Anne nodded again.
“Okay, was Jane seeing anyone?”
Anne shook her head.
“No boyfriend?” Jilly said in a surprised tone.
Anne shook her head again.
“Maybe there was someone new in her life? A man she’d just met?”
Anne scrunched her face. “No.”
“Are you two close? Does she tell you everything?”
“Yes,” Anne said.
“We noticed she’d joined an online dating site. Did she go on any dates recently?” Jilly asked.
“Not yet, she’d only been on it a few weeks. It was slim pickings,” Anne said.
Jilly glanced at Cody.
“What about someone following her?” he asked. “Did she mention that or getting any disturbing phone calls?”
“No,” Anne answered.
“What about gifts?” he asked.
Anne shook her head. “No. Nothing.”
“When was the last time you spoke with her?” Jilly asked.
“Last night. She mentioned running into him.” Anne gave Cody the stink eye. “She said he’d asked her out and she was considering accepting. I told her to forget it and reminded her how he’d broken her heart.”
Jilly glared at him. “Why didn’t you mention this earlier?” she asked.
“Because I didn’t.” Cody racked his brain. What could he have said to give Jane the impression he was asking her out on a date? Then it came to him. “You were there; I told her we should catch up some time. I wouldn’t exactly call it a date.”
“Well, she obviously took it as an invitation. What all did you talk about before I showed up?” Jilly asked.
How did he get on the hot seat? “Nothing much. She’d only been there a couple minutes before you arrived. Can we get back to the subject at hand?” he said sternly.
Jilly glared at him a second before she turned back to Anne. “Tell me more about your conversation.”
Anne’s lip started to quiver. “We a. . .” A tear slipped down her cheek. “We argued.” She brushed the tear away.
Jilly glanced at him quickly, then back. “About what?”
Anne pointed at Cody. “That asshole.”
Jilly didn’t look at him this time. “What about him?”
“I told her she’d be an idiot to go out with him again. I was really mad. I couldn’t believe she’d be so stupid. I said some horrible things and she hung up.” Anne cried in earnest now. “And that might be the last time I ever get to talk to her,” she choked out before she covered her face with her hands.
“Anne, let’s not get ahead of ourselves. At this point we really don’t know anything yet,” Jilly said.
The woman looked up. “No?”
Jilly handed her a tissue.
Anne turned steely eyes on Cody. “Everything was fine until you showed up.” She blew her nose. “They say that you’re the one who found the bodies. How do we know you’re not the killer?”
EIGHTEEN
Once Cody and Jilly finished interviewing Jane’s sister, Anne Carmichael, they asked her to stop by the station to give a formal statement. They left Anne at the curb and started back alone.
“That went well,” he said.
“Ya think?” Jilly looked at him with raised brows. “Something tells me she doesn’t like you very much.”
“Naw, she’s just playing hard to get.”
“So that’s why she didn’t accept your offer to drive her home?” Jilly chuckled. “Damn, you have one big pair of cajones.”
“Let’s not get personal about my physical attributes.”
“Yeah, right.” She rolled her eyes.
“I was just being a gentleman, the woman was upset. I wanted to make sure she got home all right.” Try as he might, he couldn’t keep the grin from his face.
Jilly shook her head. “I might have to agree with her. You did arrive just in time to find those bodies.”
“Hey!” The smile fell from his face before he noticed the twinkle in her eye.
“Just sayin’,” Jilly added.
“Well don’t let anyone else hear you say that. That’s all I need. I don’t exactly have a big fan club back at the station.”
“Nor, obviously, among the women you’ve dated. What did you do to poor Jane that her sister won’t forgive you?”
“Nothing, really.”
“Uh-huh.”
“I broke up with her. That’s all.”
“Right. You broke up with a girl in high school and her sister’s still pissed twenty years later? That’s some grudge.”
Jilly stared at him a second before she looked back at the road. “You must have done a hell of a job of it.”
“Let’s just say I didn’t have much tact back then.” He stared out the side window. “I was a stupid teenager with raging hormones.”
“So you broke up with Jane because she wouldn’t put out?” She gave him a pointed look. “Nice.”
“I didn’t say that.”
“You made it sound that way. So how was it?”
Cody looked at Jilly’s profile and considered whether or not he wanted to tell her the truth. It didn’t exactly paint him in a great light, but then again, he’d been a dumb kid.
“Fine. You really want to know?”
She nodded. “Yeah, I really want to know.”
“Delilah Davis. That’s what happened. Or who would be more accurate.”
“You cheated on Jane with Delilah?” Jilly gasped. “You were a bigger dick than I thought.”
“No. I did not sleep with Delilah while I was dating Jane. We broke up first.”
“Explain.”
“Jesus, you need my entire life story?”
“No, just the part pertaining to the breakup with Jane. After all, I am conducting a possible abduction here, and you may be a person of interest.”
Cody stared at her a good long while, but her face was placid. He couldn’t tell if she was joking.
“I was with you last night.”
“Not all night.”
Anger boiled up inside him. “You’ve got to be shittin’ me.”
She glanced at him and the corners of her mouth twitched. “A little. Come on, what have you got to lose?”
“Your respect.”
“Don’t kid yourself; you don’t have it now.” She smirked.
“Thanks a lot.” He ran a hand through his hair. “Fine. Just keep in mind I was just a kid, okay?”
“Sure, you were just a kid. One with raging hormones. Continue.”
“I had a couple of classes with Delilah our junior year. She started hitting on me. I ignored her. Then one night we were at a party after a football game. I was a little drunk and…”
He looked at Jilly.
“Okay, party, drunk, go on,” she said.
“Jane couldn’t make it. She had some family thing she had to attend. So I found myself alone with Delilah and she pounced.”
“Pounced?” Jilly chuckled.
“Yeah, pounced. She started kissing me and rubbing up against me. She got me so hot and bothered I had to leave the party before I did something I would regret.”
“That’s the big bad secret? I’m disappointed.”
“No. I broke up with Jane the next day so I could date Delilah.”
“You broke up with the sweetest girl in school to date Double D Delilah? What were you thinking? You knew she screwed half the football team, right?”
“Maybe.”
“Maybe you knew? Or Maybe she did? Trust me, she did.”
“I mean, maybe that’s why I dated her. Look, Jane was a virgin and–”
“I knew it! She wouldn’t put out.”
“No. That was not the problem. She did want to have sex.”
Jilly shook her head. “So, what? You just weren’t that into her? I don’t buy it.”
“I wasn’t in love with her. I didn’t want the responsibility that came with taking her virginity. Her first time should hav
e been with someone who loved her and that wasn’t me, so–”
“Holy shit!” Jilly exclaimed.
“Hey, you don’t know what it’s like. Teenage boys walk around with permanent hard-ons. Sex is all we think about.”
“That’s not what I was going to say. I just can’t believe that as a horny teenage boy you had a conscience. You have no idea how rare that is.”
“If you say so,” Cody said.
“I do.”
They rode in silence the rest of the way to the station.
Jilly got her warrant for Jane Wheaton’s cell phone records and texts, so they were waiting on the phone company to comply. She’d put out a statewide BOLO on Jane. But Cody knew she hadn’t gone far.
The killer had her.
He could be doing unthinkable things to her right now. And all because she’d talked to him. This killer knew Cody, but everyone he’d put away were still in prison. At least, they should be. Surely if anyone had escaped, or, God forbid, been paroled, he would have been notified. That left a relative of someone incarcerated.
Or an accomplice.
The San Bernardino Mountains were roughly 2100 square miles, and much of that was forest. A search had been launched in Big Bear and most of the citizens had volunteered. Bob Farley had been called in with his dogs.
Jilly was busy getting the records for abandoned cabins and foreclosures. Cody was putting together a list of vacation rental homes that could be empty at any given time. Once compiled, law enforcement would concentrate on those properties.
Cody had requested building permits earlier in the day and highlighted the cabins with basements. The state of California had relatively warm weather and the need to be underground to conserve energy was not a main concern.
The threat of earthquakes dissuaded the building of underground rooms. Even a small quake could cause significant structural damage to a basement, the foundation of the home. The need for shelter from hurricanes and tornadoes was non-existent.
Big Bear had some neighborhoods where homes sat relatively close, so unless an entire street was vacant, he couldn’t see the killer torturing someone in one of those. That left vacant homes, homes with basements, large properties, and cabins that backed up to the national forest as the areas they would concentrate on.
That’s a lot of places for the killer to hide his victims without worry their screams would be heard. Cody scrubbed his hands down his face. It was almost midnight. He glanced across at Jilly and noticed she was nodding off. He scooted his chair back.
“Okay, it’s time to get some rest.”
“But–”
“Jilly, you’re falling asleep in your chair. Come on, we’ll be more effective after a good night’s sleep.”
As they were heading out. “Did you pack a bag earlier when you were home?”
“No. Look, Cody, I really appreciate you letting me stay at your place last night, but I’ll be fine. I always sleep better in my own bed and a girl has to have all her things around her. That’s probably hard for you to understand.”
“No. I understand where you’re coming from, but I don’t like it. This guy’s already proven how easy it is to break into your house.”
“You’re right and I promise I’ll do a thorough search of the premises the moment I get in the door. Okay?”
“You mean, we’ll do a total search?” Cody said.
“Fine, have it your way. We.”
He followed Jilly back to her house and they both conducted the search, paying special attention to her bed and kicking all areas where a wild animal could hide. He made her promise not to go anywhere without her gun, including the bathroom. Feeling better, but not much, he said good night.
Jilly took one look at her bedroom and almost called Cody back to reconsider his offer. She’d forgotten the total chaos he’d left in his wake when he killed the snake. Instead she sucked it up. Armed with a broom, dustpan, and trash bag, she cleaned the mess. Once her room was in some semblance of order, she retired to the bathroom to get ready for bed.
She was exhausted.
Cleo was already asleep on the other side of the quilt, but Jilly couldn’t help herself. She pulled the covers back once more and searched for snakes. She did a little dance at the thought of it. She hid her gun under the other pillow and climbed into her queen-sized bed before turning off the light.
She was in a deep slumber when she stretched out her leg and hit something. “Sorry, Cleo,” she mumbled and pulled her foot back. Her bladder began to pull her awake and she grumbled. Just a few more minutes, she thought. But her body wouldn’t listen.
As the need to urinate grew stronger, she became more aware. She thought her foot felt wet, but that couldn’t be right. Jilly swung her feet over the side of the bed and sat up. She turned on the bedside light and looked down at her feet.
The right one was covered in blood.
Her head whipped around and she spotted Cleo sleeping on top of the pillow next to hers. She jumped up and threw back the covers.
A blood-curdling scream shattered the quiet night.
NINETEEN
“Shit, shit, shit, shit!” With each exclamation, Jilly danced her way backwards.
There.
In her bed.
Surrounded by blood-soaked sheets.
Lay Jane Wheaton’s head.
Jane’s vacant eyes stared straight at her.
The house swarmed with law enforcement, including the full CSU. Cody stood next to Jilly, staring down at the head. Which, by the way, was staring back at him. Unnerving.
“The Godfather,” he said under his breath.
“That was a horse’s head. I’m lucky it wasn’t Cleopatra.”
He shook his head. “No, The Godfather. It’s my favorite movie.”
“Good for you. Now I’ll never be able to watch it again.”
“This UNSUB knows me,” he mumbled.
“Oh, please, don’t flatter yourself. That’s every man’s favorite movie.”
That might be true, but this UNSUB knew way too much about him. Where did he get his information? Could that be why he viciously tortured Mary Ellen? To get her to spill all the personal details of his life only a lover might know?
Maybe that’s when he learned he enjoyed it. So much so, that he continued with the rest of his victims.
“Well, that seals the deal. You’re coming home with me,” Cody said.
Phyllis’s head popped up from the other side of the bed and swiveled toward him, her brows raised.
“For safety purposes. Only,” he said addressing her.
Phyllis grinned and went back to work.
Jilly stared at him. “Fine. You win. But you don’t fight fair.”
Astonished, Cody pointed to the bed. “I didn’t do that.”
“You might as well have. You always have to get your way, don’t you?”
“What? No,” he said incredulously.
Jilly left the room and Cody followed.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” he asked while staring at her back.
“Nothing. Never mind.” She kept walking until she was out in the middle of the driveway.
Cody put his hand on her shoulder and turned Jilly around. Her hands flew to her hips and she glared at him.
“You can stay wherever you want; your parents’ house, a friend’s. I don’t care, but you’re not staying here alone,” he added.
“No shit, Sherlock. Of course, I’m going to stay at your place. You think I want to put my loved ones in danger?” she said in an exaggerated whisper.
“Then why the hell are you so pissed?”
She shook her head. “How can you be so smart and such an idiot at the same time?”
Cody crossed his arms over his chest. “Enlighten me.”
She looked around before answering. “You dumb shit. You had to announce to everyone I’m staying with you? Now the entire department—no, make that the entire town—will think there’s something going on between
us. Thanks a lot.”
“I clarified my statement. You’re just being paranoid,” he said.
“Am I? And how long has it been since you’ve lived in a small town?”
“Look, I’m sorry.” He pointed at the house. “I’ll just go back in there and make sure everyone knows nothing is going on between us.”
“No, you won’t. That would just make matters worse. Just leave it alone.”
Cody blew out a big breath. “Jesus, what do you want from me?”
“Nothing. That’s the point.”
“Fine. Do what you want.” Cody stomped down the driveway and counted to ten. Then turned around and strode back. “Do you at least want me to wait for you?” he asked more calmly than he felt.
Jilly looked at the ground, tapped her foot, and then stared at him. “No. Thanks. I’ll be along shortly.”
It was just after four in the morning when Cody heard Jilly pull up in front of the cabin. He went out to help. She exited the vehicle and yanked open the back door. He reached in, before she could, and snatched her duffel bag.
“I can do that,” she said, but she wasn’t very convincing.
He picked up the cat carrier with his other hand.
“I know, but let me. Okay?” he said gently.
Jilly nodded and headed for the front door. Cody locked the vehicle and followed her. As she traipsed up the stairs, he stayed back a few steps so as not to crowd her. She shuffled into the guest room where she’d stayed the night before. He placed her bag and the cat just inside the door.
Jilly turned around and tilted her head; she was close enough to kiss. She didn’t step back, neither did he. She looked tired and defeated. His heart ached as he gazed down into her big beautiful eyes, wanting nothing more than to erase the last twenty-four hours.
Hell, make that the last seventy-two from her memory. He opened his arms and she came to him willingly. Cody pulled her close and laid her head on his chest. “I’m sorry you had to go through that.” He rubbed her back.
“I wish with all my heart it had happened to me, not you.”
She remained quiet.
He had no idea if she was crying or not.
Jilly pulled away and gazed up at him. Not a tear in sight. She looked resigned, like she’d just come to a big decision. He waited to hear what it was.
NightScream Page 13