Beneath the Surface

by Lynn H. Blackburn

  “She taught half of Carrington County how to read. Retired from the school system in her seventies. Her husband died last year. Kids are local.”

  “I’m guessing she’s in the hospital?”

  “Hospice, actually.”

  “Oh. I’m sorry to hear that.” He paused for what he hoped was an acceptable amount of time after hearing that someone was about to depart this world, and then he asked, “What’s the connection to Alice Grady?”

  “One of Mrs. Edwards’s great-granddaughters came in last weekend. Appendectomy. The little girl’s mom and grandmother were a wreck because Mrs. Edwards had taken a turn for the worse and they were trying to juggle being at the hospital with the girl and moving Mrs. Edwards into the hospice house.”

  “How’d you get all this?”

  “Miss Edna. Poor woman hasn’t gone home. She’s been helping me run down leads. With this one, she said she didn’t feel like it was a violation of privacy for her to tell me about it because everyone was talking about it in the waiting room last weekend.

  “Half the town knows Mrs. Edwards and people were asking about her. Miss Edna made a call and found out Mrs. Edwards is still hanging on, but they’ve called the family in.”

  “I’m still not following you on this,” Ryan said.

  “Mrs. Edwards lives out near the old dairy,” Anissa said. “On fifty acres in a 150-year-old house that has been empty since they moved her into the hospice house.”

  Now he was following her. “We’ll check it out.”

  “I’m going to stay here and keep digging. I don’t want to risk this being a rabbit trail.”

  “Agreed. Thank you.”

  Ryan explained Anissa’s theory to the rest of the team.

  Adam grabbed his phone. “I can get us permission to be on the property,” he said. “Give me a minute.”

  They didn’t necessarily need a warrant, given the circumstances, but it never hurt to get permission from the family.

  Sabrina leaned back from her computer. “Gotcha.”

  The hair on Ryan’s neck stood on end at the intensity of Sabrina’s word.

  “Sabrina?”

  She held up a finger as Adam returned with a grim smile on his face. “Mrs. Edwards and my grandmother were friends,” he said. “I talked to one of her sons. He said no one is out there and if we find anyone, to arrest them for trespassing.”

  He looked at Sabrina, then Ryan, then Gabe. “Did I miss something?”

  Ryan nodded toward Sabrina.

  “Vanessa Smith and Alice Grady are the same person,” Sabrina said. “But neither of those are her real name. And they aren’t the only fake names she’s used. Her real name is Janine Liddle. Born in 1963 in Jackson, Mississippi.”

  Sabrina didn’t even look at the screen as she spoke. “It will take me a while to be sure I’ve got it all figured out, but now that I know what I’m looking for, she’s mine.”

  Sabrina wielded her laptop like a medieval knight wielded a sword. Fearless and deadly.

  “Here’s the part you need to know most. I’ve tracked her to three different locations so far.”

  She bit the side of her lip. “Normally I wouldn’t share this information yet. I don’t like to accuse anyone of something unless I’m one hundred percent sure. And I’m not sure. I might be wrong about this.”

  “I won’t hold you to it. What are you thinking?” Ryan asked.

  “I did some checking. Her previous employers have all been private plastic surgery clinics. Not all of them with the same level of security protocols Oraios has, but still the kinds of places people go who don’t want to advertise they’re having work done.”

  “Okay. So she specializes . . .”

  “Yeah, but that’s not what I’m getting at. I made a few calls, explaining the situation and asking if they could check their records for clients who had failed to show up for appointments. Particularly regular clients who they had an established relationship with.”

  “And?”

  “The third one just called me back. All three of them have at least two. One location has four.”

  “You think . . . ?”

  Sabrina pulled her glasses off and rubbed her eyes. “It’s conceivable this is a coincidence, but the odds go down with each person. In my professional opinion, the data indicates that it’s possible Janine Liddle has been killing for years.”

  Fresh terror swept through Ryan.

  Leigh was in the hands of a true psychopath.

  Gabe grabbed his keys and the rain jackets from their desks and brought one to Ryan. “Let’s go check out Mrs. Edwards’s place.”

  “Take backup,” Sabrina said.

  “I’ll get it for you,” Adam said. “Go.”

  Ryan couldn’t seem to get his feet to move. Gabe grabbed his elbow and tugged. It snapped him into motion and they jogged for the car.

  30

  The door didn’t budge.

  Leigh tried again, pushing with all the strength she had left. It moved a few inches. Murky light filtered in, along with massive raindrops.

  The door must be stuck in the mud. She shoved again and got a few more inches.

  One more shove and the door moved enough that she thought she could slide through it.

  “Help me, Lord,” she whispered. Whatever was on the other side of this door couldn’t be worse than what was coming for her.

  As soon as she was through the door, she took off running. She could just make out a tree line through the deluge. Her legs quivered with exertion. She hadn’t had food or water in who knew how long. She’d been drugged. Twice.

  Her body wasn’t going to be able to take much more.

  With every step the trees seemed to move farther away. Was she hallucinating? Had all of it been a dream within a nightmare?

  She pressed on. Slipped. She tried to brace herself as she fell, but her poor arms were no use. She crashed to the ground and the air whooshed from her lungs.

  She lay there gasping.

  And through the rain, flickers of light filtered toward her.

  It took her exhausted brain longer than it should have to realize what she was seeing.

  Headlights.

  She lay in the weeds and the muck as the SUV came within fifty feet of her and continued toward the cellar. She tried to look behind her. She’d made more progress than she’d realized.

  The rain increased in intensity and she lost sight of the SUV completely. Seizing her opportunity, she scrambled to her feet, and crouching low, fled toward the trees.

  With every step she expected to hear a cry. Or a gunshot.

  But nothing came. She reached the first tree and pressed her body against it, out of view of the cellar.

  She counted to thirty and dashed to a tree twenty feet farther into the wooded area.

  If her captor had any sense at all, he would look for her here. She had to keep moving.

  This rain might be the only thing keeping her alive and she couldn’t squander the opportunity. She dashed from tree to tree, farther and farther into the woods.

  31

  Gabe insisted on driving, which, Ryan had to admit, was for the best.

  As they flew through the downpour to the outskirts of town, Adam emailed him the most recent tax assessment of the Edwardses’ property. It showed the house, outbuildings, pasture, and wooded acreage.

  “This place is huge.” Ryan described it to Gabe. “It looks like there are two driveways, and the far side of the property borders Davis Road.”

  He glanced at Gabe. “How do you feel about hiking in the rain?”

  Gabe didn’t look in his direction, but his hands flexed on the wheel. “I thought you’d never ask.”

  “I’m afraid if we approach on either driveway, we may alert her. But if we park on Davis, we can hike through the woods and be on the side of the property where the barn and outbuildings are.”

  “And we know she has a fondness for outbuildings,” Gabe said.

  “Right.�
�

  He called Adam and passed along the plan. “We don’t want people coming in here with sirens blaring,” Ryan said. “I don’t want to force her hand.”

  For a brief second, the thought of what they might find when they searched the property threatened to overcome him, but he forced it away. “We go in assuming Leigh is alive and in mortal danger.”

  It took another ten minutes, even with Gabe’s lunatic driving, to reach the edge of the Edwardses’ property. They had donned bulletproof vests and tactical gear before they left the sheriff’s office. With the prospect of hiking through the woods ahead of them, they left their rain jackets in the SUV in favor of draping huge ponchos over themselves. Not so much to stay dry, but to protect their weapons.

  “Ready?” Gabe had to yell to be heard over the rain.

  They climbed from the SUV and moved into the woods.

  With their eyes alert and searching always, they moved as quickly as they could. According to the map, they’d have to walk at least a half mile in the woods before they’d reach the barn and pasture.

  Gabe led the way, compass in hand. Ryan followed. He wanted to focus more on their surroundings than on the direction they were headed.

  It took fifteen interminable minutes before they could see an opening in the trees. He and Gabe slowed their approach and scanned the area.

  “Is that an SUV?” He strained to see through the rain. He tapped Gabe on the shoulder and pointed to his right. “Over there? Near the barn?”

  The last they’d seen of Janine Liddle, she’d been loading Leigh into a minivan. But a minivan might get stuck out here in these wet fields. Maybe she’d needed to go with something more robust.

  The SUV continued toward them, then stopped near a low rise fifty feet from the house. From this distance, he couldn’t tell what it was. A well house? Or maybe a cellar?

  The driver, draped in a poncho that looked like the ones professional football players wear on the sidelines during games, jumped out of the car. It might be Janine Liddle, but he couldn’t be sure.

  If it was her and she was going into that little building, there was a good chance Leigh was in there. But they wouldn’t be able to get to the building without being seen.

  And when they did get there, they wouldn’t be able to get inside without alerting Janine. In a tiny space like that, she’d have the advantage.

  But what if she was going in there to kill Leigh now?

  He leaned close to Gabe’s ear. “I have to get over there,” he said. “Cover me.”

  Gabe pulled out his service weapon in response.

  But before Ryan could step from the cover of the trees, the hooded figure emerged from the building. She stopped a few feet from the SUV and turned in a circle before running straight toward them, brandishing a handgun.

  They slid behind the trees.

  “Let’s see if we can come in behind her,” Ryan said. Gabe nodded and they watched.

  “Leigh! Where are you?” Janine’s voice carried to them on the wind. “You can’t have gone far. I promise I won’t make you suffer, but I can’t be stopped. My work is too important.”

  Leigh! She’d escaped! She might even be in the woods now. Ryan was thankful for the rain soaking his face as he processed the news.

  Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Help us end this. Help me find her.

  Ryan recognized the voice even though he couldn’t see her face. Definitely the same woman from the hospital. “That’s her,” he mouthed to Gabe.

  Gabe showed him the text he was typing.

  Believe Leigh Weston alive. Escaped. Janine Liddle aka Alice Grady is abductor. Onsite. Send ambulance. Have backup surround property but do not approach.

  Seeing the words Leigh Weston alive sent a chill down Ryan’s spine. They were close.

  A crack against Ryan’s arm made him turn to the side. What was that? He tried to scan the area to his right while keeping Janine in his sights.

  Then something hit him on the head.

  He turned all the way around.

  Leigh!

  32

  Leigh stood still, arms up, as Ryan turned toward her, his weapon drawn.

  She hadn’t known how else to get his attention without drawing unwanted attention to herself. When Kirk got home, she’d have to thank him for all those afternoons he’d begged her to play catch with him. It had been years since she’d tried to throw a baseball, but her acorn aim was on point.

  She dropped the acorn from her hand and saw the recognition on Ryan’s face. The joy. The relief. The love. All mingled together. He lowered his weapon and nudged Gabe, who turned.

  Gabe winked at her but immediately turned back to where her abductor was lumbering around in the woods.

  Ryan motioned for Leigh to get down, so she tried to hide herself behind some brush while still keeping an eye on Ryan and the dark figure stalking her.

  She watched as Gabe pulled out his phone and sent someone a text. Then he and Ryan conferred in mouthed words and hand signals. Gabe moved to a position that would block the killer from returning to the SUV. Ryan moved to a position that would block the killer from her.

  “Janine Liddle.” Ryan’s voice rang out in the lessening rain.

  Janine Liddle? Who was that?

  “Janine, we know what you’ve done,” he continued. “We know you’ve used the name Alice Grady and many others over the years. We know you’ve killed many people. You won’t get out of here, and you won’t get away with this. It’s over.”

  A maniacal laugh floated toward her. “No one can stop me.”

  Now Leigh recognized the voice. Alice Grady! How was this possible? But there was no question it was her. Leigh would have to blame the drug-induced haze for her inability to recognize Alice’s voice before now. Alice spoke in a pitch low enough that she sounded more like a man than a woman.

  So many things became clear. Alice had been the one who’d brought the poisoned gelatin. She hadn’t recognized her that day and wouldn’t have expected her to bring a meal tray anyway. Alice had probably been counting on that. And that’s why she hadn’t recognized her voice in the cellar—she was thinking her captor was a man and never imagined it could be the same surgical tech she’d chatted with briefly over coffee a few months ago. As far as she could remember, that was the only time they’d had any contact. Alice had been friendly enough. Maybe a little awkward, but Leigh still couldn’t wrap her mind around how it was possible for Alice to be a serial killer.

  And her name wasn’t even Alice. What name had Ryan called her? Janine? Was that even her real name?

  Leigh quit trying to figure it out and focused on praying. Father, please help us all get out of this alive.

  When dealing with a sane woman, there’d be some hope they could get her to surrender, but this woman was crazy. Her responses couldn’t be counted on to be logical or rational. Leigh hoped Ryan and Gabe understood that. The next sound that reached her through the rain was of crashing branches. Was she running away?

  “Stop, Janine!”

  Gabe and Ryan followed her as she ran. Leigh lost sight of them, but when she tried to follow, her legs buckled.

  She waited. Listening. Straining to hear anything over the rain.

  Three sharp cracks pierced the air.

  Ryan ran toward the spot where Janine had fallen. They’d chased her out of the woods and right into the waiting line of officers. When she refused to stop, they’d stopped her.

  Blood seeped into the ground beneath her. Her empty eyes stared into the rain.

  No matter how many times he saw death up close and personal, he never got used to it. He prayed he never would.

  Gabe clapped him on the shoulder. “I’ll take care of this,” he said. “Go get Leigh.”

  Ryan didn’t argue. He ran back through the woods, retracing his steps.

  She was sitting where he’d left her. Face ashen. Eyes closed.

  “Leigh!”

  Her eyes fluttered open and she smiled.
Then her head dropped forward and she slid to the ground.

  “Leigh!”

  He grabbed his phone and called Gabe. “Send the ambulance around to the house.”

  He scooped her into his arms and carried her out of the woods. Her skin was cool, too cool. Dark circles ringed her eyes. Her wrists were shredded and bloodied, and his stomach heaved at the sight of her torn skin and the thought of the terror that had driven her to the desperate measures she’d taken to free herself.

  The ambulance tires crackled over the gravel drive and a blonde EMT jumped from the still moving vehicle. She rushed toward him. “Is she okay?”

  She studied Leigh with an experienced eye, but when her eyes landed on Leigh’s wrists, she gasped.

  “Please tell me you got the monster,” she said as her partner opened the back of the ambulance.

  “We did.”

  33

  Ryan sat beside Leigh’s hospital bed. Her bandaged wrists and the heavy layers of blankets a testament to her ordeal. She’d been conscious and demanding answers by the time they had made it to the hospital. He’d explained the Janine Liddle/Alice Grady connection. She’d filled him in on the bizarre comments Janine had made to her about being an avenging angel.

  He’d passed the information along to Anissa. She could run with the case for now. He’d refused to leave Leigh’s side in the emergency department and had set himself up as her personal guardian now that she was in a room. How else would she get any rest in this zoo?

  Why wouldn’t everyone leave them alone? Miss Edna had been one of the first to take the ride to the fourth floor to check on Leigh’s progress.

  “Young man, I expect her back at work and in top-notch condition as soon as possible. You hear me?” Miss Edna had peered at him over her reading glasses and he’d had no choice but to nod and stammer, “Yes, ma’am. I will, ma’am.”

  After Miss Edna had left, a steady stream of nurses, doctors, and random acquaintances had come by. All with a quick tap to the door, a head poked in, a whispered, “How’s she doing?” and then a “Tell her I stopped by when she wakes up” before they disappeared.