Faces of Evil [2] Impulse

by Debra Webb

  “You okay?” Burnett asked softly.

  Jess shrugged. “Yeah.” She didn’t look at him. She couldn’t. Having him hug her or something with Prescott and the others around would only make bad matters worse. Her reputation was in sad enough shape without adding something new to the rumor mill. And if she were completely blunt with herself, maybe she didn’t deserve any better. She was single-handedly making as big a mess here as she had last month in Richmond.

  “Chief Burnett,” Prescott called from the lobby. “Agent Gant was called away. He asked that you and Deputy Chief Harris meet him at the Bureau office downtown as soon as possible.”

  She glanced at Jess as if that, too, was her fault. Jess supposed it was.

  “Give me an update when you finish up here,” Burnett instructed the detective.

  “Yes, sir.”

  Outside, Jess raised her hand to block the sun from her eyes. She didn’t have the wherewithal to dig for her sunglasses.

  Two uniforms were keeping the media exiled to a neighboring parking lot. Even from that distance, questions were shouted at her and Burnett. He ignored them. Jess did the same. She’d already made enough of a mess with her last eloquent statement.

  She climbed into the passenger seat of Burnett’s SUV and buckled up. The world spun a little so she leaned back and closed her eyes. Spears and/or his accomplice had her cell number. Burnett’s, too. Why didn’t he contact one of them directly?

  Why keep taking other people if it was Jess he wanted?

  He said he was waiting for her and yet he failed to show her the way. Was she missing the clues to the damned map here?

  “Jess, you really need to think about going to Pensacola with Lily.”

  She did not want to have that conversation again. “He’ll just follow me there.” Her sister and her family wouldn’t be safe with Jess anywhere near them.

  Why didn’t Burnett get that?

  The fear started clawing at her from somewhere deep inside. Jess fought hard to slow it but that wasn’t happening. The idea that this monster had gotten close enough to touch her family shattered some part of her that she desperately needed to be strong.

  Burnett kept giving her reasons why she should do the right thing and disappear until this was done. Somewhere, anywhere, he insisted.

  She couldn’t listen. Her stomach roiled and the overwhelming sensation of needing to vomit slammed her.

  “I have to get out.” She sat up straighter. Looked up ahead for a place to pull over. “I have to get out now, Burnett.” Otherwise the passenger side of his fancy Mercedes was about to be decorated with puke.

  “Give me a minute.” He eased over into the right hand lane.

  Jess held her hand over her mouth, closed her eyes and fought the dizzying, sickening sensation. Her heart pounded as her chest seemed to close in on itself. She could not let this case get to her like this. She had to stay focused. Objective.

  Burnett turned into the parking lot of a strip mall not unlike the one they had just left. As soon as the car stopped, she bailed out.

  Deep breaths. She drew in slow, deep breaths. Her belly ached, but the urge to vomit eased. Her heart wouldn’t stop pounding. Her chest constricted tighter and tighter. A panic attack. She’d had a couple when she was younger.

  Walk it off.

  She walked back and forth between Burnett’s SUV and the far end of the building. The parking lot was practically deserted. Four of the six shops were for lease and in various stages of disrepair. Reminded her of her life. Falling apart. She was struggling to find her footing again and things just kept tumbling downhill.

  The sensations started to fade. She breathed a little easier now. Back and forth. Walk off that adrenalin.

  Burnett stayed back. Let her do what she needed to do.

  When her respiration and heart rate were normal again, she walked back to where he waited by his SUV. “Sorry.” She shook her head. “I haven’t had that happen in a long time.”

  “This has been a tough few weeks for you.”

  She nodded. Didn’t trust her voice.

  “The good news is your sister and her family will be safe and away from all this insanity.”

  “But not Lori. . . or Agent Miller.” Both were her fault.

  “We will find them, Jess.”

  Another jerky nod. God she was going to cry. She hated crying.

  “And we will get whoever is responsible for this, whether it’s Spears or his accomplice or both. He won’t get away this time.”

  “I know.” Her voice wobbled.

  Burnett stared at her for a moment with those blue eyes that had always seen way too much. She needed to be stronger than this. Showing him this kind of weakness was no way to start off a working relationship.

  “Come here.”

  He pulled her into his arms and held her close. She wanted to resist. She really did. But she couldn’t. She needed to feel his strength. To inhale his familiar scent. To have those reassuring arms around her.

  Surrendering, she wrapped her arms around his waist, closed her eyes and just sank into the warmth and strength he offered. He held her that way for a long time. Neither spoke. It wasn’t necessary. Just the feel of his arms around her was enough. When her pulse started to flutter for reasons she recognized all too well and understood were absolutely unrelated to this case she knew it was time to step back.

  “Thank you.” She gave him a real smile, weak though it might be. “I needed that.”

  He touched her cheek, just the softest, fleeting touch and she melted a little more.

  “Let’s go see what Gant has to say.”

  “I can’t wait.”

  1000 18th Street, 3:15 p.m.

  Gant had fast-tracked their sign-in process so she and Burnett wouldn’t have to wait. The receptionist in the main lobby led them to a conference room where Gant, Wentworth and Manning waited.

  When they were seated and offered refreshments, Wentworth kicked off the briefing or whatever the hell it was.

  “I’d like you to consider these photos taken at your home last night.” Agent Wentworth pushed the file down the table to Jess.

  She opened it and stared at the first of several photos. The message, written in blood like the one at the Howard crime scene, disrupted the rhythm of her heart. Why did you leave me? She pushed that one aside. The next two showed pictures of Spears literally covering one wall in her office. A close up of one particular picture showed there were actually two, one of her cropped to match with one of Spears as if they were together.

  She passed the folder back across the conference table. “Whoever killed my neighbor and broke into my house put those pictures on the wall.”

  “Did you have all these photos of Spears in your home?”

  “What? No! I’ve never seen those photos before.” Did Wentworth really think she was that screwed up? “I have the few photos of the scenes of his most recent victims, his official ID photo from when he was brought in for questioning and the one on my cell but all of that is with me. There were no photos related to him or the Player investigation in my house.” She held up her hands to halt any further debate. “Whoever did this brought the photos with him.”

  “Surely you can understand why we felt compelled to look into the situation.”

  “Surely.” She shrugged, feigned a smile at Wentworth. “Doesn’t the Bureau always make it a habit to believe the accusations of sociopaths?”

  Wentworth ignored her jab. “You remain convinced that this is Spears? That he is here in Birmingham stalking you?”

  Was this a trick question? Why were they wasting time having this conversation? And why was Gant just sitting there staring at her?

  “Whether Spears is here or not, his accomplice or protégé is. There’s no other explanation.” Jess leaned back in her chair and crossed her arms over her chest. “I don’t know why we’re arguing the point. We need to be out there trying to find him. Honestly, your concern for the safety of my family and
for your missing agent is absolutely underwhelming.”

  “That,” Gant came alive and jabbed a finger in her direction “is uncalled for. We are concerned about your family’s safety and for God’s sake you know we’re sick about Agent Miller. We have assets in the field just as you do. We want Miller found quickly and alive just as you do your detective.”

  Jess threw up her hands again. “This is uncalled for. We’re sitting around here having these ridiculous and redundant conversations when Spears or someone who looks like him, maybe both, is out there with two victims whose lives are at stake.”

  “You really do believe it’s him, don’t you?” her ex-boss said, his tone resigned now.

  “Jesus Christ, Gant, I honestly don’t know. But if it’s not him, it’s someone he’s associated with.”

  “Eric Spears was cleared of suspicion,” he reminded her as if she could have forgotten. “Why would he jeopardize his freedom like this?”

  He was asking her this? She wasn’t going to bother regaling him with her theories. Instead, she laughed, the sound dry, brittle. “I can’t fathom his ultimate motive just yet. But he’s not jeopardizing a whole lot. The man is rich. If his fancy lawyers can’t head off trouble, he can take his assets and go to Thailand or wherever. One less member of the big One-Percent Club in our capitalist society.” She took a breath. “The fact is, no one in this room can say for sure whether this is Spears or not.”

  “I think you’re going to be interested in watching this feed we just received from Quantico.” Gant picked up the remote on the table and fired up the monitor on the wall.

  Jess watched while a local Richmond news anchor hurriedly moved through a minute or two of breaking news.

  Suddenly Spears’ face appeared on the screen.

  Jess felt herself leaning across the table to get a better view. He was being ushered along by two agents Jess recognized, Taylor and Bedford.

  “Is this footage from before?” She asked despite the fact that the newscast had today’s date in the scroll at the bottom of the screen.

  Gant sat down the remote. “It’s from today. And, as you can see, it was taken in Richmond shortly before noon. Spears claims his attorney contacted him about the mess going on down here and suggested he make an appearance. That’s the reason I can say with complete certainty that the unsub who took Agent Miller is not Spears. However much he resembles Spears, it is assuredly not him.”

  Jess looked from him to the screen and back.

  “Unless you found documentation he was out of the country as his assistant claimed, where has he been?” Jess charged. “He could have murdered my neighbor and broken into my house to plant the evidence Wentworth wants to hold against me. And he could have left that message. He may be working in concert with an accomplice here.”

  “We can’t dismiss that possibility, that’s true,” Gant agreed. “But our most pressing concern at the moment is the unsub who abducted Detective Wells and Agent Miller. And whoever that unsub is, it is not Eric Spears.”

  Jess stared at the screen now frozen on Spears’ face. Her heart rocked against her sternum as the reality settled deep into her bones.

  “When he turned himself in, his prints confirmed he’s the real McCoy, Jess,” Gant added, his voice as grim as the expression he wore.

  How had her instincts led her so far astray?

  “Maybe now we can focus on the real case we have in front of us,” he went on to suggest. “But, to close this quickly, we’re going to need your help, Jess.”

  She swung her attention to him fast enough to suffer whiplash.

  “You’re the only connection we have to this son of a bitch. We need to use that to reel him in.”

  14

  Lori pretended to be asleep.

  Spears shuffled across the concrete. His steps sounded unusually heavy. But it was dark so she couldn’t see a damned thing.

  He’d been gone for what felt like hours.

  The injection he’d given her before he left had knocked her out almost immediately. Since she’d come around it felt like a long time before he returned. The heat was getting to her. She needed water. And her body ached. Her face hurt but she had no energy to waste suffering the pain so she ignored it.

  Something plunked, like bags of potatoes hitting the floor.

  She jerked at the sound.

  Don’t move.

  The more time she had before he realized she was awake the better.

  She’d used his absence to search around the dark space for as far as her chain would allow for anything new he might have brought in and forgotten about.

  Thankfully she hadn’t stumbled over the other woman’s body. But he’d said she was still alive. Lori had no idea what he had done with her. She wasn’t within Lori’s reach and she had called out to her several times with no response.

  She tried to remember what she’d read about his victims. Was there a common element about where the bodies were discovered?

  Where would they find her body?

  A shiver stole over Lori’s skin.

  She’d thought it was over when he put his hand over her face. She’d tried to break free of his hold but all she had done was use up the oxygen in her lungs even faster. When she’d roused after that she had been startled that she was still alive, lying here on her stomach, her cheek pressed to this filthy floor.

  Alive was good. Gave her a little more time to figure a way out.

  He’d paced the warehouse talking to himself again before he’d injected her.

  Even had she not known what she did about his past crimes, she knew for sure by watching and listening to him that he was bat shit crazy.

  How the hell did a guy that nuts continue committing the perfect murders, leaving behind no trace of evidence?

  Didn’t seem reasonable.

  If Jess were here she would know what to make of his erratic behavior.

  And Harper. Tears welled in Lori’s eyes as that last time they’d made love filtered through her fragmented thoughts. He’d shown her the difference between making love and having sex. She wondered if he was taking care of her mother and her sister. They would need him. Lori felt confident that he wouldn’t let them down.

  She licked at her sore lip. Though she didn’t have a mirror, she was pretty sure she had a black eye to go with the busted lip. More of those shuffling noises drew her attention to the side of the warehouse closest to the crates stacked along the wall.

  She couldn’t be sure how long he’d been gone since he’d sedated her. With no windows, she’d pretty much lost any concept of the time. He’d forced her to drink cans of Ensure. At first she hadn’t wanted to cooperate but then she’d realized that the nutrient drink would keep her from growing too weak to fight.

  What was he doing? How did he see to do anything in the dark? And why hadn’t he killed her yet? Not that she wanted to die. . . but she knew his MO.

  A low moan filled the darkness.

  Lori’s heart started to hammer. She held her breath. Listened.

  More of the soft moaning.

  She wanted to say something. To get up and find out what was happening. But then he would know she was awake and the element of surprise would be lost.

  What was that sound? The woman? Was she still here after all?

  Another sound grated against her senses.

  Grinding?

  No. . . sawing.

  It went on and on and on.

  The moaning grew louder. Spears was muttering to himself again.

  Lori tried to make sense of his words. Something hit the floor next to her. She jumped. Reminded herself to stay still. She didn’t dare reach out to touch whatever had hit the floor.

  That flop of something soft hitting the concrete echoed again. The moaning grew louder, more urgent and that other sound. . . the sawing or grinding filled the darkness, intensifying and somehow growing more rhythmic.

  She put her hands over her ears and tried to block the noises. Her mind kept put
ting pictures with the sounds and she didn’t want to see.

  The tang of blood weighted the humid air.

  God, make it stop!

  “Stupid bitch.”

  Lori jerked at the words but he wasn’t near her. . . he was still on the other side of the room. He was moving around.

  Light filled the space, the old fluorescent tubes flickering with the sudden surge of electricity.

  She blinked to focus.

  A scream echoed around her.

  Lori sucked in a breath. Her brain ranted at her not to scream again.

  Had she been the one screaming?

  She wasn’t sure.

  Her attention was fastened on the woman lying on the floor by the crates.

  She was naked like before. Duct tape sealed her mouth. . . blood was everywhere. Her body convulsed and jerked like a fish tossed onto the bank. Her dark hair stuck this way and that where it had come loose from the pins she’d used to bundle it against the back of her head. Her feet. . . lay on the floor. . . oh God. . . they were no longer attached to her legs. The woman shuddered and quivered. . . her hands were missing, too.

  No. . . Lori shook her head. This had to be a bad dream.

  Unable to take her eyes off the woman’s juddering body. . . Lori felt the warmth of urine spread beneath her pelvis. Bile burned her throat.

  Not the woman from before. This was a different woman. . . another victim.

  Oh God. . . no.

  Spears walked over to the woman, kicked a foot across the concrete. “You shouldn’t have tried to run away. You made me angry and look what happened. This is your fault.”

  His hands were bloody. . . something hung from his right one.

  A hacksaw?

  No!

  He turned to Lori.

  She froze.

  She hadn’t said that out loud, had she? Blood was splattered over his shirt and the front of his jeans. Bright red drops slid down his lean jaw as he glared at Lori.

  “You see what she made me do?” He shook his head then held up the saw. “Bone saw. I borrowed it.” He stared at the bloody saw. “He won’t mind.”

  He tossed the saw aside and walked closer to the woman. She flopped around as if she were trying to get away. Blood gushed with each movement. . . or maybe it was the beating of her heart.