Jayden Roe Mystery 02-The Final Lie

by Lily Campbell

  “What? But—”

  “She dealt with the finger well. We can trust her with this.”

  CHAPTER FORTY-EIGHT

  The news of the shooting had arrived the morning after they had found the dangling corpse. Jay had enjoyed the night of triumph, but took the blow visibly.

  Some time after Dr. Daniels had collected the corpse, the Mayor’s son, Jack, had decided to end Lloyd’s reign and gone to shoot him. He had shot Gary Peters instead. Realizing his error, he had committed suicide.

  Dave had delivered the news with barely concealed malice, and Jay had been unable to stop himself from shaking his head. The man had clearly hoped his ploy with Ms. Carmichael would have left Jay broken for longer. He wouldn’t take losing well.

  ***

  Dave watched Jay begin digging into the police reports about the shooting and smiled to himself. His hacking had made Gary’s betrayal obvious and, just like with the Piers, he had to be eliminated so that Jay would be alone.

  He had been awed and irritated when Jay’s moment of despair had passed so quickly. He had wanted to bring him down, break his spirit. Instead, the man had proved worthy of the years spent watching and planning. Overnight, however, that awe had turned into fuel for the irritation. He had to surpass Jayden Roe, to make him admit that he had been defeated. That was the entire point of this game—for Dave Tiller to be the only one in history to defeat the great Jayden Roe.

  “You get anything in from Dr. Daniels yet?”

  Jay’s tense voice made his smile almost break across his face, but he kept his voice clear. “You were right about the body being Bridgette, but she’s done no more than gain ID. I imagine the murder-suicide will take over as priority.”

  “He really leaves no one. He had gone to Ms. Carmichael, not to gain her help, but to scope out the estate so that he could kidnap both Stella and Miranda. He had to leave Ms. Carmichael alive and in place long enough for us to get the leads, then he took her down.”

  “You suspected she was alive? Why not dead like the gossipers and the couple from the Bronze Rose?” Dave asked, not quite able to keep the curiosity from his tone. The game was almost over anyway. From what he had seen, Jay would soon lay the blame on Lloyd and the sheriff, allowing him to claim victory. A few slips and cracks wouldn't make any difference now.

  “The others were too old. This person only takes younger women, and never any men,” Jay said, then paused, tilting his head. “I think I might have found something.”

  Dave leaned closer. “What is that?”

  “A trail left by Gary.”

  “You never did say why you kept your alliance with him a secret.”

  Jay glanced up. “He didn’t want it known, and I figured it was likely for the best.”

  Dave narrowed his eyes a little then gestured at the screen. “What does his trail achieve?”

  “It connects Lloyd, his hired cronies, and the corrupt sheriff. I think I might be able to bring them down. Look. Lloyd was looking for properties and had stopped on the house where we found the corpse. We can have him done for this. Just give me three days. I’ll send you my work so you can learn to lay it out so it is easy for the local law to deal with. We should work out here in the lounge too so we can hit ideas back and forth if necessary. You ready to follow the trail to the end, Dave?”

  Dave grinned and nodded. “This is what I’ve been waiting for.”

  Good boy, Jay. Follow the trails and then I can show you, before Stella’s drowned corpse, how badly you failed.

  ***

  Stella knew she was going to die, and she welcomed it. She had watched them butcher Bridgette Carmichael. She watched them turn the woman into a replica, a clone, of Stella herself.

  The screams haunted her every moment, awake or asleep. Food left her feeling nauseous and light hurt her eyes.

  The monster who had planned all this had come in person to inspect Bridgette’s transformation. He made Stella watch as she was drowned. Stella hadn’t felt anything. After two weeks of watching Bridgette’s body brutalized to match hers, she was certain that the drowning had been a mercy.

  Stella shuddered against the dirty mattress in the dark cell. She was afraid of the pain and horrors she might still face before she too was granted the same mercy. The dimpled smile swam before her in the dark, the laugh so inhuman in tone. He had taken such pleasure and joy from Bridgette’s pain.

  She shifted and her chains tinkled. She had a sudden flash of memory from before all this, a life now so distant she hardly believed it was her own. She was sitting in the visiting room of the prison in Louisiana, listening to Jay grumble about his life in prison. He had mentioned that the sound of chains, the feel of cuffs, and the sliding of doors were beginning to haunt his nightmares.

  She understood what he meant. If there’d ever be a chance that she would leave this cell, she would also be haunted by the sounds and remembered feelings of bondage. Briefly, she wondered if he was dead already to the man that planned all this. A lone tear escaped, but her tortured mind was beyond the ability to feel anything but fear.

  As if summoned by her thoughts, the door slid open. Stella cringed into the mattress as bright light fell across her, hoping only that her death would be swift.

  Amara Young looked at the woman she had helped keep alive for her master. Long ago, she had left her mother’s side in a park near their home. She had gotten lost until a kind stranger with a dimpled smile offered to help.

  At first she had called him a liar, his help had not returned her to her mother, but rather left her in a cell much like this one. But over time, she came to realize that if she listened to him, food would be better, the chains would be removed, and there’d be nothing painful or scary. She learned all he wanted her to learn and took the rewards. Over time, he had trusted her more and more, but warned her, when he had embedded an electronic chip in her body, that he would always know where she was. If she ever lied about it, he would find her much quicker than anyone else and the consequences would be dire.

  She had never disobeyed. He had taken her, the first time he had allowed her outside since her capture, to her mother’s tombstone. She had no one in the world but him. So she had stayed, learned medicine at his request, helped him keep himself clear of the law as he moved from hunting ground to hunting ground. It was a life far more fulfilling that the others her various colleagues across so many states had ever seemed to be leading. She planned for the hunt to take down the only threat to their existence.

  She glanced at the man who stood beside her and wondered if any of that would matter in the end.

  ***

  Jay logged into Joe’s game and Dave chuckled behind him. “You going to play again?”

  Jay threw him a grin. “We’ve won. I’m going to relax, get a good night’s sleep, and then tomorrow, you and I are going to take down Lloyd Bailen and rescue Stella.”

  Dave half smiled as he turned away to replace the milk in the fridge.

  Jay watched him for a moment and loaded his save. Last night, while Dave had been orchestrating the murder of both Gary and Jack, he had climbed to the top of Serpent’s Peak, in the center of the game world, and released his emergency flare.

  Now, as the game world loaded around his avatar, he tilted the camera to look up into the sky. Fireworks broke the darkness. All green. All ready. Jay fought the urge to glance back at Dave who he was certain had spent the night making his final move. Now the results would be coming in and their confrontation ordained.

  Jay’s avatar was engaged by a ghost who appeared at his elbow, requesting a hero to gain him vengeance for his murder. It was hard work not to laugh, not least because of the ghost’s chosen appearance.

  “Is that meant to be the ghost of Sherlock Holmes?” Dave asked when he returned to his seat across the table.

  Jay let out a little of the laugh. “Don’t know. But I’ll have fun anyway.”

  Jay accepted the quest and began to read the information, mentally rewor
king it from in game nonsense to real world facts. His eyes flickered over to Dave only once. Many of his questions were answered.

  CHAPTER FORTY-NINE

  Jay woke with his heart hammering. He had dreamed of Stella drowning even as he fought to get to her in time. Amara had been in the corner telling him that he ought to have behaved himself better and then she wouldn’t have died. Dave had appeared behind him, smiling with false cheer, as he had the very first time Jay had laid eyes on him. This time, he was trying to sell him a spell that would turn Stella into a goldfish, warning him that the time was running out and the game world would vanish soon.

  Jay shook his head and pushed himself out of bed. He felt it a wonder that he had slept at all. He had known nerves before big takedowns, but not like this. In the past, he had always been certain of how the ending would play out. This time, he had not laid the groundwork himself. While the green fireworks had indicated that his orders had been received, there would be no way to know if they had worked until the very moment he and Dave laid their cards on the table.

  Still, he had done his best to ensure Dave was in the same boat. For three days, neither had been out of the other’s sight except for bathroom and sleeping necessities. And even then he was keeping an eye, just as he was certain Dave had done the same.

  Today, for better or for worse, this game would be over.

  ***

  Dave smiled at the email from Amara. Everything was in place. Lloyd’s trail would lead Jay to the house Dave had been using as a hunting base for this game.

  All his planning was coming to meet at the exact point he had wanted. He wondered how long it would take Jayden Roe to accept his defeat. How long would it take him to realize that all his attempts at counter measures had all been thwarted by Dave?

  If he loses his mind when he loses the game, then he’s unworthy anyway. If it only breaks, Dave was certain he could fix it and turn it to better use, just as he had Amara Young’s.

  He sent back his reply, the expected time of their arrival, so that her medication dosage would be enough. Today, Stella Haraby would die. He let out another chuckle as his own program thwarted the spyware on the laptop. He had noticed it on the first night Jay had given him the device. He supposed it was too much for the man to trust a stranger entirely, but still, he might have tried to create a stronger program.

  He heard movement from Jay’s room and silently took his laptop back down to the lounge. He shot back to the kitchen and got the coffee machine going just in time to be there when Jay entered the kitchen.

  “You’re up early.”

  “You’re one to talk,” Dave muttered amicably.

  Jay chuckled and pulled out a mug. “You ready for today?”

  Dave met his eyes. “I didn’t get much sleep, but I am ready. Your report is airtight.”

  Jay smiled. “We’ll go over everything once more before meeting the men from Boston.”

  “I still can’t believe you managed to track Lloyd’s dealings all the way back there.”

  “Or that he was the end of the trail,” Jay said thoughtfully. Dave felt his heart stop then Jay shrugged. “But hey, I’d rather have been wrong about someone and end this with Stella safe than the other way around.”

  Dave nodded, holding in a wave of laughter. I almost feel sorry for you, Jay, but you had to lose to someone one day.

  ***

  They reached the police station, and two big men approached. Dave took them in carefully but was certain that they are the ones needed to arrest Lloyd and the sheriff.

  Dave glanced at Jay and prepared himself for the final act. He had to be flawless until he had Jay in the room beside a dark tank full of water and Stella Haraby’s corpse. He would then finally announce his victory and force Jay to face his complete failure.

  “Thank you for coming.” Jay’s voice came out a little perturbed.

  “Shouldn’t we be the ones thanking you?” said one of the men with sharp eyes and an aura of power.

  “Yeah. I’ll be glad to finally have this over with.”

  Jay chuckled. “Well, we’re ready when you are.”

  Dave watched the men nod as they started towards the station. He felt anticipation unfurl in his belly, writhing like a living creature eager to be loose.

  They had only just stepped into the building when gunfire erupted from within and screams began.

  “Get back out into the lot. Get somewhere safe. Go!”

  Dave seized Jay’s elbow and pulled. “You heard them. Move!”

  Jay followed obediently enough, looking bewildered and angry. Dave hid his smile.

  They entered the lot and were halfway to Jay’s car when another left the lot at speed.

  “Wasn’t that Lloyd’s car?” Dave spluttered, his voice and face perfect. “What should we do?”

  Jay glowered after the car. “We follow. You put the tracker on his car, right?”

  Dave nodded and swallowed a triumphant laugh. He had never imagined winning would be so pleasurable and easy.

  ***

  Jay skidded to a halt outside the house, the tail end of Lloyd’s car just visible around the corner.

  “You’re just going to rush in?”

  Jay shook himself free. “I’ve had enough, Dave. This ends now. He can’t have missed us following. No need to give him time to plan further.”

  Dave bit his lip hard to hide a smile and followed Jay into the house. The sound of ticking drew him unerringly into the central room, from which Dave had planned all of this. The room was completely dark, having no windows of its own. As per his instructions, the skylight had been blocked and the doors leading out shut.

  He allowed Jay to walk up to the table where a lone lamp made a small circle of light. An alarm clock ticked down right beside the lamp. He shut the door with a snap as the alarm rang and finally let out the laughter and smile.

  “Ah, I will grant that this has been fun, Jay, but I am afraid that I win.”

  Jay turned slowly to face him. Dave walked forward until he was at the edge of the pool of light. “You what?”

  Dave’s grin looked like a demon half cloaked in shadow. “I kidnapped Stella. Of course, Miranda and Bridgette too. And dozens of others before them. I have been a hunter since my early teens, the apex hunter that feared none, until you took my father down. It was so clean, so perfect. I knew, one day, I must beat you.”

  Jay leaned back on the table, and Dave relished the display of weakness. “I killed all those women on your wall. I framed others when the police finally took action. I have led you every step of this journey. I killed Hector and Natalie Piers. I killed Gary Peters and Jack Newman. Even now, the real Lloyd will have taken care of all my tools at the station before having it out with the guys from Boston. A fight he won’t win. I found your pathetic spyware the first night, and you have been seeing only the trail I let you see. I took out every chance for aid, thwarted your every move. You cannot deny how hard you have been outplayed.”

  Jay shook his head. “That’s impossible. You were with me when Gary was murdered.”

  Dave laughed again and watched Jay wince at the inhuman sound. “Fool. I wasn’t working alone. Do you want to know who helped me?” Jay remained mute with surprising gray eyes. “Amara Young. I put her in your prison to spy on you. I ordered her to fake the assassination attempt at Mr. Haraby’s. She’s the one who turned Bridgette into a replica of Stella.”

  Jay snarled and Dave raised a control. “Where is Stella?”

  Dave waggled the control. “I thought you’d never ask.” He pressed the button, keeping his eyes firmly on Jay’s face as the tank lit up.

  Jay turned his head to the source, but the horror Dave had hoped for never appeared. Instead, the man started to laugh.

  CHAPTER FIFTY

  Jay turned obediently to the new source of light. He took a few seconds to make sure of what he was seeing, then the tension of all these weeks dissolved in a sudden burst of relief and triumph.

&nbs
p; He turned back in time to catch Dave shaking his head. By the man’s demeanor, he had not yet looked at the tank.

  “I had hoped you were stronger and wouldn’t become unhinged.”

  Jay barked another laugh, “Unhinged? I was laughing because you genuinely thought you had beaten me. You should have seen your face.”

  Dave’s eyes snapped back to his face, and Jay felt an instinctive shiver race up his spine. The face watching him now bore little resemblance to the cheerful young man that had tried to sell him a car. In fact, it barely looked human. Still, his eyes filled with vengeful silver fire.

  Jay gestured towards the tank. “No need to take my word for it.”

  Dave shifted his deadly gaze for a tiny fraction of a second. The tank held no drowned body. In fact, it no longer held water at all. Dave’s eyes shifted over the form of Amara curled on the damp floor, and the bigger form of Lloyd slumped against the back wall.

  “You killed them?”

  Jay let his grin stretch wide as Dave turned back to him. “Of course not. Neither was anyone hurt at the police station. I am not you. I am better.”

  “Do you never get tired of the sound of your own voice?” inquired a new voice from a doorway to the left.

  “Of course not. He wouldn’t be Jay if he did,” replied another from the kitchen doorway behind them.

  Dave’s eyes flickered around the room with comic speed, but his face only grew darker. “You brought company?”

  Jay took in the note of disappointment and sighed. “I couldn’t very well deny them the opportunity. After all, you did try to have most of them killed.”

  The lights in the room all came to life and the doors opened. Hector and Natalie came from the left, Elliot and Keira from the kitchen. From the right came Gary Peters and Gregory. From the final doorway came three people Jay had wanted to exclude. In the end, he had been overruled. Ruby, Frank, and Dr. Daniels stepped into the room

  “What… How did...” Dave stumbled on his words as he blinked around him.

  Jay waved Hector and Gary to stand down. “I know, but first I want one honest answer. Look carefully at each of those pictures. Are they all your victims?”