Danger in Time

by Flowers, R. Barri

  Detective Sawyer saw strong similarities in the suspects, even when a nine year age difference was taken into account. “Hmm...”

  “What do you think?”

  Detective Sawyer’s brows knitted as she got to her feet. “I think these sketches could be the same man. And I’m betting his name is Grant Palmer—”

  * * *

  Duncan studied the info he’d come up with online regarding Grant Palmer and Lake Melrose, Oregon. It wasn’t much. Only one thing came up. An article dated June 17, 2008 said that a bank security guard named Grant Palmer had foiled a robbery. It listed his age as twenty-five. Duncan did the arithmetic. That would make him twenty-eight today, which would match perfectly with the age Brooke said Grant Palmer was in 2001.

  There was a photo accompanying the article, apparently taken when he received some kind of honor for his heroics. It was a picture of Grant and a woman named Natalie Marsh, identified as his fiancée and the mother of Grant’s three-year-old daughter. Duncan enlarged the picture. He couldn’t tell for certain, but it sure looked like the man in the sketch to him.

  He had to see what Brooke and Rachel thought about it and go from there.

  CHAPTER THIRTY

  Grant Palmer drove the Ford Explorer slowly down the street till he passed the house. He’d watched earlier as the boy dropped Brooke Crane and the other girl off there. Grant realized that she had to be Brooke’s kid sister, now a teenager. What he couldn’t figure out was how she could have been part of Brooke’s rescue back in 2001 looking exactly the same way she did now.

  Or how Brooke appeared to be the same age today that she was back then.

  I know I’m not delusional. It is what it is, no matter how improbable it seems.

  No matter how they had been able to pull it off, he would make sure neither girl escaped him this time.

  They would get just what the other girls got. And worse.

  Grant went around the block again for seemingly the umpteenth time, contemplating how he might go after the girls without attracting the attention of nosey neighbors. Then there was the fact Natalie—always suspicious that he was seeing other women, and with good reason—would be wondering why he was late getting home after telling her he was taking the afternoon off.

  Grant shifted his eyes to the empty spot beside him in the car. Priscilla Fletcher had sat there not long ago, charmed by his sweet words. He imagined the kill again for an instant before turning his gaze back to the road. His lips curved into a crooked smile as the adrenalin rush hit him like a bolt of lightning.

  Yeah, it’s time to kill again. Only it will be two for the price of one this time.

  * * *

  Brooke had already gone downstairs when Rachel got a text message on her cell phone from Duncan:

  I think this is man police are looking for. Look at article and pic of Grant Palmer and fiancée. Ask Brooke if it’s same guy she knew from HS. D.

  Rachel read the article he sent her and looked at the picture. It definitely could be the man in the sketch. But she was more honed in on the female he was with. The caption said her name was Natalie Marsh. She was Brooke’s best friend in high school—the one Rachel had spoken to at the mall ten years ago. Brooke had run into the older version of Natalie and her daughter at a store.

  Now it appeared Natalie was married to the man who tried to kill Brooke. He might also be the person who killed Priscilla and a number of others in Lake Melrose over the years.

  Rachel sucked in a breath. So how do I tell Brooke this without freaking her out even more than she already is?

  * * *

  “Natalie and Grant?” Brooke’s mouth hung open in disbelief. “No way she would be with that creep!”

  They were sitting in the den after Nana had gone to take a nap when Rachel revealed what she had learned from Duncan’s text and article.

  “Natalie hated Grant,” Brooke insisted. She couldn’t believe they were a couple, much less married. “It must be a mistake.”

  Rachel only wished it were. The evidence suggested otherwise. “Apparently things changed between them this time around. They have a child together, Brooke.”

  Brooke recalled the pretty little girl named Haley who had almost run into her at the mall. And Natalie was her mother, which was surreal enough. Could Haley really be Grant Palmer’s daughter?

  “Natalie once warned me to stay away from Grant,” Brooke pointed out. “She was afraid of him.”

  Rachel showed her the copy of the newspaper photo of Natalie and Grant she had printed out. “Are these the same people you knew?”

  Brooke snatched the picture from her and studied it. Definitely an older version of the Natalie she knew...and it sure looked like Grant just as with the sketch. When Brooke’s eyes lowered to the names of the couple, it confirmed this, much to her chagrin.

  “Yeah, that seems to be Natalie and Grant,” she told Rachel sadly.

  Brooke wondered what had happened over the last ten years that would make Natalie get involved with the likes of Grant Palmer. Perhaps Natalie made a mistake with him and ended up pregnant. Or maybe they really fell in love once they grew up. If so, how could it all have gone so wrong?

  Could my traveling to the future, changing the past, have been responsible for ruining Natalie’s life?

  Rachel met her eyes, knowing the story didn’t end there. “I hate to say this, Brooke, but there’s a good chance your friend is married to the same man who...killed you once...tried to do it again...and might have killed Priscilla and who knows how many other girls—”

  Brooke frowned, not wanting to believe Natalie had hooked up with someone bent on murdering girls, no matter the role of time travel in altering things. “Maybe that wasn’t Grant in the sketch,” she suggested. “I could’ve been mistaken. Besides, if he was the killer—especially a serial killer for more than ten years—wouldn’t the police have figured it out by now?”

  “Not if Grant was smarter or luckier than they were,” Rachel replied. “Some killers do keep it going for years and years before they’re caught.”

  Brooke looked at the picture again. “Grant wasn’t very smart. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have dropped out of school.” Might that have changed in the scheme of things?

  “So maybe he was really lucky,” Rachel said. “And being a school dropout doesn’t mean you’re immune to killing people and getting away with it. If anything, that could make him more likely to have done these terrible things.”

  Brooke bit into her lower lip. As much as she wished it weren’t the case for Natalie’s sake, instincts told her Grant was the man in the sketch. Her former best friend was married to a probable serial killer. What could possibly happen next in this new world where everything seemed to be turned upside down?

  Brooke suddenly felt claustrophobic. “I need to get some fresh air.”

  “Yeah, me too,” seconded Rachel.

  This was starting to get to her. She could only hope the Sisters of Time had thought this through when testing their limits in the oddities and surprises of time. Especially where it concerned having to deal with one or more killers: past, present, and maybe even the future.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

  Grant Palmer could barely believe his good fortune when he saw Brooke and Rachel emerge from the house and begin to walk down the street. It was time to finish the job at long last. And he did not intend to be denied.

  He trailed the girls in his car, driving at a snail’s pace so they would be unaware of his presence. Killing them would be particularly nice and a highlight amongst the girls who had died by his hand.

  Feeling impatient, Grant finally drove past them; sure they couldn’t see him through the tinted windows. Not that Brooke was likely to recognize him ten years after she mysteriously escaped the death trap he had so carefully laid out for her back then. Till Travis Pickett inadvertently saved the day and then took the fall as far as most people were concerned—especially the Crane family—forcing Travis and his mother to leave t
own as outcasts.

  Parking at the curb near an oak tree, Grant opened the glove compartment. He removed a .40 caliber Smith and Wesson pistol.

  Glancing through the rearview mirror, he watched the girls innocently approaching.

  Let the fun begin!

  * * *

  “We need to warn Natalie,” Brooke said anxiously. “If Grant is this monster killer, he could come after her when there’s no one else to set his sights set on.”

  Rachel’s eyes narrowed. “So what do you suggest—we find out where they live and go right into the hornet’s nest?”

  “Yeah, if that’s what it takes,” Brooke said. “I don’t think I could live with myself if he murdered my best friend. At least she used to be.”

  Rachel swallowed, feeling maudlin. “I hate to say this, but he’s probably the one who killed my best friend!”

  “I’m really sorry about that.” Brooke winced, understanding what she was going through. “I hope it didn’t somehow happen because I lived.”

  “You didn’t make Grant choose to kill any more than I did,” Rachel told her flatly.

  This gave Brooke some comfort, but she was still concerned for Natalie’s safety. “Maybe if I could just talk to Natalie.”

  Rachel frowned. “Not sure that’s such a good idea. She doesn’t remember you, Brooke. I say we let the police handle it and not get caught in the middle.”

  As much as Brooke wanted to reject the notion of staying out of it, she had to face up to the fact she was a stranger to everyone in this time. Including Natalie. Alerting her to the possible danger she and her daughter faced could actually put them in even more peril.

  Brooke stopped walking, prompting Rachel to do the same. “You’re right. I have enough to cope with right now than to add more chaos and confusion to this new life I have.”

  “I couldn’t agree with you more,” the deep voice said from behind.

  Brooke turned around and looked into the recognizable face of Grant Palmer.

  * * *

  “It’s been a long time, Brooke.” Grant regarded her keenly.

  Brooke stared at him for a moment, surprised to hear her name spoken from someone other than Rachel, Nana, or Duncan. The man before her looked even creepier than a decade ago. And more cold-blooded than depicted in the sketch.

  Brooke wondered if his presence was by pure chance. Had he been stalking them?

  “Grant...?” Her voice shook.

  He gave her a stoic nod. “Yeah it’s me...in the flesh.”

  Brooke blinked twice, glancing at Rachel. “And you know who I am?”

  Grant cocked a brow. How could I ever forget? “Course I do. Especially since you look exactly the same as I remember—”

  Rachel got a terrible feeling about him suddenly showing up, clearly not just out of the blue. Obviously Grant had been unaffected by Brooke’s time traveling in terms of erasing his memory of her. Had he somehow found out they had talked to the police and were on to him?

  What do we do now? Scream our heads off? Or make a mad dash and hope to outrun him?

  Brooke also wondered what came next. Maybe Grant didn’t have any idea they knew his dirty little secret. She put on a fake smile, hoping to seem as natural as possible.

  “Well, it’s been nice seeing you again after so long, Grant, but we’ve got to get going,” Brooke told him as nicely as she possibly could.

  Grant curled his lip into a sneer. “I don’t think so.”

  Brooke and Rachel watched him pull a gun out of his jacket pocket. He aimed it squarely at them, causing both girls to gasp simultaneously.

  “What do you think you’re doing, Grant?” demanded Brooke, trying to play dumb. “If this is a robbery—”

  “I guarantee it’s no robbery!”

  “Then what’s this all about?” she asked, as if not a clue.

  He grinned crookedly. “You’ll see. Now both of you get in that Explorer.” He pointed to the SUV not far away.

  “No way!” Rachel peered at him obstinately. “You can’t just...kidnap us!”

  “Watch me!” Grant pointed the gun at her head. “Now get in the car or I’ll kill you both right now—you first!”

  Looking into his menacing eyes, Brooke decided he was serious. Somehow Grant seemed intent on history repeating itself. She had apparently been unable to escape her fate, in spite of the best intentions of the Sisters of Time and their clockwatch.

  Only now Rachel was also being targeted for death. Brooke could not let him murder her sister right before her eyes.

  They had to bargain for time or face a good chance of never getting out of this alive.

  She turned to Rachel. “We’d better do what he says.”

  “I’m not getting in that car!” Rachel spat defiantly, aware that any chance they had for survival would go out the window if they were not in open space. She glared at Grant. “And neither is Brooke.”

  Narrowing her eyes at Rachel like she was still six and needed to be protected, Brooke decided she had to take charge before the situation got out of hand. “Look, we don’t have a choice,” she argued. “Just do it, please!”

  Rachel still wanted to reject putting them in such a vulnerable situation. She tried to imagine what it must have been like for Priscilla being helpless and about to die at the hands of a demented killer. But she understood in reading Brooke’s mind that they had to be smart about this and not make it too easy for Grant to kill or seriously injure them.

  “All right,” Rachel gave in. She scowled at Grant Palmer, vowing not to cry. There had to be a way out of this somehow without them becoming fresh murder victims and tomorrow’s news.

  * * *

  Duncan had just driven up to the house when he noticed Rachel and Brooke down the street. He saw them talking to a man and saw what appeared to be a gun in his hand pointed at Rachel. He was directing them to an SUV. Brooke got in the front and Rachel in the back. The man then walked around the car, got behind the wheel, and drove off.

  It had to be Grant Palmer. He was kidnapping Rachel and Brooke in broad daylight and planned to add them to his long list of victims.

  Duncan’s pulse raced. I’ve got to do something. Fast!

  He followed the car and got close enough to snap a picture of the license plate number on his cell phone.

  After lifting Detective Sawyer’s card from the seat, Duncan dialed her number.

  “Detective Sawyer,” she answered.

  “Detective, this is Duncan McClure.”

  “How can I help you, Duncan?”

  “Grant Palmer just abducted Rachel and Brooke!”

  “What—?” Her voice rose a few octaves.

  “I’m following them right now!” Duncan sucked in a deep breath. “What do you want me to do?”

  “Don’t do anything stupid,” she ordered. “We know all about Palmer, and we have an A.P.B. on him right now. Tell me exactly where you are...”

  CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO

  “So who wants to tell me how you did it?” Grant glanced at Brooke beside him, the gun pointed at her side. Then he glanced in the rearview mirror at Rachel.

  Neither Brooke nor Rachel responded.

  “Come on, girls. Tell me how you managed to look the same when the rest of us got older?”

  Brooke gave him a nasty look. “I’m sure I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  “I’m sure you do.” He peeked at Rachel. “You, too. You’ve known ever since I saw you there that day outside the mall ten years ago. Only you looked just like you do today and not like Brooke’s little sister. So what gives?”

  Rachel chose not to respond to his questions. She was more concerned about how they would get out of a very tight jam. “Obviously you must be high on something. Doesn’t make any sense what you’re saying.”

  He bristled. “Makes perfect sense to me, in an odd way. Took me a while to come to terms with it, but I’ve accepted the fact you two have managed to do something remarkable. Though I’m not s
ure how.”

  Preferring not to satisfy his warped curiosity, Brooke switched the subject back to him. “Why are you doing this, Grant? What did I—we—ever do to you?”

  Grant continued driving, while considering the question. He eyed her with disdain. “Maybe I just didn’t like the way you snubbed your nose at me as if you were too good or something for a lowlife like Grant Palmer.”

  Brooke sneered. “I can’t believe Natalie married you and had your child.”

  He snickered. “Well believe it.”

  “She deserved much better than someone like you,” Brooke said with contempt.

  “Keep her out of this,” Grant snapped irritably.

  “Why should I?” Brooke figured she had little to lose at this point. “Natalie treated you worse than I ever did. Now you’ve hooked up with my best friend and plan to kill me and my sister.”

  Grant had not forgotten the past when Natalie wouldn’t give him the time of day. She could still make his life a living hell. But he’d learned to deal with it, content he’d been able to charm her enough into marrying him. The kid he could have done without, but it was what Natalie wanted. He wondered if it could have worked out the same with Brooke if she had only given him a fair shake back in the day.

  He gave her a hard look. “This isn’t about Natalie. It’s about you getting what’s coming to you—and your sister.” He kept the gun pointed at Brooke and cracked a smile. “Who says anyone’s going to die? We’re just taking a little ride, that’s all.”

  Brooke tried to put up a brave front, though terrified of what he had in mind for them. “You think I don’t know how you tried to kidnap and kill me ten years ago, just like Stacy Fuentes? How many others have there been, Grant? Was Priscilla Fletcher one of your victims, too?”

  Brooke knew it was a gamble to come right out with their suspicions, but she doubted he’d try to shoot them both right there in his car. However, it might cause him to lose his focus, which could work in their favor.