The Vicky Series: Book 2: Saving a Dream

Chapter 13

"Wait, what about Quin? He knows you're not Smith."

"He can be trusted. He's a loyal soldier, and military training is rather a useful tool. You'd be surprised what you can do if when it's CLASSIFIED."

"Quin's no fool. He's got a lifetime of connections—"

"As I said, we've an understanding."

"Dou you really think—"

"I do. And what's more, so do you."

Jeremy sat back.

"You're right, Smith. Quin is a man of integrity and his loyalty is beyond question. He can be trusted."

"I know this already." He leaned tiredly against the desk. "However, I strongly recommend secrecy, Jeremy. Tell as few people as possible. None would be best. This mission is dangerous and knowledge of it could alter behaviors which would lead to exposure and death."

"Yes, you said your last man was found dead."

Smith sighed and pinched his thumb and forefinger to the bridge of his nose as he shook his head. He turned and shuffled around the papers on the desk until he found a large envelope. He handed it over to Jeremy.

Jeremy took it and arched an eyebrow in question. Smith nodded. Jeremy sat down and dumped out the contents of the envelope. He wished at once that he hadn't. They were photographs taken of a terrible scene. It was a house, or it had been once. Now it was a morgue. There were dark stains everywhere, like paint splattered and smeared over every surface.

Jeremy swallowed hard when he realized the bits and pieces everywhere were body parts. He pushed them away and turned his back. He heard the papers shuffle and knew Smith was returning them to the envelope.

"Our man inside was found dead. He was hung multiple times always released before he expired. His fingernails were removed as were his toenails. He was missing two fingers and several large patches of skin as well as his scalp. His eyes were put out, and he was badly cut in several places. He was tortured for many hours before his death."

"This is his house?" Jeremy waved a hand toward the envelope and its morbid contents.

"No. It was his sister's house. His widowed sister and her three children, all butchered."

"Dear God." Jeremy choked back the fear that rose as he thought of Vicky and Little Bit.

"I assure you, secrecy is of utmost importance."

"I can't do this." Jeremy said, backing toward the door. "I won't do this."

"The monsters that did this? They are men, Jeremy, men of the community. Bankers, Merchants, fine upstanding citizens of the communities they live in. Jeremy, these men that did this were her neighbors. She knew them. There was no sign of a forced entry. There were tea cups out and tea still in the pot."

"They KNEW her? And they still did this?"

"They did this to her, and to her daughters. The surgeon we summoned to the site said from what he could gather the girls were brutally abused before they were killed. The young girls are all in one piece. But their faces are beaten beyond recognition."

Jeremy gagged. Then he spun around and wretched into the wastepaper basket.

---

When they pulled up to the gate, Louie was there to open it for then rifle in hand. Quin looked past him to the house as the door opened and a man stepped out, rifle in hand.