Coldhearted

by Beverly Barton

  “I know.”

  “Good.” He kissed her forehead and her cheeks.

  “We can’t act on our baser impulses again.”

  “You’re calling the shots. We’ll go as fast or as slow as you need to and we can stop with this one kiss, if that’s what you really want.”

  “What I want—”

  Rick’s cell phone rang. He cursed under his breath. “I’d better get it.”

  She stepped back, moving away from him, while he retrieved his phone and checked caller ID.

  “It’s my boss.” He flipped open the phone. “Yeah, Griff, what is it?”

  “We’ve unearthed a piece of information I think Mrs. Price should know about as soon as possible,” Griff said. “Our sources have uncovered the identity of the person who sold the story about the senator to The Chatterbox.”

  “Was Haley McLain involved in any way?” Rick asked.

  “I don’t know,” Griff replied. “But you can ask J.C. Harris. The Chatterbox paid Mrs. Price’s stepbrother three hundred thousand dollars for the info they used in the exposé about Daniel Price.”

  “Do you know where Harris is now?”

  “He’s in Vegas spending his ill-gotten gains.”

  “How about sending someone to question him?” Rick suggested. “Someone who knows how to get the truth out of him.”

  “If Haley McLain was involved, she could lose her job.”

  “Yeah, I know. If she put Harris up to this, she shouldn’t be in law enforcement.”

  “Agreed. I’ll send Luke Sentell to Vegas.”

  “Thanks.” Rick slipped the phone back into his pocket and turned to Jordan, who had waited quietly while he spoke to Griff. “Your stepbrother sold the story about Dan and Devon and you to The Chatterbox. They paid him three hundred thousand.”

  “Oh, God. This news will kill Roselynne when she finds out. And Tammy. Rick, I don’t want either of them to know. Please.”

  He stared at her, stunned by the fact that instead of being outraged that her stepbrother could have betrayed her in such a blatant and hurtful way, she was worried about his mother and sister.

  “Honey, are you for real?”

  Before she could do more than stare at him, he pulled her into his arms and kissed her again.

  Chapter 28

  For the past two nights, Rick had slept on the daybed in Jordan’s dressing room. He had made a point of being up and out of the room before she awoke both mornings and had waited until she was in bed each night before he walked quietly through her bedroom. After sharing some hot kisses Tuesday evening, they had agreed not to allow things to progress any further. Rick wanted more and was sure she wanted more, too, but exactly what that more involved he didn’t think either of them knew for sure. Yeah, okay, so he did know he wanted sex. That went without saying, didn’t it? But did it go beyond that for either of them? After all, they had known each other less than a month and had met the day of her husband’s funeral. But Dan Price had been Jordan’s husband in name only, so it wasn’t as if she were in mourning for a man she’d been in love with.

  Don’t forget about her baby.

  Jordan hid her grief for her child. Since the miscarriage, she’d barely had time to come to terms with the loss. She’d been forced to deal with being suspected of murder and having the truth about her marriage revealed to the world. And it seemed that as usual, she’d had no choice but to put everyone’s needs before her own. He wasn’t going to do that to her. Instead, he was going to do what he knew was best for Jordan and keep his hands off her. She needed his protection, needed the Powell Agency to find out who murdered her husband, and needed to be exonerated of any guilt in the deaths of the others.

  Taking care of Jordan sure as hell didn’t include screwing her.

  Rick checked his wristwatch as he finished his brisk morning walk around the estate. Ten-fifteen. He had left Nix Elliott in charge of Jordan while he escaped. Being with her twenty-four/seven was proving to be more difficult than he’d thought. If she were any other woman and this was any other case, he’d have already bowed out and handed her over to another agent. Permanently. He had never allowed himself to become personally involved with a client and knew he was playing fast and loose with his own code of ethics.

  If you think things are difficult now, just wait until you two set “the plan” into motion.

  As he came up the drive, he heard an approaching vehicle. He turned just as a silver Corvette drove past him and pulled to a stop in front of the house. Rick recognized the tall, lanky guy who emerged from the sports car. Derek Lawrence, former FBI profiler, now an independent contractor, the author of half a dozen true crime books, and a part-time Powell Agency employee.

  Derek threw up his hand. “Hey there.”

  “I thought you were going to call,” Rick said.

  “I’m on my way to Atlanta, so Griff suggested I stop by and give you my report in person.” Derek glanced around, his gaze sweeping over the antebellum mansion and the broad expanse of lawn. “Quite a place.”

  “Have you had breakfast?” Rick asked.

  “Yes, thanks. I stopped in Chattanooga for a bite on the way here.”

  “Come on in. I’ll get Jordan and we can—”

  “Let’s talk, just you and me. You can share whatever information you think Mrs. Price needs to know with her later.”

  Rick eyed Derek questioningly. “What’s going on?”

  “Do you feel like showing me around the place? I wouldn’t mind taking a stroll around the property.”

  “Sure. Come on.”

  They left the veranda, side by side. Rick waited for Derek to continue the conversation, his gut warning him that he wasn’t going to like whatever this renowned profiler had to say.

  “After going over all the information Griff sent me, I’ve come to the conclusion that your killer is probably either Jordan Price or someone who would do anything for her.”

  Rick had figured as much. Hadn’t he, early on, suspected Jordan? She was the logical choice.

  “I know all the reasons why she would head the list of suspects. But ruling her out completely, who’s our second choice?”

  “Don’t rule her out,” Derek said. “That would be a mistake.”

  “You were supposed to work up a profile of our killer, not—”

  “Just because you don’t want the lady to be a killer doesn’t mean she isn’t.” Focusing on Rick as if he were trying to solve a puzzle, Derek scowled. “Your interest in Mrs. Price goes beyond the professional, doesn’t it?”

  “No.” Rick huffed. “Yeah, okay, it does. And I know she’s the prime suspect in her husband’s murder and if the other deaths were murder, then she’s the person who had the most to gain from killing each of them. But if you knew her, you’d know that Jordan is not a killer.”

  “All right, let’s work under the premise that someone other than Mrs. Price killed her husband and his ex-wife and possibly her first husband and fiancé and the others.” Derek glanced back at the house. “Let’s keep walking. We’ll have more privacy that way.”

  Rick chose the path, one that led away from the mansion. When they were no longer within earshot of anyone in or near the house, he paused and confronted Derek. “Who’s your number two suspect?”

  “You know enough about profiling to know it’s not an exact science.”

  “Yeah, but it’s a notch above looking into a crystal ball.”

  Derek grinned. “If we actually have a serial murderer on our hands, then we start with the basics. Most serial killers can be divided into categories based on how they interact with their victims. Some rape or sexually torture. Some mutilate. I’d say your killer executes. He or she may get a thrill from the murder itself, but killing appears to be a means to an end.”

  “Yeah, I got that. The killer believes he—or she—is taking care of Jordan, punishing those who hurt her or eliminating those who stand in the way of her happiness.”

  Derek nodded. “If
we assume that all or at least most of the men, and the first Mrs. Price, were murdered, then we look at each death. Was each murder premeditated, was it planned? Yes, each seems to have been, at least to some degree. What did the victims have in common? Jordan Price. What was the method of murder? It varied from person to person, but in each case, except for Jane Anne Price and Jay Reynolds, the other deaths appeared to be from natural causes, accidents and suicide. It all boils down to one fact—this person is no ordinary, run-of-the-mill, serial killer.”

  “You’re giving me a Beginner’s Lesson in Profiling. Why?”

  Derek chuckled. “Sometimes I just like to impress people with my knowledge.”

  “Or maybe you don’t have a clue as to who might have killed Dan Price or any of the others.”

  “Let me paint you a picture and see if you recognize anyone. Our killer is mission oriented. The murders occurred whenever our killer perceived that the victim was harmful in some way to Jordan. That fact dictated when the murders took place. As for where and by what method, where depended on being able to isolate the victim and the method seemed to be whatever could be disguised as anything other than murder.”

  “With two exceptions,” Rick said.

  Derek nodded. “Our killer is rational and calculating. He or she doesn’t have a specific MO except their single motive of protecting Jordan. These murders, be it two murders or seven, were all about Jordan.”

  “The killer loves Jordan.”

  “The killer is obsessed with Jordan,” Derek said. “My educated guess is that this person loves Jordan to the point of obsession. She is the beginning and end of their world. They need her the way they need the air that they breathe. If Jordan isn’t the killer, then find the person who thinks of the two of them as one. The killer has no life without Jordan and probably believes that Jordan has no life without him or her.”

  “Crap! That tells me two things—you haven’t narrowed down the suspects list by much and we’re dealing with someone who is completely mental.”

  “Our killer probably appears normal,” Derek said. “He or she lives a relatively ordinary life just like the average person. A person can be evil without being abnormal.”

  “You’ve read over the files on each possible suspect. Does anyone send up a red flag?”

  “The people in Mrs. Price’s life seem to be extraordinarily devoted to her. Her stepmother and stepsister, and to some extent her stepbrother. I wouldn’t rule out J.C. Harris, but I’d put him at the bottom of the list. Tammy Harris could be obsessed with Jordan. She loves being her sister and possibly identifies closely with her, but she wouldn’t head my list either simply because I don’t believe she’s smart enough to have gotten away with murder numerous times. Of the three members of the Harris family, Roselynne is the most likely.”

  “What about Rene, Devon, and Darlene?”

  “Rene is smart, calculating and one of Jordan’s best friends. I’d keep her on the list, along with Roselynne and Darlene Wright. Mrs. Wright appears to be totally devoted to Jordan. It’s possible that her devotion turned to obsession at some point along the way.”

  “You’re forgetting Devon Markham.”

  Derek shook his head. “I didn’t forget Devon, I simply left the best for last. I’d place him at the top of the list. He has known Jordan longer than any of the others. He loves her like a sister, like a best friend, perhaps loves her as the other half of himself. She has loved him, protected him, defended him, and sacrificed for him since they were children. It wouldn’t be a stretch to believe that he would do anything for her, just as she would for him. Even kill.”

  Of all the possible suspects, Devon headed Derek’s list, just as he did Rick’s. And of all the suspects, Devon was the one Jordan loved more, trusted more, and would never believe guilty.

  “I agree,” Rick said. “But why would Devon kill Dan Price? They were lovers. They had been in a committed relationship for twelve years.”

  “For the same reasons men kill their wives and women kill their husbands. Infidelity. Money. Freedom. And there are always incidents where a spouse kills a terminally ill mate who is suffering. If Devon Markham knew about his lover’s Alzheimer’s—”

  “He didn’t. Supposedly no one knew, except the senator’s doctor.”

  “Supposedly,” Derek said. “All you have is each person’s word that Dan Price didn’t share that information. If the senator would tell anyone about the diagnosis, don’t you think it would be his partner?”

  Rick nodded. He had really hoped that Derek’s profiles would point the finger of suspicion at someone other than Devon. If any one of her family and close friends turned out to be the murderer, it would break Jordan’s heart; but if it was Devon, Jordan would be devastated.

  “Did Griff tell you anything about the idea of our setting a trap for the killer?” Rick asked.

  “He mentioned it.”

  “And?”

  “It might work. But on the other hand, you have to know you could be risking your life. And there’s always the chance that he won’t take the bait. That is assuming Devon is the killer.”

  “You think he is.”

  “I think it’s possible, especially if he thinks like a woman.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “My initial conclusion was that the killer is female, but I altered that assumption when I saw that Devon Markham fit all the other criteria. I think he’s the most likely suspect out of the six that you offered me. But you cannot rule out any of the others, especially not Roselynne, Rene, and Darlene.”

  “When I asked Roselynne for permission to have her husband’s body exhumed, she refused. Maybe she didn’t want anyone to find out that his heart attack wasn’t really a simple heart attack, but actually murder.”

  “You’d think she’d want to do anything to help prove Mrs. Price innocent of past crimes, wouldn’t you? What about Darlene Wright? Did she refuse to give you permission to have her son’s body exhumed?”

  “No. Actually Jordan told me, in no uncertain terms, not to ask her.”

  “Ask her anyway and see what she says. If she’s willing to have his body exhumed and an autopsy performed, I’d say that means she believes her son’s death was an accident and neither she nor Jordan has anything to hide.”

  “I should have asked her. But Jordan is our client and as a general rule, Powell’s does what the client wants.”

  “I believe Ryan Price actually hired you, didn’t he? If I understood correctly, Jordan Price joined him in the request after the fact.”

  “That’s right, but she’s been as determined as Ryan to find out the truth.”

  “What about Ryan Price?”

  “What about him?” Rick asked.

  “He’s not among the suspects you listed. Why not?”

  “As you said, he hired us to prove the senator’s death wasn’t suicide. If he’d killed his brother, he wouldn’t have questioned the ME’s findings, would he? Besides, his relationship with Jordan doesn’t go back far enough for him to have had anything to do with any of the deaths before the senator’s.”

  Derek nodded, apparently agreeing with Rick.

  “If you want details in writing, I can send you everything by e-mail,” Derek said. “I need to get going. I’m supposed to be in Atlanta by one. Griff’s got me on speed dial, so if there’s anything else I can do, just let me know.”

  Rick walked Derek to his car, shook his hand, and thanked him. Now that he had a professional profiler’s opinion, which just happened to match his own, Rick felt more confident about their plan to trap Dan Price’s killer. All he had to do was convince a ruthless murderer that he, Rick Carson, was a threat to Jordan.

  Rick set things in motion later that day by questioning each suspect individually, masking his inquiries under the guise of wanting to help Jordan. He’d said the same things, asked the same questions, made the same observations with each of them, beginning with Roselynne. She had defended Jordan and even scolded him for
questioning her innocence; then practically in the same breath, she had encouraged Rick to romance Jordan.

  “You’ve got a thing for my girl,” Roselynne had said. “And as her mama, I’m giving you permission to make your move. I know it doesn’t seem like the right time, but Lord knows Jordan’s been in need of a real man for quite some time.”

  Apparently, despite the fact that he’d all but come right out and told Roselynne he believed Jordan might be a murderer, she saw him as a potential lover for Jordan, not her captor.

  He had fared a little better with Rene, who had told him off in no uncertain terms. “How can you possibly still think Jordan killed Dan? And Boyd? And even Robby Joe? I thought you knew her better than that by now. I thought you honestly cared for Jordan. What’s going on? Are you pretending to be her friend so you can trap her into confessing? Well, forget it. Jordan is not a killer!”

  Questioning Devon had been like walking a tightrope. Rick wanted him to believe that he suspected Jordan had killed Dan, Dan’s ex-wife, her first husband and all the others, too, while the truth was that he actually thought Devon could be the murderer.

  “I’ve seen the way you look at Jordan,” Devon had said. “And the way you are when you’re with her. You care about her and I don’t believe it’s an act. So how can you possibly believe that she’s capable of murdering seven people?”

  “I don’t want to think it,” Rick had told him. “But all the evidence points to her. No one else has a motive for each murder. Only Jordan. If she did kill Dan and the others, she needs help. As her oldest and dearest friend, you should want to know the truth and if she’s guilty, get her the help she needs.”

  “Does Jordan know that you still suspect her? My God, she trusts you and you’re betraying that trust!”

  His talk with Devon had ended abruptly when Devon, eyes flashing with outrage, had walked out on him. If he’d wanted to make Devon angry, he had achieved his goal.

  Three down and one to go.

  He found Darlene alone in the kitchen, sitting at the table by the windows, a cup of what he assumed was tea in her hand.