Killer Moves (24 page)

Kara excused herself and went to her room. Closing the door, she took Geneva’s phone into the bathroom and dialed Davis’s cell.

“Martin.”

“Davis, it’s me.”

“Kara! You shouldn’t be calling me. But God it’s good to hear your voice though. Are you okay?”

“Yes, I’m fine. Are you?”

“I’m okay. I miss you.”

“Me too. Be careful, Davis. I feel it—something’s happening.”

“Sweetheart, I know. But it’s okay. This is all going to be over with soon. I have some leads. Trust me, okay?”

“Yes, always. But be careful. Take care of yourself. I don’t think—”

“Don’t worry. That’s not going to happen. I’ll be with you soon and forever.”

Kara disconnected the call and started to cry. She felt so helpless. She couldn’t bear the thought of losing him again.

A gentle knock sounded on the bathroom door. Geneva and Judy came in. “I told her,” Geneva confessed. “She’s cool with it. Is everything okay with him?”

“For now. But it won’t be long. Something is getting ready to happen.”

“You think the killer will go after him first?”

“I know he will.”

“Well, I can’t say that I believe all that psychic stuff,” Judy ventured when the silence following Kara’s statement grew unbearable. “I mean, no offense, Kara, but to me that’s just a bunch of hocus-pocus. But there is one thing I do know and that’s the feds. I may not like them very much, and in my opinion most of them are asses, but they do know how to look after themselves for the most part. I think he’ll be okay.”

“Judy, jeez!”

“It’s okay. Thank you, Judy. But don’t forget one of those asses is probably also the Death Angel.”

“Yeah, well if he shows up here he’s going to get to meet the Death Angel personally.”

Kara stared at her for a long moment then all three women burst out laughing. Judy’s no-nonsense approach to life was refreshing. Judy didn’t care if the killer had outsmarted most of the Bureau’s finest to date. She would give them a run for their money through simple police tactics.

“Thanks. I feel safer here already. Just let him try something.”

“Absolutely.” Judy grinned back at her. “Come on, it’s going to be a long day. Let’s see if we can’t find something to do to make it pass a little faster.”

Kara. Hearing her voice helped him focus. He’d been floundering. Now he knew he would do whatever it took to protect her and his child. Their safety was his only concern now. He’d gladly give up his life to protect them.

One glance at his watch told him he still had three hours to wait before meeting Sally. Time seemed to have slowed down to a standstill. He tried to focus on the letters again but they proved little more than another dead end.

Frankie stopped writing shortly after his eighteenth birthday. The last letter gave some insight into his mindset at that time. Frankie had finally given up on reaching his father. He told Barry this would be the last letter he’d send if he didn’t answer.

It was the last letter sent.

Davis reached for the phone to call Rocky, and then let it go. Ryan would be in touch there. If there was anything promising, Ryan could figure it out.

Instead, he opened the case files of the last Angel killing. The gruesome photos were spread out before him in a jumbled mess. He’d been at this too long. The names and faces mingled together, mixed up with the cases from six years earlier. Nothing made sense anymore.

“God—think!” Davis paced around his living room and tried to clear his thoughts then glanced at his watch again. He needed a shower.

The cold water washed over him, clearing away some of the fog. He thought about eating but opted for a walk instead. The fresh air would do him good.

His neighborhood seemed strangely quiet today. Too quiet. There wasn’t a single person around as he walked the area he’d called home. But then this was the middle of the day and most of his neighbors were working professionals.

Still, Davis couldn’t shake the feeling that someone watched his every move. He stopped and looked behind him. No one. Not even a car out of place. His trained eye searched each of the nearby houses but found nothing. He’d begun to lose focus again, doubting his ability to think clearly. He was entering dangerous ground here.

The paranoia only increased as he continued walking. In the end, he abandoned the fresh air entirely. Returning to the house, he slid all the locks in place before glancing out the window.

It was the case. He’d let himself get too close to it. It had become too personal. Too much was at stake now.

With two hours still to spare, Davis accepted that he couldn’t stay there and do nothing any longer. He left the house and drove away, leaving the case files behind.

Once again, he found himself back at the last victim’s location. CSI had cleared the place, taking all evidence with them. There was nothing left of the building. They’d dismantled it and taken it back to the lab.

Davis stood where it had once been and tried to feel some connection to the killer.

Kara once told him that everyone possessed a certain amount of psychic ability. Most people never learned how to channel it to their benefit. He closed his eyes and tried for a moment to think or feel something. Suddenly, he opened his eyes and searched the grounds around him. He could almost swear he’d heard the sound of laughter. But the place was empty.

Davis closed his eyes once more. This time, there was no mistaking the sound.

“You’re too late, Davis.”

The words slipped into his thoughts. Did he actually hear them or simply imagine them?

“Too late. You’re no match for Kara or me.”

He turned and looked around, expecting the person to be standing right behind him, whispering in his ear. But he was alone.

Davis stood there for a long time but the Angel was silent. He’d only been taunting him.

When he returned to the car, he realized he’d been there for more than an hour.

The traffic heading out to Richmond seemed unusually heavy. Davis forced the car to a crawl, his nerves reminding him how precious time was right now. There would be so little of it left before…

He reached Sally’s family home late. She was there waiting for him on the porch. He saw right away that she’d become anxious.

“Sally, I’m sorry. I got caught in traffic.”

“Mom will be here any minute!” she accused.

“I’m sorry, but look, let’s not waste any more time, okay? You told me you’d lied. Can you tell about what?”

Every nerve in his body screamed for him to force her to give up the information. But Davis knew he’d have to take it slowly with her no matter how painful. Sally still wasn’t sure she was doing the right thing.

“I don’t know if I should. I’m breaking the promise I made to Frankie!”

“I see. He gave you something.”

“Yes. He gave me something and told me to give it to my dad. I didn’t though. I tried but Dad wouldn’t listen. So—”

“Sally, look, I know you want to do what’s best for Frankie. So do I. Will you trust me? I need see what you have.”

She looked unconvinced. Davis took a deep breath, “Sally, I want to clear your brother’s name if he wasn’t involved in the Angel crimes. But I need your help to do that. I need you to give me what Frankie left you.”

Clear brown eyes met his. They seemed remarkably mature. “Only if you promise if there’s anything bad in there you won’t use it against him.”

Davis watched her for a moment. She still wasn’t sure her brother had been completely innocent.

“I promise I’ll keep it out of the news, okay. If what’s in there would convict him of the crimes, I’ll keep it quiet.”

“And if not? You’ll make sure Frankie is cleared of this?”

“Absolutely, you have my word. Sally, hurry, please. Someone very dear to me is in danger of being hurt by the killer. Please. There’s very little time left.”

She turned and went back inside the house. Davis stood waiting for her to return and realized his hands were trembling.

She carried a small, gray, fireproof box, the type you could buy at any office supply store. She clutched it against her chest.

“I’m still not sure this is the right thing to do,” she told him hesitantly.

“Sally, I understand you only want to help your brother but you’re going to have to trust me on this. You are helping Frankie by doing this. I promise.”

Slowly she handed the box over to Davis. It felt heavy in his hands.

“Hurry up. You have to leave. I hear my mom’s car coming. Hurry! She can’t catch you here.”

Davis took her small hand in his and squeezed it.

“I’ll call you as soon as I know anything.” Davis left Sally standing in the driveway and drove away. In his rearview mirror, he saw her rush inside the house. As he left the drive and headed down the street, he passed a silver Jaguar a quarter of a mile down. A blonde woman who resembled Sally drove the vehicle. Sally had good hearing.

“Shit.” Suddenly, Davis realized he’d left the key to the box at his house. He reached inside the glove compartment, searching for something to use to pry the lock open. The sound of his cell phone beeping startled him. He’d left it in the car while talking to Sally. There were three missed calls and one voice mail. All from Rocky.

“Davis, call me as soon as you get this. I have something important to tell you.”

Davis dialed Rocky’s number and listened. The call went to voice mail. He disconnected without leaving a message and was getting ready to redial when his phone chirped again.

“Rocky?”

“No, Davis, it’s Ryan. Why? What’s up?”

“Ryan, jeez, sorry, I thought you might be Rocky.”

“No, but I have talked to him.”

“Really? I just tried his number and he’s not picking up.”

“Yeah, he mentioned something about going to see his wife. He was a little rattled.”

“That’s not like him. He’s been trying to reach me for the past half hour. He left me an urgent message to call as soon as I got it. I don’t understand why he would leave before talking to me.”

“What did he say?”

“Nothing, only that he had something for me.”

“Yeah, I think I know what that is. As I said, I talked to him.”

“What did he find out?”

“We need to talk about that in private. But first, I have some information on Frankie and this Harrison fellow that will blow this case wide open. Can you meet me?”

“Just tell me what you know.”

“Not on the phone. Listen, I’m checking a lead over at the old abandoned apartment building off East Capitol Street. How long will it take you to get there?”

Ryan knew something that he didn’t feel comfortable discussing over the phone, which meant he didn’t trust the phones not to be monitored. Which meant someone close to them could be involved.

“Over an hour in this damn traffic. You’d better call for backup.”

Static drowned out most of what Ryan said. “I’ll see you there, okay.”

“Ryan, wait for backup to get there. Whatever this is about, don’t do anything foolish.”

“I’ll meet you on the second-floor apartment, okay?” Ryan answered clearly. He hadn’t heard what Davis had said.

“Ryan, wait for backup.” But Ryan was gone, without hearing Davis’s urgent advice.

Davis slammed his phone shut in irritation then tried redialing, getting Ryan’s voice mail each time.

The East Capitol Street area was dangerous in broad daylight. But it would be growing dark soon.

Davis shoved the box under the front passenger seat and floored the gas pedal. He tried Ed’s cell phone without any answer.

“Shit.” At this point, he didn’t trust anyone else. He hoped Ryan had actually heard enough of the call to ask for backup before going in.

Traffic leading back into the city was bumper to bumper. There were several political events taking place tonight. DC would be crawling with people.

But on East Capitol Street where the forgotten hung out and the drug dealers made their fortunes, it was business as usual.

Chapter Thirteen

Maneuvering through heavy traffic took longer than the predicted hour. Davis reached the apartment building Ryan indicated only to find silence. There were no police, no other Bureau personnel and nothing but darkness from inside the empty building. Davis prayed he would find Ryan alive.

He took out his weapon from its hiding place beneath the seat and shoved it inside the waist of his pants beneath his jacket. For reasons he couldn’t explain, Davis popped the trunk and grabbed the Kevlar vest he rarely used. It felt bulky and easy to spot underneath his jacket.

He took his flashlight out, put the cell phone on vibrate, and shoved it into his jacket pocket.

The second he stepped inside the building, he felt it. An overpowering feeling of pure malevolence. He’d witnessed hundreds of murders in his time with the Bureau, including the Angel’s work. They’d all left a certain presence behind them. There was no way so much hatred could be unleashed upon another human being and not leave its mark. But the feeling he had here was like none other he’d experienced. He was in the presence of true evil.