Web of Deceit

by Susan Sleeman

  But his greatest adventure was yet to come.

  Being a father.

  Not like his father. Anything but. His child would never know fists raised in anger. The life he created, the baby girl softly breathing and snuggling Mr. Bear not more than three feet from him, would be cherished. Loved.

  And most of all, his, once again.

  Chapter Nineteen

  KAIT LOVED THE early morning hour before Lily got up and life became hectic—birds chirping outside her bedroom window, sun drifting through the cracks of her blinds as it ascended in the sky. A few final minutes of peace before her day as a single mother commenced.

  A hint of fresh coffee she’d set to brew via a timer last night snaked under her door. Perfect. She’d grab a cup of coffee and start her day on the deck as usual. She followed the tantalizing aroma down the hallway. A quick stop at the security panel to disarm it, then she padded over the wooden floor she’d patiently restored to her kitchen. As her favorite Columbian blend ground fresh every night splashed into her cup, she inhaled the nutty scent. A quick sip drew a groan of pleasure from her throat.

  She put the mug and her phone on a tray with a power bar and headed outside. The air was crisp and fresh, and it smelled like new beginnings. Like hope. She settled in her favorite chair, the sun rising into the sky, the rays warming her body. Ahh, golden rays beating down. The scent of jasmine rising up. The hum of honeybees. She stretched her arms high and took in the blooming perennials, delicate Japanese maples, and vegetables ripe for picking. All she saw was the work that needed doing. She was behind in deadheading flowers and thinning overgrown drifts of perennials. Hours of work she’d lovingly tend to, but not today. Not until Fenton was behind bars.

  “Get over it,” she whispered to herself and sipped her coffee. No price was too high to pay to find him.

  She ate the power bar, then grabbed her phone and fired off an e-mail to Sulyard, requesting the analysts review crime scene photos in search of Fenton in the crowd. She didn’t bother asking them to look at Congdon’s computer for a camera, because now that she’d had time to think about it, she knew they would have already located it and reported the discovery. Thankfully, she hadn’t asked last night. Sulyard would’ve rolled his eyes at that request. Today, she’d keep her emotions in check. She’d stop jumping at any little hint of a lead and work the investigation dispassionately. Just the way she’d been taught. The way Becca would handle it. Kait couldn’t risk being yanked off the case.

  Her phone vibrated in her hand. Caller ID displayed an unlisted number. Too early in the morning for a telemarketer, but it could be about the case. About Fenton.

  “Kaitlyn Knight,” she answered.

  “Hello, Kait. Enjoying your coffee on the deck?” The familiar voice slid through the phone like a viper slithering up to its prey.

  Kait jumped to her feet, her free hand going for her gun. “What do you want, Fenton?” she asked nearly choking on his name.

  He chuckled, that same sick, maniacal sound lingering in her mind from the day he’d murdered Abby. “Not going to ask me how I know what you’re doing?”

  She desperately wanted to know, but she wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of asking. Besides, there were only two options. Either he was watching her, or he’d bugged her house. She was pretty sure he hadn’t planted a bug, so that meant he had to be watching.

  A wave of revulsion swept over her body. Coffee churned in her stomach. She jerked out her gun, eased off the deck, and crept into her garden. She quickly searched the space then made her way along the side of the house.

  “Aren’t you going to ask me?” he went on, sounding mad at her failure to play his game.

  “No.” She slid along the building, her jacket catching on the rough Hardiplank siding. She watched for any movement. Any sign of life. At the gate, she peeked through the wooden slats and scanned the road.

  He laughed again. “That’s the Kait I remember. Stubborn to a fault.”

  His familiar tone sent a torrent of revulsion firing through her body. She wanted to throw something or burst through the gate and fire round after round at anything that moved. But she had to keep her cool.

  Clenching her teeth, she slowly opened the gate and let her eyes track up and down the street. No one. Not even a neighbor walking a dog.

  “Okay, then. I guess I better come right out and tell you why I phoned.” He sounded mad. Good. Let him suffer for once. “I wanted to ask if you found my package yet.”

  “Your package,” she replied, keeping the surprise from her voice as she retraced her route to the deck.

  “I guess that means no.” Anger now clearly bit into his words. “That’s okay. It’s safe. I left it in Lily’s room, and I’m sure no one could get past your security and break into her room.”

  “You’re lying,” she said, letting all of her disgust for him darken her tone.

  “Am I?” he taunted. “The box is right next to the Dora lamp you leave on for my precious baby every night.”

  How could he know about the lamp? Was he in Lily’s room?

  Heart hammering, Kait charged back into the house, dodging her dining table and running through the kitchen into the hallway.

  “I hear you breathing, Kait. You must almost be to her room now.” His chuckle was low and oddly excited.

  Fear barreled through her, threatening to take over. No. Lily needs you to stay calm.

  She wedged the phone in the crook of her neck. Started down the hallway to Lily’s room. Inch by inch. Step by step. Cautious. Gun outstretched. She reached the open doorway. Glanced into the room. Lily lay in her bed, hands under her tummy, her knees up, sound asleep. Alone.

  Relief swept through Kait, but disappeared in a flash.

  He could be hiding.

  She stepped into the room. Whipped open the closet door. Flipped up the pink dust ruffle and glanced under the bed.

  Empty. He wasn’t here.

  Her breath whooshed out as she looked around the space. The chair had been moved from the corner next to Lily’s nightstand. A small box wrapped in bright red Dora paper sat next to an empty wine glass, and Kait’s precious bowl from her grandmother held several cigarette butts.

  He’d been here. In the night. Not just a quick in and out to drop off a package. No, that would have been bad enough, but he’d sat here in the rocker. Drinking. Smoking. Watching Lily sleep. Violating their privacy.

  “Do you see it yet?” he asked, his voice alive with excitement.

  Did she see it? her mind screamed. Of course, she saw the box. It sent her heart thumping against her chest. But what did it hold?

  Alarm snaked up and over her back, but she wouldn’t speak and let him hear the terror in her voice.

  “Fine. Don’t say anything.” He laughed, but it held no mirth. “Enjoy the package. Until we meet again.”

  The line went dead. Just as well. She had to figure out what to do. She stowed her phone in her pocket. Her hand trembled like a frightened child. But she couldn’t act like a child when one depended on her to keep her safe.

  “You’re an agent,” she said as she sought answers. “Think like one.”

  She went on autopilot, remembering her law enforcement training.

  Step one, protect life at all costs. That meant thinking of worst-case scenarios. The unknown box could be a bomb.

  Fenton would never kill Lily, would he? Maybe. He sounded mentally unstable on the phone. There was no telling what he might do. That meant they had to evacuate. Now.

  She scooped Lily into her arms, making sure to grab Mr. Bear and Blankie before bolting down the hallway.

  “Nantie Kait.” Lily woke and rubbed her eyes.

  “In a minute, pumpkin.” Kait flung open the front door and quickly scanned the area. This could be a trap designed to force
them out of the house. Should she go?

  Prioritize, Kait.

  The threat from a bomb outweighed a bullet. She charged down the steps. Faster. Faster. Hurry. She ran across the road, hunching her shoulders to cover Lily’s precious little body. A large utility box sat at the curb, a green space behind it. She took cover behind the drab green box, sinking to the ground wet with morning dew.

  “I need you to pretend we’re playing hide and seek,” she said to Lily, settling her next to the box. “Dora is coming to look for you and Mr. Bear. She doesn’t know you’re hiding here, okay?”

  Lily looked up, her face a mass of confusion, but she nodded.

  Kait pointed at a tall tree. “See that tree? I’m going over there to make a phone call. You stay here.”

  “’K,” Lily said, but plopped her thumb in her mouth as she always did when uneasy.

  Kait hated leaving her niece in distress, but letting Lily hear her report a suspicious package and possible bomb would scare her far worse. Ducking behind the tree, Kait glanced at her watch. 7:00. Too early to call the office. Sam? Maybe, but he’d just call dispatch. 911 was her best bet.

  She punched the numbers and said, “This is Special Agent Kaitlyn Knight with the FBI. A suspicious package was left in my home sometime during the night. I need MEDU to check it out.” She hoped that a specific request for the Metro Explosives Disposal Unit would bring them out faster and this could all be over sooner.

  “Can you tell me more about this suspicious package?” the operator asked.

  “I’m in the middle of a murder investigation where I’ve been targeted by the killer. He called me to tell me about a package he’d left in my niece’s room. I don’t know if it’s a bomb, but I’ve evacuated the house, and I’m waiting across the street.” She rattled off her address and waited for the operator to repeat it. “That’s all I’m at liberty to share. I need to tend to my niece, so I won’t be holding while you make the arrangements.”

  Kait disconnected and looked over her familiar neighborhood with the eyes of a professional law enforcement officer. On one side of her home, the Roseburgs’ boxy car sat in their driveway. On the other side, Sandra and Mel’s minivan was parked on the street as usual so their teenage sons could play basketball in the drive.

  When the bomb unit arrived, they’d at a minimum evacuate anyone within one hundred feet of her home. Should Kait go tell them to evacuate now?

  She couldn’t talk to them without moving Lily from the protected spot, which could put her in jeopardy. Besides, Kait couldn’t be certain the box contained a bomb. She’d wait for the impartial opinion of a patrol officer who was bound to respond in a few minutes. She went to sit with Lily, easing down beside her and smiling.

  “Did Dora find you?” she asked, forcing false cheer into her voice.

  Lily pulled out her thumb with a sucking noise. “Nuh-uh.”

  “Well, I did.” Kait scooped Lily into her arms and hugged her close. “I’m sorry to wake you up this way, pumpkin.”

  Lily leaned back and looked up, the three-year-old’s eyes picking up on more than she needed to see at her young age. Kait pulled her close again. She inhaled the calming scent of her strawberry shampoo and felt like weeping for everything this child had been through. Kait couldn’t let her be traumatized even more. She surely shouldn’t see the bomb squad’s voluminous green suits and heavy helmets approaching her place of sanctuary, or hear their raised voices as they barked warnings to the neighbors to move back.

  She pulled away from Lily. “Would you like to go to Nana’s house instead of daycare today?”

  Her eyes lit up. “Really? Can I?”

  “Let’s call her and see.” Preparing for a lecture, Kait retrieved her phone and dialed her mother.

  “I need a favor, Mom,” Kait said hoping her mother was in an agreeable mood for once.

  “What’s wrong, Kaitlyn?” The worry that lived in her voice since Abby died was thick in her tone.

  “I just wanted to see if Lily could spend the day at your house.”

  Silence, solid and heavy, filled the phone.

  “Before you lecture me, Mom, I’m not calling because I can’t get a babysitter or because the day care is closed.”

  “But this is about your job, isn’t it?”

  Kait sighed at her mother’s suspicions that were right on target as usual. “I can’t get into this right now. I need you to come get Lily right away. Can you do that?” The panic and alarm that had threatened to take over her voice since Fenton’s call laced through it now.

  “You’re scaring me, Kaitlyn.”

  “Everything will be okay,” Kait soothed. “Just come. Now. As quickly as you can.” Kait hated that her voice rose in desperation, but she couldn’t explain the situation in front of Lily.

  “I’m on my way.” Her mother didn’t say she was disappointed in Kait, but it came through loud and clear. Her ongoing judgment wasn’t fair. Kait had to work to support Lily. And sometimes that meant working odd hours. She wouldn’t apologize for that.

  She tucked her phone into her pocket and smiled at Lily. “Nana is on her way. What do you think you’ll do all day?”

  “Make cookies. We always make cookies. And pick flowers.” She giggled as if the thought brought pure joy. “Swing with Papa, too.” She shoved her thumb back into her mouth, her tiny fingers skimming the silky edge of her blanket as she laid her head on Kait’s shoulder.

  They sat together, the calm before the storm, until the first siren swirled through the neighborhood, bringing Lily’s head up. Kait stroked her hair and urged her head back down to still the questions Kait knew her curious niece would ask. When the siren grew loud enough for the patrol car to have reached their street, she smiled at Lily again. “That’s one of my friends from work. I asked them to come help me. Can you stay here for a few minutes like a big girl?”

  Lily loved being called a big girl, and she nodded enthusiastically. Kait settled her on the grass again and went to meet the officer. An unmarked car flew down the street and, before Kait could recover from the surprise of a detective arriving sooner than a patrol car, Sam was climbing out of the car and jogging toward her.

  “What’s going on?” His eyes searched the area with practiced ease.

  “I didn’t expect you.”

  “Heard it on my radio on the way in.” His gaze landed on her, his eyes razor-sharp. “What’s going on?”

  “Fenton was in my house last night.”

  “What?” He choked the word out as if he’d tried to strangle it on the way up.

  “He called this morning and told me to go to Lily’s room. I found a package on the nightstand along with a wine glass and a bowl filled with cigarette butts.” Her voice trembled, and she vowed to take better control of it by the time the other officers arrived.

  “And you think it’s a bomb?”

  She shrugged. “Better to be safe, right?”

  “Definitely. What about Lily? Is she at daycare already?”

  “My mother’s on her way to pick her up, but for now, she’s waiting behind the box.” Kait pointed at the utility box. “I don’t want her to see the patrol cars or the bomb squad.”

  “Good plan.”

  At least Kait had done one thing right. “Somehow, Fenton knew I was on my deck drinking coffee. I searched the outside for him or for a camera, but spotted nothing.”

  “Do you follow the same routine every morning?”

  “Yes.”

  “If he’s been watching you, then he’d know exactly where you’d be at this time of day.”

  Of course. Why hadn’t she thought of that?

  Sam’s gaze lingered on her, and he touched her arm. “Will you be okay alone if I go meet the bomb squad?”

  Okay? After this? Not likely, but she respond
ed with a clipped nod, so he would leave her alone before she lost all composure and started bawling like a baby.

  Chapter Twenty

  FENTON HELD his breath while Kait lifted Lily into her arms and crossed over to Rosalind, or as he liked to call her, the wicked witch. He should’ve planned to pay her back for her interference in his short marriage, too. Why hadn’t he? Or would taking Lily be payback enough? She adored his daughter. He’d watched them at the park—had seen her love for Lily. Rosalind might be a difficult woman to most, but to his daughter, she was a doting grandmother.

  He shifted to get more comfortable. His leg throbbed. A groan of agony slipped out as he peered through the waist-high grass in the green space. When Kait had gone inside, he’d left his perch overlooking her backyard to sit in this cramped little spot in the woods near a utility box to watch the police arrive. A box that he could almost reach out and touch.

  If he’d known she would run like a bat out of hell over here, he’d have chosen a more secure hiding spot. But maybe the universe had a bigger plan in bringing her close enough for him to smell her perfume.

  This was good. So good. How could he not be drooling like a baby?

  Despite her bravado with the detective, terror held firm in her eyes, and the rush left Fenton lightheaded. But he wanted to get closer. To smell her fear. To taste it. To relish all the pain he’d inflicted.

  Patience. You will.

  Soon. Just a little longer. A few more kills. Then she’d be his. He’d take his time. Relish that, too.

  He dug out his phone and played the video feed from Lily’s bedroom. Just the few seconds when Kait had discovered the box. Lurching back. Fear thick on her face. Delightful. He rewound and played it again. And again. It’d been so hard not to say anything about her reaction on his call, but she would have stifled her emotions if she’d known he was watching.

  Ooh, this is nice. So nice. The terror. Her trembling hands. Her frantic rush to scoop up Lily.