A Killer's Watch

by Tallulah Grace

  “Not your fault,” Monique climbed in beside her. “By that logic, it’s my fault for letting him get the jump on me, so we’re both to blame. We could discuss this all day, but it won’t change anything. Call Jeri.”

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  “What do you mean, you brought me home? Do you expect me to live here? With you?” Aubrey raised her head from the pillow and looked Graham in the eye.

  “Of course, for a time. It’s a lovely home, a bit small for my taste, but I’m sure you’ll find it adequate. We will live here together, as man and wife. The way it always should have been.”

  “But I’m already married, Graham. I have a family. What makes you think that I’ll agree to this arrangement?”

  “Oh, Aubrey, it’s humorous that you think you have a choice.” Graham shook his head and smiled. “On second thought, maybe you do. You could choose to let your family die, if you try to leave me. You can choose to have your daughter take your place, if you prefer. I’m not really fond of girls so young, but I can keep her here, wait until she grows a bit. Who knows, I may realize that I’ve a taste for younger fare.”

  “You’re a sick, sick man, Graham. How could you even think of such a thing?” Aubrey stared at him, wide eyed, as something else occurred to her. “Did you kill that teenager, Shelby? The one that was found in Clevestone?”

  “You’re only just figuring that out now? You were smarter than that, once. What happened to you, Aubrey? Did a life of mediocrity dull your senses?” Graham laughed aloud. “Of course I killed young Shelby. She was my first homage to you, and our time together, long ago. Did you hear about the other two girls? Both lovely, but young Diana looked so much like you that it almost hurt to look at her. But they managed to escape, before I could present them to you.”

  “You killed that girl for me? And held those other two hostage? Why, Graham? What would possess you to do such a thing?”

  “There are many reasons, sweet, innocent, Aubrey. Actually, there were six girls who caught my eye, all of them sparked memories of you, back in the day. Unfortunately, three of them will never know of my adoration.”

  “The FBI found the two girls you kidnapped, in a cellar. I heard the news, but they were looking for someone named Thomas. Are you Thomas?” Aubrey could hardly process the totality of Graham’s depravity. She didn’t know the man in front of her, had never really known him.

  “Heavens, no. Thomas is, was, my butler. It’s almost comical how things worked out, really. Would you like to hear the whole story? We have plenty of time, after all.”

  “Do I have a choice?”

  “No, not really. You are truly the definition of a captive audience, aren’t you, my dear?”

  Aubrey said nothing. Her mind was spinning as she processed everything Graham had told her. First, he said that her family would die, if she left him. Did that mean that he would let her go, remove the shackles? He said they would live together, as man and wife. Did that mean that he would keep her chained to the bed? Surely not. He must intend to let her go. He would know that she would never do anything to jeopardize the life of her family. And to imagine Jessie in her place was unthinkable. So he had her trapped. Not by chains as much as by the welfare of those she loved.

  “I asked you a question, Aubrey.” Graham’s tone was sharper than before.

  “Yes, I suppose that I am, Graham. Why don’t you tell me everything?”

  ~~~

  “There must be a faster way to do this,” Ethan growled as they left the fourth property on the list.

  “If you can think of one, I’m all ears.” Jeri studied the map in her lap. “Go to the main road, then hang a left.”

  “What else do we know about Grant? Besides the fact that he’s an entitled, arrogant, killer, that is.”

  “We know that he’s technologically savvy, and that he’s managed to squirrel away a fortune because of it.”

  “That’s it!” Ethan hit his hand on the steering wheel. “Grant would never jump through hoops and take out a mortgage. We can narrow down the search, based on cash sales. Anna can find the transaction terms, surely.”

  “Of course she can!” Jeri grabbed her phone. “Why didn’t I think of this earlier? You’re right. Grant would never finance something, too much of a paper trail.”

  “Not only that, but he would think a mortgage was beneath him, right?”

  “Right.” Jeri texted Anna to revise the list. “I should tell Chloe and Monique to hold up, until we have the new list.”

  “Sounds like a good time for a dinner break. We passed a place, a few miles back that might work.”

  “I thought that was a gas station,” Jeri’s fingers flew over the phone.

  “It was, but it had a sign for fried chicken, so they must have food, too.”

  “Can’t wait,” Jeri shot him a grin. “Good thing we have cast iron stomachs.”

  “Isn’t that a prerequisite for the job?”

  ~~~

  “Jeri says to take a break. They’re updating the property list, based on cash sales. Smart.” Monique texted a quick reply, then slipped the phone into her pocket.

  “Good, I’m starving. Check the GPS, would you? See if there are any restaurants around here.”

  “Sure.”

  “How are you feeling?”

  “I’m better, thanks. The ibuprofen worked a treat.”

  “Good. I’ve never heard that saying before, worked a treat. Is that French?”

  “No, a friend of mine used to say it. I guess it stuck.” Monique waited for the GPS screen to appear. “We don’t have a lot of options nearby. Fast food burgers, or fast food chicken.”

  “I’m okay with either, your choice.”

  “Burgers it is.” Monique pressed the screen, once again waiting for directions. “Stay straight, it’s two miles ahead.”

  “Okay. I wonder how Mrs. Grant is doing.”

  “Better now, I’m sure. At least she’s away from her son. Do you think he tried to kill her?”

  “Who knows? But that seems a little obvious. Maybe he just gave her too much of something. At least we know that he hasn’t been home all day. He’ll have to dream up a different alibi.”

  “If we catch him red-handed, an alibi will be the least of his worries.”

  “I don’t care how we catch him, as long as he’s caught. I know that it’s not productive to feel guilty about letting him get away, but I can’t help it. That poor woman, her family, they wouldn’t be living this nightmare right now if I had only realized that the cowboy was Grant.”

  “Okay, for argument’s sake, let’s say it is your fault. Explain to me how you could have recognized him, dressed in that get-up? Or tell me how you could have seen him come up behind the car? The answer to both of those questions is that you couldn’t. Sure, now that we know he likes to play dress-up, we’ll be more alert, if the same situation presents itself. But you didn’t know, any more than I could know that he was waiting for me to turn the corner, so he could knock me out. These things happen, Chloe. You can’t stress over them. Learn from it, and move on.”

  “My head knows that you’re right, it’s my heart that won’t let go. I’m sure I’ll get better, with time.”

  “It’s a fine line that we walk, Chloe. If you lose your heart, then you risk becoming like the criminals we chase. It always amuses me when I hear someone say that you must set emotion aside to be effective in this job. I feel that it is the opposite. You must care about the people we are trying to protect. If not, why risk your life in an attempt to catch the bad guys?”

  “I get what you’re saying. As a soldier, I’m trained to kill, and I have. But with this job, it’s much more personal. We’re one on one with them, not shooting at a nameless face from a tank, or from behind a sand dune.”

  “It’s a different type of war, but make no mistake, it’s still a war. Working with EJB means that you are tracking the worst of the worst. In doing so, you will make mistakes, we all do. But you cannot let
your mistakes eat away at you, you cannot internalize them for any reason, or you may be the one dead, when all is said and done.”

  “You make a good point. Care, but don’t dwell. Got it,” Chloe grinned at Monique, gratefully.

  ~~~

  “And there we have it, my escapades to date, ending with you, lying before me, veiled as a bride.” Graham had spared no detail in telling Aubrey about his crimes. He considered the revulsion on her face a part of his reward. She had tried to take charge before, tried to seem like she was not afraid of him, but he knew better. He saw the fear in her eyes when he described killing the prostitutes. Saw it even more when he painted a verbal picture of sweet Shelby’s demise.

  “What happened to you? Were you always a monster? Why didn’t I see it, back then?” Aubrey was horrified by everything she’d heard. It wasn’t only that Graham had killed those women, but he had actually enjoyed it.

  “You knew me when I was but a child, my dear. Loving you, wanting you, but never having you, was merely the start of my journey into the man I am today.”

  “Are you saying that all of this is my fault? That I am the reason you became a murdering psychopath?”

  “Harsh words, my dear Aubrey. Although some would consider them accurate. But no, I cannot allow you to claim all of the credit for my actions. My love for you started the fire, if you will. But my passion for this avocation took on a life of its own.”

  “Will you be satisfied if you kill me? Will that stop you from doing this to someone else?”

  “Not if, but when, my dear. Make no mistake about it. Your life as you knew it is over. It will end here, with me. How long we spend together before that happens is largely up to you.”

  “You didn’t answer my question.”

  “If it makes you happy to believe that your sacrifice prevents other deaths, then so be it. Believe what you will.” Graham stopped speaking as his phone buzzed.

  Frowning, he checked the screen.

  “It appears that we have a visitor.” Standing, he smiled down at Aubrey. “Feel free to scream, if you like. You are in the basement of this home, far away from the front door, and the room is soundproof. Just remember how easily I can get to your family, to your daughter, if you do anything that displeases me.”

  With that, he left.

  Aubrey released a breath she didn’t realize she was holding, and considered everything Graham told her. She didn’t doubt for a second that he would follow through with his threat to harm her family. The thought of him getting his hands on her daughter made her physically ill.

  ~~~

  “Hello,” Graham pasted on his best smile as he opened the door. He’d taken a moment to apply his disguise before greeting the visitor. “May I help you?”

  The middle-aged woman held a cake plate in one hand and a basket in the other. The basket was covered, but Graham could see the edge of several jars peeking from beneath the tea towel.

  “Hello, I’m Glenda Hawks, from down the road. Thought I’d drop by to welcome you to the neighborhood.” Smiling, Glenda apparently expected to be invited in.

  “How do you do, I’m Ronald Barberry. How nice of you to drop by. Won’t you come in?” Stepping aside, Graham prepared to spend a few minutes with the interfering cow, in hopes that it would appease her curiosity, as well as that of others of her kind.

  “Why, I don’t mind if I do.” Glenda held the cake out to Graham. “These are for you and your family. I know how difficult moving day can be, so I thought I’d pop over with a few treats. Is Mrs. Barberry home? I’d love to meet her.”

  “Thank you, this is very kind.” Graham placed the cake plate on the foyer table, and the basket on the floor. “I’m afraid that my wife is not here, yet. We had some loose ends to tie up in Oregon, so she stayed behind. Please, come in and sit down.”

  “Oh my, I’ve heard that Oregon is lovely, but I’ve never been. What brings you to Nebraska, Mr. Barberry?”

  Graham smiled warmly as he launched into his cover story. He knew that it would raise more suspicions if he avoided the neighbors, so he prepared himself well, in advance of the move. If Glenda Hawks could tell that his hair and mustache were fakes, she was very good at hiding it. She appeared enthralled, as he weaved the story of his mythical life, with his imaginary wife.

  ~~~

  “Finally, it’s the new list from Anna,” Jeri dropped the chicken leg she was holding to read the text. “It’s hard to believe this many people paid cash for properties in one county.”

  “Still, it cuts the original list by half, so it’s worth it,” Ethan read over her shoulder.

  “It was good of her to separate the properties by location,” Jeri told him, helping to clean up the debris from their impromptu picnic. “I’ll touch base with Monique and Chloe, make sure that they have the revised version.”

  “The first property on the list is only a few miles from here.” Ethan peered at the map on his phone.

  “That works. Let’s go find us a psychopath.”

  ~~~

  Aubrey fought back tears as she thought of her family, missing her, worried for her, needing her. No matter what Graham said, she would never give up hope that she would see them again.

  Graham had been gone a long time, long enough for her to envision a way out of this mess. She would have to gain his trust, quickly. Once she was free, she could escape, find a phone, warn the police to protect her family.

  It would be so much easier if she could disable Graham, use his phone. But how? He had at least a hundred pounds on her. Knocking him out would be difficult, at best. But not impossible.

  He said they would live as man and wife. More than likely, that meant that she would prepare his meals. She could poison him. Surely he would have stocked the place with cleaning supplies. Anything with bleach in it would do the trick.

  Without warning, the door to the room opened. He wasn’t kidding about the room being soundproof, she hadn’t heard him approach.

  “Did you miss me?” he asked, jovially.

  “Would you like me to lie and say that I did?” she shot back.

  Graham ignored her remark. Spinning his lies to the nosy neighbor had put him in a wonderful mood. His story had been so convincing, that he’d become caught up in it. Now, standing in the same room as his one true love, he felt the powerful enough to turn the lies into truth.

  “I would like for you to accept that we are together now. I would like for you to remember how wonderful it was between us, before. It can be that way again, only this time it can be so much better.”

  “It’s hard to accept anything when you’ve got me tied to a bed like a sex slave. Is that what I am to you, Graham? A sex slave?”

  “Heavens, no.” Graham’s expression was one of distaste.

  “You said that we would live as man and wife. Is this how you treat your wife? Trussed up to a bed, without so much as a blanket for cover?”

  “No, of course not.” Graham could see where she was going with her argument. As it suited his purposes exactly, he let her continue.

  “Then why am I still in this windowless room, with no way to so much as go to the bathroom? You’ve explained to me that my family’s lives depend on my cooperation. I believe you. I will not try to escape, Graham. Please, unshackle me, and I will prove to you that I am willing to work with you. We can begin with dinner. I assume you have food in the house? Let me cook for you, as a good wife would.”

  Graham stared down at her, amazed that she had come around so quickly to his way of thinking. Obviously, she still held out hope for an escape, who wouldn’t? But another look at her family would go a long way toward cementing the threat against them.

  “Dinner sounds lovely, thank you. First, I’d like to show you something.”

  It had taken time to find out who was keeping her children, but thanks to a conversation between Aubrey’s husband and mother, Graham had learned that the kids were with friends. Currently, they were out of the loop, didn’t even k
now that their mother was missing. With a few keystrokes, he’d infiltrated the friend’s computer network. He could now show Aubrey her little brats, courtesy of a laptop in the family room.

  Graham pressed several buttons on the television remote, switching the input from her family, to the new set up. In a matter of moments, Aubrey could see her daughter, and her son, sitting on a sofa in a room she knew as well as her own.

  “That’s Rita’s house, how did you...?” Her voice caught as she watched Jessie rise, and walk across the room. Her beautiful daughter was well, and appeared happy, protected from the truth.

  She couldn’t stop the tears then if she tried, which she didn’t. Seeing her children brought everything home, the ugliness that was Graham Grant, and his plans for their apparently limited future.

  “It’s so easy, my dear. Don’t you understand that I can find your family, get to them whenever I so desire?”

  “Yes, I understand.” Aubrey’s spoke quietly, her thoughts of escape temporarily derailed.

  “Good. I’ll take you up on the offer of dinner, now. But first, we’ll arrange one simple precaution.” Graham walked to the cabinet on the opposite side of the room. She couldn’t see what he removed, until he came to stand beside her.

  The collar looked like something a dog would wear, only wider. Spikes, sharp and ugly, lined one side. A large chain draped from a ring attached to the center of the contraption, to a smaller wrist band.

  “Raise your head, so I can put this around your neck. You will never be far from me, sweet Aubrey. I’ve been told that the spikes can be quite painful, deadly even, if you try and pull away from me.”

  “I won’t do that, Graham.” Trying to keep the fear from showing through, Aubrey used her most subservient tone of voice.

  “Of course you won’t. Now then, let’s remove those pesky shackles from your wrists and ankles. I have a lovely peignoir for you to wear, when you are upstairs. Several, in fact. I do hope they meet with your approval.”