An image of the young officer who had interviewed him flashed on the screen, his face smiling in a happier time. Mother had been wrong. It wasn’t any easier after the first time. There was something about taking a human life that clashed with his inner being. He could do it, and he would to protect Mother. He’d kill them all, but he’d never enjoy it. Not the way she did.
A dog barked outside, and for a moment he considered going out, luring it into his room, and spending the next few hours pleasuring himself by watching it suffer. Some inner instinct told him that would be a mistake, and he’d made enough of those lately. So many he wasn’t sure they could recover.
He sighed, stripped off his clothes, and climbed into the king-size bed. If only he’d been able to convince Mother to kill animals instead of young girls, they could have lived a normal life. He closed his eyes, listening to a dog bark, and allowed his imagination to turn those barks into yelps and whines. Tomorrow, he’d find another place in Mississippi for Mother to rest for a few days and regain her strength. Once he got rid of that damn dog, the girl, and the Indian, they’d start over. Maybe this time he’d be able to show her the beauty of watching an animal die.
~ ~ ~
Conversation stopped immediately when Jake and Loki entered the kitchen. “What’s going on?” Jake asked.
“The director wants the sketch released immediately,” Wilkes said.
“That might be a good thing,” Loki said. “Then I’m not the only one who knows what he looks like.”
“The officer knew what he looked like too, but he still got close enough to slit his throat,” Teresa said. “All releasing his picture is going to do is widen the path of people he kills. Next time he won’t wait. He stops at a store, he’ll kill the clerk before he leaves. A motel, kill the clerk before he leaves.”
Loki slumped in a chair beside Karen. “I thought the officer died in the explosion. So what are we going to do?”
Teresa walked to the refrigerator and pulled out a beer. “Coroner said the trachea had been severed by a sharp instrument, not the bomb blast.” She turned and leveled her eyes on Wilkes. “Tell them the rest, Wilkes.”
“We’re being recalled. The director wants us in Alabama now, working the Frances case.”
“So you’re just going to leave.” Jake slammed a fist into the wall. “Typical for the FBI.”
“That’s what we were arguing about when you came in,” Karen said, signaling for Teresa to hand her a beer. “Wilkes wants the two of us to leave, and he’ll stay.”
Teresa smiled at Karen, and the two tapped the beer bottles together. “Not bloody likely. We started this together, we’ll finish it together.”
“It would be easier if we didn’t need one of them alive,” Wilkes said, “so we can figure out how many they’ve killed and where they buried the bodies.”
“Good luck with that.” Jake popped off the top of a beer and took a long drink. “I get either of them in my sights, I’m taking them down.”
Wilkes waved at the board on the wall. “You do that and we’ll never be able to find the bodies.”
“What makes you think he would tell you even if you caught him?” Jake asked. “The guy’s a psycho, and from what I can tell, so is his mother.”
“There are ways to make him talk,” Wilkes said and pushed back his chair. “I’m going to take a walk.”
“So what happens if you refuse to leave?” Loki asked.
“A lot depends on whether we get this guy or not,” Teresa said. “We nab him, the director will be afraid to do much more than suspend us for a few days.”
“Thank you for staying,” Loki said. “I know it can’t be an easy decision.”
Teresa looked at Jake. “You ever miss it?”
“Not as much as you’d think, and not at all since we’ve been here.”
“What will you do if you do get fired?” Loki asked. “I mean, it’s apparent you’re both dedicated to your job.”
Teresa shrugged. “If he fires all of us, Karen will join Wilkes’s team outside the Bureau. He’s been after her for years, anyway.”
“And you,” Karen said.
“That was before.” Teresa’s cell phone buzzed. “I’m gonna take this outside.”
Karen finished her beer and turned on the laptop. “Back to work. We need to start on some of these nursing homes. We need a name for this guy.”
Teresa rushed in, her face pale. “Anybody see where Wilkes went?”
“What’s wrong?” Karen asked. “And don’t say ‘Nothing.’”
“Catherine called. Rosetta’s missing.”
The silence in the room was broken only by the fan on the computer. “It can’t be him,” Loki said. “How would he know about her?”
“She went to the nursing home in Baton Rouge.” Karen closed the laptop, her hands trembling as she picked up her beer. “It could be him. Who’s going to tell Wilkes?”
Jake rose and reached for his coat. “I’ll do it.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
Jake was pretty sure he’d find Wilkes on the ridge behind the barn. It was one of those places Jake felt drawn to when things were bothering him. Quiet, with a view of the mountains in the distance. He’d come here a lot before this mess had started. It was also one of the places where he could see the farmhouse without being seen.
“Wilkes?”
“Up here.”
Jake climbed the last few feet to a small rock outcropping. “You’re needed at the house.”
Wilkes continued to stare at the mountains in the distance. “Do you ever think about what might have happened if you’d chosen a different path in life?”
“After Cara died, I spent every waking minute thinking about it. I hated myself for not being a banker or an accountant or anything that didn’t put my family in danger. I realize now there’s danger everywhere, and it wouldn’t have made a difference.” Jake looked down at the farmhouse as he searched his heart for the words to tell Wilkes what he’d come to tell him. It wasn’t the kind of news to be blurted out.
“Rosetta and I talked a lot about that when we first met. I even thought about quitting, but she wouldn’t let me.” Wilkes stood and brushed the snow off his coat. “She said this was our purpose in life, helping others and keeping them safe, no matter what the personal cost.”
Jake had seen the same pain and confusion in Loki’s eyes after a vision. The knowledge that something horrible had happened or was about to happen. And the helplessness that came with knowing there was nothing that could be done to stop it. “How long have you known?”
Wilkes stepped off the outcropping and started down the hill. “A week before this case came up.”
Jake fell in beside him, and the two continued in silence a short distance. He’d had no warning with Cara’s death. No time to worry or take steps to try to save her. He’d always scoffed at psychic abilities and even made fun of Harry and Loki’s Choctaw beliefs. “So if you knew this was going to happen, why didn’t you stay there and protect her?”
“You saw her,” Wilkes said, followed by a soft laugh. “Do you think she would have let me?” They reached the edge of the barn, and Wilkes stopped walking. “Every action in life has a reaction, Jake. What if I had stayed behind and saved Rosetta from being taken? In a few months, we marry and have a child. Ten years from now, our little girl goes missing. Kidnapped, raped, forced to endure the things Grace has been forced to endure, and finally beaten to death. All because I made the wrong choice and this bastard we’re chasing got away.”
“Don’t get me wrong. I’m glad you’re here, and I sure as hell don’t envy anyone knowing or seeing the future, but how the hell do you know what the right choice is?”
“You don’t always, so you have to weigh how much good you can do.” Wilkes nodded toward the farmhouse. “As Karen said, those red pins on the wall may represent the number of children this son of a bitch has taken and killed. We can’t change the past, but we can stop him here.”
“We wouldn’t have that information or the information about the nursing homes without Rosetta’s help.”
Wilkes gave him a sad smile and started walking again. “Rosetta’s kidnapping doesn’t have anything to do with this case, Jake. She would have been taken even if this case had never come up.”
Jake frowned. “I don’t give a damn how psychic you think you are, you can’t possibly know that for sure. What if this madman took her?”
Wilkes stopped for a moment, his head bowed. “He didn’t, and the sooner we find him, the sooner I can head home. If all goes as the drawings show, she’ll be home before I am.”
“And if it doesn’t?”
Wilkes’s jaw set in a hard line. “Then I’ll be searching for someone to kill.”
Loki, Teresa, and Karen were busy working on a list when they entered, and Jake poured two cups of coffee and handed one to Wilkes. His admiration for the man had gone up drastically in the last fifteen minutes. “Where do you want to start?”
“We’ve got ten nursing homes that look promising,” Teresa said. “Unfortunately they’re all in different states.”
“I called the director and asked for help.” Karen shrugged. “We’re on our own.”
Jake stared at the list. “Can you email that sketch?”
“Sure,” Karen said. “But aren’t we keeping the sketch under wraps?”
“We need everyone we’ve got here to protect Loki, Grace, and the baby.” He looked at Wilkes. “Didn’t you say a member of your team was from Kentucky?”
“Cody Allen. He was a homicide sergeant in Lexington.”
“He still has contacts there. One of these nursing homes is in Jackson. Think he could get someone to go out there and show the picture and see if anyone knows this guy?”
Wilkes nodded. “I’ve got the sketch on my phone. I’ll email it to him and get him started on it.”
“There’s one in Laredo, Texas, Jake. How about Harry?” Loki asked. “He could be there in a couple of hours.”
Jake nodded. “Send it to him.”
“So what about the rest of these places? Should we contact local departments for help?” Teresa asked.
“Let’s wait,” Wilkes said. “If we get something from these two, we’ll know we’re on the right track. If we strike out, we’ll have to decide if we want to keep putting time into that. The more people we send it to, the more chance we have of it leaking to the press somewhere.”
“So what do we do now?” Loki asked.
Jake listened to Dadron’s snores coming from the back of the house. “We aren’t going to hear anything before morning, or maybe later tomorrow. I say we all get some rest.”
Karen dropped her pen on the table and yawned. “I think Jake’s right. We’re all exhausted.”
Loki looked at Wilkes. “Teresa could bunk with Karen, and there’s an extra bedroom if you want to stay here tonight.”
“Good idea,” Wilkes said. “We’ll make a run to the motel in the morning and grab our things. For the time being, I think this is where we all need to be.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
Robert lowered the binoculars and rubbed his chin. Damn. He recognized the blonde he thought he’d killed earlier. Why the hell are they still here? By now they should be out looking for me and Mother. Maybe Mother was right and they should wait. If they were caught, she’d never survive in jail. There was no other way. He’d simply have to kill them all. He placed the binoculars to his eyes and counted. Seven plus the girl, who was nowhere in sight, but he knew she was there. The dog loped into view, raised his head, and sniffed the air. Robert ducked, even though the odds of his being seen from this distance were slim. He’d never get close as long as that damn dog was around.
A car made its way down the driveway, parked in front of the house, and a tall, older woman got out carrying a bag. He watched as the Indian greeted her and led her toward the house.
She didn’t stay long, and Robert sprinted to his car, slid behind the driver’s seat, and waited until she passed him, then fell in behind her. She knew the Indian and would know her power. He’d developed a plan. One that would take care of most of them all at once.
He followed her toward town and noted the address when she parked in front of a small brick ranch a good distance from any other houses. Luck was finally on his side. He sped past the house and headed to the motel.
~ ~ ~
Loki shook out two pills and handed them to Grace with a glass of water. “Dr. Coomer says it’s bed rest for you. Try to get some sleep, and I’ll bring you some soup in a little while.”
“What about Hope?”
“You don’t want her catching what you’ve got. Dr. Coomer says it’s a twenty-four-hour virus. Jules, Dadron, and I will take care of Hope. If all goes well, you’ll be up and around by tomorrow.”
Grace closed her eyes, and Loki slipped out the door, leaving it cracked so she could hear Hope if she needed anything.
The group had gathered around the kitchen table again except for Jules and Dadron, who were happily entertaining Hope in the living room.
“Anything from Cody or Harry yet?” Loki asked.
Wilkes nodded. “Cody sent a text. They recognized him at the nursing home. Said he went by the name of Robert Pell. They’re looking for an address on him now. Physical therapist, well liked by everyone, and he always did his work for free.”
“Harry’s calling.” Jake picked up his phone. “Hang on, partner, I’m going to put you on speaker.”
“Loki there?”
“I’m here, Harry.”
“Before I start, Jenna wanted me to tell you both hello. I checked with the nursing home, and your guy worked there for a few months as a physical therapist. Name of Robert Graves. They don’t have any records on him, though, because he worked for free. So when are you guys coming home?”
“We’ll have to get back to you, Harry. Thanks for the information, and tell Jenna hello for us.” Jake ended the call.
Bruiser jumped up on Loki, and she patted him absently. “So it’s about what we expected. And even if we checked the other eight, we’d have eight other names and no information.”
“Maybe not,” Wilkes said. “Wasn’t Donna’s last name Graves? And he used the name Robert at both places.”
“Bloody hell, you’re right. Do you think he’s assuming the last names of his victims?” Teresa asked.
Karen jotted notes on a pad next to the computer. “I’ll start a search and see if we had any missing children named Pell before the Jackson, Kentucky, incidents with the animals.”
Bruiser became more insistent, jumping up and grabbing Loki’s hand. “Down boy. What’s got into you?”
“Maybe he needs a walk.” Jake finished his coffee and stood up. “He’s been acting kind of funny all day.”
“Let me grab a coat, and I’ll go with you.” Loki smiled at Karen. “That is, if someone can keep an ear open for Grace, in case she needs anything.”
“I’ll do it,” Teresa said. “It’s too damn cold out there for me.”
“You guys mind if I join you?” Wilkes asked.
“You better grab a coat. As Teresa said, the temperature falls pretty quickly in the afternoons around here.” Loki slipped on her gloves and picked up her jacket. “We’ll wait for you outside.”
No sooner had Jake and Loki closed the door behind them than Bruiser took off at a run, heading up the road leading to the farmhouse.
“Bruiser!” Loki called. “Where the hell is he going, Jake?”
Jake ran after him, his hand going for the pistol on his belt. “Wait for Wilkes and make sure he’s armed.”
Loki paced in the front yard until Wilkes came out of the house. “Hurry up. We have to follow Jake and Bruiser.”
“We’ll take the car. We can catch up quicker that way.”
Loki opened the door, climbed in, and fastened her seat belt. Jake and Bruiser were already out of sight. “I don’t know what made him act that way un
less…” Her voice trailed off. Could he have caught the scent of the killer? “Damn it, he’s not ready for a run like this, and he’s going to hurt himself.”
Wilkes started the car and headed up the driveway. “We’ll find out.”
They reached the top, and Wilkes stopped before pulling onto the main road. “Any sign of them?”
Loki was scanning the area and caught a glimpse of movement. “Go left.”
Wilkes turned left, driving slow as he scanned the trees lining the road. “There they are.” He parked on the side of the road and waved a hand at the tracks in front of them. “Someone was here recently.”
Loki exited, not waiting for Wilkes, and took off at a run. She caught up with Jake, who was breathing hard and watching as Bruiser sniffed the area, deep growls coming from his throat. “I think our guy has been here.”
Wilkes came up behind them. “I’ve got binoculars in the car. I’d ask you to try to get him not to mess up the scene, but I think he already has. Be right back.”
Loki knelt on one knee. “Bruiser, come here!”
He looked her way but continued to growl and paw at the ground.
“Bruiser, come here!” Loki called again and patted the ground. “Now.”
Bruiser stopped, looked at her, and whined. Loki patted the ground again. “Come on, boy.”
He moved toward her slowly, his left leg dragging. He lay down beside her, and Loki gently examined his hip and leg. “I knew you weren’t ready for that kind of run.”
Wilkes returned with the binoculars and studied the area. “There’s a knee print here.” Bending, he looked toward the farmhouse. “Someone was here, and whoever it was was watching the farmhouse.”
Jake joined him, and Wilkes handed him the binoculars. “We both know who it was. I never thought about him coming here in the daylight.”
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