LUCY: The Complete Lucy Kendall Series with Bonus Content (The Lucy Kendall Series Book 5)

by Stacy Green

  Ryan continued. “He’s dealt with cold sensitization since the sixties, according to his records. He was hospitalized for pneumonia several times over the years, and he was diagnosed with vascular disease in 2002. That’s what caused his stroke. The Philadelphia VA Medical Center treated him on and off since the eighties–which is, of course, when he and Mary first moved to Lancaster. He was hospitalized there with his stroke for several months.”

  “And the benefit trail continues,” Lennox said. “He started collecting disability in the nineties after his arthritis kept him from driving long hours. Those checks went directly to Mary’s residence in Philadelphia, but in 2004, after he recovered from his stroke–which was bad enough to make him retire but still able to live on his own–he got his pension. Along with home assistance.” He paused, catching his breath. “Which he applied to a farm in Oxford, Pennsylvania.”

  I didn’t want to hope, but the seed started to grow anyway–just a tiny, frail stalk deep in the pit of my stomach. “Is that still listed as his residence?”

  “The government just mailed him a check a week ago.” Lennox grinned. “Even better, the place is about an hour from Philadelphia, easy for Mary to visit.”

  “And just for kicks,” Ryan said, “I searched for missing girls matching Alan’s assumed tastes within a hundred-mile radius of the Oxford house, and I got a hit on four different teenaged girls going back six years.”

  “Mary would have had to take them for him,” I said. “And if she’s got this place in Oxford, why did she go back to Lancaster last fall?” I still felt the heat of that fire and smelled the charred bodies.

  “Maybe she had a new partner and a separate operation,” Lennox said. “For all we know, she could have been selling those girls for extra money and getting her kicks from the ones she brought to her dad. We won’t know until we ask.” He reached into his pocket for his keys. “You up for another ride?”

  34

  After a mad rush back to the hotel and a hasty explanation for Kelly, I was back on the road with Lennox. The SUV shot up I-95, Lennox moving in and out of the light traffic with the ease of someone who knew he wasn’t going to get a ticket. I drank my coffee and wished I had some caffeine pills.

  Lennox didn’t need them. Like every other cop I’d been around, he came alive on the chase. His entire body vibrated in the seat, his hands drumming against the steering wheel in an annoying pattern that gave me a headache.

  “This is it,” he said. “We’re going to nail her now. I can’t wait to see the look on her face when I bring her down. And her father. I don’t give a damn if he served. What he’s done to these girls is worse than an animal.”

  Something in the tone of his voice cut through whatever fatigue I labored under and awakened my earlier euphoria. Lennox, with his ego and need for justice, his need to see the shock on Mary’s face at finally getting taken down, wasn’t much different than my desire to see the fear on Beth Ried’s. Or on any of the men I’d killed. We’d both been stewed in the same pot of ingredients, and somehow he’d come out on the right side of the law, pristine and good. And I’d ended up in the trashcan full of bad decisions and lost hope.

  How had that happened?

  “Don’t worry about that reporter,” Lennox said. “She’s a pain in the ass, but I’ll make sure she doesn’t bother you anymore.”

  He couldn’t possibly do that unless he knew what she’d tried to accuse me of, and I wasn’t about to discuss that. “I can handle myself. But she was asking questions about Kelly, and I won’t let her be harassed.”

  Before I left, I’d warned Kelly about the reporter, cautioning her not to open the door for anyone. “I’ll feel better when I can get her back home. This has all been very hard on her.”

  “She’s a good friend.”

  “She’s the strongest person I know.”

  Lennox cleared his throat. My defenses immediately shot back up. “Have you thought about what we’re going to do here? What you might find?”

  “Chris could easily be dead. I’m prepared for it.” A lie, but it didn’t matter.

  “Or he could be worse than dead.”

  “He’s damaged. And there are things he and I need to discuss. But he’ll be all right.” Another lie. For all I knew, being trapped with his mother’s and grandfather’s lies and cruelty had already made him feral. But I would see this through because he’d come for me. He hadn’t turned his back when I needed him the most. I would return the favor.

  Lennox checked his phone. “The state police’s SERT team will be in place to breach the farm soon.”

  “Are they waiting for you?”

  “Yeah,” he said. “These guys train for this, and they don’t really need me. But this case is my responsibility, and if something goes wrong, I want to be there.”

  “And you want to make the bust,” I said. “To see the moment Mary knows she’s finally been caught.”

  The corners of his mouth ticked up. “That’s just a bonus.”

  “What if she catches on and takes off again?”

  “These guys are better than that. She won’t see them. And if she does, the local police and the state troopers are in place. There’s no way out for her.”

  Or the rest of us. We were forever sewn together with this experience, some of us more so than others. Catching Mary and Alan would change Lennox’s career. Chris’s life was in tatters, mine in flux. Todd and Justin finally had justice within their grasp, and Kelly had conquered one of her demons. No matter the outcome, all of us would remember the past few days as one of those very clear moments in life when everything changed.

  Lennox’s phone rang, the noise ripping through my thoughts like a serrated knife. “Agent Lennox.” He put the phone on speaker.

  “We’re in position. How far out are you?”

  “Twenty minutes,” Lennox said. “Any movement?”

  “None,” the SERT officer said. “Lights on in the farmhouse. Place looks like its falling down around them.”

  “Be careful. We know they have a nine millimeter, and who knows what’s been stored in that house.”

  “Copy that. My commander is about a half mile south of the house. You’ll come to a four-way stop at an intersection, and you’ll see our setup. He’ll rendezvous with you there.”

  It was almost over.

  Just outside of the Oxford city limits, Lennox exited onto a badly paved road that soon gave way to gravel. Within minutes, two Pennsylvania State Trooper vehicles came into view, along with a very large SERT truck that reminded me of the food trucks driven in the city.

  “Don’t worry,” Lennox said when I freaked out over the attention the group was drawing to itself. “We’re in a remote area, and every way out of this place is blocked. Even if they leave on foot. The local police are on top of it.”

  I twisted in the leather seat. “Let me go with you. Please.”

  “Absolutely out of the question. You’re a P.I., not a cop. And you’re not trained for something like this.”

  “I don’t care. I want to see her face too.” I needed to see it. I had to know what it was like to finally have every bad thing you’ve done catch up to you. If I could witness that moment and freeze it in my memory, then maybe I’d have a shot at redeeming myself.

  “I can’t allow it.” Lennox spoke gently. “I wish I could, because you’ve done everything I’ve asked you to do, and you’ve been a major help to this case. But even if I wanted to risk my job, it’s not my call. It’s the SERT commander’s, and he’d laugh us right out of the county.”

  Disappointment blazed through me. It must have showed on my face because Lennox reached over and patted my hand, his skin smooth against mine. “I promise I’ll bring you on the scene the absolute second they’re in custody. I’ll take responsibility for you and make sure you don’t contaminate evidence.”

  I nodded, too frustrated to speak. He jumped out of the vehicle, slamming the door and greeting the SERT commander, who’d been pacin
g at our fender.

  Lennox gestured to the truck, and the SERT guy shook his head. Lennox kept talking, his head bobbing up and down, hands gesturing. Finally, the SERT commander held up his hands, pointing at Lennox.

  He returned to the truck. “The rest of the team is already on the perimeter of the house, ready to go. The commander and I will join them and then make the move. When things are secure, I’ll send an officer back for you.”

  I didn’t have a hope of changing anyone’s mind. “Thanks.”

  Lennox dug around in the back of the truck and produced a Sig Saur nine-millimeter. “You know how to handle a weapon, right?”

  “I’ve gone to the range with Chris several times.”

  “Good. Safety’s on, and you shouldn’t need it. But just in case.” He left it on the driver’s seat and locked the SUV.

  And then it was just me and my thoughts, my festering fears, waiting for his return.

  As Lennox departed with the SERT commander, I focused on the gray sky. A heavy blanket of clouds refused to allow the sun to filter through. Jersey cows waddled through the pasture to my right, their velvet-like coats tacky with snow and ice. Several ambled to the fence line, their long tongues lolling out to touch their wet noses while they surveyed the intruding cars. I’d never touched a cow before, and in a moment of pure insanity, I debated getting out of the truck and going up to say hi.

  But I’d probably be able to hear any gunshots from inside the vehicle too.

  A series of loud honks made me jump. Several brave Canadian Geese skimmed past, their leader at the front of the V-formation calling back orders. I realized they fled from the direction of the house. I’d kept my head turned from that line of winter-brown trees, but it turned of its own volition now, my eyes searching for something.

  But the staging area had been set up too far away from the farmhouse. My scenery was a choice of dead trees or nosy cows cleaning their noses.

  I watched the digital clock. Ever mindful of keeping me warm, Lennox had left the SUV running. I supposed if Mary came hoofing up the road in some outrageous escape from the SERT team, I could run her over and end things for good. Lennox couldn’t be mad if I prevented her escape.

  Minutes ticked by. I released my seatbelt, settled back. Then I sat forward, checking the horizon. Still nothing. Another glance at the cows told me things were still slow and steady; they’d gone back to chewing their hay. My fingers traced the Sig Sauer, its cool steel warming my hands. I’d rather shoot Mary in the head and watch her brains splatter on the road.

  But Lennox was right. We had too many questions and too many families desperate for answers.

  My nerves ticked back and forth. I turned the radio on to a cheesy Top 40 song about love and then promptly turned it off. I checked the glove box, but Lennox hadn’t left anything juicy or interesting in there. His briefcase in the backseat had a lock.

  I went back to watching the cows. The leader had a white splotch on her forehead, as though she’d gotten into paint. She angled her head over the fence, straining her neck, an ear cocked. What did she hear? Or was she just debating about what sort of steak she’d like to be?

  I started to laugh and then felt terrible. Her sweet eyes blinked accusingly. I might end up a vegetarian after this experience.

  My phone rang. Suddenly limbo seemed a hell of a lot more appealing than whatever came next. “Hello?”

  “It’s Lennox. I’ve got an officer coming for you.”

  “Is he dead?” I couldn’t bring myself to say his name.

  Lennox didn’t answer right away, and my stomach turned to acid. My right hand groped for the door handle. I didn’t want to vomit in the FBI’s vehicle.

  “Chris is asking for you.”

  35

  I didn’t catch the name of the SERT officer who retrieved me. He still wore his gear, the adrenaline bleeding from him. I kept his quick pace down the dirt road, my heart rooted in my throat.

  A two-story house emerged at the end of the drive. Its wood siding, once painted gray, rotted in numerous places, making the curtainless windows look like ruined teeth in a drug addict’s mouth. A slanted porch ran along the front, one end of it supported by two cinder blocks. A fresh wave of cold swept over me, pulling my senses into high alert.

  Where was everyone? Only two SERT officers stood in front of the house, their weapons at the ready. Another formation of geese swept by, their calls sounding like an urgent warning this time.

  “Where’s Agent Lennox?”

  “He’s in the house.” The SERT officer who’d escorted me took my elbow as we reached the porch. “Watch your step. This thing is unstable.”

  The steps groaned and sagged under our weight, the porch shuddered. Still, I paused at the open door, hit with the stench of rotting wood and dirt and something far worse.

  “They’re in the front room,” the officer said.

  Forcing my legs to move, I crossed the threshold. To my immediate right, a death trap of a staircase led to the second floor. The fifth step was completely busted out. Mouse droppings littered the bottom step. I tried to breath through my mouth, but I’d already inhaled the house’s sick air.

  “Lucy?”

  His voice was weak as an infant’s, but I recognized it and forgot to be on guard or angry. I rushed to the middle of the front room, where Chris sagged on a chair. Fresh bruises covered his handsome face, dried blood caked his plump lips. Lennox’s heavy winter coat was draped over his shoulders; he’d been wearing nothing but a dirty, white t-shirt and jeans. Scratches in various stages of healing decorated his arms, and one looked infected. A thick coating of old rags wrapped around his right shoulder.

  But his eyes were the same bright, perceptive blue.

  I knelt in front of him, afraid to touch. That’s when I realized his shoes and socks were gone, his right foot caked with dried blood and bandaged.

  “What did she do to you?”

  He licked his split lip, trying to smile. “Last night, Mary tried to cut my toe off to make sure I didn’t run. She didn’t get the bone, but the damage is done.”

  I tried not to react, but my legs wobbled. “Jesus. Your arm–is that where she shot you?”

  “He shot me,” Chris said. “I got the bullet out and cleaned the wound. Same with my toe. But I think I’ve got an infection.” His body shook, and I realized it was as cold inside as out. My breath showed white, my fingers half-numb.

  I looked up at Agent Lennox, who stood behind Chris. “Why is it so cold in here?”

  “Heat’s turned off,” he said. “Windows are open. They left him to freeze.”

  “Where are the paramedics?” I pulled the coat tighter around Chris, who shivered and leaned against me, resting his head on my shoulder. He smelled unwashed and bloody, but I couldn’t push him away.

  “Five minutes out,” Lennox said. His eyes were grim, and I replayed his words.

  “Mary left him to freeze to death. Meaning she’s not here.”

  A single shake of his head confirmed what I’d somehow known would happen. “He said he wanted to talk to you first.”

  Gently, I lifted Chris’s head off my shoulder. His eyes were dilated, his skin cold. “Tell me.”

  “You know about Alan, right?” Chris tried to glance at Lennox, but his eyes only rolled. “He said you did.”

  “We found out, yes. And we saw you with him on the security tape from the gas station.”

  Chris smiled, making his lip bleed. “I looked up on purpose.”

  “I knew you did. Where’s Alan? Did he leave with Mary too?”

  “No,” Chris said. “He’s got health problems from the war. Heart issues. And he got the flu.”

  “That’s why you went to the gas station with him,” I said. “Because they needed you to treat him.”

  Lennox made a sharp noise in his throat, catching my eye. I read his expression easily. Stop putting words in his mouth.

  “I wanted to help him,” Chris said. “I didn’t know w
hat he’d done. She didn’t tell me until after she killed Lionel.”

  “Why did she kill him?” Lennox asked.

  Chris licked his lips. I wished I had some ChapStick. “Because he was going to take Alan to the hospital. The flu meds were helping, but he was really bad off. Mary wouldn’t go, and she and Lionel got in an argument. He called her crazy, said he was going to turn him in.” Chris closed his eyes, caught in the nightmare of his memories. “She pulled the car over, told him they should take a walk and sort it out. Then she shot him.”

  Tears tracked through the dirt on his face. “He was a decent guy. I knew she was up to something, but my hands and feet were zip-tied.” Red welts on his wrists and his feet said as much. “Then we came here, and Alan got worse.”

  “What happened?” I asked.

  “She told me to take care of him. But I didn’t have anything to help him. He needed to be in the hospital, on an IV and oxygen. He needed his heart monitored and probably new medication. But I don’t even think that would have helped.”

  I waited, letting him gather his composure. Watching him speak physically hurt; the tender skin on his lips cracked with every other word.

  “He died this morning, and she flipped out. She tied me up here and left with him.”

  “By herself?” Lennox said. “Why didn’t you fight?”

  “I don’t know,” Chris said. “I think I’d lost all hope at that point. And I’ve been in and out of it the last day or so, from fever I think. Part of me kept wondering if I was hallucinating the entire thing.”

  I searched his face, trying to see past the injuries and the now glazed eyes. The part of me still very much attached to Chris wanted to ignore the warning tick in my brain.

  Something isn’t adding up.

  And it hasn’t from the beginning.

  Lennox chewed his lip, staring at Chris. “I know she’s a big woman, but how’d she get his body out of here?”

  “She’s strong,” Chris said. “And you didn’t see Alan without his coat on, did you? He couldn’t weigh more than 110. Skin and bones, and even worse since he got the flu. She dragged him out the back door.”