Hunter's Way

by Gerri Hill

  “Anything?”

  “No. You?”

  “Clean.”

  “Sam, call Jackson. Get a crime unit out here,” she said calmly. When Sam walked away, Tori turned and put her fist through the wall.

  “Jesus Christ, Hunter!”

  “Goddammit!” she yelled. “That sonofabitch!”

  Sikes grabbed her arm. “It’s not your fault.”

  Tori clenched her fists, then relaxed as Sam ran back in.

  “What happened?” she demanded as she disconnected her phone.

  “Nothing.”

  Sam’s eyes slid past her to the hole in the wall, then she motioned for Sikes and Ramirez to leave. When they were alone, she walked to Tori and took her hands, rubbing against the already reddening knuckle with her thumb.

  “Stop it,” she said softly. “Stop it right now. This is not your fault and you damn well know it. We’ve got a job to do. We’ve got two officers down and a missing woman to find.”

  “I’m sorry.”

  “We all need you to be strong, Tori. I need you to be strong.”

  “Oh, Sam. You know he’s killed her.”

  “We don’t know that. And we’re going to find her.” She brushed Tori’s face and met her eyes. “Now, focus.”

  “Yes. I will.”

  “Good. Because I kinda need your hands. No more punching the walls.”

  She turned before Tori could respond but not before she saw the ghost of a smile touch her face.

  “Sam.”

  Sam looked back, meeting Tori’s eyes. The intensity of her stare took her breath away.

  “Sam, I… I…” Shit. Just say it, her mind begged, but her mouth clamped shut and she let out her breath.

  Sam wanted to tell her she didn’t have to say the words. My God, the look in her eyes nearly brought her to her knees. What would actual words do to her?

  Walking closer, Sam stopped only when their thighs brushed. She closed her eyes, her mouth moving to Tori’s ear.

  “I love you, too.”

  Tori let out her breath as the other woman walked away, her heart still clutching, almost painfully, in her chest.

  “Okay, focus, Hunter,” she whispered. “Focus.” She took a deep breath, then walked into the chaos of the living room. The two bodies were still uncovered and she looked away from the severed heads. One was Sanchez, the young cop who was always so polite to Sam. The other, she couldn’t place.

  “Hunter, over here,” Sikes called.

  She sidestepped the crime unit and nodded a curt hello to Rita Spencer, who was bent over the bodies.

  There on the wall, above the dining room table, were words dripping in blood… words that made her skin crawl.

  Genesis And below that:

  Have you found the others? Adams knows…

  “What the fuck do you make of that?”

  Tori frowned. “Adams knows? He’s playing with us. Adams knows jack.”

  “Maybe. But Grayson’s bound to know Adams was on the old case.”

  “Missing Persons?”

  “That’s what I’m thinking.”

  “Tori?”

  She and Sikes both looked up as Sam hurried over, glancing only once into the living room.

  “Her car is still in the garage. And, you know, we impounded Grayson’s green Chevy.”

  “Great.” Tori ran one hand through her hair, then called to Ramirez. “Tony, we’re looking for a stolen car. Probably grabbed this morning.”

  “I’m on it.”

  Tori turned to Sam, her eyes softening. “Sam, why don’t you ride back with John. I’m going to stick around here for a while.”

  “Why? The crime unit’s going over everything. Mac promised a rush on the reports.”

  “Yeah, good. But I want to talk to Rita when she’s done. You can help John. I want to go over old Missing Persons reports, see if we can find a link, a pattern or something.”

  “But I could stay and help. Talk to the neighbors…”

  “That’s being handled. Come on, Sam. I won’t be long.”

  She paused. “Okay, then. If that’s what you want.”

  She squeezed Tori’s arm as she walked away, but Tori could tell she was upset. She wanted to call her back, take Sam in her arms and tell her everything would be okay. But she didn’t.

  “You think we should check with Fort Worth, too?”

  “Wouldn’t hurt.”

  “I’ve got a buddy over in Homicide there. I’ll give him a call.”

  “Good. Thanks, John.”

  “Sure.” He turned back, then followed her eyes to the two fallen officers, now thankfully covered.

  “You really going to stick around and talk to the ME or are you just trying to get Sam out of here?”

  Her retort died on her lips. The old Tori would have told him to mind his own fucking business. But that person was long gone, she knew that. She shrugged.

  “I knew one of them. His name was Sanchez. Who was the other?”

  “Rogers. First year on the force.”

  “Damn.”

  “Yeah. It sucks big-time. But it’s not your fault, Tori.”

  “Right now, it feels like my fault.”

  “Let it go. Tonight, you and Sam can go home and… talk about it.”

  Surprised, she met his eyes.

  He just shrugged and smiled. “Not blind, Hunter. You two can’t hide it for shit.”

  She didn’t know what to say, so she said nothing.

  “Meet you back at the office, huh?”

  “Yeah.”

  When she was alone, she turned back to the wall, staring at the words, wondering what they meant. A clue? Or was he just fucking with them? And what the hell could Adams possibly know?

  “Turner? Make sure you get this,” she said, motioning to the wall.

  The photographer nodded. “Yes ma’am, don’t worry.”

  Tori made herself walk into the living room, waiting patiently as Rita Spencer finished up. It was a mess. She couldn’t imagine how a little fuckup like Richard Grayson had subdued two officers… and done this to them.

  “You have anything or do we need to wait?” she asked when Rita stood up.

  “Damn, Hunter, in all my years…”

  “I know.”

  “Their heads were severed postmortem. There are no other obvious wounds. They may have been injected with something, I don’t know yet. I’m guessing, with the amount of blood, that he slit their throats first.”

  “The only blood is here?”

  “They found traces in the sink where he must have washed up. They’re going over the two bathrooms right now, but the scene appears to be right here. The officers were obviously incapacitated somehow. Laid out, then…”

  “Yeah. What did he use, do you think?”

  “The flesh is jagged. I’d say a large serrated knife to start. He may have finished with that or used a hacksaw to finish. I’m just guessing.”

  “Remember Rachel Anderson? Jackson said he used a serrated kitchen knife or maybe a bread knife.”

  “Yes. We’ll match the cuts.”

  “Crime unit picked up knives at his place.”

  “Don’t worry, Hunter. We’ll go over everything. I’ll assist Jackson with the post. We’ll get to them immediately.”

  “Okay. Thanks, Rita.”

  Rita started to walk away, then paused. “I don’t envy you this case, Hunter. It’s blown out at the seams.”

  “Tell me about it,” she murmured.

  Tori walked into the kitchen, watching as Mac, from the crime unit, was still testing for blood. Her eyes went to the wall where a beautiful knife set hung. She moved closer, staring at the handles. Beautiful wood, hand carved.

  “Mac?”

  “Yeah?”

  “Did you test these for traces?”

  “No, not yet. I’ll do them next. These in the drawer are clean.”

  She nodded, her eyes still glued to the shiny serrated edges of the seldom-used kn
ives.

  “It goddamn makes no sense,” Malone said.

  “He said there were others.”

  “What others? We don’t have any unsolved cases where young girls were killed. Shit! And Missing Persons? Hell, most of them are runaways and we’ll never find them. We’re wasting our time with this.”

  He paced across the room, glancing occasionally at both Sikes and Kennedy as they flipped through the database.

  “Waste of goddamn time,” he said again.

  Ramirez sidestepped Malone and laid a paper on Sikes’s desk. “We’ve got two cars stolen this morning in the area of Belle’s Hostel and one taken within a mile of Charlotte Grayson’s place. Last night, the only one in the area reported stolen was six blocks from Belle’s.”

  “He would have been on foot. It has to be one of those taken from Belle’s area,” Sam said. She glanced at the door again, wishing Tori was here.

  “Okay. Put all four on APB. We might get lucky,” Malone said. Then he turned to Sam. “Where the hell is Hunter?”

  “She stayed behind at the scene.”

  “We need her here. Call her.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “Lieutenant?”

  “What?” he snapped.

  “I think your blood pressure is… maybe off the scale,” Sikes said quietly. “We’re doing everything we can.”

  “Well, it’s not enough! I’ve been on the phone all morning with the Captain, the Mayor and the goddamn Chief! Charlotte Grayson works for the DA’s office, for Christ’s sake!”

  They all looked up as Tori walked calmly into the room, meeting first Sam’s eyes, then Malone’s.

  “You look like you’re about to have a stroke, Lieutenant. Can I have a word?”

  “Shit, Hunter. Where the hell have you been?”

  She only raised an eyebrow, and he looked away.

  “Okay. I’m sorry. In my office.”

  She followed him, then turned back.

  “Ramirez? Anything?”

  “We got four possibilities.”

  “Good.”

  She shut the door and watched as Malone took out a bottle of antacids from his drawer and tossed four into his mouth. His face was red, and she noticed the perspiration on his bald head.

  “Are you okay?”

  “I’ve got to meet with the Chief this afternoon. How the hell do you think I am?”

  “I suppose they told you about the message on the wall?”

  “Yeah. Missing Persons, Hunter? What the hell are you thinking?”

  “ ‘There are others. Adams knows,’” she said quietly, quoting the words left behind. “The only link we know of with Adams is the old case. But then, I remembered their case about a month or so ago. Donaldson asked me for some information on gay bars. They had a guy that had been decapitated… a transvestite, Donaldson said.”

  “I remember. It went nowhere.”

  “Yeah. It went nowhere. Why is that?”

  “What are you getting at, Hunter?”

  “Is it just coincidence that he was decapitated, and Adams had the case? Coincidence that Grayson did that to two officers and left us that message?”

  “You think he killed the transvestite, too?”

  “You’re a serial killer and you kill, but it’s not credited to you. Would that piss you off?”

  “He was killing young women from Belle’s. Not cross-dressers,” Malone said.

  “What if he was doing both? We assumed he was gay, because he hung out at gay bars. Outlaws, obviously, he was there stalking our girls. But we followed him to other bars, bars that cater to men. We assumed he was gay but maybe he’s not. Maybe he was staking out potential victims there, too.”

  “And we’ve not found bodies, so Missing Persons?”

  “It’s a theory. What the hell else do we have?”

  Malone finally sat down and held his head in his hands. “Fuck, Hunter. Adams is already up in arms about us pulling the old case. Now, you want to pull this one, too?”

  “Yes, I do.”

  Malone nodded. “Okay. You’re right. It’s a theory, at least.” He leaned back, watching her. “You okay?”

  “Hanging in there.”

  “I know it’s been tough, Hunter. It’s gotten personal.”

  “Yeah. But I don’t think he’s killed her yet. I don’t think he wants to. He’s leaving clues. He’s giving us a chance.”

  “But why?”

  “I don’t know, Stan.” She paused, then finally decided to confide in him. “He told me something on the phone. He said he’s been watching us… me and Sam. He said he knows where she lives. I think… he wants us.”

  “Jesus Christ, Hunter. Have you told her?”

  “Yes.”

  “Okay. You want to put a unit at her place?”

  “No. We’ve already lost one today. We can handle it.”

  “The hell you can,” he yelled. “I won’t take that chance.”

  “We won’t be at her place, Lieutenant. I’ve got my apartment, you know.”

  “You don’t think he knows about that? Hell, Hunter, what are you thinking? You’ve been targeted, just like Charlotte Grayson. You think I’m going to leave you unprotected?”

  “Maybe this is what we need, Stan. Someone to draw him out.”

  “Are you out of your mind? He’s killed nine people that we know of.”

  “And he’ll kill more if we don’t fucking stop him,” she yelled.

  “Well, I won’t allow you to be bait! And you can argue that all you want,” he yelled just as loudly.

  “Do you seriously think I’d put Sam’s life in jeopardy? I’m not talking bait, Lieutenant, but I don’t see any reason to park a unit on my street where they might be in danger. We’ve seen what he can do.”

  They stared at each other, both breathing hard. He finally looked away. “Okay, Hunter. I’m going to trust you on this one. How do you want to play it?”

  “I think it’s up to him. He’ll contact us again, I’m sure. In fact, I wouldn’t doubt if he called before we leave today. But tonight, we’ll take an unmarked car to my apartment. I’m on the fourth floor. There’s only one entrance. He won’t get in.”

  “He could be waiting. He’ll know you won’t go back to her place.”

  “He doesn’t know about my apartment, Stan.” She shoved her hands in her pockets. “It’s not in my name. I got it when I moved back here, all those years ago. I didn’t want… anyone to know I was here. Louise put it in her name when I was at the Academy. So he won’t know about the apartment.” She shrugged. “It’s not like he could have followed me there recently, anyway.”

  “Are you sure about this?”

  “Yeah. But let me talk to Sikes. I think maybe he and Ramirez might want to watch Sam’s place. Just in case.”

  “Okay. But shit, I don’t like this one bit.”

  “You think I do?”

  “No. I’m sorry.” He stood. “Let’s pull the file, see what they missed.”

  “They’re yelling,” Sikes said.

  “Yeah.”

  “Wonder what she found out?”

  “We’ll know soon enough,” Sam said. She watched through the glass as Tori paced in front of the Lieutenant’s desk. Malone didn’t look happy. For that matter, neither did Tori.

  “Sam?”

  “Hmm?” She pulled her eyes away from a pacing Tori and looked at Sikes.

  “Can I ask you a personal question?”

  She raised her eyebrows and nodded.

  “How long have you and Tori… been, well… more than just partners?” he asked quietly.

  “What?” she whispered. “What makes you think… ?”

  He smiled. “Come on. I’ve known Hunter a lot of years and I’ve never seen her go ballistic like she did when you were abducted and she couldn’t find you.” He lowered his voice. “You’re in love with her, right?”

  Sam closed her eyes. Damn.

  “I think it’s… great, Sam. I really do.”r />
  “You do?”

  “Yeah. Tori’s been so different. You’ve brought out a side of her that none of us even knew existed. I mean, hell, I even find myself liking her.”

  “She’s the most dynamic person I’ve ever met… and yes, I’m in love with her.”

  “If Malone finds out…”

  “I know. Please, John, keep this to yourself.”

  “What about… I mean, you had a boyfriend and all. What does he think about it?”

  Sam sighed. “I ended things with him before… well, before Tori and I became involved.”

  “So you’re… bisexual?”

  She smiled. “Why are we having this conversation?”

  “I’m just trying to understand.”

  “Please tell me you’re not imagining us in bed together.”

  He had the grace to blush, then laughed. “Well, I am a guy.”

  She reached across the desk and squeezed his arm. “And I’m not bisexual.”

  He nodded, and she looked back into the Lieutenant’s office, meeting Tori’s eyes through the glass. They softened immediately, and Sam gave her a slight smile, then dutifully returned to the database.

  Chapter Forty-four

  “Are you okay with this?” Tori asked for the second time as she drove them to Oak Cliff.

  “Tori, if you think it’s the best thing, yes. I wish I had a change of clothes, though.” Sam reached across the seat and squeezed Tori’s thigh. “I’ll admit, I am curious about where you live.”

  “It’s not… home, you know. It’s just a place where I can crash sometimes. Your place, it’s a home. It’s warm. It’s… you.” Actually, Tori was embarrassed for Sam to see the tiny apartment. It was dark, sterile. Much the way her life had been for so long. Before Sam. And she really didn’t want her to see it now.

  “We should probably pick up something for dinner,” Sam suggested.

  “Yeah. I know for a fact there’s not a thing at my place.”

  “I could really go for a burger.”

  “Oh, yeah? There’s a great place close by that delivers. We could do that.”

  “Good.”

  Sam watched her as she drove, not missing the frown that Tori had been wearing most of the day. They’d not really had a chance to talk all afternoon, and she had no idea what her conversation with Malone was all about. But it could wait. They needed some time alone, away from the case. Or at least, she did. She knew Tori’s mind was still reeling. They had spent the afternoon going over missing persons reports, trying to weed out the ones who might have been gay or lesbian. It was a tedious process, and she had been shocked at the vast numbers of missing and assumed runaways from the Dallas-Fort Worth area.