Dead End

by Nancy Mehl

  Seemingly lost in her own thoughts, Kaely looked up from her menu, staring at him as if she’d forgotten he was there.

  “Uh, let me see,” she said, looking down at the pages again. She’d been staring at it so long she should have memorized it by now. “I have no idea,” she finally said, lifting her face to meet his gaze, her dark eyes searching his. “I’ve never eaten here before. I always wanted to, but this place was way too expensive for my father. We rarely ate out, and when we did, we usually ended up at Denny’s.”

  “We’re fulfilling a childhood wish to eat at Mort’s, then?” Noah asked. “I like that.” He put down the menu. “Think I’m gonna try the Steak de Burgo seared with mushrooms. How about you?”

  “The Bow-tie Creole sounds good.”

  He could tell she didn’t really care what she ate. Her mind was somewhere else. She’d never planned to see her father again, but tomorrow she’d try to get him to talk to her about a copycat killer he could be controlling from prison.

  Even though he’d told himself he wasn’t bringing it up again, he couldn’t stop the words that tumbled from his lips. “I understand why you feel it’s best to go in by yourself to talk to your father, but I really wish you’d reconsider. Let me come with you.”

  She put the menu down and closed it. “Thanks, but I think I’m right about this. In my father’s mind, you would be there as protection, which is the truth. That gives you power over him—and me. I need him to feel as if he’s the most powerful person in the room. It’s the only way to get him to let down his guard.” She shook her head. “Even though he did a lot of father things when Jason and I were growing up, he always had to be in control. He gave my mother grocery money. She had to get his agreement if she wanted to buy something—even clothes. He wasn’t mean about it, but you knew who was in charge. That’s what I’m trying to recreate.”

  Kaely’s reasons made perfect sense, but he still thought what she wanted to do was incredibly dangerous. He wanted to say more, but any further comments would be seen as argumentative. Why couldn’t he just shut up? Leave it alone? In many ways Kaely was the strongest person he’d ever known, but in other ways she was extremely fragile. She admitted to it, so that made it easier to handle.

  But he couldn’t help but wonder if their relationship would ever become a two-way street. Maybe she needed to acquiesce to him once in a while. Even as the thought entered his mind, he dismissed it, feeling guilty for even thinking that way. He knew she cared about him. If he wanted to stay near her, he’d have to carry the lion’s share of their friendship. At least for now. Maybe he needed to walk away after this case. Close the door for good. Protect his heart. But every time he considered this option, the idea of not having her in his life was more than he could bear.

  The waitress came to take their drink orders. Kaely asked for iced tea, but Noah ordered a whiskey sour. He needed a drink tonight. Badly.

  Kaely looked at him strangely. Kaely didn’t drink, and that was fine, but he didn’t feel the need to shun alcohol for her—or anyone else. He felt a slight flush of resentment. He spent too much time feeling as though he was somehow letting her down.

  Noah told the waitress they were ready to order their meal as well. She wrote down what they wanted. “Good choices,” she said, smiling.

  As she walked away, Noah wondered if any waitstaff ever said Don’t order that! You’ll hate it! He chuckled to himself, and Kaely smiled.

  “What’s so funny?” she asked.

  He told her what he’d been thinking, and she laughed. “You’re right. I’ve never had that happen. I can certainly think of a few times it should have.”

  He grinned at her. The mood had lifted some, and he was grateful. “Okay, the worst meal you ever ordered in a restaurant. Name it.”

  She looked away for a moment, and then the sides of her mouth turned up. “A place in Virginia known for their hamburgers. I ordered a Swiss and mushroom burger.” She giggled.

  “They cooked it wrong?”

  She shook her head. “No. I mean, I don’t know.”

  He frowned at her. “What do you mean you don’t know?”

  “The mushrooms and cheese looked great. Unfortunately, they forgot the hamburger.”

  Noah laughed as the waitress brought their drinks. When she left, he took a swig of his whiskey sour. He felt the warmth of the alcohol rush through his body. It helped him relax.

  “Your worst meal?” Kaely asked.

  “Easy. A little restaurant in Iraq when I was in the army.”

  “Not used to foreign foods?”

  He smiled. “No, it wasn’t that. I just wasn’t used to finding a dead mouse in my soup.”

  Kaely’s eyes widened, and her mouth formed an almost perfect O. “Seriously?”

  He nodded. “But he didn’t drink much.”

  “Very funny. What did you do?”

  “My buddy and I politely paid for the meal, left, and never went back.”

  “You paid? Even though they served you a dead mouse?”

  He nodded again. “We were very careful to treat the locals with respect. Didn’t want to project a bad image.”

  “It must have been tough. Serving overseas.”

  Noah took another swig of his drink. It had been tougher than she could ever imagine, and he had no intention of talking about it. “It wasn’t too bad. I was glad to get home, though. No dead mice in my soup.”

  Kaely smiled and then stared at her iced tea. “I keep going over and over what to say tomorrow. To Ed, I mean.”

  Noah took a deep breath. “Well, you’re going in as his daughter. I guess you have to carry that through, right?”

  “Yes, but I’m not completely sure how to do that. Remember, we didn’t talk much.” She picked up the wrapped straw the waitress had brought and drew invisible circles on the table.

  “Except at dinner, I remember.” An idea flitted through his brain. Should he bring it up? Or was it stupid? He decided to take a chance. “What if you did this over food?”

  Kaely chuckled and shook her head. She picked up her glass and had it halfway to her mouth when she stopped and put it down. She stared at him, her eyes wide again. “You might be the smartest person I’ve ever known.”

  Noah wasn’t quite sure what he’d done to deserve her compliment. “What are you talking about? The idea about food? I just . . . I mean, if you always talked over supper . . .”

  “Exactly. But we’ll have to do it in a way that won’t make him suspicious. That doesn’t come off like we planned it.” Kaely pulled her phone out of her pocket. Then she got a card out of her purse. After she punched in a number, Noah listened as she talked. It was clear she was speaking to Chief Sawyer. He’d given her his private cell phone number.

  When she smiled and hung up, Noah asked, “You think that will work? Your father won’t think it’s a setup?”

  “Not if they do it the way I just asked them to.”

  “Someone will bring you lunch while you’re talking to your father, then.”

  Kaely nodded. “I’ll go in around lunchtime. When they bring it in, I’ll get upset and tell them to leave it outside until I’m through. Hopefully, my father will tell me to go ahead and eat.”

  “But how can you count on that?”

  Kaely shrugged. “I can’t. But instinct tells me he will.”

  “Then what?”

  “Then I offer him part of it. You heard me ask them to bring a large Italian sandwich. He used to love them. I’ll tell him it’s too big for me and offer him half. Once we both have food, I’m hoping it will put him back in the mind-set he had when we talked at the dinner table.”

  “Ingenious,” Noah said. He downed the rest of his drink and motioned to the waitress for another.

  Kaely was quiet for a moment. “Please don’t worry. I know you’re concerned, but everything will be all right. Trust me . . . just a little, okay?”

  Noah sighed. “I’m trying, Kaely, but it’s not just your interview tom
orrow that bothers me. No matter what you say, that Scripture is disturbing. What if this killer does have you in mind? You know, you talk a lot about gut feelings. Well, it’s my turn.”

  Kaely shook her head. “Look, we have connecting doors between our rooms at the hotel. We’ll leave them unlocked. If I need help, you can be there in seconds. And you’ll be with me—or at least nearby—every minute we’re at the prison.”

  She reached over and touched his hand. His immediate response was to pull it away, but he didn’t.

  “Let’s find our UNSUB and then go home safe and sound, okay?” she said. “You have my promise. I won’t put myself in any situation you feel is dangerous again. But first I have to do this. I just have to.”

  He nodded, but he couldn’t shake a sense of dread so strong that it made his stomach hurt.

  Eleven

  After dinner, Kaely and Noah drove back to their extended-stay suites in Anamosa, then parted in the hallway before going inside for the night. Mr. Hoover seemed to have made himself at home in Kaely’s rooms. He was curled up on the couch as she went to her kitchen and grabbed a bottle of water. Then she sat down next to the sleeping cat. He raised his head and opened his eyes, looking her over, then fell back into his relaxed catnap. Kaely wished she could unwind as easily.

  “Need to talk this out?”

  Kaely looked up to see her old friend Georgie sitting in the chair across from her. Did she really want her here? Had she subconsciously summoned her? “I . . . I don’t know,” Kaely said. “I’m trying not to rely on you. Noah thinks it’s a bad idea.”

  Georgie frowned. “And what do you think?”

  Kaely sighed and chugged some water. Then she said, “The therapist in St. Louis says talking to you is . . . counterproductive. That I need to learn how to solve my problems on my own.”

  Georgie studied Kaely for a moment. “You are on your own. I’m you. Besides, I wouldn’t be here if you didn’t want me.”

  Kaely blinked back tears. “I know. But I can’t tell anyone I’m talking to you again.”

  “Well, I certainly won’t share our secret.” A smile lit up Georgie’s delicate face, and her brown eyes twinkled.

  In spite of herself, Kaely laughed. She’d missed her friend so much. She glanced at the door to Noah’s room. “We need to keep it down,” she said. “Noah might hear.”

  “And think you’re bonkers?”

  “Pretty much.” She nodded toward Georgie. “Maybe I am.”

  “Do you really believe that?”

  “I don’t know anymore. I really don’t.” She took a deep breath and pushed it out with force. “I’m a Christian, and I need to rely on God alone. Not . . . not someone I made up.”

  “But I’m not someone. I’m you.”

  “I know.” She should probably tell Georgie to go, but she just couldn’t. The past few years had been tough. And Noah pulling away from her had shaken her—deeply. Now she had to face her father. She’d tried hard to make Noah believe she wasn’t afraid, now that she was completely in control. But it wasn’t true. She really needed someone to talk to, and since she couldn’t be completely honest with Noah, maybe talking to Georgie one more time would be okay.

  She was about to face a past she’d been running from for years.

  She glanced at the door between her room and Noah’s again. Frankly, she was sorry she’d told him about Georgie, thinking it might ease the tension between them. Because it hadn’t. It had made it worse.

  “You’re concerned about the way Noah treats you now,” Georgie said suddenly.

  Kaely leaned back on the couch. “He says I take too many chances. That he needs to protect himself from me.”

  “Yet he’s here,” Georgie said, her tone gentle.

  “Yet he’s here,” Kaely repeated.

  “You’ve been thinking about the Scripture found in the dead women’s mouths.”

  Kaely nodded. “I know I’m loved by God. Accepted by Him. It isn’t that I think God will visit some kind of Old Testament beatdown on me to punish me for my father’s sins. It’s just . . .”

  “You still worry that because your father is mentally ill, you are too.”

  Kaely leaned forward and grabbed her water bottle. “Of course I do. I’m talking to someone who isn’t here. What do you think?”

  “But there’s something else.”

  Kaely rubbed her temples. “What happened in Darkwater.”

  “You mean what your UNSUB said?”

  “Yeah.”

  “It got out of control, didn’t it?”

  Kaely ran her finger up and down the side of the plastic bottle in her hands. The UNSUBs were taking over her process. Inserting comments that seemed to come from their own minds. But that was impossible. How could that happen?

  “It’s proof you’re losing your mind,” Georgie said.

  Kaely gasped, and a sob forced its way out of her throat. “Yes. Yes.” She stared at Georgie through tears. “I’m going crazy. You’re not real. The UNSUBs aren’t real. Yet I see them. I see you. It was okay at first. But now . . .”

  “What the UNSUB in Darkwater said worries you.”

  “Yes.”

  “It should.” Georgie frowned at her. “You need to say it.”

  “He . . . he quoted Shakespeare. ‘By the pricking of my thumbs, something wicked this way comes. Open, locks, whoever knocks.’”

  “And then what?”

  “He said, ‘You’re going to die. It will not happen here, in Darkwater, but it will happen. And soon.’” Kaley put down her water bottle and wrapped her arms around herself. “It’s like . . . like I feel it. That it’s going to happen.” She locked eyes with Georgie. “I’ve felt since I was a teenager that I was going to die young. Then when I found God, I put it out of my mind.”

  “But it’s back.”

  Kaely wiped the tears from her face.

  “You’re not facing the truth,” Georgie said.

  “What do you mean?”

  Her friend sighed. “You know what’s really happening. Invisible UNSUBs can’t threaten you. Can’t speak outside of what you allow.”

  Kaely was quiet. She knew exactly what Georgie was saying, but this was something she didn’t want to think about. Something that frightened her.

  “Why are you afraid?” Georgie asked.

  Kaely ignored the question and shrugged. “I can profile another way. That’s not the only way to do it.”

  Georgie was talking about Kaely’s method of profiling unknown subjects. As she was training as a behavioral analyst for the FBI, she couldn’t help but wonder if her father had exhibited signs that would have pointed to his psychological inclinations. What had she missed? Had there been something she should have seen? Could she have stopped his deadly killing spree? Since the only time she really talked to him was at supper, something he insisted his children do every night, she sat down at a table and pretended to interview him. That morphed into a technique she used many times when trying to understand unknown subjects for the FBI. After asking a few questions, an image would begin to form in the chair across from her. Quite a few dangerous criminals were now in prison because of her unique way of profiling.

  “And the warning that you’re going to die? Do you think a different method of profiling will make that go away?”

  “I . . . I don’t know.” Kaely stared at Georgie. “What are you saying?”

  “Do you mean what are you saying?”

  Kaely nodded.

  “‘For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.’”

  “You’re talking about spiritual warfare.”

  “Yes. But why are you afraid? You fight living, breathing monsters all the time. Do you think invisible evil spirits are any different? You’ve encountered them before. Some of the worst of the worst.”

  “I know that.”

>   “Then act like it.”

  Kaely looked at Georgie in wide-eyed surprise. Was her imaginary friend reprimanding her?

  “Don’t be shocked,” Georgie huffed. “You’re only chastising yourself. You know you have to face this.”

  Kaely sighed. “Okay, okay. You’re right. But not right now. I have too much going on.”

  “Sure. Let it sit for a while. I’m sure the devil will take a break too.”

  “Okay,” Kaely said, feeling cross. “Knock it off. I get it. You need to go.”

  Instead of disappearing, Georgie said, “Kaely, this is serious. He’s trying to kill you. This isn’t a game. Can you understand that?”

  “I . . . I guess.”

  Georgie was quiet for a moment. “If you die, I die, too, you know.”

  “Don’t be ridiculous.”

  “You’re weak. You haven’t prayed much lately. Why?”

  Kaely stared at her. That was a good question. Why had her prayer life dwindled? And she used to read the Bible every day, but lately she’d let it slide. It wasn’t that she had changed her mind about God. She hadn’t. Life just got in the way.

  “I need to pray,” she said. “I need God to strengthen me. To teach me how to battle the invisible as well as the visible.”

  “The rest of that Scripture is ‘Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.’ Your armor has slipped, Kaely. You’ve got to prepare for battle, not only against the words you heard in Darkwater. You’re about to face your past head-on. You’ve come so far with God, but this is different. It will be hard. Maybe harder than you realize.” Georgie’s eyes locked on hers. ‘Blessed be the Lord my Rock, who trains my hands for war.’ Time to go to war.”

  With that, Georgie disappeared.

  Kaely tucked her legs under her and cried out to God.

  Noah felt guilty pressing his ear against the door that separated him from Kaely, but he was worried about her. Kaley was strong. She’d made it through more than most people could ever face. But facing her father was different, and her assurances that she could handle this situation sounded hollow. He wanted to drop his defenses and go all in to help her, but he was afraid of losing himself completely.