Phantom Scars (21 page)

"Agent Green, a case of whipping cream was unaccounted for in our last dairy delivery. Whether it was taken from the dairy or from the restaurant, I don't know," I said pulling my wife closer to me.

He immediately pulled out his phone and started making calls. He asked for the name of the dairy and quickly had men go search it and the restaurant for clues. My girl started to shake in my arms, and Dr. Greyson, the ever-prepared physician, pulled out a bottle and offered her a pill. She took it quickly and buried her face in my shirt.

"I'm sorry you only came to visit under such sad circumstances," my momma said.

Agent Green clapped his hands. "Actually, I almost forgot. Dante is dead. He was shanked in prison. I thought you might like a bit of good news," he said cheerfully.

We all looked at him stunned. Dr. Greyson stepped up and shook his hand. "That's unfortunate on some level, but good to know. Thank you very much, Agent Green."

"Sure, is there anything else I could help you all with?" he asked.

I was surprised, when Emma pulled away from me long enough to address him. "Actually, I was wondering if you could help me find my friend, Tatiana. She was taken by Dante as well. I don't know what happened to the girls after the explosion, but I’d like to see if I could find her and make sure she's okay."

"Oh, well, sure. Yeah, I guess, just give me any information you have, and I'll see if I can find anything out on her," he said.

They spoke for a moment, and Tyson took notes, writing down every detail he could get from my girl. Finally, when she could not think of any more clues as to where Tatiana might be, Emma sat back and yawned.

"I need to get my girl to bed." I offered my hand to Tyson, and he shook it. "Thank you for the help, the news and the warning. We'll keep an eye on our girls."

"No doubt, you all take care now," he said and made his way out the door.

Clayton actually went home with Jen that night. He didn't want to leave her alone. I was nervous about my momma being alone, but I saw Warren talking softly to her. "Are you going to keep my momma safe?" I asked him.

"Yes, I’d never let any harm come to her. Even if it meant sleeping on a lumpy couch and getting a crick in my neck," he said kissing her forehead. I let out a relieved sigh. Maybe they weren't involved like that. I was glad she had Warren now.

I pulled my girl close, and we quickly made our way home. She locked the doors and doubled checked them three times, before she asked me to lock all the windows. The windows were locked, but I went through the motions of going to each window as she watched, and I made sure they were locked, touching each one.

Emma was finally satisfied and took her medicine then curled up tightly into my side. I hoped the pills helped tonight, and I prayed everyone was safe. It might have been a coincidence that there was missing whipping cream, but it sure didn't feel like it. I hoped they caught this guy fast.

Chapter 41 - In Plain Sight

I woke up to Emma curled in between my legs, like she used to do when she would hide in my sleeping bag. The stress from the threat of having a serial killer loose in town kept my body preoccupied, and her chin safe from my woody, but I still worried that she'd had a setback, if she was hiding down there again.

I reached down, carefully running my fingers through her hair. On my third pass, she looked up at me and smiled. "Hi," she said a little sheepishly.

I pulled her up so I could hug her. "Rough night?" I asked.

She nodded, and tears filled her eyes.

"Hey, honey, it's understandable. I think we all had a rough night. It's okay to be a little freaked out."

She cried softly on me for a moment, and then I asked if she wanted an extra pill to help her settle down, but she said no. We went into the kitchen, where she busied herself with breakfast.

"Will you be alright if I go take a shower?" I asked before leaving her sight.

Her eyes popped wide, letting me know I needed to stay. She didn't answer, so I just walked over, kissed her head, and sat at the table. She relaxed visibly, and after a few minutes, she brought over a couple of plates of food. I knew today would be a close day, meaning she was going to stay close to me all the time, and I would need to bring her pills, just in case she was startled or upset by something. I just hoped they found this guy soon. I didn't like that he was in my neighborhood.

I skipped the morning shower, just washing my face, and headed down to the kitchen to see what momma wanted me to do today. She looked worried, so I asked her what was wrong.

"I can't get a hold of Vivien," she complained. "I called the dairy, but no one there is answering, so I called her home, and still no answer. Devin, I'm getting worried. Maybe we should call Agent Green and have him check in on her."

"Why don't you call her dad first to see if she's even working today? She may be on vacation or something. She may even be out with that new guy making deliveries," I offered.

My momma let out a breath. "Okay, you're right, I'm overreacting. Could you maybe take the mail over to Jessup for me? I'm not in the mood to deal with his crazy nonsense today."

I looked over at Emma, but she nodded okay. I was pretty sure she would be fine with my momma for the few minutes I would be across the street. I grabbed the envelopes and headed over, and I smiled when I decided to ask Jessup if he'd had a chance to ask Vivien out. That should be fun.

I walked in, and Jessup was poised in a karate move, holding two thumb tacks. He glared at me, and I held up my letters, showing that I came in peace. "Whoa there, Jessup, I just wanted to mail these."

He relaxed, but he looked around warily, like his imaginary foe would jump out any moment. He leaned over the counter, motioning me closer. "Something big is going down, Devin. I can feel it in my bones! My knee has been acting up all day!"

"Really?" I looked left and right and leaned in. "What do you think it is? I need to be on the lookout. I don't want anything to happen to my family." I knew I shouldn't encourage him, but I needed to have a good rapport with him, since they had stopped selling stamps.

"There’ve been big black government cars driving all around town. They're looking for someone. Someone must’ve used a stamp," he said with a worried headshake.

"Poor soul should’ve listened to you," I said dropping my head in grief.

He reached over and took the letters. "You're a good kid, Devin. The way you look out for your family. Your momma did a good job with you."

He went to stamping the letters, and since we were off the heavy topic, I thought I would ask about Vivien. "So, Jessup, has Vivien been in?" I asked with an eyebrow wiggle.

He chuckled. "I wish! I only ever get that fool you threw out the other day. He just looks plain creepy since he shaved his body. What kind of man would do such a thing? I mean, I know the benefits of not leaving any traces of yourself for them government types to be tracking you by your DNA, but that's just nuts."

I laughed for a minute, because Jessup calling anyone nuts was, well, nuts. But as I waved goodbye and headed out, I got to thinking. The only guy I had “thrown out” was the wanted poster. If he was the killer, and the killer was the driver with no hair…

My eyes popped wide, and I ran up to dig in the laundry basket, looking for the pants I’d worn that day. It turned out Emma had washed them, so I ran to the little tray she set everything in that she found in my pockets.

The paper was folded up right on top, and I wondered if she had looked at it. I quickly called the toll-free hotline and told them what I thought, and I asked if I should be calling Agent Green. They took my information, and they seemed surprised that I was already informed of Tyson’s presence in town and told me to give him a call.

I pulled out the card I had tucked away in my wallet what seemed like months ago now and called him up.

"Green here," he answered roughly.

"It's Devin; I think I know who your serial killer guy is. It’s the new dairy driver. I found the wanted poster with him, but he doesn't have hair, which is why no one recognized him. He shaved everything off, even his eyebrows."

"This is not good. We'll head over to the dairy now and check the records. Hopefully we can catch him before he takes a girl. Once he does, there's nothing we can do. He goes underground, and we don't find him until he pops up in the next state again."

"Tyson," I said suddenly worried. I remembered how he had looked at Vivien and how my momma couldn't reach her. "He was checking out Vivien and seemed to get pissed, when she talked to me and my brother. My momma couldn't get a hold of her this morning. Could you maybe look into it? Make sure she's not the target?" I asked.

"I'm on it now. Thanks for the lead," he said and hung up.

I sat down, taking a deep breath. I knew I had to calm myself before I went back to my girl. I didn't want to freak her out. I needed to be strong for her, but twice now, I had been in the presence of a serial killer, and I hadn't known it until now. He had been so close to my wife! I was so relieved that she had stayed inside that day, and so he had never seen her. She didn't exist in his book, so she wasn't a target.

I tried to pull myself together, convincing myself that Emma was safe and never in danger. But by the end of the rant, I really just wanted to hold her in my arms. I hurried downstairs and into the office, where I knew she would be, and I pulled her out of the seat and into my lap. She sighed in relief, snuggling closer to me, so I didn't feel so bad for needing to hold her. I held her tightly, and she seemed to squeeze me back just as hard. We couldn't seem to get close enough to each other. I didn't know how long we had been sitting there, but my momma knocked on the door, interrupting us.

"Devin, Agent Green is here to speak with you," she said with worry-filled eyes.

I smiled and nodded. "Can you stay with Emma?" I asked. I didn't want Emma to hear what we were going to discuss.

"Of course." My momma walked in and immediately hugged Emma, kissing her head like she would her own daughter.

I took Tyson upstairs to my apartment, not wanting anyone to overhear us. Once inside, I sat down and offered him a drink, but he shook his head no and let out a deep breath. I realized then he looked so much older than usual.

"You were right. We found the files listing his residences. His name is Chester Harmon this time. We checked out his apartment, but it's too late. He's gone."

"What do you mean gone?" I asked worried.

"You were right. He hit his target after we went asking about the whipping cream. He knew we were coming for him, and he's gone underground with a girl."

"Girl, who is it? Who did he take?" I asked panicked.

"It was Vivien Adams, the dairy owner's daughter."

I fell back in my chair and then tipped my head back, trying to catch my breath. He had been so close, and he had taken someone close to us. He had been right there. I knew something was off. I should have seen it then.

I didn't realize I had been speaking out loud until Tyson interrupted me. "He's been doing this for years, Devin. He plays off people's ignorance. What are the chances of a serial killer coming into your place? They're basically zilch, but it happened. You just need to get over it. You can't change the past."

I nodded okay. "So, how are we going to find Vivien? What’s the plan?"

He shook his head. "That's the thing. This guy is slick. We won't find him."

"What do you mean?"

"Devin, he had his place set up before he even surfaced. He only comes out to look for a mark. He keeps everything he needs underground."

"Underground?" I asked confused, was he part of a black market or something?

"Literally underground, he digs himself a bunker outside of town and sets it up, camouflaged from the air. Hell, we walked right past the first one we ever found. It’d rained pretty hard, and one of the other searchers came jogging up behind us and fell right into it. The place had been flooded with rainwater. If it hadn’t been for the rain, we would’ve never found her body. We would’ve never been able to put a face with him.

“Thankfully for us, the girl had fought back. Melody Davis gave us her best clue. The DNA from his flesh was stuck in her teeth. That sick fuck has a nasty bite mark somewhere on his body. If we can get him, we can match the DNA and the teeth marks to him, and he'll go down with the death penalty. The dumb fuck should’ve known better than to get sloppy in Texas. They're only pro-life when it comes to babies."

"So, we just have to find him," I said getting up. We had to look.

"Devin, you're not getting me. He isn't going to be aboveground where we can see him. He's as good as gone."

"NO, he’s not! We won’t give up on Vivien. It could’ve just as easily been my Emma. You will not just walk away!"

"Our best bet is to get ready to strike when he pops up again. The fact that we know he has no hair now is what we needed to know. Hopefully, we'll get him next time," he said getting up.

"Hell no, you're getting him this time! I will not stand for this to go down in my hometown, and I know everyone will agree with me."

"Look, Devin, it's just not time and cost-effective..."

I cut him off. "Well, it’s life-effective. I'm organizing a search party, and we're taking that psycho down, whether you like it or not. It stops here!" I said storming out of my apartment and ran straight to the post office. I knew if anyone knew about underground bunkers it would be Jessup. I hoped to God he would help me and sent up a silent prayer for Vivien. I had never particularly liked her, but she certainly didn’t deserve this, either.