Skye Cree 02: The Bones Will Tell (12 page)

Travis blew out a heavy breath. “Did you ever make a promise to someone you loved?”

“Of course, I was married for two years. Look, I’m sorry, Travis. But that won’t cut it with me. At the time Skye got shipped off, Jodi and Daniel were dead, buried and in the ground. Your daughter, however, didn’t have to endure five years in Yakima, ostracized at a time when she would’ve greatly benefited from having her real father around to guide her through it all.”

“Oh God,” Travis said as he scrubbed both hands over his face. “She’ll never get past this.”

“Never is a long time.”

“How long then?”

Josh smiled. “Travis, you’re the one who told me there’s no playbook here, no rules to check or look up. For something like this, I don’t know. There are other things going on with her though. That night we never got to the reason we asked you to dinner.”

“I wondered about that. Like what?”

Josh went into a detailed account of how Skye had lost her connection with Kiya and the fact it wasn’t sitting well with her.

“Ah, I was afraid this would happen. When Kiya the wolf made the leap, she knew the risks, knew what was at stake. Kiya’s joining to you is detaching from Skye.”

“What do we do about it?”

Travis shook his head. “Honestly, I’m not sure there’s anything we can do. But without Kiya she’s vulnerable on her nightly rounds.”

“Since last week, she hasn’t been going out alone for that reason. I’ve gone with her.”

“How do you do that and get up the next day, come here alert enough to work?”

“I won’t lie, it isn’t easy. But since she got into some trouble with a gang, I’m not letting her deal with the street alone anymore. Besides, now that I think back to that night, it was Kiya that alerted me something was wrong. I thought it came from Skye. Turns out, the bat signal came from the wolf.”

“Interesting.
Kiya’s getting stronger in you while diminishing in Skye. I’ll do some research. See if I can come up with something to bring Kiya back to Skye. There has to be a solution, we just have to look for it. In the meantime, the elders of the tribal council wanted her to know they are inducting her into our Warrior Society. I planned on telling her the night she got so upset. The ceremony is the first week of October.”

“An all-male tribal council is letting a woman into their midst.”

“It’s about time, don’t you think?”

“I do, but then I’m not Nez Perce. What exactly does this entail? There has to be a lot of history at stake here.”

“Very much so. The Warrior Society started out as dissenters, those who did not want their leaders making peace with the white man. They were considerable in number back then who never wanted to give up the land that belonged to their forefathers. So they left their homes to strike out on their own to try to find allies and rally them to their cause. There was a battle near Snake Creek.” Travis shook his head. “They went down to defeat that day. Eventually the elders chose to sing about their exploits. However, the U.S. government had another name for it entirely. Anyway, in the end, the warriors lost their ancestral home and were shipped off to the Midwest. As the years progressed though, like any people, we still celebrate our soldiers. Skye is one of those who brings honor to us as a tribe. In October, they’ll commemorate her successes. She’ll have to make a speech.” 

“She won’t like that,” Josh pointed out. “In fact, knowing Skye, she’ll do everything to back out of going, especially if it means she’ll get attention.”

Travis smiled. “I know that. But this is where you’ll have to use your considerable powers of persuasion. It’s a great honor and she should not turn it down or think of some reason not to show up. The Warrior Society is looking to the future. They must. Times have changed. This is the twenty-first century. Skye has done some amazing things here in Seattle. It’s time the council recognized that.”

“No one deserves it more.” Then Josh realized what he wasn’t saying. “You did this. You got the council to let her in?”

“She’s made headlines lately. At the time, every member of the society sung her praises. I simply took advantage of the timing and reminded them that she’s contributed more in a positive way than anyone has in a long time. To be recognized by your own is a great honor. Don’t let her say no.”

Josh laughed. “How exactly am I supposed to get her there short of kidnapping and delivering her against her will?” Josh wanted to know. “I’m open to suggestions.”

“You’ll think of something. Besides, you don’t have to worry about me showing up and spoiling it for her. I won’t. I’ve already bowed out of the ceremony.”

“You shouldn’t do that, Travis. You deserve to be there to see it happen.”

“I’d love nothing better than to see her accept her rightful place on the council, but she’s made it clear she doesn’t want anything to do with me. I won’t go against her wishes.”

“A lot could change in two weeks,” Josh said wanting to offer some kind of assurance. But when he glanced down at the time on his watch, it occurred to him there was another more immediate issue. “You might want to consider heading out. Skye’s due here in about twenty minutes. We’re meeting here to brainstorm on how to catch this sick bastard who’s been terrorizing women.”

“I don’t like Drummond dragging her into this.”

“I’m with you there. But someone has to catch this guy. It might as well be your daughter.”

“
My daughter
. I like the sound of saying that out loud. But look where that got me. And why does it have to be Skye who catches this asshole.” He rubbed at his temple as if his head were pounding. “I don’t believe this is really happening. It’s difficult to believe she’s this angry with me. I mean, I know she has a right to be. But still she should know how much...that girl means everything to me.”

“I know she does. I saw that from the first time you and I met. But right now, if Skye catches sight of you, believe me, you’ll know this is real, in a big way.”

“She does have a temper, doesn’t she?” Travis pointed out, grinning.

“Oh. Yeah. And then some.”

P
ersonal problems aside, Josh and Skye were committed to catching a coldblooded killer. Their guy had been idle for eight days. Eight days in which the FBI profiler referred to it as his probable “cooling off” period. Skye had another name for it. More than likely the man had gotten called out of town for some reason, or had, God forbid, moved on elsewhere.

Even without the strong influence of Kiya, Skye still relied on her instincts. She’d been doing that for more years than she could count. Because of that one fact, she didn’t think the guy had left Seattle for good.
Which meant he had some type of activity that took him out of town. Like that of a long haul truck driver maybe.

But it didn’t take long for Skye to nix that idea. Not this guy, Skye determined. He hit too frequently between his victims for a long-haul trucker to have time to make his trip cross-country and back again. For that reason, she moved on to other options. Did he travel for business? Did he have some type of interest that took him on the road?

As she walked past Kendra’s desk to get to Josh’s office, she realized the guy could be right here in the building and they’d never even know it. He could be anybody.

But then, Josh’s office door flew open and Todd Graham came out playing with a handheld game console. Skye grinned at his boyish enthusiasm.

“Whatcha got there, Todd? You get a new toy for Christmas?” Skye teased.

“As a matter of fact, it feels like Christmas morning before Labor Day. Look at this game we’ve scheduled for next spring.” Like the proud designer he was, Todd went through all the bells and whistles for Skye’s benefit.

“Nice graphics. When do I get to play?”

“You stop by my office after your visit with the big guy here and I’ll see to it you get a beta copy. How does that sound?”

Before she could answer, Josh appeared in the doorway. “Don’t distract my partner, Skye. He’s a sucker for a beautiful face.”

“Flattery will get you a kiss,” Skye said as she leaned in, brushed her lips lightly to Josh’s. “I’m here for the strategy session—and nothing more. I brought some files we should go through. I just left Harry and the FBI team. They’re concerned that our guy’s moved on.”

“Left Seattle? He hasn’t,” Josh assured her, as he closed his office door. “I’ve spent some time surfing the Internet though. We have the general public here buying guns at an alarming rate. We have women signing up for self-defense classes in record numbers. There’s panic setting in. And that’s just the first couple of days after the headlines hit the papers all over the state. Then there’s the buzz that’s gone viral about what he’s doing to his victims. They read that stuff and it sends women into frenzy.”

“You can’t blame them, Josh. Every female within a hundred miles of where we’re standing is scared to go to sleep. They read what he did to these women, either real or imagined, and they go to bed with the lights on and a gun under their pillow.”

“I’m not saying different. They should be cautious, take all the safeguards available to them. Because they’ll more than likely need everything they can get to gain some peace of mind until he’s caught. Because this guy won’t stop until he’s off the streets.”

“How can you be so sure these are his only kills? I still say he was in Portland five years ago before here.” She picked up a file, took out a photograph, and slapped it on the table. “Bianca Valencia, single, lived alone in a townhouse, no roommates. She was found with her throat slit by a next door neighbor who hadn’t seen her for three days. Notes say Bianca was vivacious, a frequent visitor to the gym in her neighborhood.” Skye dug out another file, another picture. “This one is Lisa Towson. Strangled, but had knife wounds through both breasts. If you look up the addresses of these two women, the murders are four streets apart, same neighborhood with identical floor plans. Lisa liked to workout. See a pattern here?”

Josh studied Skye’s face. “You’ve done your research.” He picked up a snapshot of Lisa, one of Bianca. “What are the odds that two beautiful women living four streets from each other would end up murdered? And I never suggested that Seattle was his first and only hunting ground. Mainly because his methods indicate his trail goes back several years. No doubt, he’s perfected his craft and will continue to get better at it. But let me ask you something. If he started out in Portland with Bianca and Lisa, how is it when Harry put this guy’s DNA from Seattle into CODIS he didn’t get a hit there?”

Skye frowned and grabbed the files, started thumbing through them. “That’s a very good question and one I hadn’t considered.” Scanning the info she’d compiled from the Internet, she was stunned. “There’s no indication he raped these women according to the articles online. I’d have to have the police reports from Portland to know that for certain though.”

“Remember when Harry told us different jurisdictions don’t always share info, even some go so far as to refuse outright to divulge stats on their homicide cases?”

“I do. But the cops down in Portland would still put the DNA into CODIS if they had it,” Skye insisted.
“Right?”

“If they had DNA?
Sure.”

“You think they don’t.”

“There has to be a reason his DNA isn’t in CODIS before Seattle. He either didn’t rape his first victims or didn’t leave enough for analysis. But there’s a third possibility.”

“They didn’t submit the DNA they had,” Skye determined.

“That’s why I have an idea. I’ve decided to do something about the lack of cohesive info.”

Skye shot him a dimpled smile.
“Really? Why does that not surprise me? You’re really getting into this investigating thing, aren’t you?”

“I guess I am. I put together a team, one dedicated to cracking into various police department databases. For starters, a six-state area, including Vancouver, British Columbia.”

Skye shot him a surprised look. “You think he’d go as far north as Canada to find victims?”

“Why not?
It’s less than three hours from here, Skye. When you think about it, if he’s desperate to fly under the radar, he might end up there trolling for vulnerable women, upscale neighborhoods.”

“What exactly are you suggesting this team do?”

“They start by looking for similar homicides, especially any up and down the West Coast. You’ve already found those two in Portland. I bet there are more. After they scour police departments from Vancouver to San Diego, they branch out from there to surrounding states, Idaho, Nevada, Arizona, see what they can find there.”

Impressed, she all but shouted, “That’s brilliant! Illegal but a great way to see for ourselves what kinds of cases are out there and use the info to our advantage. If you should get caught though—”

Josh sent Skye a questioning stare and shook his head. “Oh ye of little faith. We won’t get caught.”

“Who exactly
is
we
?”

“The less you know…”

“Oh no you don’t. We’re in this together, all the way up to our necks.”

“I have several programmers, three to be exact, Leo, Winston, and Reggie. They contract with Ander All Games on a regular basis. We use them when we’re on overload and down to crunch time. None of them like holding regular nine-to-five jobs which makes them, shall we say, ideal and flexible in the assignments they take on. But trust
me, all three are exceptional at what they do.”

“Can they be trusted?”

“I trust them with our upgrades four times a year, Skye.”

“If you’d show me, I’d be happy to help these guys out. I’m a fast learner, remember?”

He stepped to her and whispered in her ear, “Don’t I know it. More like insatiable.”

She jabbed him playfully in the ribs with her index finger. “I’m fairly certain insatiable refers to you, Mr. Ander.”

“Who me?” he asked all innocent. “Ever do it in an empty office?” Josh asked, wiggling his brows up and down. He noted the flustered look flash in her eyes. Even with her cinnamon skin, he could tell her cheeks pinkened. He reveled that he could still make her blush when it came to the mere suggestion of sex. He took her chin, looked into those violet eyes. “Skye?”

“What?”

“I love you.”

“I love you, too. But sometimes you exasperate me.”

“I know. That’s the bonus. Well, that and incredibly hot sex.”

Skye glanced back at the closed door, turned the lock. “I think today I’ll call your bluff, Mr. Ander.”

Patting her fanny before lifting her up off the floor so their eyes were level, he whispered, “That’s my girl. And I think today I’ll see your raise and go all in.”

Frank’s skills and
success as a killer were due largely to the hours and hours of meticulous preparation he put into his craft. “Death night” as he referred to the actual event, didn’t just happen. Cautious planning, surveillance that would make any Navy SEAL proud along with a dedicated work ethic and a mission-oriented mindset were what separated Frank from all the rest. It wasn’t ego. He knew he was, in fact, better at killing than others who’d been caught. He didn’t intend to get caught. 

When he wasn’t spending time training at the gym, his thorough stakeout of victims made up his daylight hours. Frank neither counted on luck nor gave a thought to chance. Everything he did had to be strategized down to the last detail. He didn’t do anything without devising the best plan and calculating all his options.

The cops were convinced he’d gone into a cooling off period or worse, moved on. They didn’t have a clue. Frank De Palo didn’t cool off and he didn’t quit. 

He scoured the paper every day for updates, always looking out for any little tidbits that hinted what the cops might be organizing because of him. He knew Seattle’s women were panicking. But that didn’t mean he couldn’t maintain the same level of kills.

From the Internet, Frank had already learned the identity of the consultants law enforcement had added to their task force in hopes of catching him. One of his adversaries was a tall, gorgeous Native American female, known statewide as Skye Cree.

To Frank, her name conjured up images of a female warrior. This one happened to be physically fit with a toned body even some of the fighters he knew would envy. If he’d chosen a competitor to go up against himself, he couldn’t have done better. Knowing your opponent was always a plus. Knowing his foe was a woman
and
an athletic one at that gave him extra incentive.

Articles on the Internet confirmed that Skye was a kick-ass urban warrior. Seattle was her hunting ground.
Her prey, sexual deviants.

Frank hoped that was true. But time would tell.

Because at some point, Frank intended to find out the woman’s secrets, her strengths, her weaknesses. Everyone had them. He would get to know her intimately, even her thought process. And by doing so, he would determine many aspects about the many sides to Skye Cree. He would make his assessment using the skills he’d honed with each of his victims. He’d find out just how good she was at martial arts. He’d learn her habits, her routines. In other words, he would invade her inner sanctum, her refuge. He would violate the place where she felt the safest.

Getting inside her home would tell him everything he needed to know about his very beautiful and somewhat legendary adversary, Skye Cree.