Page 94 of Diamonds in the Mud

“Night.” I fell asleep thinking about our future. Somehow, my rest wasn’t as peaceful as I’d expected. My dreams were filled with dark shadows and time speeding by too fast as I tried to accomplish simple tasks.

I woke to my phone ringing. Seeing Randy and Edith’s face on the screen, I sat up and answered as I glanced at the clock.

“What’s wrong?” I said, after seeing that it was a quarter past five in the morning. “Mom?”

“Is at home resting peacefully,” Randy said. “I need you in the office at six sharp.”

“Okay.” I settled back on my bed. I usually got to the office around eight.

“We’ve got a big meeting. All hands are needed on deck.” His voice sounded strained. I understood instantly. Jameson had either made his move in the night or was about to.

“I’ll shower, get ready, and head in now,” I said, standing up.

“See you then.” He hung up.

As I walked into the precinct, my nerves were jangling. I wanted a large cup of coffee but figured I didn’t need the caffeine. Randy was busy in his office on the phone and didn’t even look up when I strolled by and headed straight to my own office.

Sure enough, by six o’clock sharp, every cop and employee on the payroll was in the office. More than a hundred people crowded into the bullpen.

Sherry’s voice came on over the loudspeaker, which had only been used a half dozen times in the past five years.

“We need everyone to gather in the bullpen,” Sherry said quickly. Then the speaker clicked off.

I stood up, took a deep breath, and stepped out of my office. If I hadn’t looked around the room at every single person, I would have missed him. Jameson and a few other men I didn’t know were standing in the hallway, dressed in black, and I froze in place.

“Thanks,” Randy said, getting everyone’s attention.

No one else in the room seemed to notice the extra dozen or so bodies circling the room.

“At approximately oh-nineteen hundred last night, Bobby and Earl Dupont’s bodies were found floating in the Red River by some fishermen.” Several people gasped. Those who didn’t know who the brothers were remained silent. My heart practically stopped beating as my eyes moved to Jameson, who was staring straight ahead.

Was Jameson here because Randy believed he had something to do with their deaths?

“Both men had been stabbed to death, their faces slashed beyond recognition.” Randy’s eyes moved to me and my heart jumped for another reason.

Sharon Taylor.

Was Randy trying to tell me that the Dupont brothers’ deaths were connected? Why hadn’t I been called in on this sooner?

Most of the Red River ran through my district. Still, if they had been found in Madison County, then I wouldn’t have been called.

So many questions ran through my head.

“Technically their bodies weren’t found in our district, but we’ve been asked to lend a hand on this one. Rayne, you’ll be taking the lead,” Randy said to me, gaining my full attention again.

I nodded in acknowledgment.

“Why call us all in for that?” someone complained.

Randy held up his hand to stop all the voices. “Quiet,” he said, and the room went silent again.

I glanced around and realized why. There were now more than a dozen new people surrounding our group. Randy had been stalling until Jameson and his men were in place. Which meant someone in the room was dirty. The rat. I glanced around quickly. My eyes landed on Abe a few feet away from me. To Quincy, whose desk I was standing by and who was less than five feet from me.

My entire body tensed, ready for whatever came next.

“As some of you may notice, there are a few extra faces in the room.” Suddenly, everyone looked around and all at once noticed Jameson and his team.

“What is this?” someone asked.