Trouble [New Crescent 1] (BookStrand Publishing Romance)

by Mary Lou George

  He sighed heavily. “I’m sorry, Aunt Ernestine. It’s getting to me. When she wakes, I hope Gillian will have some information that may help. You should have seen her. She was amazing. I think she might very well have saved Jessie today. I’ll never forget it.”

  “You’re in love with her.” It was a statement, not a question.

  “Yes,” he said simply.

  “Good, that makes me happy for now, but shadows are gathering. You’ve got to stop this man. This woman is your mate. You won’t survive losing her.” Having said what she’d meant to say, she hung up, leaving Travis staring at his phone in bewilderment. He was in love.

  Travis knew he’d have to attend to this current crisis before he could embark on a future with Gillian. Everything was clouded by the shadow stalking the community and he was even more determined than ever to catch the man responsible.

  Chapter 25

  “I don’t think I need to tell you what it felt like to touch her mind. She is still so scared, literally, paralyzed with fear. He wanted to kill her and he almost succeeded.” They’d moved to the living room and Gillian gave thanks for its familiarity and warmth. “She has a strong will to survive but recovery after something like this is a long hard road.” Faith in Jessie’s strength made her flash a smile that disappeared as she continued. “He chooses strong women, Travis. That’s the connection between his victims. It gives him pleasure to control strong women, break them, possess them, torture them. He’s twisted and I don’t care what or who turned him into what he is today. He’s a monster and he has to be destroyed.”

  She shuddered and Travis put his arm around her, warming her suddenly chilled body with his own.

  “She was on the way to her car and he took her from behind, just like the others. I don’t think you’ll find much evidence in the vehicle, because he didn’t rape her there. He found some place isolated where he could take all the time he wanted, without fear of being disturbed. After he was finished with her, he drove to another location and left her there to die.”

  Gillian took a long drink of the water she’d put on the coffee table. “His rage was even more powerful this time. It’s building, getting worse everyday. He said the same kind of things as before, ‘you’re mine now, always mine’. Stuff like that, but Jessie didn’t recognize the voice.”

  When Travis swore with frustration, she continued. “She could smell him, his cologne and she’s having trouble coming to terms with it because it was a pleasant fragrance. It sickens her now and it’s somehow stuck in her memory. Unable to escape it, she re-lives what he did to her over and over.”

  He winced. “Smell is closely linked to memory and if that’s the most distinctive thing she can recall, then it could be useful.”

  Gillian nodded, “She’ll be able to identify the cologne when she wakes. We’ll have something to go on.”

  “That’s one good thing at least, provided it’s a rare aftershave or cologne. Men wear that stuff all the time these days. We’ll see what comes of it. Every little bit helps. Did you get anything else?”

  “Just the overwhelming feeling this man is familiar to me; there’s something there I still can’t grasp.” She sighed with frustration and vowed, “I’ll get it though. It’s just a matter of time.”

  “How do you feel now?”

  “Impatient. I’m missing something important and it’s driving me mad but my renewed efforts to meditate have helped me to remember a little more.” She laughed. “Nothing helpful of course. That would be too much to ask. Bits and pieces have just started to come back to me.”

  “Like what?”

  “It’s really the same thing I told you before, but more of the details are filling in. I was standing in the doorway of my apartment making small talk with Marcus who’d ridden the elevator with me. He was leaning on my door jam, as casual as ever. I can remember the laundry he was carrying and how fresh it smelled. I said something about that and it started an inane little conversation. I was in a bit of a hurry and was a little distracted. He made a funny comment about my attention span, I think, and I laughed.” She shrugged. “That’s all.

  “I’m glad it’s starting to come back. It sounds like you may remember a little more each day and that’s encouraging.” He pulled her close

  When he didn’t kiss her, Gillian looked up at him with frustration. He just shook his head and opened his mind to her. He washed over Gillian like warm honey and she opened up to him.

  They made love to each other with their bodies and their minds. Each knowing what the other needed, desired, craved. They weren’t always gentle, joined passion made that impossible, but it was exquisite, soul searing. They created a magic circle with their bodies and souls, give and take and give again. They both reached the peak at the same time. Laughter bubbled up and flowed over until Gillian felt tears. They slept.

  He cursed when the phone woke them. The exchange was brief and Travis looked at her while he spoke, their connection was broken.

  “That was Brown. It looks like they’ve got him. Roger Paitken was caught trying to force himself on a woman tonight. Good thing we’ve been tailing him. He tried to get away but Brown nailed him.” He took Gillian’s face in his hands and kissed her. “I have to get to the station. They’re booking him now.”

  “Thank God he was caught and no other woman was hurt.”

  “You’ll be okay here with Hank and Maggie?”

  She smiled at him hesitantly. “It sounds like New Crescent is safe once again, but just in case, I promise to lock the doors and I’ll stay inside.”

  He caressed her cheek. “This could take all night. I might not see you until morning.”

  “That’s okay Travis, it’s for a good cause. Now, go get the bad guy.”

  He kissed her again and waved out the window when he drove away. As good as her word, once he was gone she and the dogs locked up for the night.

  * * * *

  Roger Paitken sat in the interrogation room impatiently drumming his fingers on the table when Travis walked in.

  “I understand that you’ve been read you rights and you’re waiting for your lawyer to get her.”

  “Yeah, I’m not sayin’ a word without him. I shouldn’t even need to pay for a God damned lawyer. I didn’t do nothing.” Cocky, he leaned back in his chair.

  Travis sighed, “I’m betting that double negative was Freudian.”

  Paitken looked confused and said, “Huh? I don’t know what the hell you’re talkin’ about, Sinclair. All I can say is…that bitch is crazy. I didn’t touch her.”

  As soon as he’d arrived at his office, Travis got a full briefing from Brown. Apparently, Roger was caught running away from a woman who said he’d come up to her from behind and tried to overpower her. She was still giving her statement. Travis hadn’t talked with her at any length yet.

  Roger Paitken, like so many criminals, had very little self-discipline and Travis knew he couldn’t resist filling the silence in the interrogation room by professing his innocence. All they needed to do was wait quietly until Roger started. It didn’t take long.

  “That skank is lying. I was just foolin’ around, havin’ a little fun. I know her and she knows me. You got the wrong guy here.”

  Travis sat in silence, watching him fidget and sure enough, he started again. “Look, I got alibis for all the rapes. You checked them out yourself. I couldn’t be the guy. I’m tellin’ the truth here.” He leaned forward and pointed a finger at Travis. “You got it in for me just cuz I like women who like it rough. Hell, I never did nothin’ they didn’t ask for. So what if I’m not from one of the old families like you and your friends? Well, your friends ain’t so clean and you know it.”

  Refusing to react to his statement, Travis let Roger continue.

  “Oh, yeah, your good buddy Chase? His old man beat his mother but good. Don’t they say that kinda stuff runs in families? What kind of alibi does McCann have, huh…or didn’t you even check him out?”

  Calmly,
Travis said, “Chase’s stepfather was a wife abuser.”

  “Stepdaddy then. What the hell difference does that make? He’s seen what it takes. Sometimes, you run across a girl who just needs you to be a man.”

  The door swung open and a suit with a briefcase walked in. In a brisk voice, he said, “That will be enough, Sheriff. I advise my client to say nothing until I’ve had a chance to talk to him, so if you’ll excuse us?”

  Without saying a word, Travis left the room and went to find Deputy Brown.

  What Paitken said was true, but it didn’t shake Travis’s trust in his friend. Chase’s stepfather was a vile man who’d beaten his wife. That was true enough. Chase was just a young boy when his mother married Bob Adams. He’d brought with him a daughter from a previous marriage and while he never laid a hand on Jade, he’d threatened to. He used that threat to control Chase and his mother. After his mother died of a heart attack, an eighteen year-old Chase tried to fight for custody of Jade, but the system didn’t work that way. She was forced to live with Adams. Travis knew, without question, Chase would never hurt a woman. Paitken was good and caught…and he knew it.

  “Well, I think we’ve got our man.” Brown said when Travis tracked him down. “The girl’s story holds and she’s pressing charges. But we still don’t have anything on him for the other victims. I’m not sure we’ll be able to hold him for long.”

  “You’re right, we don’t have enough on him yet, but this charge could keep him out of commission for a while and it’ll get us the warrant to search his house, his car and maybe even his work. We’re bound to come up with evidence that will send him away for a good, long time. Someplace where he’ll meet a few people who really do ‘like it rough’.” The thought made Travis smile without humor.

  “Did he say anything to you when you were in the room with him?”

  “Nothing of any use. Just the usual stuff.” Travis saw no reason to share Paitken’s accusations with Brown. “Given time, I don’t think I’ll have any trouble getting the truth out of old Roger.”

  “Did you want to talk to the girl?”

  “Yeah. Is she still in the break room? Oh, and Brown, these days they’re called women.”

  Brown had the good grace to look shamefaced. “I know. Sorry about that. I wasn’t thinking. The woman is still in the break room. Caroline is making her coffee.”

  “Good, I could use a cup of Caroline’s coffee.” It was going to be a very long night.

  Regina was happy to hear the news when Gillian called her.

  “It’s about time someone put that bastard in jail. He’s a misogynist from way back.”

  “He sure gave me the creeps that day in the diner. Let’s hope they’ve got enough to hold him.” Gillian said.

  “I wonder if he’s the guy who attacked you. Travis said it was possible that the same guy could have been your attacker. And apparently, they can connect him to you somehow.”

  “Yeah, Travis told me. What with this stupid memory loss, I’m pretty useless as a witness.”

  “How have you been feeling lately? Any more lost memories come back to you?”

  Gillian told her about remembering Marcus and his laundry and Reggie laughed. “I’m sure he’ll be thrilled he’s the one person you remember first and he was doing a little housework, like a good little boy. In contrast, I warn you Travis isn’t known for his skills with a washer and dryer. He wears the same kind of thing all the time, so he just buys ten of everything. When he runs out of clothes, he usually cons someone else into doing his laundry.”

  Gillian laughed. “Thanks for the warning.”

  When they’d finished talking, Gillian was left feeling more optimistic than she’d felt in weeks. The nightmare might be over. She could get on with her life…a life with Travis, maybe? The thought made her smile and it was with good spirits that she began to focus and clear her mind in preparation for meditation.

  Chapter 26

  Travis didn’t make it to Gillian’s bed at all that night. He called and told her that he was going to grab a nap in his office, so they wouldn’t be seeing each other.

  His voice was weary. “I’m hoping to get this out of the way before Aunt Ernestine’s birthday party. Give the whole town one more thing to celebrate.”

  “I love that idea, but don’t forget that without food and rest, you won’t be as sharp as you need to be.”

  “Yes, dear, all machines need fuel to function.” She could hear his smile. “Listen, I’m sorry I can’t be with you tonight.”

  “So am I, but it’s for a good reason. And I’m fine on my own. I’ve been doing some mental exercises. I find little bits come back when I’m relaxed and not so aggressive.”

  “Have you remembered anything more?”

  “Just some useless bits like waking up the morning of the attack. Working at home in the morning; the sounds of construction outside were distracting and I ended up going to my studio after all. I’ve been sifting through computer files to see if any of the work I did that day shakes a memory loose.”

  “And?”

  “It’s all a bit hazy and the harder I try the more elusive it is. I’ll give it a rest and see if that works. Ernestine’s bash should help.”

  “Sounds like a good idea. Don’t push yourself too hard Gilly, and make sure you keep Hank with you at all times. Roger is behind bars, for now, but he might make bail.”

  “I won’t let my guard down. I hope to see you in the flesh sometime soon.”

  “That’s the plan. I’ll keep you posted. Sleep well.” He hung up the phone.

  It felt a little odd that night as she prepared for bed. It had been a while since she’d slept alone with no expectation of Travis’s company. Tonight, he’d lay his head on a pillow that wasn’t hers. Her bed seemed far too big for her and she found sleep didn’t come so easily. She punched a pillow in frustration, forcing her mind to let go and relax. It was very late when she finally drifted off.

  Nightmares plagued her sleep and in the morning she woke with a headache. Physical exercise had proven helpful in the past so she spent a good portion of the morning swimming. Finally exhausting herself, she wrapped a towel around her waist and stretched out on a chaise. The sun felt wonderful on her skin as she applied sunscreen. The exercise took the edge off the pain in her head and she turned on a local radio station. The DJ’s deep tones and the background music helped to calm her mind and she relaxed.

  She awoke with a start as Travis loomed over her, blocking out the sun.

  “Easy Gilly, you were dreaming.” He sat on the chaise and stroked her hair.

  When she spoke, her voice was shaking. “I’m not sure it was just a dream.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “I think it was a memory of sorts. I had nightmares all last night and I couldn’t remember any of them this morning.” She rubbed her eyes with her knuckles and blinked up at him.

  “I’m so sorry I wasn’t here.” His regret sounded in his low-pitched voice.

  “Don’t apologize. It’s not your fault. I think it’s all coming to a head that’s all.”

  He nodded and said, “Tell me what you remember of this last dream or memory. How’d it start?” She reached over and switched off the radio. The sound that had been so soothing was now jarring, making her feel edgy.

  “It started like before. I was standing in the hallway with Marcus. Again, I was a little impatient and he made a comment that made me laugh. It all changed from that point on, more like my nightmares than like a memory.” She shrugged and put a hand on her forehead as if to physically draw out the dream. “I was running along the beach, but when I was grabbed from behind I didn’t land on the beach, instead, I fell onto the couch in my apartment and a man was on top of me. He was heavy, and I couldn’t breathe. I struggled, but he was so much stronger than me. All the feelings I’d picked up from Sandy, Marcie and Jessie flooded through me. Some of them were mine, too. It was so strange, like my trauma melded with theirs, and I could
n’t tell where mine stopped and theirs started.”

  “Maybe you should call Dr. Smythe, see if he has time to see you.”

  She nodded. “I wouldn’t mind his help with this and I’d enjoy the drive.”

  “Good.”

  She smiled, “Now don’t get me wrong, this is a pleasant surprise, but what brings you here? I didn’t think I’d see you this morning.” His unexpected appearance finally registered with her.

  “I had a few minutes and wanted to look at you.” His eyes traveled over her swimsuit, clad body with approval. “It was worth the trip.”

  She stretched languidly under his gaze, enjoying his reaction.

  “Now that’s just not fair.” He gently bit her sun-kissed shoulder. Swimming wasn’t the only physical exercise Gillian enjoyed that morning. Headache? What headache?

  Smythe was able to meet with Gillian over lunch. She stopped at Molly’s, the barbeque restaurant she’d liked so much on her way to New Crescent and picked up enough food to feed an army. Her waitress, Pansy, arranged a cold lunch to go and happily told her she’d been accepted to Brown University. She’d met Pansy the same day she’d arrived in New Crescent and Gillian’s warm memories of the day included the young waitress.

  Dr. Smythe’s face lit in anticipation when he saw the food Pansy had packed for them. They discussed Gillian’s memories as they ate.

  “It sounds like you’re on the verge of getting it all back, but I am concerned about this lack of distinction between your memories and the other women’s.” He wiped mustard from is chin and leaned towards her. “I don’t think you should try to mentally connect with anyone for a while. Maybe once your head is clear of other people’s feelings, you’ll be able to make some sense out of your own memories.”

  Gillian nodded reluctantly.

  “I know you want to help these women. You can’t resist it, that’s who you are, my dear, but it sounds like the sheriff has his man. Now, you should let the medical profession do its job. Sandy, Marcie and Jessie will have to do without your uncanny empathy.” When she opened her mouth to object, Smythe shook his head and continued. “Just for now. Let’s see if that gives you some clarity. The return of even an inconsequential bit of your memory is a good sign.”