Page 31 of Special Agent Anastacia

Suddenly, Dave looked sheepish. “It’s my blasted blood pressure pills. Forgot to fill my prescription last week, and with all the shit going down in my jurisdiction, I got too busy to remember. Doc said me blacking out was a warning.” With his voice raised again, he shouted, “So… I got the goddamn pills, and all is fine.”

In reply, the scoffing grunt could be heard loud and clear… which Dave ignored. Instead, he looked toward Nash and Ana. “Now let’s drop this shit and get back to the case. Tell me what happened in town.”

Nash sat back and watched Ana calmly and succinctly tell Dave all that had gone down at the hospital, about how they were waiting on the addresses of the vehicles in question. When she mentioned the part about the Smirnova’s connection, he held his hand up. “That’s what Nan said?”

“Yes. She knew the ID was a fake. But she said the name was clearly Smirnova.”

“Hmm… I remember a Mike Smirnova. He’s the old man who owned a huge section back in the 90’s. Came from Poland I believe. Had a couple of boys, Boris and Vladimir who moved back with their mother to live with her family in Russia.” Dave’s following grin held little humor and a lot of contempt. “God love her, that woman was a nutcase, carried a bowie knife in her belt and had the personality of a crocodile, always snapping at folks. Only good thing I can say about her was her name, Mila. Her boys were like young, aggressive reptiles too. We weren’t sorry to see them gone.”

Both Nash and Ana straightened from their slouched positions. Ana spoke, her tone sharp. “Mila. Are you sure?”

“Of course. Why?”

“It’s the same name that the girl in the bar had on her ID, Mila Smirnova.”

“Now that can’t be a coincidence.” Dave shut his eyes tight and began talking. “Well, let me see. Lots of gossip around this story. Mike, who was at least twenty years older than his wife, became sick and before he passed, he sold the property to Sadie and her husband.”

Ana sat forward, snapping her fingers. “Bingo! There’s our connection. What happened?”

“Funny thing, he hadn’t left by the day Sadie and George took possession. When they went to move in they found the old man dead on the living room floor. Figured he passed from a heart attack.”

Old Pat’s voice sounded clear from the far room. “Because the stupid son of a bitch didn’t remember his pills either. See… that’s what happens.”

“Lord love a duck, Pat, drop it already.” Dave stood up and went to slam the door. Then he returned to his seat and leaned forward, his voice becoming stronger. “Sadly, two years ago, George died in a car accident and Sadie sold the big house and land to move to the smaller, more manageable place.”

Nash jerked forward, totally involved in the unraveling of the mystery. “Sadie? Our other victim. You’re a genius Ana. It could be why the killer picked her out. It wasn’t a random hit. This has to be the link.”

Ana shot to her feet. “Where’s the old Smirnova place?”

Dave jumped up, ignoring his desk chair smashing into the cabinet behind. He grabbed his patrol car keys, and headed for the door, both Ana and Nash at his side.

Nash stopped dead when he saw the cruiser. “Hold it. If we drive up in a flashing police car, it might set off alarms for the killer if he’s there. Someone might get hurt. I say we take my truck with the company logos, and I can approach the house saying I’m with the fire department.”

Dave opened his door. “I need my vehicle. You can follow us. We’ll pull over before we get to their property, and depending on what we see there, we’ll decide on our best choice to approach.”

By the time they’d all belted in, tires shot gravel in every direction. Wheeling around, Dave sped down the main street towards the more secluded area where the roads through the forest were still gravel. Ana looked toward the cop and spoke with resolve. “You sure you’re up to this?”

“Yes,Mommy. I’m fine. Blasted Pat shoulda kept his mouth shut.”

“Maybe from your point of view, but from where I sit, I’m glad I know we have to treat you… ahh, gently.”

Dave grinned. “Gently. Right. Just try it, Buttercup.”

Laughing, she said, “You got any firearms in the trunk?”

“Yeah, a rifle that’s loaded and ready. Plus, there’s a small Glock in my glove compartment. Help yourself.”

Once Ana had the weapon tucked safely in her jeans, she felt better able to tackle any situation. Their destination, being a place where any unexpected chaos might be awaiting, had her clicking into her agent mode and preparing herself for the worst.

Sounding grim, Dave pointed out the windshield. “It’s just around this bend up ahead.”

“Maybe stop here. Nash had a point about barreling in and spooking the asshole into doing something stupid. Let’s do a recon and take our time before sneaking up. Maybe survey the surroundings. From a distance, we can check first to see if anything looks out of place.” Dave chuckled and pulled over, hiding the squad car on a side road with a dead end.

Nash pulled in behind them and hurried over to where they waited. “I’m thinking they’re further up this way.” Dave pointed toward a forested bluff of rocks. The three headed through the trees, making their way past the brush and stopped at the highest point overlooking the house.

“There it is. The Roddams live in the house now. A nice couple with two kids, one’s a girl around Hanna’s age.”

“Jesus H. Christ. She may be the girl with Hanna, the girl calling herself Mila.” Nash felt sickness explode throughout his body. When Ana turned towards him with a warning glare and a question unspoken, he shook his head. No way they were leaving him behind. He only hoped they were in time, and that if theangels were watching, they’d make sure he got a chance at the son of a bitch who deserved a good thrashing.

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