Shadowed Paradise (39 page)

“
But why wear a mask if he planned to
kill her?” Doug Chalmers prodded.

“
Because he wanted to scare her first,
make her suffer,” Brad offered thoughtfully. “Maybe it’s more
personal than we think.”

“
What do you mean
personal
?” Claire demanded.

“
Are you talking about
old
business?’ Doug Chalmers
interjected.

“
I don’t think so,” Brad replied. “If
it was that old matter—if someone feared Claire knows something she
doesn’t really know—then a twenty-two could have solved the
problem, professional hitman style. But stalking is a sickness.
This guy’s nutty as a fruitcake.”

“
Then my question is the same as
Claire’s,” Chalmers said. “What do you mean by
personal
?”

“
How
could
it be personal?” Claire demanded. “It
doesn’t make sense. I haven’t been involved.”

“
Oh, yes, you have,” Brad asserted.
“For the sake of argument, let’s say that all the murders have been
done by just one person . . .”

“
Shit!” the sheriff exclaimed, albeit
softly.

“
Yeah, Bill, I know you don’t agree
with me,” Brad said. “Just take it easy for a minute and let’s
pretend.” Brad leaned forward, moving closer to his listeners,
willing them to listen. “We have exactly one piece of hard evidence
in this case. One thing that isn’t in a test tube or just words on
the M.E.’s report.” Brad paused to let his words sink
in.

“
The cross?” Claire said, incredulous.
“You’re kidding.”

“
He killed dear old mom and buried her.
He wasn’t pleased when we dug her up—I don’t imagine he was pleased
that it was a dog who found her either. But somehow he could live
with it until you found the cross that said
MOM
. Not only did it offend him for his mother’s
sake, but it was actual evidence that he’d killed dear old mom and
buried her under a pine tree in the middle of nowhere. Maybe mom
found out he’d killed that Realtor in Manatee Bay. Maybe he simply
lost it, but now he’s killed two people, he’s getting a taste for
it. His need for body count is growing.”

Brad had everyone’s attention. Even Bill
Jeffries had ceased to look completely skeptical. Behind him
Garrett, returning from a beer run, was poised in the archway to
the kitchen, openly fascinated.

“
He was content with his MO,” Brad
continued. “After all, it was working. Betty Siffert, Paula Marks,
Jeannette Tyler. But one day, shortly after the cross was found, he
happens to be in the mall when he sees Claire. He freaks, follows
her into the bathroom, stalks up and down, rattles the door of her
stall . . . and gets frightened off by two girls he hears coming
down the hall. But now he’s got it fixed in his mind that Claire’s
the enemy. She disturbed mommy’s grave. He may even be at the point
where he thinks she did it all by herself.”

“
Damn, boy, but that’s sick,” Wade
Whitlaw breathed.

“
Right.” Brad glanced at Claire. “I’m
sorry,” he murmured, “but that’s the way I see it.”

“
Go on,” Doug Chalmers urged, “you’re
on a roll.”

“
Then Claire and I got married,” Brad
said flatly. “And that added another facet to the problem. I think
this guy is someone we know, possibly someone we know well. Someone
aware that I’m on the Special Task Force. And because he knows me,
that makes it personal. I’m the enemy. The guy who’s going to queer
his game. That, compounded by his anger with Claire, could have
made him decide on revenge.”

“
You’re full of it, Blue, the sheriff
snapped. “Revenge for what?”

“
Revenge for what hasn’t happened
yet.”

“
You’re off the wall, Blue. I’m telling
you, off the wall.”

“
He believes I’m the one who’s going to
get him,” Brad said, reining in his temper with some difficulty.
“He could easily be someone who’s heard stories about what I used
to do. He sees me as Nemesis, if you will. He believes he’s going
down. Who knows, maybe he’s ready. Maybe he’s not so sick he
doesn’t realize what he is. And if he’s going down, he figures
he’ll take his revenge in advance. Hell, he’s even willing to
change his MO to do it.” Brad let his gaze wander from one intent
face to the next. “To him, it’s really quite simple. He’s going to
take out my women. First Diane. Then Claire.”

Phil Tierney swallowed hard. Just where
did that leave her?
Up shit
creek
.

“
Talk about sick, Blue!” Bill Jeffries
exploded. “I think I’ll arrest you, after all.”

“
There was something else,” Claire said
suddenly, ignoring the sheriff’s outburst. “Something I didn’t
think of until now. Do you remember, Brad, how I felt when we were
at the gravesite in Pine Grove? There was an aura of evil. It was
like a living thing. I could almost taste it. Well, I felt the same
thing this afternoon. Not just when I saw him standing down there
by the pool, but earlier when I was in the car. There was a . . .
presence. Something truly horrible. I was terrified. And at the
time I hadn’t seen a thing.”

“
The mind surely does play tricks,”
Sheriff Jeffries drawled.

“
You want to be sheriff again, Bill,
you just shut up,” Wade Whitlaw growled.

The doorbell sounded. Like the buzzer at the
end of a boxing round, it seemed to signal Time Out. From the
kitchen doorway Garrett announced, “As your duly elected County
Commissioner, I declare everyone off duty.” He grinned. “Pizza
time.”

From the far side of the inlet where
Brad docked his boat, he sat in his car and watched the house. The
place was like a goddamn big-screen TV. They were all there, the
fuckin’ lot of them. Eating pizza, guzzling beer. Didn’t they know
he was out here? Didn’t they
feel
him watching?

Shit! He’d killed Diane, pretty Diane, his
friend Diane, and the bastards were having a party!

He wanted, he needed . . .

It should have been over by now.

Nothing had gone as expected. When they took
Brad away, he should have left. But the temptation was too much,
Claire all alone like that. He’d been weak. Indulgent. He wanted
Brad there when he killed his woman. But the sight of
Claire—exposed, unprotected—dissolved his carefully laid plans into
the white hot rapture of the hunt.

But she’d outsmarted him, the little bitch.
Fucking klaxon damn near tore his head off. Maybe fate was trying
to tell him something. Maybe there was time for an extra one.
Claire and her macho hero could wait. What were a few days more in
the overall scheme of things? October was Florida at its best.
Bright starry nights followed by cloudless sunny days. So why not
live the idyllic life of paradise just a short while longer? Just
enough for one extra. Before the grand finale.

From some inner well of humor that
bubbled up through her still shaky nerves, Claire wondered if such
a prestigious group of law enforcement officers had ever before
been served pizza and beer by a Calusa County Commissioner and the
broker of Golden Beach’s most successful real estate agency. Nice
of Garrett and Phil to help out so she could stay snuggled into
Brad’s side. And how perfectly lovely to see further evidence
Brad’s ex was well on her way to becoming Brad’s aunt.
Yea, hurray!

With tempers mellowed by the satisfying
crunch of pizza washed down by quantities of bottled bubbles, the
men found themselves in agreement on at least one point—Claire
needed a bodyguard and Brad was the obvious choice. The sheriff’s
department would provide an officer if Brad was unavailable.

“
What about Jamie and my grandmother?”
Claire asked. “My parents flew back today, so they’re all alone out
there.”

There was a significant moment of silence.
Everyone looked at Brad.

“
I don’t see a problem,” he said
tersely. “Not our killer’s style.”

“
He killed his mother,” Claire pointed
out. “Shouldn’t I warn Ginny to be careful?”

“
I’ll talk to her,” Brad conceded, “but
I wouldn’t worry about either of them. It just doesn’t feel right.
This guy’s not into kids and grandmothers.”

Reluctantly, Claire nodded. She’d have to
accept Brad’s analysis because the alternative was madness.

After agreeing on a plan for Claire’s
protection, the various law enforcement officers began to leave.
Doug Chalmers, at the tail end of the line, paused to speak to
Brad. “You shouldn’t have given it up, Blue. You have a gift. We
could use you.”

Brad shook his head. “I can’t do it from
behind a desk. It doesn’t work.”

“
You haven’t been that hands-on with
this case,” Chalmers pointed out. “You may know some of the people
involved, but your analysis was basically done after the fact. You
took a hell of a lot of strange pieces and fitted them all into the
same puzzle. When this is over, I hope you’ll at least consider
being a consultant from time to time.”

“
Maybe you should wait and see if I’m
even in the right ball park,” Brad said with a wry grin. “I may
have missed it by a mile.”

“
Maybe. But I don’t think so. If you
need any help, by the way, don’t hesitate to ask.”

“
Thanks.” The two men shook hand. On a
professional level, they understood each other very
well.

Later that night, as Phil started across her
living room to answer the soft knock on her front door, she
suddenly paused and stood stock still. Was this how it had been
with Diane Lake? Answering the door late at night? Seeing . . . a
friend? Who turned out to be a murderer?

But she knew who was at the door. Of course
she did. Garrett had told her he would come over after driving Wade
to the condo. But they’d left Palm Court only twenty minutes
earlier. Was it too soon?

He’s going to take out my women. First Diane.
Then Claire.

Then Phil?

For the first time in the six years since she
moved into her small but charming bayfront home, Phil Tierney used
the peephole in her door. With a sheepish but heartfelt sigh of
relief, she turned the deadbolt and swept open the door.

Oblivious to Phil’s pounding heart, Garrett
was shaking his head as he walked in. “All these years I’ve owned
that condo and Wade’s never set foot in it before. I can’t believe
I actually persuaded him not to drive back to the ranch
tonight.”

“
I think he’s mellowing,” Phil said.
“Something about Brad getting married maybe. After all, no one ever
said Wade didn’t have an eye for a good-looking woman and Claire is
certainly that.”

“
Um-m,” Garrett agreed, with an
appreciative purr. “One thing I will say for my nephew, he
definitely has good taste in women.” He pulled Phil into his arms
and slowly nuzzled his way down her cheek until his lips fastened
on hers. “Damn,” he murmured softly when he came up for air, “what
a hell of a day. Got any brandy?”

Phil poured two snifters, then she sat beside
Garrett who had collapsed onto the sofa’s soft French blue leather.
He downed the liquor in one gulp, closed his eyes, leaned his head
against the back of the couch, and breathed a long sigh of
satisfaction. “I’m fifty-two years old, I’m a politician, I’m a
Whitlaw, but nobody ever told me there could be days like this.”
From slits beneath the sinfully long Whitlaw eyelashes, he regarded
Phil with sincere approval. “Thanks for all your help tonight. I
know Brad and Claire appreciated it.”

Garrett’s long fingers played with his empty
glass. He stared, unseeing, across the room, taking no notice of
Phil’s tasteful furnishings or her fine collection of watercolors
by local artists. “I just talked to Diane on Friday,” he said, his
still-handsome face pale and somber. “I’d arranged a job interview
for her, co-anchor at a station in Atlanta. She was ecstatic.”

“
I couldn’t like her,” Phil admitted
softly, “but on the job she was a class act. “I’m truly
sorry.”

“
It’s made me think,” Garrett said.
“Somehow . . . because you and I have known each other so long, I
thought we had plenty of time. Time to get used to the idea of
being together, time to figure out how to combine our careers, time
to get the family adjusted to us as a couple. But today showed me
that we might not even have tomorrow. Life’s too damned uncertain.”
Garrett looked ruefully at his empty glass, ran a hand through his
salt and pepper hair. “Dammit, Phil, what I’m trying to say is,
will you marry me? Right away. And to hell with what anybody thinks
and however many adjustments we have to make in our
lives?”

“
Oh, God, yes!” Phil buried her face in
his chest to hide the tears that rushed to her eyes. Brandy sloshed
out of her snifter and oozed into the depths of the rug.

Garrett removed the glass from Phil’s hand,
set it on the coffee table. “Come on,” he urged, lifting them both
off the sofa, “I really don’t think Wade expects me back tonight.
In fact, he told me he was going to turn the deadbolt and not let
me back in until I’d made an honest woman of you.”

“
And you always do what Wade
says.”

“
Absolutely,” Garrett affirmed.
“Haven’t you heard? Father knows best.”

She had known worse days, Claire told herself
as she stripped off her navy silk slacks. She had survived them,
she would survive this. But the scars, unseen but not unfelt,
stayed. They faded, but didn’t go away.