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

by Stacy Green

  “I need to make a phone call.”

  4

  Feeling thick and unwieldy, my fingers jabbed through my contacts. I smacked Kelly’s name and hit send. She had to answer.

  She’s probably busy.

  She’s going to tease you for freaking out and then get to work helping figure this out.

  She’ll answer.

  The call went to voicemail, and my knees weakened.

  I tried again.

  Same result.

  Barely able to breath, I scrolled to my next option. Hopefully Todd would answer his cell even if he had King on the office line. He didn’t, and my call went to his voicemail.

  God Almighty, what if this bastard already had Kelly? It was the logical step. If he’d researched me, if he’d found out about the recent Mary Weston arrest, he might have found out about Kelly’s assisting the FBI and traveling with me during Chris’s disappearance.

  Beth Ried. That reporter. She knew. How easily could she be bilked for information?

  My heart threatened to beat its way out of my chest. The sun felt unbearably hot, the crowded sidewalk like a trap. My right leg jerked with the instinct to run.

  But to where? I was too far away to protect Kelly.

  I needed to go home.

  Not Kelly.

  My phone rang. It took three tries for my shaking hands to answer. “Todd. I need your help right now.” I must have sounded like an idiot, breathless and crazed. But I could barely think straight enough to speak a full sentence.

  “Lucy,” Todd’s wary voice did nothing to ease my nerves. “I know you’re pissed at me, but I had a reason for not telling you about Shannon’s disappearance. I’ll explain–”

  “I don’t care about any of that right now. I need you to check on Kelly. She’s not answering her phone.”

  Todd hesitated. “I’m sure she’s fine.”

  “I’m sure King told you Shannon was taken as some sort of revenge toward me. That the scene was staged to resemble my sister’s suicide. Kelly’s a logical target, and I’m telling you, she should have called me back by now. Something is wrong.”

  “She’s fine,” Todd said. His voice sounded strained. “I promise you.”

  “How could you possibly know that?”

  “Because she’s with my brother.”

  I let the words sink in, trying to make sense of them. “Justin? Why would she be with Justin?” Kelly might have been making major progress, but she didn’t go do things with other people, especially ones she didn’t know.

  “They met awhile ago,” Todd said. He cleared his throat. “I really didn’t want to be the one to tell you this. It’s Kelly’s decision.”

  Everything clicked into place. I backed against the wall of the forensics building, away from the foot traffic. “Kelly and Justin are dating, and she didn’t tell me.”

  “She was afraid you’d be worried about her, with both their backgrounds. But it really makes sense, if you think about it. Both damaged and abused like they were. They get each other. I know it seems like they could be a detriment to each other’s recovery but Justin’s doing great, and I’ve checked in on Kelly just like I promised. She’s happy.”

  That’s not why Kelly hadn’t told me. I didn’t care about her dating Justin because of any of that. I cared because his brother was a cop, and if Justin found out my secrets, what would he do? Would he really care?

  “How did they meet?” I asked.

  “Justin was with me when I stopped by to check on her a couple of months ago,” Todd said. “I asked if he could come up. He wanted to meet her in person and thank her for the help with getting his record fully expunged. They hit it off.”

  I couldn’t even be angry with Todd for not telling me, at least not right now. Kelly’s safety was too important. “So how do you know she’s safe right this minute?”

  “Because she and Justin were going to a movie. They’re not supposed to be back until this afternoon. But I talked to Justin less than an hour ago, right before they went into the theater. He’s with her. She’s fine.”

  I tried to breathe normally again. Justin could keep her safe. She wasn’t alone. But I couldn’t risk Kelly not knowing she might be in danger, even if the truth set her recovery back. “I believe you, but whoever this guy is found Shannon at Penn State. He could find Kelly or Justin. So could you please call Justin and tell Kelly to call me as soon as you’re done with King? Let them know what’s going on.”

  “Of course,” Todd said. “I’m trying to get my lieutenant to approve travel so I can see the crime scene and do my own questioning. But he’s a pencil pusher whose main agenda is keeping the political machine going, so he won’t want to ruffle the Park Police’s feathers.”

  The idea of seeing Todd made my stomach do a strange flip. Todd paused, and I realized he was waiting for me to speak. I swallowed the nerves. “I hope you can come down.”

  More awkward silence until Todd cleared his throat. “And yes, King did tell me about the staging. How are you doing?”

  The concern in his voice almost brought me to my knees. “I’m okay. But if I talk about how I’m feeling, I won’t be.”

  “All right,” Todd said. “Just know that you can talk to me when you’re ready. Because this is really personal, and it’s okay for you to need help.”

  “I know that,” I said. “But right now, I want to figure out who went after Shannon. He’s still out there, and sooner or later, someone else is going to get hurt.”

  “You realize you are an eventual target? Even if he’s trying to make you suffer, make you run scared, he’s going to try to take you at some point.”

  Let him. It would be the last mistake he ever made. “I know. And I promise I’ll be careful. But…” I hated to bring it up, but we needed to discuss it sooner rather than later. Better if I was the one who kicked it off. “We might as well address the elephant between us. We know there’s Brian Harrison and his ridiculous theory.”

  Todd’s silence made me feel like I would break out in hives at any moment, but I kept my mouth shut. Todd didn’t believe Harrison’s theory was ridiculous. He strongly suspected I had killed both Harrison brothers along with several other pedophiles but so far hadn’t made much effort to prove it. “Except Brian and his brother are both dead.”

  “I’m aware. But what if he told someone else? What if there is another family member or friend who believed it and then saw my name in the news? And what about Beth Ried? Remember her?” I’d still like to kick the reporter in her perfect, white teeth. “She could easily be this guy’s source without even realizing it.”

  “I’ll check on the Harrison angle,” Todd said. “And that’s a good point about Ried. Make sure you mention it to King. As much as the Harrison theory,” he cleared his throat, “is a possible motive, I agree that a connection with Jake Meyer is the first place to look.”

  My throat tightened. “Thanks.” I didn’t want to say anything more, but the words forced their way out. “Todd, there’s something else. Lily’s curls. That’s something I never told anyone about.”

  “He could have found out from a source,” Todd said. “You know how easily people can find just about anything now.”

  “It’s not that.” My throat locked up. “I took the curls as a dig at my mother because Lily hated her hair that way and our mother always wanted her to wear them. But I never told a soul that.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “Positive.”

  “Then the killer must have known what her body looked like. But how? And what about the message on the mirror? Did you tell anyone about that?”

  “Kelly’s the only person who knows about the message. And she wouldn’t have told anyone.”

  Helplessness draped over me. I pushed away from the hard wall before I slid down into a heap. “I thought the old life was behind me. But I guess I’ll never escape it. My road less travelled is no longer an option.”

  That was as close as I’d come to admitting m
y bad deeds to Todd. He didn’t know the things Mary Weston had said, that she’d told me I was destined to be a killer no matter how much I tried to deny it. That I killed because I wanted to, and my justification was no more than an illusion.

  A part of me had feared she was right. So I fled to my new life in Alexandria, thinking that keeping myself away from the old haunts would change things. So far, it had worked.

  But maybe it didn’t matter. The bad deeds of the past were going to hold me accountable.

  “Stop that right now.” Todd’s harsh voice felt strangely soothing. “You control your fate. As long as you keep fighting to take that new road, you will leave the old life behind you. But if you let yourself get sucked back in, then that’s on you.”

  I couldn’t talk about it anymore, or I’d end up telling him everything just to ease the burden of guilt. “Please tell Justin to have Kelly call me right away. I need to hear her voice.”

  King drove me back to Alexandria, spending most of the drive on the phone arguing with someone about who should do what in the multi-state investigation of Shannon’s murder. I tuned him out. I couldn’t see anything but Shannon’s body arranged to mock my sister’s death.

  King parked in front of the NCMEC building on Prince Street. “If you think of anyone else, call me.”

  “I will.” Asking him to keep me updated on the case would be pointless; he wouldn’t be allowed to share the kind of details I wanted.

  Feeling as though I’d gained a hundred pounds in the last few hours, I walked into the lobby, barely acknowledging Bobby and Dean. Thankfully, the elevator was empty.

  As the floors dinged by, I thought about what a mistake this bastard had made. I assumed his organization and ability to dig into my life meant he was intelligent. So his mistake had to be ego driven rather than stupidity. Which meant his arrogance was his weakness–a weakness I would use to discover his identity.

  My private investigator’s license was still valid. I’d have to work the case in my spare time. Kelly would need to dig deep into her resource bank. We’d keep looking until the case was solved.

  What if we found him before the police did?

  As I stepped out of the elevator, my phone vibrated in my clenched hand. I heaved a sigh of relief when Kelly’s number popped up on the screen.

  “You’re all right?”

  “I’m fine.” Kelly’s voice erased some of the tension in my shoulders. “I called as soon as I got Todd’s message. I’m so sorry about Shannon.”

  “Thanks.” I’d sworn I wouldn’t make her feel guilty, but the words had a mind of their own. “When you didn’t answer your cellphone, I panicked. I thought he had you too. Thank God Todd knew where you were.” My skin heated with shame at the note of accusation in my voice.

  Silence invaded, the tension palpable despite the distance between us. I walked over to the nearest window and watched the clutch of tourists hurrying down the sidewalk.

  “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you,” Kelly burst out. “It sort of happened out of nowhere. Justin and I just got to talking that night Todd brought him over. I know we’ve both been through different traumas, but he can understand on a level most people can’t. When he asked for my number, I gave it to him without thinking. Can you imagine?”

  “I understand.” Something that felt an awful lot like jealousy welled up inside of me. I didn’t want to be replaced, especially when I hadn’t made any real friend in my new life. “And I’m thrilled you’re dating. That’s an amazing step for you. But Justin…it’s just…”

  “He’ll never find out.” Her voice had dropped. “I swear. He’d have to hack into my laptop, and unless he’s a computer genius like me–and trust me, he’s not–that’s not happening. He doesn’t even know where I hide it.”

  “But what if you tell him? What if you slip up and implicate yourself?” I wanted to bang my head against the wall.

  “I won’t,” she said. “But do you really think he would care about what we’ve done to those monsters?”

  The truth was, I didn’t. Justin probably wouldn’t blink an eye, and he was loyal to me. But I didn’t want Kelly getting in trouble.

  My ego knew there was more to it than that. But I’d deal with that problem later. Shannon was dead, Kelly might be in danger. And she was happy. Who was I to mess with that?

  “Just promise me you’ll be careful,” I said. “And not just with that information. With yourself. Don’t do anything you don’t feel comfortable with, no matter how small it seems.”

  “I won’t,” she said. “We’re taking things slowly. But I’m happy.”

  A pang shot through me. “Then I’m happy for you. I just need you both to be careful. Todd’s going to check on you every day.”

  “I won’t go anywhere alone,” she said. “And I definitely won’t let anyone in the apartment. You know me. But I think I have something that will make you feel better about my safety.”

  I couldn’t imagine what it might be, unless she’d already discovered Shannon’s killer. “What?”

  “I’ve got a tracking application on my cellphone,” she said. “Mostly because I kept losing it in the apartment. But I can add you to the account and make you an admin. If you can’t reach me, you can log in and see where my phone is. That way you’ll be able to tell I’m somewhere safe and won’t have to worry.”

  “Are you sure you won’t feel like I’m stalking you?”

  “It’s fine,” she said. “I’ll feel better knowing you have access because you’ll be less stressed. And you can’t access any of my personal information anyway.”

  I couldn’t match her teasing tone. “Thank you. That makes me feel a little better.”

  “But what about Chris? Are you going to call him?”

  The answer caught in my throat. I hadn’t thought of him as a target, even after his text. Shame heated my face. After Mary Weston’s arrest, our personal relationship had become public knowledge. “Of course.”

  “You guys are talking, right?”

  If you wanted to call infrequent and short texts talking, then yes. “Sort of. He’s still upset with me, and I can’t blame him.” I’d shut him out the last few months. After everything that happened the past winter, all the secrets he’d kept…I couldn’t deal with him. Not if I wanted a clean start.

  “You had to do what was best for you,” Kelly said. “It was the right thing.”

  Until today, I’d actually believed that. I sucked in a breath that made my throat burn. “Did Todd tell you about the way Shannon’s body was staged?”

  “God, yes,” Kelly said. “You’re sure there’s no one you would have told about those things?”

  “I only told you about the message on the mirror.” Energy sparked in my saturated system. Old habits wrapping around me like a favorite blanket. “Don’t you remember?”

  “Of course,” Kelly said. “But I didn’t know you thought she’d curled her hair to piss off your mother.”

  “No one did. That’s got to be a coincidence.”

  “So let’s talk this out,” Kelly said. “We know I’m the only one you told about the message, and I’ve never shared that info. So it’s got to be someone your mother told or someone who either witnessed the scene or saw photos.”

  “My mother bitched to everyone who would listen that Lily thought of me when she died instead of her. So that pool is too big to search. And that was over twenty years ago. Even if someone remembered her blabbering, the chances of this guy tracking the pictures down are pretty slim. He wouldn’t even know where to start.”

  “Unless your mother told him,” Kelly said. “You’re going to have to talk to her and see if she can think of anyone.”

  I’d rather spend the rest of my life in solitary confinement. I kept my head down as I made my way to my cubicle. “What about crime scene photos?”

  “Lily died in the early nineties,” Kelly said. “The Internet was in its infancy and pretty much the wild west. A pretty, dead teenager–it�
��s possible the picture made it online.”

  I rubbed my temples and then dug into my desk drawer for aspirin. “I think we’re making this too complicated. And giving this guy too much credit. I can buy him finding out about Shannon from doing his due diligence, but I think she told him about Lily. She knew about her. Maybe I described the scene in detail.”

  “Down to her hair?” Kelly sounded doubtful. “It’s one thing for you to have told her about Lily, but it’s another for you to give her intimate details. That’s not something you do unless you’re really close to someone.”

  She was right. I popped the aspirin and swallowed them dry. They raked down my throat and left me feeling as if I’d inhaled a bug. “Then he finds out about Lily from Shannon. Because she’s terrified and telling him everything he wants to know. Then he gets the details somewhere else.”

  “If Shannon gave him Lily’s name, and he had a year or location, it’s possible he could have found crime scene photos. Any number of people from the police department have access to the files. Whoever took them may not have been a creep. Some people just like to collect crime scene photos. Maybe they were making some sort of remembrance site and thought their freaky efforts would be appreciated. So the picture makes it online and then the creep comes along. You know as well as I do that once it’s out there, it’s there for good. I’ll go digging. See if I can find it on the sites. Unless…”

  “What?”

  “Unless you just want the police to handle this. They’re going to look at all the same things.”

  I looked around, lowering my voice. “Someone sent me two 1986 silver dollar coins this morning. And another one was found with Shannon. Don’t tell that to anyone.”

  “Silver dollars?” Kelly’s voice rose in surprise. “So this guy is trying to tell you something else beyond what he wrote on the mirror.”

  “I have no idea what, but I don’t see how I can just sit back and do nothing.”

  “That’s not what I’m saying,” Kelly said. “I think you should communicate with Todd, tell him all your theories. Tell him to talk to your mother so you don’t have to. And you let him do his job while you keep to yours.”