Nowhere to Run (Stephanie Carovella)

by Nina D'Angelo

  Stephanie turned her head when she realized he was studying her. She wrinkled her nose, saying softly, “Now who’s profiling who?” Without waiting him to answer, she said quietly, “I don’t think they killed together. I think that’s where the path divided. Maybe he attacked Katrina because she was Leigh’s. I’m beginning to think killing Katrina was an accident. He only wanted to rape her – to claim her as his own, but he was too rough. Maybe she cried out, made too much noise and he had to silence her. Maybe this is how it all started. He saw what he was capable of and he enjoyed the killing. Killing Katrina gave him a power he wasn’t finding elsewhere. It gave him a thrill. Maybe sexual assault wasn’t enough anymore. Taking a woman by force wasn’t giving him the same kicks. Killing heightened it. He liked the domination. He loved the power. Maybe Katrina was his first kill and it escalated from there.”

  “And maybe I’m the end game. Maybe he felt he had to kill all these women to not only prove something to himself, but to prove something to me. He wants my attention. He wants to prove himself to me. It’s like he’s saying ‘look at me, look what I’m capable of. Do you think I’m worthy?’ It’s sick, I know, but I think that’s what it comes down to. He wanted my attention to begin with. He killed Angel to bring me home and once he had me here, he felt he still had to prove himself to me.”

  Jase drew her closer, his lips brushing her forehead. Stephanie’s voice was barely a whisper when she spoke, “I think he killed Dom because he saw him as competition. He couldn’t have me, so he was damned if he was going to let anyone else have me either. The same applied to Leigh. I think he was set up to take the fall. Leigh took what was his, so he found a way to exact his revenge. Jase, he’s through with proving himself to me. Now he wants to claim me. He knows as well as I do that there’s nowhere left to run and there’s nowhere left to hide. This is our endgame.”

  Chapter Forty-Five

  Gena hummed to herself, as she padded barefoot around the kitchen, wearing only Jake’s t-shirt. Catching a glimpse of her reflection in the window, she grinned at the sight of her passion-bruised lips, tussled hair and dreamy expression. If someone had told her that her night would end with Jake Carlisle in her bed, she’d have said they were certifiably insane.

  Opening the kitchen cupboard, she pulled out two cereal bowls, pouring frosted flakes into each bowl. Adding milk, she gasped softly when a hand snaked around her waist and she was pulled hard against Jake’s body. She relaxed when he pressed his lips to the side of her neck, whispered softly, “Have I told you how much I’ve always loved seeing you in my T-shirt?”

  Tilting her head back, she leaned against his chest, feeling safe in his arms. Absently caressing his arm, she said softly, “God, I wish we could stay like this forever.”

  “Why can’t we?” he countered lightly, moving to take one of the cereal bowls out of her hands.

  Handing him a spoon, she turned around to face him, her eyes caressing his half-naked body. Clad in only jeans, Jake leaned his left hip against the kitchen bench, casually eating his cereal as if he shared breakfast with Gena every day.

  Blushing red, she recalled what else they’d done on that same bench last night. A shaft of pain slid through her with the realization she wanted more from him than a night of casual sex. Moving to the kitchen table, she sat down, beginning to eat. Jake watched her, analyzing and assessing every movement she made, before he joined her at the table.

  “We never did get around to talking last night,” she said quietly, dropping her eyes to her cereal bowl. “I never thought you were a killer, Jake. I was just doing my job.”

  Jake put his cereal bowl down on the table, leaning back in his chair and crossing his arms. “Gena, I didn’t think you did. Maybe for a brief moment I wondered, but then I saw your face. You had to follow procedure. I get it. It’s your job.”

  Gena nodded morosely. Putting down her spoon, she said bitterly, “It was my job.”

  “Gena, you shouldn’t have thrown yourself on your sword for me. I’m not worth it,” Jake said quietly, reaching out to touch her hand.

  She gripped his hand, squeezing tightly. “Yes, Jake, you are. Besides, they were always going to pull me off the cases. I’m the one who made the decision not to disclose the fact I knew each victim. I didn’t inform my Chief I knew Jesse or Ben. I should have automatically stepped aside when Angel was murdered, but I couldn’t.”

  Taking a deep breath, she gave him a wavering smile. “I don’t regret it one bit. If it means I lose my badge, then so be it. I’ll do something else. I can’t let go of these cases, anymore than Stephanie can. Angel, Ana, and Carolyn were my friends. I wanted to fight for them. I still do. I don’t want their deaths to be in vain.”

  Jake shook his head with a grin. “Jesus H Christ, you’re as crazy as Stephanie.” Watching her scowl, he laughed. “Okay, you’re almost as crazy as she is.”

  “She hates me, Jake,” Gena said softly, chewing her lip anxiously. “You should have seen her face when she found out I knew about Dom’s death. She truly hates me.”

  Jake squeezed her hand gently. “Gena, Stephanie doesn’t hate you. Right now she’s mad as hell with you and my guess is she will be for a while, but she doesn’t hate you. You were trying to protect her from more pain and deep down she knows it. She doesn’t like it, but she accepts it. Give her some time.”

  Gena opened her mouth to protest, but Jake spoke over her. “You two have an explosive relationship. You always have. You fight like your lives depend on it. Most of the time I think you live to antagonize each other. You’re both fiery and stubborn and you’re always going to argue about everything and anything. It’s who you both are. But here’s the thing, Gena –when the going gets tough, you two unite and you’re one hell of a formidable team. You’d fight for each other to the end, because you love each other, you truly love each other. There’s no fake façade between the two of you. You don’t hold back. That’s your relationship in an essence. You’ll bitch and scream but in the end, if someone else tried to do the same, you’d turn on them and give them hell.”

  “I’m scared of losing her, Jake,” Gena confessed. “She’s on a path that I’m not sure she can come back from. Even if she physically makes it out alive, I’m not sure she will be able to come back from whatever he does to her. I’m not sure she wants to.”

  Picking up her spoon, she restlessly stirred her cereal. Acknowledging she’d lost her appetite, she dropped her spoon back into the bowl. Leaning back in her chair, she watched Jake eat.

  “I still don’t get it,’ she said suddenly, shaking her head in annoyance. “I just don’t get it.”

  “Get what?” Jake asked softly, lifting an eyebrow questioningly.

  “Why did he use your name? It wasn’t an accident, Jake. He chose your name for a specific reason. We just need to work out why.”

  “We?” Jake’s eyebrow shot up even higher. Watching her nod enthusiastically, he said quietly, “I thought you were off the case.”

  Gena rolled her eyes. “Officially, yes, but nobody said anything to me about unofficially working on these cases. If I can nail this son of a bitch in my own time, it may change everything. I want this guy Jake, and you’re going to help me nail him.”

  ***

  Jase shook William Foley’s hand, moving to sit on the couch opposite the former Detective’s apartment. “Thank you for meeting me with such short notice.”

  William Foley leaned back in his chair, assessing the man in front of him. “I don’t know what I can do to help. All I’ve got is a bunch of notes and a ten-year-old memory, but I’ll do my best, Agent Devlin.” Smiling at the look of surprise on Jase’s face, he said softly, “I have a lot of friends in high places, Agent Devlin. When you called me, I did a little digging - as I’m sure you have. I like to know who I’m talking to. The question I have is whether this is really the L.A.P.D wanting to know about a cold case, or the F.B.I.”

  “The L.A.P.D,” Jase said quickly, adding, “I’m
unofficially working on the case.” Seeing the slow smile creep onto Foley’s face, Jase relaxed.

  “Why now? That poor girl has been dead ten years, why is the L.A.P.D asking questions about her death now?” Foley asked, clasping his hands together and resting them on his stomach.

  Jase wasn’t fooled by his feigned curiosity. He could see the sharp interest in the former Detective’s eyes and knew he was intrigued. Smiling at Foley, he said softly, “We believe Katrina Andrews was the victim of a serial killer.”

  Foley sat up straight, his eyes darkening with turmoil. “The young woman who survived the attack – she believed the same thing.”

  “Her name is Stephanie Carovella,” Jase said with a grin.

  “I know. It’s not a name I’ll ever forget,” Foley said sharply, shaking his head. “She’s was a pistol, that one.”

  “She still is,” Jase said, his grin widening.

  Foley studied Jase, assessing Jase’s grin. “Is she your girlfriend? Is this why you’re looking into the cold case? The girl was obsessed with the idea she was being stalked by a serial killer – her and those girlfriends of hers.”

  Jase’s grin faded and the laughter disappeared from his eyes, replaced by a fury he couldn’t conceal. “I know you didn’t believe her. You told her she was damaged goods.”

  “She was. I bet she still is. You don’t need to be chasing me up because of her crazy ideas.”

  “Except, her ideas aren’t crazy,” Jase shot back. Leaning forward, he growled, “Her friends were Angel Monroe and Lyn Jeffreys’, am I correct?” Watching Foley nod, he continued, “Both were killed recently – the victims of a sadistic serial killer. He also killed Ana Ferrier. He raped them, tortured them and slit their throats.”

  Watching Foley pale underneath his ruddy complexion, he asked sardonically, “Does this sound familiar to you?”

  Foley nodded mutely, disbelief on his face. “Recently?” he asked, looking at Jase sharply. “The actress found by those tourists?” Breaking off, he watched Jase smile grimly.

  “Carolyn Mathers – or Lyn Jeffreys, as you would have known her.” Pausing he shook his head. “Carolyn Mathers survived a previous attack. He attacked her in a public car park, and almost slit her throat. She left L.A shortly after this. On the very day she flew back into L.A, she was abducted. Her body was found days later by those tourists.”

  “Jesus Christ. And Angel Monroe?” Foley whispered.

  “Raped, tortured and murdered within the confinements of her home,” Jase bit out, trying to keep his emotions in check. Sitting upright, he added, “Ana Ferrier was abducted shortly after Carolyn Mathers’ murder. Her body was found within Cynthia Mallory’s apartment.”

  “Mallory, she’s the Medical Examiner who went missing. I heard you found her. Is she okay?” Foley asked, grunting when Jase nodded.

  “Good, Good. I don’t know this Ana though. Who is she?”

  “She knew Stephanie Carovella,” Jase said quietly, adding, “She was dating Ben Reynolds, one of Stephanie’s old boyfriends, and was one of her best friends.”

  Foley shook his head again, spitting out, “Stephanie fucking Carovella. If you want my advice, stay away from that woman. Death follows her everywhere.” Watching Jase’s eyes darken with fury, he ignored it, pressing on, “You read about her parents murder?”

  “That wasn’t her fault,” Jase bit out, struggling to keep his emotion in check.

  “Boy, I’m not saying it was. I’m just telling you how it is. Her parents were murdered and she survived it. She walked away from what some animal did to her parents, without so much of a scratch on her. Then her roommate was raped and murdered. She walked in on the cat killing her friend, yet she still managed to survive. And let me tell you, what was done to Katrina Andrews, well it was something I’ve never been able to forget. I’m telling you, she’s deadly,” Foley said, shaking his head when Jase opened his mouth to protest. “She’s a crime reporter now, you know.”

  Foley grinned when Jase looked at him in surprise. “Don’t look so surprised, Agent Devlin. I may have thought she was damaged goods, but this didn’t mean I didn’t care about her. I told her to stop bugging me not to hurt her, but because she scared the hell out of me. It didn’t surprise me the girl decided to become a crime reporter, one I hear who is real good at her job. The girl could tap into the dark side. I didn’t like it. I still don’t. No one should have so much darkness surrounding them. No one should have death follow them wherever they go. A pretty girl like her, she deserves some light in her life.”

  Pausing, he shook his head again. “I wish to God I’d listened to her, if what you’ve said is true, but Devlin, she scared me. I didn’t want to believe someone could be so obsessed with one pretty girl that they would cause such mayhem, such chaos. Nor did I want to believe some young girl saw what a seasoned Homicide Detectives couldn’t.”

  Jase listened to Foley talk, hearing the frustration and grief seeping into the former Detective words. He understood it. Stephanie was scary. She was surrounded by death. She scared the hell out of him. Speaking softly, he said, “I don’t know how she does it, Foley, but she can still see what we can’t. It’s like she has her own personal line to the dark side. She draws danger to her. Actually, that’s why I’m here. I need to talk to you about Leigh Walker.”

  ***

  Delucci slowly walked around the hotel room, surveying the chaos in front of him. From the overturned chair to the shattered phone, ripped from the wall, he took in everything. He turned towards the bed, staring down at the dead woman lying on blood stained bed sheets. Tearing his eyes from her, he looked up at the bloodied message above the bed’s headboard.

  Slowly, he read it aloud, “You took what was mine old friend, so I’m taking what was yours.” Dropping his eyes back down to the woman lying on the bed, he shook his head. Barbara Madden hadn’t stood a chance. There hadn’t been any indication of a forced entry into her hotel room which led him to believe she’d either willingly let her killer in, or he’d already been inside the hotel room.

  His eyes shifted back to the wall. He was intrigued by the bloodied message. You took what was mine, old friend. He had little doubt this murder was linked to the cases he was now heading up. Stroking his jaw thoughtfully, he wondered if it was possible this was a message to the serial killer? If so, what had he taken from Barbara Madden’s killer?

  So I took what was yours – the words indicated someone had killed Barbara Madden in retaliation for what was taken from him. He ran through the message in his head, assessing and analyzing it. Barbara Madden was clearly the something her killer had taken from the serial killer, but what did he believe had been taken from him? Realization gripped him, making him take a step back in surprise, the message hitting him hard. Not a what, but a who.

  Groaning he ran a hand through his hair. Was it possible the message linked back to Stephanie Carovella? Once again all roads led to the vibrant redhead. He shook his head in disbelief, silently asking himself how many others would die because of her?

  Was it possible Leigh Walker was responsible for Barbara Madden’s murder? Had he known about these murders all along? Had he played them all, playing the self-righteous husband when in fact he’d known exactly what was happening? Delucci was positive he had, just as he was positive Walker saw this as much of a game, as the serial killer they were all chasing did.

  Pulling his phone out of his pocket, he quickly dialed a number, barking into the phone. “Get the security footage from this god damn hotel. I want every single one of them, especially the ones near Barbara Madden’s hotel room. I think Leigh Walker was here and, if he was, I’m going to nail his ass to the wall.”

  Chapter Forty-Six

  Gena spread the case files all over the kitchen table, casting a glance at Jake, who was clearing away the kitchen dishes. She grinned and couldn’t help but think he looked like he belonged in her home. In her life, she conceded.

  Turning her attention back to th
e case files, she tapped her fingers against the stack of folders. Waiting for Jake to join her at the table, she glanced down at her legal pad and the notes she’d written on each case.

  “I still don’t understand why the killer chose your name, Jake, but I think I may have an idea why. I read over the transcript from Sandra Barton’s interview with Barbara Madden. She said she met ‘Jake Carlisle’ at Outlaws.”

  Jake cursed softly. “That’s Dom’s bar. The son of a bitch was in Dom’s bar.”

  Gena nodded. Her voice low, she said, “The common dominator is always Stephanie. It was Dom’s bar, but when he died he left everything to Stephanie. She now owns Outlaws. There was no place better to start his diabolical plan than in a bar owned by the very woman he’s obsessed with.” She rubbed the back of her neck, looking down at her notes. “I think he used your name because he knew about our past history. He knew it would destroy me to arrest you. He wanted to drive a wedge between us. I think he wanted to destroy my career. I don’t know where I fit into all of this, but I do know this, he will stop at nothing to destroy me. He hates me, Jake. I have no idea why, but I know he does. Just as I know, in his sick, twisted way, he thinks he loves Stephanie.”

  Picking up one of the case folders, she said quietly, “Over the years, Stephanie compiled her own case folders on crimes she thought were linked to Katrina Andrews’ murder.” Handing him a folder, she shook her head. “They’re scattered everywhere. He’s killed all over the country from San Diego to Texas to Los Angeles to a dozen or so more places, but I can’t work out the link between each place. It’s been puzzling me since Jase gave me the files.”

  Jake took the file Gena handed him, opening it up. “I’m surprised Devlin had to get the files from Stephanie. I would have thought he’d have used the plenty of resources he has available.”