Searching For Jenna novel Chapter 3

Once inside the SUV, William pulled his cell phone out of his shirt pocket and punched in a number. "The package has been secured, but we have a problem."

William's boss, Maverick Jonas, who was on the other end of the line asked, "What kind of problem?"

"Matthews got to her first. He beat her up pretty bad. She's going to need immediate medical attention," William explained. "And I didn't get a chance to look in the freezer."

"Fuck," Jonas muttered. "Get here A.S.A.P. and get your vehicle. I'll get her medical attention. You need to get back over to Matthews' house and play your role of Matthews' good friend, Darren Parker. Hopefully, you'll get to the freezer before the local police do."

"I'm going to need a change of clothes," William said, taking off his shirt. "I've got her blood all over me."

"Jesus Christ," Jonas swore again. "We'll have what you need when you get here."

Jenna moaned and then said in a rasp, "He moved the body to my mom's car." With that said, she fell back into unconsciousness.

"She just said Matthews moved the body to his wife's car," William told his boss.

"Get that car," Jonas instructed.

When Cara and Caroline Marshall reached the Matthews' house, there was a flood of police and firemen. The 911 call Cara had made as she ran home to get her mother had brought the sheriff's department, the fire department, the city police, and an ambulance out to the scene. A city police officer was guarding the front parameter. He stopped them by moving into their path and saying. "You can't come up here."

Caroline looked up at the stern looking young man. He was in a dark blue police uniform with his hands resting on his police duty belt. "My daughter is the one who called 911. Jenna Matthews is her best friend. Do you know if she is okay?"

"I don't have any information about her condition ma'am, but I'm sure Detective Howard is going to want to speak to you," he said. "Just a moment." He turned and spoke into the radio on his shoulder telling someone that the 911 caller was at the scene.

A few minutes later a man dressed in black fatigue pants and a black t-shirt with a police badge pinned to the front came out of the house and started walking toward them. The man was tall with a thickly muscled upper body. His dark hair, peppered with gray was in a short crew cut. He held out his hand to Caroline. "Detective Terry Howard, ma'am."

Caroline accepted his firm handshake and put her arm around Cara. "Caroline Marshall. This is my daughter, Cara. She was with Jenna Matthews when Jenna's father, Michael Matthews, attacked her."

"Can you tell me what happened, Cara?" Detective Howard asked, turning his intense gaze directly on Cara.

Cara looked uncertainly at her mother. She recognized Detective Howard as a friend of Jenna's father's. She was afraid to tell that she and Jenna were kissing. Her mother nodded toward the detective and gave Cara a reassuring squeeze. "I'd just got to Jenna's house, and we were...kissing when her father came in her room."

Detective Howard looked at Caroline questioningly. "Cara and Jenna are dating. Jenna's parents don't know. Jenna was terrified about how her father would react if he found out," Caroline explained.

"So, he went ballistic when he saw the two of you kissing?" Detective Howard asked Cara.

She nodded. "He grabbed me by the arm and threw me toward the door and then started hitting Jenna. I tried to stop him, but he hit me and knocked me across the room."

Caroline gently turned Cara's face so the detective could see the mark that was starting to swell and turn from beet red to reddish purple. Detective Howard's face hardened as he looked at the petite blonde. "I see."

"Jenna kept screaming for me to run. After he hit me, I did run, and I called 911 and talked to the operator until I got home. He was hitting her so hard." Cara started crying. "Did he kill her?"

"We're not certain what her condition is," said Detective Howard. "We can't find her."

"What?" Cara and Caroline said in unison.

"She's not in the house. Matthews is not here either. There are clear signs of a struggle, but neither Jenna nor Michael Matthews are here," Detective Howard explained. Turning to Cara, he asked, "Would you mind coming inside and showing us where everyone was when you left?"

Cara looked to her mother, who nodded. "Sure."

"I don't know," Matthews answered, running his fingers through his short dark blonde hair. "She ran away."

"She ran away?" Detective Howard asked skeptically. He pointed to the scraped hand Matthews had just run through his hair. "What happened to your hand?"

Michael Matthews wouldn't meet Terry Howard's gaze when he answered. "I punched a tree when I couldn't find Jenna. She took off running into the woods behind the house."

Detective Howard pursed his lips and narrowed his eyes. "There's a lot of blood upstairs in your daughter's bedroom. Are you sure you didn't punch her?"

"I slapped her," Matthews confessed angrily. "I walked in on her and her queer girlfriend. They were kissing in my damn house! I lost it. I slapped her, and her nose started bleeding."

"That's not what our witness said. She said you were punching Jenna so hard she thought you were going to kill her," Detective Howard said.

"She's lying!" Matthews shouted.

"Okay," Detective Howard said putting his hands up to stop Matthews. He motioned for one of the officers standing just off the porch to come over. "I want you to go with Sanders and give him your full statement. I'm going to take Miss Marshall's statement, and we'll go from there."

"This is bullshit, Terry, and you know it," Matthews shouted.

"We'll send some officers out to look for Jenna, and when we find her, she can tell us if you were punching her or not," Detective Howard said. "But for now, you're going to go with Officer Sanders."

Matthews mumbled to himself as he walked in front of the younger man. Detective Howard motioned for another officer to come up on the porch. When the man was in front of him, he said, "Mr. Matthews says his daughter ran into the woods. Take a few guys, some mag lights, and see if you can find her, or any signs of her."

Terry Howard watched his old friend, Michael, walk away with Officer Sanders. Shaking his head, he turned back to the house. He'd always wondered when Michael would get busted for beating his wife or daughter. It was one of the reasons they'd stopped being friends. Terry didn't have the tolerance for a man who took his job out on his family. Michael's wife, Darlene, would never turn him in for the abuse. She was too afraid of Michael. But now, depending on what Jenna looked like when they found her, Michael may have crossed the line that would put an end to his career and put him in jail.