Cold Blooded (53 page)

Kristi was sobbing and James's eyes closed slowly.

"I--can't!" he rasped, his chest rattling.

"Don't you give up! James! James! Damn it, don't you give up!" Bentz swung his head toward the rest of the room.

"Get an EMT over here! Now!" Bentz bellowed, his eyes moist as one of the dogs snapped and yipped while an officer forced it into a cage.

He couldn't lose James. Not this way. Not at the hands of a serial murderer whom Bentz should have put away.

There was so much to say, to do, so many fences to mend Half a dozen emergency workers lugging equipment, jogged into the room. Shouting orders, they split up to attend the fallen.

"Holy shit," one whispered as he reached James.

"Over here, this one's traumatized, maybe worse!"

Another EMT was already with the woman chained to the wall.

"Sarah!" Olivia cried, but her friend didn't respond.

"I'll take care of her!" a young policeman threw over his shoulder as he unlatched Sarah's bonds and pulled the tape from her mouth.

"This one's dead." A third was leaning over Warren Sutler where bullet holes riddled his alb and the pure white cloth was now stained a dark, oozing red. Bentz glanced at the man as an EMT ordered him aside and started working over James. "Out of the way. Christ, I need some help here ... we're losing this guy!"

"No," Olivia cried. She'd managed to get to her feet and stumble across the room. Her fingers clasped a departmentissued blanket around her body. "No--James!" she whis pered and fell to the floor. "Please ...

please ... "

Tears rained from her eyes as she touched James's limp hand.

Rente's guts twisted as James's eyes fluttered open, just barely. "Be good to Rick. He's a good man ... you deserve someone who ... who can love you ... totally." Olivia was crying openly now. "And Bente ... he ... he needs ... a strong woman ... you." James's voice cracked, then faded.

Kristi sent up a wail that echoed hollowly through the dank, dark chamber.

Tears streamed from Bente's eyes. It was too late. "Oh, Daddy, he can't be--"

But the EMT shook his head and Bente ached inside, guilt and anger roiling deep within. "It's over, honey," he whispered, fighting a losing battle with tears as he held his daughter. James's daughter. Their daughter.

"But Uncle James ... "

"Shh. He's with God now."

"You don't even believe in God," she charged. "You said so."

"I lied."

"Another ambulance is on its way." Montoya clicked off his cell phone and took the time to look around the room as if for the first time. The dogs were finally penned, but the mirrors and weapons glittered in the red light, glittering more harshly by the flashlights the officers were using.

"Jesus H. Christ."

Bentz, holding Kristi, moved closer to Olivia. She looked down at his brother and shook her head. Tears streamed from her eyes and her chin wobbled in her vain attempt to rein in her emotions. Bente wrapped his free arm around her. "We'll get through this. Together."

"I don't know how."

"Have faith," he said and the words struck an old forgotten chord, one he'd denied for so many years.' ' was James who followed you here and called it in," he explained. "He saved you." His other arm tightened over his daughter.

"And Kristi."

"But how did you know where to come?"

"I bugged his house, his phone, and his car." His admission reminded him of how he'd doubted his own brother, the anger and jealousy he'd felt toward a good, if sometimes weak man. "I'm a great brother, aren't I?" he asked, hating his black suspicions. "I guess I don't trust anyone."

His gaze fastened on Olivia. "But I'm working on changing that. I promise."

In the distance, the bleat of additional sirens cut through the night.

"Come on," Bentz said to his daughter and Olivia as body bags were carried in. "It's time for us to go home." "No, Dad," Kristi said. "We have to find Brian. The ... the creep's got Brian somewhere!"

"Too late." Montoya's face was grim, as if he'd aged twenty years. "We already found him in the trunk of the Mercedes."

"Is he okay--?"

"I'm sorry, Kris," Montoya said with a shake of his head.

Kristi convulsed, screaming and kicking. "No, no, no!"

Tiny fists flailed, but Bentz held on, wouldn't let her go.

"He can't be dead. Not because of me. Noooooo!" Kristi let out a painful screech louder than either the dogs or the approaching ambulances. Guilt chasing through him, Bentz wondered if she'd ever be all right. And Olivia, what of her? She looked into Bentz's eyes.

"Shh ... " he said to his daughter. "It's over."

"It'll never be over," Kristi argued, sobbing hysterically.

"You're right." He held Olivia's eyes with his as somehow his daughter seemed to get a grip on herself. Her sobs quieted though her face was wrenched in agony. "But it'll be better," Bentz promised, though he wasn't sure he believed his own words. "Much better. For all of us. I swear to God we'll all get past this. Somehow. Now, come on.

It's time to go home."

Epilogue

"I now pronounce you man and wife. Ladies and gentlemen, I'd like to introduce Mr. and Mrs. Tyler Wheeler."

The minister held up his hands as the couple turned and faced a small gathering of friends and family. In a long cream-colored gown, Samantha looked radiant as she walked through the guests sitting in the huge open courtyard of the St. Suzanne Hotel nestled deep in the French Quarter.

Her new husband, in black tuxedo, was tall and handsome, a man whose book on the Rosary Killer would be in the stores within the next year.

The setting was perfect, Olivia thought.

It was the Saturday after Christmas and the centuries old brothel-turned hotel was still dressed in garlands and wreaths. Millions of lights spiraled through the foliage while outdoor heaters hummed as they warmed the courtyard and the friends and family of Dr. Sam and her new husband.

Olivia glanced through the jeweled fronts of palm trees and ferns to a dark sky where stars twinkled and a crescent moon hovered. Next to her, tugging at his tie, Rick Bentz watched the ceremony. It had been nearly a month since the horrid night at The Chosen One's lair, but Bentz, true to his vow that night, was trying to make things better and giving their relationship another shot.

Olivia had been a hard sell.

They'd spent hours talking and she wasn't sure she was ready to trust him again, but she did care about him; probably loved him, fool that she

was. At that thought she smiled.

Things were far from perfect. Sarah Restin was in serious counseling and on anti-anxiety drugs, Kristi, too, was traumatized, but, it seemed would be able to go back to school after the winter break. Olivia had mended fences with her mother, but the specter of The Chosen One hadn't quite died. The press kept him alive long after he should have been buried.

Slowly the case had unwound. The Jane Doe laid at the foot of St. Joan of Arc had been identified as a transient woman from El Paso. No family had come forward to claim her remains. St. Philomena had been a runaway teen from Detroit. Their IDs had been found in The Chosen One's lair, an indecent, deranged shrine in the upper floor that had once been living quarters in the loft of the old barn. Eventually there had been a connection made to the universities as both women had at one time or another been seen by other students on the campus of All Saints. The transient had worked one week as a maid, the runaway had shown up uninvited to a party.

The only person missing was a woman named Marta Vasquez. She'd been Montoya's girlfriend and she'd vanished.

Apparently into thin air.

Bentz worried that she'd been taken by The Chosen One and killed elsewhere, her remains not yet located, but so far, thank God, no one had been able to make that link.

Everything Dr. Warren Sutler had ever owned or touched had been gone over with a fine-tooth comb. Including his personal lair, the small farm in the middle of nowhere that Sutler's family had bought years ago. He'd turned it into his sanctuary, complete with an altar. And a torture chamber.

Olivia shuddered as she thought of it. Not only had the police found a horrific calendar with Polaroid pictures of the Chosen One's victims in the upper room, but also they discovered a closet of vestments and trophies, including an obscene braid he'd plaited from the hanks of hair he'd scalped from his victims.

Beotz speculated that the killer had found his other killing grounds by

snooping around and discovering vacant buildings --even ones in the middle of the city like the shotgun house at Bayou St. John.

But Olivia didn't want to dwell on the past. Her visions had died with her brother and she was now taking tentative steps in this new relationship with a very wary man. He seemed to have believed her that she and James, though close, had never actually made love, though she was certain, at this point, Bentz wouldn't have held it against her if she had slept with his brother. For her part, Olivia had forgiven Bentz for pushing her away during the course of the investigation.

It was all water under the bridge.

They were starting over. Or at least trying to. She watched the dance floor and recognized the people that Bentz had pointed out. Everyone from Samantha's workplace, WSLJ, had attended and had blended into the sprinkling of Ty and Sam's family, friends and neighbors. One woman had even had the audacity to bring her tiny dog--a pug named Hannibal --though he'd been kept in a kennel at the desk. Samantha's father had given his daughter away, but, Bentz had explained after talking to the bride, Sam's brother, Peter, hadn't shown up, nor had her best friend, Corky Griffith, dealing with her own mother's recent heart attack, been able to fly to New Orleans.

Nonetheless Sam was radiant; her red hair gleamed under the tiny lights, her dress sparkled and as she danced, she whispered something to her groom. Ty tipped back his head and laughed, then swung Samantha off her feet.

"We should dance," Olivia suggested.

"I don't dance."

"Never?"

"Never."

"Don't tell me, another one of your rules." She rolled her eyes.

"That's right," he said, pulling at his tie as he winked at her. "But for you, I'm willing to bend a few." With that, he took her into his arms and warned her, "Just don't you dare complain if I step on your toes."

"Have I so far?" She laughed. "I have a feeling that for as long as I know you, you'll be stepping on a lot of toes."

"I guess you've figured me out."

"Oh, Bentz, that'll take a lifetime. Maybe two. But I'm trying. I think you just may be worth it. May be." "Has anyone told you you're a sick woman?" he asked as he spun her with surprising agility.

"Just you, Bentz," she said with a smile and winked at him. "Just ... you."

Dear Reader, As you may have noticed, there are some questions left unanswered in COLD BLOODED. Rest assured they will be answered in T HE NIGHT BEFORE, my next romantic suspense novel for Zebra Books.

THE NIGHT BEFORE is a change of pace. Once again we're in the old South—Savannah, Georgia, but this time the heroine of the book, Caitlyn Montgomery Bandeaux, a woman who's not known for her stability literally

wakes up with blood on her hands. In fact there's blood everywhere, in the bed, on the walls, in the bathroom ... She has only tiny shards of a memory from THE NIGHT BEFORE. Is the blood her own? Or someone els e's?

Most of the people in her large, eccentric family will be no help so she's forced to turn to her twin sister, Kelly, a woman with secrets and desires all her own. Kelly assures her twin that everything will be all right. But Caitlyn has the feeling Kelly knows more than she's saying—more secrets she's keeping locked away. Afraid to confide in rugged Detective Pierce Reed or the new psychologist in town, Dr. Adam Hunt, a handsome but mysterious man who has taken over her counselor's practice, Caitlyn has to solve the mystery alone. Is she a cold-blooded killer, or the victim of a morbid psychopath?

THE NIGHT BEFORE will be on the shelves in March 2003, so look for it.

In the meantime, visit me on the web. I've revamped my website and there are interactive contests and tidbits about current releases and future projects. Sign my guest book and let me know what you thought of COLD BLOODED. There's tons of information and fun on the website--contests and puzzles that only those of you who have read COLD BLOODED--can figure out! So grab your mouse and click onto: www. lisajackson. com.

You'll also get a peek at my next medieval romance novel, IMPOSTRESS f or Signet Books. IMPOSTRESS is the story of Kiera of Lawenydd, who, becau se of a bargain made long ago, must pay back her sister, Elyn, by disguising herself as Elyn, and marrying Kelan of Penbrooke. Kiera knows she's making a vast mistake, but goes through with the dare, not knowing that the man she expects to be ancient, balding and boring, is the most handsome, intriguing baron in all of Wales. For his part, Kelan has no idea his marriage is a sham until after the wedding night and that's when the fun really begins!

Look for IMPOSTRESS in April 2003, after the release of THE NIGHT BEFORE.

The best to all of you!

Lisa Jackson BOOK YOUR PLACE ON OUR WEBS1TE AND MAKE T HE READING CONNECTION!

We've created a customized website just for our very special readers, where you can get the inside scoop on everything that's going on with Zebra, Pinnacle and Kensington books.

When you come online, you'll have the exciting opportunity to:

View covers of upcoming books Read sample chapters Learn about our future publishing schedule

(listed by publication month and author)

Find out when your favorite authors will be visiting a city near you Search for and order backlist books from our online catalog Check out author bios and background information Send e-mail to your favorite authors Meet the Kensington staff online Join us in weekly chats with authors, readers and other guests Get writing guidelines AND MUCH MOR E!

Visit our website at http://www. kensingtonbooks. com

Lisa Jackson has been writing novels for nearly twenty years and is currently at work on her next romantic suspense thriller for Zebra Books. She, along with three generations of her family, call Oregon home. You can contact her through her website at