.

"Detectives, I want to know if my son is safe, so I'll give you the information you want about my mother, but that's all I'll give you for now. Any search of his room or further information that may hurt my son will have to wait until you get a warrant, or my attorney is here."

"Understood." Franks took the information on Mr. Jefferies' mother, getting her name, address, and the make and model of her car. As soon as they called it in, they'd have the license plate number and be able to start searching for the car.

Angus went to the door and called to one of the uniformed officers. "Could you stay with the Jefferies while we make some calls?"

"Yes, Sir." The officer walked into the house and stood by the door to the living room.

"We'll go call this in and get people looking," Franks told the Jefferies as he stood. "Please stay with the officer while we finish up in the garage."

Mr. Jefferies nodded. "Please find him."

"We're doing all we can," Angus assured him as he walked out of the house.

Once they were away from the parents, Franks stopped and pulled out his phone. "Like you, I think Johnny did this, but as of right now, we have nothing tying him to the murders other than he's gone missing, and that doesn't prove guilt. We need to find something solid."

Angus rolled his shoulders. "The make and model of the grandmother's car matches the one we saw leaving Gail's work. It's a start. I was hoping to get into his bedroom. Maybe find a bottle of eye drops. He's a minor, which is going to make this extra hard. With the parents already lawyered up, it's going to be slow getting any information."

"I hate to do it, but we need to play the parents against each other. Remember, they're remarried. Mrs. Jefferies just lost her only son. She's going to be more willing to help than Mr. Jefferies who is going to try and protect his son." Franks nodded to where Mack and Lance were rolling the body to the van. "You said Terrance stuck around?"

Angus nodded. "That's what Lance said. I'm still not completely sure why he's here. He said Gail wanted to come, but if we can interview Terrance, maybe he saw something that will help."

"Sure, help us know what happened, but still not give us usable evidence to back it up." Franks sighed. "Let's go talk to your man and see what he knows."

Angus followed Franks to the medical examiner's van. He waited while they loaded the body into the back, then for Lance to finish up. They watched as Mack drove off, then looked at one another. "Is now a good time to talk to Terrance?"

Lance glanced over at the driveway and nodded. "I'll grab him. Meet us at your car." Lance pulled out his phone and acted as if he was listening to someone talk.

Angus was used to this. He followed Franks over to where they'd parked. He unlocked the door and they both got into the front seat. "This is not how I planned to spend my weekend."

Franks laughed. "You know better than to make plans. If you really want a carefree weekend, you need to leave your phone behind and get out of town."

"If only." Angus rested his head back against the seat and smiled as Franks turned on the air conditioning. He had to find something to link Johnny to these murders or he was in for a very long week. He hoped that Terrance had seen something, but as he watched Lance walk to the car, he was reminded how seldom luck was on his side.