by Dee Davis
“Yes,” Hannah said. “You’re safe now. I promise.”
She nodded, and Drake leaned into the closet. “The ambulance is outside.”
“I can walk,” Tina protested, trying to get to her feet.
“No way,” Avery said, lifting her effortlessly into his arms. “I’ve got you. But I need you to cover your eyes. All right.”
Tina hesitated for a moment and then nodded, burying her face against Avery’s chest as he headed for the stairs.
“She going to be okay?” Simon asked, his jaw tight with emotion.
“I think so,” Hannah said, her eyes moving to Harrison, who was standing in front of Walker’s body, looking at something tied around the man’s wrist. “At least physically. Emotionally it’s impossible to gauge how much damage he did.”
“It’s a good thing the bastard’s dead,” Drake said, his hand clenched in anger.
“Can’t argue with that. But you’ve got to admit it does create a few questions. The principal one being who did this?” Simon frowned at the body.
“Someone with anger issues,” Hannah said, the words coming of their own accord.
“Definitely not Tina,” Drake offered. “She certainly had reason enough to want the guy dead, but she isn’t strong enough to have pulled something like this off.”
“Or mentally capable of it,” Hannah was quick to add. “Not to mention the fact that we found her tied up in the closet.”
“So who the hell did this?” Simon repeated.
“The cyber killer.” Harrison turned, his eyes hard, a small gold chain draped across his fingers.
“No fucking way,” Drake said.
But Hannah shivered. Harrison’s pronouncement was clearly more than supposition. “How do you know?” she asked, her heart starting to pound.
“Because I recognize the handiwork,” Harrison said. “And because Walker was wearing this around his wrist.” He held up the chain. It was a woman’s necklace, a filigreed gold heart dangling from the chain. “My sister was wearing it the day he took her.”
“But you can’t know for sure—” Simon started and then stopped, as he saw the pain etched across Harrison’s face.
“I gave it to her when we turned twelve,” he said, his eyes on the necklace. Hannah bit into her bottom lip, her heart breaking. “See.” Harrison carefully turned it over. “It’s got our initials on it. Son of a bitch has had it all these years.”
“So why would he show up now? And why kill Walker?” Drake asked.
“I don’t know,” Harrison said. “Maybe all the press coverage caught his attention, and he didn’t like the idea of someone masquerading as him. Or maybe he figured out that I was involved. Either of those things could be considered a stressor. But whatever the reason, it’s definitely him. He’s back. And now that he’s tasted blood again, I doubt he’s going to stop.”
“I can certainly see how that follows,” Simon agreed, “but if he’s got a bloodlust going, why didn’t he kill Tina?”
Harrison stared down at the necklace for a moment longer and then looked up, the pain in his eyes laced with fear as his gaze met Hannah’s. “It’s simple really. He didn’t kill her because she isn’t his type.”
“Hey,” Hannah said, walking up to the ambulance where Tina was sitting in the open bay, wearing a pair of scrubs, with a blanket wrapped around her. “How are you holding up?”
“Better, now that I’ve got clothes again,” Tina responded with a feeble smile. “They said that I was drugged.” She lowered the blanket to reveal her upper arm. “You can actually see the injection site. That’s why I don’t remember what happened after…”
“Did he rape you?” Hannah asked, not certain she should be asking the question, but knowing that sometimes it helped to talk.
“No.” Tina shook her head. “The EMT says not. Thank God. I don’t know if I could have dealt with that on top of everything else.”
“You’d have found a way,” Hannah said, reaching out to squeeze Tina’s hands. “But I’m glad it’s not something you have to deal with. And if it’s any help at all, he’s dead.”
“It is, actually. Although I’m not sure what kind of person that makes me. But I keep thinking of Jasmine and Sara. They weren’t as lucky as me. You know?”
“I do. But you can’t beat yourself up for being alive,” Hannah said. “It just wasn’t your time.”
“That’s what I keep telling myself. But there’s a lot about all of this that doesn’t seem fair.”
“To any of you. I know. But it’s over now.”
“Is it?” she asked, her green eyes looking far too old. “I heard him screaming. The man who took me. And I saw his body.”
Hannah felt sick. “Avery told you not to look. You shouldn’t have to see something like that.”
“Well, I did,” Tina said, her expression resolute. “And I don’t care that he’s dead. But the way he was killed. It was like the papers said. Like the guy they called the cyber killer. Does that mean he’s back?”
Hannah opened her mouth to lie and then changed her mind. Tina deserved the truth. “We don’t know. It seems possible. But it doesn’t change the fact that you’re safe now. If he’d been interested in you—”
“—I wouldn’t be sitting here talking to you. I know. It’s not me I’m worried about.” It was her turn to reach for Hannah’s hands. “It’s you. All the women he killed, they were like you. Single and successful and brunette.”
“Don’t worry about me. I can take care myself. And if not, I’ve got a lot of really tough friends.”
“So I’ve seen,” Tina said with a tiny smile. “They’re pretty awesome. And they’re not just professors, are they?”
Again Hannah considered a lie but settled for a half-truth instead. “Let’s just say they have outside interests.”
“You, too,” Tina said, nodding at the holstered gun Hannah still wore.
“The only thing that matters right now is that you’re all right. We’ll talk about the rest of it when you’re better. Okay?”
She nodded. “I didn’t mean to push. It’s just that if you hadn’t found me…”
“But we did find you, Tina. And it’s over now.”
“And I’m not going to tell anyone what I saw. I mean, the part about you guys being… well, whatever it is you really are.”
“We’re professors, Tina. And we all care about you. That’s what matters right now.”
“Yeah,” she sighed. “I know.”
“So I’m sure they’ve already asked you, but you didn’t get a look at the guy who drugged you?”
“No. Or if I did, I don’t remember. The doctor said that the drug he gave me was like a roofie. I was present, but the part of my brain that makes memories wasn’t working. I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay. It’s probably better that you don’t remember.”
“But I want to help. I need to feel like something good came out of all of this.”
“Something good did happen, Tina,” Hannah said, her smile gentle. “You’re alive.”
She looked down, studying her hands. “Yes, well, I’m not sure Jasmine’s and Sara’s parents would agree with that.”
“Oh, honey, they’d be the first to tell you how happy they are that you made it. You can’t take any of this on yourself. What you have to do now is try and let it go. Find a way to start living again.”
“And you think that’s possible? That I can really find a way to move on?” There was a note of desperation in her voice that Hannah recognized.
“Yes, I know it’s possible. People come back from all kinds of things. It just takes time and healing. And a little faith.”
“I know you’re right,” Tina said. “In here.” She pointed to her head. “But when I close my eyes, I can still see him. Hear him. Smell him.”
“It’s going to take a while before that goes away. But it will go away. Or at least it’ll stop haunting your dreams.”
“How do you know?” she a
sked, a flicker of hope in her eyes.
Hannah felt tears sting her eyes. “Because I’ve been where you are. And I survived. It’s not going to be easy. But you’ve got people around you who love you. And that’s huge. Speaking of which…” She nodded toward Roger Jameson, who was making his way toward the ambulance.
“Roger,” Tina cried, and he broke into a sprint, pulling her into his arms when he reached her, holding her as if he never wanted to let her go.
Hannah smiled, thinking that when someone loved you anything was possible. She might have had to fight her demons by herself, but at least Tina wouldn’t be alone.
Across the driveway, Harrison stood talking to Avery. As if he sensed her presence, he lifted his eyes, his gaze meeting hers, and Hannah’s stomach did a little flip. And it occurred to her for the first time that maybe, if she was just willing to take the chance, she didn’t have to be alone anymore either.
CHAPTER 25
This whole thing is insane,” Simon said, leaning back to prop his feet up on the table in the war room. “We start out thinking we’re dealing with the cyber killer only to work out it’s actually a copycat—some psycho connected to the Consortium bent on outing A-Tac. And now we find him dead, and it looks like he was murdered by the real cyber killer.”
“Definitely one for stranger than fiction,” Avery observed. “But even so, we’ve got to face the fact that we’ve got a seriously pissed-off serial killer out there.”
“Which means we’ve got to find him before he strikes again,” Drake said.
The team, including Tracy, had come back to the war room to regroup after processing the scene. Tina had been cleared by the hospital and gone with Roger to her parents’, Casey going along for the ride just to be sure she was okay. Bill had remained behind at the site, still posing as FBI, to deal with the press and locals.
And although finding Tina alive had been a victory, Harrison couldn’t help but think that there was worse to come. Involuntarily, his gaze went to Hannah, who was furiously typing something into her computer, and he felt a frisson of fear coursing through him. This bastard had already taken one person he loved…
“So what did you find at the scene?” Avery asked Tracy. “I don’t suppose we got lucky.”
“Not as far as trace is concerned,” Tracy said. “There was no DNA and no fingerprints. Nothing at all to give us an ID. But the manner in which Walker was killed indicates that we’re on target in thinking it’s the original cyber killer. All the mutilation occurred before death. Which means that Walker was being purposely tortured, each cut designed to inflict maximum pain.”
“Sadistic son of a bitch,” Drake mumbled under his breath.
“You have no idea,” Tracy said. “With this guy, killing is an afterthought. His primary goal is pain. Inflicting it provides stimulation.”
“You’re saying that he literally gets off on torture.” Simon frowned, dropping his feet back to the floor.
“Yes,” Harrison confirmed. “He’s a psychopathic sexual sadist. Which means he likes seeing terror in his victims, and he’ll do almost anything to keep ratcheting it higher. He feels no remorse. To him the victim is simply a means to an end.”
“And the keepsakes?” Avery asked, referring to the necklace on the table.
“He took one from every victim. It’s a way of reliving the event. Getting the high without actually having a victim present. He most likely pleasures himself while wearing the various articles. Over time, however, the thrill begins to wear off. Reliving it just isn’t enough,” Tracy said, “and he has to find another live victim.”
“So once the memento loses its ability to recreate the moment, so to speak,” Drake posited, “he wouldn’t have any use for it anymore.”
“No.” Tracy shook her head. “Just the opposite, actually. Even if the object itself isn’t enough for him to find satisfaction, he’s still going to want to keep the collection as a whole. It’ll be his most prized possession.”
“So why was he able to give up Bree’s necklace?” Hannah asked, looking up momentarily from her work at the computer. “Wouldn’t he be breaking up the set?”
“He would,” Tracy agreed. “Which tells us that his need to reach out to Harrison is more powerful than his need to maintain the collection.”
“Because Harrison was involved both with the investigation here and with the one in Texas?” Drake asked.
“That’s one possibility,” Tracy said with a small shrug. “It could be that he simply wants to be sure that someone out there—in this case Harrison—knows for certain that Walker was an impostor and that he’s the real deal.”
“But he could also see me as part of what he perceives to be a conspiracy to steal his identity,” Harrison added. “Even in today’s share-your-life-online world, most people are still protective of their most personal data. Someone like the cyber killer would be even more likely to want to protect the persona he’s created. And anyone he thinks is trying to take that way would be considered a threat.”
“So when the original news broke that we believed the cyber killer was here at Sunderland,” Avery leaned forward, palms on the table, “he could have seen you as the instigator.”
“Or at least someone fanning the flames. As far as the cyber killer was concerned, we gave Walker a status he didn’t deserve.”
“And in his mind, ‘we’ could just as easily translate to ‘Harrison.’ ”
“So, what? That means now he’ll come after Harrison?” Simon shook his head in frustration.
“I don’t think so,” Tracy said. “It’s highly unusual for someone like the cyber killer to break pattern. The fact that he killed Walker shows that he was experiencing extreme rage. The degree of brutalization reflects that as well. The evisceration in particular. So my guess is that torturing and then killing Walker went a long way toward releasing his fury.”
“Which means he’ll fall back into old patterns.” Drake leaned back, crossing his arms over his chest.
“It seems reasonable,” Tracy shrugged. “But as I’ve said before, it’s not an exact science. One thing that concerns me is that the equipment Walker used to film his kills is missing.”
“You think the cyber killer took it.”
“I don’t see who else,” Tracy said. “He could just be curious. Maybe he wants to see the murder footage. Or maybe he’s adopting that part of the MO. It wouldn’t be unheard of. After all, he left emails for his victims. Using a digital camera and computer to stream information follows the same logic.”
“But wouldn’t that mean he’s evolving?” Harrison asked.
“Absolutely. And considering he’s been off the radar for such a long time, not all that unusual. Additionally, the fact that he chose Bree’s necklace to prove his authenticity indicates to me that this has become personal. Which means it’s possible that his overall fantasy is now linked to you in some fashion.”
“So it follows that his next victim could be someone that Harrison knows. Someone that fits the victimology,” Avery said, his tone neutral, but his eyes cutting to Hannah, who was still typing on the computer, seemingly oblivious to this newest turn of conversation.
“So we just have to find this bastard and stop him before he can hurt anyone else,” Simon concluded, his face tight with concern.
“And how do you propose we do that?” Drake asked. “We don’t even know what this guy looks like.”
“Well, if you’re all finished predicting my imminent demise, I think I might be able to answer that,” Hannah said, looking up from her computer with quiet resolution.
“We weren’t…” Simon began and then trailed off. “It’s just that…”
“I understand,” Hannah said, her gaze moving to Harrison. “But predicting something doesn’t mean it’s actually going to happen. Especially not if we find him first.”
“So what have you found?” Avery asked.
“A possible ID,” Hannah said, typing again. “A man named Jeremy Draper.
Corporal Draper, actually. U.S. Army.” She hit a key, and a picture appeared on the screen above the table.
“And what makes you think this is our guy?” Drake narrowed his eyes, studying the photograph.
“The details fit,” she said, turning her attention to Harrison. “Back at the castle you were talking about stressors. That something had to set this guy off. And it occurred to me that maybe there was an initial reaction—before he had the chance to come here and find Walker.” She paused for a moment, hitting a key to change the photograph.
The picture was of a young woman. She’d clearly been stabbed to death.
“This is Eileen Draper. Jeremy’s wife. She was murdered forty-eight hours ago. In Belton, Texas. Just about the same time the news about Jasmine’s abduction and death went national.”
“I see the potential for connection,” Avery said. “She fits the victimology with her age and hair color, but you really don’t have anything conclusive.”
“Agreed. If this was as far as it went,” Hannah said. “But it’s not. First off, Belton is within the unsub’s killing zone.”
Harrison suppressed a smile at her use of the FBI terminology.
“And the stab wounds found on Eileen Draper,” Hannah continued, “are similar in location, depth, and even pattern to those inflicted by the cyber killer. And like his other victims, her throat was cut.”
“Could be another copycat,” Simon suggested.
“Definitely a possibility, except that whoever killed her took her ring. And that part of the MO was never released publicly.”
“So you think that in response to hearing the news about the killings here, he lost control and murdered his wife in Texas,” Tracy repeated, her eyes on the photograph. “I assume he’s missing?”
“He is,” Hannah affirmed. “And for now, at least, he’s definitely the target of the investigation. The local police are looking for him.”