by Becca Van
Clay couldn’t believe how smart or young the FBI profiler, Jasmine Urban, was. Not that he was sexist or disparaging of the opposite sex in any way, but the woman was smaller than Misha and just as beautiful, but he wasn’t attracted to her in the least.
“So what do you think?” Clay asked as he leaned back in his seat, having waited for Jasmine to go over the case files of the murdered women.
“You definitely have a serial killer on your hands. From what I have gathered so far, our unsub is male, between the ages of twenty-five and forty, Caucasian, and is a psychopath.”
“What’s the difference between a psychopath and a sociopath?” Spence asked.
“A sociopath does have a small amount of conscience between right and wrong. A psychopath has no moral conscience at all. A psychopath is very good at playing remorseful, or empathetic but to them there is no such thing. They’re usually smart and can copy other people’s emotions. They’re meticulous, and sometimes ritualistic, and though most of them like killing for the sake of it, most sociopaths aren’t into torture.” Jasmine closed Janice’s file and sighed. “Our unsub could be a local or he could be bringing his kills to the resort area because it has memories for him.”
“Shit!” Spence threaded his fingers through his hair, stood and began to pace.
“So any woman at the resort or in the surrounding areas is in danger?” Clay asked the question that had been plaguing him over the last few months.
“Yes.” Jasmine crossed her arms over her chest. “I know you said you wanted to keep the murders from the media, but you can’t. You need to use them to spread the word so we can hopefully keep more women from being killed.”
“Fuck!” Spence scrubbed a hand over his face.
“How are we going to catch this bastard?” Clay questioned. “So far there hasn’t been any evidence left at the crime scenes. We don’t have a fucking thing to go on.”
“Have you questioned the resort staff?” Jasmine asked.
“A few. There’s only six of us policing the whole county and there are only so many hours in a day.” Clay rubbed the back of his neck before continuing. “We’re already doing fourteen to sixteen hour shifts, six days a week.”
Jasmine nodded. “You need more men.”
“Yeah, we do.” Spence sighed. “We have a large area to police, but the last time we put in for more employees, we were denied.”
“By whom?” Jasmine frowned.
“The Cody mayor.”
“Damn politicians,” Jasmine muttered as she pulled her cell phone from the clip on her belt. “Leave it to me. Hopefully, before week’s end, I’ll have a couple more officers working your county.”
“For how long?” Clay asked.
“From now on.” Jasmine held up her finger as she rose and exited the office.
Clay hoped like hell the FBI agent could deliver on her promise, but he wasn’t about to hold his breath. Politicians had too much say in what happened in the real world without having an inkling of how the real world worked. However, he liked Agent Jasmine Urban and had a feeling that beneath that stunning exterior and diminutive body was a backbone of steel. Maybe, now that she was here helping him and his men on this case, they would have a chance to catch this fucker sooner rather than later.
* * * *
It had been so easy to lure that cunt away from the resort on the pretext of enjoying the late afternoon air and the diminishing sunshine. She’d practically jumped up and down with excitement to be in his company. He loved that he didn’t stand out from the crowd. He was handsome in that “boy next door” kind of way and none of those bitches ever looked at him suspiciously.
When he’d woken that morning, he’d gone through his usual ritual of shaving the hair from his body and clipped the growing strands on his head down close to his scalp. He chuckled as he remembered the horror in her eyes when he’d slid the blade of his knife into her skin.
He’d spent years studying human anatomy and just as long practicing until he was proficient at his work. He knew where every vein and artery were, how far to plunge the knife in so that he only nicked the arteries and his victims didn’t bleed out too soon. There was such pleasure hearing their screams of agony as he fucked them with all the strength in his body. It was getting harder and harder to keep his pleasure at bay while he waited for those women’s last breath to leave their lungs, but he was cold and analytical and managed to wait for the perfect crescendo.
He wondered how long it would be before she was found. She had already been reported missing, and any minute now, the place would be swarming with cops.
Seeing the frustration in the sheriffs’ eyes as they tried to figure out who was murdering all those pretty women was almost as fulfilling as taking their lives. Almost, but not quite.
When he saw the resort assistant manager walking toward the bar, he decided to have some fun. The stupid cunt had no idea how much danger she was in, but he wasn’t about to enlighten her.
* * * *
Clay scanned the bar looking for Misha and his gaze immediately locked on to her sexy, petite form. She was sitting on a bar stool talking to the bar attendant, and when he saw the man wink at her, he saw red.
“Did you fucking see that?” Spence asked angrily.
“Yeah.” Clay sighed and tried to get his anger under control. If he came across to Misha as possessive or pissed she was likely to run. Again. He breathed in and out slowly, counting to ten and then twenty, waiting for his ire to recede, and when the tension in his muscles relaxed, he began walking toward her.
He eyed the guy sitting on the stool at the end of the bar but immediately dismissed him as a threat when he saw the wedding band glinting on his ring finger.
Clay took the seat beside Misha and Spence sat on the one on her opposite side. She glanced at him from the corner of her eye but refused to meet his gaze. Well, two could definitely play that game. He ordered two beers when the bar attendant asked what they wanted and took a sip after taking his change.
Just as he was about to ask Misha how she’d been, his cell phone vibrated. He scowled when he saw that it was Cooper calling, and since he and Tanner were on duty, he couldn’t ignore it. After setting the bottle of beer on the bar, he stood and walked toward the side of the room where he would have some privacy to take the call.
“Yeah?”
“A woman’s been reported missing from the resort,” Cooper explained.
“Fuck!”
“Yeah.” Coop sighed. “Her husband reported her missing five minutes ago.”
“What’s the woman’s name?”
“Lucy Wood. Married for four years, age twenty-eight, works as a kitchen hand at the resort. No kids.”
“Husband’s name?”
“Anthony Wood. He’s an electrical contractor. Lucy’s five foot six, weighs around one fifty pounds, with red hair and brown eyes.”
“Did the husband say how long she’s been missing?” Clay asked.
“Said he hasn’t seen her since breakfast time.”
“Okay. Thanks, Coop.”
“You want me to contact the profiler?” Cooper asked.
“Not yet. Could just be a misunderstanding between husband and wife. If there’s any need to bring Jasmine in, I’ll call her. Have CSU on standby, just in case.”
“Will do.”
Clay disconnected the call and turned back toward the bar. Misha met his gaze in the mirror and must have seen something on his face because she frowned and when she swiveled the seat toward him, her face had gone pale.
“What’s wrong?” she asked in a shaky voice.
“A woman’s been reported missing by her husband.”
“Shit!” Spence swore at the same time Misha asked, “Who?”
“Lucy Wood.”
Misha slid to her feet and hurried toward the end of the bar where the married guy was sitting. “Anthony, are you all right?”
Anthony shook his head, and when he lifted his face, Clay cou
ld see that the guy had tears in his eyes. His shoulders were slumped, and when he lifted a hand to his mouth, his hand trembled.
“I’ve looked for her everywhere, Misha. No one’s seen her since breakfast this morning.”
“She had an RDO?” Misha asked.
“Not rostered but she swapped shifts with Nancy.”
Misha clicked her fingers. “Yeah, I remember now.”
Clay and Spence walked closer to Misha and Anthony Wood. “Anthony, this is Sheriff Clay Wilton and Sheriff Spence Nelson.”
Clay offered his hand and moved aside so Spence could greet the terrified man.
“We’re going to do everything we can to find your wife.” Spence nodded and then he, Clay, and Misha headed out of the bar.
“What do you want me to do?” Misha asked as she glanced about the reception area.
“Get every able-bodied man geared up and ready to help us look for Lucy. We’ll meet you out the front of the resort.”
“Okay.” Misha cleared her throat when her voice cracked.
Clay saw her blink the tears forming in her eyes back just before she turned away from them and hurried away.
“I have a bad feeling about this,” Spence voiced Clay’s concerns.
He nodded and began walking toward the entrance doors. Luckily for them, he and Spence had everything they would need for their search. He just hoped it didn’t end as disastrously as he expected it to.
Finding another mutilated woman wasn’t something he wanted to do. He’d had enough of this fucker and his murderous rampage. He just wished he knew who the hell they were looking for.
Chapter Six
Misha clutched at the flashlight in her hand so hard her knuckles ached. She tried to listen as Clay and Spence told the ten men where they wanted them searching and what to look for, but her mind was in turmoil, just as her stomach was. She felt so bad for Anthony, but the young man was putting on a brave face as he stood at the back of the crowd ready to help look for his missing wife.
She could tell by the way his chest rose and fell rapidly that the poor man was having a hard time keeping it together, and though she wanted to go over to him, wrap her arms around him to offer him comfort, she knew that her actions might be the catalyst to him breaking down.
“All right,” Spence’s voice carried in the cooling late afternoon air. “You know what to do. Let’s move out.”
Misha looked up and met Clay’s gaze when his warm, large callused hand enveloped her own. “Are you sure you want to do this, baby? You don’t have to.”
“Yes, I do.” She swallowed around the constriction in her throat. “Lucy is one of our employees, as is her husband. I didn’t get to spend much time with her but I still consider her a friend. I need to do this.”
“Okay, but stay close,” Spence said as he stepped closer to her side. “We don’t want anything happening to you.”
“I will.” Misha had no intentions of leaving the sheriffs’ sight when there was a killer on the loose. Whatever went before was water under the bridge as far as she was concerned. She’d spent the last couple of nights berating herself for leaving their ranch house when she’d gotten scared. She’d also had a hard time falling to sleep, but when she had managed to drift off, she’d dreamed about Janice. In her dreams, Janice had reamed her ass for not grabbing on to something that could end up being the best thing that ever happened to her, and while she’d wanted to call Clay and Spence and apologize for taking off, she just hadn’t managed to find the time.
Liar, her conscience rang in her head.
Misha shook her head and pushed her thoughts aside. Now wasn’t the time to be thinking about what she should or shouldn’t have done. Now was the time to use all her concentration to find Lucy.
Clay and Spence started up the trail away from the resort. When they got to a fork that intersected with the trail toward Crow Peak, Misha slowed down. The hair on the back of her neck stood on end. She had no idea why, but the urge to head north-east toward Crow Peak was so strong she couldn’t ignore it. She glanced in the direction Clay and Spence had gone and shivered when she realized that they were already out of sight. They were heading toward the North Fork of the Shoshone River where Janice had been found, but she had a feeling they wouldn’t find anything. Or maybe that was wishful thinking. She didn’t want them to find Lucy lying dead on the cold, hard ground.
She gnawed on her lip indecisively, hesitating about going up that trail on her own, but she couldn’t ignore the pull toward the peak. Before she could talk herself out of it, she took a step toward Crow Peak.
Misha glanced up at the sky. There was only about half an hour of light left but she didn’t have far to walk, only five or so minutes before she reached the top. So after taking a steadying breath and hoping she wasn’t making a mistake, she picked up her pace.
She was just about at the top when she heard Clay and Spence calling her name. Misha turned on the dirt path and was about to reply just as loudly, but before she could, she heard a crack, as if someone had just stepped on a fallen tree branch. She spun around quickly, her eyes scanning left and right, and she was just about to try and convince herself she was being paranoid when Phillip emerged from behind a thick tree trunk.
She started backing away but stopped when he held his hands up as if entreating to her that he meant her no harm.
“What are you doing here, Phillip?”
“I was going to come and ask for my job back, but decided that now wasn’t the best time. What is going on?”
“Lucy’s missing.”
“Oh shit!” Phillip glanced about as if looking to see if anyone else was nearby, and when he didn’t see anyone else, took another step toward her.
“Don’t come any closer,” Misha ordered, hoping he didn’t hear the fear in her voice as she held her hands up toward him, palms out. Her knees nearly sagged when he stopped.
“You’re not afraid of me, are you, Misha? You know I’d never hurt you. Right?”
Misha nodded to placate him but she didn’t trust him as far as she could throw him, and since he was about five inches taller than her as well as being at least fifty pounds heavier, she didn’t have a chance in hell of throwing him at all.
“Why are you up here all alone?” Phillip frowned with what appeared to be concern, but if he was the serial killer, he would do anything to draw suspicion away from himself.
“Searching for Lucy.”
Phillip took another step toward her and smiled. “You knew I was here, didn’t you? You knew I wanted to see you again. I’ve always admired you, Misha. I’m so happy you came to see me.”
Misha shook her head as she backed up another step. There was a gleam in Phillip’s eyes that she couldn’t fathom but she didn’t like. The fine hairs on her body stood up on end and goose bumps raced over her skin as fear skittered up her spine. She knew she shouldn’t have taken off by herself but she’d ignored her feelings. Now she wished she could go back ten minutes so that she would still be in Clay’s and Spence’s company.
“What the hell are you talking about?” Misha asked, pleased when her voice came out strong and confident this time.
“You know what.” Phillip took two more steps.
Misha made the mistake of looking behind her when one of her feet slipped on the dirt. As she turned back toward Phillip, her heart stuttered in her throat and terror permeated her to her very soul. Phillip had used her distraction to get closer to her, and before she could scream, he had his hand over her mouth and his arm wrapped tight around her waist. She shoved against his chest, trying to escape his clutches, but he was young and strong and she didn’t have a hope in hell of escaping unless he wanted her to. From the look in his eyes, that wasn’t going to happen any time soon.
She kicked out as hard as she could, satisfied when the toe of her sneaker connected with his shin, causing him to grunt with pain, and kicked him again. His hand loosened over her mouth and she was about to bite him in the fleshy part
of his palm, but he was faster than she suspected he would be. His hand left her lips and he slammed his mouth over hers. Misha gagged when his slimy tongue snaked into her mouth, screaming with rage and revulsion but the sound was muffled by his mouth. She bit down on his tongue as hard as she could, causing Phillip to yelp with pain. His grabbed a fistful of her hair as she spun away from him, intent on bolting. She cried out when some of her tresses were ripped out of the hair follicles, making her scalp burn. She punched, kicked, and scratched anywhere and everywhere she could.
His hold on her hair loosened and she jerked away just as his fist rose and he swung. Luckily for her, his fist only glanced off of her jaw, but it still hurt like a son of a bitch. She gasped in a breath, keeping her moan of pain deep in her chest, not wanting to give the bastard the satisfaction of letting him know he’d hurt her.
Misha only managed five steps away from him before he jumped on her. She went crashing to the ground. All the air in her lungs was expelled in a whoosh as Phillip landed on top of her. Her ribs hurt as his heavier weight smashed her into the dirt and Misha wondered if she was about to die.
A loud roaring sounded in her ears but she wasn’t sure if it was because of her terror or the predicament she found herself in. All of a sudden, Phillip’s weight was gone and she sobbed in breath after breath and tried to slow her racing heart. When large hands grabbed her upper arms and lifted her from the ground, she came up swinging. The hands released their hold on her as she flailed her arms. It took her a few moments to realize that she was no longer in danger as Spence’s deep calm voice penetrated her panic.
“You’re safe now, honey. He can’t hurt you anymore.”
She met Spence’s gaze right before she threw herself into his arms, against his chest, and began to sob. Never in her life had she felt so much dread, so much terror. Misha tried to stop crying as Spence held her tight against his big body, but she was shaking and blubbering so much, she didn’t think she’d ever be able to stop. Misha didn’t know how long she cried on Spence but thankfully he didn’t seem to mind. He made nonsensical soothing noises until finally her tears slowed and stopped. She hiccupped as she tried to regain her breath and the quaking ceased, too.