High Road 101 (Secret's Out)

A Nick Coyne Novel

High Road 101

Secret’s Out

A. Rhea King

Copyright 2017 A. Rhea King

Published by A. Rhea King a Distributed by Smashwords.

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Table of Contents

Title Page

Copyright

High Road 101 Playlist

Prologue7

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

Chapter 23

Chapter 24

Chapter 25

Chapter 26

Chapter 27

Chapter 28

About the author

High Road 101 Playlist

Prologue

[1] Ginny ‘GG’ Sullivan, Santa Fe Police Department’s Forensics Lab supervisor, sat in a recliner next to the ICU bed of her employee, Nick Coyne. She wasn’t watching her criminalist; her attention was on the game she was playing on her phone. Her opposite arm rested on the arm of the recliner. An IV line ran from her arm to an infusion pump that slowly pulled her blood out and pushed it into Nick. They were both AB negative, one of the rarer types of blood, and the hospital had used all of the compatible blood supply it had. Calls were made to get more, but the rare blood type made other hospitals and clinics unwilling to give up much of their supply. GG stepped up and offered to donate one pint every ten hours. It was slowly helping, but having more blood would help Nick’s body heal faster.

She looked up when an elderly couple walked in. They were watching Nick and didn’t notice her right away. The woman stopped and covered her mouth. As she turned to her husband, she saw GG.

Hello, she said, smiling.

GG returned it. Hello. I’m Ginny Sullivan.

Rodger and Jill Coyne, the woman said. She noticed the IV line between GG and Nick. Are you donating blood for him?

I am.

She began to tear up. Do you know how he is doing?

Before she could answer, Nick’s doctor trotted into the room. The man was slightly winded as if he’d been running. He flashed GG a smile before turning his attention to the couple.

I’m Doctor Caine. He extended his hand and the three shook hands. Are you Nick’s parents?

Rodger answered, Yes. How is our son?

His recovery is improving, but slowly. His INR is at seven. That’s the metric we use to determine how well his blood clots and right now, it isn’t. He’s lost about forty percent of his blood volume from several deep cuts that are continuing to bleed, and we have him only at forty-five or forty-six volume. He desperately needs an infusion. We have given him all the blood that is compatible with his blood type, but it’s so rare that we’re having a hard time finding blood donations. Since you are his parents, you should either be A negative, B negative or AB negative, and can donate blood to him. Can we do the test now?

GG watched tension and worry come over his parent’s faces. Their expressions told her they wouldn’t donate blood. GG wondered, What parent would refuse to give blood to their child?

Could we talk outside? Rodger asked.

Doctor Caine hesitated but then nodded. He led them outside and slid the door almost closed. There was enough of a crack that GG could hear the quiet conversation.

Nick is adopted, but since it doesn’t matter, we’ve never told him, Rodger explained, and we already know we don’t have a blood type that would allow us to donate blood for him. I would appreciate it, Doctor, if you never mention this conversation to our son. Sometimes he reacts to unpleasant news in a self-harming way.

I see, Doctor Caine said. His tone said he didn’t ‘see,’ but he moved on with the conversation. Well, then we’ll just have to wait for the people GG contacted. She said four or five will be here by tomorrow and more throughout the week. I’ll keep him sedated until his volume and INR are at a safe level.

Why was he given an anticoagulant? Jill asked. Did he have a blood clot? I noticed he has bandages around his neck and wrists. Did our son try to commit suicide?

You don’t know what happened to him? Doctor Cain asked them.

His best friend called two days ago, and left a message that we had to get here as soon as possible, that something had happened, Rodger answered. We haven’t been able to reach her since.

Talk to GG. She’s his supervisor and will know what information can be released about his case.

Case? Rodger questioned.

I’ll let GG explain. If you need anything, let the nurses know.

Thank you," Jill said.

The door slid open, and the couple returned. Jill sat down in a chair across from GG.

What happened to our son? Jill asked GG. Why was he taking an anticoagulant? How did he lose so much blood? Red left a message saying he was hurt but didn’t say anything else, and she hasn’t returned any of our calls since. The injuries look like… They look like… She was struggling to hold her composure. Did Nick try to commit suicide?

GG laid her phone in her lap. Red is the lead in Nick’s case, GG answered. She’s swamped right now, which would be my guess as to why she hasn’t returned your phone calls. Nick did not attempt to commit suicide. He was kidnapped, and his kidnapper did this to him.

Why would someone kidnap our son? Rodger demanded. Was there a ransom? Why weren’t we informed before now?

There was no ransom, and we had only twenty-four hours to find him.

Who kidnapped him and why? Rodger pressed. His tone was raising as his anger built. Why were you given only twenty-four hours? We should have been informed as soon as you knew he was kidnapped!

Without changing her tone or expression, GG quietly told him, Who kidnapped him doesn’t matter. All that matters is your son is alive and safe. That’s what we need to focus on now.

Don’t tell us that. Don’t talk down to us. We are his parents and we need to know what happened to our child! Jill snapped. There was venom in her voice, and a fire of someone used to being told the blunt truth. "Why was he kidnapped? Why did the kidnapper cut him like this? Did his kidnapper give him the anticoagulant? And why? For what reason? He’s a criminalist, for God’s sake! I know this department has let three other criminalists die, but Nick assured us that changes had been made to protect them. Why wasn’t he protected?"

I was not trying to insult you by what I said, or to belittle your concerns for your child, GG told her. I know that as a State Justice, Mr. Coyne, and a lawyer of thirty years, Mrs. Coyne, you’ve heard a lot of horrible things, but this is your son. Knowing who or why won’t change what has happened to him. And rest assured, this can’t happen to him or anyone else again. His kidnapper resisted arrest and was shot.

Jill looked up at her husband. He stood in the corner, staring at the floor with his arms crossed. Finally, he looked at his wife.

I want to know who did this to our son, sweetheart, Rodger told her, but if you can’t… I can wait.

Jill looked up at her son lying in bed. She stood up and walked around to his side, taking Nick’s hand. Jill gently brushed his hair with her fingers.

He was always so happy when he was a toddler, Jill said. He’d bound around the place and was always getting a scrape or bruise. My boy does not know how to sit still. Jill looked at Nick’s hand. He’s passionate. He believes people deserve justice; that victims should always get closure. Did you know that everyone in our family is a lawyer or an officer in law enforcement, except Nick? Jill smiled at GG. He shocked everyone when he told us he was going into forensics.

I didn’t know that, GG answered.

She nodded. Is he good at his job?

Yes. Nick is one of my best investigators. I am blessed to have him.

Blessed? Jill smiled more.

Yes. And he keeps Red in line. I couldn’t do that alone.

Rodger laughed. Now that I believe. That girl can be a handful.

They’re best friends, Jill said, nodding. He hasn’t had a best friend since he was nine. Has he ever told you about Sully?

GG shook her head.

He was kidnapped and murdered, and Nick was traumatized by it. I think he blamed himself for what happened to Sully, but he was only nine then. After they had found Sully’s body, Nick became convinced he could see him and that Sully was trying to tell him who killed him.

You believed he was hallucinating?

Yes. We… She started crying and kissed her son’s hand. We had to…

We committed him for a while; until he was better, Rodger finished.

That must have been difficult for everyone, GG commented. I’m sorry to hear that happened.

I want to know what happened to him, Jill began. "I want to know how he got so badly hurt and why he was kidnapped. Was it something against him or was it against the police department? What happened?"

GG couldn’t tell his parents everything; that would only worry them or cause them to make poor decisions. And hadn’t there been enough poor decisions made over the last few months? Ones that had led to Nick nearly dying? Ones she had made, too, which had given Nick’s kidnapper the opportunity he needed to abduct and nearly murder Nick. In silence, she had cursed herself for not making different choices, ones that would not have her praying that the little blood she could give Nick would keep him alive until more arrived. She had made a promise to others that she would keep him safe and in sixteen weeks, she had broken that promise and failed Nick. It was a guilt she’d have to live with for the rest of her life.

GG began with, "The first thing I’ll say is that your little boy was brave and determined to make sure the victim got her justice. What he didn’t know, what none of us knew, is that the events that put him in this bed, began long before he saw her lying in the desert…"

[1] High Road 101 Playlist: High Road, Broken Bells

Chapter 1

Sixteen Weeks Earlier

The man entering the sagging, dilapidated shed had to duck through a doorway meant to accommodate someone shorter than five foot, eleven inches. Standing inside the door, the sloped roof brushed the top of his head. With his masculine features, dark tan, and well-toned muscles, this man should have been on a runway in a fashion show in New York City, Milan, Paris, or Rome; not in the desert a quarter mile west of Santa Fe, New Mexico in a tool shed.

Or maybe it had once been a garage, or a chicken coop, or a stable. Mentally Nick Coyne kicked himself. Who the fuck cares what the building used to be?

A breeze blew through the door. Nick moved his forensic field kit from one hand to the other and brushed his chocolate brown hair out of his almost green hazel eyes.

Detective Paul Samson stood in the center of the shed, jotting notes on his notepad. At his feet lay a naked dead woman. She was a brunette and there was a large patch of hair matted with blood over her right eye. Death had clouded her eyes over, obscuring the color they had once been. It had also taken most of the color from her skin, and darkened the pigmentation of the numerous tattoos across her body. She looked posed with her arms spread out, then bent at the elbows, so her open palms lay by her head. Rope burns on her neck, arms, knees, and ankles suggested she’d been restrained. Cuts ran across her ankles and wrists, going across the width of her limbs, not down and into the artery.

Nick ran through a series of mental questions, but he realized he really needed the autopsy to answer any of them. His eyes traveled to her lower abdomen. There was a splattering of tiny puncture wounds and large bruises. The bruising appeared to have occurred close to the time of death since they didn’t show any signs of healing.

The rustling of paper drew Nick’s attention away from the woman to the detective standing over her body. The man stared at the woman, but at this angle, Nick couldn’t read what he might be thinking. Was he studying her for his notes, was he feeling pity for her, or were there more carnal thoughts going through his mind?

A movement out of the corner of his eye drew Nick’s gaze to the woman’s twin standing on the opposite side of the shed.

The twin stood near the wall. Sunlight filtered through holes in the roof over her, and that was the beginning of everything wrong with her. She cast no shadow. Her skin was pale and gray like it had never been ruddy. She wore a sundress that stopped at her knees. The flowers on the dress were so faded they were nearly shades of gray. Her white tennis shoes looked gray, but not like they were dirty or dyed gray. Nick couldn’t explain why the color was wrong to himself. Her long brunette hair didn’t move, despite the breeze that kept rushing through the building. Her hair was matted with blood over her right eye.

Oh, those eyes. Those were the most disturbing things wrong with her. They were silver with black behind them. They didn’t reflect light but instead captured and absorbed it.

And even if all of these wrong things didn’t suggest she was not of this world, what happened to her every few seconds did. She would suddenly vibrate and in that instant, her entire face twisted into an expression of pain and fear, frozen in an eternal scream that no one would ever hear. When the vibrations stopped, she continued to stare at her body lying on the ground.

NICK!

Nick looked at Paul. He looked angry or annoyed – it wasn’t a clear expression.

What? Nick asked.

Stop doing that!

Doing what?

Staring across the room with that look like you’re about to attack someone. It creeps me out! Paul looked where the woman’s twin stood, but he didn’t react as if he saw her. Nick wasn’t surprised. No one else would ever see her.

I’m just mentally processing the crime scene. Sorry.

Well, process it without doing that thing where you look like a damned zombie about to eat my brains. It’s creepy as hell!

Nick almost apologized but changed his mind. He wasn’t really sorry for what he did because it was how he worked. It was how he helped them.

And what the hell took you so long to get here? I put that call in two hours ago.

I had another case in town. Had to get it sealed and wait for one of the M.E. assistants to come get the body.

Paul looked back at him and grinned. You couldn’t come up with a more creative answer, like, ‘I stopped for a blow job’?

Paul started with the Santa Fe Police Department nine years ago, and he had always been vulgar. He’d been reprimanded a few times for that, but it was overlooked because Paul was a good officer. He knew the laws, and he was thorough and tenacious. It didn’t matter how gory a crime scene or how violent or belligerent a person was, the man was a damn rock. He hadn’t started talking about being a detective until his girlfriend told him that she was pregnant. Nick wasn’t surprised when he’d heard Paul had passed the test and was promoted.

You’ve been a detective for three weeks, and you’re still this vulgar? Nick asked him.

Paul grinned and shrugged. A new badge doesn’t mean I’m going to stop giving you a hard time. What are your thoughts here?

I just got here, Paul, Nick pointed out. All I can tell you so far is a dead woman is lying in a shed that might collapse if the wind comes up. You go first.

Paul flipped back a page in his notebook. Couple kids were riding their horses out here – apparently, this is their fort – and found her yesterday. They didn’t get around to telling their parents until this morning. Now, the kids say some guy paid them not to say anything about it until today, but when I asked them what he looked like, they gave me three different descriptions. Then they started fighting when they found out the guy gave each of them different amounts.

So, they chose to lie and got caught?

Yeah. They’re fifteen, so I can only hold so much against them. There isn’t any residence within eyesight of this place, but I’ll canvas tomorrow. We might get lucky. I also did your job for you since you took forever to get here. Checked the perimeter for tire tracks. With the hard clay and gravel out there, got nothing. I haven’t printed her yet. Thought I’d make you do some work today and get your geek on.

Nick laughed. You are too kind.

Wife tells me that all the time.

Wife? When did you and Haki get married?

Oh yeah. I haven’t seen you since then. The day I got promoted, I went home and suggested we go to the courthouse the next morning and elope. Her parents didn’t like me before, but now they absolutely hate me. It’s awesome!

You’re proud that your in-laws hate you?

She hates her parents as much as I do. We get off on pissing them off.

Nick laughed. About the body. You’ve got nothing else about it?

Paul popped his lips saying, Nope. Then continued, And I’m heading out, amigo. I want to get some lunch before this mandatory meeting. Have you heard what it’s about yet? All we could get out of our captain was Anthony’s death prompted the brass to make some big policy change.

Nick nodded. That’s all I know too.

I didn’t make it to his funeral. How’s his family holding up?

I think his wife is moving back to Nevada with her family. He was days, I’m swing, we didn’t interact very often.

Well, do me a favor and don’t get yourself shot out here. If we keep losing crime scene investigators like this, no one will want to work our crimes for us. Paul patted Nick’s shoulder as he walked past. See you at the meeting, amigo.

Nick looked at the body again. Hey, Paul. He turned to look at the door.

Paul popped his head back inside. Yeah?

Did Joe or his assistant tell you how soon they’d get here? I gotta keep moving too if I’m going to make that meeting on time.

Joe’s coming, and when I called him, he said he’d be here when he gets here, mind my own business, and he was busy. That’s the sanitized version. That man is a permanent asshole!

You just need to get on his good side.

Joe has a good side?

Nick wagged his head side to side.

That’s what I thought. Paul knocked on the door frame. Later, Candyman.

He was gone before Nick could get after him for calling him a nickname he hated. Nick muttered under his breath, I could kill you for starting that, Red.

Nick turned back to the body. He sat his kit down and pulled a pair of latex gloves from his jeans pocket, then teased them onto his hands as he walked closer to the body. He looked it over for a moment.

Sorry to keep you waiting, Nick said. When the strange twin looked up at him, he smiled. Is it okay if I call you ‘honey’ until I figure out your name?

She stared at him in surprise for a minute, then she rushed at him, talking. But he couldn’t hear her.

Nick shook his head apologetically. Stop talking, honey. Stop. Slowly she obeyed, her mouth hanging open on a word before slowly closing. The