When she’d calmed, he stepped back. “Go pack. I’ll take you to the airport. I want you to take a roundabout way to get to where you’re going.” He put up his hand when she started to speak. “Don’t tell me. Dan checked for bugs, but he might have missed one. It’s safer this way.”
Amy nodded. Torrad followed her and stood watching as she pulled two suitcases from her walk-in closet. She packed a variety of clothes.
Dan walked to his side. “They’d already doubled the guards.” He motioned his head toward Amy. “Is she leaving now?”
“Yep, I’ll take her to the airport,” Torrad said to his partner.
When she finished, Torrad carried the bags to the living room. Dan came out of the kitchen. “I cleaned the mess and tossed the bag of trash down your chute.”
“Thanks, Dan.” Amy hugged him. “If we’d left it, this place would stink when I got back.”
“No problem.”
In the elevator, Torrad said, “Dan, take my car and head to the station. Amy and I will catch a cab. I’ll watch to see if we’re followed. Amy, stay inside until I flag one down. Then I’ll get you and the suitcases.”
At the airport, Torrad stayed with her while she bought a ticket to San Francisco. “Once you get there, buy another for another town and state. Make your third purchase the place where you’re going. Once you arrive, call me on my cell, and let me know you’re safe. You should be fine. No one followed us.”
“I’m sure I’ll be all right, Detective Davidssons. Thank you for all your help.”
By showing his badge, Tor managed to stay with her until she got on the plane. At the last minute, she gave him a hug. For a brief second, he held her close and breathed in her scent. She glanced up at him and her eyes sparkled. “Be careful, Detective, and find this guy.”
“He’ll get caught. There’s a ton of people looking for him. Shooting a federal judge doubled his chance of being found. The FBI will be involved now.” Reluctantly, he let her go, but he stood and watched the plane back up and taxi out to take off. He wanted to be beside her. But he had lots of work to finish before his vacation started. Hopefully they’d have the killer by then.
When Torrad got to the station, he’d had a call from Chad Stedman. He punched in Chad’s number.
“I hear you’ve got a big case there in Pittsburgh,” Chad said when he answered.
“Yep, but you federal boys will want to take over.” It was an ongoing joke between them.
“Is this going to interfere with your vacation?”
“No. My boss knows I need this time off. It’s been almost two years since my last vacation, and I’m getting grumpy.”
“Good. I took another week off and have been in South Dakota since last Thursday night.
“Kel and I will meet you at the airport in Minneapolis. We’ve arranged for a smaller plane to fly us there, and then fly us all to the small airport outside of Triple Creeks Township.”
“Great, see you then. I have a killer to catch.” Tor clicked off.
* * * *
Amy called her mother during her layover in Texas. “Mom, I’ve explained numerous times,” Amy said. She hated lying, but she’d pretended the danger was slight to keep her mother from worrying. “The detectives are working hard on the case. I’ll be fine at Aunt Janie’s house. No one knows about her.”
“We could keep you safe here in Boston.”
“No, you couldn’t, and I might bring the danger to you. I’ve been working too much. I’m exhausted. Aunt Janie lives in a small town in the middle of nowhere. I’ll have to rest. You live in Boston and have a very active social life. Be honest, Mom, you’d want me to go with you to teas and dinners.”
“That isn’t so bad. Maybe you’d meet a nice man and quit trying to be a career woman.”
“Mom, that’s one of the reasons why I’m going to Aunt Janie’s. She won’t be trying to fix me up with a guy. Listen, I have to go. My plane will be boarding in a few minutes. I’ll call you when I get to South Dakota. Just be sure and don’t tell the family where I’m staying. I don’t want to talk to them until I’ve rested. And call the police if you see any strangers hanging around.”
“You’ll be sorry. You’ll die of boredom.” Her mother cut their connection. She’ll probably never let me forget I chose to go to Aunt Janie’s. But no one knew she had a relative in South Dakota. It was the best decision. Still, Mom knew how to make her feel guilty. When she’d called Aunt Janie, she’d been very receptive for Amy to visit.
Amy knew her mother would have driven her crazy if she’d had to stay with her very long. Aunt Janie was the twin sister to Amy’s grandmother on her mother’s side. Grandma had died last year, and Amy still missed her.
Amy’s mom was sweet, but also pushy and insisted things were done as she wanted. All her siblings were either married or soon to be. The married ones had given her mother grandchildren to brag about to her friends. Amy was the only holdout.
After she’d boarded the plane and they took off, Amy gave a sigh of relief. The sheriff was meeting her at the little airport on the outskirts of Triple Creeks Township. Apparently, he was a friend of her aunt’s. She couldn’t wait to collapse in Aunt Janie’s kitchen with a cup of chocolate and whatever pie or cake she’d baked. It had been years since she’d visited Triple Dare County, South Dakota.
* * * *
Her aunt hadn’t changed. She’d been talking a mile a minute since Amy had arrived. She didn’t require more than a nod or hmm to continue.
“I really must tell you about an incident the other day. I heard a knock on my door and went to answer it. This very tall, handsome man dressed in a cowboy shirt, jeans, and boots, tipped his hat and greeted me.
“Well, I recognized his eyes and smile. He’s the Stedman boy. He’d come home to see to his ranch. His parents died a while back. Anyway, he said he’d heard I had a tree that needed to come down, and he and Sheriff Kel Reardon would take care of it and cart it away.”
Aunt Janie got up to fill Amy’s cup with more hot chocolate and placed another slice of lemon cake on her plate.
“I can’t eat another piece,” Amy protested.
“Sure you can. You are much too thin. Now where was I with my story? Oh, yes. I rushed around to my backyard to move my clothesline and the bird feeder out of the way. And as I turned he and Kel came around the corner. My goodness”—she put her hand on her chest over her heart—“the men around here are so handsome. I tell you they looked like they’d walked on the stage and were part of the Village Men. My mouth dropped open and I said, ‘Wow, manly.’”
Amy couldn’t keep the laughter inside. She bent over and laughed so hard she cried.
“I know. I may be an older woman. I’ll be eighty this year, but I’m not dead. I thought any moment the music would start, and they’d begin to dance.”
“What did they do?”
“They gave me a sexy smile and went on to the tree, cut it down, and carted it away. I just stood on my back porch and soaked it up.”
This sent Amy into another bout of laughter. “Thank you, Aunt Janie. I can’t remember when I’ve laughed so hard and so much.”
“Laughter’s good for the soul. I think you might have forgotten how. Your body was as tense as a violin string when you got here from the airport.”
“You’re right. I need this time to rest and soak in the beautiful surroundings. I just wish I didn’t have a killer looking for me. It makes it more difficult to relax.”
“He’ll never find this place. But if he does, Kel Reardon and Chad Stedman will take care of him. Chad is an FBI man home on vacation.”
“Then I’m sure I can sleep in peace. Do you mind if I collapse in bed for a while?”
“After all the traveling you’ve done, go to bed for the night. I’ll see you in the morning.”
* * * *
Amy clicked her phone on and called the detective. Torrad answered on the first ring.
“I was getting worried.”
/> “My aunt got to talking and feeding me and I almost forgot. I’m so tired I’m not thinking straight. But I arrived safely. The sheriff is a friend of my aunt’s. After I explained to him why I was staying here, he promised to have one of his deputies make frequent checks on us. So, don’t worry. I’m taken care of very well.”
“There’s nothing new here. Get some sleep.”
She sat with the phone in her hand for several minutes after he’d hung up. His deep, masculine voice had stirred the embers of her attraction for him. She’d managed to ignore other good-looking men in the courthouse and the law office where she worked. She was friendly, but kept a cool distance. Why did this one policeman make her want to melt into his arms?
“It’s just as well I’m out of his proximity for the next few weeks. By the time I return, I’ll be refreshed and able to resist his manly charms,” she mumbled to herself. Right now, a shower and bed sounded like heaven.
* * * *
Thanks to his skills with computers, it hadn’t been difficult to find his father’s ex-wife. She hadn’t attempted to hide where she’d moved. A little googling on his laptop and he’d discovered where she lived.
He rented a car and drove to North Carolina. Then he turned that car in and went to another agency to rent a truck. Now, he was driving down back roads to the rural area where he’d find her. He’d checked and her house was in the country outside of the nearby town. Better yet, there’d be plenty of privacy.
It was dusk when he found the place. A car was parked in the driveway. He parked off the two-lane, dirt road behind some trees. The nearest neighbors were a mile away. Hiding behind trees and bushes, he made his way to the side of her home. Peeking in the window, he saw she was alone and in the kitchen with her glass door open. Soft music played on the radio, and she hummed along as she made a pie.
Once she’d put the pie pan in the oven, he slipped inside the screen door. She heard him and whirled around.
“Get out,” she yelled.
“That’s no way to speak to your ex-husband’s son.”
Her eyes widened. “He didn’t have any children.”
He gleefully grinned at her. “Ah, but he did. My mother was his much beloved mistress.”
Her hand went to her mouth. “No.”
“You must have known. The wife always does and looks the other way. But you weren’t much of a wife. You left him when he needed you the most.”
“What do you want? Have your say and go.”
He stepped closer to her and drew the gun out of his pocket. “I want you dead. My father deserves vengeance against those who put him in jail and those who deserted him. I am the one to do the deeds and give him peace.”
She screamed and ran into the living room. When she grabbed at the phone, he shot her once. She tried to pull herself up and get to the receiver. He shot her in the hand. Finally, he stood over her.
“Revenge is sweet.” He hit her heart with the last bullet.
Outside night had fallen. It was Friday. With luck no one would find her for a day or two. On his way out, he stopped at the oven and turned it off. There was no need to risk a fire and get the police involved sooner. Outside his dark clothes blended with the blackness around him.
At the car, he packed his coat, hat, and gloves in his suitcase and headed toward the nearest big city, Charlotte. At a car wash in town he’d clean the car and wipe off all fingerprints. Then he’d put on his gloves and drive the car to a rental kiosk. By later tonight he’d be in his own bed and planning who would be next.
* * * *
Torrad’s phone rang early Sunday morning. It was the FBI agent working on the judge’s case.
“I thought you FBI guys took the weekends off.”
He chuckled. “Admit you like us.”
“Never, and especially not when you wake me early on my one day off this week. What’s up?”
“I got a call from our office in North Carolina out of Charlotte. A woman worried about her daughter not answering the phone called the police yesterday. They found the daughter in her house, dead. No suspects. But a sharp agent remembered hearing about our killings.”
“How could a woman murdered in North Carolina be related to us?”
“She’s the ex-wife of the dead prisoner.”
“Darn, who’d have thought he’d go after her. What did she do to become a target?”
“She didn’t cover her tracks. I guess she never thought there’d be a need.”
“We were planning on going there to talk with her tomorrow or Tuesday. You’re right. She wasn’t hard to locate.”
“He got away clean. He left no fingerprints, and no one saw him.”
Torrad sat on the side of the bed and ran his fingers through his hair. “I’m going in to the office and do a rundown on any women killed in the past two months.
“One of the men we met with Friday used to work with the guy who did the insider trading. He said there had been rumors of a mistress. I’d bet there’s a son wanting revenge and taking it. We need to find his mother living or dead. This shooter might have killed her to keep her quiet. He’s had no hesitation about shooting the others.”
“We checked the dead prisoner’s list of visitors,” the FBI agent said. “One of them was a young man who put down his age as eighteen. He came back two more times, and then the prisoner was killed.”
“That could be the trigger that set him off. Since he didn’t visit earlier, I’d bet his mother wouldn’t allow it, and that’s another reason for him to resent her. I’ll call you if I find any interesting information.” Torrad clicked off his phone and stretched. He looked forward to next weekend and sleeping in. He got up. After a cold shower, he’d dress and go into the office.
The black coffee was hot and strong. He poured a cup and headed to his desk. There weren’t many in today and it was unusually quiet.
He started with Pennsylvania and the surrounding states. He studied each woman and her past. A surprising number had been murdered in the last two months. When he found nothing, he widened his search to another two months. He believed the woman and her son would be in this state or one nearby.
Tor was thinking of moving to the murders in other states when the next to the last one in Maryland caught his attention. The woman had been stabbed to death. The weapon and no fingerprints were found. She had to have known her killer. There was no forced entry. If she had a son, there were no pictures found and no evidence of family. But her age, forty-five, fit the scenario and his gut said this was the one.
As Tor continued to search, he found she’d moved to Maryland in the last six months. Few neighbors had talked to her. They reported she kept to herself and didn’t discuss anything personal the few times she had spoken to them.
He’d call Dan. They’d leave early in the morning to talk with the local police, and if possible see the place where she died.
If this was the killer’s mother, he was one bad dude. And they had no idea about what he looked like, or who he’d go after next.
Chapter Four
Amy had finished breakfast, then she turned on the television and clicked to the news channel.
“There is speculation the killer who shot the judge and the man in the street is connected to a murder in North Carolina.” A woman’s face flashed on the screen.
“Are you all right, Amy? Your face has gone white.” Her aunt stood in the doorway from the kitchen.
But Amy didn’t reply. She listened to the reporter saying Faye Collins had been killed in her home. The shooter had left no evidence behind.
Tears ran down Amy’s face. Her aunt sat and put her arms around her. “What is it?”
Amy explained the relationship to the case in Pittsburgh. “I should have found her and warned her. But I never expected she’d be a victim. Why would he kill her? She didn’t testify against her husband.” Then Amy realized, “But she did divorce him and move away. The killer probably saw that as desertion. Why didn’t I think of that before?
”
“Because your brain doesn’t work like his and it doesn’t make sense. From what you’ve told me all his victims until now had something to do with the trial.”
“Aunt Janie, I may be putting you in danger being here. This man is crazy and determined.”
“Don’t worry. I have faith in Sheriff Reardon. He and his deputies will keep an eye on us. We’ll be fine. But we will call him and tell him about this latest information.”
“I’ll get dressed in case he decides to come by.”
“You look cute in those short shorts. Maybe he’ll bring Chad with him. As I said before, he’s very handsome.”
Amy smiled. “Don’t you start trying to be a matchmaker. Mom’s bad enough.”
“Then I’ll let nature take its course.”
“I’m a career girl, plain and simple,” Amy said.
“Not plain or simple, you are beautiful, smart, and a man or men would be lucky to get you for their wife.”
“Are you suggesting two husbands like you had? Mom would have a stroke.”
“She’d come to accept it. And I have never regretted my marriage to two men. I miss them terribly since they died within five years of each other.”
“I saw the happiness in your face whenever I visited. They were good men. But I’m still going to put on jeans and a T-shirt in case we have guests.”
Amy glanced out her bedroom window. How had her aunt, who’d loved the city from all reports, decided to marry and stay here in this small town? She came to Boston a few times, and she had traveled to other places, but the majority of her time was spent here. They’d had no children and being alone now must be difficult. She was glad she’d come.
Her aunt had just put down the phone when Amy joined her. “You look nice. I talked to Kel. He and Chad will be here in about an hour. Let’s make a chocolate cake.”
“Are you trying to impress them, Auntie, or is this a roundabout strategic move to get Chad and me together?”
Treasured Temptation [Triple Dare County, South Dakota 4] (Siren Publishing Everlasting Polyromance) Page 3