“She didn’t, actually. She was so obsessed with finding out who the lady was that had spoken to her, I just had to try and figure it out. I didn’t understand how she could have heard you when you weren’t even there so I asked the policeman who had been so kind to her if he would check around and find out your name.”
“I see,” she said slowly. “And how did he manage to do that?”
“He overheard Detective Logan and another detective talking about it. He said…well, he said you were psychic and that somehow you must have spoken to her telepathically. I must say, I wasn’t much of a believer in the paranormal before this happened, but it all made sense when I discovered that. At any rate, I just wanted to thank you for not giving up and for bringing my daughter back home to me.”
“I’m glad I could help. How is Angel?”
“Better than you would expect. She was brutalized mercilessly, but knowing he intended to kill her was what terrified her the most. When Angel heard you talking to her, she just knew in her heart she was going to be saved. You gave her hope when there was none. It’s an amazing thing what you did, Miss O’Neal. My husband and I will be eternally grateful to you for it.”
“I appreciate that, Mrs. Starr.” Rennie hesitated for a moment before offering the woman what little comfort she could. “I know Detective Logan informed you Eugene Dalton escaped. Tell Angel she has nothing to worry about. He won’t come after her again.”
There was a sniffle on the other end of the line, and Rennie suspected Mrs. Starr was trying not to cry. “Thank you for that, Miss O’Neal. I was so afraid he might. We’re leaving for Montana this afternoon to visit my sister for a while, but it’s a load off my mind to know Angel will be safe.”
“Give your daughter my best,” Rennie said, and then disconnected the call.
She was somewhat relieved Mrs. Starr didn’t seem to know she worked with the police on a regular basis, although it was possible she knew and just hadn’t said anything. Rennie wasn’t sure whether she should mention it to Mac. He was bound to feel guilty that his conversation about her had been overheard.
Obviously, Mac hadn’t done it intentionally, and even though the policeman was acting irresponsibly by divulging her name, there was no malicious intent on his part; he had only done it to help Angel. Besides, it wasn’t likely Mrs. Starr would tell anyone except her family or friends. Rennie finally decided it wasn’t worth worrying about and went to the study to get some work done before Mac arrived. It was almost noon when he finally showed up.
“I’ve got the things you asked for,” he said when she let him in.
“Bring them into the living room. You understand this might not work at all.”
“I know. I don’t want you to feel I expect anything, Rennie. If it doesn’t work, at least we both know you tried.”
She had him empty the contents of the small bag he was carrying onto the coffee table, carefully eying each item; a wallet, watch, a lighter with his initials on it, his picture, and a scrap of material that looked like it came from a shirt. She picked up the picture hesitantly and closed her eyes. It hit her almost immediately; the coldness of his heart, his shrewdness. There was no fear of being caught because he had gotten away with it for so long. It sickened her to know how many young women had suffered at his hands.
“He doesn’t go by Eugene,” she began shakily. “It was his father’s name and he detests his father. He goes by…Daniel, no…just Dan. I think that might be his middle name.”
Mac didn’t say anything, but Rennie was right. He had spoken to the doctor who attended to Dalton and was told he had insisted on being called Dan. Even knowing Rennie was psychic, he was still amazed she had been able to pull that information out of thin air. He studied her as she put the picture aside and picked up the piece of material. It was evident she was struggling with something by the pained look on her face, but he didn’t know what to do to assure Rennie she wasn’t alone. Left with little choice, he could to nothing but sit in helpless silence while she fed him information about Dalton.
“He obsesses about his father…about the way he treated Dalton’s mother.”
Mac watched with growing concern when Rennie repeatedly dragged the material across her wrist as though she was trying to slice through her skin. A moment later, he understood what her actions meant.
“He found her in the bathroom,” she continued, “but he couldn’t save her…the blood, there was so much blood.” Her voice abruptly dropped several octaves, aguish contorting her delicate features. “You did this! You killed her with your drinking and your whores. You may have fooled others into believing you’re a hot shot professor, but you’re nothing more than a lying, cheating, murderer and I will never forgive you. Never, never, never…”
Rennie’s shoulders slumped, her eyes slowly opening as she dropped the material onto the table. “That’s why he targets college girls. He sees them as immoral and thinks they deliberately set out to seduce their Professors away from their wives. He’s been killing for a long time, Mac, much longer than you probably think. I’m not a hundred percent certain, but I get the impression he committed his first murder before he was out of his teens.”
“Which means he’s been doing this for at least nine years.”
Rennie nodded gravely as she reached out to pick up the watch. The band was newer than the watch itself, which was smooth and dull around the edges where the gold plating had been rubbed off from years of wear. It wasn’t an expensive brand, but on the back was an inscription from his mother, so it obviously had sentimental value.
The instant her fingers curled around the watch she was broad-sided by a wave of nausea. It took a moment to realize why it hit her so hard and even less time for the thread of fear to spider web and spread like a malignant cancer. What she’d mistaken as an actual link before had been mere impressions; distant memories that were disturbing but lacked the power to claw at her insides the way this connection was doing.
Bile rose in her throat and she struggled to fight it back down. Her stomach churned at the chaotic mixture of hatred and violence that swirled around Dalton in a dark, oppressive mist. Her heart thumped heavily in her chest as the images of all the slain women filtered through her senses. They called to her, pleaded with her to find them as if they were lost and she could lead them to safety. Tears sprang to her eyes, hot and stinging. She couldn’t help them, not any of them, and it was breaking her heart.
Her voice was raw and hoarse when she spoke. “Mac, do you have something to write on?” She waited while he pulled out a pen and small notepad from his jacket. “Write this down.”
Rennie proceeded to call out the names that came to her. Sometimes she managed to catch the full name, sometimes only the first or last name. It was hard to separate them because they all came at her at once. She was used to having only one, maybe two voices calling to her, but now there were so many it was like trying to hear one person in a room full of chattering people. Worse than that, they were creating an obstacle for her so that she couldn’t quite reach Dalton.
“I can’t…I can’t filter them out,” she said with a sob.
Mac reached out and covered her hand, grimacing to find it was cold as ice. He put the pad down and took her hand between his, gently rubbing some warmth back into it.
“It’s okay, honey, just do your best.”
His voice was like a balm and it thawed the chill that had settled around her heart. Focus, she told herself. Talk to the women first; let them know they’re not alone. She closed her eyes again and reached out to them. I’ll help you. Some of the voices quieted. I have to find him, make him pay for what he has done. More of them went silent. Slowly, the voices began to fade. A few lingered, refusing to listen.
Their pain was too fresh, ran too deep, and they desperately clung to the connection she had established with them. Rennie tried to ignore them and concentrate on finding Dalton. Again, her stomach rolled and she had to fight back the wave of nausea. She heard t
he concern in Mac’s voice when he said her name, but she couldn’t speak just yet for fear of losing the tenuous hold she had on Dalton.
The link grew stronger as the women’s voices receded, almost as if they knew he was there with them and were frightened off. She hated it that he still had power over them and shuddered at the revolting nature of the man. He was a hideous, sick monster who had caused so much pain and suffering in his lifetime. It clung to his essence like a putrid film of rot and decay. Her mind rebelled against the connection, fought her will to maintain contact. As if Mac knew she needed him, he squeezed her hand. She wasn’t alone. Rennie drew in a deep breath.
“He’s still close by. The car was a decoy so you would think he was in one area, when he actually went in the opposite direction. He feels safe because he knows you’ve been searching in the wrong place.”
She pulled her hand away and rubbed her shoulder. It burned. Why did it burn? Another stab of pain lower on her chest. She moved her fingers over it and felt the stickiness. Blood. Oh God, had he killed again? No, but he wants to. He wants to make them all pay for what they did to his mother.
“He’s in pain,” she said, “but his drive to kill is relentless, irresistible. A few more days and he’ll hunt again. There’s…another college, to the north, I think. That’s where he’s going to hit next.” Rennie stopped talking, shaken by the vivid impression that had just flashed through her mind.
“Rennie?”
She looked at Mac, her eyes wide and frightened. “He’s obsessing about how you knew.”
“How I knew what?”
“Where he had taken Angel.”
He drew her into his arms and attempted to comfort her. “There’s no way for him to find out it was you, sweetheart. The only one I told was my partner, Ryan, and he certainly didn’t tell anyone.”
Rennie’s lips trembled when she spoke. “Someone knew, Mac. One of the police officers on the scene that night overheard you talking about me. He gave Mrs. Starr my name.”
“That’s impossible…” he started, but was it? The door had been open when he told Ryan about Rennie and what she had done. Anyone could have been listening. It was a stupid move on his part, but Mac’s irritation with himself was minor compared to the anger he felt towards a fellow officer revealing information about a private conversation he’d overhead.
“Mrs. Starr contacted you?”
“Yes, she called me this morning to thank me for finding Angel, but who knows how many people she’s told? Dalton is furious, venomous that his secret is out.”
“Then he’ll probably come after me,” Mac reasoned.
Rennie’s chest tightened at the thought Mac could fall prey to Dalton’s madness but just as quickly, her uneasiness was dispelled.
“No, he won’t go after you even if he thinks you’re the one responsible. He’s a coward and only terrorizes woman who are weaker than he is.”
“You’re safe then,” he assured her. “He won’t come near you as long as I’m around.”
“I’m sure you’re right,” she said, but inside, deep in her heart, the seed of fear had been planted and it would only continue to grow until Dalton was captured.
***
Mac was furious by the time he returned to his office. His conversation with Ryan had been private and even if the police officer overheard them talking, he never should have disclosed Rennie’s name to anyone. He had to find out which officer it was and put a lid on it as soon as possible before the damage was irreparable.
Rennie tried to cover it up, but he could tell she was scared half to death, and who could blame her? She knew better than anyone what Dalton was capable of, and the idea that this animal knew about her was terrifying. Mac wished he could have stayed with her, but she insisted she would be fine and urged him to find the officer responsible for telling Mrs. Starr about her.
He made a quick call to Dispatch and asked them to send up a list of all the officers on the scene that night along with a copy of their work schedules. It shouldn’t be too hard to figure out, he thought. It had to be someone who worked the evening shift when he’d caught Dalton, but the officer also had to have been working the morning shift the next day in order to have overheard his conversation with Ryan.
With any luck, that should narrow it down to only a few officers. While he waited for the information he’d asked for, Mac walked down to Ryan’s office to let him know what Rennie had told him about Dalton and to show him the list of names. Ryan looked a little apprehensive when Mac stepped into his office and closed the door behind him.
“This can’t be good,” he said warily.
Mac pulled out his note pad, flipped to the list of names, and set it on the desk in front of Ryan. “Rennie came up with some names. She says they were all victims of Dalton’s.”
He sat down and waited for Ryan to finish looking it over. His partner looked about as sick as he’d felt himself when she began rattling them off.
“She also said he’s not hiding out in the South Bottoms.”
Ryan looked up. “But the fingerprints were a match so we know that’s where he ditched the car.”
“She told me it was a decoy and that he’s holed up some place to the north. She also believes he’s going to strike again at another college soon.”
“And what do you believe?”
“I’ve seen her at work, remember? If she says he’s not in the South Bottoms then he isn’t. There’s one more little problem to muddy the waters. It seems one of the officers at the scene saw Rennie there. He took it upon himself to listen in on our conversation yesterday and learned her name and that she’s a psychic. To make matters worse, he passed the information on to Angel’s mother.”
Ryan grimaced. “That may be a moot point at this juncture. If you were hoping to keep this contained, you’re too late. It’s all over the stationhouse.”
Mac raked his fingers through his hair irritably. “Damn it, we can’t take the chance this gets leaked to the media. I’ll have the Captain put out a notice right away to keep Rennie’s involvement from the press. Then I’m going to track down the moron who gave her name out and make sure he understands the severity of what he’s done.”
“What are you going to do to him?”
“I don’t know yet. But just to be on the safe side, make sure you keep your cell phone with you in case I need someone to bail me out.”
Chapter 6
The information Mac had asked for was sitting on his desk when he returned to his office. As he’d suspected, it was only a matter of minutes before he was able to hone it down to two men. He went to his Captain with the names, told him what had happened, and requested that a gag order be issued on the entire precinct. To his amazement, Captain Striker was just as angry about it as he was.
“This is unacceptable!” Captain Striker slammed his hand down on his desk. “What the hell was he doing lurking outside your office anyway? Rennie must be incredibly upset about this. She’s not talking about quitting is she?”
Even though Rennie admitted she had done some work for his precinct, Mac was surprised Captain Striker hadn’t mentioned he knew her once he discovered she’d helped find Angel Starr.
“How long have you known her?”
“Several years. She’s an exceptionally talented young woman and I would hate to lose her. I’ll get that memo out right away and take care of the man responsible for giving out her name. I’m also going to have a couple of men posted outside her house twenty-four seven until Dalton is behind bars.”
Mac cleared his throat, casting a sheepish glace at the Captain. “I’m sure Rennie would appreciate having them out there during the day, but it won’t be necessary to post anyone at night.”
“Have you lost your mind? Why wouldn’t she need…?” Captain Striker stopped in mid-sentence and gaped at him. “You and Rennie?”
“What can I say, she’s an amazing woman.”
“Yes, she is, and she’s a lot more sensitive to emotions than
most so you had better make damn sure you don’t tromp on them. If I find out you hurt her, you’ll have me to answer to.”
Mac chuckled. “Rennie doesn’t let a many people in, but when it happens she sure brings out the instinct to protect, doesn’t she?”
The Captain leaned back in his chair, studying him for a moment before apparently deciding Mac was serious about her. “I don’t know how you managed to get so close to her in such a short time. It took quite awhile for her to warm up to me, and even now she tends to keep an emotional distance. I don’t think she’s had a very smooth ride. Her family treated her like she was a leper and couldn’t move far enough away once she was old enough to take care of herself.”
Mac shook his head. “I just don’t get it. She’s kind and sweet and wouldn’t do anything to deliberately hurt anyone. She told me they had all gradually moved to Florida, but she certainly didn’t make it sound as if she was the reason. But then, I haven’t really asked her anything about being psychic.”
“I should have thought you would be full of questions, considering what a skeptic you are about things like that.”
Mac shrugged. “I wanted to know her, not what she could do. I guess I equated it with telling her about walking a grid or how to conduct a crime scene investigation. What Rennie does for a living would be infinitely more interesting to me than my work would be to her, but I think we both wanted to get to know one other on a more personal level.”
“I’m glad you didn’t ask her. Rennie isn’t very comfortable with it, especially given the way people treat her once they find out. It makes her feel like an oddity. A circus freak is the term I think she used.”
Mac grimaced, recalling his initial reaction to her phone call about Angel. “Is that how she feels about herself or how she thinks others perceive her?”
“A little of both, I guess. I don’t suppose Rennie told you about the first time she realized she had this ability?”
WHISPERS TO THE HEART Page 7