As the hours passed, she remembered the events that led to her current situation, cursed herself for the horrible decision to leave the club alone, and imagined how different things would be, if only Trey had shown up.
Or if she had left with Sandy.
Or if she had stayed home.
Or if she had been where she told her mom she would be, studying at Sandy’s house.
Mom. Oh God, she thought. She must be frantic.
“Does she even know that I’m missing?” Allison’s question came out as a cracked whisper. “Does anyone know that I’m missing? Are they looking for me?”
With no way to gauge the passage of time, Allison could only guess that she’d been in the concrete room for hours, but it could be days. Couldn’t it?
“Please find me, Mom. I want to go home.”
The soft cries of the petrified young woman made her seem years younger than her actual age.
Chapter Seven
“Kansas just issued an Amber Alert for sixteen-year-old Allison Wells. Last known location was last night at a club called The Barn Door, in Smathers, Nebraska.” Dylan’s clipped voice came through the phone speaker, loud and clear. “Her mother, Trudy Wells, reported her missing shortly after school let out today. She’s expecting your visit. I’ll text you the address.”
“What part of Kansas?” Ethan asked, pulling off the road to check a map.
“Marsville, a suburb northwest of Toledo.”
“What other details do you know?” Jeri asked.
“According to the police report, her mother thought she was studying at a friend’s house, and subsequently spent the night there as well. No one knew that she was missing until she didn’t come home after school today.”
“Pretty typical teenage stunt,” Jeri commented. “Did she go to the club alone?”
“No, her friend, Sandra Hunt, met her there, then left before she did. Police found her car at the club, but no sign of a struggle, or of Allison.”
“Looks like we’re about thirty minutes away,” Ethan told him. “Let us know if you hear anything else.”
“Yep,” Dylan answered, then paused. “My gut is telling me that this is our guy. Two girls, same age range, missing within days of each other can’t be a coincidence.”
“Nope, it’s no coincidence,” Jeri agreed. “I’m with you, he’s moved on to his primary targets now.”
“Any luck tracking the convicted pedophiles in the area?” Dylan asked, hopefully.
“Not yet. There are a few we haven’t spoken with in Iowa, but so far, everyone has an alibi. Same goes for the Kansas pervs Monique and Chloe have interviewed.” Ethan programmed the Well’s address into the navigational system as he spoke.
“It’s entirely possible that he’s not in the system, that these are his first kills,” Jeri added.
“These may not be his first kills, but you can bet that he didn’t just wake up last week and decide that he liked teenage girls. I’ll run a search for misdemeanor crimes, like peeping toms and such, which fit the profile. May end up giving you guys more legwork, but it could pay off.”
“At this point, we’ll take what we can get. Thanks, Dylan.”
“No problem. I’ll be in touch.”
“Two girls in two days, this guy is not wasting any time,” Ethan commented as he turned the car around. “If he’s holding them both, he’ll need privacy as well as room to have his fun.”
“Didn’t you say that Anson frequently used abandoned warehouses as kill rooms? In the Bayou, and Charleston, he upgraded to private homes. So, I suppose his watcher would follow suit.”
“Yes, warehouses, abandoned buildings of any kind, really. It wasn’t until he came to the States that he started buying houses for the kills.”
“With the amount of farmland in the area, old buildings are plentiful. So are homes with acres of privacy. He could be anywhere,” Jeri tapped her fingers on the armrest.
“Until we have a better handle on his home base, there’s no use in searching for his location, which could be a serious waste of time.”
“Agreed. I hate to say it, but we’ll know more when he dumps another body.” Shades of disgust colored Jeri’s words.
“What are the odds he’ll go back to Clevestone? I mean, he has to know that the locals are on high alert for anything suspicious.”
“That may be true, but there are plenty of back roads, and stretches of empty highway, in and around Clevestone, that he could dump the body with little risk.”
“Still, it will be telling if he continues to use Clevestone.”
“Yes, it will,” Jeri flipped open her tablet. “Going under the assumption that the first two women were practice kills, I’m eliminating Topeka from the triangulation. Using Clevestone and Marsville, in Kansas, Smathers in Nebraska, and Appleton in Iowa, we can pinpoint a more accurate location for his home base.”
Drawing lines between the towns on her tablet, Jeri pinpointed a section of Kansas, near the Iowa border.
“We’ll focus the search for known pedophiles, as well as misdemeanors relating to the crimes, to a twenty-mile radius around Breville, Kansas.”
“Never heard of it,” Ethan commented.
“Neither have I, but it’s as good a place to start as any,” Jeri told him. “We have to find common ground between the missing girls. How is he targeting them? What do they have in common?”
“They’re both teenagers, for one. Don’t they all do the same things, like thrive on social media, shop, and go to school?”
“Social media. That’s where we start. Shelby Torrent had a laptop in her room, and her mom said that she has a smart phone, which is missing. Odds are good that Allison has the same. Our perp could be finding them online, if they visit the same chat rooms, websites, whatever. I’ll get Anna on it,” Jeri grabbed her phone, sent a lengthy text to Anna.
“Surely the police are already on this, at least for the individual girls. Now that we have a likely second victim, similarities can begin to surface.”
“I doubt that the cops are even considering that these two cases are connected. We’ll find the similarities before they even know to look.”
“True. Why don’t you call Monique, give her an update. She and Chloe can head over to Breville, start working on the list Anna compiles.”
“There’s no shortage of perverts to check out, that’s for certain,” Jeri glanced up before making the call. “We need a break in this case, if Shelby or Allison have a prayer for survival.”
~~~
“Do you mind if we take a look in Allison’s room?” Jeri asked Trudy Wells. The woman’s attempts to be stoic were interrupted by frequent bouts of hysteria. Jeri waited for a calm moment, before making her request.
“Of course, but the police have already been there. They took her laptop, and her diary. Allison will hate that!” Tears began to well again.
“Allison will be grateful, if those things help us find her,” Jeri tried to sound reassuring.
“Yes, yes, that’s a good way to look at it. Right this way.” Stoic once again, Trudy led Jeri and Ethan up the stairs and down a short hallway. The door to Allison’s room stood open.
“I just can’t, not yet, but you go ahead,” Trudy told them, hesitating near the doorway.
“Of course, thank you,” Jeri replied, sympathetically. “We won’t be long.”
The bed was missing a canopy, and mint green, not pink, was the primary color, but save those exceptions, Allison’s room was eerily similar to Shelby’s. Both girls embraced their femininity, had crushes on the same stars, and had a desk, surely meant for studying, but currently covered in more knick-knacks than books. The space where Allison’s laptop sat was obvious, as it was the only clear spot on the desktop.
Ethan headed for the desk while Jeri moved to the closet. Opening the door, she was surprised to find a girl, sitting in the middle of the closet floor, surrounded by discarded clothes, crying her eyes out.
“Hi,” Jeri
said softly, kneeling down to speak with her.
“It’s all my fault,” the girl wailed, grabbing onto Jeri’s arm.
“What’s your fault,” Jeri kept her voice soft and soothing as she sat beside the girl.
“Allison is gone, and it’s all my fault. I left her at the c-c-c-club,” the girl hiccupped the response through a barrage of tears.
“You must be Sandy, Allison’s best friend,” Jeri patted the girl’s arm as she spoke.
Sandy nodded, then covered her face with both hands.
“Some best friend,” she cried. “I left her there. I knew better, but I did it anyway. Now she’s gone…”
“Sandy, listen to me,” Jeri kept her voice stern, but steady. “It is not your fault that Allison is missing. But I could use your help to find her. Do you think you can do that? Can you help me?”
Lowering her hands, Sandy looked at Jeri, long and hard, while the tears slowed.
“How?” she finally asked.
“By talking to me. By telling me everything you remember about last night, and everything you know about Allison’s life. What do you say, will you help us?” Jeri sensed Ethan’s presence in the doorway, but Sandy’s eyes widening, as she looked up, clinched the fact that he had joined them.
“I’m Jeri, that’s Ethan. We want to find Allison, but we need information. Information that you might have.”
“Sure, I’ll tell you whatever you want to know.” Sandy had not looked away from Ethan. Jeri could hardly blame her.
“Good. Can we go downstairs, talk in the living room?”
“Sure,” Sandy replied, then stopped. “Umm, maybe we should talk in here. I don’t want to get Allison in trouble with her mom,” she whispered.
“Okay, we can talk in here,” Jeri whispered back. “First, why don’t you tell us about the club? Had you been there before, you and Allison?”
“Yes, we go just about every weekend. Last night was the first time we went on a school night. We had to sneak out,” she dropped her voice, as if that were still some kind of secret.
“Okay, so you went out without permission. No big deal, we’ve all done it. What time did you get there?”
“Around seven-thirty. We were supposed to ride together, but Allison changed her mind at the last minute. She told me to go ahead, and that she would meet me in the parking lot. She was only about ten minutes late,” Sandy frowned, wishing she had waited for her friend.
“So, you meet in the parking lot, walk in together, right?”
“Yes. It was packed, but we found a table.”
“Were you drinking?”
“No, not the way you mean. The club doesn’t serve alcohol, not at all. That’s one reason our parents let us go on the weekends. It’s mostly just dancing, and, you know, meeting up with friends.”
“Okay, I get it. Good, clean fun, right?”
“Right.” Sandy looked between Jeri and Ethan, grateful that they understood.
“Did you dance?”
“What? No, not last night. We basically hung around, waiting for Trey to show up, which he never did. Allison was all dressed up…” she stopped, not wanting to rat out her friend.
“Trey is Allison’s boyfriend?” Jeri asked softly.
“No, but she likes him. They talk, every now and then, in school. He’s older, a senior. She was hoping he would notice her last night.”
“And you’re sure he never came?”
“Well, he wasn’t there by the time I left, around ten-thirty. Allison wanted to wait for him a little longer, but I had to leave. My curfew’s earlier than hers.”
“Did anyone else pay attention to you, or to Allison?”
“Not really. A few boys asked Allison to dance, but she wasn’t interested. She really wanted to see Trey.”
“Think back, was there anyone older, hanging around, or watching you guys? Was there anyone outside, when you left?”
Sandy thought hard about the questions, but shook her head.
“No, the crowd was a little older last night, but no one bothered us. And I didn’t see anyone when I left, except for a few kids smoking.”
“Did you notice anyone hanging around in the parking lot?”
“No, and I looked. I was so careful, I even made Allison stay on the phone with me while I walked to the car.”
“That was smart,” Jeri said, approvingly. “And it tells us that Allison definitely had her phone, in the club.”
“Oh, yeah. She always has her phone,” Sandy’s eyes started to well up with tears again. “That’s why I was so worried today, when she didn’t come to school, and she didn’t answer my calls, or my texts. It’s why I came straight over, after school.”
“That was a big help, I’m sure,” Jeri told her. “Tell me what else you and Allison like to do, besides go to the club.”
“We both ride horses, and we like going to the movies, but who doesn’t? And we go ice skating, but not as much as we used to. Since Allison got a crush on Trey, we sort of go wherever he might be.” Sandy looked down at her hands.
“How do you know where to find him?” Jeri asked, no hint of judgment.
“We follow him on Instagram, and Twitter.”
Stalking in the twenty-first century, Jeri thought, but didn’t say.
“Is that why you thought he would be at the club last night?”
“Yeah, but he wasn’t.”
“Can you think of anything else that might be helpful? Has anyone been texting Allison, or calling her, anyone that made her uncomfortable?”
“No, not that I know of, and she would tell me something like that.” Sandy started to cry again.
“You’ve been a great help, Sandy, thank you. If you remember anything else about last night, or anything at all, no matter how small, call me.” Jeri pressed a card into the girl’s hand.
“There was something, but I don’t think it means anything,” Sandy’s brows drew together in a frown. “Allison told me that she felt like someone was watching her.”
“Watching her? Where?”
“Here, in her bedroom. She started keeping her shades closed, even in the daytime, but she still felt like someone could see her.”
“Did she only feel that way here, in her room?” Ethan asked.
“Yes, only here. But how could that be? Her room faces a field, and you can’t see in with the windows closed.”
“I don’t know, Sandy, but we don’t discount our feelings. You should always listen to your instincts.” Jeri took Sandy’s hand. “Why don’t you come with us downstairs, Sandy? You can keep Allison’s mom company.”
“Okay. Did I really help?”
“Yes, you did.” Nodding at Ethan, Jeri escorted Sandy out of the room. Trudy Wells still waited at the top of the stairs.
“Trudy, we’d like to search Allison’s room for cameras, if that’s okay with you.”
“Cameras? What on earth for?”
“Sandy told us that Allison felt that she was being watched lately. It may mean nothing, but we’d like to check it out. Do we have your permission?”
“Of course. Search the whole house, if you like. Cameras? Who would put cameras in her room?” Trudy started down the stairs.
“Maybe no one, but it won’t take long to check. We have a device in the car that will help.” Jeri followed behind Trudy and Sandy, while Ethan began searching Allison’s room visually for surveillance cameras.
By the time Jeri made it back upstairs, he had checked every nook and cranny for a camera, but found none.
“If there’s a camera in here, it’s well hidden,” he told Jeri, as she pointed the handheld box around the room.
“I’m getting nothing, no cameras anywhere.” Walking to the closet, Jeri checked out every corner in there as well.
“Nada.” Joining Ethan in the center of the room, Jeri sighed as she looked around. The room, brimming with the personality of a vibrant young girl who made it her own, seemed empty somehow. The pillows, the posters, the rugs, th
e scattered clothing, all seemed lifeless now, without Allison there to infuse them with energy.
Jeri understood very clearly why Trudy could not yet come into her daughter’s room. If she felt the loss of someone she had never met, then being in the center of Allison’s world, without Allison, must be beyond hell for her mother.
Chapter Eight
“Goodnight, dear,” Belinda Grant called to her son as she passed by the parlor.
Finally, Graham thought, listening intently for sounds of the car to exit the grounds. The light beep of the security panel indicated that the limo had passed through the gates, taking the imposing Mrs. Grant, and her insipid attorney, into the city.
Not willing to waste a moment, Graham slipped on his coat and headed for the garage. The truck he’d purchased for just such an occasion waited beside his Mercedes in the five-car space. He remembered his mother’s face, the first time she’d seen the pickup, taking space alongside their much more refined vehicles.
“But why on earth do you need such a thing?” she’d asked, appalled.
“It’s something I’ve always wanted,” he’d told her.
Now, as he jumped into the cab of the nondescript truck, he considered his disposal options, once again. In his tutorials, Anson made it clear that multiple disposal sites worked best, unless you were trying to make a statement. A statement always amped the risk level, but it could also be more satisfying, overall.
Graham fully intended to drop Shelby off near where he’d placed the two whores, in Clevestone. The police force there was a joke, but that was not the reason for his selection.
She lived in Clevestone.
The only girl he had ever loved.
Dropping the bodies of his victims near the home of Aubrey Watson was his way of honoring what they had once had together. Aubrey never gave him a second thought, after dumping him in high school. She would be surprised to learn that he’d followed her career, such as it was, and that he knew she was married to a farmer, living in a ramshackle house with him and their three kids, in Nowheresville, Kansas.
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