“I know that,” Josh fired back.
She might not possess the same skills Josh did, but she could pick up on his body language. Hands on hips, the stubborn set to his chin, told her he’d already made up his mind. “But you want to follow this through until it dead ends, right?”
“I do. I know it’s a longshot but I think it’s worth a trip south anyway.”
“Okay, then what are we waiting for?”
They were fine until they reached the outer edges of the military base. An outcrop of dated offices looked like products of a bygone era. They zeroed in on the derelict buildings, some with broken windows. They drove past an old service station, an abandoned hangar, a PX no longer in use.
“This part looks like a ghost town. You can feel the old souls here,” Skye commented as she stared out the passenger side window.
“Troubled souls wrestling with an evil so dark most people can’t comprehend it.”
“Evil that lives and breathes here—somewhere—we just have to find where.” Unnerved is the way it made her feel like the victims might be long gone but they had left a part of themselves behind so someone would know they’d been here.
Josh turned down a back road and then another and another. But none of the streets led them to Willa.
Three and a half hours later after circling the base several times without actually going through the gate, Josh turned the car around and headed back to Seattle.
Frustrated and disillusioned with their efforts, by the time they reached Country Kitchen, Skye had to prepare to face the bank of media that had gathered in front of the restaurant. Skye recognized most of Seattle’s field reporters who waited with cameras, microphones, and note pads at the ready, waiting to ask their tough questions.
News vans with satellite dishes lined the block, some from as far away as Vancouver and Idaho.
Of all the things she did for the Foundation, this is the one she hated the most. But appealing to the community had to be done. Willa wasn’t here to speak for herself.
And that was the problem. After the eerie trip to the base Skye felt she’d somehow let Willa down already. The least she could do was get her photo circulated, make a public plea for help and beg for Willa’s safe return.
About the same time Skye was addressing the media, Willa Dover woke to complete darkness. Battered and bruised, her body felt sore from head to toe. The man who’d taken her had already raped her four times. Her chest ached. Her head throbbed. Even the roots of her hair hurt.
There was no doubt in her mind at some point he’d drugged her. With what, she didn’t know. But she still felt groggy enough to have trouble lifting her head.
He hadn’t blindfolded her or put anything over her mouth to keep her quiet. She realized it was probably because he had no fear of anyone hearing her scream. Willa had already kicked up a fuss. She’d yelled and hollered. But no one had come. She was pretty sure no one was going to.
Her arms were stretched over her head at an uncomfortable angle. When she tried to move she found she couldn’t because her wrists were manacled to a bolt in the wall. Her feet were bound with heavy cuffs slapped around both ankles. Each time she attempted to roll or turn, she heard the clanging of metal on metal. It was her chains rattling with each little movement.
Outside in the distance, she heard nothing but the occasional bird chirping. Except for a few noisy sparrows it seemed quiet. Sometimes a jet flew overhead. Maybe she was near an airport. She tried to remember if she’d heard any other voices other than the man who’d abducted her and couldn’t. Her brain was still having a hard time processing. Wherever she was life no doubt seemed to be speeding along without her.
All she knew for sure was she had to find a way out of this dark, dank place. She tried not to think about how bad it smelled. She needed to concentrate, to figure out how to escape from this horrible hellhole before her captor came back, which she knew could happen any minute. But how? She couldn’t even get off the filthy cot.
That thought had her trying to sit up again. With all her might, she yanked on her chains. Was it her imagination or did they give a little? She tried again and again and again until her arms grew tired.
She thought about Charlie in their little apartment. Had he gone to work this morning without hearing from her? She thought about her mother and her sister. Had they missed her yet? She thought about Velma and wondered if her new friend would be angry when she didn’t show up for work this afternoon. Was anyone worried about her yet? Would she ever see them again?
About that time she heard footsteps advance down a set of steps and knew he was back from wherever he’d gone. The door opened to the little room where she was. Her heartbeat quickened. Fear felt like a fist in her throat.
For a brief moment she caught the sliver of sunlight before he slammed the door shut. For one second she thought maybe he couldn’t see her in the blackness. Willa licked her swollen lips and waited. She closed her eyes, not to block out light but to try and put herself in another place. It didn’t work. How much more could she take inside this evil place?
When she felt him standing next to her, there was reason to be afraid. She might not be able to see him clearly but she could feel the large knife blade he held up to her cheek. He let it rest there, cold and sharp.
There was heat emanating from his body. She could feel the rage bubbling to the surface within him. As he knelt beside her on the bed, Willa drew in a tight breath. He crawled into her space, so he could run his fingertips down her throat. On one side, he began massaging the carotid artery. He licked the skin there and whispered to her, “It’s time to play again, Willa my love.”
When he unchained her, the gesture gave her hope. But then she heard the zipper go down on his pants. And knew her fate was sealed when his knife moved to the space between her legs.
Chapter Nine
Within a matter of weeks Josh had settled comfortably into married life. He admitted he loved having Skye fuss over him, fuss over the house. She routinely picked up flowers at the market, used them around the house to decorate the table at mealtime, or placed in some conspicuous spot so that they were the first thing he saw when he got off the elevator.
She set candles around the loft for ambiance. The place always smelled like cinnamon or vanilla or jasmine. He loved walking in the door after a long day and breathing in the aroma of some tasty dish she’d put together from scratch or out of one of her cookbooks.
Even though they had established an easy domestic routine, it didn’t mean they spent their evenings the same way other couples did. He didn’t know another pair who routinely sat for hours at a time looking up missing children online. Who else kept track of reported runaways from as far away as San Francisco? And now, who else actively sought reports on missing women across the state of Washington? Who else concentrated on official police investigations from as far back as 1990?
Josh glanced up from his iPad, leveled his gaze across the table at Skye, who sat in front of her own laptop mesmerized with whatever appeared on her screen. “Look at us. What other couples do you know who are glued to their computers over dinner?”
“Oh. Sorry. But to find Willa we need to…do all we can, as soon as we can. You know as well as I do that time is a factor.”
“No need to explain. I get it.”
“I emailed that forensic anthropologist, Dawson Hennings, to see if he had anything for us yet. I know it’s early but I’m anxious to hear what he has to say. I thought maybe we could set up a meeting with him. Push him along to get us a facial reconstruction on the skull.”
Josh chuckled. “I ask him the same thing about fifteen minutes ago.”
Skye grinned. “You know what they say? Great minds think alike.”
While they polished off the leftover pork roast from two nights earlier, they went over recent abductions in the area, touching on specifics, drawing on similarities. Even attempted abductions, including carjackings, were included in their discussion. They
checked off timelines, mapped grids, and rehashed other related crimes within the last several years trying to find a link.
Josh picked up his glass of wine, gestured at all the data. “It occurs to me we’re looking for someone who doesn’t stand out in a crowd, maybe even fits in to the point that people see him every single day without him raising any suspicions or warnings.”
She lifted her glass as well, sipped. “He could even hold a position of authority, one where he has power over people. He’d get off on something like that. How much good do you think holding that press conference really did?”
“Harry said he got a few leads. He’ll let us know in forty-eight hours if anything panned out.”
“I’m worried about Willa, Josh. I have an uneasy feeling her disappearance is tied to our guy.”
“You know that it’s way too early to make an assumption like that. And yes, I know we already did, but let’s try to keep an open mind about Willa.”
“No, it’s too much a coincidence not to be.”
“You think he targeted her then?”
“Yeah, I do.”
“To make a point right in your face?”
“There you go. I’m wondering how long he’ll keep Willa around before he decides to… I can’t let myself think like that yet.”
“Let’s hope we can get to her before that happens.”
She forked up more meat and looked across their spread of computer devices. “Imagine trying to solve crimes without modern technology. What would we do without databases to use to cross-reference all manner of the stuff we collect?”
“No doubt we have valuable tools at our disposal. We could try using keywords, like say, dismemberment, to look up any cold cases involving body parts?”
“That would work if he dismembered in the early years. You said once that maybe we could try syncing our thoughts together, working through a series of thought patterns. We already know that both of us have uneasy feelings about the military base, especially the older parts of it. I’d say trying to find Willa, there’s no time like now.”
“You’re kidding?”
“What? Now you’ve decided trying to utilize that mind-meld thing you’re so fond of is a waste of time?” Skye teased. After flicking through the last of the websites on her list, she added, “Come on, give it a whirl.”
Although he wasn’t sure how combing through her brain would help matters, he decided to humor her. “Maybe we use it on unsuspecting strangers to zero in on all kinds of secrets.” He slid in to the chair next to hers. “So you want me to take a trip through your head and see what I come up with? Okay, let’s try it now. Put your hand in mine.”
She pretty much knew by the glint in his eye she was being had, but she decided to play along anyway. Because of the day’s events, what harm would it do? They needed a diversion.
All the while he went through the phony steps, she continued to check her inbox to see if Hennings had replied to her email.
That is, until Josh finally cleared his throat. “If I could have your undivided attention it would make things a whole lot easier. I could be much more effective without having you distracted.”
She complied but not for long. It didn’t take but a couple of minutes for Skye to grow impatient with the game. “Getting anything yet?”
“Wait. Oh yeah. Lots of images. I’m seeing how much you want head-banging sex right about now, right this minute, right here on the dining room floor.”
She frogged him in the arm right before elbowing him in the ribs. “Like you needed special powers to figure that one out.”
“Power of suggestion,” he said, nibbling her throat before moving to her ear where he gnawed on a delectable lobe. “Whaddya say we move to the couch.”
She let herself be led over to the sofa until they both dropped down into the leather. “It amazes me you can do this on a full stomach.”
He ran a finger down her cheek. Those violet eyes pulled him into their depths. “Do you have any idea how beautiful you are?”
“I don’t think so. Why don’t you show me?” Almost a year of being with him she’d gotten more adept at flirting, at handling the sexy banter. After years of putting off intimacy, she gave Josh high marks for easing her into normalcy in that arena. “I want to rip your clothes off.”
“Now we’re talking. Don’t let me stop you,” Josh said evenly, a good dose of come-and-take-me in his tone. He wanted her under him, stripped down and eager. Or maybe on top, he thought now as he pulled her sweater over her head with one yank. He tussled with the zipper on her skinny jeans, watched as she wriggled out of them.
Heat thrummed between them hot as golden light.
“Now you.” She tugged up his shirt, unbuttoned his pants. They finished ripping off whatever clothing remained till they got down to flesh, lean and hard, soft and supple.
Pressing her body to his, she threw long limbs around his waist. She needed to climb and conquer.
He locked his mouth to hers, feasted. Using lips and tongue, he moved to her breasts. Slow, lazy tugging drew out the longing.
Fast and fluid, fingers found little gems dancing in the glistening folds. Teeth bit down, gnawed and chewed, languished and savored.
Ripples rushed to the core and back again. A flood of sensations had her tumbling, quivering, shuddering into his palm.
She pushed him back into the cushions to ride, to triumph, to take.
He gripped her hips to fly higher, to drive deeper.
Her hair draped down over him as they rocketed up together, soaring, lifting higher and higher until they winged to the peak. The world tilted. It spiraled and fluttered, built to crashing crests. When the surf careened against the rocks with a roar, she called out his name.
“Is it possible we’re getting better at this?” Skye fanned out, trying to catch her breath.
Laughter escaped in the way of the very smug at a job well done. “I’m pretty sure we just set a record for something.”
With a grin, she rolled off, snatched up her top. “Good thing record books are made to be broken.”
“We’ll just keep at it till we’re legends at our own game,” Josh muttered as his eyes fluttered shut.
“I need to shower. Want to join me?”
But when he didn’t answer, she turned to stare at a still naked Josh. It always amazed her to see him like this. Knowing she hadn’t always been so at ease with the intimacy that came so natural to him, she continued to stand there taking in the sight of him. His head lay askew on the cushion. His chin had already dropped to his chest. His eyes were closed. He’d fallen asleep right in front of her.
As she blew down the hallway to the bedroom, she decided she liked the progress she’d made. Feeling as though she’d come a very long way in a short amount of time, she rushed into the shower confident she’d conquered one more fear.
As the water sluiced over her like luxuriant rainfall, she lathered her body with the smells of lavender and vanilla. Appreciating this quiet time had her wondering if she really wanted to live anywhere but right here. It was nice to kick around the idea of moving into a new place. But really, when it came to pulling the cord, she wasn’t sure she could leave the loft, leave Seattle.
She turned the water off, stepped out, and grabbed a thick towel to soak up her dripping hair. Rubbing a generous handful of body lotion from head to toe, she stood in front of the full-length mirror studying her reflection. Was she beautiful? She didn’t see it. But somehow Josh never failed to make her feel that way.
After slipping on a robe, she headed to the kitchen. One glance at Josh told her he was still conked out. She tossed a throw over him and spied the mess they’d left on the table. The supper dishes waited. The temptation to leave them until morning was there but Skye resisted the urge and decided to clean up anyway.
When she realized she’d left her laptop open, she reached to shut it down. That’s when her eyes landed on the notes Josh had jotted down on a legal pad. One section was a
bout a young college student who’d gone missing two weeks earlier.
Before she remembered Josh was still napping, she blurted out, “Why didn’t you mention Vanessa Farrington?”
Josh abruptly sat up, rubbed the sleep out of his eyes. “I came across it earlier when we were surfing the net.”
“Sorry. I didn’t mean to wake you up. I just read about the girl from Olympia who didn’t make it back to her dorm room after attending a party on campus. It says here, she’s a state senator’s daughter. Maybe that’s why the name sounds so familiar.”
“Olympia College is sixty miles from Seattle. But it’s only fifteen miles from Fort Lewis.” H pulled his pants back on, crossed over to give her a kiss on the top of her hair.
Skye took a seat at the table, entered Vanessa’s name and the circumstances surrounding her disappearance into the database they had created.
“Hmm, another jurisdiction that isn’t King County, therefore another set of county cops to deal with. This website says the Farrington family’s putting up flyers. Here’s what she looks like…” She turned her laptop around so Josh could see the screen. That’s when it hit her. “Wait a minute, I know this girl.”
“What? How?” Josh sat down beside her to get a better look.
“She came to see me at the Foundation last fall. Had to be around mid- October, early November maybe.”
“What on earth for?”
“She wanted to know if she could get college credit if she volunteered her time at the Foundation three times a week.”
“What did you tell her?”
“I told her sure, if I had anything for her to do. That’s when we were just getting up and going. By the way, at some point we need to talk about that. I mean, so far it’s pretty much a one-woman outfit. But there’s a chance in the near future this gets bigger than I can handle by myself.”
“Skye, if Vanessa came to see you, that’s one more connection to you. Like Willa. You can bet it isn’t a coincidence.”
“I agree. You did mention that he’s probably been staking the building out for some time. He sees a pretty girl go inside, waits until she comes out, follows her back down to Olympia, grabs her there when the opportunity presents itself.”
Skye Cree 03: The Bones Will Tell Page 9