He frowned. “In the back yard with Bentley. I can see her from here.” He indicated through the open sliding door.
Kate hurried over and hollered for her daughter. Hallie protested mildly but Kate was having none of it. She all but dragged Hallie into the house, the dog with her. Then she shut and locked the door.
“Go to your room,” Luke said to Hallie, his eyes never leaving Kate’s face. “Take the dog with you.”
“Really?” Hallie asked, surprised. She was never allowed to have the dog upstairs.
“Really,” he said, waiting until she was gone. “What did he say to you?” His eyes darkened and he stepped toward her, his hands reaching out and gripping her shoulders.
She crumbled then, her voice cracking into a sob as she nearly collapsed. “God, he’s out there. He was watching her, Luke. He saw her and Bentley playing.”
Anger jolted through him as he looked over her shoulder and out into the fenced backyard. It was empty. Behind that fence was greenbelt. It would be easy enough for someone to hide back there. He turned and headed for the stairs, taking them two at a time. “Call Archer,” he hollered over his shoulder.
“Where are you going?” she asked, picking up the phone. He didn’t answer. He wasn’t going to take this lying down. Reaching the closet, he yanked the gun case down. He had the .45 out and ready to go in seconds. By the time he got back downstairs she wasn’t on the phone anymore.
“He’s on his way,” she said, then backed up when she saw the gun. “What are you doing?”
“What’s it look like?” He headed for the slider. “Lock the door and don’t let anyone in unless you hear my voice.”
“Luke, don’t!”
“Just do it, Kate!” His raised voice apparently got the point across. She locked the door behind him and stood there watching, a terrified look on her face as he went off in search of a madman.
Only minutes after Luke went outside, Detective Archer showed up. He had several units of police with him and they spread out and searched the greenbelt, along with Luke. It was a large span of woods and it took hours to thoroughly search the entire area. The place was clean. Louis Ferndale was nowhere to be found.
“He was there,” Kate said, once they were all back inside the house. “He knew Hallie was playing with her dog. He was there.” She rubbed her hands up her arms, as if to ward off the cold.
Luke watched her composure slip another step. She’d come so far and now this.
“What exactly did he say to you, Mrs. Garrison? I mean as close to word for word as you can get.”
Kate repeated what she could remember of Louis’s phone call. When she was finished, Detective Archer closed his notebook. “Well, we know he’s still here now.”
“And?” Luke prodded.
“And there’s no sign of him out there. He probably watched the house from afar, called you on a cell phone—prepaid no doubt—and took off once he’d hung up with you. I’m sure he figured you would call the cops.”
“So what are you going to do about this?”
“We’ll increase the patrol up here. He’ll make a mistake sooner or later and we’ll nab him.”
Frustrated, Luke swore.
“He wants Hallie.” Kate’s voice was soft. “God, he wants my baby.”
“He won’t get her.” Detective Archer’s normally uncaring voice was filled with a renewed sense of determination. “I’m making it my personal vendetta to get this guy and fry him. If I don’t, I’ll turn in my badge. Trust me, I have no intention of retiring this young.”
Luke felt marginally better now that he knew Archer was willing to put his job on the line. The men shook hands and the police left. Luke found Kate sitting on the couch, staring into space. He walked over and sat down next to her. He picked up one of her shaking hands. It was cold as ice.
“They’re going to get him, Blue. Don’t go back again. You’ve been doing really good.”
“I’ll kill him if he comes near Hallie.” Her voice was low and even. “I let him hurt me because I didn’t know how to fight him. I had no self-respect anymore.” She looked up at him. “I had no will to live because I thought you and Hallie were dead. I’ll fight him this time, Luke. I want you to teach me how to shoot that gun.”
He didn’t know whether he was scared or relieved that she wanted to learn how to protect herself. “I can teach you,” he said, reaching over and tipping her chin up so she looked at him. “I don’t want you to feel you’re alone in this. I’m going to keep you safe. It’s important to me that you trust me. I know I let you down before and you don’t know the hell I’ve been through trying to get past that fact. I won’t let you down again.”
“It wasn’t your fault. You couldn’t do anything to help me when you were hurt.”
“I won’t let you down again,” he repeated, his eyes searching hers. “Do you believe that?”
After a moment, she nodded her head.
Hours later, Kate opened her eyes, a feeling of unrest coming over her. The room was lit up, as it was every night. Luke was sleeping next to her, his arm over his eyes, his chest rising and falling in an even rhythm. She didn’t know why she was suddenly awake. Most likely it was the turmoil of the afternoon and dealing with the after effects of Louis’s phone call.
Sitting up, she looked around the room. Everything appeared as it should be. Her skin began to crawl. What was wrong? Something. Something was wrong.
She climbed out of bed, careful not to wake Luke. As she padded out into the hallway, she started to second-guess her actions. She should wake Luke. Why was she roaming the house alone at night in the dark? She hated the dark and she hated being alone.
Still, her feet kept moving. Her first concern was Hallie. When she peeked around the corner of Hallie’s doorway, she saw the child sleeping soundly in her bed. She checked the bedroom window for the third time that night and made sure the lock was securely in place. As she walked past Bentley, who was asleep at the foot of the bed, she patted his head. He wagged his tail halfheartedly but stayed put.
Both Kate and Luke had agreed that it was a good idea for Bentley to sleep with Hallie for the time being. Hallie had been thrilled to pieces, actually looking forward to bedtime and hopping right in when the time had come.
Relieved that her daughter was fine and secure, Kate turned and looked into the other bedroom at the end of the hall. It was a guest room, with nothing but a large queen bed and a dresser in it. The window was open, she realized, as the wind whipped through the curtains. Luke had forgotten to close it. Fear ate at her momentarily. She forced herself to walk over and reach for the handle. She let her eyes roam the darkness on the other side of the double panes. The houses that lined the opposite side of the street were all dark, but for their porch lights. The street looked spooky, deserted. It made her uneasy and she started to look away. Something moved, catching her eye. She squinted, taking in the shape of a large figure standing directly in front of her house. Her heart began to pound. She felt the panic etch its way into her chest. Breathe, she told herself. Just breathe. She blinked, praying she was seeing things. When she opened her eyes again, he was still there. Louis Ferndale. He was right in front of her house, in plain sight, staring up at her as though he had a right to be there.
She opened her mouth to scream but no sound came out. All she could do was watch as Louis stepped toward the front yard. He tossed something down on the ground and then began to walk away.
Kate watched as flames suddenly began to travel in a circle around the large elm tree in the front yard. They climbed up the wood to the branches, and eventually, into the leaves. Kate froze, unable to move or think. He was trying to get to her again. Only this time, instead of drowning her family, he was going to burn them alive.
TWENTY-FOUR
Once the firefighters showed up it took only a few minutes to put out the fire around the large elm tree. Fortunately the tree had been far enough away from the house that the flames had not spread. The tre
e was toast though.
Luke stood on the front porch, watching as the firefighters finished up and loaded their equipment. Everyone in the neighborhood was outside on their front lawns pointing and gasping, even now that the fire was out. This was not the way to remain high on the favorite neighbor list, he figured. At the same time, he guessed he didn’t really care. He was more worried about Kate. She’d run into the bedroom an hour earlier and woke him hysterically, screaming something about a fire. While he’d called 911, she’d gotten Hallie and Bentley up and they’d all gone outside to wait things out. The fire had looked far worse than it was, thank God. The only real damage had been done to the front yard and the elm tree. Those things were easy enough to fix.
Looking over to the chair on the front porch, he watched her for a moment. She sat in a lawn chair, Hallie sound to sleep in her arms. Bentley lay at her feet contently. She just stared into space, her expression blank. This was going to set her back again. He only wished he would have been the one to see Louis Ferndale light the lawn on fire. If he had, he would have shot the man through the heart. Unfortunately, it was Kate who was stuck with the bad images again.
“I’m not sure about anything but the gasoline,” Detective Archer said, stepping up onto the porch. He’d been called to the scene a few minutes earlier. “I can smell the crap. She says she saw Ferndale, huh?”
“She saw him. Look at her. She’s almost catatonic with fear.”
Archer didn’t argue. “He’s getting bolder. I’m going to leave a car parked in front of your house starting tonight. It’s pretty clear that you and your family are in danger.”
“I appreciate that,” Luke said honestly. Obviously, Archer had changed his mind about hating Luke’s guts for the time being.
“I’m also going to have my officers canvass the neighborhood and see if anyone else saw anything but I’m doubting they’ll come up with much. It’s so late that it’s unlikely anyone was up. You never know though.”
“She saw him plain as day, Archer. He dropped the freaking match on my lawn. Does it really matter who else saw him?”
“Can’t hurt for court purposes to have more than one witness.”
“Especially when that one witness has a reason to see things that aren’t there,” Luke figured out, scowling.
“More or less. It’s always better to have a neutral witness, Mr. Garrison. Besides, maybe someone saw where he came from, what kind of car he drove, if he drove a car at all. That kind of stuff.”
“Whatever. I just want him caught. This has gone on long enough. He’s waltzing around here terrorizing us and no one is able to stop him. He can’t be that smart.”
“He kept your wife hidden for three years. He can’t be that stupid either.” Archer nodded as he retreated to his squad car.
Luke turned back to Kate. “We need to go in now.”
She looked at him blankly, then stood up, carrying Hallie with her. When she got as far as the front door, he reached over took Hallie from her. The dog trotted into the house and they followed. The first thing he did was secure the front door. Then he looked down at Kate. “She should probably just sleep in our room.”
“He’s not done, Luke. This is just the beginning.”
“Kate, it’s late. Let’s not do this tonight. We need to get some sleep. I can’t think rationally when I’m running on empty.”
“I can’t sleep. I keep seeing his face.”
He motioned for her to follow him up the stairs. Reluctantly, she did. He settled Hallie in their bed, then turned to her.
“They’ll catch him. He’ll screw up and they will catch him.”
“He tried to burn us, Luke.”
“He burned the tree in the front yard. He could have put the gasoline around the house if he’d wanted to. He doesn’t want us dead. At least not yet.” He could tell by the look on her face that he should have left off the not yet part. “Listen, Kate, he’s playing a game with us right now. Don’t let him rattle you. There’s a policeman out front watching the place so we’re safe for the night. You need to try to get some sleep.”
“How can you be so nonchalant?”
“I’m not being nonchalant. I’m pissed as hell. If I thought I could find the asshole, I’d grab my .45 and go look for him. The bottom line is that’s what he wants. He wants me to leave you alone again and I won’t do that. Not for anything. As long as I’m with you, you’re safe.”
He climbed into bed, hating the idea of another night with the light on. Every night that went by, he kept hoping she was going to let him turn it off. Every night, she insisted he leave it on. Tonight she would definitely want it on.
“I’m going to sit over here,” she said, walking over and sitting in a chair near the back window. He watched as she stared out into the night, her eyes scanning the darkness carefully. He knew she was in her own private hell and it bothered him but he didn’t know how to reach her.
When he woke in the morning, he realized she’d fallen asleep in the chair. He covered her and left her to sleep for a while longer. Hallie was also still sleeping so he took the dog and went downstairs. He’d just let the dog outside when there was a knock at the front door. For a moment he wished he had his .45 in his hand, rather than locked in a metal box upstairs. Then he remembered the policeman parked outside and felt safe enough answering the door. Archer was on the other side, and as usual, the look on his face was grim. In fact it was worse than grim. It was downright depressed.
“Your wife up yet?”
“No. I just got up myself. Don’t you ever sleep?”
“Not lately. I have some bad news. We found Sara Hendrickson.”
Luke’s heart pounded as dread filled him.
“I think we can safely assume that Louis Ferndale is the person responsible for her death.”
“Why is that?”
“Because chunks of her hair were cut out of her head at her scalp.”
Luke winced, feeling sick to his stomach. He breathed deeply for several seconds and then swore.
“She was dumped in a ravine down by the pier. I’m not sure how long she’s been there but I’d guess a while.”
“God.” Backing up, Luke sat down on the couch, suddenly feeling light headed. Sara was dead. This couldn’t be real.
“I realize you’re taking in a lot of bad news at one time, Mr. Garrison. For what it’s worth, I’m sorry. I know she was somewhat of a friend.”
“She didn’t have anything to do with this.”
“I don’t think Mr. Ferndale minds involving innocent bystanders.” Archer shoved his hands into the pockets of his jacket. “I just thought you would want to know what happened. I don’t know what you want to do about telling your wife.”
“I don’t know,” Luke answered, still in shock. Sara was dead.
“We’ll leave the patrolman out there around the clock for now,” Archer reminded him. “Just let us know if you have another problem.” Luke didn’t bother seeing him out. He felt completely out of sorts at this point. Telling Kate about Sara wasn’t going to be easy. He wasn’t even sure he could get the words out. As much as Sara had ticked him off that day at the barbecue, he had never wished any ill will on her and now she was dead. Her life had been snuffed out by a madman who had no consideration for human life.
“I heard you talking to someone. Who was here?”
He turned around and saw Kate standing at the foot of the stairs, dark circles very apparent under her eyes again. He grimaced, shaking his head. He would have to just tell her straight up. There was no way to sugar coat this.
“It was Detective Archer. He had some news on Sara.”
“He found her?” she asked, her eyes brightening.
“She’s dead, Kate. They found her body this morning in a ravine down by the pier.”
Kate gasped, her hand covering her mouth. Before he knew what was happening, she had disappeared down the hall and into the bathroom where she promptly threw up.
Cursing, he grabbe
d a towel and got it wet, crouching down and helping her wipe her face with it. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have told you that way.”
“God, it was him, wasn’t it?” Her eyes looked so defeated that he thought about lying to her. In the end, he couldn’t. “Yeah, baby. It was him.” He didn’t want to tell her the rest, but he knew he had to. “Chunks of her hair were cut off at the scalp.”
She let out a mewling sound and then threw up again. He helped her hold her hair out of her face and then let her lean against him when she’d emptied everything from her stomach. “God, I have to go back. He isn’t going to stop this unless I go back.”
“Like hell you’ll go back.” He glared down at her. “We will get through this together, Kate. Don’t ever say that to me again.”
“He’s killing people. People who have nothing to do with this.”
“I know. He’s going to make a mistake and he’ll get caught. It will happen. It’s just a matter of time.”
“I can’t risk Hallie. He’s going to come after her. I know he is.”
“You’re starting to panic, Katie. You have to calm down.” He forced her to look into his eyes. “Calm down.”
She slowed her erratic breathing down somewhat but her face was still ashen.
“Can you get up so we can go upstairs and clean you up?”
She let him help her up and out of the bathroom. Hallie stood in the hallway, thumb in mouth, Bentley at her feet. She looked at Kate curiously. “Is Mommy sick?”
“Yeah, she’s not feeling well. Let me help her upstairs and then I’ll make you some waffles, okay?”
“Can I watch cartoons?”
“Sure, baby. Go ahead. I’ll be right back.”
He ran some bath water and helped Kate into the tub. Then he leaned against the counter and watched as she shut her eyes and lay there, bubbles surrounding her. “I know this is hard for you to take, Katie, but it’s not your fault.”
“Don’t you feel guilty? She was here because of you. Because of Hallie.”
Hearing the words out loud made him feel even worse. “Yeah, I feel guilty.”
Root of All Evil Page 22