A Killer's Watch (28 page)

“I think she knows that, but okay,” Jeri continued to type.

“You’re right, she knows that. I’m just frustrated. In this
age of cameras recording our every move, how does a truck disappear? Dylan
can’t find a trace of him anywhere, after he left the highway.”

“For one thing, remember where we are. Citizens in rural
Nebraska still have a semblance of privacy, I guess.” Jeri placed her phone on
the seat beside them. “The fact that he didn’t drive through a town, somewhere
with surveillance cameras, tells us something. He’s hiding in the country. If I
had to guess, I’d say he’s somewhere with the creature comforts he’s accustomed
to, not in some underground hole.”

“I agree with that. He’s much too spoiled by the finer
things to go without them for too long. Wherever he’s hiding, it won’t be a
shack.”

“Nope, though I doubt that he’ll have a household staff.
People in the country talk to each other. There’s too big of a chance that
he’ll be found out. On the other hand, I can’t see Graham Grant preparing his
own meals, or washing his own clothes. He’s either holed up somewhere with a
setup similar to his home, with Aubrey in a cellar, out of sight. Or he’s not
planning on keeping her for long. Either way, you can bet that he’s found someplace
private.”

“Unless he’s planning for Aubrey to take care of him,” Ethan
looked at Jeri sideways as he drove.

Jeri considered the concept, then nodded.

“It wouldn’t be the first time that a hostage kept house for
her abductor. And it fits Grant’s psychopathy. He’s been obsessed with Aubrey
for years, it stands to reason that he’d like to keep her around awhile, before
killing her.”

“But is he arrogant enough to keep her hostage in plain
sight? You said it yourself, he’s in the country, a place where neighbors talk,
but they also drop in on the new guy. Anyone could come by, see Aubrey, if he’s
keeping her as his housekeeper, as well as his hostage.”

“Graham Grant has enough arrogance to believe he can do
anything. He also believes that he’s smarter than everyone, so if this is his
plan, then he has a strategy in place for security.” Jeri reached for her phone
when it buzzed. “It’s the list from Anna. Damn, who knew there would be so many
property sales in one county?”

“Proof that the economy is getting better,” Ethan said
wryly. “Let’s start with the largest properties first.”

“We also need Chloe and Monique helping. I’ll give them a
call.”

~~~

“Is there any evidence that she’s been drugged?” Monique
asked the doctor quietly.

“Her pupils are dilated, but until I get the labs, I can’t
say for sure. She’s lucky you two noticed her condition. I’ve called for an
ambulance. I want her in a hospital for tests and observation.”

“She won’t like that,” Chloe said, coming up behind them.
“She’s ordered me to take her to her room three times in the last five
minutes.”

“I’ll handle her, don’t worry. If there is somewhere else
you need to be, don’t let us keep you. Mrs. Grant is in good hands, I assure
you.”

“As a matter of fact, there is,” Chloe took Monique’s arm.
“Thank you, Doctor. Will you let us know if you suspect foul play?”

“I’ll notify the police, yes.”

“Thanks.”

Chloe waited as Monique said goodbye to Belinda Grant. She
told her about Jeri’s message as they walked to the car.

“What else did the text say?” Monique asked, unconsciously
rubbing her head.

“Just that we should get somewhere private and call her.”
Chloe noticed the gesture. “Are you okay? How is your head?”

“It hurts, thanks. But I’m fine. I’ll take some ibuprofen. I
wonder what’s up.”

“One way to find out,” Chloe said, opening the car door. “I
hope they have a lead on Grant. I feel responsible for letting him get away.”

“Not your fault,” Monique climbed in beside her. “By that
logic, it’s my fault for letting him get the jump on me, so we’re both to
blame. We could discuss this all day, but it won’t change anything. Call Jeri.”

“What do you mean, you brought me home? Do you expect me to
live here? With you?” Aubrey raised her head from the pillow and looked Graham
in the eye.

“Of course, for a time. It’s a lovely home, a bit small for
my taste, but I’m sure you’ll find it adequate. We will live here together, as
man and wife. The way it always should have been.”

“But I’m already married, Graham. I have a family. What makes
you think that I’ll agree to this arrangement?”

“Oh, Aubrey, it’s humorous that you think you have a
choice.” Graham shook his head and smiled. “On second thought, maybe you do.
You could choose to let your family die, if you try to leave me. You can choose
to have your daughter take your place, if you prefer. I’m not really fond of
girls so young, but I can keep her here, wait until she grows a bit. Who knows,
I may realize that I’ve a taste for younger fare.”

“You’re a sick, sick man, Graham. How could you even think
of such a thing?” Aubrey stared at him, wide eyed, as something else occurred
to her. “Did you kill that teenager, Shelby? The one that was found in
Clevestone?”

“You’re only just figuring that out now? You were smarter
than that, once. What happened to you, Aubrey? Did a life of mediocrity dull
your senses?” Graham laughed aloud. “Of course I killed young Shelby. She was
my first homage to you, and our time together, long ago. Did you hear about the
other two girls? Both lovely, but young Diana looked so much like you that it
almost hurt to look at her. But they managed to escape, before I could present
them to you.”

“You killed that girl for me? And held those other two
hostage? Why, Graham? What would possess you to do such a thing?”

“There are many reasons, sweet, innocent, Aubrey. Actually,
there were six girls who caught my eye, all of them sparked memories of you,
back in the day. Unfortunately, three of them will never know of my adoration.”

“The FBI found the two girls you kidnapped, in a cellar. I
heard the news, but they were looking for someone named Thomas. Are you
Thomas?” Aubrey could hardly process the totality of Graham’s depravity. She
didn’t know the man in front of her, had never really known him.

“Heavens, no. Thomas is, was, my butler. It’s almost comical
how things worked out, really. Would you like to hear the whole story? We have
plenty of time, after all.”

“Do I have a choice?”

“No, not really. You are truly the definition of a captive
audience, aren’t you, my dear?”

Aubrey said nothing. Her mind was spinning as she processed
everything Graham had told her. First, he said that her family would die, if
she left him. Did that mean that he would let her go, remove the shackles? He
said they would live together, as man and wife. Did that mean that he would
keep her chained to the bed? Surely not. He must intend to let her go. He would
know that she would never do anything to jeopardize the life of her family. And
to imagine Jessie in her place was unthinkable. So he had her trapped. Not by
chains as much as by the welfare of those she loved.

“I asked you a question, Aubrey.” Graham’s tone was sharper
than before.

“Yes, I suppose that I am, Graham. Why don’t you tell me
everything?”

~~~

“There must be a faster way to do this,” Ethan growled as
they left the fourth property on the list.

“If you can think of one, I’m all ears.” Jeri studied the
map in her lap. “Go to the main road, then hang a left.”

“What else do we know about Grant? Besides the fact that
he’s an entitled, arrogant, killer, that is.”

“We know that he’s technologically savvy, and that he’s
managed to squirrel away a fortune because of it.”

“That’s it!” Ethan hit his hand on the steering wheel.
“Grant would never jump through hoops and take out a mortgage. We can narrow
down the search, based on cash sales. Anna can find the transaction terms,
surely.”

“Of course she can!” Jeri grabbed her phone. “Why didn’t I
think of this earlier? You’re right. Grant would never finance something, too
much of a paper trail.”

“Not only that, but he would think a mortgage was beneath
him, right?”

“Right.” Jeri texted Anna to revise the list. “I should tell
Chloe and Monique to hold up, until we have the new list.”

“Sounds like a good time for a dinner break. We passed a
place, a few miles back that might work.”

“I thought that was a gas station,” Jeri’s fingers flew over
the phone.

“It was, but it had a sign for fried chicken, so they must
have food, too.”

“Can’t wait,” Jeri shot him a grin. “Good thing we have cast
iron stomachs.”

“Isn’t that a prerequisite for the job?”

~~~

“Jeri says to take a break. They’re updating the property
list, based on cash sales. Smart.” Monique texted a quick reply, then slipped
the phone into her pocket.

“Good, I’m starving. Check the GPS, would you? See if there
are any restaurants around here.”

“Sure.”

“How are you feeling?”

“I’m better, thanks. The ibuprofen worked a treat.”

“Good. I’ve never heard that saying before, worked a treat.
Is that French?”

“No, a friend of mine used to say it. I guess it stuck.”
Monique waited for the GPS screen to appear. “We don’t have a lot of options
nearby. Fast food burgers, or fast food chicken.”

“I’m okay with either, your choice.”

“Burgers it is.” Monique pressed the screen, once again
waiting for directions. “Stay straight, it’s two miles ahead.”

“Okay. I wonder how Mrs. Grant is doing.”

“Better now, I’m sure. At least she’s away from her son. Do
you think he tried to kill her?”

“Who knows? But that seems a little obvious. Maybe he just
gave her too much of something. At least we know that he hasn’t been home all
day. He’ll have to dream up a different alibi.”

“If we catch him red-handed, an alibi will be the least of
his worries.”

“I don’t care how we catch him, as long as he’s caught. I
know that it’s not productive to feel guilty about letting him get away, but I
can’t help it. That poor woman, her family, they wouldn’t be living this
nightmare right now if I had only realized that the cowboy was Grant.”

“Okay, for argument’s sake, let’s say it
is
your
fault. Explain to me how you could have recognized him, dressed in that get-up?
Or tell me how you could have seen him come up behind the car? The answer to
both of those questions is that you couldn’t. Sure, now that we know he likes
to play dress-up, we’ll be more alert, if the same situation presents itself.
But you didn’t know, any more than I could know that he was waiting for me to
turn the corner, so he could knock me out. These things happen, Chloe. You
can’t stress over them. Learn from it, and move on.”

“My head knows that you’re right, it’s my heart that won’t
let go. I’m sure I’ll get better, with time.”

“It’s a fine line that we walk, Chloe. If you lose your
heart, then you risk becoming like the criminals we chase. It always amuses me
when I hear someone say that you must set emotion aside to be effective in this
job. I feel that it is the opposite. You must care about the people we are
trying to protect. If not, why risk your life in an attempt to catch the bad
guys?”

“I get what you’re saying. As a soldier, I’m trained to
kill, and I have. But with this job, it’s much more personal. We’re one on one
with them, not shooting at a nameless face from a tank, or from behind a sand
dune.”

“It’s a different type of war, but make no mistake, it’s still
a war. Working with EJB means that you are tracking the worst of the worst. In
doing so, you will make mistakes, we all do. But you cannot let your mistakes
eat away at you, you cannot internalize them for any reason, or you may be the
one dead, when all is said and done.”

“You make a good point. Care, but don’t dwell. Got it,”
Chloe grinned at Monique, gratefully.

~~~

“And there we have it, my escapades to date, ending with
you, lying before me, veiled as a bride.” Graham had spared no detail in telling
Aubrey about his crimes. He considered the revulsion on her face a part of his
reward. She had tried to take charge before, tried to seem like she was not
afraid of him, but he knew better. He saw the fear in her eyes when he
described killing the prostitutes. Saw it even more when he painted a verbal
picture of sweet Shelby’s demise.

“What happened to you? Were you always a monster? Why didn’t
I see it, back then?” Aubrey was horrified by everything she’d heard. It wasn’t
only that Graham had killed those women, but he had actually
enjoyed
it.

“You knew me when I was but a child, my dear. Loving you,
wanting you, but never having you, was merely the start of my journey into the
man I am today.”

“Are you saying that all of this is
my
fault? That I am
the reason you became a murdering psychopath?”

“Harsh words, my dear Aubrey. Although some would consider
them accurate. But no, I cannot allow you to claim all of the credit for my
actions. My love for you started the fire, if you will. But my passion for this
avocation took on a life of its own.”

“Will you be satisfied if you kill me? Will that stop you
from doing this to someone else?”

“Not if, but when, my dear. Make no mistake about it. Your
life as you knew it is over. It will end here, with me. How long we spend
together before that happens is largely up to you.”

“You didn’t answer my question.”

“If it makes you happy to believe that your sacrifice
prevents other deaths, then so be it. Believe what you will.” Graham stopped
speaking as his phone buzzed.

Frowning, he checked the screen.