Killer Scents (18 page)

Randy glanced at his watch.
Come on Becca.
He keyed in her number for the third time only to get a recorded message once again.
She wouldn’t take off on her own, would she?
Almost half an hour
had
passed since he
’d
dropped her off.
Something isn’t right.

He hopped on his
bike
and
rode
across town to her place,
breathing a sigh of relief
to find her
ride
in the driveway
. H
is
re
spite
was
short-lived
once he
notic
ed
her back door slightly ajar.

“Becca?” 
He
drew his gun and cautiously stepped inside. It looked like the only light on was in the kitchen. The door connected with something behind it
. He looked down to find
her
helmet on the floor.

“Shit!” He ran out of the house and kicked in the garage door only to find it empty. He ran one hand through his hair while he keyed a number in his cell with the other.

The person you are trying to reach is not available....

“Dammit, Becca.” He entered the chief’s number.

“Hey, Randy, what’s up
?”

“I think the bastard has her.”
He
walked around her bike, praying he was wrong.

“Calm
down, who has who?”

“Becca, The Florist has her. I know it!”

He told the chief about Jeffery and their plan to ride out to his place and get a closer look around.

“I’m sending a team over there right now.”

“I’m going
out there
.
T
hat fucker better not hurt her.”

“Whoa now
,
Randy
. Y
ou need to calm down. Nobody is going anywhere by themselves.”

“Don’t ask me to sit around and wait. I can’t do that.”

“
When
the team gets there
,
I want you back here and we’ll round up a few officers to look for her. I don’t know if the professor’s son is our guy or not, but my every instinct
screams
the answer is on that farm.”

While waiting for the team,
Randy battled
a plethora of emotions:
anger, fear, frustration.
What was I thinking dropping her off alone
?
I should have at least checked out the house
.
Now she’s gone...
.
Flashes of the victims went off in his mind like firecrackers, their mouths sewn shut, eyes bulging.

Becca
,
I’m so sorry. Hang in there
,
girl
.
I’ll find you. If that bastard harms one hair on your head, he’ll wish he’d never been born.

Giddy with excitement, he doubled over in a fit of giggles. To think only a few feet away Ms
.
Hoity-toity
D
etective sat unconscious and
he had her
all to himself. Luck
il
y for him the element of surprise and strength of chloroform worked in his favor. She didn’t even see
him
coming
when she was
on her way out of the house.

Several minutes passed before he was able to get back to painstakingly peeling the thin layers of dark skin from his face.  Even if someone saw him leave with her
over his shoulder
, they’d describe a black man.

Once satisfied no trace of his disguise remained, he pat
ted
his face dry and opened the drawer in front of him. He smiled
and
gently fingered the syringe. He had all the props in place but no specific plan in mind. One thing he did know for certain—he’d savor every moment of their time together. There was no need to rush. Randy had no idea what happened to his precious partner.

Giddiness rose up in him once again
,
and he tilted his head back and laughed.

His blood-curdling laughter chilled Becca to the very core. It wasn’t easy to keep her eyes closed, but the longer he thought her unconscious, the better. The possibilities of his intentions grew fear withi
n her that spread like wildfire.

Becca didn’t hear him moving around anymore, but the sound of his breathing kept her silent.
Do I dare look? If he thinks I’m still out of it, am I relatively safe?

She remembered reaching for her helmet and stepping out of the house. There
’d been
a smell
, right
? He
’d
pressed a cloth over her mouth and nose
. The
chloroform still lingered at the back of her throat.

A chair scraped against
something really hard, maybe
concrete. His steps
grew closer
until his
warm
breath
caressed
her face. She didn’t flinch, keeping her breaths even and steady.

“It’s time for you to wake up
,
my dear Becca. I have so many things planned for your time together.”

Oh God, please don’t touch me.

In spite of her plea, his fingers traced her jaw line
,
forcing
her to shudder and open her eyes.

A plethora of emotions rushed to the surface as she looked into his familiar eyes.

How could you?

The moon
hung
big and bright in a star
-
filled sky, illuminating the country roads they travelled. Chief drove the SUV
.
A
convoy of police cars and trucks followed close behind.

It’s a good thing he knew what they were looking for or they probably wouldn’t have noticed the tidy bungalow, nestled
in between the fields of flowers. Lace curtains muted the light from within.

Randy’s heart hammered as they surround
ed
the house and moved toward the front door, weapons drawn. Chief Thomson knocked hard on the door.

“Jeffery Davies, this is the police.”

Randy couldn’t wait another second and kicked the door as hard as he could to bust it wide open. It took all of five minutes to determine Jeffery wasn’t there. The tidy room with antique furniture certainly wasn’t the kind of place he imagined a ruthless killer lived.

“I want half of you to search the fields on foot, just in case he saw us coming and ran. The rest of us are going to drive over to the main house. We’ll reconvene there.” Chief was headed to his vehicle before he finished the last sentence.

With lights flashing
,
Randy
drove
one of the cruisers
the short distance to the
homestead
. News of their presence seemed to have stirred
the main house
. Each
window
glowed with light
.
Randy
pulled up out front to find Professor Davies on the porch
looking none too happy
.

“What the hell is going on now? Do you have any idea what time it is?”
The veins on his neck bulged.

This was the first time
Randy had
seen him angry. “Do you know where Jeffery is?”

“My son? What does he have to do with anything?”

“Becca is missing, and we think your son knows where she is.”

The p
rofessor
frowned
. “You can’t be serious. My son couldn’t possibly be involved.”

“I’m sorry
,
sir, but we really don’t have time to argue the point. Every minute that passes brings Becca closer to
suffering the same demise as the other victims
.”

“His house is about a...”

“No, we just came from there. He’s not home.”

The professor stroked his jaw. “Sometimes he spends the night in the bunkhouse.”

Chief barked orders
,
and the team raced toward the workers’ quarters.

“I don’t understand any of this.”

Randy paused. “I’m sure this is hard on you
,
Professor. We’ll keep you informed.”

“Do you think my son could harm her?”

“If we’re right, yes.
He
could definitely hurt Becca.”

“Wait a minute. You aren’t suggesting he’s this Florist...a serial killer?”

Randy
needed
to join the others. “I really
have
to go. I’ll be back when we have something
tangible or better
.”

The men were in position by the time he
arrived
. Chief looked less than impressed
by
the delay he’d caused
,
but nodded for him to go ahead. Without giving the men inside
any
warning,
Randy
kicked in the door.