The Dying Game (8 page)

“Killing is a game to him,” Griff said. “He must have told Gale Ann that she was worth twenty points.”

Nic nodded. “She kept tugging on her hair. There has to be a connection.” Nic gasped loudly. “It’s because of her red hair that she was worth twenty points.”

“In his sick game, redheads are worth twenty points.”

Chapter 5

Lindsay and Judd arrived at Williamstown General Hospital at six-ten that evening and went straight to the intensive care unit on the second floor. As they marched straight toward the waiting area, Lindsay caught sight of Griff outside in the hallway. He stood off to the side, talking quietly with a man she recognized as Special Agent Josh Friedman, who had worked his first case with Nic Baxter and Curtis Jackson this past year. Three months ago. The last Beauty Queen Killer case: Carrie Warren. Throat slit. Tongue cut out. In the talent segment of the Miss Dixie Belle contest ten years ago, she had sung a heartrending aria from Puccini’s opera,
Madama Butterfly
.

As if sensing their approach, Griff paused in his conversation and glanced down the hall. Lindsay flinched when she saw the way Griff looked at Judd. The news would not be good.

“She’s dead,” Judd said.

Lindsay slowed her hurried pace and glanced at Judd. “What makes you think that?”

“You saw the expression on Griff’s face.”

She wanted to contradict Judd, to tell him she didn’t know what he meant, but what was the point in trying to give him false hope? One glimpse at Griffin Powell’s tense features and she’d had the same gut reaction as Judd had. Gale Ann Cain was probably dead.

Special Agent Friedman nodded to Judd and smiled at Lindsay. “How are you Ms. McAllister?”

“Getting by,” she replied. “You?”

“Yeah, about the same,” Josh said. “I’m sure I’ll be seeing you again soon.” He turned and shook hands with Griff, then headed down the hall toward the elevators.

“The guy’s got the hots for you,” Judd said. “Who is he, a new Powell agent?”

Before Lindsay could reply, Griff responded. “He’s Special Agent Friedman. He joined Curtis Jackson’s investigative team on the last Beauty Queen Killer case. You remember Carrie Warren, don’t you, Judd?”

Judd narrowed his gaze, glowering at Griff.

“You don’t remember her name, do you?” Griff snorted. “Oh, that’s right, you spent most of November and December drunk. How could you possibly remember anything about the last case.”

“There’s only one name that matters to me,” Judd said. “Jennifer Walker.”

Griff clenched his jaw.

Wanting to ease the growing tension between Judd and Griff, Lindsay asked, “How is Gale Ann Cain?”
Dear God,
please let her be alive
.

Judd chuckled, the sound as cold as the February night.

Griff looked right at Lindsay. “She died about thirty minutes ago.”

“Without identifying her killer, no doubt,” Judd said.

Griff directed his gaze to Judd’s bearded face. “You’re right, she didn’t ID him. But she did give us some information we can use, something we didn’t know about him before now.”

“You’ve got notebooks filled with info.” Grinning mockingly, Judd shook his head. “What good does new info do? What good is the profile you have of him? What good—?”

“You want me to drop this case?” Griff asked. “Just say the word and—”

“Don’t feed me that line of bullshit,” Judd said. “You forget, we go back a long way. I know you. You wouldn’t quit this case if your life depended on it.” He sneered at Lindsay. “And neither would you.”

Griff glanced at Lindsay. “I’ve got things to do.” He inclined his head toward Judd. “You keep Happy Jack here on a leash.” He glowered at Judd. “If you give Lindsay any trouble, I’ll—”

“He won’t,” Lindsay said.

Griff sighed heavily. “Gale Ann’s sister found her minutes after the attack.”

“Then I want to talk to the sister,” Judd said.

“Not tonight,” Griff told him.

“Why not tonight?”

“Damn, Judd, the woman just lost her sister.”

“Yeah, and that makes her victim number what? Twenty-nine? Thirty? If I’d found Jenny only minutes after the attack, I …” Judd’s voice trailed off. He clenched his teeth tightly and squinted his eyes as he looked at Griff. “Can she ID the guy?”

Griff clasped Judd’s shoulder. “Here’s the deal. I want you to leave the hospital. Lindsay will book you a local motel room for the night, or I can get Carson to drive you straight back to Tennessee right now. Or if you can behave yourself, you can come to Griffin’s Rest tomorrow and meet Gale Ann’s sister Barbara Jean.”

Two thoughts instantly flashed through Lindsay’s mind: One, she hadn’t known that Griff had brought Powell agent Rick Carson to Kentucky; two, why had Barbara Jean Hughes agreed to spend a few days at Griff’s home?

“Ms. Cain’s sister is going to be staying with us?” Lindsay asked. How on earth had Griff managed that?
By using
his charm
, she told herself.
That’s how
. Griffin Powell most certainly had a way with the ladies.

“I’ll bet Nic Baxter is hopping mad that you’ve whisked her eyewitness right out from under her nose,” Judd said. “I’m sure she demanded that you back off and leave protecting a witness to the FBI.”

The corners of Griff’s lips twitched, a hint of amusement in the expression. “Special Agent Baxter explained to Ms. Hughes the benefits of allowing the FBI to safeguard her. But when I offered her not only the security of my home and my protection, but a job, too, Barbara Jean agreed that my offer was more acceptable to her.”

Lindsay wondered just what sort of job Griff had offered the woman. Apparently, providing her a position with the Powell Agency had tipped the scales in his favor. Knowing Griff as she did, she had no doubt that he would create a position for Ms. Hughes if that’s what it took to secure her safety within the Powell compound. And an added bonus would be one-upping Special Agent Baxter. Even though Curtis Jackson hadn’t been happy to encounter Griff and his agents at every turn during the past three years, he and Griff had managed to remain cordial to each other. But with Nic Baxter and Griff, cordiality didn’t come into play. Lindsay wondered how Griff would react if she suggested he allow her to deal with Nic during this case and for him to steer clear of the lady.

“Just answer one question for me—did the sister see the killer?” Judd asked.

Griff grimaced. “She’s not sure.”

“What do you mean she’s not sure?”

“Look, this is not the time or the place to have this discussion.” Judd shrugged off Griff’s grasp. The two men stood almost eye to eye. Judd did have to glance up a bit to make direct eye contact since Griff was a couple of inches taller.

“If you didn’t want me here, why send your Girl Friday to fetch me?” Judd’s upper lip curled in a snarl.

“Damn it!” Griff cursed under his breath. “If you want to take an active part in this investigation, then shape up, stay sober, and treat the people who are trying to help you as if they have feelings.”

Lindsay’s cheeks warmed. Griff was talking about her and they all knew it.

“And if I really just don’t give a damn anymore?” Judd’s tense stance eased slightly.

“You give a damn,” Griff told him. “If you didn’t, you wouldn’t be here. So listen up—stop wallowing in self-pity and start acting like a civilized human being.”

Judd bristled. Lindsay could all but hear the thundering roar of anger rushing through his body. She braced herself for the worst.

Without warning, the sound of soft weeping caught their attention, and for a split second Lindsay was grateful that something—anything—had diffused the mounting tension between the two men. The last thing she wanted was to have to put herself between Griff and Judd.

Nic Baxter escorted an auburn-haired, wheelchair-bound woman out of the ICU waiting room. Barbara Jean Hughes held her head high as she patted her damp cheeks with a handkerchief that Lindsay instantly recognized as one of Griffin Powell’s. The large embroidered black “P” on the edge of the expensive linen was a dead giveaway.

As the FBI agent and the victim’s sister approached, Lindsay studied Barbara Jean. Attractive, but not classically pretty. Neat. Slender. Delicate. Probably in her early forties.

In contrast, Nic was tall—very tall—with an Amazonian, hourglass-shaped body, and was a decade younger than the other woman. One thing for sure, no one would ever use the word delicate to describe Special Agent Nicole Baxter.

“That’s the sister, right?” Judd said, and before anyone realized his intentions, he stepped directly in front of Barbara Jean’s wheelchair and confronted her. “Did you see him? Can you can give us a description of the man who killed your sister, the same man who killed my Jenny?” Judd leaned down, grasped the arms of her wheelchair and demanded, “If you don’t help us now, he’ll kill another woman before we can stop him. Is that what you want?”

Reacting immediately, Nic Baxter came around the side of the wheelchair, straight toward Judd. But before she could reach him, Griff clamped his hands down on Judd’s shoulders and yanked him away from Barbara Jean. She stared wide-eyed and mouth agape at the man who had accosted her.

Judd jerked free, barreled around, and lifted his fists to attack Griff. Acting purely on instinct, Lindsay stepped in between the two big men. From out of nowhere, Rick Carson appeared behind Griff. Apparently, he had been only a few steps behind Nic and Barbara Jean.

Griff bristled. The skin tightened over his sharp cheekbones and his ice blue eyes squinched with anger.

Judd froze to the spot and glared at Lindsay, her intervention acting as the deterrent she had hoped it would. Apparently, Judd wasn’t so far gone that he would actually resort to hitting her.

“Get Mr. Walker under control or I will,” Nic told Griff.

Griff motioned for Lindsay to move, then when she did, he locked his fierce gaze to Judd’s. “Is that what you want? You want to be taken into custody by the FBI?”

Judd didn’t respond verbally, simply loosened his tightly fisted hands and relaxed his battle-ready stance.

Observing Judd’s withdrawal, Griff spoke to Lindsay, “Carson will take over and get him out of here. You’ll fly home with me.”

When Rick Carson came forward, Judd backed away, and Lindsay feared another confrontation. But Rick made no move to touch Judd, who seemed more than ready to cause an even worse scene in the hospital corridor.

Lindsay moved closer to Griff in order to speak privately with him. “Let me take care of Judd. He’s less likely to resist going with me than he is if you try to send him with Rick.”

“It’s obvious that Judd’s emotional and mental stability has worsened,” Griff said. “He’s dangerous now.”

“I know,” she replied. “But he’s more dangerous to himself than to anyone else.”

“Are you sure?”

“I’m sure.” She had never lied to Griff, and she wasn’t actually lying now. She wanted to believe that Judd did not pose a physical threat to her, despite knowing that he still possessed the power to destroy her emotionally.

Griff nodded. “Be careful.”

“I will.”

Griff then turned to Barbara Jean Hughes, bent down on his haunches, and clasped the woman’s hands.

Meek as a lamb, Judd left the hospital with Lindsay. His submissive attitude worried her far more than if he’d been openly belligerent. She tried to think of something to say to him, but she came up blank. When they walked outside, the cold night air blasted them the minute the hospital doors closed behind them. She paused long enough to button her coat before heading to the parking deck.

Judd lifted his face to the wind, as if he liked the feel of the bitter cold. “So, what now, my little savior?” he asked, the tone of his voice strangely amicable.

Looking over the parking lot in front of them, an area reserved for doctors and VIPs, Lindsay succinctly explained her plan. “We’re going to find a decent restaurant and eat supper. Then we’re getting a couple of rooms at a local motel for tonight. Come morning, we’re going back to Tennessee.” She removed her gloves from her coat pocket and slipped them on. “I can either drive you back to the hunting lodge and dump your sorry ass off, and leave you to drown in self-pity …” She paused, expecting a snide remark of some type. When he didn’t respond, she continued, “Or if you can behave yourself, I’ll take you to Griff’s and you can be part of our investigation again, the way you were in the beginning.” “Either or, huh?”

“Take it or leave it.” Uncertain what Judd would do, she headed toward the two-level parking deck on the west side of the hospital.

He caught up with her before she reached her Trailblazer parked on the bottom level. “I’d like a big, juicy steak for supper. How about you?”

Lindsay released a deep breath. She hadn’t known for sure how he would react to her issuing orders and giving him an ultimatum. Relieved by the normalcy in his voice, she replied, “A steak sounds great.”

When she clicked the unlock button on the remote device attached to her key chain, Judd came around to the driver’s side and opened the door for her. His gentlemanly action surprised her, so much so that she gasped and then glanced over her shoulder.

“I’m just showing you that I can be a good boy,” Judd said, smiling. But his smoky topaz eyes remained void of any real emotion.

She nodded. “If I take you home with me to Griff’s place—”

“I’ll behave myself.”

“If you don’t …”
No, don’t issue him another warning.
Just tell him exactly what’s what
. “Griff’s your friend, or at least he’s tried to be. But you haven’t made it easy. If you screw up this time, it will be the last time as far as Griff is concerned. You’ve used up all your second chances with him.”

“What about you? Are you ready to wash your hands of me, too?”

Lindsay got inside her SUV, slid behind the wheel, and glanced up at Judd, who stood by the open door. “If you want me to help you one more time, let’s not make it personal.” 

“If that’s what you want.”