Damned (Shaye Archer Series Book 7)

by DeLeon, Jana

  “How is it your fault?” Jackson asked.

  Pitre stood up and looked directly at them. “This is retribution. God sent his emissary to settle the score.”

  “What score is that?” Jackson asked.

  “The score with Nathan Greer,” Pitre said. “My daughter for his.”

  Grayson’s eyes widened and he glanced at Jackson.

  “What are you saying, sir?” Grayson asked.

  “That I killed Melissa Greer,” Pitre said. “It was an accident, but that doesn’t matter. She’s still dead and I hid it from everyone…allowed her mother and father to go on without knowing what happened. I can’t risk something happening to Hailey again. I have to tell the truth about what happened, no matter the consequences.”

  Pitre thrust his arms out toward Grayson. “Arrest me. I’ll confess to everything. It will keep Hailey safe. It’s my fault this happened to her. My fault.”

  Grayson looked over at Jackson, his expression one of complete disbelief, then he pulled out his handcuffs and secured Pitre’s wrists.

  At 4:00 a.m. Shaye opened her front door and rushed Jackson inside. She’d just fallen asleep two hours before when he’d called and told her that Hailey had been brought to the hospital and he and Grayson were on their way. That had sent her straight out of bed and to the kitchen to brew some coffee. No way would she be able to sleep until she knew Hailey was all right.

  About an hour later, she’d gotten two texts.

  Hailey escaped. In stable condition. Our perp is the same.

  Pitre confessed to murdering Melissa Greer.

  After that, she’d been unable to think of anything else. She’d turned on the television, played music, tried sitting, standing, eating, and finally settled on pacing. Even a hot shower hadn’t stopped her mind from racing with all the questions she had. Her emotions were all over the place from elated that Hailey was alive to frustrated because there were so many unanswered questions. How had Hailey escaped? How did Jackson know the perp was the same? She was certain they hadn’t caught him because Jackson would have said so. Did Hailey even see him or was he simply unknown to her? And why did Pitre confess?

  Jackson trudged into the living room and slumped down on her couch, and she hovered over him.

  “Can I get you something to drink—beer, water?”

  He looked up at her and she could see how exhausted he was. “Can you brew a pot of coffee? I don’t even want to try sleeping. Not yet.”

  “I’m on my third pot.” She hurried to the kitchen to pour him a cup, then returned to the living room to sit beside him. “Tell me,” she said.

  And he did.

  He only paused occasionally to sip the coffee as he recounted Hailey’s story and Pitre’s confession right up to the point where Grayson arrested him. She managed to keep from interrupting, letting the story flow as he remembered it. Several times, she was unable to control a gasp and she didn’t even bother to try to contain the horror she felt as he told her what Hailey had endured. When he recounted her escape, she hadn’t realized she’d been holding her breath until Hailey got to the road.

  When he finally stopped, she filled his mug again to heat up the coffee that had gone cold in the bottom, and he took a big sip. Shaye shook her head, still marveling over everything that had transpired in such a short amount of time.

  “I can’t believe it,” she said. “It’s all so unreal.”

  “I know. I’m still trying to wrap my head around it and I was there.”

  “I have so many questions, I don’t even know where to start. But the first is how is Hailey?”

  “She’s banged up a bit but nothing that some time won’t fix. Emotionally, she’s been pushed to the edge and I’m afraid once she finds out about her father, it might tip the scales in the wrong direction.”

  Shaye nodded. She had firsthand experience in finding out the people you loved weren’t exactly who you thought they were. “She’s going to ask why he isn’t there to see her. Why he left the hospital without even saying a word.”

  “Yeah. It was hard enough telling his wife. All the joy she had because Hailey was alive just drained out of her. She told Hailey that her father went to the police station to help us with the investigation, but that will only hold for so long.”

  “Their lives are changed forever. Did Pitre give a full confession at the police station?”

  Jackson nodded. “The long and short of it is he came home from work early one day and Melissa came into the house through the back door to see Hailey. Her mother had taken her to a doctor’s appointment after school, so Pitre was the only one home. He got into it with Melissa and she taunted him, refusing to leave the house. He pushed her toward the back door and she fell down the steps, breaking her neck on the way down.”

  “And I suppose it never occurred to him to call the police.”

  “He said she was dead on impact and he figured there was no use for two families to be ruined over a stupid accident. He hid her body in his shed until after everyone was asleep, then took it to the bayou and dumped it. He told us the location, but you know how those things go.”

  Shaye felt her stomach roll. The likelihood of the police recovering any part of Melissa was so remote it wasn’t even worth hoping for. The Greers would have answers and Michael Pitre would pay for what he did. But they wouldn’t have their daughter to bury.

  Still, her immediate concern was Nicolas, who was still at risk.

  “So you were right about the cases being connected,” she said. “The ritual posing of the bodies of the first victim and Hailey. The blank face mask. It’s the same guy.” She frowned. “Even the punctures on Hailey’s feet…”

  “Yeah. I’m guessing she stepped on the crown of thorns when she was running away. I didn’t clue in on it at first but when it hit me, I had a whole other round of wanting to punch a wall.”

  “So can I assume you’ll be finishing this coffee, hitting the shower, and heading back out to find the penitent?”

  Jackson’s expression flashed with anger. “No. Grayson and I were pulled.”

  “What? Why?”

  “Because detectives are already working on Sunny Trahan, and since every indication is that Hailey’s abductor is the same guy, the chief sees no point in having four detectives on the case, especially when there’s no shortage of work to go around.”

  Shaye didn’t even bother to hide her disappointment. Jackson had information about the penitent that the other detectives didn’t have and couldn’t obtain. If he and Grayson had remained on the case, he could have worked her suspects in somehow. But with other detectives in charge and Nicolas unwilling to make an official statement, getting information to them would be far more difficult. Maybe even impossible.

  “I’m pissed off about it,” Jackson said, “and Grayson is mad as hell. But there’s nothing we can do. Grayson pleaded to let us work it for just another day, but the chief wouldn’t have it. But that doesn’t mean I’m going to stop.”

  Shaye stared. “You can’t risk your job. You’ve invested too much. If the chief catches you…”

  She didn’t finish her statement. She didn’t have to. Jackson knew he was on tenuous ground with the department, mostly because of his relationship with Shaye. Even though she’d been the victim, uncovering her past had brought a lot of damage and heartache to the department, and there were still hard feelings, especially from those who had been there for decades. As far as some of the old guard were concerned, Jackson was part of the problem because he was dating Shaye. There were a lot of people watching him, just waiting for him to screw up.

  “Then I’ll just have to be sure he doesn’t catch me,” Jackson said. “I’ll still work as hard as I always do on whatever case we’re assigned, but there’s always some downtime during an investigation, and I’ll put in evenings and nights when I’ve got them to spare. I’m not telling Grayson. He’d insist on helping and he’s already stuck his neck out enough for me.”

  Shaye’
s hopes ticked up a notch. Even if Jackson couldn’t be officially involved, the information he had access to could definitely make things easier. They’d just have to be careful. Make sure no one could come back on Jackson. But she already knew that when they caught the guy, and linked him back to Hailey and Sunny, shit would hit the fan at the police department. Jackson knew it too, but there was nothing he or Shaye could do about it unless she was willing to drop the case, and neither one of them wanted her to do that.

  27

  Friday, May 20, 2016

  St. Mary’s, New Orleans

  Colby pushed Nicolas away from the breakfast table and into the living room where Malcolm and Bernard were sitting to watch the morning news. It had become a ritual, of sorts, for the three men, watching the local news before they headed out to take care of their respective duties. Often, the reports led to additional items on their prayer lists and a good bit of sorrow, but Father Bernard felt it was important for them to be aware of what was happening in their city because their congregation was affected by it as well.

  After positioning Nicolas next to the recliner he usually sat in, Colby took a seat at the kitchen table. It was interesting, Nicolas thought, to see how the other priests reacted to Colby’s presence. Father Bernard had invited him to breakfast, of course, which Colby had declined, stating he’d already eaten. But he’d taken coffee while the priests ate French toast that Malcolm had made and had answered all of Bernard’s questions about his military service. Malcolm had been unusually quiet and Nicolas could tell something was bothering him. But despite being a very outgoing person, Malcolm was also a private one. Nicolas figured that whenever he was ready to talk about what was occupying his mind, he’d seek out Father Bernard for a talk.

  In the meantime, Nicolas felt secure, knowing the bodyguard was only feet away and literally watching his back. The news began with the usual traffic report, letting commuters know which streets to avoid during their morning drive, then a report on a meeting at city hall over budget cuts.

  Nicolas half listened to the reporter drone on about the infighting among the local politicians, but his mind was in other places. Would the penitent try to contact him again? Would Colby be enough to protect him? Would Shaye figure out who he was before he struck again?

  And despite the fact that he’d managed to fall asleep fairly easily and had slept for a good amount of time before waking, Nicolas still felt sluggish and tired. He knew he’d dreamed because he’d awakened with a sheen of sweat covering his body and his heart racing, but he couldn’t recall any of the jumbled images that seemed to vanish from his memory as soon as he awakened.

  “And now for a special report,” a lady reporter said. “We received a call yesterday from a tourist with a harrowing tale about her visit to Metairie Cemetery.”

  The reporter shifted the mic to a stressed woman. “I was researching my family tree and looking for a crypt, and that’s when I saw her—tied up on a cross just like Jesus. She even had a crown that looked like it was made of sticks. It’s the most horrible thing I’ve ever seen.”

  The reporter moved the mic back. “Police will only say that the woman was strangled, and they are withholding her identity until her family can be notified. They had no comment on the investigation or the horrific placement of her body.”

  Nicolas gasped. Shaye had told him the police were keeping everything quiet until they had a better grip on things. He’d never expected to see a story about that poor girl on the news, but apparently the tourist who had found the body had decided people needed to know.

  “Are you all right?” Father Malcolm asked him.

  “Yes,” Nicolas said. “I mean, no, not really. That story…”

  Malcolm frowned. “It is troubling. We should add that young woman and her family to our prayer list.”

  “And the woman who found her as well,” Father Bernard said. “I can’t imagine it was a pleasant experience.”

  Nicolas gave Father Bernard a hard look and he barely shook his head. Malcolm rose and grabbed his wallet from the kitchen counter.

  “I need to get to the business office,” Malcolm said. “It’s payroll day and the new system is giving us a bit of trouble.”

  He said his goodbyes and left the apartment. Father Bernard looked over at Colby.

  “I wonder if you could give us a minute in private?” Bernard asked.

  “Of course,” Colby said. “I’ll just step outside for some air. Let me know when Nicolas is ready to leave.”

  Colby left the apartment, closing the door behind him, and Nicolas looked at Bernard, struggling to maintain a semblance of composure. “What if that was her?” Nicolas asked.

  “You don’t know that,” Bernard said.

  “She was strangled and arranged on a cross with a crown—”

  Nicolas began to choke and reached for his bottled water.

  “I agree that the circumstances fit what you heard. But even if you made the decision to break your vows and speak to the police—which is not something I support—what could you possibly offer that would help?”

  “Time of day, maybe? They could eliminate people if they were somewhere else when I took the confession.”

  “But you don’t know that they have a pool of people to eliminate from. You can hardly suggest they alibi all of New Orleans.”

  Nicolas sighed. “I know you’re right. But it feels wrong to sit here and do nothing.”

  “There is someone far more powerful than you who can provide help. How about we have a special candle-lighting service for the police on Sunday?”

  “That would be nice,” Nicolas said, trying to force an ounce of enthusiasm into his voice. He knew Father Bernard was trying to make him feel better and a candle service was a nice gesture. But it didn’t help identify the penitent. And it didn’t put him behind bars before he could hurt someone else.

  Like Nicolas.

  Father Bernard rose and placed his hand on Nicolas’s shoulder. “I have a budget meeting to prepare for. Please be kind to yourself today, Father Nicolas. You are doing everything you can.”

  Nicolas nodded because he knew that’s what Bernard wanted him to do. “Thank you for your counsel. You always put things into perspective.”

  Even when it wasn’t what Nicolas wanted to hear.

  Bernard exited the apartments and a couple seconds later, Colby stepped inside.

  “I got a text from Shaye,” Colby said. “She needs to see us as soon as possible.”

  Nicolas felt his back tighten. “Did she find him?”

  “I don’t know. She said we needed to meet in person. I wasn’t sure what your work schedule was so I said I’d check.”

  “Actually, I’m duty-free until later this afternoon. Where does she want to meet?”

  “She gave me an address. It’s to the facility her mother is building. She can provide you with documents that will make it appear as if you had a business meeting about St. Mary’s contributing to the facility. In case anyone asks.”

  “Not perfect, but better than meeting in a public place. Let’s get going then.” Nicolas was anxious to hear what Shaye had discovered. At this point, she wouldn’t have risked a meeting unless it was necessary.

  Hopefully, she was closing in on the penitent.

  Shaye greeted them at the front door and directed them down the hallway to a small meeting room. A table was already in place with a gap for Colby to place Nicolas’s chair. Once Nicolas was situated, Colby excused himself and closed the door behind him.

  “Do you know who he is?” Nicolas asked, barely waiting for the door to click closed.

  “Not yet,” she said. “But a lot of things happened last night. Too much to tell over the phone and I wanted to ask you questions and show you some pictures as well.”

  “What happened?”

  She told him about Hailey Pitre’s kidnapping and her escape. Nicolas listened as Shaye described every detail of what Hailey had endured, and she could tell he was struggling
to keep his emotions in check as he processed the horror the young girl had experienced. When she finished, he took in a deep breath and blew it out.

  “I heard about Hailey’s disappearance on the news, but I never once thought…it’s unbelievable. It was him.”

  Shaye nodded.

  “But who is he? Do the police have any idea?”

  “Not that I’m aware of. Prior to Hailey’s escape, the police were watching her father.”

  Nicolas stared. “Her father? Surely not.”

  “It wasn’t him. He has a solid alibi for when Hailey escaped from the cemetery. But he wasn’t exactly an innocent party.” She told Nicolas about Pitre’s confession.

  “That’s horrible! That poor girl. So much to handle already and now her father… What will happen to him?”

  “I don’t know. It’s his word that it was accidental, and the fact that he hid the body doesn’t bode well for him with the DA. I’m afraid Mr. Pitre will probably go to prison for a while.”

  She pulled out her cell phone and showed him some pictures. “I wanted to see if you recognized Hailey or her father.”

  Nicolas studied the images but ultimately shook his head. “I don’t think so. If they attend St. Mary’s, they’re not regulars. At least, they’re not part of the volunteering or complaining crowd. That’s usually the ones I get to know.”

  “St. Mary’s wasn’t their regular church, but it is close to Pitre’s office. He came here yesterday to light a candle.”

  Nicolas looked up at her in obvious surprise. “You saw him?”

  “No. The police did. The man I date was assigned to Hailey’s case.”

  Nicolas felt his hope surge. “So the police are looking for the penitent. You can give your man information without disclosing my name, right? Because he’ll trust you and take your word.”

  “Yes, I can and have already given him information. Unfortunately, he’s been pulled from the investigation. The perpetrator is the same man who killed Sunny Trahan, and there was already a detective assigned to the case. Since Sunny’s death was first, the original detective gets both cases.”