“He tried to kill me on purpose?”
Ryan looked at the floor. “Looks that way.”
“Why did he do it, Ryan? Why would anyone want to kill me?”
“I don’t know. But so help me, we are going to find out.”
Ryan sat with Leigh in her house until she fell asleep on the couch. She didn’t come right out and say it, but he got the distinct impression that she didn’t want to be alone.
He didn’t blame her.
He didn’t want to let her out of his sight.
Between the crazy hours she worked and the bizarre events of her life, she had to be past the exhaustion point. He watched her sleep for several minutes, but he needed to burn off some energy or he was going to punch a hole in a wall.
He slipped through the French doors and paced the deck, back and forth, always keeping Leigh’s slumbering form in view.
The captain hadn’t had a problem with him working from the lake today. He had plenty of work he could do from his computer, and he needed to visit three homes within a mile of here this afternoon. He’d been tracking down the residents of this part of the lake for the past week.
He’d had no problem obtaining warrants for all the security footage from the area, but it was nice when the community was cooperative and he didn’t have to get too official with them. All the homeowners were more than happy to share their security footage from the night Ryan suspected John Doe’s body had been dumped.
Some of them seemed more worried about their property values than the fact that a man had met a horrible end, but as long as they turned over the security footage, he really didn’t care.
The problem hadn’t been with getting permission to see the footage. The problem had been in locating the residents. The three he was going to see today had all been wintering in Florida. They’d just come home for the summer.
Hopefully they’d have something that could help him.
His phone rang and he glanced at the screen. City of Carrington Police Department. This should be interesting.
“Parker.”
“Hey. This is Steve, the arresting officer from this morning.”
“Sure. How’s it going?”
“I guess it depends on how you feel about knowing that when we told Mr. Smith we were charging him with attempted murder, he asked for a plea deal.”
A plea?
“He’s claiming he was blackmailed into it.”
“What?”
“Says someone sent him pictures of his mom, who is in a nursing home in Winston-Salem. Told him if he wanted her to live, he’d have to kill Leigh Weston. Apparently the note suggested the emergency department was the best place to access her.”
Ryan swallowed the bile that rose in his throat. Someone had put out a hit on Leigh? How many more could there be?
He ended the call and stared at the lake.
Lord, what am I going to do? How can I protect her?
He was missing something. What was it? What possible reason would anyone have for harming Leigh?
Unless . . .
No. It couldn’t be.
Could it?
His phone rang again. This time he recognized the number. “What’s up, Adam?”
“Nothing. Wanted to see how Leigh’s doing.”
Wow. That was nice. “She’s doing okay. Pretty shook up. Sore throat. Bruises that are going to get way worse before they get better.”
Adam called the creep a few choice names. “Sorry,” he said. “I’m trying not to talk that way anymore. Sometimes it pops out.”
Adam was a new believer, and Ryan had enjoyed watching the changes in his life. He hadn’t been a bad guy before, but there was no question that he was a new creation.
“I understand. I can’t deny I haven’t thought the same.” He was glad the police had gotten that piece of filth out of the emergency department before he got there. If they hadn’t, he wasn’t sure how he would have reacted. He was sure it would have involved a lot more than a few derogatory descriptors.
“The other reason I called was to tell you that Sabrina has been reviewing some of the footage. I called her this morning to tell her what happened, and she wanted me to tell you she’s clearing her schedule for the rest of the week. Anything you need. No charge.”
“That’s awesome, but why would she care so much?”
“I don’t know,” Adam said. Was there a hint of regret in his voice? “Every now and then she says something that makes me think there might be some tough stuff in her past. For all I know, even in her present.”
Interesting.
“Please tell her how much I appreciate it,” Ryan said. “And tell her I don’t have anything specific at the moment, but by this evening I’m going to have three new batches of security footage I might need some help with.”
The footage wasn’t specifically related to Leigh’s case. Although if his hunch was right, it might be more connected than he’d originally thought.
“I’ll pass it along.”
There was a brief pause.
“And Ryan?”
“Yeah.”
“I know there’s not much I can do from my end to help, but I’ll do anything you need.”
“Thanks, man. I appreciate it.”
After he hung up with Adam, Ryan sent Gabe and Anissa a text asking them to come meet with him at Leigh’s house.
They both said yes within the minute. He slid his phone back into his pocket.
Maybe he was crazy. Maybe he’d finally cracked under the pressure. Maybe Gabe and Anissa would laugh at his theory. It was barely an idea, much less a full-blown theory. But if he was right . . .
Gabe and Anissa arrived, separately, thirty minutes later. He considered hassling them about wasting government resources by not carpooling, but he needed them to be civil to each other for the rest of the afternoon.
When Ryan answered the door, Gabe held up a bag of sub sandwiches. “I have the food,” he said.
“Thanks,” Ryan said. “And thanks for coming. Do you mind if we sit outside? Leigh’s asleep on the couch.”
“And you don’t want her to hear this,” Gabe said under his breath.
Anissa gave Ryan a quizzical look. “Is he right?”
Busted.
“She has every right to know what’s going on,” Anissa said.
He could almost see the head of steam Anissa was building. Best to end this one as fast as possible. He raised his hands in surrender. “I couldn’t agree more, Anissa. But she’s been through so much. I may be way off base . . .”
He ran his hands through his hair. “It wouldn’t be fair to get her mind going in this direction if I’m wrong.”
The fight went out of Anissa with his explanation. “I can respect that. And support that,” she said. “But if this theory of yours is right, you have to tell her immediately. Withholding information won’t help her in the long run.”
“It won’t help your relationship either,” Gabe said with a grim smile.
“Are you dating her?” Anissa asked.
“No.”
“Not because he doesn’t want to,” Gabe said.
Anissa actually smiled at Gabe’s remark. That had to be a first. “She’s a lovely person,” she said. “I could see you as a couple. You should definitely ask her out. When this is over, of course.”
Of course. Ryan’s stomach flipped at the thought of asking her out. Then it flipped again when he remembered why Gabe and Anissa were here. “I appreciate the relationship advice from both of you,” he said. “But do you think we could get back to discussing the case?”
They both smiled and agreed. He led them through the living room and out to a table on the deck. He’d brought his laptop and notebook. A pitcher of water and a few cups waited beside them. The case file—already a behemoth—sat on one of the chairs. The three of them took the remaining seats.
Gabe poured himself a glass of water.
Anissa rested her elbows on the table and leaned towa
rd Ryan. “What’s this theory and why did you want us to hear it first?”
Here goes nothing. “I think the killer for both of our John Doe cases and Leigh’s stalker might be the same person.”
15
Gabe spit water across the table.
Anissa jerked back in her chair.
Both of them stared at him like he’d sprouted a third eye in the middle of his forehead.
“I told you it was just a theory.”
Gabe emptied out the subs onto the table and grabbed a napkin. “You’ve got some serious explaining to do.” He wiped water from his mouth and shirt.
Anissa cocked her head at him the way she did when she was considering something. He’d seen that look at crime scenes. Anissa had a keen mind, but she was a ponderer. Not a rapid-fire reactor.
He waited.
She blinked a few times. She looked from him to the lake, her glance skittering past Gabe to the spot where they’d pulled the John Doe from the water.
“The attacks started immediately after we found the body,” she said.
Ryan blew out the breath he hadn’t realized he was holding. Anissa was already tracking with him. That didn’t mean he was right, but at least it meant he hadn’t gone bonkers.
Gabe paused in the middle of unwrapping his sub. “It was the choppers,” he said. “I hate news choppers.”
Ryan’s initial relief was quickly being replaced by apprehension. If they were both seeing what he was seeing, they might not be able to poke holes in the theory.
“Yes, the choppers. But let’s start at the beginning and re-create the timeline.”
“Agreed.” Anissa unwrapped her sub. She glanced at the house. “We didn’t order anything for Leigh,” she said, concern furrowing her brow.
“I know,” he said. “The doctor said she should probably stick with a soft diet today. Soups, milk shakes, stuff like that.”
“Subs are soft.” Gabe took a huge bite.
“Not when you have a sore throat.” Anissa spoke with authority. “I had my tonsils out a few years ago. Worst pain of my life. Even the tiniest piece of bread felt like trying to swallow rocks. You should get her a smoothie when she wakes up. And then something warm, but not too hot, for dinner. Egg drop soup would work. Plenty of protein. Slides down easy.”
“Thanks,” he said. “Those are great ideas.”
They all chewed in silence for a few bites. Ryan didn’t rush to start the conversation again. He knew them both well enough to know they were processing his theory. Trying to find the holes. Searching for the inconsistencies.
No one spoke until they’d finished eating. As they gathered the trash and wiped their faces and hands, he could sense the tension mounting.
“Ready?” Ryan asked.
They both nodded.
“Then let’s start with Gabe and me finding the John Doe in the lake.”
Anissa pulled out a notepad. “You found the body at 10:37 a.m. We called it in around 10:45 a.m. The body was out of the water around 12:45 p.m. The ME arrived around 2:00 p.m.”
“The choppers were out way before then,” Gabe said. “They were flying around when you went to ask Leigh if we could use the dock.”
“We find the body,” Ryan said. “The news picks it up. Without any of us realizing it, Leigh’s drawn into the whole business when we start using her dock.”
“We need to get copies of the newscast,” Gabe said. “Not just the part they ran but also any sort of promos they aired during the afternoon or any of those breaking news segments. See if Leigh’s face is visible, even for a moment.”
“Or if you can tell we are at her house,” Anissa said.
“I’ll take that,” Gabe said.
Ryan didn’t try to hide his surprise. Neither did Anissa.
“What?” Gabe asked. “I’m a grown-up. I can handle the news media.”
“More like you’d like to harass the news media,” Anissa said under her breath.
She was on to something there. Gabe would love a chance to stick it to a few reporters. Particularly the one who’d blown his cover.
“Moving on,” Gabe said.
“Right.” Ryan looked at his own notes. “Let’s say by the end of the day last Saturday, anyone who was paying close attention could have made the connection that Leigh was aware of the John Doe and that the body had been located near her home.”
“Agreed,” Gabe said.
Anissa nodded.
“They would have had to act quickly to plan something like cutting her brake line,” he said. “She didn’t go to work until after ten and they had to act during the middle of the night. So we’re dealing with someone who was either watching Leigh . . .”
Gabe finished the sentence for him. “Or who already knew her well enough to know her routine and schedule.”
Gabe and Anissa looked at each other.
“See, that’s the part that makes me think my theory is useless. What are the odds the same person who killed our John Doe knows Leigh?”
Anissa stared out over the lake. Gabe studied his hands.
“I’m not sure that’s a hole in your theory,” Anissa said. “Mr. Cook got back to me this morning about his absences from home over the past two years.”
Ryan had no idea where she was going with this.
“The only time he’s been gone for more than a night was eleven months ago. Which, incidentally, fits the timeline the anthropologist and medical examiner gave us for when our second John Doe was killed and buried on Mr. Cook’s property.”
She took a sip of her water. “He was gone for three nights, and everybody knew it.”
Mr. Cook wasn’t the type to advertise his whereabouts.
“Where was he?” Gabe asked.
“In the hospital.”
For a long moment, none of them spoke. He wasn’t sure if any of them took a breath.
“If the killer is an employee at the hospital . . .” Ryan said.
“They could have known Mr. Cook wasn’t home and his property was unguarded,” Anissa said. “Perfect time to dump a body.”
“And,” Gabe said, “they would know the layout and schedules well enough to cut Leigh’s brake line without anyone noticing.”
“And they might know the food service system well enough to poison the gelatin,” Anissa said.
“And they could have heard about the flowers the different departments were sending to Leigh,” Gabe added.
“And they would possibly be able to get to the coffeepots in different areas,” Anissa added. “Oh, and access her work schedule, and maybe even make sure she wound up in a room alone with a killer.”
Another long silence.
“But,” Ryan said, “why not just grab her?”
“She’s been pretty hard to grab for the past week, man,” Gabe said with a wave toward the uniformed officers who kept making laps around the house.
“I don’t know,” Anissa said. “That first night, she would have been easy to grab . . .”
Ryan disagreed. “Not without a plan. Leigh’s no cupcake. She’s been through a lot with that stalker of hers. She’s quite aware of her surroundings. She doesn’t take unnecessary risks. She parked in a place with plenty of visibility for her to walk in at an off time. She would have walked out with coworkers.”
“A spur of the moment decision?” Anissa asked.
“That didn’t work,” Gabe said.
“Came close,” Ryan said.
“But now she’s on her guard. She’s being protected.”
Ryan rolled his head in a slow circle. “But it’s still nothing more than a theory,” he said. “The only things we have tying our John Doe’s killer to Leigh are that the attacks started the night after we found the John Doe in the lake and that the second body may have been dumped while Mr. Cook was in the hospital where she works. And keep in mind, we don’t even know for sure that the second John Doe was killed by the same person who killed the first John Doe.”
“We know that
all the attacks relate, in some way, to the hospital,” Gabe said.
“So what are we dealing with here?” Ryan couldn’t sit still any longer. He slid his chair back, trying not to scrape it along the deck floor. “We’ve got a possible serial killer who chops off heads and dumps the bodies where he thinks no one can find them, and he suddenly switches up his M.O. to go after Leigh because we used her dock?”
When he said it out loud, it sounded very thin. But neither Gabe nor Anissa seemed inclined to throw it out.
“It’s a theory. A weak one. But one we still keep in play?” he asked.
“Definitely.” Anissa slid her chair back. “Although I don’t think it’s as weak as you want to believe.”
“I agree,” Gabe said.
Ryan noticed how Gabe and Anissa made eye contact after their rare moment of cooperation. Maybe they could learn to work together after all.
“My two cents?” Gabe stood as he spoke. “We keep moving forward with the investigations concurrently. If they intersect, we won’t be surprised.”
“And Leigh stays away from the hospital,” Anissa added.
Ryan nodded. “Agreed.”
The door opening behind Ryan caught him off guard. Leigh joined them on the deck. “Why, exactly, do I need to stay away from the hospital?”
She’d intended for that question to sound more demanding and forceful. But her voice wouldn’t cooperate. The words had come out weak and, as much as she hated to even think the word, pitiful.
Or she thought they had.
But Ryan immediately moved toward her, his eyes full of something she couldn’t understand. Anissa dropped her gaze to the ground, but not before Leigh caught the worry in her expression. Gabe widened his eyes and pursed his lips as he studied a piece of paper on the table.
“Did we wake you?” Ryan held her gaze. If he was trying to distract her, it was working. She needed to focus. And she needed to be able to project her voice. She cleared her throat even though the action was excruciating.
“No. I woke up and saw you guys out here, and then I heard you say I needed to stay away from the hospital. Apparently you’ve been talking about me and planning my life for me, so maybe you should fill me in?”
Beneath the Surface Page 17