Vicious (25 page)

She shook her head, and then shrugged. “I’m getting used to the idea.”

“
Oh my God
. We’re… having… a baby?”

“Yes.” She nodded this time just in case he wasn’t getting it. She pressed his hand to her belly. “We are pregnant. We are having a baby in about seven and a half months or so.”

He took a breath, then started to speak but stopped. Confusion and surprise played across his handsome face. “Are you okay? I mean… are you
really
okay?”

“I’m okay.”

“Have you seen a doctor?” All that emotion was suddenly shining in his eyes.

“I have to get that scheduled. Soon,” she promised.

“And you want to do this?”

She nodded. “I do. Yes.”

He swept her into his arms. “I don’t know the right words to say.” He kissed her hard on the lips. “I love you, Jess.”

“I love you, Dan.”

She melted against him then, too overwhelmed and too exhausted to talk anymore. He carried her to his bed. He kissed her temple. Whispered plans about the future as he undressed her and then himself. The happiness and excitement in his voice was all the confirmation she needed to know this was right.

No matter what else happened, they—the baby—was right.

His lips moved down her throat, leaving kiss after kiss against her skin. Tiny shivers spilled over her body and need throbbed between her thighs. He reached her hip and paused. His caressed her belly first with his hand, then with his lips. He whispered to their baby and her eyes filled with tears.

He settled between her legs and rubbed her intimately with his hardened length. “Thank you.”

She couldn’t speak. The tears wouldn’t be restrained. She hugged her arms and legs around him and savored the sensation of being filled by him. He made love to her so tenderly her very soul cried out with the sweetness of it.

Later, when he had fallen asleep once more, she slipped from the bed and made her way through the darkness until she was in the study with her makeshift case board.

She paced the floor and argued with herself about what she should do. There had to be a way to stop what was happening to Dan. This was so wrong. There was only one person she could turn to for help. Corlew was probably in bed by now. But this couldn’t wait.

She exhaled a weary sigh. “Last chance, Jess.” Can you really trust him?

Did she have a choice?

She made the call. Corlew answered on the second ring.

“What’s up?”

Mustering up a sociable tone, she said, “You sound better.”

“I feel better. Fever’s gone.” He yawned. “What’s going on with you? You can’t sleep?”

She glanced at the door. Listened for any sound. “Remember when you told me there were things about BPD I didn’t know. You made some shallow innuendoes about Chief Black.”

“Hey. Shallow is one thing I’m not,” he argued.

Depended upon who was doing the measuring, she supposed. “Do you have resources that could look into something inside BPD?”

“I knew you’d see the light,” he said, triumph in his voice. “I told you I lost my job because of Dan and his cronies in the department.”

“This is serious, Buddy.” A beat of silence passed. She hadn’t called him by his first name since they were in seventh grade.

“Okay, okay. I know Dannie boy is a pretty decent guy. Maybe it wasn’t him. What’s so serious?”

As much as she needed his help, she couldn’t bring herself to trust him with all the details. “I want you to dig up what you can—without anyone in the BPD finding out preferably—on Captain Ted Allen.”

“The cop who went missing?”

“Yes.” She checked the hall. “Don’t think I expect you to do this or the investigation into my parents’ accident for free. I’ll pay your going rate.” When he started to object, she cut him off, “I insist. This is business.”

“Okay, okay. Got it. And, yes, I have a contact inside the department. I’ll see what I can get.”

Jess moistened her lips and went for broke. “I want you to check into Chief Black as well.” The thump, thump beneath her sternum made it hard to breathe. She was taking a major risk here.

Corlew laughed. “Hell, I’ll do that one for free.”

Jess wished she didn’t have to do it this way but she couldn’t ask Lori or Chet to put their jobs on the line. “You have to be careful. No one can know. I mean it.”

“You have my word.” All signs of humor vanished. “No one will know what I’m doing or who I’m doing it for. I just have one question.”

Jess couldn’t wait to hear it. There was no telling what he would come up with. “If I can answer it, I will.”

“What’s Black done to get on your bad side?”

For a long second she hesitated but there was no way to keep him entirely in the dark. “I think he’s trying to hurt Dan.”

More silence.

God, she hated this. Her attention shifted to the door again. Dan would be upset with her if he learned she was trusting any part of this to Corlew.

“That’s all I needed to know. I’ll get on this ASAP.”

“Thanks. Call me as soon as you know anything.”

“You got it. Get some sleep, kid.”

Jess watched her screen go black. It was done. She prayed this wouldn’t turn into another complication.

Things were already complicated enough.

22

11:59 p.m.

It was only moments until midnight.

The final canvas had been chosen. The perfect medium for the work. And the subject, of course. The subject was the pièce de résistance.

Richard wondered if Jess Harris had any idea just how spectacularly important she was in this passionate endeavor.

He watched the two beauties he had trained so well as they added the final touches to the masterpiece that would be his gift to one of the greatest killers the world would ever know.

Selma came to him. Wrapped her arms around him, her soft skin warm against his. “Will he like it?”

Richard smiled. “He will love and treasure it for the rest of his days.”

He motioned for Olive to join them. Though she possessed little artistic talent, she was loyal and dedicated to his cause. She curled her arms around his. “We are ready for tomorrow?” he asked.

Both smiled and looked to him with such admiration. “It will be amazing,” Selma enthused. “I can hardly wait to begin the next part of our journey.”

Olive puckered her lips in a pout. “Don’t keep us waiting long for you, Richard.”

He was such a fortunate man. To watch two magnificent savants emerge from their shells and open to the passions that only he could show them. He had shown many the wonder and beauty of true art. He had taken those who yearned to feel the deepest of passions and immortalized them. But none had been as important as these two young women.

Together they were
his
final masterpiece.

Now everyone would know his utter brilliance and the depth of his immense passion. His own beauty would no longer be hidden in the shadow of others.

And the woman, the mother of these two lovely creatures, would forever remember the heart she had shattered and tossed away.

He looked from Olive to Selma. “No one has ever loved you the way I do.”

“No one,” they echoed in unison.

“You must promise me that you will not fail,” he urged. “This is the moment I’ve always waited for. The moment
he
is waiting for. You must not disappoint us. You are the instruments of our destiny.”

“You have my word,” Selma promised. “We will not fail.”

“We will not,” Olive vowed.

He kissed each one on the cheek. “I will be right behind you, my darlings.”

23

Dunbrooke Drive, Friday, August 27, 4:55 a.m.

“Jess!”

Her eyes opened but she didn’t want to wake up. “What time is it?” she murmured.

What was that smell?

“We have to get out of the house!”

She sat up or he was hauling her up, she couldn’t say for sure which. “What’s that smell?”

“Smoke. We have to get out!”

Smoke?

Jess came wide awake. Adrenaline rocketed through her veins. Smoke was thick in the air. She coughed. Her eyes burned.

What happened? Where was Dan? She reached out… tried to get her bearings. She couldn’t see. Why didn’t he turn on the lights?

The roar of flames whispered through the darkness.
Fire
. Oh God! They had to get out of here. She stalled.
The baby
. She shouldn’t be breathing all this smoke. She tugged the neck of her nightshirt up over her nose and mouth. “Dan!”

Hands clutched at her. She jumped.

“Right here. I’ve got you.”

His arms went around her. He picked her up and held her tight against his chest. She blinked repeatedly, trying to see. Suddenly they were at the window. He helped her climb out and get her feet on the ground.

“Go,” he ordered. “Get away from the house.”

She ran bare foot across the dew-dampened grass, Dan right behind her. At the far side of the backyard she stopped, she doubled-over coughing. Tears streamed down her cheeks.

“You okay?” Dan asked between his own bouts of coughing.

She nodded. What the hell had happened? The sun wasn’t up yet and the stars and the moon were doing little to light the sky. It was eerily dark around the house. All the exterior security lights were out.

The house was on fire
. She saw flames through the kitchen window. The reality shook her all over again. “Oh my God.”

Where were the sirens? Why had no alarm sounded?

Dan dragged in a big breath. “I need to call for help.”

The house—and everything in it—was going up in flames. Jess groaned. “My bag is in there.” She whirled toward Dan. “My Glock. My phone.”

“Oh hell.” He ran his hand through his hair. “Mine too.”

There was nothing they could do… they couldn’t go back inside.

Dan’s home, all his things, including the pictures of them he’d kept from all those years ago, were being destroyed as they watched.

A memory clicked into place. Ten years ago, the farmhouse outside Ruckersville… the cages and those young women.

Spears
.

The epiphany hit with such impact that she swayed. He’d been digging in her past again. The night before she’d come home for Christmas ten years ago, she’d solved a case involving five missing women. They had been held in cages, just like the three he’d held captive in Tennessee only days ago.

Ten years ago that old farmhouse had burned down with Jess and one other survivor barely escaping.

He was taunting her with all that he knew about her, breaking her down bit by bit and giving her a preview of things to come.

She turned to the man at her side.

Spears intended to destroy Dan just to get to her.

7:50 a.m.

The fire was out.

Jess stood in the middle of the backyard staring at the smoldering rubble that had been Dan’s home. Lori had brought Jess a change of clothes and a ponytail holder for her hair.

Her bag was gone, along with the world she carried inside it.

She sucked in a breath, swallowed against her dry, sore throat. But they were okay. The paramedics had checked both her and Dan and they were fine. She’d asked the paramedic about the baby. He’d suggested she see her obstetrician as soon as possible but didn’t believe she had any reason to worry since they’d escaped the house basically unharmed.

Chief Black and Dan were having words. Judging by the body language it wasn’t a casual conversation. The crime scene unit was here. Cops were everywhere. Dan’s parents had showed up but he’d ushered them away.

“What do you suppose that’s all about?” Lori asked, following Jess’s gaze.

“Doesn’t look friendly,” Harper suggested.

Jess turned to the two detectives who were far more than just members of her team. “They found Captain Allen’s wedding ring when they were looking for spy stuff in Dan’s house yesterday.”

Lori expression showed the shock she felt. “You’re not saying they believe Chief Burnett had anything to do with his disappearance?”

Jess just wanted to cry. “I honestly don’t know.”

“Unbelievable.” Harper shook his head.

“Tell me about it.” Part of her wanted to share the other news with her friends, but just now she needed everyone focused on the case. “Anything from the brother in Boston?” she asked Lori.

“I have a call into him. I’m hoping he’ll agree to a Skype interview.”

Jess didn’t hold out much hope but it was worth a try.

“No hits on Selma or Olive Vance’s passports,” Harper reported. “If they’ve left the country they used an alias. We’ve checked with the bus station, AMTRAK and rental car agencies. No hits there either. Same goes for Ellis. They either had some other form of transportation or they’re laying low right here in Birmingham.”

“All right.” Jess crossed her arms over her chest. She was still shaking. “Nudge the Vance sisters’ parents again.” She thought about that for a second. “Better yet, have Agent Manning do it. The feds will be taking this case anyway if the international connection we suspect pans out. Maybe the parents will react to the threat of a federal investigation.”

“I’ll make that call right now.” Harper stepped away, his phone already in hand.

“Lori, you and Cook follow up with the ME. See if there’s anything new with the latest victim. Check with all the surveillance details and with Gina Coleman at Channel 6. Maybe someone has seen or heard something new that we don’t know about yet.”

“You staying here?” Lori glanced around at the chaos.

“Just until Hayes picks me up. I need a new badge and a weapon and…” She groaned. “My bag and all my notes. My phone. It’s all gone.”

Lori gave her a hug. “All those things can be replaced.” She glanced at Dan. “You and the chief are irreplaceable.”

“You’re right. I should be happy to be alive.” She wasn’t sure she would ever be happy again until Spears was dead.

“I know this isn’t the time,” Lori ventured, visibly hesitant.

Jess frowned. “What?” If either she or Harper was thinking of moving out of SPU, they could forget it.
Wouldn’t they be better off away from you?