by Vella Day
“Alex is in California.”
“California?”
Phil motioned he keep walking.
“Yes, but I’m afraid there’s bad news. Alex was in a car accident a few days ago and is in the hospital. That’s how I found him.”
Dom’s head spun. “Is he going to be all right?”
“Ah... The doctors give him a one out of ten chance he’ll survive. If you want to see him, you’ll have to fly there, ASAP.”
“Are you sure it’s him?”
“Yes. I’m sure. He was adopted by David and Madge Sheffield and took their last name. That’s what made the trace so hard.”
“How did you find—never mind. Give me the information.” The hows weren’t important.”
Dom pulled a pad out of his top pocket and scribbled the information along with the name of the hospital and its location. “Thanks. Send me your bill.”
“Good luck, Mr. Rossi. I wish my call would have been under better circumstances.”
“Yeah, me too.”
Phil jumped in the passenger side. “Come on. Every minute we waste could mean Tessa’s life.”
Alex. Tessa. Dom needed to be in two places at once.
He couldn’t believe he’d found his brother. Dom had spent his whole life looking for a family connection and now he’d found one. If he didn’t rush to see Alex now, he might never get to talk to his brother—ever again.
Dom slipped into the passenger seat. “I found my brother.”
“That’s great, man. Once we get Tessa back, you can have that family reunion you’ve wanted.”
Dom peeled out of hospital and slipped onto Bayshore toward downtown Tampa, his mind reeling. “He’s dying.”
Phil glanced at him. “I’m sorry.”
“He was in a car accident and might not live. I really need to see him,” Dom mumbled more to himself than to Phil. Dom slipped through downtown toward the Interstate, his mind reeling.
“So what are you going to do? You planning of leaving now or are we going after Tessa?”
Dom swallowed and let his gut decide, or was it his heart? Tessa was now. Alex was from the past. He loved Alex, but he also... Dom didn’t want to finish the thought.
“Find Tessa.”
“Good.”
As Dom drove, Phil tried to narrow down his search on his laptop. God praise Bluetooth’s wireless network. Being able to surf while on the move made their job easier.
“I found the Green Swamp, but nothing else.” Phil said.
Dom pressed his foot to the floor and passed five cars. “We’ve got to find him. Look for a bike trail.”
Phil tapped away on the keys. He couldn’t get his mind off poor Tessa. If Charley so much as touched her, he’d pummel the guy till his brains fell out.
“Hey, turn here.”
Dom jerked the wheel and exited I-4. “You find the path?”
“I found the path, but unless we get an address, we’ll never find her. The record’s department at the courthouse is our only hope.”
Phil directed him to the government building where they parked and then raced up to the property appraiser’s office.
“Hi, Fran,” Dom said to the clerk behind the desk whose nametag sat prominently on her chest.
“What can I do for you?”
He explained the urgency of finding Charley Madsen’s place.
“Give me a minute.” She clicked away on her computer. “I have no listing for a Charles Madsen.”
“Try Morton Richter.” He carefully spelled the last name.
Fran’s search took longer. “Nothing.”
“Damn. Thanks.” Dom turned, stopped, then turned back. “I have an idea. Could you print out the owners’ names of those who own land in the Green Swamp?”
“Sure, but it would be a long list.”
“That’s fine.”
Dom paced while Fran created the list. “What do you hope to find?” Phil whispered.
“I don’t know, but I’m thinking Charley only moved here a year ago. I’m going to check which properties were sold in the last year.”
“Good thinking, but serial killers usually don’t go through proper channels to obtain property.”
Dom snapped his fingers. “You’re brilliant.”
“I am?”
“Fran, get me a list of all the properties with taxes in arrears.”
Phil nudged him. “What are you thinking?”
“If my hunch pans out, I’ll let you know.”
Dear Audrey Mae,
This may be my last letter. Soon we will be together. I’ll be bringing someone with me to meet you. You two are so alike I almost think she is you sometimes. She has a little girl too, a little younger than Bobby, but her ex-husband stole her. I’m gonna have to look for the baby before we come.
I know we’ll all be so happy together. The police are closing in, and I’ve failed to keep my promise of silencing four drunks this November. I hope you’ll forgive me.
Sincerely,
Morton Richter
Morton put down the pen and glanced over at Tessa. She appeared asleep. As Tessa lay on the cot, all bound up, he lit the candles on his altar. He’d dedicated his place to sweet Audrey Mae. The smoke rose to the ceiling looking like heavenly clouds.
Tessa moaned and Charley rushed to her side. He loomed over her. Her eyes popped open and widened in fear. She whimpered.
“I guess I can take the tape off your mouth. No one can hear you this far in the woods. It’s just you, me, and the animals.” Morton didn’t mention Bruno by name. Knowing an alligator roamed the lake might scare her too much.
He had no idea how long they’d be out here and eventually she’d want to take a walk in the woods. The path led to the lake and right to Bruno. If she was good, he’d take her to his special place, and they could feed the alligator together.
Right now, he had to find the baby, which could take him a while. Maybe he shouldn’t have killed her ex-husband. Only he knew where he put Mandy. Shit. Maybe his Papa was right. He never thought through things good enough.
Morton took a deep breath. The trailer smelled musty. A pretty woman like Tessa shouldn’t have to suffer in a stale place, so he cracked open a window to air it out and to let the candle smoke escape.
“Charley?” Her voice caught, and she wet her lips.
“You want some water?” He never wanted Tessa to suffer.
“That would be nice.”
Excitement raced through him. Soon he’d be able to see his sweetheart and have Tessa at the same time.
He grabbed a glass from the cabinet and polished it real good with the cloth. Tessa was fussy when it came to cleanliness. She was always using bleach to disinfect the bar. Maybe he should buy some bleach for her, so she’d feel more comfortable staying here.
Good thing he had a stash of bottled water. Otherwise, he’d have to go to the lake and pump some.
“Here ya go,” he said, as he handed her the glass. “Oh, sorry about having to tie you up like that. I’d like to oblige and take off your bindings, but I can’t chance you’d run away.”
She shook her head. “Where would I run to? You said we’re in the middle of nowhere.”
Charley scratched his chin. She made sense. “I know, but... I don’t know.”
Tessa struggled to sit up but then fell back down on the cot. “Please, Charley. Can you at least tie my hands in front of me? My arms are asleep and my wrists are raw from the tape. Then I can eat and drink by myself.”
“Okay.” He snipped the tape between her wrists. “There.”
The tape popped. She drew her arms to the front and rubbed her wrists.
“Thank you.” She looked around the place. “Do you have a bathroom?”
He didn’t like the way she asked the question. Did she think he did his business in the woods or something?
“Of course. It’s outside. You got a problem with that?”
Her face softened. “No, no, not at all. Just cu
t me loose. I promise I’ll be good.”
She pleaded the way he used to when his father hurt him. How could he not help her? “Okay.”
He’d let her loose when he was home, he decided, but when he went out, he’d tie her back up. Good. He liked that he had a plan. Successful people always had plans, and he wanted to be successful.
She stretched out her legs, giving him access to her pretty little ankles. Morton slipped a knife from his back pocket and cut off the duct tape.
Once free, she looked up at him with worship in her eyes. He liked that. She appreciated him and didn’t get mad at him for bringing her here. He’d made the right choice.
“Thank you again. Could you show me where the outhouse is? I really need to go.”
He figured she was telling the truth. If he’d taken anyone else, he might have thought they just wanted to get outside and try to escape. What was he thinking? Tessa always told the truth. She was practically a doctor. “Okay.”
Morton helped her to her feet, but when she took one step, her knees collapsed. He caught her before she hit the floor.
“Careful now. You got a lot of drugs in your system. It’ll take a while before you’re back to normal.”
He was fine with her not being able to move too good. Less chance she’d escape. Morton swooped her up into his arms, and she stiffened, but he guessed it was because Tessa never got close to anyone.
“I won’t hurt you,” he said, remembering this time to lower his voice and talk soft, like women liked.
She pressed her lips together. At least she didn’t yell at him like Audrey Mae had right before she got killed. His true love’s threats still stung.
Morton carried Tessa outside and set her down next to the wooden structure. “I’ll wait out here.”
She looked at the outhouse, and then back at him but didn’t comment. She opened the door and slipped inside. He moved away to give her privacy, but not so far that she could run from him.
Thinking about her naked, jump-started his dormant desires. Ever since Audrey Mae had come into his life, Morton hadn’t been interested in another woman, until Tessa.
He imagined Tessa naked, but only for a moment. He forcibly blocked his mind from those dirty thoughts. He’d brought her here to protect her, not have sex with her. Tessa wasn’t the kind of woman who went for a guy like him. She was educated, and he wasn’t.
He couldn’t even enjoy the tranquility of the swamp like he used to while Tessa was out of sight. He checked his watch several times. “You okay in there?” he asked.
“Yes.”
She sounded fine. Eventually, she came out, and her walking appeared better. Tessa looked around as if judging her chances of escaping.
“You’ll never find your way out of here you know.”
She jumped. “Oh, no, I wasn’t thinking about trying to get away. I was admiring the beauty of the place.”
Her tone sounded sincere, but he bet she was just saying that to make him let down his guard. He knew first hand how shrinks tried to get him comfortable only to end up tricking him into saying something he didn’t want to.
“Come on. I bet you’re hungry,” he said.
Tessa had felt safe inside the outhouse. It stunk, yes, but Charley didn’t seem willing to intrude on her privacy. She’d tested the strength of the wall behind the seat, but it seemed too sturdy to break from the inside.
The longer she could keep Charley talking, the better chance she’d have of convincing him to let her go. He didn’t seem to have a grudge against her personally. In fact, he appeared protective, almost as if he didn’t want any harm to come to her.
Charley followed her into the trailer. The makeshift altar on the kitchen counter creeped her out.
“Is there any significance to the lighted candles? And to the plastic pink carnation and the baby toy?”
“Yes. I wore the carnation the day I was going to get married, but my fiancé was killed in a car wreck. A drunk driver slammed into her and killed her and our baby.”
“Oh, Charley, I’m so sorry. When was this?”
“Four years ago, November 4th at 10:37 p.m.” His gaze focused on the flickering candles.
Tessa stumbled backwards. She grabbed a chair to steady herself. November. Oh my God. Keri Wilkerson had been drunk—real drunk—when she left the bar a few weeks ago. As had Bob Dirkman and Doug Walsh. It was true, then. Charley must have killed them out of revenge.
Her mind spun as she tried to figure out how to deal with him. Sympathy? Validation? Did it matter when the person she was dealing with was crazy? Why hadn’t she noticed his behavior before? The man didn’t talk much, which had seemed odd for a bartender, but Judd had sworn by him. Tessa had too many other items to deal with than wonder about Charley.
“Do you have a picture of her?” Knowing something about his fiancée might help her deal with the man better.
“Yes. It's in the bedroom. Come with me.”
Tessa backed up and waved him on. “I’ll wait here.”
Charley’s eyes narrowed, and his fists clenched at his side. He took a step toward her. “Are you defying me?”
The sudden change in character scared her. “No. Never. You’re right. I should come with you. I’d like to see the rest of the place too.” All one other room of it.
His hands relaxed, and the tightness around his eyes disappeared. The soft approach seemed to work with him. Taking a deep breath, Tessa stepped toward him, half expecting Charley to grab her. She needed to pay attention to his mercurial personality.
He turned and disappeared into the bedroom. She followed. The bed was made and covered with a worn comforter. The small room contained a wooden chair and a scarred dresser whose knobs didn’t match.
With his back to her, he riffled through the bottom drawer. A second later he stood and held up a photo. He glanced down at the picture and ran his hand lovingly across the glass. “She was all I had.”
Tessa waited for him to present the picture to her. His lips first smiled, and then frowned as if he were reliving her last moments.
Charley looked up and handed her the frame. Tessa grabbed the edge, careful not to touch his fingers. She glanced down and stilled.
The woman with the strawberry blond hair, slightly curled to her shoulders, could have been Tessa’s double.
19
This is bullshit. We’ve been driving aimlessly for a couple of hours and getting nowhere,” Dom said.
“Hey. There. Stop,” Phil shouted, pointing to an official looking cruiser parked off to the side with a uniformed officer inside. “Rangers know everyone, or at least they should.”
Dom did a U-turn and pulled behind the SUV. The logo on the side read, “Florida, Fish and Game.”
“Let’s go.” They both jumped out.
The middle-aged officer got out of his car and stepped toward Dom and Phil. Dom flashed his badge and the officer nodded. His nametag read, “Officer Mark Federer.”
“Howdy, fellows. What can I do for you?”
Dom and Phil filled him in on their dilemma.
“Well, let me see. About a mile down the road is the Van Fleet Trail. It’s probably the bike path your friend was telling you about. But thirty miles of trail covers a lot of territory.” He shook his head.
“How about roads near the trail? Any old hunting trails or cabins, stuff like that?”
The officer laughed. “Now you’re asking for the proverbial needle in a haystack. All we have is hunting trails, old trailers, and cabins.”
Frustrated, Dom whipped out the list of owners who hadn’t paid their taxes. He spread the paper out on the hood of his car. “I was thinking the kidnapper might be living out here illegally. I’m taking a stab in the dark that he somehow moved into a place without the owner’s permission. I wouldn’t be surprised if he killed the occupant, which would account for the owner not paying his back taxes.”
“That’s a good thought, but the folks around here are quite poor. Not paying taxe
s is nothing out of the ordinary.” He touched the tip of his nose. “I got an idea. Just a sec.” The officer jogged back to his SUV and reached into his glove compartment. He came back a moment later.
“Here were go.” He spread out a large map. “We are here.” He tapped a spot in the southwest corner.
Dom’s heart sank at the size of the shaded green area. He studied the map for a second. “This the Van Fleet Trail?”
“Yup. I don’t know all the names of the owners, mind you, but I do know some. I live a few miles down this road.” With Dom’s list in his hand, he marked on his map the location of those who hadn’t paid their taxes. “I’ll star the ones owned by some loners, someone a less reputable person might take advantage of. I wish you fellows lots of luck finding that young woman.” He folded up the map and handed it to Dom. “And here’s my number in case you need to contact me. I’ll stop by a few places on my way home and let you know if something comes up.”
Dom scribbled his cell on his card and handed it to the officer. “Thanks. We’ll need it.”
“Where would your ex-husband take Mandy?” Charley asked as he paced in front of her.
He’d become more agitated as evening fell. Tessa couldn’t figure out if he was worried she’d escape if he went to look for Mandy, or the fact Mandy was missing.
“I don’t know. He doesn’t know anyone in town, so I couldn’t tell you his habits. Maybe he contacted Judd.”
Charley stopped. “Or he brought her back to your house to lure you back there.”
“Yes, that’s brilliant.”
His eyes focused on a distant object for a moment as if he reveled in her praise.
“We should go back there,” Tessa suggested.
“No,” he practically shouted.
“Why not? Ralph is dead. He can’t hurt me now. He could have dropped Mandy back off at the house before going to the Blue Moon. It makes sense now.” Please let him go along with this.
He looked at her. Had she sounded too enthusiastic?