by LENA DIAZ,
She gave him a mutinous look, but he didn’t cave this time. Been there, done that and look at what had happened. She’d been within fifty yards of the killer, because that was about how far away Jasper was when he’d been taken. That probably hadn’t occurred to her yet, and he hoped it never did. But no way would he take her back out there, under any circumstances. As far as he was concerned, until the killer was caught, she was going to be watched 24/7, by an armed guard of some kind.
“Zack,” Cole said. “There’ve been a few more developments in the case since you left this morning.”
Zack listened with growing anger as Cole updated him on the investigation. By the time his friend was through, Zack was livid.
“What else has happened?” Kaylee said from beside him.
There was a catch in her voice, and he realized she was frightened. He drew a deep breath then another, and forced himself to keep a carefully blank expression.
“I’ll tell you in a minute.” He forced a smile. “Go on,” he told Cole, wanting him to finish so he could figure out for himself what his next step should be.
“I don’t think it’s safe bringing Miss Brighton back to the office just yet,” Cole said. “Just in case someone’s watching the place, assuming she’ll show up there. Maybe you can take her to a hotel, a different one from last night, just to be safe. And hide out until we find this guy.”
“Agreed.” He checked his watch. “I’ll call you once we’re settled, shouldn’t be more than an hour.”
“Sounds good.” He listened to Cole’s suggestions of places to stay.
Kaylee was still watching him curiously as he pulled out onto Alligator Alley heading west toward Naples. A quick look in his rearview mirror to make sure that Gene was following them had him realizing that Carlson and Thomas were perked up and listening just as closely as Kaylee had. They knew something was up, and they were obviously waiting to see what he’d let slip if not outright share.
There was a reason he normally preferred to work alone.
He ended the call with Cole. But before anyone could ask him for an update, he made another quick call—to Gene Theroux. A few seconds later both trucks pulled to the shoulder of the highway and stopped.
“What’s going on?” Deputy Thomas asked. “Car trouble?”
“No. Kaylee and I aren’t going back to the sheriff’s office just yet. So Gene’s going to take you two back there. I don’t want to delay either of you in helping with the search for Jasper.”
As soon as he mentioned the missing officer, both Carlson and Thomas were more than happy to hightail it back to Gene’s truck. Soon the three men pulled out onto the highway heading toward the sheriff’s office.
After waiting for a semitruck to pass, Zack pulled out, too.
“Zack, what’s going on?” Kaylee asked. “I’m really getting nervous over here.”
He placed his right hand on the seat between them, palm up. As he’d hoped, she put her hand in his, lacing their fingers together. Her constant trust in him was humbling.
“First, we’re going to eat something and relax in an out-of-the-way restaurant. We’re going to let all of the stress of today fade away and talk about something other than the case. Cole has everything in hand. He’s calling in manpower from neighboring communities and amassing a search like this area has never seen. They’ll find Jasper, make no mistake.”
Her fingers tightened around his. “You said first. That implies a second.”
“Right. Second, we go find another hotel for the night.”
“Another hotel? I thought you liked the one we stayed at last night, because of the proximity to the sheriff’s office.”
“Yeah, well. Things have changed. Turns out I’d rather find a new place to stay.”
“Zack, what’s going on? Why are you afraid to take me to the sheriff’s office? And don’t tell me that I have to wait through dinner to find out the details. I’m not even hungry. You might as well tell me right now. What did Cole say about the investigation that you don’t want me to know about?”
He sighed, feeling the weight of everything his friend had just told him, and wishing there was some way to avoid breaking the news to Kaylee. But he knew, if the roles were reversed, he’d want to know. And she did deserve to know. He just hated piling more on after the harrowing events of today.
He glanced over at her, at her searching gaze, then nodded and looked back at the road. A rest stop was coming up on their right, so he put his blinker on, slowed and took the exit. A few minutes later he parked his truck in the relative privacy of the back parking lot, behind the main building that housed the bathrooms, but far enough away from other cars that no one paid them any attention.
After cutting the engine, he turned in his seat to face her, and she looked up at him expectantly.
“First things first,” he said. “The only person those search parties will be looking for tonight is the missing FFW officer. Sue Ellen Fullerton has already been found.”
Her eyes widened. “What? That’s great. Where did they find her? Is she okay? What happened...” Her smile faded and her voice trailed off as she finally took in the somberness of his voice, the lack of an answering smile on his face. “Oh, Zack. Please don’t say that she’s...that she—”
“I’m sorry, Kaylee. When Deputy Thomas and Carlson went looking for Jasper, they found Sue Ellen.”
“But...but how did you know?”
“His phone. Carlson took pictures and showed me. There’s no question that it’s her.”
She closed her eyes and a ragged breath escaped her. “I never saw her. When he had me in that box, the only other person I ever saw was Mary. I didn’t know that he had someone else.” A tear leaked out from the corner of her eye and slid down her cheek.
That tear had him aching to pull her into his arms, to hold her. Would she let him? Would she welcome his touch, take the comfort he offered? Or would it frighten her to be held by him, by any man? He hated to see her suffering and wanted to help. But he didn’t know how, not with everything that had happened to her. So he forced his hands to remain in his lap and waited for her to look at him again.
When she finally wiped the tears from her cheeks and opened her over-bright eyes, she straightened her shoulders, as if bracing herself for more bad news.
“Go on,” she said. “I know there’s more, or you’d have taken me to the sheriff’s office to tell me about Sue Ellen. Please. Just get it over with, rip off the bandage all at once. I can’t take wondering anymore. I need to know what’s going on.”
“It’s about your friend, Sandy Gonzalez. She’s—”
“Is she okay? What’s happened to her? Tell me.”
“She’s fine, more or less. Kaylee, Sandy has been arrested. She’s a part of all of this.”
She let out a snort of laughter then sobered. “What are you saying? That doesn’t make any sense.”
He rested his right arm across the seat back. “Remember this morning, that Cole had discovered that she owned the agencies used by you, Mary and Sue Ellen? It seemed like an odd coincidence. And then you talked about how the bad press had devastated your friend, that it ruined business, that it didn’t make sense that she’d be involved in any way in the abductions because she had no motive, nothing to gain. Everything to lose. Well that got Cole thinking, so he had his team dig even deeper into the financials. Sure enough, just last week Sandy filed an insurance claim on behalf of her Miami company—Aventuras Travel Agency.”
“Insurance? Like to help cover losses if something bad happened to one of her clients?”
“Yes and no. That kind of policy is typical, and normally pays out only if the client sues, which you haven’t done. This was a special kind of policy. Instead of insuring against losses resulting from a lawsuit, this one insures against the loss of what’s c
alled ‘goodwill,’ basically the reputation of the company. A monetary value is placed on that reputation, the company’s brand. And if the policy holder can prove the brand has been significantly damaged—as it was when the bad press was printed about your abduction—the policy pays out. And not just a little bit. The value of that policy on Aventuras is a cool one million dollars.”
Kaylee’s mouth fell open in shock, then she shook her head. “Wait. Hold it. That still doesn’t mean she had anything to do with my abduction. What’s the connection? What are you saying?”
“She had goodwill policies on all three agencies, Kaylee. She stands to collect three million dollars, all because each one of her agencies had one of their clients abducted while on a trip the agencies arranged. Now, tell me. Do you believe in coincidences to that degree? And don’t forget that she hid the fact that she owned all three companies. It makes sense that she would have created those shell companies for this very purpose, to hide her connection so no one would put two and two together. She even purchased the policies from three different insurance companies. She did everything she could to hide the connections, hoping no one would ever think to look.”
Kaylee shook her head vigorously, but she’d gone pale. She might be in denial, but the truth was sinking in whether she wanted it to or not. “Wait. Okay, I agree it sounds crazy. But how does it play out? She looks up serial killers on the internet somewhere and hires one of them to take out three of her clients? Come on, Zack. That’s ridiculous. There has to be another explanation.”
“Oh, there is. His name is Hutch Mulcahy. He’s Sandy’s ex-husband, who’s also an ex-con. He’s been in prison for ten years and got out about six months ago, which is right around the time that Sandy created those shell companies and purchased her ‘goodwill’ insurance. Sandy and Hutch made plans to destroy the reputation of her three companies so they could collect on the insurance. And as soon as they collected, they were going to skip the country and live happily ever after.”
Kaylee pressed her hands against her temples and shook her head. “No, no, that can’t be. I’ve known Sandy for years. And I never heard about an ex-husband.”
He shrugged. “I’m sure she wasn’t going to brag about having been married to a man who went to prison for rape.”
She slowly lowered her hands. “Rape?”
“Among other things, yes.” At her crestfallen look, he said, “Kaylee, I’m so sorry that you have to hear it like this. I wanted to break it to you at the hotel, talk it through. But you wanted to know right now what was going on. I just wish there was something I could have done to soften the blow. Sandy Gonzalez is behind your abduction and the abductions and murders of Mary and Sue Ellen. She colluded with her ex-husband to have something bad happen to each of you so they could collect their millions and run off.”
Tears were falling faster and unchecked now. Her lower lip trembled. “But she’s a woman, and a friend. I can’t believe she would wish what happened to me, to those other women, on any of us. I just can’t see it.”
“Some of the details are still fuzzy,” he allowed. “She’s admitted to the collusion to cash in on her goodwill policy, and that her ex-con ex-husband was supposed to help with that. But you’re right, she swears she would never agree to what happened to any of you. She’s placing all of the blame squarely on her ex, saying he was supposed to do something much more mild, like hold you up at gunpoint, slash your rental car’s tires, that sort of thing. She claims she had no idea he was this evil, that he’d go this far.”
She was holding it together by a thread. He could see that in how alarmingly pale she looked, how wild her eyes were and how violently she trembled. But she still wasn’t giving in to her turmoil. Perhaps it was the past month spent wondering why she’d been targeted that had her pushing through the pain, continuing to insist on answers now.
“Hutch Mulcahy?” she whispered. “That’s his name? The man who...the man who...hurt me? Who killed those women? And kidnapped Jasper?”
“We believe so, yes. He matches the description you gave—height, weight, Caucasian. Cole’s looking into whether there’s a recording of his voice on file with the Department of Corrections so you can listen to it, see if it sounds familiar. And there’s a BOLO out on him.”
“BOLO?”
“Cop speak. Means be on the lookout. Kind of like an Amber Alert except it’s only sent to law enforcement, not the public. Every officer in the state will be shown his picture so they can keep an eye out for him. And Cole’s men will figure out every step the man’s taken since he got out of prison. Don’t worry. They’ll get him.”
She nodded but didn’t look convinced. He supposed it made sense that she’d still be frightened, worried. Until Mulcahy was behind bars, she’d see him in every shadow, hear him in every footstep behind her, never be able to relax or feel safe.
“It’ll all work out,” he tried to reassure her. “Cole’s men will find Jasper, and they’ll find Mulcahy. And you’ll never have to worry about him again.” When she didn’t say anything, just stared out the windshield as if lost in thought, he started up the engine. “Come on. We’ll go get a suite at some fancy hotel downtown and get cleaned up. I’ll even let you pay for the room if that will make you happy.”
That finally made her smile, even if it was only a half-smile. “In that case, let’s go to the Ritz-Carlton. I want to soak in a deep tub full of bubbles and high-powered jets to soothe my aching muscles. I’m not used to all the walking, not to mention jogging, that we did today.”
Her smile faded and he knew she was thinking about Sue Ellen and the missing FFW officer. Since there was nothing else he could say that would ease those hurts, he backed out of the parking space to head back to the highway.
A horn blared. Tires screeched. Zack jerked his head around just in time to see a white panel van barrel into the side of his pickup, just missing his door. Kaylee screamed as glass shattered from both vehicles and tinkled all over the pavement. The front hood had crumpled up at a crazy angle and bright green radiator fluid shot up like a geyser.
He checked Kaylee. “You okay?”
She was shaking, pale, but nodded. “I’m... I’m okay. You?”
“Fine.” He frowned, staring through the hole where the windshield used to be. “But my truck’s not.”
A muffled moan carried to them from the other vehicle. Because of the angle, he couldn’t see the person or people in the van. But that moan didn’t sound good.
“Stay here. I’ll check on the other driver.”
He tried to open his door but it resisted his efforts. He gritted his teeth in disgust and shoved the door, hard. It finally opened with a sickening metallic screech. After hopping down, he rounded the back of the van.
A loud crack, something zipping through the air, and then burning, agonizing pain. Zack fell to the asphalt, convulsing, white-hot agony ripping through every nerve, his teeth grinding so hard they seemed in danger of breaking. And then suddenly, the pain stopped, leaving him sweating and panting on the ground. He blinked as his still pain-fogged mind registered what had happened—he’d been Tased. This wasn’t an accident. It was a trap. Kaylee! He had to protect Kaylee.
He shoved himself up off the ground, staggered, caught himself against the back of the van. Twin darts with thin wires attached protruded from his thigh. He grabbed for one of them just as the loud crack of electricity sizzled in the air again. Immediately, he fell to the ground again, his fingers curling like talons as the blazing pain shredded his nerves, making him helpless, worthless, as someone leaned past him and opened the van doors. His attacker tossed something in the back that landed with a loud thump. Kaylee. And she hadn’t been moving.
Fighting against the blistering pain, Zack desperately tried to grab his gun, but his whole body was convulsing and he couldn’t manage it. The man who’d taken Kaylee leaned over him. Zack
vaguely registered the dark mask over the man’s face before he plunged a needle into Zack’s neck. The electricity running through his body abruptly stopped and he lay there once again, breathing hard, his body wrung out and exhausted as if he’d been running a marathon. He grabbed the darts, yanking them out and tossing them away. He shoved himself up into a crouch, ready to launch himself at the man who’d jumped back several feet.
A wave of dizziness had him falling to the ground. He shook his head, desperately trying to focus and fight off whatever the masked man had drugged him with. But in spite of his feverish efforts, the relentless darkness won. As he surrendered to unconsciousness, a last thought flitted through his mind.
The devil had them.
Chapter Fourteen
A groan sounded nearby. Zack frowned, then his face heated as he realized that he was the one who’d made that pathetic sound. Every inch of his body hurt, as if it were one big bruise. His mind was a confusing fog of impressions. Everything seemed disconnected, fuzzy, and he couldn’t focus his thoughts. His mouth was dry, his stomach roiling with nausea. Drugged. The way he felt, he’d definitely been drugged.
A mask, with holes for eyes, a wide slit for the mouth. A man, carrying Kaylee, dumping her inside...what? The trunk of a car? No. That wasn’t right. Crunching metal, shattering glass, a zapping, buzzing sound. Pain. Unbearable, scorching pain. His left thigh ached, burned. He rubbed his arm across his jeans, felt the holes in the cloth.
Everything snapped together in his mind. The van, slamming into his truck. Him, rounding the back. Wires shooting toward him, electricity sizzling through his nerves. A man, dressed all in black, leather mask concealing his features. And Kaylee, unconscious...or worse...tossed like a rag doll into the back of the van.
His eyes flew open, but he saw nothing but darkness—complete, absolute darkness. Could it be nighttime already? Or was he in the trunk of a car, or lying on the floor of the cargo van? Kaylee. Where was she? He had to find her, help her.