Faces of Evil [2] Impulse

by Debra Webb

  Jess managed a nod. “Did Chief Burnett come here after you spoke?”

  Annette shook her head. “It wasn’t half an hour after I called him that he called me back and said he’d gotten Andrea on her cell.” Pain lined her face. “She wouldn’t answer our calls. She had gone to Dan’s house. He was on his way to meet her there. They were going to talk. He promised me everything would be fine. That was more than two hours ago.”

  Fear thudded in Jess’s brain, the thump-thump-thump keeping time with the beating of her heart. “You haven’t heard from either since?” she deduced.

  Annette shook her head, tears streaming down her cheeks. “He said we should wait here and be patient. He would call.”

  “I got tired of waiting so I drove to his house,” Denton interjected. “I just got back. His SUV is there but Andrea’s car is not. There was no answer at the door. He’s not answering his phone. Andrea isn’t either. I was just telling Annette that we needed to call nine-one-one or something. What the hell is going on?”

  Jess and Harper exchanged a look.

  “Sir, we will find out what’s happened,” Harper assured him.

  Somewhere in the house a phone rang. Denton rushed to answer it. Annette went after him. Jess wasn’t waiting for an invitation. She walked into the house with Harper trailing her.

  In the massive great room Denton grabbed the back of the nearest chair in an apparent move to remain vertical, tears slid down his cheeks. “It’s okay, baby. Just tell me where you are.”

  Annette clung to her husband and through her sobs demanded, “Is she okay?”

  The girl’s father frowned. “Wait. . . honey, slow down. Who are you talking about? Is Dan with you?”

  Goosebumps rose on Jess’s flesh. She needed to talk to the girl, but the parents were so emotionally overwhelmed that outside of jerking the phone out of the man’s hand, she wasn’t sure she could make that happen.

  “Baby, listen to me,” Denton urged. “I’m giving the phone to your mother. We’re heading to you right now. Stay right where you are.”

  He handed the cell phone to his wife and turned to Jess. “I couldn’t understand everything she said. But we have to go to her.”

  “We’ll escort you, Mr. Denton,” Jess offered, struggling to sound calm. “Can you tell us where she is and what she said about Chief Burnett so we can make the necessary calls en route?”

  “She was angry. She went to Dan’s house to talk but he wasn’t home. She has a key so she opened the garage and hid her car so we wouldn’t know where she was. She was angry with us,” he repeated. He stopped. Seemed lost for a moment. “I have to get over there.”

  “Sergeant Harper, get a unit over to Chief Burnett’s residence now.” Jess fixed her firmest gaze back on Denton. “Sir, did Burnett show up eventually?”

  “Yes,” Denton said, visibly confused and shaken. “She thinks he did. But someone else was already there when she first arrived. He was in the house when Andrea went inside and. . . he drugged her with some sort of injection.” Denton made a keening sound. “When she woke up just now, the man was gone and Dan’s SUV is in the drive but he isn’t anywhere in the house. . . she’s hysterical. I have to go to her.”

  “Come with us,” Jess urged, fighting for calm herself. “We’ll take you there.” These people were in no condition to drive anywhere. “Sergeant, get the paramedics to Burnett’s house in case Andrea needs any medical attention.”

  Jess led the Dentons to Harper’s SUV.

  She sat in the passenger seat as Harper drove as fast as he dared through the quiet neighborhood. Burnett’s house was only a few minutes away. But that was a few too many. Wouldn’t matter anyway. . . he wouldn’t be there.

  Jess bit her lips together. Tears crawled down her cheeks just the same.

  As they approached Burnett’s house that wasn’t a home but it was the place where he lived. . . where he’d kissed her last night. . . where he’d admitted his fears about their relationship after all these years. . . that tiny thread of hope she’d been clinging to in order to get through this nightmare snapped.

  Jess entered the number she needed to call. When he answered, she cleared her throat of the emotion and said, “Agent Gant, he’s taken another victim.”

  Gant said some things but Jess didn’t get any of it until he repeated the demand for a name and location.

  “Dunbrooke Drive in Mountain Brook,” she said, her lips trembling, “Police Chief Daniel Burnett.”

  18

  Dunbrooke Drive, 9:01 a.m.

  Jess stood in the middle of the kitchen. She stared at the place next to the fridge where Dan had lifted her onto the counter and kissed her so longingly just a few hours ago. The case file still lay on the dining room table. Everything was exactly as they had left it around midnight.

  Except Dan wasn’t here. . .

  Evidence techs and cops were all over the house. Deputy Chief Black and Sheriff Griggs were working with Sergeant Harper, orchestrating the activities. The Dentons had gone to the hospital with their daughter.

  Andrea had awakened on the sofa to find herself alone and Dan’s SUV in the driveway. The paramedics had found no indication of any physical assault to her. The man, she had identified as the one in the photo on Jess’s phone, had already been at the house when she arrived. He’d followed Andrea inside. Based on Dan’s call to Annette saying that he had spoken to Andrea, Dan had arrived here perhaps thirty or so minutes after Andrea.

  The girl had come here thinking she could talk to Dan about how her parents were driving her crazy about every word she said and every move she made. After her abduction not two weeks ago and several days as a hostage, Jess could understand their concerns. Andrea had scarcely been home four days. Emotionally exhausted, she’d come to the one person she had known would understand. She hadn’t expected to find Dan gone. As the chief of police he rarely got called out to a scene in the middle of the night. But this was different. Evil had intruded into his life, following on Jess’s heels.

  She shouldn’t have come back to Birmingham. She was long past the terror. What she felt now was something along the lines of numb. And defeated.

  “Ma’am.”

  Jess turned to Harper. “Yes, sergeant.”

  “We’re heading downtown now. Are you ready to go?”

  Jess looked around, lost for what to do. “Yes.” She managed a nod. “I’m ready.”

  “Deputy Chief Black has called a conference with all the other division chiefs, Sheriff Griggs and Agent Gant. Afterward there’ll be a press conference.”

  “All right.”

  Jess moved through the house, unable to meet the gazes of all who stopped and stared. She knew what they were thinking.

  This was her doing. She had to make it right.

  Outside, the sun had already turned the interior of Harper’s SUV into an oven. Jess settled into the passenger seat, her bag in her lap. The air rushing from the vents was stifling. She didn’t care.

  Harper drove for several minutes before he spoke. “What’s your assessment of the situation, ma’am?”

  He wanted to know if she believed either one, Lori or Dan, would survive. She wanted to turn to him and demand to know how he expected her to have a damned clue. None of this fit the Player’s pattern – Spears’ pattern. None of her theories seemed to hold together as each new development evolved.

  Jess closed her eyes and fought a wave of emotion. Harper had kept his cool extremely well through this whole travesty. He’d called Lily en route to Dan’s house and ensured they were safe. He’d called the chief of police in Pensacola and given him an update so that another layer of protection could be added to Lily’s family. He’d ordered another unit on surveillance duty at the Wells’ home and at the hospital where Belinda Howard was recovering.

  Jess had done nothing but wallow in the nothingness.

  He waited for her answer so she gave him all she had. “My assessment is that we can turn this city upside down and we w
on’t find him until he wants us to find him.”

  It was simple really. She should have narrowed in on the goal hours ago. To some degree she had, only she’d flittered all around it rather than honed in on the exact definition of what he wanted. Too many unclear signals from the unsub. His communications with her were sporadic. His MO all over the map.

  But now she understood. He could have taken her sister or her niece but he hadn’t. Jess had assumed he’d taken Lori because she was his type and because of the camaraderie he’d noted between them. He’d even sent that text last Saturday – or had it been Friday – saying he liked her friend. But that hadn’t been the reason he’d taken Lori.

  The realtor fit the new scenario coming together, piece by slow piece. That one had thrown Jess off at first. Seemed reasonable to assume he was targeting people he deemed close to her. Like perhaps seeing the realtor give her that hug at Lily’s house.

  But Miller didn’t fit that scenario. Taking Dan now rather than Lily or Alice before they were moved out of his immediate reach didn’t fit either.

  Except that this wasn’t about Jess Harris the woman, the sister, the aunt or friend. This insane game revolved around Jess the agent. . . the deputy chief.

  “Are we supposed to just give up?”

  Harper was mentally and physically exhausted and emotionally devastated. He needed hope and she couldn’t give it to him. He braked for a traffic light. She felt his gaze on her but she couldn’t meet his eyes. What he wanted was something she couldn’t give him. What she had to offer as the only solution he wouldn’t want to hear.

  Harper would only get in her way and if she was correct in her conclusions, he was already a target. Gant and the others with whom she had worked on the Player case were safe because they had turned on her. Discredited her in the media, which evidently tripped the bastard’s trigger. That was what he’d wanted. . . why he’d set her up. He’d wanted to ruin her as punishment for getting too close and, no doubt, as a new way to achieve pleasure. Her move to Birmingham had rained on his terrorize-Jess parade. But how could he have anticipated that Dan would offer her a position here? Even she hadn’t seen that coming.

  Jess had taken something from Spears. Whether it was his playing field or something else, she wasn’t sure. There wasn’t enough information available to her yet to determine if he had sent this lookalike accomplice to Birmingham to keep an eye on her or if that was part of the reason he’d cut his losses by killing Special Agent Taylor and vanishing.

  Was the lookalike working for him or against him? Whatever the reason, Spears had at least one more move on his agenda. If she was right, she could move first and usurp his finale. . . but if she was wrong, both Lori and Dan might end up paying the price.

  A horn blew behind them, forcing Harper to start moving again.

  “I need to speak to Deputy Chief Black before the briefing.”

  There was no way to know which man, Spears or his protégé, had intercepted Dan. There was no way to estimate the timeline one or both were working on. Or if they were working together. . . if they had always been. And absolutely no way to validate her conclusion one way or the other.

  “With all due respect, ma’am,” Harper protested, “you didn’t answer my question.” Harper waited for a break in the traffic to make the left turn into the downtown parking garage. And he waited for her answer.

  “I need you to trust me, sergeant. Giving up is not on my agenda.”

  Seemingly satisfied, he made the turn and parked in his assigned slot.

  He reached for the door handle. Jess touched his arm and he hesitated. “Do you trust me, Chet?” She was the one needing an answer now. Jess felt herself holding her breath. She had one last preemptive strategy and if it didn’t work. . . she couldn’t go there.

  Harper held her gaze for a long moment. “Yes, ma’am.”

  The numbness eased a bit with a spark of hope as her plan formulated at an unprecedented speed. “Then I need you to give me your word that no matter what happens in the next few hours you will not question my words or my actions. You will go along with whatever I say and do. If you trust me, you’ll know that whatever happens, it’s the only way. Can you do that?”

  His hesitation was longer this time. He gave Jess a nod. “I can do that.”

  She managed a smile. “All right then. Let’s do what has to be done.”

  The walk to the entrance of BPD headquarters reminded Jess that she was not dressed for a briefing and certainly not for a press conference. The jeans and tee shirt and sneakers she’d been wearing last night looked far from professional but she wasn’t out to impress anyone this morning.

  Funny, she realized, mostly because her brain needed a distraction, no one else seemed to have that problem. Harper, Gant, Deputy Chief Black had all traipsed around that murder scene in their suits and their polished leather shoes. She and Dan had shown up in their jeans and tees.

  And then Dan was gone.

  Her lips trembled as she smiled.

  Don’t worry, Dan. I’m going to save you this time.

  Her cell rang out with that old-fashioned jangle. She paused in the BPD lobby and fished out her phone. Took forever. Damn, she needed to get organized. “Harris.”

  “We got a print match from the Miller crime scene.”

  Her breath trapped in her chest. Gant. “Spears?”

  “Not Spears, but we may now have the identity of his accomplice.”

  She had no idea how they could possibly have made a connection this quickly but she was ready for any kind of break.

  “Matthew Reed, Caucasian, 28. Dallas, Texas.”

  “Why didn’t we get that with Howard’s business card?” The man hadn’t been wearing gloves according to the two witnesses at the florist.

  “You wouldn’t have since he’s not in any national databases. But he is in the SpearNet database.”

  “This Matthew is employed by Eric Spears’ company?” Adrenalin fired, igniting the urge to act. Spears had provided the Bureau with access to his company’s files as well as all personal files. He had been so damned sure of himself.

  “Was for three years. His file went inactive two years ago.”

  Fury twisted in her belly. “I guess so. Matthew couldn’t exactly go to work wearing his boss’s face.”

  “Exactly. Let Chief Black know I’m en route. I’ve been waiting for confirmation. This,” Gant said, anticipation in his voice, “was worth waiting for.”

  Jess dropped her phone back into her bag. Yes, this was worth waiting for. A smile tugged at her lips. I’m gonna get you, Spears. He’d made his own little clone for his evil purposes. Just went to show what a man with too much money and a warped mind could do.

  Deputy Chief Black waited at the elevator. Jess hurried to catch the car that arrived.

  “Good morning, Chief Harris, sergeant,” he offered.

  Along with the professional suit, he wore that same tired and troubled expression as everyone involved with this investigation sported.

  “Morning, chief. I need a few moments of your time,” Jess told him, “in private before you start the conference.”

  The older man’s eyebrows reared up. “Most everyone has arrived already. Is it necessary to make them wait?”

  “It’s essential.”

  “Very well. We can talk in Chief Burnett’s office.”

  “Thank you. Oh, and Agent Gant is running behind but he has an important development to share.” Jess could feel Harper’s gaze burning into her again but she couldn’t make eye contact this time. Not and maintain the necessary composure until this was done.

  “I hope this development will point us in the right direction.”

  Jess didn’t elaborate on Gant’s news. No need to steal his glory. She had her own breaking news to announce this morning.

  The elevator doors opened and she exited and headed straight for the chief’s door. Black was right behind her.

  “Deputy Chief Harris,” Harper called af
ter her.

  Dammit. “I’ll be right there,” she said to Black.

  He glanced at his watch before moving on, a silent reminder that they had a conference room full of people waiting.

  When he’d continued into Burnett’s office, Harper asked, “Ma’am, you didn’t say why you’re meeting privately with Deputy Chief Black.”

  Harper was worried but he was also suspicious. “Remember, sergeant. You said you trust me. Don’t back out on me now.”

  “I do, ma’am, but I know Chief Burnett would be very upset if I allowed anything to happen to you.”

  Damn these hard-headed southern men.

  “You made a promise and I’m counting on you not to let me down. Now go down to the conference room and let the others know that Black will be there in just a minute. And brace yourself, Agent Gant has good news.”

  Harper hesitated, then walked away.

  As long as he kept his word until she was out of this building, she would be good to go.

  In the chief of police’s waiting room, a teary-eyed Tara offered her a weak smile but didn’t say good morning. Jess nodded, couldn’t quite summon even a fake smile. Everyone here was worried about their chief. They all loved Daniel Burnett. Jess’s throat threatened to close. She forced back the emotions and went to Dan’s office.

  Deputy Chief Black stood in the middle of the room waiting for her. “What’s this about, Harris?”

  Jess plunked her bag on the small conference table. “I have to give you this before you start your meeting.” She dug for her pad and pencil as she spoke.

  “Have you learned something new?”

  His patience was scarcely holding under the circumstances. Jess understood. Hers had already cracked. She quickly wrote the necessary words on the page, signed her name, tore off the sheet and gave it to him. While he read the note, she tucked her pad and pencil away and shouldered her bag.