A Killer's Watch

by Tallulah Grace

  “He’s worried. That must mean we’re onto something.”

  “Yep,” Jeri hit three on her speed dial. “I have to call Nate, get a search warrant for the property.”

  “If Grant has enough clout to ground the chopper, he’s got enough clout to fight a warrant.”

  “I know. But our clout is bigger than his clout.”

  “Someone is turning into the driveway,” Monique said suddenly, raising the binoculars.

  “Get the tag, we’ll run it, see who’s paying the Grant’s a visit.” Jeri told her, just as Nate answered the call.

  ~~~

  The ringing doorbell stopped Graham’s frantic pacing. He’d stopped the chopper, but he knew that it was a temporary measure, that the FBI would soon show up with a warrant. It had to be the FBI, Mayor Hayes knew of no surveillance operation authorized by the local police.

  He had to get Thomas’s body out of the cellar, before they came to search. Finding the girls was one thing, but he could blame Thomas for everything, as long as they didn’t find him dead.

  His head spinning with possibilities, he opened the door to find an innocuous looking man, dressed in a finely tailored suit, holding a sheaf of papers. Was this man serving the warrant already?

  “Yes?” Graham asked in his haughtiest tone of voice.

  “Mr. Grant? I’m Albert Reeves. The agency sent me over to interview for the position you have available.”

  “Of course, please come in, Mr. Reeves.” Graham switched instantly to his most charming self, extending his hand to what could well be his salvation.

  ~~~

  “The car belongs to Albert Reeves, current occupation, household manager. Looks like the Grants are interviewing for a replacement for Thomas,” Monique reported, after speaking with Anna.

  “Good, that should keep them busy for a while. We need to pick up Ethan and Chloe,” Jeri told her. “He had the chopper land about two miles down the road. I’ll stay here, keep an eye on things, you go get them. Leave me the binoculars.”

  “Of course. Be back soon,” Monique waited while Jeri exited the car.

  Sprinting to the side of the road, Jeri ducked into the trees. Nate had warned that it could take a few hours to get a warrant, with so little to go on. She had no intention of letting Grant get away in the meantime.

  ~~~

  “Everything appears to be in good order,” Graham smiled warmly at the silent, would-be butler. “How soon can you begin, Mr. Reeves?”

  “Oh, well, I can start today, if you like.” Albert Reeves beamed at his new benefactor.

  “Very good. Wait here, please. I have a phone call to make, then we’ll take a tour of the property.”

  “Thank you, Mr. Grant. I appreciate your faith in me. I won’t let you down.” Reeves’ sincere gratitude fell on deaf ears.

  Nodding once, Graham left the parlor, closing the doors behind him. He did not want any of the staff to meet Albert Reeves. Moving quickly to his study, Graham once again closed the doors, this time for privacy.

  His mind had been formulating a plan, the entire time Albert Reeves had been relegating tales of his experience, and his attributes. Graham knew that he had limited time to execute the plan, which began with switching out his computers.

  The laptop he used exclusively for his internet business went into a safe, hidden behind a false-paneled wall that only he knew was there. His desktop computer, and his other laptop, held only files and information relating to his legitimate businesses, and household accounts. The FBI could search those devices all day long, and never find anything that would tie him to the missing girls.

  Next, he checked the window, making sure that the helicopter was gone. Seeing that the way was clear, he grabbed a bag of his disguises, pasted on a smile for Albert Reeves, then went to take him on a tour. Starting with the old cellar, of course.

  ~~~

  “No movement of any kind,” Jeri reported as she slid into the backseat of the car. “Nate’s working on the warrant.”

  “Good,” Ethan reached over and squeezed her hand in greeting. “We found something that could be a shelter, but it could also just be a pile of rocks. As soon as the warrant is issued, we’ll check it out.”

  “It kills me, knowing we’re so close to finding the girls, but we can’t act on it,” Jeri felt the need to pace, but couldn’t.

  “What’s stopping him from killing them, before we get the warrant?” Chloe asked.

  “Not a damn thing, but I think he’s too smart for that,” Jeri answered. “He knows that we’ll know their time of death. Assuming that they’re still alive, if he kills them now, we can nail him for murder.”

  “But if we find them, then we can nail him for kidnapping, and murder.” Chloe didn’t know the whole story. Neither did Ethan.

  “Not if he pins it on someone else. Which he will. His butler, Thomas, disappeared overnight, supposedly with property he stole from the Grants. It’s the perfect scenario, blaming everything on the man who isn’t here to defend himself,” Jeri explained.

  “Son of a bitch,” Ethan breathed the words. “What do you want to bet that the butler is dead?”

  “My thoughts, exactly,” Jeri nodded.

  “If he’s got this perfect plan, all laid out, then how will we stop him?” Chloe asked.

  “We wait, and watch. He won’t be able to stop himself. He’s got a taste for murder, plus he thinks he’s so much smarter than everyone else, including the FBI. As soon as he makes his next move, we’ve got him.”

  ~~~

  “Do you mind taking your vehicle? I’ve misplaced my glasses, which makes driving difficult.” Graham’s request was impossible for Reeves to refuse. Not that he considered it. Happy to be employed in such a grand home, by such well-respected people, he would have driven his car into the river, had Graham Grant asked it of him.

  “Of course not. Where would you like me to go first?” Truthfully, Reeves was surprised that they didn’t begin the tour with the house. But Mr. Grant was the boss, so he didn’t question it.

  As Graham directed him to the edge of the lawn, through the gate and across the field, he finalized details of his plan. It stood to reason that the cops were watching the house, so he couldn’t very well haul Thomas out of here in his car. But Albert Reeves could. Too bad he would never know what a help he had been.

  Graham did not allow himself to dwell on the inevitable loss of the lovely Diana, and Allison. The girls would have to be rescued, much to his, and his mother’s, surprise, in order for his plan to work. How fortunate that he had stashed Thomas’s things in the cellar last night. He could leave enough clues behind, so that the police, or FBI, couldn’t help but believe that Thomas was their man.

  Funny how things worked out, he mused. Last night, he killed Thomas to protect his secret, not knowing how fortuitous the man’s death would become, a few short hours later.

  The problem remained of what to do with the men’s bodies. And with Reeves’ car. The river was the obvious choice, but where on the river?

  He would have to weigh them down, dump them in two entirely separate places. He knew of a few secluded spots that would work, as long as no one else was there today. As for the car, he could drive it into Topeka, leave it unlocked with the keys in the ignition, in a seedy part of town. Problems solved.

  As for himself, he would take a taxi to the back entrance of the estate. A dirt road that no one ever used. From there, he could easily run the three miles to the house, appearing that he had never left in the first place.

  It was genius, really, and totally doable. Congratulating himself on covering all of the bases, he turned to Albert Reeves as the man pulled to a stop, next to the cellar. Silently thanking him for his timing, and his sacrifice, Graham opened the passenger door.

  “Come with me, Albert. I’ll show you the wine cellar.”

  ~~~

  “That’s Albert Reeves leaving,” Monique said, lowering the binoculars. “He was only there for forty-five mi
nutes. I suppose that’s about right for an interview.”

  “What is taking so long with that warrant?” Jeri’s frustration was evident.

  “We knew it would be tough, we’ve so little to go on. We couldn’t prove that he lied, as we didn’t find hard evidence of another cellar on the property. With his lawyers fighting it, we have to find a judge willing to buck the system.”

  “Buck, shmuck. Two girl’s lives hang in the balance, while we wait on paperwork. It’s ridiculous.”

  “I know, but if we go in without one, Graham walks, no matter what.” Ethan tried to be the voice of reason, but his patience was also wearing thin.

  “He’s gonna walk anyway, if he pins it on Thomas. At least for a little while,” Chloe added.

  “Not at first. It’s his property, so we can arrest him, assuming we find the girls. He’ll only get off, after he goes through the process. Unless we find a way to tie him to the crimes.” Jeri tapped her fingers on the door.

  “Which we will,” Ethan’s confidence was contagious.

  “Damn right,” the women said in unison.

  Chapter Nineteen

  “Jessie, get down here this instant, and get your skates out of the middle of the kitchen floor!” Aubrey Simms Watson tried to sound ferocious, but she knew that she failed miserably. Her kids knew she was nothing but a big softie, but they also knew that she had limits.

  “Okay, Mom. As soon as I finish this game.” Jessie’s response wafted down the stairs.

  Aubrey put down the flour and headed for the stairs. Standing at the base, she yelled up to her eldest daughter.

  “Game? What game? Did you finish your homework young lady?”

  “Jeez, Mom, chill. I’ve got all weekend to finish my homework.”

  The kid had a point. Still Aubrey couldn’t let it drop.

  “You may have all weekend to do your homework, but I want those skates up off the floor, now!”

  “Alright, alright.” Jessie’s head appeared at the top of the stairs. “Are you baking? You’ve got flour on your cheek.” Laughing, the eleven-year-old clattered down the steps.

  “I’m making pies for the bake sale tomorrow. You could help me, you know.” Aubrey flung an arm around her daughter’s shoulder.

  “Aw, Mom, I just got to level ten. One more and I’ll be in the Land of Javnick.”

  “But the land of cherry pie is so much sweeter,” Aubrey responded, ruffling her short hair.

  “Cherry? You know that’s my favorite! Are you making one to keep?”

  “Maybe, we’ll see.” Aubrey had already planned to make four pies. Three for the church bake sale, and one for her family.”

  “Please, please, please,” Jessie turned her most charming smile on her mother. “And because Jason’s not home tonight, I can have his share.”

  “You think so, do you?” Aubrey laughed. “Put those skates away, and finish your homework before dinner. Then we’ll talk.”

  It was bribery, but it worked. Aubrey went back to baking, but she couldn’t shake the feeling that had been plaguing her since they found that poor girl’s body, yesterday. Something about it, over and above the horror of a young girl’s death, kept nagging at her.

  She’d seen her picture in the paper, vibrant and smiling, and felt a connection, but she couldn’t put her finger on it. She didn’t know the family, had never even heard of them, so that wasn’t it. As she mixed cornstarch in with the cooked cherries, to thicken up the filling, she considered the reasons why she couldn’t get the girl off of her mind.

  Shelby Torrent lived in Iowa, was fifteen, and seemed a perfectly normal teenager, by all accounts.

  “She was only four years older than Jessie,” Aubrey said aloud, stirring the cherry filling. A pang hit her heart at the thought, so she moved on. That would never happen to her Jessie. She would never allow it.

  Shelby’s mother probably felt the same way.

  The thought came, unbidden, and made Aubrey let go of the spoon. Standing at the counter, she closed her eyes and said a silent prayer for the family who had lost too much, too soon.

  She felt better, having done something so simple, yet so powerful.

  Returning to the pies, she poured the filling into the crust, already waiting in the pans. Baking was therapeutic, and normally, she loved it. But today, the haunting feeling that she was missing something would not leave her be.

  Chapter Twenty

  Graham glanced at his watch as he strolled along the river bank, on his way back home. The entire process had taken less than three hours, which was certainly acceptable, given the scope of what he had accomplished.

  Thomas and that Reeves fellow were both at the bottom of the river, if concrete blocks tied to their bodies worked as advertised. He’d left them roughly ten miles apart, so there was no chance of them being found at the same time.

  Reeves’s car was probably in a hundred pieces by now at one of the chop shops hidden along the street where he’d left it. The taxi ride home was also uneventful, but for the driver questioning letting him out on a dirt road. The two-hundred dollar tip should go a long way toward erasing his memory.

  All in all, the day had turned out surprisingly well. Anson would have called Thomas’s unwitting part in the drama serendipity, a happy accident. But Graham knew better. He felt that his path to Aubrey was clearly defined, more so now than yesterday. Thomas’s curiosity only accelerated the inevitable.

  Aubrey had always been the goal. The girls he took as stand-ins were merely preludes to the final act. The fact that he could use them to create an offshore fortune had been a side benefit. Now, with his operation effectively shut down, he could focus on the one thing he truly wanted. Aubrey.

  ~~~

  “We got it,” Jeri told the group after speaking with Nate. “The paperwork is on the way, along with back-up.”

  “ETA?” Ethan asked.

  “Ten minutes,” Jeri answered. “As soon as it arrives, Monique, you and Chloe serve the warrant, Ethan and I will head for the rock pile.”

  “Do you want us to search the house?” Monique asked.

  “No, he’s smarter than that. After you serve it, leave a uniformed officer with the Grants, then come out to the field with us. If that pile of rocks is not a cellar, then we need to go over the property, inch by inch. Those girls are here, somewhere. I can feel it.”

  ~~~

  “There you are, Graham! I’ve been looking for you everywhere!” Belinda pouted slightly, but she was happy to see her son. “I’ve been wondering about the interviews. Did you find someone to replace Thomas?”

  “Hello, Mother. I’ve just been on a lovely walk around the grounds. We should really have someone come and take out a few trees along the river bank. Part of it is turning into a forest.”

  “Of course, whatever you think is best. But you neglected to answer my question. How are the interviews coming?”

  “I’m afraid that the search is still on, but I’m sure that the service will send someone suitable tomorrow. The gentleman who came today was not a good fit.”

  “Oh, dear. Whatever will we do? You remember what a difficult time we had finding Thomas? I hate to go through that again.”

  “Not to worry, Mother. I will handle everything. In the meantime, Rowena can answer the door, in addition to her household chores. We can hire her an assistant, if the process drags on too long.”

  “Heavens, what will people think? A housekeeper answering the door!”

  “Let’s not worry about that now,” Graham walked over to the bar. “Can I get you something?”

  Belinda’s answer was stymied by the ringing doorbell. Graham put up his hand, stalling her protestations of dismay.

  “I’ll get it, Mother.”

  ~~~

  “Follow these tracks,” Ethan told Jeri as they left the concrete driveway. “From the sky, they appeared to lead directly to the rocks.”

  “Easy enough,” Jeri answered, driving faster over the lawn than she shou
ld have been. “Here’s a fence.”

  “I’ll get it,” Ethan jumped out and opened the gate.

  “About how far was the rock pile from the fence?” Jeri asked, following the clearly defined tracks in the field.

  “Maybe a mile or so, maybe less. We should see it when we top that knoll.”

  “We should call an ambulance,” Jeri’s voice became tense.

  “We don’t even know if we’ll find them here,” Ethan said gently.

  “We’ll find them. Make the call, please.” Every fiber of Jeri’s being told her that they were close. She didn’t want to waste a moment, once they located the girls.

  “There, over there, behind those trees,” Ethan pointed unnecessarily to the small grove. The tracks were still quite clear.

  “Got it,” Jeri drove even faster, sending them both bouncing wildly in the seat.

  Ethan held on, but said nothing.

  Skidding to a stop, Jeri threw the car into gear, shut off the engine, and jumped out before the police car behind them caught up.

  She and Ethan rounded the trees at the same time. The old wooden door, overly secured with wrapped wire and a large lock, greeted them.

  “We need bolt cutters,” Jeri called to the officers, just now exiting their vehicle. “Now!”

  The urgency in her command sent one officer running to the trunk of his car. Within moments, he joined them at the door.

  “Get us in there!” Jeri demanded, holding herself back from taking the cutters from the man.

  After two failed attempts, the metal on the lock was finally severed. Jeri and Ethan moved in to remove the wire, and open the door.

  The smell of mildew hit them immediately, but Jeri didn’t care. Shining her flashlight around the walls, she spotted the light switch, and flipped it.