Free Crucified by Adelle Laudan Page A

Casey’s blood.
Her gaze fell on Taylor and her eyes widened, while color flooded
her face.
    “ Get those cuffs off of him!”
    An officer
unlocked the cuffs and moved away as quickly as possible. His nose
wrinkled in distaste. Taylor watched the anger dissipate from her
face, replaced by a deep sadness that tugged at his heartstrings.
He desperately wanted to be the one to comfort her.
    “ I’m sorry.” She crumpled against her partner and buried her
face in his jacket.
    Concern etched
Seth’s brow. He squeezed her arm and guided her over to the
sedan.
    His brows knit
in confusion, Taylor turned to the nearest officer as Seth started
the car and drove off. “She’s sure taking this hard. Do you think
she’ll be okay?”
    “ She’s pretty tough. I’m sure she’ll be fine.” The officer
gagged and pulled his shirt over his nose. “No offense, but you
don’t smell too great.”
    Taylor shrugged
and trudged the short distance to his bike without another word
spoken. His eyes teared up as the wind carried the putrid stench of
himself. No wonder Dianne went to Seth and not him.
    “ I’m sorry, MJ.” He’d never been on his bike even remotely
close to being as filthy as he was now.
    He kicked her
to life and flipped up the stand. “Take me home, Mary Jane.” He
rode home pretty much on autopilot. He opened his back door to see
the light flashing on his phone. He trudged over and jabbed the
button.
    “ Taylor, this is Dianne. Could you please come down to the
station sometime today to issue a statement?” He heard the raw
emotion in her voice. “Thank you.”
    He sighed
wearily as he opened the cupboard with just his fingertips. He
grabbed a garbage bag and walked mindfully back out to the deck. He
wished with ever fiber of his being he didn’t have to recount the
events of today.
    Taylor stripped off his clothes. All the while, he held his
breath as he tossed each item of clothing into the garbage
bag. So much for these clothes. His stomach turned as he tied the bag
closed.
    Naked, he walked over to the garbage can and tossed in the
evidence of his shit luck. He stood still, his gaze roamed over the spot he’d seen
the smoke coming from early that morning. What would that sick fuck have done to her if I didn’t go
investigate the smoke? He shuddered with
the thought and partly because of the breeze against his bare
skin.
    Once inside, he
walked straight to the bathroom. He held the walls of the shower
and let the warm water pummel over his head until the brown water
turned clear.
    ****
    Dianne stepped
out of the shower with a better grip on her emotions. She barely
remembered coming back to her room. Seeing Casey tied to a cross
affected her deeply. She’d seen plenty in all her years on the
force, but for some reason, this time was different, like something
inside of her broke and she doubted she’d ever be the same.
    She dressed in
jeans and a long sleeve black blouse. Instead of wearing the usual
running shoe, she opted for her black leather boots. She hardly
recognized the woman who looked back at her in the mirror.
    What happened
to you?
    The dark circles under her green eyes told how the past ten
years had taken its toll on her. She shook her head at her
image. You need to get a
life .
    A quick swipe
of mascara and Chap Stick and she was good to go. Her badge and gun
sat prominently on the end table, taunting her. With a decisive
nod, she picked them up and rolled back her shoulders before
stepping over to the door.
    She took a deep
breath before crossing the street to the station, and didn’t let it
out until she opened the door. Seth sat across from Chief Walker
replaying the morning’s events.
    “ I just can’t believe it. Jerry Cox?” The chief stared in
disbelief.
    “ My guess is he saw Casey with a boy, and snapped. She’s the
preacher’s daughter, hence the Jezebel angle.” Seth tipped back his
chair to lean on the wall.
    “ Any word on Casey?” Dianne sat against the