by Debra Webb
The sutured lips were not typical Player handiwork. Was this some new point Spears wanted to make? The recent victims with the sutured lips appeared to all have one thing in common, they could have given Jess information. Spears had stopped them.
Speak no evil. Or, in this case, speak no truth.
“By the way,” Sylvia noted, “Henshaw’s tox screen was positive for Ketamine. The ME in Huntsville is sending me his preliminaries on Mooney and Skelton. I’m guessing he’ll find the same.”
“No surprise there.” Ketamine was Spears drug of choice for his victims.
“She wasn’t in the water very long,” Sylvia announced, drawing Jess’s attention back to the table and the woman who could be her half sister. “Skin isn’t loose, wrinkling, or pimpled.”
Amanda had called Jess shortly after noon. Foster’s team had pulled her out of the water by five. Somewhere in between Spears or one of his sadistic followers had tortured and murdered her, and then had her dumped in the river.
Egotistical bastard.
“Let’s check the mouth.” Jess needed to know if there was another message. Any minute now Black or Manning could show up with a court order to take possession of the body. It would take a court order to override Griggs’ authority.
With sterile pincers and surgical scissors, Sylvia started the removal process. Jess’s cell sounded. She dug for it in her bag and checked the screen. Dan. Her heart leapt. Thank God. “I have to take this.”
Peeling off a glove, Jess hurried from the room. Lori came out right behind her, had a look around, and then took a short walk down the corridor.
Jess swiped the screen and accepted Dan’s call. “You okay?”
“I’m hanging in there.” He sounded exhausted and disgusted. He had every right to be. This week had been hell on earth for him.
“I’m sorry about Meredith.”
“Me, too.” He sighed. “I heard about Amanda. How are you holding up?”
“It’s strange.” Jess shook her head. “I feel confused.” How was she supposed to feel about this woman? She had no idea if she was her biological half sister and so what if she was. They hadn’t formed a relationship. Amanda was a killer. The families of her victims would cheer when they heard the news about her death.
“I can imagine,” Dan said. “When’re you coming home?”
“I’m with Sylvia. She’s doing a preliminary since I can’t be sure Gant won’t have Black or someone rush in and steal the body from me.”
“Your standoff with Harold over at the Redmont is running rampant through the department grapevine.” There was a hint of humor in his voice now.
“Gant pushed me into a corner. I had no choice.”
Dan laughed softly. The sound made her wish she could go to him. “I love you, Jess. Come home as soon as you can. I need to hold you.”
“Love you, too. Be there as soon as I can.” Jess put her phone away. She could relax a little now that she’d heard from him.
Lori moved up beside her. “Everything okay?”
“As okay as it can be.” Jess worried about Buddy. She hoped he wasn’t at the bottom of that damned river, too. Gant was right. There was a new urgency in Spears latest moves. Anything could happen next.
“Can I ask you something, Jess?”
She pushed aside the disturbing thoughts. “You don’t have to ask if you can ask. Of course you can.” Had she been so distracted that she’d lost touch with her team? The whole week had felt disjointed and surreal.
“Did you want me at the Brownfield farm yesterday?”
Jess frowned. “Hayes said you’d headed over there with Cook to check out a hunch. I meant to ask you about it, but I’ve been a little distracted.”
“I guess there was a lapse in communication. Hayes told me you wanted me over there with Cook. No problem, I was curious that’s all.” Her face told a different story. It was a problem and she was clearly frustrated.
Jess was more than a little frustrated herself. “If Hayes is—”
The door to the exam room opened. Sylvia poked her head out. “Spears left a message for you.”
“We can talk about this later,” Lori assured her.
Heart banging against her ribs, Jess followed Sylvia back to the autopsy table. A plastic Ziploc bag had been removed from Amanda’s mouth. Inside was a wallet size photo. Jess pulled on new gloves and carefully removed the photo from the bag. The image of big brown eyes and a wide smile framed by long, dark hair stared out at her. Hand shaking, she turned the photo over.
And then there were four... only one to go until it’s your turn, Jess. Can’t wait.
The note was signed Eric.
Jess turned to Lori. “Get Gant on the line for me.”
Only one to go... before it was her turn.
16
Cedar Hill Cemetery, Bessemer, 10:45 p.m.
Buddy Corlew parked the Volkswagen Beetle he’d borrowed from a friend, shut off the headlights and waited. After what he’d seen on the news, he wasn’t so sure showing up for this little tete-a-tete was such a good idea. His cell vibrated and he checked the screen knowing full well it would be Jess.
He ignored her call the way he had all the others. She would only try talking him into coming in. Not happening until he was done. If he was right, he was too close to let anything or anyone get in his way. In the end, if he survived, Jess would thank him.
If he were wrong, it wouldn’t be the first time. He just hoped it wouldn’t be the last.
He checked the time again. Where the hell was he?
Headlights bobbed through the cemetery gate. His instincts went on point. After all this time, if this guy decided to turn on him now, Buddy was going to be pissed.
The car parked and the driver opened his door and climbed out. No interior light came on to give him away. Cops and PIs knew interior lights were good for one thing, illuminating a target. With no sirens echoing in the distance and no blue lights pulsing through the darkness, Buddy breathed easier.
Detective Kelvin Roark walked the short distance and climbed into the passenger side of Buddy’s borrowed car.
“What the hell took you so long?” Buddy didn’t like to wait. Never had. His no good old man used to say he was born a grownup. From the beginning, he knew what he wanted and he demanded to have it. Not that he’d ever gotten anything from that drunken bastard.
“There was a last minute conference call with the FBI.”
“I couldn’t know that,” Buddy gripped, “because you went dark on me around noon. What the hell happened?” Maybe he should have taken at least one of Jess’s calls. If he had, he might have known what was going on.
“You need to lay low, Corlew. Amanda Brownfield’s body was pulled from the river over in Jackson County about five this evening.”
The news hit like a sucker punch.
“Same MO as the others,” Roark went on. “Lips were sewn shut. This time Spears put the photo of his latest victim in her mouth. Gant says he’s escalating. Six is his number. He left a note on the back of the photo saying there was one more to go before it would be Harris’s turn.”
Buddy tightened his fingers around the steering wheel. “Was Brownfield tortured?”
“Oh yeah. Tortured and subjected to some rough ass sex.”
Whatever Amanda Brownfield had been, no one deserved to die like that.
“I guess cutting her loose was a mistake.” Roark laughed.
“I did not cut her loose.” When Buddy had walked out of that hospital, he’d been alone. His last image of Brownfield was of her shackled to the damned bed.
“Everybody thinks you did,” Roark warned with a little extra pleasure. “The uniform who was guarding her says he never saw the shooter. Nurse didn’t either. No video in the basement to show what happened. Black intends to hang you for this one. If they catch you, I can’t help you. You got that? This arrangement will be over. If I was you, I’d be getting the hell out of Dodge.”
“Black’
s been trying to hang me since I was a rookie cop taking his orders,” Buddy argued. Nothing new there. “And there’s no need for you to be concerned about my expectations, Roark, I fully understand the boundaries of our arrangement.”
“Good, because I have to tell you, Corlew, Black may just do it this time. The woman is dead. You were her last visitor. Maybe you wanted her dead and copied the MO of these latest murders to put the blame somewhere else. Or maybe you’re one of Spears’s followers.”
Buddy leaned toward him. Roark flinched. “What the hell you doing here if you think I might be one of Spears’s followers?”
“I never said I thought that.” Roark laughed nervously. “I came here to warn you. This isn’t going away. Black is out for blood. Your blood.”
“What about Burnett? Any new evidence against him?”
Even in the darkness, Buddy could feel Roark scrutinizing him. “I’m beginning to think you’re worried about Burnett.”
“You going soft in the head, Roark? Burnett’s been a pain in my ass since I was a sophomore in high school. It was never enough that he was rich, he had to knock me down at everything I attempted. Are you forgetting he fired me from the Force?” Buddy pounded the steering wheel with the heel of his hand to punctuate his words. “Screw it! Get outta my car, Roark. I don’t need this crap from you.”
“Okay, okay.” Roark blew out a big breath. “This situation is getting dicey. Burnett retained Frank Teller. He’s got his big shot investigative team crawling all over this. It’s making me nervous. That’s all.”
Buddy was glad it was dark because he couldn’t stop his lips from curling into a smile. “What can I do to help? The sooner we toss Burnett outta there, the better off the department will be.”
“Damn straight,” Roark agreed. “Black deserved that promotion four years ago. Pratt wanted young blood in the office. A new more progressive attitude for the city. I guess he learned the hard way that you can’t own a guy like Burnett.”
“Ain’t that the truth?” Buddy commiserated. “You got screwed, too. You should’ve made captain a long time ago.”
“It’s coming,” Roark assured him. “Burnett is going down.”
“With Dority dead, you think there’s enough evidence.” Buddy shrugged. “I mean, Prescott’s case isn’t that strong. You need something else?”
Roark laughed. “I don’t think so, man. Between the evidence in the Allen case and then this Dority thing, Burnett is finished.”
Buddy needed Roark to be more specific. “We both know Burnett is no killer. How the hell did that evidence end up at his house?”
“Who cares? Just be grateful. Keep your head down, Corlew, until this Brownfield thing blows over,” Roark advised. “I may still need you. You owe me.”
Roark got out and swaggered back to his car. Those last words kept ringing in Buddy’s ears. You owe me. Unfortunate, but true. Buddy shut off the recording device he’d hidden in his dash and drove away.
Tonight’s meeting hadn’t cleared Dan but it did point to a conspiracy. Would that be enough? With Amanda Brownfield’s escape hanging over his head, Buddy wasn’t sure how much longer he could prod Roark for information. For the good it had done so far. Roark claimed not to know who was planting the evidence against Burnett. Someone damned sure planted Allen’s wedding band and cell phone.
Putting the cemetery behind him, Buddy headed to the address Rosey had under surveillance. Leaving that location had been a difficult choice but Roark had demanded a meeting. Buddy couldn’t afford to make him suspicious.
Now if what he’d learned from Amanda Brownfield panned out, he might just come out of this barrel of shit smelling like a hero.
Damn. It sucked to think what she’d gone through before she died. When Buddy had first entered her room, she’d tried to play him. She’d wanted information on Jess. Buddy had sensed that the questions meant more to her on a personal level than Amanda wanted anyone to know.
A woman who had killed her own mother and the guy she was sleeping with wasn’t to be trusted in any capacity, yet he’d picked up on her genuine desire to know more about Jess. Not just for Spears either.
Now she was dead.
Had she known Spears was going to kill her? Maybe that was the reason she’d given something to Buddy she hadn’t given to anyone else. She’d asked him to lean closer and she’d stolen a kiss before he could react. Then she’d whispered a phrase and said she’d seen it on a license plate across the street from where she’d met with Spears that one time.
Maybe she was screwing with him. Buddy couldn’t say. Whatever her goal, the information was worth consideration. He’d gotten a pal at the DMV to run the Alabama plate, 1PERCNT.
The address was in a particularly prestigious neighborhood in Birmingham high atop Red Mountain. Buddy had a real estate friend who was looking into recent purchases in the area. For now, he intended to watch this location in case Amanda was telling the truth. If Spears was there, he’d have to come out sometime. Until then, another borrowed car would be Buddy’s hotel room.
Twenty minutes later, Buddy parked right behind the BMW Rosey Cunningham had borrowed from his chiropractor. He and Buddy would exchange cars since a Beetle would stand out like an A cup in a wet T-shirt contest.
Buddy grabbed his bag, eased out of the Beetle, and moved to the driver’s side of the BMW. Rosey had already slid over the console and into the passenger seat. Buddy tossed him the keys to the Beetle. “Any activity?”
“Lights came on upstairs about an hour ago. No departures and no arrivals. Driveway sensors are in place. So’s the one on the car.”
About five this evening a limo had arrived. Pulled into the garage and then departed about fifteen minutes later. The driver had dark hair and sunglasses had shielded his face. The heavy tint on the passenger compartment windows prevented a visual on the passenger. The irony that the limo arrived here about the same time Amanda’s body was pulled from the river was not lost on Buddy.
He wanted to get this guy. Maybe more than he’d ever wanted anything.
“Good deal, Rosey.” The sensors would notify Buddy through his cell if anyone passed on the street or entered the driveway of the property under surveillance. He didn’t plan on sleeping but he was only human. His bag was loaded with power drinks and protein snacks. Everything else, weapons, binoculars, portable urinal, were right here in the Beemer.
“Call me when you need to go somewhere or sleep,” Rosey said before heading out.
Buddy grunted. He had no intention of leaving until he had confirmation that Eric Spears was in that house.
Then, he was taking him down.
17
9911 Conroy Road, 11:22 p.m.
With Dan at her side, Jess climbed the stairs slower than usual. They’d been on a ninety-minute conference call with Gant and a representative from the other agencies making up the Joint Task Force. The image of those divers pulling Amanda’s pale body from the water along with the photo of the young woman Spears had taken and the pages from her mother’s journal kept whirling through her head like debris in a tornado.
Four women were missing. As of last Friday, the first two were still alive according to Amanda. She had seen them in the torture room Spears had created somewhere in this city. Spears wasn’t bold enough to show his face anywhere around Birmingham at this point. Every media outlet within a hundred mile radius reminded the public to be on the lookout for him in every newscast and in every newspaper released.
The trouble was, there was no way to warn the citizens about his followers. These people, like Amanda and Richard Ellis, could come from anywhere at any time.
Gant hadn’t mentioned that Jess was off the case again. Hell, there was no separating her from the case.
She glanced up at the man beside her and wished she could take away the worry marring his face.
At least they were home now. The light at the top of the stairs beckoned to her. She needed to go inside with Dan and close out the wo
rld.
A low growled issued from the landing a few steps away. Dan held her back.
“Was that a dog?” Jess hoped these new shoes were as good at rushing down stairs as they were at climbing up them.
“I think so.” Dan moved up a step.
A furry head peeked over the edge of the landing.
Jess gasped. “It is a dog!”
“It’s a puppy,” Dan clarified. “Come here, boy.”
The dog drew back as Dan ascended another step.
“What if it bites you?” Jess had never had a dog. She and Lil had once had a lazy old cat named Tom. He’d died when she was nine. Her mother had made a big production of giving him a proper burial in the backyard.
Jess moved cautiously up to join Dan on the landing. He was crouched down scratching the yellow Lab behind the ears. She might never have had a dog, but she’d made it a point to learn the breeds. Encountering dogs was a hazard of every cop’s life.
“He won’t bite.” Dan ruffled his hair. “He must be lost. No tags or collar.”
“He might have one of those chips.” Someone was no doubt missing a dog as cute as this one.
Dan stood. “If he’s still here in the morning, I’ll have a veterinarian friend of mine check him out.”
“You think he needs food or water?” Jess unlocked the door, leaned inside, and entered the security code so the system would stop its infernal beeping.
“I’ll take care of him. You need a long hot soak.”
She liked how he was always thinking of her. “That’s one order I’m happy to take.”
As soon as the hot water was running, she stripped off her clothes. She studied her body in the full-length mirror that hung on the bathroom door. She didn’t look pregnant yet. Too soon, she supposed, but she had gained some weight. Her next shopping spree would be with Lil. Her sister couldn’t wait to help with the maternity clothes and with decorating a nursery. The nursery would have to wait until she and Dan had a house.