Killer Moves

by Mary Eason

  Kara. Hearing her voice helped him focus. He’d been floundering. Now he knew he would do whatever it took to protect her and his child. Their safety was his only concern now. He’d gladly give up his life to protect them.

  One glance at his watch told him he still had three hours to wait before meeting Sally. Time seemed to have slowed down to a standstill. He tried to focus on the letters again but they proved little more than another dead end.

  Frankie stopped writing shortly after his eighteenth birthday. The last letter gave some insight into his mindset at that time. Frankie had finally given up on reaching his father. He told Barry this would be the last letter he’d send if he didn’t answer.

  It was the last letter sent.

  Davis reached for the phone to call Rocky, and then let it go. Ryan would be in touch there. If there was anything promising, Ryan could figure it out.

  Instead, he opened the case files of the last Angel killing. The gruesome photos were spread out before him in a jumbled mess. He’d been at this too long. The names and faces mingled together, mixed up with the cases from six years earlier. Nothing made sense anymore.

  “God—think!” Davis paced around his living room and tried to clear his thoughts then glanced at his watch again. He needed a shower.

  The cold water washed over him, clearing away some of the fog. He thought about eating but opted for a walk instead. The fresh air would do him good.

  His neighborhood seemed strangely quiet today. Too quiet. There wasn’t a single person around as he walked the area he’d called home. But then this was the middle of the day and most of his neighbors were working professionals.

  Still, Davis couldn’t shake the feeling that someone watched his every move. He stopped and looked behind him. No one. Not even a car out of place. His trained eye searched each of the nearby houses but found nothing. He’d begun to lose focus again, doubting his ability to think clearly. He was entering dangerous ground here.

  The paranoia only increased as he continued walking. In the end, he abandoned the fresh air entirely. Returning to the house, he slid all the locks in place before glancing out the window.

  It was the case. He’d let himself get too close to it. It had become too personal. Too much was at stake now.

  With two hours still to spare, Davis accepted that he couldn’t stay there and do nothing any longer. He left the house and drove away, leaving the case files behind.

  Once again, he found himself back at the last victim’s location. CSI had cleared the place, taking all evidence with them. There was nothing left of the building. They’d dismantled it and taken it back to the lab.

  Davis stood where it had once been and tried to feel some connection to the killer.

  Kara once told him that everyone possessed a certain amount of psychic ability. Most people never learned how to channel it to their benefit. He closed his eyes and tried for a moment to think or feel something. Suddenly, he opened his eyes and searched the grounds around him. He could almost swear he’d heard the sound of laughter. But the place was empty.

  Davis closed his eyes once more. This time, there was no mistaking the sound.

  “You’re too late, Davis.”

  The words slipped into his thoughts. Did he actually hear them or simply imagine them?

  “Too late. You’re no match for Kara or me.”

  He turned and looked around, expecting the person to be standing right behind him, whispering in his ear. But he was alone.

  Davis stood there for a long time but the Angel was silent. He’d only been taunting him.

  When he returned to the car, he realized he’d been there for more than an hour.

  The traffic heading out to Richmond seemed unusually heavy. Davis forced the car to a crawl, his nerves reminding him how precious time was right now. There would be so little of it left before…

  He reached Sally’s family home late. She was there waiting for him on the porch. He saw right away that she’d become anxious.

  “Sally, I’m sorry. I got caught in traffic.”

  “Mom will be here any minute!” she accused.

  “I’m sorry, but look, let’s not waste any more time, okay? You told me you’d lied. Can you tell about what?”

  Every nerve in his body screamed for him to force her to give up the information. But Davis knew he’d have to take it slowly with her no matter how painful. Sally still wasn’t sure she was doing the right thing.

  “I don’t know if I should. I’m breaking the promise I made to Frankie!”

  “I see. He gave you something.”

  “Yes. He gave me something and told me to give it to my dad. I didn’t though. I tried but Dad wouldn’t listen. So—”

  “Sally, look, I know you want to do what’s best for Frankie. So do I. Will you trust me? I need see what you have.”

  She looked unconvinced. Davis took a deep breath, “Sally, I want to clear your brother’s name if he wasn’t involved in the Angel crimes. But I need your help to do that. I need you to give me what Frankie left you.”

  Clear brown eyes met his. They seemed remarkably mature. “Only if you promise if there’s anything bad in there you won’t use it against him.”

  Davis watched her for a moment. She still wasn’t sure her brother had been completely innocent.

  “I promise I’ll keep it out of the news, okay. If what’s in there would convict him of the crimes, I’ll keep it quiet.”

  “And if not? You’ll make sure Frankie is cleared of this?”

  “Absolutely, you have my word. Sally, hurry, please. Someone very dear to me is in danger of being hurt by the killer. Please. There’s very little time left.”

  She turned and went back inside the house. Davis stood waiting for her to return and realized his hands were trembling.

  She carried a small, gray, fireproof box, the type you could buy at any office supply store. She clutched it against her chest.

  “I’m still not sure this is the right thing to do,” she told him hesitantly.

  “Sally, I understand you only want to help your brother but you’re going to have to trust me on this. You are helping Frankie by doing this. I promise.”

  Slowly she handed the box over to Davis. It felt heavy in his hands.

  “Hurry up. You have to leave. I hear my mom’s car coming. Hurry! She can’t catch you here.”

  Davis took her small hand in his and squeezed it.

  “I’ll call you as soon as I know anything.” Davis left Sally standing in the driveway and drove away. In his rearview mirror, he saw her rush inside the house. As he left the drive and headed down the street, he passed a silver Jaguar a quarter of a mile down. A blonde woman who resembled Sally drove the vehicle. Sally had good hearing.

  “Shit.” Suddenly, Davis realized he’d left the key to the box at his house. He reached inside the glove compartment, searching for something to use to pry the lock open. The sound of his cell phone beeping startled him. He’d left it in the car while talking to Sally. There were three missed calls and one voice mail. All from Rocky.

  “Davis, call me as soon as you get this. I have something important to tell you.”

  Davis dialed Rocky’s number and listened. The call went to voice mail. He disconnected without leaving a message and was getting ready to redial when his phone chirped again.

  “Rocky?”

  “No, Davis, it’s Ryan. Why? What’s up?”

  “Ryan, jeez, sorry, I thought you might be Rocky.”

  “No, but I have talked to him.”

  “Really? I just tried his number and he’s not picking up.”

  “Yeah, he mentioned something about going to see his wife. He was a little rattled.”

  “That’s not like him. He’s been trying to reach me for the past half hour. He left me an urgent message to call as soon as I got it. I don’t understand why he would leave before talking to me.”

  “What did he say?”

  “Nothing, only that he had somethi
ng for me.”

  “Yeah, I think I know what that is. As I said, I talked to him.”

  “What did he find out?”

  “We need to talk about that in private. But first, I have some information on Frankie and this Harrison fellow that will blow this case wide open. Can you meet me?”

  “Just tell me what you know.”

  “Not on the phone. Listen, I’m checking a lead over at the old abandoned apartment building off East Capitol Street. How long will it take you to get there?”

  Ryan knew something that he didn’t feel comfortable discussing over the phone, which meant he didn’t trust the phones not to be monitored. Which meant someone close to them could be involved.

  “Over an hour in this damn traffic. You’d better call for backup.”

  Static drowned out most of what Ryan said. “I’ll see you there, okay.”

  “Ryan, wait for backup to get there. Whatever this is about, don’t do anything foolish.”

  “I’ll meet you on the second-floor apartment, okay?” Ryan answered clearly. He hadn’t heard what Davis had said.

  “Ryan, wait for backup.” But Ryan was gone, without hearing Davis’s urgent advice.

  Davis slammed his phone shut in irritation then tried redialing, getting Ryan’s voice mail each time.

  The East Capitol Street area was dangerous in broad daylight. But it would be growing dark soon.

  Davis shoved the box under the front passenger seat and floored the gas pedal. He tried Ed’s cell phone without any answer.

  “Shit.” At this point, he didn’t trust anyone else. He hoped Ryan had actually heard enough of the call to ask for backup before going in.

  Traffic leading back into the city was bumper to bumper. There were several political events taking place tonight. DC would be crawling with people.

  But on East Capitol Street where the forgotten hung out and the drug dealers made their fortunes, it was business as usual.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Maneuvering through heavy traffic took longer than the predicted hour. Davis reached the apartment building Ryan indicated only to find silence. There were no police, no other Bureau personnel and nothing but darkness from inside the empty building. Davis prayed he would find Ryan alive.

  He took out his weapon from its hiding place beneath the seat and shoved it inside the waist of his pants beneath his jacket. For reasons he couldn’t explain, Davis popped the trunk and grabbed the Kevlar vest he rarely used. It felt bulky and easy to spot underneath his jacket.

  He took his flashlight out, put the cell phone on vibrate, and shoved it into his jacket pocket.

  The second he stepped inside the building, he felt it. An overpowering feeling of pure malevolence. He’d witnessed hundreds of murders in his time with the Bureau, including the Angel’s work. They’d all left a certain presence behind them. There was no way so much hatred could be unleashed upon another human being and not leave its mark. But the feeling he had here was like none other he’d experienced. He was in the presence of true evil.

  Davis didn’t dare call out to Ryan, even though the building appeared unoccupied. It was quiet. Unbearably so.

  Slowly he made his way up the stairs with weapon drawn. A grayish dust covered every inch of the place, clogging his throat and lungs. It looked like twilight here even though it was still light out.

  A step creaked beneath his foot and he froze, waited, and then held his breath as he started up the stairs once more.

  Close to the second-floor landing, he stopped for a moment. His hands were shaking. The reality of this moment finally settled in. The Angel killer had used Ryan to lure him there.

  For the first time in his career, Davis felt real fear. He wasn’t ready for this. He’d been slipping for days. His public suspension had been the final straw that pushed him over the edge.

  Davis’s heart rate increased with each step. He tried to focus on Kara. He needed to stay focused on her because she would be next. He’d have to do something to stop the Angel—whatever it took. Even if it meant his life.

  The door to the second-floor apartment stood open slightly. He stopped just outside the door and listened. Nothing. No sound came from inside.

  Davis drew a deep breath then pushed the door open completely. It took a full minute for his eyes to adjust to the light. It was even darker in there. Someone had placed black plastic garbage bags over all the windows. As his eyes grew accustomed to the light, he saw something that took his breath away.

  The crime scene of the last original Angel killing. He remembered it well even though it had been destroyed in the fire the killer started to flee the scene. Six years ago today. The killer had recreated the scene once more, right down to the mattress and scarf. All that was lacking was the final victim. Kara.

  “Davis, there you are.”

  Hearing Ryan’s voice, Davis let go of the breath he’d been unconsciously holding. He tucked his weapon behind his back once more then turned to Ryan.

  It took a few seconds to make out Ryan’s expression. But when he did, his blood ran cold. He barely recognized him. This wasn’t the man he knew so well. The twisted grin on Ryan’s face made the hair on the back of his neck stand up. Instinctively, Davis backed away from the sheer depravity he saw there but Ryan moved closer.

  “What took you so long?” Ryan asked, seemingly unaware of Davis’s reaction.

  Ryan was his friend. He couldn’t be capable of such evil. But when Ryan chuckled gleefully, spotting Davis’s fear, he knew he’d been wrong all along. This man standing before him now was capable of so much more.

  Davis’s left hand went inside his pocket. Did he have time to reach the weapon again? His fingers clasped the cell phone and hit the redial button. He tried to remember the last person he’d called. Dear God, let it be Ed.

  “You figured it out, didn’t you?” Ryan sounded impressed. “Good for you, buddy! I was beginning to think I’d have to spell it out for you but now I see you’re with the program. Good. She had your thoughts muddled for a while, didn’t she? Glad to have you back, Davis.”

  “Ryan, why? Why would you do this?”

  “Oh, now dammit, Davis, you don’t need to know those things. All you need to know is that this is where it ends. At least for you, buddy. And her. I’ll take care of her too like I took care of Rachel and Jessica. You didn’t deserve any of them. Rachel always was too good for you, but she never stopped loving you, even after the divorce. And Jessica, well, she never stopped hoping right up to the end.”

  “Oh my God…” Davis fumbled with the redial button again.

  Please God. Let someone answer.

  “Why did you kill them, Ryan? They were your friends as well.” He still couldn’t believe it. His thoughts reeled.

  “You want to know, don’t you? Well too bad, buddy. I’m not going to tell you. You’re going to your grave not knowing the reason behind any of this.” Ryan laughed hysterically then drew his weapon, aiming at Davis’s chest.

  “You were so close to finding out the truth. But you shouldn’t have gotten Rocky involved in this. I couldn’t have Rocky blabbing the truth about me guest instructing at the academy during Frankie’s brief stay.” Davis flinched at the implication. Rocky would be dead. And he’d led Ryan right to him.

  “I really wanted to follow through with the whole Angel angle thing in killing you, Davis, even though your initials don’t really match, but unfortunately I can’t. You see, I have to call this in. I figure I’ll tell them you were trying to kill me because I discovered the truth about you at last. Even though I didn’t want to believe it. I’ll tell them I figured out what you had planned for our girl Kara.” Ryan smiled then aimed the weapon at Davis’s head. “Nice try on the vest. It won’t work though. In just a few minutes, you’re going to know what it feels like to die, Davis. Say hello to all the people you’ve hurt along the way when you get there.”

  Ryan sighted the weapon between his eyes. In an instant, Davis became aware of
things happening quickly around him, even while his reactions felt as if they’d slipped into slow motion.

  The phone inside his pocket vibrated, his finger touched the connect button once more, and then he reached for his Glock and lunged for Ryan’s arm that held the weapon.

  Their struggle seemed surreal until the sound of a shot fired into the silent room, resembling lightning striking. The burning pain searing through his head held the power of a thousand headaches combined. The last thing Davis remembered was the sound of Ed calling his name, followed by laughter.

  The maniacal sound of the Death Angel.

  “No.” Kara felt as if something had literally propelled her up from the chair. The cards she held in her hands slipped to the floor. She became aware of two sets of eyes watching her in shock. The sound of her watch ticked off the seconds it took for them to react.

  “Kara? What is it?” Geneva stood close to her.

  “It’s Davis!” She could feel him leaving her with every tick of the watch. “He’s been shot.”

  The world around her exploded into action. Geneva and Judy exchanged a disturbing look before Geneva reached for the phone. Judy drew her weapon, ineptly looking for something solid to fight.

  And the watch ticked off more seconds.

  “Are you sure?” Geneva shouted, trying to force Kara to focus on what she’d said.

  “He’s dying!” She started for the door but Judy stopped her.

  “Hold on. Where is he, Kara?”

  “I don’t know. It’s dark there. Abandoned. Dusty. Do something!” she screamed at her, but Judy could only shake her head. Kara turned to Geneva.

  She was speaking to someone. Ed. Kara listened to their quiet conversation, peppered with quick glances her way. Geneva knew something but wasn’t prepared to tell Kara.

  “What did he say?” Kara demanded when the silence lengthened and the ticks continued.

  “He doesn’t know anything yet, Kara. He’s talking to another agent right now. Just calm down.”