“We are?”
“Yes, so move it.”
Wylie saluted, turned off the coffeemaker, and grabbed his jacket on the way out, locking up before joining Garry on the sidewalk.
“I’ll be right back,” Garry told him when they got to his house. He was, with Ziggy on a leash. “Where he gets his energy…” he grumbled when the Border collie dashed forward, only to be brought up short by the leash. He looked back at Garry as if to say, ‘Are you coming or not?’
“If nothing else, we’ll be worn out by the time we get back,” Wylie said, grinning as they tried to keep pace with Ziggy without resorting to running.
“That’s the idea. A good night’s sleep and everything will look better in the morning. And I shouldn’t have said that.”
“It’s okay, because you’re right.”
“Aren’t I always?” Garry replied with obviously feigned seriousness before his lips curled up in a smile seconds later.
“I haven’t known you that long, but so far I’d say so.”
“You’ll find out for sure as we get to know each other even better than we do now.”
“I like that idea.” Wylie started to put one arm around Garry’s waist, only to be thwarted when Ziggy yanked on the leash so hard that Garry almost lost his grip.
“Now what?” Garry asked when the dog veered into someone’s front yard. “No!” he said sharply when a cat made a mad dash under the porch. “Cats are off limits and you know it,” he chastised Ziggy. “Not that he listens,” he said wryly to Wylie.
“I bet he’s hell on wheels if you take him into the woods.”
“No kidding. There isn’t a squirrel or chipmunk he won’t try to chase. I’d prove it, but it’s too dark to go in there at the moment.”
They continued their walk around the block, and then a second one, until Ziggy finally began to flag. By the time they got back to Garry’s house, the dog acted as tired as Wylie felt.
“Thanks for keeping me company,” Garry said.
“My pleasure and I mean it.” Impulsively, Wylie hugged him, and then joked as he quickly stepped back, “Your ploy was successful. I’m about to fall on my face.”
Apparently Garry wasn’t about to let him go quite yet. He wrapped his arms around Wylie, replying, “It’s all right for us to show we care for each other, you know.”
“I guess. It’s…it’s been a while since…Damn it, yes, it is!” He returned the embrace with feeling and they hugged for a long moment before stepping apart.
“Now you can go home,” Garry said. “Sleep well, and—” he winked, “—dream of me.”
“I’m sure I will.” He started away, turned and asked, “What time in the morning?”
“Huh? Oh, yeah, breakfast. We never did set a time. Nine? I’ll call Carl to let him know.”
“Nine works. I’ll see you then.”
Chapter 9
Wylie and Carl arrived at Garry’s house at the same time Sunday morning. As they stepped onto the porch they were greeted by Ziggy’s barking from inside, prompting Carl to say, “That’s some early-warning system he’s got there.”
Garry could be heard a moment later ordering the dog to sit and behave before he opened the door to let them in. When Wylie bent to pet Ziggy he got his hand tongue-washed instead. The same happened when Carl tried it.
“Now that you’ve been properly greeted,” Garry said to Carl, who was wiping his hand on his jeans, “I hope you two like waffles and sausage because that’s what’s on the menu.”
They agreed that sounded good, and soon the three men were seated at the dining table, food and coffee in front of them—after Ziggy had been relegated to the kitchen with his own meal, and the door closed.
“Mind if I come to breakfast every day?” Carl asked once he’d made a dent in his waffles.
“Have at it,” Garry replied. “I hope you like dry cereal. That’s my usual fare.”
Carl rolled his eyes. “In that case, I’ll pass.”
The mood continued to be light while they finished eating and cleaned up.
When they moved to Garry’s office—which he told them had originally been the back parlor—things turned serious.
“I was thinking,” Carl said after settling in the armchair next to the small sofa across from the desk. “It might be a coincidence, but Nelly and Emma were almost the same age, right?”
“I believe so,” Garry replied while booting up his computer.
“And neither of them lived in town.”
“We already established that, last night,” Wylie pointed out after taking one end of the sofa. “If you don’t consider Emma’s house on the outskirts as in town.”
“I don’t,” Carl said. “There’s no close neighbors, any more than there were with Nelly’s place.”
“Okay, so we have two young women, both in their early twenties—”
“Twenty-three for Nelly,” Garry said, “and twenty-two for Emma, according to the story I found online about some of the art galleries. It originally was in the local paper for the town’s centennial.”
“Okay. Then we’ve got a start of sorts on figuring out who might be the next target, presuming the kidnapper plans to strike again,” Wylie said. “Age and location. Oh, and timing, maybe. Nelly was Monday, as far as Kingman’s people could determine, and Emma went home on Friday morning because she was sick.”
“Her cousin didn’t report her missing until yesterday morning,” Carl pointed out.
“That only means the kidnapper had approximately twenty-four hours to abduct her,” Wylie said. “Garry, how far apart were their houses?”
It took him a couple of minutes before he replied, “According to the map site, a bit over two and a half miles, or an eight minute drive.”
“That’s child’s play around here,” Carl said, getting a nod from Garry.
“How do we find women who fit our parameters?” Garry asked.
Carl smirked. “You talk to your local handyman, which would be me. As long as I’ve been living here, there’s not many folks I don’t know, or know of, including most of the arts community.”
“I should have figured.”
“I hate to say it, but we need names for those who live in town as well,” Wylie said, “And any woman between twenty-one and say thirty.”
Garry shot him a dismayed look. “Why?”
“Because two victims is too small a set. He could have targeted them specifically, or he could have picked them because he was in the right place at the right time, especially in Emma’s case.”
“That makes sense,” Garry admitted. “So our stopping him before he grabs another victim is going to be a damned crap shoot.”
“While he’s grabbing her, if we want proof,” Wylie stated.
“Damn, make this hard why don’t you.”
“Guys, slow down,” Carl said. “If there is anything to the time span between Nelly and Emma, then we still have a couple of days.”
“And if he chose Monday and Friday for some reason, we have less than twenty-four hours,” Garry retorted in frustration.
Carl got up, going over to stand beside Garry. “Let me at the computer and I can put together a list for you, with addresses. It shouldn’t take me more than an hour.”
Garry immediately ceded his chair, crossing to sit next to Wylie. “What’s wrong?” he asked when Wylie frowned.
“Kingman backed off when I told him I was gay, but if he thinks about it, he might decide that gives me the perfect reason to do something to Nelly and Emma.”
“I don’t follow.”
“What if he decides I hate women, especially younger ones who might be competition. Don’t look at me like I’m crazy. I read a news story where that happened. The guy attacked a woman who made a play for the man he was dating.”
“Yeah? Well, you’re not dating anyone, at least not yet, and for sure not publicly.”
“But he knows you’re gay,” Wylie pointed out. “You said it wasn’t a secret
. Nelly’s a cute girl and she works for you. I can see Kingman deciding I had the hots for you and that I figured I didn’t stand a chance unless she was out of the picture.”
“He’d have to be insane to think that.”
“This is Kingman you’re talking about,” Carl said over his shoulder.
“True. But there’s no way he could explain Wylie’s going after Emma since I barely knew her,” Garry said.
“I got a taste for killing after I took Nelly, presuming she’s dead. When Roger told me Emma had gone home because she was sick, I figured she’d be the perfect target.”
“Wylie…” Garry shook his head.
“I’m not saying he’s going to take that tack, but if he does, I could be in deep shit.”
Garry gave him a hug. “You’re over-thinking everything.”
With a wry look, Wylie replied, “Probably. It’s a bad habit of mine.”
“Then I’ll point it out every time you do.”
Chuckling, Wylie said, “I sort of like that idea. It means you’re planning on sticking around for a while.”
“You’d better believe it.”
Wanting to change the subject before it became too personal, too soon, Wylie asked Carl, “How are you coming with the list?”
Carl snorted. “It’s been a whole five minutes, so I’ve barely started. Go find something to keep you busy and out of my hair.”
“Your wish…” Garry said, getting up. “Come on, Wylie, I’ll show you the rest of my palatial estate and then we can take the beast for his morning walk.”
Ten minutes later, Wylie said, “This is a great house. Not quite palatial, but bigger than mine by half. You never said, was it your family home?”
“Yep. I moved out after I graduated high school and got an apartment on Market to show my independence while I was going to college.” Garry shook his head. “The commute just about killed me, since it was forty miles south of here, but this is my town and I wasn’t about to leave. I got my degree in restaurant management. Well, the hoity-toity name for it was hospitality management but it’s all the same. Got a job at Molly’s, moved in here when Mom and Dad took off for warmer climes and the rest is history. Damn, all right already.” The last was said to Ziggy who was dancing around Garry’s feet. He got the dog’s leash, snapped it to his collar, and soon the men and the dog were walking down the street.
“You never said how you ended up as a private detective,” Garry said.
Wylie laughed. “My folks insisted I was going to get a college education if it killed them…and me. I had no clue what I wanted to major in until I sat in on a lecture by one of the criminal justice professors. I was intrigued, signed up for his class and that was that. I was hooked. I met John, my future business partner, in one of the classes, we hit it off, and after graduation we decided to open our own agency.”
“Why did you quit?”
“After seven years of being small fish in a huge pond, I’d had it. Since Gramps willed his house to me, I sold John my half of the business and moved here.”
“I’m glad you did,” Garry said.
“So am I,” Wylie replied. “If I hadn’t, I wouldn’t have met you. I’m not sure I like being the chief suspect in the abductions, at least in Kingman’s eyes, but…”
“We’re going to find the bastard who took them,” Garry stated adamantly.
“Yeah, we will.”
Ziggy, who had been walking fairly sedately, for him, suddenly yanked on the leash in an attempt to dash toward a woman in the yard of one of the houses.
“Hey, Alicia,” Garry called out, releasing his hold on the leash.
“Hi, Garry, and Wylie,” she replied before Ziggy tried to bowl her over. “Pup, you have too much energy,” she said, ordering him to sit. When he did, she patted his head. “You all are out for a walk, I take it. I didn’t know you knew each other.”
“Garry’s been helping me with the house,” Wylie told her.
“Not sure helping is the right word,” Garry said. “He needed a strong back to move some furniture.”
“And you volunteered?” she asked.
“He did.” Wylie was tempted to put an arm around Garry’s waist when Alicia smiled brightly at him.
She must have caught something in how he looked at Garry because she said dryly, “Mom’s thoughts to the contrary, I know Garry’s gay.” She gave Wylie a smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes. “Rumor has it you are, too. Okay, not rumor any more. Dad was at Parish’s last night when you proclaimed it loud and clear to the sheriff.”
“He was? I didn’t see him,” Wylie said.
“He was going to meet Mom and had just come in. He said he turned around and left because he didn’t want to embarrass you.” She shook her head. “I’ve got the feeling you were probably way past being embarrassed, at that point.”
“No kidding.”
She eyed them and asked, “Are you two, umm…”
“We’re working on it,” Garry replied.
“Great. It’s about time you settled down, Mister.” She tapped Garry’s arm. “And that said, I’d better get back to work. I have game plans to come up with for the girls’ baseball team and it won’t happen if I keep killing time out here enjoying the nice weather.”
“It was good to see you again,” Wylie told her.
“You, too.” She headed back to the house, stopping to tell Ziggy he wasn’t coming with her, “Like it or not.”
“She’s a nice young woman,” Garry said, catching hold of the dog’s leash before they began walking again. “If things were different, I might have tried dating her.”
Wylie smiled. “Now you’re trying with me.”
“Not trying, I am,” Garry stated with a sharp nod of his head.
“I have no problem with that.”
They made it around the block with no more interruptions. When they were back inside Garry’s house, he unleashed Ziggy and then he and Wylie went to see how Carl was doing with his list.
“Be glad it’s still spring,” Carl said as soon as they walked into the office. “Come June the town will be crawling with college students looking for summer jobs, and a lot of them will be female.”
“Making it the perfect hunting ground if we’ve got a budding serial killer in the making,” Wylie replied. “We have to stop him.”
Being practical, Garry asked, “How long is the list at this point?”
“Twenty-six unmarried townswomen, plus seven gals who work at the arts and crafts galleries. I’ve made a file with their names and addresses. There are six who live with a boyfriend and five still living at home, so we might be able to eliminate them.”
“Or not.” Wylie did a quick calculation. “Even if we did, that still leaves twenty-two who live alone. How many are here in town?”
“Most of them,” Carl replied. “Some own their own homes but most rent apartments, either along Market or in the two complexes. One’s on Forest, which is in town. The other’s outside the town limits, on a side road off Lower Earlston Lane.”
“Save that file, please,” Garry said. “I want to map all the addresses.”
Carl did, and then got up so that Garry could take his place at the computer.
Wylie stood behind him, watching as he found an online map of the town that he could copy to his graphics editing program. “Put their names beside each house, and color code them,” he suggested before Garry got started.
“Good idea. By?”
“Private houses where they live alone and the ones who live with family or boyfriends, because we don’t know if he might go after them if he gets the chance. And then the women who rent apartments on Market, or in one of the apartment complexes.”
“Got it.”
“You’re pretty smart about figuring out how to do things,” Carl said to Wylie.
“It comes from having been a detective, even though I never faced something like this.”
“No murders? You weren’t a second Sam Spade?”
Wylie snorted. “Not even close.” He returned his attention to what Garry was doing. “Interesting. Several of them live away from the center of town, and I don’t mean the four in the complex of Lower Earlston Lane. How many on the list do you know?”
“A few because they grew up here or they worked at Molly’s when I did, or for me. Of course some of them come by the restaurant, too. The rest of them, especially the ones connected to the galleries, I’ve seen around town and know by name but that’s about it.”
“I know the ones who grew up here, and some of the others because I’ve done work for them,” Carl put in. He chuckled. “It’s amazing how many young women have no idea how to clean a drain or gutters, or change a washer in a faucet. Keeps me busy though, so I’m not complaining.”
“All right. Next question for both of you,” Wylie said. “We searched a large area around Nelly’s place, but that was it. Any ideas where the guy could hide them, if he didn’t kill them right after he took them?”
“There’s a few hunting cabins scattered through the area,” Carl replied. “Caves, too, mostly along the ravine. There’s a few in the hills as well.”
“Yep,” Garry said. “My friends and I used to check those out when I was a kid, looking for bears. Not that we ever found any which was probably just as well. We even camped in a couple of them.”
“Life in a small town,” Wylie said, smiling. “Not something I’d know about, unfortunately. It sounds like fun.”
“It was,” Garry agreed.
“Do either of you know where the cabins and caves are well enough to mark them on the map?”
“Now that is a good question,” Carl replied. “Move it, kid, so I can take a look.” He was speaking to Wylie, who stepped to one side. “Garry, pull up a satellite map, please.”
Garry did, and at Carl’s prompting, zoomed in on one part. “There,” Carl said, pointing at what appeared to be part of a roof hidden under the trees. “That’s old man Smith’s cabin.”
Garry compared the satellite view to his map and marked it, saying, “This is a guestimate, but as close as I can do.”
“At least is gives us a much smaller area to check out,” Wylie said.
Carl was able to pinpoint places where he thought there were two more cabins. “Only been to them a couple of times ‘cause I’m not much of a hunter.”
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