The first line told her everything she needed to know. Happy was clean. She needed an excuse to keep busy and deter Brandon, so she carefully read every minute detail of a report that eliminated Happy as an accomplice. It also offered no useful information about Burrows’s motives. Well, on paper at least. No one would suspect him so he’d be the perfect accomplice.
“Maggie.” Brandon once again touched her arm, but Bernie called to her at the same moment and she responded to him instead.
“Is that the fax on Happy Gilbert you were waiting for?”
“Yes, Bernie.” She walked over to the table where he sat and handed him the stack of papers. “Basically, Happy is who he says he is. Longtime resident of Culpeper, he first knew Burrows’s mother when Burrows was a child. Lifelong bachelor with zero dependents, he has a stake in a string of businesses here in Culpeper, but the photography shop is the one he currently manages.”
“So, that gets us nowhere.” Bernie sighed his disappointment.
The feeling of being out of her element threatened her confidence again, but she called upon her training and decided returning to the scene would be a step in the right direction. She would bring Doug with her and together with fresh eyes, hopefully get a better perspective on things. “My money is still on Happy aiding Burrows somehow. Just because he’s clean on paper doesn’t mean his hands aren’t dirty.”
She glanced at Brandon, who watched her intently. Eventually, she’d have to face Brandon, but right now her emotions were still a bit too raw. She decided to leave Brandon where she should’ve left him days ago, at square one. As soon as she regained some emotional stability, they would talk.
“Bernie, would you like to join me for a ride over to the Burrows place? I’m going to solve this thing once and for all.” She slung her purse over her arm and marched toward the door. Before she reached it, Doug entered the room. He waved at her, and she motioned for him to join her.
“Hey!” A warm hand on her upper arm steered her past Doug, out the door, and across the hall into another conference room. She spun around to see Brandon close the door with a click.
“Brandon, I don’t have time for this.” If she started strong, she’d end strong — with her heart intact.
He smiled. “Well, at least we’re back to ‘Brandon.’”
Maggie didn’t return the expression. But her cheeks warmed. Brandon’s eyes wavered and a look of remorse came over his features. “Look, Maggie, I’m sorry about yesterday. I crossed a line.” His eyes held fast to hers. His lips twitched slightly upward. “And I’m not talking about what happened in the elevator.”
She ignored how her body immediately began to sweat. Maggie tried to focus on the door behind him and how she could escape. The look in his eyes pulled at her heartstrings, and if they were wrenched any further, all the barriers she erected would tumble down.
He raked a hand through his hair. “I haven’t been myself since Emily died. Letting God heal the pain is easier said than done. Then you came along.” His eyes smoldered. “All the emotion I thought I’d buried just…” He took a step closer, his breathing heavy. “You stir everything up.”
Maggie didn’t trust herself to speak. The sincerity in his eyes and in his voice stripped at her armor. Yet, he couldn’t be hers. Unless he was willing to heal from the pain of the past, he couldn’t embrace his future…and she couldn’t be in it.
“Please, forgive me,” he whispered, his heart in his eyes. “I’m trying.”
Maggie believed him, but he didn’t say the words she wanted to hear. She would pay a high emotional cost if she gave in to him too soon.
Maggie nodded her head once. “Okay. I know you’re trying, and I appreciate it.” She tried to sidestep him for the door.
Did her arm just want to be in his hand, or did he once again detour her from her destination? She faced him, her back to the door.
“Maggie, don’t.” His eyes bore into hers, his voice desperate.
“Don’t what?”
“Don’t be like this,” he pleaded.
“Like what?”
“Closed off. Shut down.”
Did he really? “Oh, like you were closed off to me?” Why did that come out? He had just apologized and she had accepted it. He owed her nothing now and well, neither did she. “I’m sorry, that came out wrong. I didn’t mean it.”
She turned away but gasped when strong arms went around her waist and she landed decidedly against his muscled chest. His mouth took hers so hungrily she could do nothing but allow him to taste. Her purse hit the floor with a thud; her arms wrapped around his neck.
Everything that needed to be said or wanted to be heard was in his kiss. It left her no room to misunderstand what she meant to him. He had loved Emily, and might always love her in some way, but he was moving on…with her. Her rigid body relaxed. His arms wrapped her closer. She tingled with delight at his deep, satisfied moan.
A knock at the door had Brandon pulling away slightly, and Maggie sucking in the air she needed for her heart to keep beating. Brandon took a few steps toward the door, and then turned. “You ready?” he whispered. His eyes still simmered as they looked at her.
Maggie fluffed her hair and picked up her purse. “Yes, thank you.”
Brandon opened the door to Bernie’s amused face.
He stepped inside. “Doug and I are ready when you are, Maggie.”
“Okay,” Maggie breathed. She watched as Bernie scrutinized her, and then Brandon. A look of triumph crossed his face.
“Well, I guess that means everything is cleared up. Good for you two.”
Brandon smirked. “You could always read me like a book, couldn’t you?”
Like a book. Maggie’s brows knitted, and then rose. She felt her eyes grow large. “Like a book!” She snapped her fingers.
“What?” Brandon came forward.
“Now I know where I saw that photograph. He was the boy in the album.” She shook her head in disbelief.
“What photo album?” Bernie asked.
Maggie looked at him. “The one at the photography shop.” She turned toward Brandon. “The same album down in the lower basement on the bookshelf, in the Burrows residence.”
“You never mentioned an album. It was at the photography shop?” Brandon’s eyes narrowed.
“Yes! I’m sure of it. I would need to look at the binder to be certain, but I’m positive. I wondered why the photo of the boy I saw looked so familiar. The picture in the shop was worn, but the boy…the boy is Burrows.”
“Why would Happy have the album? And when would he have gotten it since we searched the house before you ever met Happy at the shop?”
“Plus, the surveillance teams have noted no one coming or going from the residence, including Mr. Collins, who is the only other person here with a key to the place. A key you confiscated, correct?” Bernie added.
“Right. I have that key,” Maggie confirmed. “But for all we know there is another one floating around.”
“There must be another way into the place. Something we’ve missed.” Brandon’s mouth tipped downward, his voice grave. “We need to get a team over there right now. For all we know, Burrows has been moving right underneath our noses.”
“I’ll go pick up our friend Happy Gilbert,” Bernie offered. “And you have my word, he won’t be so happy after I’ve spoken to him.” He was out the door.
Brandon caught Maggie’s eye. He smiled, a gleam of the hunt in his eyes. “This is it.”
She nodded. “I know. I feel it too.” But she wondered at the goose bumps that littered her arms and the small pang of fear deep in her gut.
****
Maggie and Brandon pulled up to the driveway of the Burrows residence. The property teamed with agents and police dogs. Brandon called a few of the agents over to give additional instructions while Maggie entered the house. Bernie and Doug would soon have Happy Gilbert in custody, and they would know exactly how and why he aided Burrows.
For a
moment, Maggie stood still and listened for any signs of movement in the house. After nothing registered, Maggie filled her lungs with air and moved toward the kitchen and the entry to the basement.
“Margaret?”
“In the kitchen.” Brandon entered. His look of concern faded when his eyes rested on her. Maggie warmed all over. She barely had time to consider how her feelings had changed since the hotel. It would have to wait. Instead, she gave him a smile to ease his tension. He smiled back. Those lips…
Oh no, I don’t need to fall down the stairs again. She tore her gaze from his mouth.
“I have the agents searching the woods behind the house again. Hopefully the dogs will pick up a fresh scent.” He moved to her side. His hand rested gently on her arm.
“Bernie will call us when he has something from Gilbert, right?” Maggie asked.
“Right. Hopefully we’ll get answers on how Gilbert got the album.”
Why did Gilbert have the album? Did any patrons of the photography shop recognize Burrows as the boy in the pictures? Maggie hoped not. Whatever Gilbert’s role in the grand scheme, it sickened her.
Brandon tugged at the door that led to the second-level basement. Maggie attempted to step inside but his hand on her shoulder restrained her.
“Why don’t you let me go first?”
“Are you suddenly concerned for my safety?” she teased.
“Not so much sudden. It has been gradually coming on.” He moved in front of her and gave her a quick wink. “Besides, you’re a consultant, remember? I can’t afford to let anything happen to you.”
Maggie noted the seriousness in his voice and thought of Emily. It was more than just concern for Brandon. “I’ll follow you then.”
He began the downward climb. “This room is always going to stink,” he murmured. Brandon pulled the light cord and the small, dank room lit up.
Maggie stepped away from the ladder. “I’m sure I saw the album over here.” She moved toward the bookcase. She shined the flashlight on the shelf where she recalled fingering the label. The position where the album last rested showed an empty space.
“Brandon, look.”
Brandon came beside her to look at the empty space. He fingered the shelf. “Barely any dust there. The album may have been moved more than once.”
“The question is, has Burrows been here since his escape?”
“What are you doing?”
Always the curious cat, Maggie removed some of the books from the shelf and placed them on the floor.
“I smell something.”
“Trust me, it’s the basement,” Brandon said dryly.
“No, it’s more than that.” Maggie continued to remove the books. When she had enough space to work with, she lightly touched the back of the bookcase.
“Feeling for another trap door? Here, let me.” He gently pulled her back and out of the way. Using the butt of his flashlight, he slammed it into the bookcase. The back of the antique popped out. Maggie shined her flashlight and inhaled sharply.
Wooden planks lined the cement wall.
“Help me move this thing.” Brandon took one end of the bookcase and Maggie the other. After a few twists and pulls, they maneuvered it away from the wall. Maggie and Brandon stood agape as they stared at another door.
“We’re about ten feet under ground, right?”
“Your guess is as good as mine,” Maggie breathed. “I honestly can’t recall right now.”
Brandon unclasped the lock and pushed. No give. “It must have a lock on the other side.”
“Put your shoulder into it.” Maggie exhaled.
Brandon turned and gave her a sly grin before he tensed his shoulder muscles and rammed into the door with his side. “Ow.” He rubbed his shoulder and stepped back as the door fell off one of its hinges.
As though hands drew her inside, Maggie rushed right past him and into the tunnel.
“Maggie, hold on.” Brandon’s hand caught her in the crook of her elbow and pulled her back to him. He shined his flashlight down the path. “We don’t know what’s down there, or where it leads. It could be very dangerous.”
“Well, call for some backup.” She kept her eyes glued to the darkness. An overwhelming urge to know what was at the other end had Maggie teetering on the brink of throwing caution to the wind.
Brandon flipped open his phone. “No reception. Must be down too deep.” He strained his neck upward and listened to the silence for a second. “I don’t hear anyone above us.”
“Look, we are armed, federally credentialed agents. We can do this ourselves,” Maggie urged. Her eyes shifted back toward the shadows. Her senses heightened, nerves on edge. Burrows was at the other end, and they would catch him at any moment. I have to catch him.
“It could be a labyrinth for all we know. We could get lost.”
“We’ll leave bread crumbs.”
“Maggie,” Brandon breathed. His hands gripped upper arms. “I want to catch this guy as much as you do and if this were any other case, I’d be halfway down that tunnel right now, but let’s think this one through. No mistakes.”
Maggie halted her pleas. Brandon was right. Heading down a deep, dark tunnel was like going down Alice’s rabbit hole, only she was sure white, fluffy rabbits wouldn’t be waiting for them on the other side. What if another woman was? When Maggie discovered Burrows for the first time, he had Sally Mayes strapped to a chair, a knife inches from her throat. What if she had arrived five minutes later? Would Burrows have completed his torture on Sally? Maggie couldn’t allow that to happen to another woman. Not when she had the chance to catch him again.
“Brandon,” she calmly began, “if only you could have witnessed the terror on Sally Mayes’s face when we intervened the last time. That scene has been playing on repeat ever since you told me Burrows had escaped. What if somewhere at the end of that tunnel,” she flashed her light down the narrow expanse, “is Burrows attempting to do only the Lord knows what, like he did to those other nine women? I don’t know how I could forgive myself for allowing it. For not stopping it while I was here.”
Brandon sighed. “Okay, but we do this my way. Burrows is my jurisdiction.”
“You’re pulling rank?”
“You better believe it. At the first hint of danger, we’re heading back. Agreed?”
Maggie’s pupils dilated slightly as they adjusted to the dark tunnel. She turned to Brandon and nodded. “Okay. Agreed.”
Slowly they stepped into the darkness.
Chapter Thirteen
The tunnel continued to extend. Maggie sniffed the damp, cold air. The dirt and staleness irritated her nostrils. She held back a sneeze. “How long have we been walking?” Maggie asked.
Time didn’t exist in the small, enclosed, never-ending space. Maggie hoped the agents left in the yard would soon be on their heels. Although she had convinced Brandon not to wait for the other agents, she wasn’t naïve to the risk they ran if caught by surprise. Strength in numbers couldn’t be discounted. Maggie silently prayed Happy wasn’t with Burrows and neither were armed. Brandon touched the side of his watch and the face illuminated.
“About seven minutes.”
“Seven? I thought at least a half an hour.”
“It’s only been taking so long because we are moving rather slowly. Which is a good thing. We don’t want to trip and break something in here. We’d have to separate while one of us gets help. I’m not about to leave you down here.”
“Who says I’ll be the one tripping and breaking my ankle?”
Brandon chuckled. “Given your history? I’d say it’s a safe bet I have better balance.”
Maggie wanted to clock him, but she refrained. There would be time for that later. “This tunnel is incredible,” she marveled.
“Isn’t it? It must have taken a lot of time, not to mention a considerable amount of money, to hollow out the ground. Makes me wonder if he had any help.”
“At the top of my list would be Happy Gilbert.
”
“I’d say that’s a given.” Brandon flashed the light on the walls of the tunnel. “The walls are evenly carved out. There’s nothing makeshift about this tunnel. You said he had money, and this is what he invested it in.”
“I still can’t believe we missed this thing before,” Maggie noted. “If Happy helped Burrows, that would mean he probably knew about the murders as they were occurring.”
“Hey, don’t worry about it. What cause would you have had to pull a bookcase out from a wall? It isn’t at all necessary to move every piece of furniture at a crime scene, especially if it doesn’t fit into the puzzle.”
Maggie appreciated him saying so. His confidence in her continued to amaze her. But Maggie didn’t want to have a mistake such as this lead to another woman’s death. “I know, but still. It gives the appearance we weren’t thorough.”
“You were thorough,” Brandon stated firmly. “We’re dealing with a maniac who has a fetish for secret passageways. It’s an amazing accomplishment you were able to catch him in the first place, and before any real harm could come to Sally Mayes.”
Maggie warmed at the compliment. “You know, ever since I completed the Burrows case the first time, I’ve been dealing with a sense of inadequacy. Sometimes I’ve wondered if I belong in the profiling unit,” she admitted softly.
“Clearly you have God-given talent. You’re the right person for the job. I’m sure Sally Mayes would agree.” Brandon cleared his throat. Whether he was choking from actually admitting God had a hand in her life, or from the poor air quality, she couldn’t tell. “Sometimes you have to have a little faith, Maggie. Trust me. I know how painful it can be when you don’t.”
Maggie detected a trace amount of bitterness in his voice. Lord, please don’t give up on him.
“You’ve questioned your own faith?”
“I never did until Emily passed.”
Serial Games (Virginia Justice Book One) Page 17