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Blood Connection

A Family TragedyBy Gary R. Austin Barbara L. Fincham

AuthorHouse

Copyright © 2012 Gary R. Austin & Barbara L. Fincham
All right reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-4772-1759-7

Chapter One

The beautiful young woman from Trinidad exited the community service building and pulled the security door closed before carefully turning the key in the lock and listening for the sound of the deadbolt as it slipped into the slot in the opposite door frame. She pulled on the door handle just to make sure it was locked. The term, "Obsessive-compulsive", came to her mind, but she did not care. She wanted to make sure that her friend Brandy was safe inside. Brandy had just begun her shift at the West Hollywood Crisis Center where Daphne; the young woman now leaving had spent the last four hours. It was a little past two a.m. and with the bars closing; there would be a lot of nut-cases wandering around this area.

It was June twenty-third, and during the past few hours the June Gloom had spread along the coastal areas of Los Angeles County; moving inland about ten to fifteen miles. One of the weathermen on the local TV channel had coined the phrase, June Gloom to describe the conditions created when the offshore flow brought fog onshore, resulting in a nighttime cool-down and a gloomy effect for most of the morning, which would usually burn off by early afternoon. On this particular night, the fog was heavy in West Hollywood, and the sidewalk, which ran alongside the community service building, was difficult to see as Daphne made her way to her car at the edge of the park. It had been a long night and she was half asleep. She almost tripped on a raised area on the sidewalk. Her full attention was on the path in front of her, and she did not realize that there was anybody else around until she ran smack into him.

"Oh!" she said pulling back from the man. The two of them stood for an instant looking at one another. Daphne could smell the alcohol on his breath. "Excuse me," she said, averting her eyes away from him and moving a step to her right in order to pass. Her pulse began to race when he stepped into her path; she knew then that she was in trouble.

"Where you going, Sweetheart?" The man said as his two strong hands took hold of Daphne's shoulders.

"Let go of me." Daphne was disappointed in the sound of her voice; instead of sounding empowered as she had intended, she sounded weak and frightened.

"I don't think so, pretty lady." The man began pushing Daphne toward a hidden recess in the side of the building.

Daphne struggled to resist him, but his strength was overpowering. She opened her mouth, preparing to scream when she suddenly felt his powerful fingers crushing her throat. The pain and the lack of air entering her lungs made her forget about resisting his attempt to push her into the darkness; all she could think of was her struggle to breathe. At the moment when she feared that she was loosing consciousness, his hand left her throat. Coughing and gasping for air; she next felt that same large hand on her crotch, practically lifting her off the ground.

The back of her head hit the side of the brick building, and when she tried once more to scream, nothing but a hoarse screeching sound escaped from her throat, which was now throbbing with pain.

The man took hold of Daphne's hair and pulled her head back so that she was forced to look up into his face. He then covered her mouth with his own, sliding his foul smelling tongue over her lips, trying to spread them apart. The tongue felt coarse and putrid as Daphne struggled to quell her panic and recall her self-defense training.

She feigned unconsciousness, and went limp in his grasp. He was strong enough that the pressure of his body pinning her to the wall kept her upright. With her eyes closed, she felt him rip her lightweight blouse open. He pulled at her bra, trying to break it free. Unable to snap the clasp from pulling on the front of the bra, he took a step back and pulled Daphne to him so that he could reach around and unfasten it.

From herself defense training, Daphne knew that this movement gave her an advantage; she used the momentum, which the man had initiated and added her own strength as she shoved against him; pushing with one foot against the side of the building. The man stumbled backward, and Daphne twisted out of his one handed hold on her and staggered to one side, freeing herself from his grasp.

Encouraged by her success, she felt a surge of added adrenalin pumping through her veins; giving her hope that she could actually get away from this monster. Still struggling to breathe, she lunged toward the sidewalk, but her attempt to escape was short-lived when the man grabbed her by the hair and wrenched her neck; pulling her back toward him. He pulled her backward and wrapped one arm around her, pinning her arms to her sides, while slapping his free hand over her mouth; just in case she had regained her ability to scream. She could feel his hot breath on her neck and ear; he reeked of sour alcohol. His lips touched her ear as he said, "Nobody has to get hurt! Just be nice to me and I won't hurt you."

Daphne knew that this man was going to kill her. Any reservations that she might have had with fighting back were gone. Her self-survival instincts took over and unleashed a determination within her to survive. She lifted one foot and brought her heel down on her assailant's toes. Immediately, his grip on her weakened and she forced her arms outward, breaking his hold on her. With all of her might, she brought one elbow up into his solar plexus; and quickly turned to face him. She pushed against him with her full body weight, causing him to stagger backwards, giving her just enough room to spin around and gain the momentum she needed to deliver a hard kick to his knee with one of her heavy high heeled boots that were not just for fashion.

The man bent over, clutching his knee. Daphne brought a boot up and caught the man under his chin, knocking him backward into a seated position. While he was down, she turned and ran ... directly into another man who was standing on the sidewalk. She felt an incredible pain in her stomach as the knife twisted and cut through the flesh, finding its way to her aorta, and then thrusting into her heart.

Daphne knew nothing more after that moment. She was unaware as the two men dragged her lifeless body into the shadows and stripped her clothes off of her. She felt nothing as they both entered her simultaneously, sweating and grunting and spewing profanities. She did not know that she was the second woman from the crisis hotline, who had been raped and murdered right here in this park within the past eight months.

Julia Barnes had been a detective with the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department for a little more than a year. She had joined the force four years earlier, when her twin daughters, Shelby and Shannon were just about to turn fourteen. Julia and her husband Daryl had at that time agreed that the girls were old enough to look after themselves during the daytime hours while she and he were working; freeing Julia to join the force.

This year, the girls would begin their freshmen year at UCLA. They were good students and had been put ahead in school, making them younger than most of their classmates. They had begged their parents to let them live on campus. Their position being; since they were only seventeen, they were at a disadvantage with their older classmates; and if they lived on campus, the others would see them as equals, which would help them assimilate easier.

Julia and...