The Isolated Widow (The Widow Taker Book 2)

by Kennedy Layne

  His promise to his flock was now more important than ever.

  His agreement with the heavenly host was paramount.

  “Only I can make it better.”

  Chapter Twenty-One

  “We can go over the call one more time,” Linc offered from his place at the island. They’d managed to get through a quick lunch at the pub to keep up appearances after having spent the rest of the morning going over the verbiage of Quinn’s podcast and her call to the reporter. “It’s important that Katie park a news van outside of Olivia’s house to make it seem that she is cooped up inside.”

  They had about twenty minutes before Quinn went live with her podcast. She was usually unscripted when she went on air, and it was vital that she come across naturally. The unsub was likely trying to figure out how to follow through on what he considered his due diligence while hoping his Olivia Harper problem would dissipate on its own.

  “I’ve got the call covered, as well as what I’m going to say on the air,” Quinn replied with confidence, though she was still staring at the phone in her hand. “Do you really believe The Widow Taker is going to be caught tonight? What happens if he doesn’t bite? How long will Olivia need to remain in protective custody?”

  “We’ll deal with the ramifications tomorrow morning.” Linc turned the stool so that he was directly facing her. “If there is the slightest chance that we can divert the unsub’s attention away from his next target, we have to take it. We might have the chance here to save a potential victim.”

  Quinn nodded her agreement before taking a steady breath and dialing her friend.

  Katie Sloane must have answered on the first ring.

  “Katie, I’ve got something,” Quinn replied without hesitation. She even emitted an earnest tone. “Did you know that the police have been questioning Olivia Harper?”

  Quinn locked gazes with him while Katie responded, ramping up the conversation all by herself.

  “Yes, but there’s more. You know that the sheriff showed up on her doorstep last Wednesday, right?” Quinn paused, letting Katie speculate on the details. “Well, my source told me that they brought her into the station today…officially. Katie, the feds have to believe that she can identify The Widow Taker.”

  Quinn frowned as her knuckles turned white from gripping her cell phone.

  “No, Linc hasn’t said a word to me. You know very well that I have a source inside the station. Look, I just thought you might try to catch an interview with Olivia. I just confirmed that a deputy dropped her off at her house a few minutes ago. I’m going live with my podcast in less than twenty minutes, and I figured I’d pay you back for that other favor. I don’t mind not getting all the credit this time around, and I suspect you might be able to flush out another lead to confirm the story I’m going with today.”

  Linc wasn’t one to go into relationships blind. He’d known that getting involved with Quinn would bring questions eventually, but he didn’t mind them. What mattered most to him was that she had enough trust in him to take that step forward, and he was still waiting for the first signs she’d done so. He figured she’d already discovered that he had the patience of a saint. Regardless of whether or not this case came to an end tonight, he had a contingency plan in place.

  He’d fallen for her.

  It was that simple, and he wouldn’t settle for anything less than the complete, fulfilling relationship that he hoped for at this point in his life. He wanted an equal partner. He wanted Quinn Simmons by his side, challenging him every single day to be the best man he could be. He wasn’t completely sure what the future held for them, but he knew damn well that he wanted to find out with her.

  Linc could care less what other people thought, though Dean had run their plan through the Special Agent in Charge of the New Haven office. An operation like this couldn’t succeed without the cooperation of several branches of law enforcement, all of which were currently engaged and fully briefed for this evening’s scenario.

  “Linc knows that I have a job to do,” Quinn reassured Katie. “As I said, I’m going live on the podcast in…eighteen minutes. I just wanted to know if you’re going to park a van in front of Olivia’s house. If you are, I can direct my listeners to watch for updates on your broadcast.”

  Linc had been made well aware of the agreement between the two women when it came to breaking stories. Quinn was a shrewd businesswoman, and the recent success of her podcast proved it. She had developed a national following for her podcast. He also knew about her contracts with some of the larger stations.

  Despite the tragedy she’d experienced in this town, this place was still her home.

  “Great. I’ll make sure to tell my listeners to tune in. If you manage to get an interview with her, I want to know what leads you’ve developed so that I can do a follow-up segment on my podcast.” Quinn nodded toward Linc, letting him know that they were a go. He quickly shot off a text off to Dean, who was coordinating efforts from a utility van parked three houses down from Olivia Harper’s residence. “I’ve got to go, Katie. Good luck.”

  Quinn disconnected the line, breathing a sigh of relief.

  “Katie was a bit skeptical that I was busting a story on the case without first running it by you first,” Quinn explained, standing up from her desk chair. She set her phone on the desk before rolling her neck in an attempt to relieve some of her stress. “She’s readying a camera crew now, though. I figure they’ll be parked in front of Olivia’s house within the next fifteen minutes.”

  “Good.” Linc confirmed one more thing with Chaz through text messages before changing the subject. “Jonah will be patrolling your neighborhood. I thought it was best to have additional protection just in case. The paranoia could make the unsub unpredictable.”

  Quinn appeared as if she was going to respond, but she remained quiet as she made her way into the kitchen. She grabbed a soda for herself and filled up a glass of ice water for him. When she slid it across the island, she remained there resting her elbows on the counter.

  “I’ve been watching you all morning,” Quinn said quietly, studying him as she claimed to have been doing for some time. “This is it, isn’t it? You think this is leading up to a smashing crescendo tonight.”

  “I think tonight will be a turning point,” Linc corrected her, holding open his hand and waiting for her to take it. The tips of her fingers were cold as she held onto his. “My role is to profile the unsub, but I also have a personal stake in making sure that you remain safe.”

  “You would have kept me safe even if we hadn’t been personally involved,” Quinn replied confidently, glancing down at their hands. She parted her lips, but then seemed to make a conscious decision to end the conversation. “I’m going to go over my notes from this morning. We can’t afford to make any mistakes, especially if The Widow Taker is listening to me live.”

  Linc had purposefully avoided the topic of the Rockwells. Last Friday when they’d been at the station, he’d been in the conference room when one of the deputies had driven Quinn to the dentist. She’d had a cleaning scheduled for the past six months, and she wasn’t inclined to miss it since things had been so quiet on the case.

  Life went on, even under these types of circumstances.

  What Quinn had failed to mention was that she’d asked the deputy to stop by Gilda and Sam Rockwell’s residence on their return trip back to the station. The deputy had remained inside his vehicle for a good thirty minutes before she’d exited the house. She hadn’t mentioned the visit at all to Linc, but her eyes had shined a little brighter since then.

  He’d been holding out hope that she was willing to take that step he’d mentioned last week, but she sure came across as flatfooted at the moment.

  Before too long, it was time for Quinn to go on the air.

  Linc had witnessed her host the podcast numerous times since he’d been staying with her, but he never ceased to be amazed by how comfortable she was covering cold cases from around the nation. Just yest
erday, she discovered a major break in the Cromley murders based on a profile that he had helped her create based on a copy of the murder book that she’d managed to obtain from one of her sources. He was wise enough not to ask questions on how she’d gone about procuring her confidential informants.

  She had eventually passed the profile along to the police in that area, and the detective on the case was currently following up with a suspect who matched the profile.

  Quinn’s calling to give closure to those families had come from a very dark place, but she had become a guiding light for others. He had no doubt that she would eventually write a book about one of the cases she’d helped to solve once the one she was living actually came to a close.

  “Ready?” Quinn asked, looking over her shoulder at him. When he shot her a smile, she nodded and began to talk in the mic. “Good afternoon, and welcome back to the Crime Column. We’re going to cover two special cases today, but first I want to reveal a major break in The Widow Taker investigation. A source reached out to me today and confirmed that federal agents on the case have been questioning a particular individual who they believe might very well be able to identify the killer. That’s right, and you heard it here first. You’ll also want to tune into KFWH15, because I have inside information that Katie Sloane is live on the scene. With any luck, she’ll even be able to conduct an interview with the individual in question. For now, I’m keeping the identity of the key witness confidential in order to protect her safety.”

  They had gone over several ways for Quinn to cover the story on her podcast, but she would never intentionally broadcast someone’s name relative to the case that could potentially put them in danger. The unsub had been listening and monitoring Quinn for quite some time, so she wouldn’t do anything out of the ordinary to alert him to a potential trap.

  With any luck, the unsub was doing exactly what Linc was in the process of doing, and that was turning the television on to Katie Sloane’s channel. A talk show was currently airing, but any indication of Katie’s breaking news would certainly be hyped during a commercial break.

  Linc remained standing in the middle of the living room listening to Quinn conduct the rest of her podcast. Around ten minutes in, the station finally cut to Katie’s heart-shaped face.

  “Reporting live from the scene, this is Katie Sloane with KFWH15. Working with our own local investigative journalist, Quinn Simmons, we’ve been able to identify the individual who could potentially bring swift justice to the serial killer who has been hunting widows in the town of Winter Heights.”

  The camera panned back from Katie to give enough of a camera shot to show a couple of nondescript row of houses behind her. The frame wasn’t close enough to see any of the house numbers, but anyone with knowledge of the area might recognize the neighborhood.

  It didn’t surprise Linc that Katie was playing it safe, not wanting to get the station or herself into trouble without first confirming the lead. The camera angle was enough for the unsub to see what neighborhood the news van was parked in, thus confirming his belief that Olivia Harper might in fact identify him to the police.

  “Join me back here at three o’clock for more details and further…”

  Linc had muted the volume on low so that it wouldn’t interrupt Quinn’s podcast. He placed the remote down on the coffee table in exchange for his phone. The pub was still the place that they believed the unsub had been garnering information from Olivia Harper, so Evans had stopped there on the premise of grabbing a bite to eat. It would be interesting to see if there was any odd behavior exhibited by one of the patrons during either broadcast.

  The hour passed quickly, with no reaction noted on any of the fronts in position.

  The stage was set and the tension in the air was palpable.

  “How did I do?” Quinn asked after she’d signed off on her podcast. “Olivia’s name was never really mentioned, so what if The Widow Taker doesn’t fully comprehend the urgency of his situation?”

  “The unsub we’re dealing with has been intelligent enough to kill five victims without getting caught or leaving any vital clues to who he might be,” Linc reminded her from his place at the island. He’d been making small adjustments to the profile, but nothing that altered the main theme. “Trust me, he’s doing everything he can to keep it together right now, but fear will overtake every other emotion he’s been able to keep in check. He’ll react as we suspect, and we’ll have to be ready for when he does.”

  Quinn’s phone rang.

  She quickly reached for it, emitting a moan of regret when she saw who trying to reach her. The meaning behind her remorse clicked, and Linc realized that they’d completely forgotten about the work event that Roger was hosting at the pub today. He’d rented one of the private rooms, and apparently Quinn was to receive one of the paper’s top internal honors that had been awarded annually throughout the years of the paper’s history.

  “Roger,” Quinn greeted, rubbing her forehead with her other hand as she clearly contemplated a way out of the impending event. “Yes, that was a big break in the case. Thanks. Yes, I’ll wait to see if Katie gets an interview before writing up an article for the paper. She seems skeptical about the lead, but I’m sure she’ll come through with a good scoop.”

  Linc motioned that they should head out, but Quinn shot him a frown. She had no idea how hard it was going to be to stay inside while everyone else was positioned to take action. Being anywhere else but cooped up at home was better than nothing. Plus, it would give Linc a chance to monitor the comings and goings of the pub. There was a slim chance that the unsub would be somewhere public right now while trying to figure out the best course of action, but Linc’s decision to drive downtown had more to do with killing time and occupying idle hands.

  “Yes, that’s who it is,” Quinn confirmed, shooting Linc a stare that basically confirmed the locals were well aware of who the individual was to bring a break in the case. “I didn’t feel comfortable saying her name over the air, though. It’s the same reason that Katie’s being mindful with her broadcast until she’s able to interview Olivia. If she manages to snag one, she could just alter Olivia’s voice and show her in shadow during the interview if she wants to keep her anonymity.”

  “Tell him you’ll be at the pub within a half hour,” Linc whispered as he shut the top of his laptop.

  “Are you crazy?” Quinn murmured harshly, having covered the end of the cell phone with her hand. “We should—”

  “Our part is done, Quinn. This will give us something to do while we’re waiting for word from Dean and the others. And who knows? It might very well put the unsub at ease to know we aren’t setting a trap for him, waiting somewhere in the shadows to jump out at him. Our being somewhere so public might just be enough to encourage him to act while we’re safely distracted at the party.”

  Quinn seemed torn on whether or not to follow his lead, but Roger must have been calling out her name.

  “I’m here,” Quinn responded after clearing her throat. “Sorry about that. Um, I guess I’ll see you in around an hour. Is there anything that I need to bring?”

  Linc stored his laptop in his briefcase, not comfortable with leaving it behind. Access to his hard drive was encrypted, but he always took precautions when he couldn’t leave classified files in his safe at Quantico. He’d drop it off at the station before driving Quinn to the pub. By the time he had his things sitting by the front door, she’d finished her phone call.

  “It feels wrong to attend some work function when The Widow Taker might finally be apprehended tonight,” Quinn said as she began to shut down her desktop computer.

  “We’d be sitting here on pins and needles, wondering what was happening with the operation anyway. Trust me, I’ve been in this situation many times before. You’d be surprised by how many of these stings took place while I was sitting in a tavern outside of Quantico. It’s rare that I’m out in the field on the forward edge during a bust, and it’s best to do things to get yo
ur mind off it.” Linc grabbed her jacket from the small front closet, adding one more thing. “The answer to your next question is no, by the way. We’re not going to camp out in a vehicle near Olivia Harper’s residence. Dean and the others are probably freezing their asses off, and we’re not going to do anything to put him in a worse mood than he already is.”

  “It still feels wrong,” Quinn muttered, shifting so that she could slip her arms through the sleeves of her jacket. He turned her around while holding onto both sides of the zipper. “I know, I know. It’ll get my mind off the waiting.”

  “There’s no guarantee that anything is going to happen tonight,” Linc gently reminded her, not wanting her to get her hopes up. He’d seen too many cases stall when the hand of the unsub was forced to make a decision. “He could go completely dormant, meaning you might not hear from him again.”

  “You don’t believe that any more than I do.” Quinn placed her hands on his as she met his gaze with a determination he hadn’t seen since the day he’d met her. “Tonight’s the night. I can feel it.”

  It was all falling apart.

  He wasn’t sure where he’d gone wrong. Olivia Harper shouldn’t have been able to connect him to The Widow Taker.

  How had that happened?

  What had he done or said that had caused her to become so suspicious?

  There had to be a way to get his life back to the way it was, but he couldn’t gather his thoughts. His chest constricted. How could he construct a plan piece by piece the way he’d always done when he couldn’t breathe?

  He had to find a way to compose himself. If not, he wouldn’t be able to do what was needed for this town.

  His heartrate began to slow a bit when he realized that he could still complete the task at hand.

  He could be The Widow Taker…the one who took their grief away and gave them peace.