Page 14 of Special Agent Anastacia

The miles faded and before they knew it, the two women had reached Lew’s convenience store, only to hear screams ripping through the morning calm. This unexpected threat created a reaction in Ana, one she knew only too well.

Her earlier relaxed spiritual mood immediately became focused, and her business-like persona broke out. In a hard tone that brooked no argument, she said, “Hanna, stay here. Let me go and see what’s happened first.” She thrust her finger toward the trees and then pointed at Hanna. When she saw Hanna hesitate, she barked. “Here. Hanna, now.”

Expecting her orders to be followed, then quickening her speed, she approached the building just as Maria, covered in blood, stumbled from the door of the store and threw up over the side of the railing.

By the time Ana reached the distraught woman, she’d begun crying uncontrollably. Unable to stop, Maria rushed down the few steps and began dashing in circles, her hands flapping in all directions. Struggling to get to her phone, most likely to call for help, she wrenched at her back pocket and was finally able to pull it free.

As she approached, Ana’s authoritative persona emerged. The mess of tears distorting Maria’s face made Ana totally aware that something had not only upset the woman, but it had to be really bad to create this kind of reaction.

“Maria, It’s me, Ana Marchenko.” Forced to physically restrain Maria, she held her by her arms. “Calm down, honey. Tell me what’s happened.”

“He’s dead. My God. Lew’s dead.”

“Okay. Calm down now. I’ll go in and check on him. Stay here.” Her hands reached to still the poor woman when she tried to cling. “It’s okay, Maria. It’s my job. I’ve seen it all. You stay here.”

As soon as Ana’s voice registered, Maria’s legs stopped working, and she dropped to the ground in slow motion. Hugging herself, phone now lying in the dust, she moaned pitifully. “Oh, God. Help Lew. Someone beat him up horribly. He’s dead. Oh, my God.” Tears added to the shock on the woman’s confused expression, and her lack of strength had Ana reaching for her to keep her from passing out completely.

By now, Hanna had come out of hiding and slowly approached. She crouched down also, but once she heard that Lew was in trouble, she darted forward to go into the store.

“Stop. Hanna, stop right there.”

The harsh tone of Ana’s voice did the trick, and the girl turned back. Her young voice reflected the fear obvious on her face. “But Lew’s in trouble.”

“I’m aware. But you need to stay here with Maria. I don’t want you contaminating the crime scene. I’ll take care of Lew. You just call 911.”

Once she knew that Hanna would listen to her orders, Ana made her way carefully into the store to see what one might describe as a blood-soaked mess. Poor Lew had obviously interrupted something unexpected, and that person or persons had turned on him, beating him so badly that he looked like a victim of a terrible disaster, the bullet hole in his chest being the worst of his injuries.

Carefully, moving to his side, Ana reached out to check for a pulse and thanked God when she found one… very weak, but there. She took a few seconds using an around-about route to where Lew kept the first aid supplies for sale. Quickly ripping open a larger sterile pad package, she rushed back to place it over the bullet wound. Applying pressure to stop the bleeding, she called out to Hanna. “Lew’s alive. Tell them to get an ambulance here as fast as they can.”

While she waited by Lew, her hands putting on the pressure needed to stop the bleeding, she scanned the area, taking in the open cash register and the broken window next to the large cooler.

Next, she saw a bloodied can of beans on the ground beside Lew’s body and surmised it to be one of the weapons used in the beating. A wooden barbecue scraper still in it’s package also lay nearby coated with blood.

All around, she saw a mess of crushed candy packages, a box of broken sunglasses, torn chip bags, and a number of other items lying beside a stand that must have gotten knocked over and trampled in the skirmish.

Whoever Lew caught must have been breaking into the place. Looking upward, she noticed the smashed cameras in different corners and prayed they might still be able to pull out some evidence. If his videos were sent to a remote location, such as across a wireless telephone connection or the Internet, the recording devices might have stored the streaming videos up until the culprits broke them. It would be worth checking into.

Completely immersed in recreating the scene, she surmised that Lew must have interrupted the intruders who probably heard him arrive on his ATV. Likely, they laid in wait to attack rather than running away. That in itself said the break-in had probably been done by older folks rather than young teens who would have taken the opportunity to escape rather than confront the owner.

Sure, Lew wasn’t a young man, but he was in darn good shape and had a quick temper. Anyone local knew better than to mess with him. Which kind of told her whoever did this wasn’t anyone who lived nearby.

Thankfully, she heard the sound of a siren in the distance and kept up her vigil by Lew’s body, her hand applying a constant pressure. Both an ambulance and the local sheriff arrived at the same time and so Ana stood back while the paramedics dealt with their patient.

Knowing that Maria would likely be traveling with Lew to the hospital, Ana wasn’t surprised to see Hanna approaching alone. The girl’s face wore an expression that worried Ana. The last time she’d seen this look was when they’d talked to Hanna on Facetime just after her parents were killed.

Chapter Eleven

Nash led his men further into the glowing brush fire, knowing they’d already been wrestling with the ordeal for twenty hours and were exhausted. Yet, they had no choice but to keep going. There were lives at stake, homes to save, and people caught inside the glowing furnace expecting help to arrive.

Working at the underbrush, they cleared the sides of the road enough for a firetruck equipped with four-wheel drive, high wheel clearance and rugged suspension that could gain access. These forest-fighting vehicles were designed to handle rough terrain and fight fires in areas that regular engines wouldn’t be of much use.

Meanwhile, the men continued putting out spot fires. No sooner did they win with one area, another area sparked. Beating back the flames from the worst of the disaster, they grimly fought on.

Nash’s instinct made him turn in time to see one of his older, less active men fall to his knees, trying to catch his breath frominhaling too much smoke. They’d expected to be relieved an hour earlier by an interagency hotshot crew, but he’d just gotten a radio message that they’d been turned back to fight a larger fire on the other side of the hill. One that had candled wildly due to a shift in the wind and was no longer under control.

Approaching his man, Nash crouched next to him. “Do me a solid, Tiger. Take a break.”

“Can’t, boss. The bastard’s winning. You need all hands on deck. I’m fine.”

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