In the Shadow of Evil Book 2

by Nancy C. Weeks

  Without another word, Jennie left the room. She switched on the large-screen television as Noah entered the kitchen. Jennie eyed the closed door and cringed. When she first discovered her connection to Mendoza, she planned to keep Jared safe. But maybe she was dead wrong. She owed Jared an explanation before she could ever talk to Noah.

  “We have a problem, Jefe.”

  “Careful Ivan, I’m not in a good mood.”

  He had just gotten off the phone with his chief accountants. Interpol arrested one of his prominent business partners in London. The news placed quite a damper on Mendoza’s morning.

  The CIO of Intel Technologies made a deal with Mendoza's Middle East sources behind his back and was caught laundering profits from an arms deal. Now all of Mendoza's businesses by association with Intel Technologies were being scrutinized. Several government agencies from different countries were breathing down the CIO’s neck. If the little coward hadn't committed suicide, Mendoza would have taken great pleasure in skinning the bastard alive. To make matters more complicated, the news of the bust resulted in several business associates jumping ship, leaving Mendoza with a huge cash flow problem.

  Standing behind his desk with his hands clinched to his side, he frowned at the monitor on his desk. “Tell me.”

  “They lost her, Jefe. There was a switch at the hospital. I will personally deal with those responsible,” Ivan stuttered.

  “Pinche pendejos, you worthless, incompetent imbeciles!” Mendoza’s spit landed on the monitor. “How long has she been missing?"

  “I’m not sure. The woman in the bed wasn’t the McKenzie woman. I logged into hospital records. They released her at 3:15 a.m. My men were watching the wrong woman. There’s no excuse.”

  “I want her found in one hour.”

  “What about Raúl and the boy? I’m needed here, correct? I can’t leave them unguarded. What do you suggest?”

  “I don’t give a damn how you deal with it, just handle it!” Mendoza lifted the monitor and threw it at the wall.

  Twenty-Two

  Jared maneuvered through the dense traffic in downtown Baltimore. A tightness settled deep in his chest and he tried to keep from grinding his teeth into pulp. Jennie sat calm as a baby lamb in the passenger seat, her attention on Inner Harbor.

  He pleaded with her to stay at the safe house, but she refused to allow a madman to run her life. She insisted on meeting with her fifth-grade students to reassure them she was unharmed. How had she planned to pull that one off?

  One kiss and his damn brain no longer functioned.

  “Jared, you’re growling to yourself.”

  “You should rest, not—”

  “I’m fine.” She squeezed his forearm.

  He sighed heavily and attempted a smile. It took every ounce of his integrity to keep from turning the car around and sending her packing to Mac, under heavy protection from the United States Marshals.

  His morning had been one freaking mess after another. Before the news conference, he toured Scarvey’s apartment. Jared had spent months trying to get inside Scarvey’s head and failed. He needed to understand what he missed. But those moments spent in the living quarters of a serial killer would live with him for a lifetime.

  The first thing that struck him as he entered the apartment was the temperature. The place was freezing, the air conditioning thermostat set at sixty degrees with the fan on high. The living area, kitchen, and small den were immaculate, to the point of sterile, with every piece of furniture and bric-à-brac meticulously arranged. The heavy scent of Pine-Sol and bleach hit him the minute he stepped into the kitchen. The tile floor, the stainless steel, the black appliances sparkled.

  The bedrooms were a different story. It was as if each woman he killed had her own room. Jennie’s bedroom was at the end of the hallway, the last one on the right.

  The room was bare. He had plastered hundreds of copies of the newspaper clipping of Jennie and her students over every inch of wall surface. Long, irregular X marks in blood-red paint spattered over the newsprint, the red drips bleeding into long streams that pooled on the floor.

  Discarded fast food containers, empty liquor bottles, and several cans of spray adhesive littered the floor. A bucket of turpentine sat in the corner, with several brushes still soaking. A large puddle of the toxic liquid spilled around the bucket, seeping into the oak floors. The fumes from the turpentine and adhesive were so powerful that Jared had to cover his nose with a handkerchief. Each room was identical except for the different pictures.

  Scarvey targeted specific women he found featured in special interest articles in the Washington Post, Baltimore Sun, or local Maryland county newspapers. Did he fixate on the photo first, and then the woman?

  He held a doctorate in engineering from MIT, but his erratic behavior made it impossible for him to maintain a position in his field. Instead, he reinvented himself, repeatedly creating new identities, to get close to his targets. The victims may not even have heard of him, while his obsession magnified until it was out of control.

  The team also found an extensive dossier on Jared in a secure file on his home computer. If Scarvey was smart enough to avoid Raúl’s surveillance, he could’ve stumbled onto Jared’s connection to Jennie. Did Scarvey target Jennie because of Jared’s connection to the case, or did he become attached to her from the article in the Sun? There was no one to answer the question, and it would haunt Jared for a long time.

  “You’re very quiet,” Jennie said, studying him.

  He had just pulled into the back lot behind St. Luke’s Catholic Church. Before he answered, he parked the borrowed Ford Focus and shut off the engine. After removing his seatbelt, he twisted and faced Jennie.

  “I really don’t like this.” He stared out the front window. “That whole locking-you-up-somewhere-safe is looking real good right now.”

  Jared’s disguise made him look like a retired college professor, complete with a well-groomed beard and a gray wig. Father Anthony was in a parish meeting but would escort Jennie up to the school when done. That was the only condition on which Jared agreed to leave her side.

  “You can come in with me.” Her voice sounded tired, almost timid, to Jared’s ears. “Mendoza would never recognize you.”

  “As much as I would love to meet your students and see where you spend your day, it’s not a good idea. I can’t take the chance Mendoza recognizes me, especially anywhere near your students. We need to let him go about whatever he has planned. In the meantime, our focus is on locating Danny. I just wish I could understand why he took the kid. Just makes little sense to me.”

  “Danny has been missing for twenty-four hours. He could be anywhere by now,” she said, her voice breaking. “But I’ve some ideas on how to start the search.”

  Jared reached for her hand. “I’ve a great tech guy at your disposal. He really knows his stuff.”

  “I can hack into the traffic camera footage and the crossover streets. If we follow Tattoo Guy from my building, we may see what building he entered. It had to be close, because he was there within minutes. Find him, we find Danny.”

  Jared couldn’t resist leaning in, kissing her lips and along her jawline, while he whispered in her ear, “I’m doing all that legally.”

  “And when were you going to tell me about Mendoza’s surveillance cameras in my apartment?”

  Jared began to rub his hands through his hair, but stopped before he dislodged the wig. “Never…no, shit,” he whispered. “How did you know?”

  “Last night, Noah mentioned the cameras hidden in the vents. That should’ve sent you over the edge, but you never reacted.”

  Jared cursed under his breath. “We both have things we need to get out in the open. But, Jennie, from here on out, can we agree on no more secrets between us?”

  “I never lied to you.”

  “There’s a fine line between a lie and an omission. There’ll be things I can never talk to you about. It’s the nature of what I do.” They stared
at each other in silence. “You don’t trust people. I don’t blame you, after what you have been through. But I’m not people, right?”

  “No. You have never been just people. I kept secrets to protect you. I was going to fight the bastard and save your day. Crazy plan, but that’s it. You have to forgive me. Just tell me about the cameras so this can be over.”

  “It may have looked like we just let Mendoza get away with murdering Nick, but that’s not what happened. The more we learned about him, the bigger our net. Over the last six years, there’s been some success penetrating his organization. One of our undercover agents is in deep. He discovered the cameras when he was sent here to manage Mendoza’s east coast chain. And, he keeps tabs on you and reports directly to Mendoza.”

  Jared shifted in his seat to face Jennie. She deserved his complete attention.

  “I don’t know how long the cameras were there before that. But it made me crazy angry. Fighting my superiors, including my own brother, Mac, closed me out of the case completely. Before that, I was there on a thin thread. I settled with both sides, keeping an eye on you, hoping…praying it would lead to Mendoza’s downfall.”

  The worst of his secrets lay between them. At least she didn’t break eye contact. That had to be a good thing, but she was so damn quiet. If ever there was a time to let things process, this was it. “Say something, please.”

  “Now I know your secrets, and you know mine. Clean slate.” She placed her hand behind his neck and drew him close. Her mouth covered his, the gentle kiss lasted for an instant. Her seatbelt released and her body covered him, her lips melting the outside world away.

  The moment her lips touched Jared’s, Jennie’s mind and body spasmed. She had to accept all of him. It was pure passion, the way his arms held her against him, his lips melting her senses. The strangest part of it all, he centered her. There were two heartbeats, hers and his, and nothing else.

  A loud tap on her window dropped her back to Earth. Jennie broke the kiss and saw Father Anthony.

  “I think we should move inside,” he said, with a grin.

  Jared leaned his head on the seatback, and she climbed into the passenger seat. They opened their doors together and got out. Before they reached the east entrance of St. Luke’s, he clasped her arm in his. “Okay, clean slate, but I’m still damn sorry.”

  “Me, too. No more secrets.”

  “Same here.”

  Father Anthony loudly cleared his throat and held the church door for them. Once inside, they took the stairs to the basement and entered one of the large classrooms. Several men stopped what they were doing and turned toward them. Large maps of the city of Baltimore covered the tables, along with several computers and other equipment Jennie didn’t recognize. “What’s going on here?”

  Jared removed the wig and beard. “Everyone, meet Jennie McKenzie.” He placed an arm around her shoulders and drew her toward him. “Jennie, this is my team. We’re setting up a command center to keep track of Mendoza’s men.” He turned to the priest and said, “Thanks, Father Anthony. The rest of the members should be here in under an hour.”

  “Jennie, we’d better head out if you’re going to meet with your class before last bell,” Father Anthony said. “I have a meeting with Louise’s family at four-thirty. Louise organized everything a year ago, but there may be some slight changes.”

  Words stuck in Jennie’s throat, as another chuck of reality dropped into the pit of her gut. She could still feel Mrs. C.’s frail hand in her palm, as she took her last breath. Jennie didn’t know where to place the grief.

  Father Anthony touched her shoulder. “Only time will heal what you’re feeling. Louise’s love is still with you. That will never end. Good things in your future will one day replace the grief. Draw comfort in that.”

  “And me,” Jared said, leaning her back against his chest.

  Jennie’s arms circled Jared’s waist, a damn good thing to lean on. He had the power to erase the deepest hurt, making the rest tolerable. “I have to go.”

  “If anything makes you uncomfortable, I want you to get the hell out of there.”

  “I’ll take good care of her. You can use this room for as long as you need it. Our CCD program is on break until after Easter.”

  Jared nodded, then walked Jennie to the door. Holding her face in his hands, he lightly kissed her. “Be safe.”

  “I’ll be back before you even miss me.”

  “Not possible, I already miss you.”

  Jennie deeply inhaled the afternoon air. It was a beautiful day in Baltimore. Normally, the warmth of the sun on her face, combined with the cool breeze off the harbor, would be a joy, relieving any weight on her shoulders. Nothing held that power today. She didn’t know what bothered her more — the spiraling dread in the pit of her stomach of what Mendoza planned next, or the persistent throbbing from the knife wounds on her neck.

  “How are you holding up, Jennie?” Father Anthony asked as they approached Franklin Elementary School.

  Jennie lightly pressed his arm and smiled. “I’m doing fine. Stop worrying about me.”

  “So that pain-filled look on your face is nothing?”

  “Okay, so the neck hurts a little. I can’t take anything for it, because it makes me feel woozy and nauseous.” She stood on the bottom step of the school entrance and waited for Father Anthony to open the door.

  “I’ll visit with the students a few minutes and talk to the substitute, then we can leave. I’ll be fine, really.” She tried to convince herself, as much as Father Anthony.

  Upon entering the school, they passed the office and progressed down the corridor toward Jennie’s classroom. Just as she tapped on the door, Erin Merlot came out of another door and approached her.

  “Erin, what are you doing here today?” Jennie drew the young girl into her arms. “We’ll find Danny. I promise you that.”

  “With the police and FBI agents in and out of the house, Mom figured it would be easier if I were here.” Tearfully, she hugged Jennie tighter. “I thought it was a good idea at first, but all I’m doing is counting the seconds until the bell rings.”

  “I know, Erin.” Jennie struggled to find them, but there were no words to ease the child’s fear.

  “Miss McKenzie, is it true that Mr. Scarvey attacked you last night?”

  Jennie nodded, then forced out, “Yes, but as you can see, I’m fine.”

  “Could he have taken Danny?”

  “No, Erin. He’s...the police have been to his place and...”

  “But maybe he held him somewhere else?”

  Father Anthony asked, “Why do you believe it could be Mr. Scarvey?”

  “I received a text from Danny while he was in detention.” Erin brushed a tear from her cheek. “I got angry at him for using his cell phone right under the principal’s nose.”

  “What did the text say?”

  “Danny told me Mr. Scarvey was a nut job, and I shouldn’t help him anymore.”

  “Did you tell the police about the text?”

  That was the best Jennie could come up with. Mendoza had Danny.

  “They said they would look into it.”

  “Was there anyone else you can think of who has stood out lately?” Jennie asked.

  Erin said nothing for several moments, then her face lit up. “Yeah, there was something weird that happened a couple days ago. Danny, Trevor, and I were hanging out at the arcade on Lombard Street. There was this man that kept staring at us. I saw him at St. Luke’s that morning, then again at the V-Market. When we left the arcade, I thought he was following us.”

  “What did this guy look like, Erin?” Father Anthony asked. “Was there anything that stood out about him?”

  “He’s about the same size as you, Father Anthony, and he had this awesome tat that ran from the side of his neck down his shoulder. He was wearing a jacket, so his arm was covered, but I’m sure it goes all the way down his arm. Anyway, he caught up with us but kept walking like we weren’t t
here. So maybe it was nothing.”

  Jennie met Father Anthony’s eyes over the top of Erin’s head. She had just confirmed Jennie’s worst fear.

  “Did the man notice you watching him?” Jennie’s heart hammered against her ribs.

  “I don’t think so.”

  Feeling panic in her throat, Jennie asked, “When he passed you, did you see where he went?”

  “Well yeah, we did. I remember because Danny bragged that he was going to get tats like the guy had. Like Mom would let him get a tat. He’s such a—”

  Erin swallowed, and more tears spilled down her cheek. Jennie pulled her back into her arms. “Danny is coming home, Erin. You must believe that.”

  “The guy walked up the steps of that big ugly white building on the corner. Danny wanted to talk to him about his tats, but he went inside before we got to him.”

  “Erin, I will call your mom and have her pick you up. You need to tell the agents everything you told me.”

  “Okay. Do you think he could be who took Danny?”

  “I don’t know, but if that person stood out in your mind, I think you should let them know. You still have my cell phone number in your class folder from last year?”

  “I still got it.”

  “If things get to be too much, please reach out to me anytime.”

  “Mom is a basket case. I’m…”

  “The police will get Danny back.”

  Erin nodded and gave Jennie a quick hug before she hurried toward her classroom.

  As soon as the door closed, Jennie faced her friend. “We need to tell Jared now. We may have just discovered where that tattoo creep is holding Danny.”

  “What we know is that some guy my height with a cool tattoo may or may not have been watching Danny. That’s it, Jennie. While you visit with your class, I’ll call Jared. And then you will let Jared and his team do what they’re trained to do.”