A stab of fear shot through Nessa as her brain started to make connections. She took out her phone and opened up the photo app. She scrolled to the picture of Adrian Bellows cutting the cake, his eyes smiling under the party hat. He was cutting the cake with his right hand.
Hands trembling, she moved the cursor to the login screen and clicked on the Guest Login option. Within minutes she was searching Willow Bay’s public database of property deeds. She typed in the 3278 Ironside Way address and waited for the screen to load.
The owner of the house was listed as Douglas Kramer. Nessa remained frozen, her mind refusing to accept what the evidence was telling her. She stared at the page, willing the information to change. Instead, she noticed an active Additional Properties link at the bottom of the page. Her hand moved the mouse as if it were compelled by an external force.
The screen loaded, displaying an unfamiliar address: a rural property outside of town. The property was zoned as agricultural-residential, and it had been transferred to Douglas Kramer in 1998.
Nessa was up and running toward the hall before she knew where she was going.
I have to get to Eden before Eden gets to Kramer.
Her phone vibrated in her pocket, and she stared down at the display with suspicious eyes.
It was Jankowski. Her finger hovered over the phone, but she hesitated. She thought back to the secrets Jankowski had kept from her about Reinhardt.
Jankowski grew up in Willow Bay. He’s been on the force for years. He may not be an old boy, but he’s definitely one of the boys. Could he know what Kramer’s been doing? Could he be part of it somehow?
Nessa waited for the call to go to voicemail, and then raised the phone and tapped on Barker’s number.
If there’s one man in town I trust, besides Jerry, it’s Pete Barker.
Chapter Forty-One
Leo tried calling Eden again; still no answer. He’d dialed her number as soon as Jankowski had kicked them out of the Bellows’ crime scene but had gotten her voicemail. He hated to think she was going to hear the news about Kara Stanislaus from someone else. As much as he dreaded telling her that her suspicions about Dr. Bellows had been correct, and that the therapist had already killed the missing woman, he couldn’t bear to think of Eden having to deal with the heartbreaking news on her own.
“You guys want some coffee or tea or something?”
Barker stood in the doorway to the dining room that acted as his office. The index cards still lay scattered around the table, organized in messy piles that made little sense to Leo.
“Tea? After what I just saw? You gotta be kidding me, man. How about something a little stronger?”
Frankie paced the room, his erratic, jerky movements setting Leo’s nerves on edge.
“I’ve got some beer,” Barker offered, sounding annoyed.
“No, we all need to keep our heads straight,” Leo snapped, his irritation rising. “No falling apart, and no getting drunk. There’s still a hurricane out there; we might be needed to help around town.”
Leo ran a hand through his disheveled hair and rubbed the stubble that was sprouting on his chin.
He studied a photo on the wall. Barker with a tall, thin girl wearing a high-school graduation cap and gown. She had long dark hair and inscrutable blue eyes.
The girl must be Barker’s daughter. The one Nessa had told him about. The girl in the photo summoned thoughts of Kara Stanislaus, and Leo turned to look at Barker with a pained expression.
“And I still need to find Eden and break the bad news.”
Barker held Leo’s eyes and nodded, knowing only too well how difficult it could be to break the worst kind of news to people who had been hoping for the best.
Barker’s phone buzzed on the table and Leo glanced down at it, surprised that the cell service was still active. Some of the cell towers must be up and running despite the hurricane’s best efforts.
“It’s Nessa.”
He watched Barker cross the room and pick up the phone, curious as to why the detective would be calling in the midst of working a bloody murder-suicide scene.
“What’s up, Nessa?”
Barker froze as he listened to Nessa’s words.
“Hold on, Nessa. Leo and Frankie are still with me. I’m gonna put you on speaker so they can hear this, too.”
Barker tapped his phone and Nessa’s frantic voice filled the room, the background sounds of wind and rain letting them know she must be driving through the storm.
“I need your help, Barker. This is going to sound crazy, but you have to just trust me. We don’t have time to get into all the details.”
“I trust you, Nessa,” Barker said, his voice all business. “What do you need?”
“I need you to go to Chief Kramer’s house. The address is 3278 Ironside way.”
“Okay, I’m getting my keys now,” Barker said, pulling on his still-wet rain jacket and dropping his keys and wallet into a pocket. “But tell me why I’m going there.”
“Chief Kramer and Adrian Bellows are old friends. I know it sounds insane, but I have information that leads me to believe Kramer killed Bellows and his wife.”
All three of the men in the room gaped at the phone in Barker’s hand, unable to process the words coming out of the speaker.
“Barker, you still there?”
“I’m here, Nessa. I’m just surprised.”
“Is Leo still there?”
“I’m here, Nessa,” Leo said, forcing himself to step forward and speak in the direction of the phone.
“Now, don’t go ballistic, Leo. I need to tell you something, but you have to promise to keep your cool.”
Leo’s heart started to pound at the tremor in Nessa’s voice. Whatever she had to say was bad. He closed his eyes and inhaled deeply.
“Tell me, Nessa. What’s going on?”
“I think Kramer was the person who killed Penelope Yates and…your mother. I think he and Bellows may have worked together somehow, but I think Kramer was the one who actually wielded the knife.”
Leo shook his head in confusion.
“How…why…”
“As I said, we don’t have time for the details now. Please trust me. You and Eden saved my life, and now I’m trying to save…save Eden…if possible.”
Fear coursed through Leo like molten lead.
“Where’s Eden? Is she okay?”
“She went to check out an address. A place she thinks Bellows might have taken Kara. She doesn’t know Kara is dead. She doesn’t know the house belongs to Chief Kramer. She might be walking into a trap.”
Barker put a hand on Leo’s arm and squeezed.
“We’re on our way. Nessa. But where are you?”
Leo rushed to the door. He looked back at Barker with impatient eyes, desperate to get going, but forcing himself to stay calm.
“I’m heading out to another place that Kramer owns. It’s outside of town, and I have a feeling Kramer might try to run there. If he’s already got Eden…”
The anguish in Nessa’s voice terrified Leo, betraying her fear that Eden was in serious danger.
The possibility that Eden might already be dead sent a slash of pain through Leo.
But he couldn’t let himself think of that now. He had to stay strong. If he could get to Eden before Kramer hurt her, he would move heaven and earth to keep her safe.
If I get my hands on that bastard I’ll kill him.
Leo forced the murderous thoughts aside and raced down the hall and out the door.
A strong gust of wind knocked him back against the door as he stepped outside, and he had to lean against the relentless wind to get to his BMW.
Frankie jumped in the backseat and Barker flopped into the passenger seat just as Leo smashed his foot on the gas and sped out into the storm.
✽ ✽ ✽
The BMW roared through the slick streets, swerving and skidding without slowing down for fallen trees or standing water.
“Watch out, man!”
Frankie complained from the back. “I’m getting thrown around like a damn rag doll back here.”
Leo ignored everything but the road, knowing one wrong move could throw them in a ditch or against a tree and stop their rescue mission before it had gotten started.
“Up there to the right, then it’s the second driveway on the left.”
Barker pointed into the wall of rain in front of the windshield and Leo slowed down just in time to turn into a long, winding driveway that led up to a two-story house.
The windows had been boarded up against the storm and white sandbags had been piled up in front of the door.
The driveway was empty but led to a detached two-car garage. The garage door was securely closed.
“Let’s see if anybody’s home,” Barker muttered, opening the car door and hurrying over to the garage.
He twisted the doorknob of the side door that seemed to lead up the stairs to the room over the garage. It was locked.
Leo ran around to the side of the garage and saw that the window had been boarded up with a thin piece of plywood. Frankie ran up next to him, his head bare, his hair slicked down over his head like a drowned rat.
“You get that side, Leo,” he shouted. “I got this one.”
They pulled at the wood, managing to rip one side from the wall. As the board fell away from the window Leo saw a flash of white inside the garage.
He wiped the window pane with his hand and looked inside. Eden’s white Ford Expedition was parked in the garage next to Kramer’s shiny Cadillac.
As he stared in, Barker’s face appeared in the window.
“Come on, I jimmied the lock.”
Leo ran around to the door, Frankie fast on his heels. They entered the dark garage, hesitating to let their eyes become accustomed to the dim lighting.
Barker stood at the foot of the stairs.
He motioned to Leo to follow him, and the three men climbed up, pausing outside the closed door. Leo stared at the deadbolt on the door with growing rage.
“We need something to break this door down.”
Frankie pounded back down the stairs. After a few seconds he was back holding a small crowbar.
“Move back,” Frankie commanded, swinging the crowbar around like a samurai sword.
He inserted the crowbar between the doorjamb and the lock and pulled back with all his strength. To Leo’s amazement the doorjamb cracked.
Again, Frankie inserted the crowbar, this time a little further up on the door and pulled back.
Apparently satisfied by another loud crack, Frankie dropped the crowbar on the floor and raised one, big foot, delivering a solid kick to the middle of the door. With a loud crash, the door banged open, revealing the room beyond.
Leo stumbled forward, his heart sinking as he took in the empty room. He turned to Barker, deflated.
“She’s not here. Eden’s not here.”
But Barker was staring past him, looking at the old, wooden wall where eight photos had been taped.
He walked slowly, as if in a daze, stopping in front of the pictures and gazing at the faces of the young women that had been kept in the room.
Leo looked from the photos to the bed frame and bare mattress. His eyes fell on the ankle cuff and chain shackled to the wall.
Anger and outrage exploded in his chest, making it hard for him to breathe. His eyes took in the pictures of the eight girls.
The last girl, the eighth victim, matched the description of Kara Stanislaus. She must have been in this room since she disappeared from the hospital.
“What kind of sick bastard did this?” Frankie sputtered, standing in the middle of the room looking queasy.
But Barker was still staring at the photos, his finger resting on the girl marked as number five. Over Barker’s shoulder, Leo saw that the girl was tall and thin, with long dark hair and blue eyes. His heart stopped.
Could that girl be Barker’s daughter? Could she have been kept in this room? Is that why she never came home?
“Barker? Are you all right?”
Leo stepped forward just as Barker’s knees buckled. He steadied the big man who gasped for breath and clutched at his chest.
“Sit down, Barker. Just sit on the floor and catch your breath.”
Barker lowered himself to the gritty wood floor and leaned his head against the wall, still struggling to breathe.
“Are you okay? You think this is another heart attack?” Leo asked, his eyes drawn back to the girl with the bright blue eyes.
“No, it’s not my heart. Well, I guess in a way it is…”
Leo braced himself, knowing he needed to ask the question he didn’t want to ask.
“Is that Taylor in the picture? Is that your daughter?”
Barker shook his head and cleared his throat.
"No, but…she's a dead ringer for my daughter. At first, I thought it was Taylor. In the dark, I thought it was…my girl.”
Leo let out a relieved puff of air, as Frankie squatted next to Barker. He didn’t say anything, but he put a thin hand on Barker’s broad back and patted him awkwardly.
“When all this is over, I'm going to find her," Barker finally said, his voice a cracked whisper. “I’m going to find her and I’m going to bring her home.”
Leo nodded and looked down at Barker, his own voice revealing the stress and worry that tore at him.
“I know you will, Barker. And I’ll help you. Once I find Eden…”
“I’ll help too, man,” Frankie said, standing and looking toward the door. “If we survive this fucking hurricane.”
Barker stared up at Leo, the color starting to return to his pale face and a spark of an idea in his eye.
“I think I might know where Kramer has taken Eden.”
He struggled back to his feet and straightened his jacket.
“Nessa said Kramer owns property outside the city. I remember an old dairy farm that Kramer’s old man owned years ago. The department held a few events out there when I first started.”
Leo thought he knew the place Barker was talking about.
“Okay, let’s go.”
He hurried down the stairs and back out into the rain.
The BMW stood in a puddle of water and mud as Leo splashed across the driveway. As he opened the door to get in, he heard a sharp sound under the wind. He paused and looked around.
“Did you hear that?”
He turned to Frankie and Barker who were climbing into the car.
“Nah, I didn’t hear any-”
Frankie paused and listened.
“Yeah, I heard that.”
He darted around the side of the garage with Leo calling after him.
“We don’t have time, Frankie!”
But seconds later Frankie emerged from the side yard, a worried furrow between his brow as he carried a sodden golden retriever.
“It’s Duke!” Leo shouted, taking the dog from Frankie’s arms. “Open the back door.”
Barker swung open the door and Leo laid Duke on the backseat. Leo saw a patch of red fur, and a wound on Duke’s hind leg.
“He’s been shot,” Barker said, his voice outraged.
A cold certainty grew in Leo’s mind and filled his veins with an icy fear. The madman that had killed his mother, kept eight women locked in his garage, and shot an innocent dog, now had Eden. If she wasn’t already dead, she soon would be.
Leo steered the car toward the farm, his eyes watching the darkening sky as he silently prayed they would make it out to the isolated farm in time.
Chapter Forty-Two
Jankowski watched as Alma Garcia and Wesley Knox worked the bloody room. The senior crime scene technician and the junior forensic technician had arrived without fanfare just after Nessa’s Dodge Charger had sped away. They’d gotten straight to work, stoic eyes expressionless behind protective hoods, and Jankowksi assumed they must still be numb to the gruesome sights and smells of the scene after working the Penelope Yates homicide only days before.
/> Alma moved around the room with her camera, capturing photographic evidence and recording a detailed video of the entire crime scene.
Occasionally she would stop and collect a physical specimen or jot a note on her scene log.
Wesley calmly examined the bodies, seemingly unperturbed by his sudden elevation to acting medical examiner.
The young technician was taking the daunting assignment seriously, shooting his own photos of the bodies in situ, recording the vital statistics of the bodies, and preparing them to be transported back to the medical examiner’s office.
Jankowski’s phone vibrated on his hip. He dug into his pocket, hoping Gabby wasn’t calling to continue her nagging.
He was confident their sturdy, concrete block house would hold up against the storm, but he wasn’t planning to share that opinion with his ex-wife, and he wasn’t about to desert an active crime scene like Nessa had done.
The number looked familiar, but the caller’s name didn’t pop up on his display.
Maybe one of the uniformed officers reporting in?
“This is Detective Jankowski.”
“This is Barker. I need a favor.”
Jankowski raised his eyebrows and shook his head.
“I’m doing fine, thanks, Barker. Nice to hear from you.”
Barker’s voice came back hard.
“I’m not screwing around, Jankowski. I have confirmation of an active abduction in progress and a detective heading toward a perp with a gun without backup. You want to continue to bullshit, or you want to help?”
Jankowski looked at the phone, surprised by the panic he detected under Barker’s words.
“All right, tell me what’s happened.”
“Eden Winthrop is missing. She’s been abducted and her dog has been shot. Nessa’s on her way to the scene, but she may not be aware the perp has a gun and is ready to use it. I can’t reach her on her cell. I’m hoping you can reach her on the radio.”
“Shit.”
Jankowski’s stomach churned at the thought of both Nessa and Eden in danger.
“Do you know who the perp is? Do you know where Eden’s being held?”
Barker went quiet, and Jankowski could hear a deep male voice speaking in the background.
Girl Eight: A Mercy Harbor Thriller Page 24