Come Back Home Again (Hope Valley Book 2)

by Jessica Prince

  “Nothing that’ll cause any permanent damage. I didn’t want to hurt him. He’d never done anything to harm you, but I needed to get him outta the way. ”

  My body began to shake uncontrollably, and as I slowly rose to my feet, I feared my knees would give out. “Carl,” I breathed, taking another step back. “Please tell me it wasn’t you. Please.” Tears filled my eyes and leaked out onto my cheeks as he took another step closer.

  “I did it for you. Can’t you see that?” His expression twisted into something terrifying, a mixture of agony and rage that turned my blood to ice. Then he bellowed, “I did it all for you!”

  I whipped around just as he reached for me, running as fast as I could out of the kitchen and through the living room. I needed to get to the security panel by the front door. There was a panic button built in, and if I could just get to it….

  My feet skidded on the wood floors, but I managed to stay upright. I was only inches away. So close. I lifted my arm to jab the button, but before I could get to it, I was jerked back by my hair so hard that I cried out in pain.

  “You ungrateful bitch,” he hissed into my ear. Then, using his hold on my hair, he slammed my head into the wall beside the front door so hard that stars burst in front of my eyes and I felt the skin open on my forehead. He wrenched my head backward again and slammed it into the wall a second time.

  And that was all it took for everything to go black.

  Hayes

  Slamming the phone into its cradle, I rocked back in my chair and raked my hands through my hair. “Goddamn it.”

  Trick looked up at me. “Nothing?”

  “Not one goddamn thing,” I grunted in return. It’d been seven days since Perry’s last phone call to Tempie, and since then, the guy had turned into a goddamn ghost. “No activity on any of his credit cards, landlord back in Chicago hasn’t seen him for weeks. There are no airline or car rental records. It’s like the motherfucker’s disappeared off the face of the earth.”

  When we’d searched every hotel, motel, vacant building, abandoned warehouse and house in and around Hope Valley and come up empty, Leo and Micah had reached out to the police in Chicago. An APB had been put out on Perry Frasier three days ago, and all we’d gotten in that time was a whole lot of nothing.

  “I’m tellin’ you,” I continued as my gut twisted into knots, “something about this isn’t right. The man left a trail through every goddamn state he’s ever visited, and now he’s in the wind? Doesn’t make sense.”

  Trick studied me closely before asking, “What are you thinkin’?”

  I let out a slow exhale as I gave that question some thought. “I think we need to go back to the very beginning and look at this from a different angle.”

  “And what angle would that be?”

  It made me sick to even think it, let alone say it, but there was a voice in the back of my head that had been nagging at me relentlessly, and it was time I stopped ignoring it. “I think we need to start considering the fact that it might not be Perry Frasier we’re lookin’ for.”

  I stood in the conference room with Trick, Leo, and Micah, staring at the four crime scene photos taped up on the whiteboard.

  “Okay, so this is what we know,” Leo started talking, thinking out loud in an attempt to piece together a new theory that the killer was someone from her life here in Hope Valley. “Marcum stole from her, she and Harley got into a public altercation, and Henderson killed her dog. So it would seem those three were revenge killings, done in the killer’s mind as a way to exact vengeance for Temperance. But if we’re using that argument, then the murder of her parents doesn’t fit.”

  Trick turned to me, and I could practically hear the wheels turning in his brain. “Her parents were the first to be killed, and there was and extensive gap between theirs and Marcum’s death. So let’s assume that the first killing wasn’t done as a twisted idea of justice.”

  “Then what would it have been?”

  “That one was personal for the killer. Something happened in the time leading up to that night to push him over the edge. Something he viewed as an insult to him, not Tempie. What happened leading up to you guys breaking up?”

  For the past twenty-one years, I’d done everything I could to push those memories out of my head, but I knew deep down in my bones that the reason for all of this had to start there.

  “She’d been pregnant,” I said as realization came crashing down on me like a ton of bricks. “Christ, you’re right.” I looked to Trick as more of the puzzle pieces started clicking into place. “She’d gotten pregnant during our senior year. We planned it all out, marriage, jobs, all that shit for once we graduate and the baby was born, but she ended up having a miscarriage. We didn’t tell anyone about the baby. Her parents only found out because she lost it. Tempie told Rory after, but that’s it. Her folks were killed a couple weeks after that. That was the trigger. It has to be.”

  Micah pressed his palms into the table, giving me his eyes as he stated, “But you just said yourself, no one else knew, so how could that be the trigger?”

  The piece regarding that goddamn note I’d been trying to force into place for weeks now finally clicked, adding to the puzzle and causing a nasty, burning sensation deep in my stomach. “Tempie and I had a place out in the woods by the old abandoned mill. I used to sneak her notes when I wanted her to come meet me. No one knew about that either. But the night the Levine’s were killed, there’d been a note she thought was from me, asking her to meet me there. If someone had been stalking her close enough back then to know about that spot and those notes, it’d make sense they could have found out about the pregnancy.”

  “And assholes like that can’t help but insert themselves into the lives of the people their obsessing over,” Leo added. “So the question is, who’s been talkin’ to Tempie this whole time? Someone who kept in contact with her even when she lived in Chicago?”

  “No one,” I answered immediately, then stopped as a conversation I’d had with Tempie not long ago replayed in my head. It had just been a one-off comment, something I didn’t give any thought to when she said it, but thinking back on it now, that last very last piece of the puzzle fell right into place. “Carl.”

  Everyone in the room went on alert, but it was Trick who asked, “What?”

  “Carl. She mentioned a while back that there was this pizza joint in Chicago she loved to go to, and that she took Carl one time when he was in town for work. He’s the only person from here who she stayed in touch with, and the only reason for that was because he traveled to Chicago for his job occasionally and reached out to her every time he was in town. If it hadn’t been for that, their friendship probably would’ve faded away like all the rest.”

  “Fuck,” Trick hissed. “Didn’t he move back to town around the same time Tempie came back?”

  “And he was at the diner when Harley came in, itchin’ for that scene,” I told them. “He knew about Martin Henderson shooting her dog because everyone in town knew. And if he kept in touch while she lived in Chicago, it’s not a stretch that she would’ve told him about Marcum.”

  Leo rushed to the phone on the sideboard and yanked it from the cradle. A second later, he was barking orders, but I was already on the move, storming from the conference room. I had my cell out of my pocket and to my ear by the time I hit the steps that led out of the bullpen.

  “Come on,” I muttered as one ring went into a second, then a third. “Come on, baby. Pick up.”

  “Hey, you’ve reached Tempie. I can’t come to the—”

  That sick, sour feeling in the pit of my stomach grew and grew, slithering up my throat until I thought it might choke me. I hung up and immediately dialed again, getting her voice mail once more.

  I ended the call and hit the button for Lincoln’s number.

  “Yo, brother. What’s goin’ on?”

  “Tempie’s not answerin’ her phone,” I barked.

  “Shit. Gimme a second. I’ll try to reach M
arco.”

  Shoving through the doors of the station, I barely felt the cold wind as it whipped around me as I made my way through the parking lot to my truck, “I’m already on the move. You get Marco on the line, you call me. If not, I want you to meet me at the farmhouse.”

  I hung up and stuffed my phone back into my pocket.

  Trick caught up with me just as I beeped the locks on the Sequioa.

  “What are you doin’?”

  “The fuck you think I’m doing?” he asked, not breaking stride he reached the passenger side door and yanked it open. “I’m backin’ my partner up.”

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Temperance

  I woke to the feel of something cold and soft pressed to my forehead. It took me a second to get my bearings, but then my vision cleared and I shot up, the quick movement making my head spin.

  “Hey now. Careful, sweetheart.” Carl’s frame came into focus, and I scurried backward to try and get away from him. “Stop squirmin’, Tempie. I need to check that cut on your head.”

  He moved to press the damp cloth to my forehead, but I flinched back, baring my teeth as I hissed, “Don’t touch me.”

  Carl’s arm fell, but he didn’t move back. Hurt crawled across his expression as he stared at me. “I’m just tryin’ to take care of you. You were out for a while. You probably have a concussion.”

  My skin prickled with terror, but I somehow managed to keep it out of my voice as I spit, “If I do, it’s because you bashed my fucking head into a wall.”

  He stood and began pacing, and for the first time I took a look at our surroundings. The ramshackle shack wasn’t much bigger than my bedroom back at the farmhouse. There was no drywall or insulation just old, rotted wood that was barely holding together and covered almost completely in mold. The roof was riddled with holes, and there were dead leaves and puddles of water all over there floor from where the rain and snow had come through.

  In spite of the horrible conditions, there were signs that the place had very recently been lived it. Cardboard boxes of nonperishable foods were lined against the back wall. Empty bottles of water and energy bar wrappers were strewn about, and there were books piled on the floor just a few feet from me and the ratty old cot I was currently sitting on.

  “W-where are we?” I stuttered. My teeth began to clack together as chills racked my body, but I couldn’t tell if it was due to fear or the freezing winter temperatures.

  He moved, crossing the small space so fast that I shot back, bumping against the wall. “You don’t recognize it? It’s our place. Our special place.”

  Oh God. It took a while, but recognition finally dawned, making bile crawl up my throat. I’d never seen this shack from the inside. In all the time Hayes and I had snuck out to these woods, I’d always refused to go into that scary shack yards away from where we considered our spot. The place had always given me the creeps, and now that I was inside for the first time, I found that my instincts had been spot on.

  My heart was beating so hard, my ribs began to ache. “Carl,” I started, careful to keep my tone soft and neutral, “we don’t have a special place.”

  He laughed hysterically, like that was the funniest thing he’d ever heard. “Of course we do. Our special place in the woods.”

  “No,” I replied. “Hayes and I had a place, not you. Never you.”

  His eyes were completely manic, and I could just tell that what I was saying wasn’t penetrating the crazy. He’d completely snapped. I wasn’t sure what had caused it, but the Carl I knew was gone, and this new Carl was terrifying me out of my mind.

  “Yes we do. It’s here, Tempie. Right where I told you to come in that note.”

  “The note,” I whispered, my stomach twisting and turning violently. “The note was from you? But... How?”

  When he reached up to stroke my cheek it took everything in me not to vomit. Just the feel of his fingertips on my skin revolted me. “I had to keep you safe, sweetheart. I had to protect you, so I watched you. I watched you for so long I got to know you even better than you knew yourself.” Something sick washed across his expression. “God, baby, you’re so beautiful, but when you sleep, how peaceful you look?” He let out a low hum of appreciation that made me whimper. “I used to love sneaking into your room at night and watching you sleep. My Tempie, so beautiful.”

  Holy shit, this guy was completely off the reservation. The knowledge that someone I’d cared about, someone who I’d considered a friend, had violated my trust and my privacy so completely froze me from the inside out.

  “I had to watch you so I could take care of you. It was how I learned about the baby, how I learned your parents had to pay.”

  My lips parted on a gasp so sharp and hard it was painful. No. No, no, no, no.

  A choked sob burst past my lips. I was going to be sick. Hunching over, I wrapped my arms around my stomach and began to rock as a fresh wave of tears began pouring down my cheeks. “Oh my god,” I cried, my heart breaking into a million pieces. “You killed my parents?”

  “Shh,” Carl tried to console me as I sobbed, pouring out all the pain and heartbreak I was feeling, all the fear and betrayal. “It’s okay,” he whispered, reaching out to tucked a strand of hair behind my ear. “It’ll all be okay.”

  “Why?” I croaked as the lump in my throat grew and grew until I thought it might suffocate me.

  “I had to do it. I’m so sorry, but I had to,” he replied frantically. “You don’t understand. You were always supposed to be mine, Tempie. Always. It hurt when you gave yourself to him, but I forgave you because I knew it wouldn’t mean anything once we were finally together. But when I found out you’d gotten pregnant….” His mood flipped like a switch, going from soft and placating to wild to furious in the blink of an eye. “I couldn’t forgive that. You were a child,” he seethed, his fingers clenching into fists so tight that his knuckles turned white. “You were just a fucking child! You didn’t fully understand the consequences of your actions, but they knew better and they just let you whore yourself out like it was nothing! They had to pay. Don’t you understand? A parent is supposed to protect and nurture. They’re supposed to keep their children safe and teach them right from wrong. But they just stood back while you allowed yourself to be defiled!”

  “You’re insane,” I whispered as the shock of everything he’d just said seeped into my bones, leaving me feeling brittle. “You’re fucking insane!”

  His hand whipped around in a blur, the back of his knuckles connecting with my cheekbone so hard that it felt like fire shot straight through my temple. And just as soon as he landed the blow, that switch flipped again.

  “I’m sorry,” he cried, cupping my cheek and forcing my face back around to his. “I’m sorry. I’m so, so sorry. But you can’t talk to me like that, sweetheart. Not after everything I’ve done for you.”

  “W-what you’ve done for me?”

  He leaned in so close that I could feel his breath on my face, and it made my skin crawl. “I’ve made them pay, Tempie. Anyone who’s ever hurt you, I’ve made them pay. Harley, Lance, Martin. They all paid.”

  “Carl.” I shook my head in bewilderment. “They never hurt me.”

  “Of course they did! Lance stole from you. Harley humiliated you. And what Martin did to Buddy?” He shook his head. “That was unforgivable. But I made it right. I made it all right. Don’t you see?”

  “Oh my god. Carl, please,” I begged. “Please listen to me. I didn’t want you to do that. I didn’t want any of that! You weren’t saving me or protecting me. You killing them hurt me.”

  He stood from the cot, his shoulders setting in determination. “I’d never hurt you. Not ever. Everything I’ve done was for you. You don’t see it now, but you will. You’ll understand. And I have a surprise for you.”

  I sat on the cot, frozen in terror as he disappeared from the shack, returning moments later, dragging a body behind him. He grunted with exertion as he hefted it into the middle of t
he room and let it go. The moment the body hit the floor, it let out a pained groan and rolled to its side.

  “Oh god,” I gasped. The sunlight outside was waning, and I knew it wouldn’t be long before darkness fell completely, but there was still enough light coming through the slats of the dilapidated building for me to see who it was lying on the ground before me. “Perry?”

  His terror-filled eyes shot to mine as he squirmed on the floor. Carl had him hogtied, bound with duct tape and gagged. He was filthy, covered in cuts and bruises. His skin was cracked and peeling, clearly from being exposed to the elements for too long, and from the looks of him I’d guess that Carl had taken him and held him hostage for days.

  He grunted and yelled from behind his gag, his eyes pleading with me as he thrashed around on the dirty floor.

  “What are you doing?” I asked, my words frantic as Carl reached around and pulled a big knife from the waistband of his pants. “Carl, no. No! Please, please don’t do this,” I pleaded, screaming over and over as Perry thrashed harder. Even through the gag, his muffled screams clawed at my ears like nails on a chalkboard. “Please,” I tried again as he lifted his arm in the air. “I’m begging you, please don’t.” Then that arm came down. “Carl, nonono!”

  My words broke off into a blood-curdling scream as he kneeled over Perry and buried the blade into his side.

  The sounds of agony coming from Perry were the most horrifying noises I’d ever heard. Carl pulled the blade out and stabbed again and again, over and over. Blood sprayed all over the walls, on me, on the floor. It ran down his body like crimson rivers, but Carl didn’t stop, not until Perry ws unrecognizable, not until long after Perry’s noises stopped.

  I screamed and cried until my throat felt like it was on fire, but when Carl moved to stand, something inside of me snapped. My fight-or-flight instincts kicked in and I lunged from the cot, ramming my shoulder into his stomach so hard that he made a sound like the wind had been knocked out of him and he hit the ground. White-hot pain spread through my shoulder and down my arm, but the surge of adrenaline got me back to my feet and I took off at a full sprint, out of the shack and into the woods.