Katie leaned forward and put her hand on his arm to let him know it was okay.
“Being mischievous boys, we followed him, careful not to alert him that we were behind him. We walked for a while, heading toward the Old Mill Road. Several times, though…”
“What?”
“It was just a feeling, but… we thought we heard someone following us too.” Buck stopped as if he had said too much. He glanced down at Katie’s hand that was still on his arm and took a breath. “That’s when we heard the screams. They were shrill and sounded like death. Bruce Collins yelled and you could hear him hitting something with his bat and a woman screaming for mercy.”
Katie felt chills at the horror that must’ve unfolded and how two young boys were witness to hearing the gruesome event. Taking a breath, she swallowed hard. She knew Buck was retelling something absolutely awful from his childhood—and she believed him.
“Detective?” he said.
“You can call me Katie.”
He nodded with appreciation. “Katie, my brother and I heard him murder his wife and daughter. We didn’t see it, but we definitely heard it,” he said and looked away, gently pushing her hand from his arm.
She looked at Buck with a much deeper understanding of his life and why he chose to live the way he did.
“How did you know they were buried on the construction site?” she gently pushed.
“After all that, we followed him as he drove his truck with the bodies in the back. We saw where he buried them. And later we went to the site and saw the fresh dirt that had been dug. We couldn’t sleep for a while—thinking that he would kill us or our parents if we said anything.”
“You never told anyone?”
“Never. And I’m never telling the story again.” He looked directly at Katie.
She knew he meant it and there was no way to corroborate the story unless his brother was willing to tell it to the police too. The pieces were falling together now, but where was this all going? Bruce Collins had ended up dead himself and buried at the back of his house…
“I know your next question… I don’t know who the man in black is except I believe he’s part of the Collins family somehow.” This time he squeezed Katie’s arm. “It’s up to you to figure that out—but you must be careful. I might not be there next time.”
“Thank you for telling me all this. Can I do anything for you?” she said.
“You already have.”
“Can I get in touch with you?”
Buck gave a tiny smile. “As I said before,Iwill get in touch with you.”
THIRTY-ONE
Thursday 2135 hours
Katie had called McGaven and given him the short version of her visit with Buck, and said she would explain more tomorrow. She drove into her driveway and was relieved to see John’s truck. After hearing Buck’s harrowing story she wanted company and to put everything on hold until tomorrow. Buck had been living more than one nightmare and there must be demons knocking at his door continuously. But as far as Katie could tell, Buck was more like a guardian angel.
Katie parked and walked up to her door. She hadn’t realized how tired she was both mentally and physically. That was when she had to be careful because her body could betray her with anxious energy.
She was about to turn the knob and walk inside, but something stopped her. It was quiet. Cisco wasn’t barking at her arrival. She hesitated and slowly opened the door. She was greeted with darkness as there were only two candles burning on the counter.
“Hello?” Katie called. There was no answer.
The silence didn’t sit well with her, but she put her things down on the sofa and walked to the kitchen. On the counter next to the candles were several red rose petals and a note. She immediately smiled. She couldn’t believe John was this romantic but she was happy to play along.
Looking down the hallway, all was dark, except for some light coming from the main bathroom. She walked slowly to investigate, expecting to see John at any moment, but he was nowhere to be found, nor was Cisco.
Katie pushed the bathroom door open where she found a steaming bath with several rolled-up towels on the counter, her robe hanging on a hook, and a note:
Stop, relax, and when you’re done a meal will be waiting.
Katie smiled. She couldn’t believe this sweet luxury. A lovely hot bath was a good way to end such a trying day.
