The Bait

by Carol Ericson

  “What does he want?”

  “Better question is who is he?” He opened his door. “I’m going to talk to Manny. I suggest you come with me if you feel up to it.”

  “I’m fine.”

  He waited for her, and they walked up to Manny together. “I took her statement, Manny. I’ll write it up for you and email it, but Kyra has something she wants to tell you.”

  Detective Villareal, who’d just made detective last month, raised his eyebrows. “What is it, Ms. Chase?”

  “You can call me Kyra.” She unzipped the gun pouch on her purse and pulled out her weapon. “I did want to let you know that I have a gun. You’re welcome to take it.”

  Manny assessed the gun with an expert eye and sniffed the barrel. “No need. We’re looking for a .45, not a .22, and your gun hasn’t been fired recently. Go see the guy in the blue shirt over by the crime scene tape. We have a portable sensor for gunshot residue and he can swab your hands now. Is that okay?”

  “That’s fine. If after reading Jake’s... Detective McAllister’s report, you have any questions for me, I’d be happy to talk with you. Unfortunately, I didn’t see anything except the white truck.”

  “We know that belongs to someone who came here earlier, met his girlfriend, and the two of them took off in her car.”

  Jake nudged Kyra’s back. “Go see Thomas to get your hands swabbed.”

  She nodded, correctly sensing he wanted to talk to Manny by himself.

  When she’d created enough space between them, Jake turned to Manny. “Any witnesses? Anyone see Hughes here earlier?”

  “We’ll put out a call to the public, also ask if anyone has video or pictures on their phone from earlier this evening.” Manny adjusted his tie and straightened his jacket. “The cameras are a no-go.”

  “They don’t work?” Jake glanced up at the camera affixed to a lamppost.

  Manny pointed skyward. “This one doesn’t work, and the other one is at an angle that’s not going to catch the action over here. Do you think the killer knew that?”

  “Possibly, unless he’s the one who broke the camera. Is it physically disabled?”

  “No. Hasn’t been working for a while. What’s the point of having cameras if you don’t verify they’re working?”

  Jake clapped Manny on the back. “Welcome to my world. And if the jacket and tie get to be too much, especially at a night scene like this, you can chuck ’em in the car.”

  “Good to know.” Manny loosened his tie. “This is the guy who’s posting your reply to the copycat killer, isn’t he?”

  “Interesting, huh?”

  “Do you think the killer found out somehow and killed him before he could post it?”

  “Good thought, but I think the killer is hoping I’ll reply.”

  Manny’s gaze shifted to Kyra, holding her hands out for Thomas as he passed the electrode over her skin. “He’s also the blogger who released that stuff about Kyra’s background.”

  “One and the same, but Kyra was cool with it. She’s the one who contacted Hughes about posting my reply to the killer. He called her out here for a meeting, not the other way around. I saw a record of the phone call on her cell. Do you want her to turn it over to you?”

  “She’s not a suspect, but it would be too coincidental to believe Hughes’s death isn’t somehow related to his connection to the copycat killings.”

  “You’ll make a good detective, Manny. Now it’s up to you to figure out how it’s related.”

  “I’m assuming the task force is going to follow my investigation closely.”

  “We’ll be right beside you, brother.”

  Kyra waved and Thomas flashed them a thumbs-up.

  Jake released a pent-up breath slowly through parted lips. “I guess that’s it, then. Was Hughes shot point-blank or from a distance?”

  “Point-blank. The killer may have forced Hughes from his car at gunpoint, led him to the water and shot him. Nobody around. Nobody heard a sound. We’re hoping to round up some witnesses to find out if anyone saw Hughes here earlier. I understand when he called Kyra, he said there were people here.”

  “Could be. Could’ve been a lie to get her out here, make her feel safe.”

  They stopped talking as Kyra joined them. “No residue. Thomas will have it in a report.”

  As the coroner’s van pulled into the parking lot, Jake said, “Wait for me in my car, unless Manny has any more questions for you. I’m going to take a quick look at the crime scene.”

  Jake strode toward the yellow tape and flashed his badge before ducking under it. One bullet to the back of the head. Maybe Hughes didn’t know it was coming. Did someone force him out here? Force him to call Kyra? Did Hughes think he was setting up Kyra for her own death and not his?

  Poor bastard. These laymen and amateur sleuths thought it was all fun and games—until a killer got you on his radar.

  He finished examining the scene and returned to his car to find Kyra propped up against the hood. “Detective Villareal asked me a few more questions, but I don’t think I’m on his short list.”

  “He doesn’t have a list, but you wouldn’t be on it, anyway.” He jerked his thumb over his shoulder at Sean’s body. “I’m sorry you had to see that.”

  “It’s not my first rodeo. I’ve seen dead bodies before, but I’m not gonna lie. This was a shock.” She crossed her arms and dug her fingers into her biceps. “Are the cameras going to help?”

  “The one in position doesn’t work.”

  Her jaw dropped. “You’re kidding me? What are the odds?”

  “The odds that it’s a coincidence? Not good.” He brushed her arm with his knuckles. “Do you want to get in the car with me and talk some more, or are you ready to call it a night?”

  “I’m more than ready to call it a night. I suppose I’m going to have to tell Quinn about this and suffer his wrath.” She hitched her purse onto her shoulder and pushed off the car.

  Clasping his hand on the back of his neck, Jake said, “I’m worried this is Laprey continuing his escalation. If he killed that homeless woman last month and now this, we know what he’s capable of.”

  “We just don’t know why he’s targeting me. I’m assuming he found out about my past from Matt, my foster brother. Maybe he’s just someone Matt knew and picked up on my story to blackmail me.”

  Jake said, “But he’s never threatened to blackmail you.”

  “I don’t know. Maybe it’s someone who gets his kicks torturing and controlling women. Matt was in prison and hung out with some bad characters. It could be someone he met there.”

  “I’m going to start looking into that.” He grabbed the car door and yanked it open. “I’d give you a big, long kiss right here and now if we didn’t have an audience.”

  “An audience of your co-workers.” She blew him a kiss from her fingertips. “Will that suffice?”

  “It’ll tide me over until I get you in my arms again. You don’t know how scared I was when I got the call that you were in Echo Park with a dead Sean Hughes.” He squeezed his eyes closed for a second, opening them when he felt Kyra’s touch on his shoulder.

  “Knowing they called you and you were on your way was the only thing that kept me together.” She turned to go and stopped. Without looking around, she said, “We have to find another way to get out your response to Copycat Three.”

  “We’ll figure out something.” Jake slid behind the wheel and left his door open as he watched Kyra walk to her car, her head bent over her phone.

  His heart jumped when Kyra stopped suddenly and spun around, her face a white oval in the darkness. Without even thinking, he jumped from the car and made a beeline to Kyra, still frozen, her feet rooted to the asphalt.

  Lunging toward her, he asked, “What’s wrong?”

  “I—I got a message from Sean’s ph
one I didn’t see before.”

  “What did he say? Is it a clue about his killer?”

  “I don’t think Sean sent this message.” She turned the phone toward him and it said, “I did it for you.”

  Chapter Nine

  Confusion crisscrossed Jake’s face, but Kyra knew exactly what the message meant and who had sent it. She swallowed the lump in her throat. “It’s him, Jake. It’s Laprey. He sent this message from Sean’s phone before...or after he killed him.”

  “The timing of it is going to be important to the investigation. Is he trying to pretend he killed Sean Hughes to avenge you when, in all probability, he’s the one who leaked your story to Sean?”

  She clasped the phone to her thundering heart. “It’s just another way to manipulate me. What does he want? Who is he?”

  “Let’s take your phone to Manny. They’re gonna see that text to you once they get into Sean’s phone, anyway.” Jake curled an arm around her waist and led her back to the crime scene when she’d just wanted to escape it all.

  Thirty minutes later, Jake walked her back to her car. “Are you sure you’re going to be okay tonight? You can stay with me and to hell with Tess.”

  She put her hands on his strong shoulders. “It’s not just Tess. It’s Fiona, too. I’ll be fine. Like you pointed out earlier, he’s never tried to physically harm me. In his mind he just killed for me.”

  “He’s obsessed with you. We both know how quickly obsession can turn to violence.”

  She ground her back teeth to suppress the shiver creeping up her spine. “Maybe, but not tonight. I’ll call you when I get to my apartment.”

  Jake finally let her go, worry creasing his handsome face. He followed her out of the parking lot, and his headlights stayed glued behind her until she reached her freeway where she peeled off from him.

  Had Laprey been watching her in that parking lot? No, he wouldn’t have stayed around for the police. Was Jake right? Had Sean’s killer forced him to call her? Had he been listening to their conversation when Sean called her, to make sure Sean didn’t give anything away?

  This murder would make the news tomorrow, and the stories would drag her name through it all—even more reason for Tess to want to keep her far, far away from Fiona. Kyra didn’t blame her.

  She got home well past midnight and didn’t even feel silly clutching her gun in her hand from the car to her apartment. If it got down to it, she knew she could protect herself as long as someone didn’t surprise her. She had no intention of being taken by surprise.

  Spot, the stray cat, didn’t make an appearance to greet her, so she shut and secured her front door. Jake had mentioned cameras for her apartment, and now might be the time to act on that.

  When she crawled into bed, she plugged her phone into the charger and cradled it in the palm of her hand. She studied the text message, from Sean’s phone but not from Sean. Detective Villareal had discovered that the message must’ve been scheduled earlier and sent from a message app on the phone, as the delivery time was after the discovery of Sean’s body. It had given her some comfort that she hadn’t missed the message.

  This was the first communication she’d had from Laprey since he sent her the email with the picture of her foster family, threatening to expose the fact that she’d stabbed her foster father to death after he’d been molesting the younger girls in the home and had attacked her for trying to protect one of the girls.

  Jake had discovered the truth, anyway, and now the whole world knew about it, thanks to Sean Hughes...and his source. Laprey’s harassment of her had begun during the reign of the first copycat killer, Jordy Cannon. It had continued and escalated during Cyrus Fisher’s killing spree, and now had come to a head with this third killer.

  Did Laprey know these killers? Was he working in coordination with them? Or had he been holding on to this information and decided to torment her with it when the killings started?

  Her foster brother, Matt Dugan, had been involved with Laprey somehow. She and Jake had discovered Laprey’s name among Matt’s possessions when he died. In fact, several people involved with Laprey had wound up dead. Would she be next? Was that his endgame?

  Sighing, she placed the phone on the nightstand and dragged her pillow beneath her head. Tomorrow, she and Jake needed to start working on another vehicle for his response to Copycat Three. She couldn’t let her own problems derail her from her work with the task force, but once again she couldn’t shake the feeling that the current killings involved her...and the man who had murdered her mother twenty years ago.

  * * *

  HER PHONE BUZZED, and Kyra opened one eye, sticky with sleep. She peered at the display before answering. “How did you manage to wake up so early after the night we had?”

  Jake said, “It’s not that early. I tried calling you before and got worried when you didn’t answer.”

  Holding her phone away from her, she said, “Looks like I missed a few calls this morning. I hear background noise. Are you at the station already?”

  “Yes, and I have big news for you.”

  She shot up, banging the back of her head against the headboard. “What is it?”

  “Sean must’ve scheduled his blog to post today because it’s out this morning, and you were right—it’s creating a buzz.”

  “It must be creating an even bigger buzz with Sean’s death.” She threaded her fingers through her hair and rubbed her scalp. “Are news sources making the connection between the post and his murder last night?”

  “Speculation is running rampant, and the blog is getting a lot of eyes. Copycat Three would have to be living in a cave to miss it.”

  “For all we know, he might be living in a cave. You don’t have much on him.” She switched Jake to speaker and hopped onto the internet, bringing up LA Confidential. “I’m looking at it now. I’m just sorry Sean’s not around to enjoy the results.”

  “How are you feeling this morning?”

  “Tired, but more energized now that I know all our work with Sean wasn’t in vain and we don’t have to start over. This is good. This is really good.” She threw back the covers and planted her bare feet on the carpet. “How’s everyone on the task force taking it?”

  “It’s like a roller coaster around here. People are shocked by Hughes’s murder and excited by his blog.”

  “I suppose everyone knows Sean called me and that I found the body.” Holding the phone in one hand, Kyra shuffled to her bathroom and frowned at the circles under her eyes.

  “Everyone knows.” Jake cleared his throat. “You don’t have to come into the station today.”

  “Of course I do. What do you take me for?” She flicked back her hair and cranked on the shower. “I’m not responsible for Sean’s death. Did Villareal release the text message I got?”

  “Nope. That’s something we’re going to keep to ourselves. I’ll let you go. It sounds like you’re in a wind tunnel.”

  “That’s the shower. I’ll see you when I get in.” She placed the phone on the vanity and pulled her nightgown over her head. “I suppose this latest news is going to give your ex-wife even more ammunition against me.”

  “Don’t worry about Tess. I can make her see reason.”

  They ended the call and Kyra stepped beneath the warm spray of the shower. She didn’t want to tell Jake, but it wasn’t Tess that concerned her—it was his daughter.

  Later that morning, Kyra tried to slip into the task force war room as unobtrusively at possible, but she didn’t have to worry because Detective Villareal came in and swooped her up for more questioning as soon as she walked through the door.

  She ran through the timeline with him again and showed him her phone. He confirmed the scheduling app the killer had used to send her the message from Sean’s phone. He also told her there had been several calls between Sean’s phone and a burner phone.

 
As they wrapped things up, she asked, “Did you find any witnesses who were there earlier and might have seen Sean and his killer?”

  “We have a few people coming in later who were at the lake, but I think Sean was lying to you about people at the lake. It wasn’t very crowded. We checked with the security company who monitors the footage from the cameras—when they’re working—and the folks there told us traffic to the lake falls off this time of the year. The kids are back in school and the end of daylight saving time keeps people away. Sean...or someone else was trying to give you a false sense of security.”

  “I’ll ask my friend, Megan Wright, a reporter from KTOP, where Sean might’ve kept information about his sources. I suppose you confiscated his computer.”

  “We did.” Villareal’s dark eyes flashed. “It’s a good thing Hughes scheduled that blog before he died. Now it’s getting more attention than ever. Of course, he couldn’t have known at the time his murder would make the hits to his blog go through the roof.”

  “I wonder if the killer knew the blog was going to post anyway?” Kyra drew circles on the desk with her fingertip. “When I talked to Sean, he indicated to me the blog might not get published unless I met him at the park.”

  “It could’ve been his way to convince you to come out.”

  “Or he was hiding it from his killer. Maybe the guy killed Sean to stop him from posting Jake’s response.”

  “Why would he care about that? His interest and focus were on you, not the copycats.”

  Kyra folded her hands to stop her restless fingers. “Detective Villareal, I’m sure you read about my past yesterday. I’m connected to the copycat killers in more ways than one.”

  He dropped his gaze, a habit he’d have to break if he expected to be a successful homicide detective. Victims’ families didn’t want a detective who was going to shy away from their pain and horror. If the cops couldn’t take the heat, how were the victims’ loved ones supposed to survive?