Stalked Justice (Fractured Minds Series Book 1)

by Kate Allenton

  He chuckled. “I didn’t house-sit; I squatted.”

  “You call it squatting; I call it breaking and entering,” I said, taking another sip of my beer. “And just think, your illusion of the old woman would still be intact if you hadn’t broken the law.”

  “It’s better to know the truth, no matter how many lies you spin. It’s like a spider web that can be brought down with one wrong stroke of a broom. If I were a bad guy, just imagine what I could do with that information.”

  Ford and I sat silently the rest of the time on the balcony. He looked as though he’d turned inward just as I had. The voices in the pool area slowly started to dissipate as morning hours crept ever closer.

  There was little in the way of evidence. These spring-breakers might not even be reported as missing until it was time to pack their things and leave. The alternate was us finding their dead bodies.

  As of now, the only connection I had to the killer was in the space of our minds, and even that was limited if his emotions weren’t heated enough for me to grab hold.

  Around two a.m., Noah pulled us back inside and told us to hit the sack. As if sleep would ever come that easily. I was almost afraid to close my eyes, afraid of the monsters I might find. The ones that threatened to destroy me every day.

  Chapter 13

  I woke to the knock at the door. Wiping the sleep from my eyes, I crawled out of bed and went to answer. Noah was standing on the other side, bright-eyed and dressed and ready for the day. He held a cell phone out for me to take. “Grant wants to talk to you.”

  I slipped the phone up to my ear. “You got her?”

  “Yes, your sister is fine, although you were right about one thing. He has been in both of our houses.”

  I shouldn’t be surprised. “This guy isn’t a typical serial killer, and he’s not a typical stalker. He’s somewhere in between.”

  “I don’t care what he is. He’s fixated with either you or Gigi, and we have to put a stop to it.”

  I squeezed my eyes closed and rubbed the bridge of my nose. “Grant, if he knows where we live, there’s a good chance he knows which hospital you put Gigi in. I need you to stay there with her.”

  The line went silent. I could always hear the war waging in his mind. I didn’t have to be psychic or connected to him to know that he was having a hard time deciding. “You stay; I’ve got this.”

  “Lucy, I have always had your back. Who’s going to have it if I’m not there?”

  I stared up into Roth’s eyes debating if I could trust him. “There are plenty of men here to keep me safe. I need Gigi to have at least one. I’ll keep you posted, and if anything should change, I promise to let you know. Take care of her, Grant. I’m counting on you.”

  “You know I will,” Grant said. “Keep me posted; I can be on a flight out of town and back to Florida within hours.”

  “Give her a hug for me. Don’t worry. I’ll steal somebody’s phone later and call you with an update.” I chuckled as I handed Noah back his phone. His would be the one that I took.

  I stepped around Noah and headed for the kitchen. Sam was already behind his computer desk, his foot tapping, his mind totally into whatever he was doing. My steps slowed as I entered the kitchen. Sloan was leaning against the counter with a coffee cup in hand. “Who let you in?”

  “I have friends in high places.”

  I understood Sloan’s need to be involved in this case. It was personal for him, just as Carl had been personal for me. He wanted to make sure justice was served, and I couldn’t blame him. Although Sloan wouldn’t deliver the fatal blow. This killer, this stalker, he was as fixated on me as I was now on him. I didn’t care who helped me reach my objective, whether it was Sloan, Noah, or Ford. Each man served their purpose, and I’d be a fool not to recognize it.

  “So, you’re just along for the ride to see that I get things done?”

  “You could say that.”

  “Whatever secrets you’re hiding, if this affects Noah’s merry team of misfits, make no mistake that you and I are going to go rounds.”

  The clacking of fingers on the keyboard paused. Sam inhaled a sharp breath. The computer geek wasn’t like the other men. His only objective was to provide assistance and make sure that we had it. I liked him best.

  “I think I’ve got something.”

  I poured my coffee, turned my back to Sloan, and left the kitchen crossing the living room to where Sam sat. Stepping around his computer there were three pictures on the screen. One was a woman in a red dress on the back of a motorcycle. The date and time stamp were from last night. Sam pointed to the intricate design on the dress. “I went back through all of the footage, and I know who this woman is.” He pointed to the other two pictures. “I found her when she was paying her cover charge, and I zoomed in on the ID. Then I did a search of the woman’s financials and learned that she paid for a hotel room up the road. After hacking the hotel’s computer log, I discovered she never used her card key last night. If you’re going to find her alive, maybe you should check with the college kids she traveled with staying next door.”

  “If you know what the guy on the motorcycle was wearing, can’t you do the same thing with him?”

  “Do you know how many men were wearing blue jeans and black shirts?”

  “I don’t have any idea. Maybe half the guys last night.”

  “You’d be mistaken.” Sam’s fingers clicked on the keyboard a few more times, and several faces stared back at me. “Forty guys were wearing the exact same thing. I’ve eliminated thirty-five of them for one reason or another. Some weren’t even in town when the first killing happened. I’m in the process of crossing the remaining five faces at the other bars where the abductions occurred.” A few more clicks of the keyboard and the five remaining faces flared back at us.

  “Do you recognize any of them?” Sloan asked.

  I didn’t have had a memory like Ford for the places he’d stayed or the lessons he’d learned. I didn’t recognize any of these people. “No, but at least one of them must’ve been in my life.”

  “Maybe it ticked him off that you didn’t even notice him,” Sloan said.

  “If you can get me some names from their ID’s they showed to get into the club, we can pull credit cards, or hell, even check social media to see where they’re all staying. Once we have that I’ll go have a chat with each of them.” I said.

  “You might want to get dressed first,” Noah said from across the room. “Run each name and find a local home address as well. One of these guys has crossed path with either Lucy or Gigi, and assuming neither one of them had been on vacation, they had to have crossed paths closer to Lucy’s and Gigi’s homes. Not to mention he knows where they live.”

  “That’s right!” Excitement drummed through my veins. “I’ve only been incarcerated for six months. He had to have been in my home during that time to get the music box. The worst-case scenario is pulling traffic cams from the light that turns into my subdivision. There are thirty-five houses in my subdivision, and I’m sure that would be a menial task for an exceptional hacker like you to pull the vehicle makes and models and eliminate each one as it turns in.”

  Sam grinned. “You think I’m exceptional?”

  I kissed his cheek. “I’m just glad you’re on our team. Get us those addresses while I go change.”

  Chapter 14

  I brushed my teeth and opted for a quick shower, hurrying to get ready. Today might be the day when we actually caught this creep. I’d just stepped out of the shower and left the bathroom with the towel still wrapped around my body when the adjoining door opened.

  Ford’s gaze slowly slid down my body. His jaw ticked as he stood stock-still until his gaze met mine. The friendly man from last night on the balcony had turned into something more somber.

  “I should’ve knocked,” Ford said, stepping into the bathroom.

  My hand was on the doorknob. “I might’ve invited you in.”

  I slowly closed the b
athroom door and continued to get ready. This might be over in no time, but I’d be damned if I didn’t have a little bit of fun while away from the cuckoo’s nest.

  I met the others back in the living room. They had a map out and had circled places on it. Sam was behind the computer. He’d just tossed some popcorn into his mouth before he started to choke, quickly rising from his seat. He pointed at the screen. I walked over to him, picked up his soda, and handed it to him. Turning toward the screen, I now understood what had caught him off guard. A crotch rocket just like the one I’d seen before was sitting outside one of the addresses. We had just narrowed this down from five people to one.

  “What’s that address?”

  Sam sputtered and tried to clear his throat before he could speak. “That’s downtown Panama City near the marina,” he said.

  “I call dibs on that location,” I said, slipping into my shoes.

  “We came as one unit. We will check each address as one unit. We aren’t breaking apart the team,” Noah said.

  He was probably right; it was safer that way, if not as effective.

  I glanced around the room to find Sloan missing just as the suite door clicked closed. It took only a second for me to figure out that Sloan was going after him by himself. He wanted a head start. I ran to the door and tossed it open to find Sloan pressing the elevator call button. I stomped down the hall.

  “You’re going to take this away from me?”

  “I’m not taking anything away from you, Lucy,” Sloan said.

  “You forget I can feel your anger. Your hate is sticking out from you like a porcupine. You want him to die, and I don’t blame you, but before you aim your gun and pull the trigger, I want you to remember one thing.”

  “And what’s that?”

  “Remember where anger got me. You take a life, you give yours. Why not let me do it for you? You get your revenge, and I already have a room in Camp Cupcake. They already knew I was crazy before they brought me here. You, on the other hand, might have a different outcome and be sent to prison.”

  The elevator opened, and I grabbed his arm, stopping him before he could step on. “Don’t do this.”

  “Do you realize what he took from me? I’ll have to deal with every day for the rest of my life. At every reunion, at every family occasion, my niece’s face will be missing and I couldn’t live with myself if I’m not the one who stops him.”

  I rested my palm behind his neck and pulled his lips down to mine, stepping into his hold. Our lips locked like they had on the dance floor, except without as much passion as we once shared. When the door was about to close, he stuck out his hand, stopping it, and broke the kiss.

  “Under different circumstances, Lucy, you and I would’ve been a force to be reckoned with.”

  Sloan stepped onto the elevator, and I stood there watching as the doors slid closed. I turned to go back to the room to find Ford standing there. As I walked by, I slipped the keys out of my pocket and dropped them into Ford’s palm.

  “He only thinks he’s getting to this creep first.”

  Ford chuckled. “You don’t have any morals, do you?”

  “That isn’t lack of morals; that’s greed,” I said just as the others stepped out. They gave me a run down on my role. I would be last to enter. It was comical that these guys still considered me fragile.

  Sloan was downstairs waiting by our SUV, his face taut with anger as he watched me approach. I smiled back in response and handed him back his keys. "You can follow us, or we can follow you."

  “Where did you learn the art of picking someone’s pocket?” Sloan asked.

  "Would you believe that I learned it in the psych ward?" I shrugged passed him. I didn’t care what he believed, as long as he understood that he and I were on the same team and wanted the same outcome. I didn’t care if this killer lived or died, though my choice would've been the latter, considering he was targeting so many women and making them look like me and Gigi, not to mention renting space in my head.

  I slid into the SUV with Ford on one side and Sloan on the other. Carson, sat shotgun, with Noah driving. Tines was supposed to be my muscle on this outing, even though I suspected that Noah could defend himself, and with Sloan, there was no question. Ford, on the other hand, could probably find an escape route for both of us quicker than the others could draw their weapons. Was that his superpower?

  The underbelly of downtown Panama City was nothing like Panama City Beach, where the vibrant high-schoolers and college kids partied and merchants catered to clientele willing to spend money. From overstaffed hotels with five to ten kids deep sharing a room to the shiny restaurants offering seafood and tourist-wear.

  Downtown Panama City probably used to be a vibrant place, until the hurricane came through. Structures were torn apart, yellow and pink home insulation sat on the roadside, trees had been ripped by the roots and tilted, lying on every available space. Hurricane Michael had hit almost a year ago, but several blue tarps still flailed in the wind on rooftops. The closer we got to downtown, the more despair was visible. Homeless vagrants wandered the streets, wearing dirty clothes and some without shoes. A few pushed shopping carts full of their prized possessions. My heart ached for these people, the ones the world forgot.

  If I was ever set free again, these were the people that I would come back to help. These were the ones who needed it most.

  The feeling of despair saturated the air in the SUV, warring only with the feeling of determination. I didn’t bother trying to figure out who was feeling what as we pulled into the hotel parking lot, where the sign was lying beside the pole it had been affixed to. Half of the roof was covered in tarps; the other side of the building had vehicles parked in front of the doors.

  “Which room?” I asked.

  “Sam ran the motorcycle’s license plate, and the occupant has room 103,” Noah answered.

  “First floor, easy escape,” I muttered as we all climbed out.

  I’d started for the door when Tines pulled me back and shook his head. “You’re to stay behind me, are we clear?”

  “Clear as a cowboy on Friday night looking for a filly.”

  Guns were drawn, and the others proceeded to the door. Ford stayed behind with me. He grinned and tossed me Noah’s keys. “Rule number 1—always have an escape plan.”

  “Wouldn’t that defeat the purpose?” I asked, tossing him back the keys. I closed my eyes, not feeling any bit of the killer’s anger. Either he’d found a way to block me or wasn’t angry.

  Noah returned with the hotel clerk and a door keycard. He took the key and handed it to Tines, who undid the lock.

  Chaos ensued as Tines crashed into the room, followed by Noah and Sloan, yelling “Put your hands in the air.” Their voices bounced off the walls.

  I peeked around the doorframe and found a young guy in bed with the girl from last night. Neither were clothed, their naked bodies only covered by a sheet. Her intricate red dress lay discarded on the floor.

  “Who the hell are you guys?” the guy asked.

  “Your worst enemy,” Noah answered. “Get dressed, kid. I’m taking you in for questioning in a series of murders.”

  The girl slid off the bed with the sheet and grabbed her dress, running for the bathroom.

  “You got the wrong guy.” The suspect slowly pulled up his jeans, holding my gaze as he zipped them. The emotions in the room were hard to decipher.

  Fear on the young woman’s part as she scurried out of the bathroom. Tines grabbed her and took her outside, out of harm’s way.

  Anger radiated from Noah and Sloan.

  But it was the kid that left me bewildered. It was almost as if I couldn’t read him. Nothing, no feelings whatsoever, even though a smile slid onto his lips as he was putting on his boots.

  My gaze darted around the room. There wasn’t a suitcase in sight. No toiletries from where I could see beyond the open bathroom door. Noah cuffed the kid before stepping out to call the sheriff’s department for a dep
uty to come transport this guy.

  Sloan grabbed the cuffs and yanked the guy out with a force that almost made him trip.

  A hungry smile played on the young kid’s lips. “Even prettier today.”

  My brows dipped. “Seeing your stalking victim up close makes a difference. Maybe now you won’t screw up the details.”

  His brows dipped. “Stalking victim? What the hell are you talking about? I saw you last night practically having sex on the dance floor with him.”

  The kid gestured toward Sloan.

  Tines stepped out of the room with a wallet in hand. “Edward Gentry lives in the same town as Lucy.”

  Tines tossed Sloan the wallet. “That can’t be a coincidence.”

  As they baited the kid, I opened up my feelers, trying to get a read on Gentry as I quietly studied his face. I’m not sure I’d ever seen this guy before. Had we gotten this wrong?

  “What are you charging me with? Because that girl told me she was twenty-one.”

  “You wish that was all you were being hauled in for,” Ford said.

  “You’re wanted as a person of interest for questioning in the Bar Wars murders.”

  “The what?” Gentry asked as he shook his head vehemently. “I don’t even know what you’re talking about. You’ve got the wrong guy.”

  Noah slid up next to me, leaning against the SUV. “Well, you getting any vibes off him? Is he our guy?”

  “I’m not sure,” I answered, and that was the truth. “More often than not, I can pick out a menacing person just by his emotions, but this guy, I’m not getting anything.”

  “So, you’re saying we’re wrong?” Noah asked.

  “No, I’m saying that this guy must be a master manipulator. You all but charged him with murder, and most people would be scared, or pissed, or some type of emotion to tell me what’s going on internally.” I glanced at Noah. “This guy has nothing going on under the hood. He’s either masking it, or he’s really arrogant enough to believe that he’ll get off the hook. I’m telling you, no emotions.”