Experiment in Terror (Koehler Brothers Book 1)

by Anderson, Alene

  Matt had a terrible sinking feeling and he knew the answer to his question before he asked it. “What is the name of the owner of the store?”

  “Amanda Barton. She’s the owner of Creations For You. In addition, the manager called her parents who have heard nothing from her. Needless, to say, now they’re in a panic.”

  Matt knew exactly how they were feeling. “Have you checked along the Creek Path for clues?”

  “I have some men out there scouring the bushes along the sides of the path.”

  “Call me as soon as they get back to you. One way or another, I’m heading back to Boulder as soon as I can work out something with the police here.”

  Matt had just finished explaining why it was necessary for him to leave, when his phone rang. The group of policemen had totally understood. The caller ID read ‘Heller.’

  Sliding his finger across the screen to answer it, he said, “Koehler.”

  “Matt, we don’t have a body, but we did find a bike that has been identified by the manager as the one Amanda Barton was riding.”

  “Where was it?”

  “It had been placed back under some bushes, not easily spotted. There was also her helmet.”

  “I’m leaving here right now,” Matt said, grabbing up his briefcase from a nearby table and heading for the door of the conference room they had been working in. “I’ll be up there in a couple of hours.”

  As he headed for his car, Matt didn’t know why he hadn’t told Heller he knew Amanda. He was almost certain if he had, Heller would have thought he was too close to the case to be working it. There was no way he was going to let anyone else take over at this point.

  As he left Colorado Springs he connected with the I-25 and settled back for the two-hour drive to Denver. He decided not to stop by his office or his house, but drive straight to Boulder. Heller had told him he would be working late that evening.

  He was about halfway between Colorado Springs and Denver when his phone rang. He pushed the speaker on his phone and was relieved to hear Heller on the other end of the line. He hoped he would have some good news.

  “Well, we got a small break, not a big one, but every little thing could be of help in finding Griswold.”

  “What is it?” Matt asked.

  “We found a car registered to Aaron Griswold in Illinois and we have the plate numbers. We have put out an all-points bulletin for the car along with the information that the driver is dangerous, so use caution if apprehending him.”

  “Sounds like a good break to me,” Matt said.

  “I’ve alerted my men to be on the lookout for the car, in case he hasn’t left town.”

  “If you still plan to work late, I’m heading straight to Boulder. I won’t be making any stops in Denver. I’m anxious to start looking for Griswold myself.”

  “Any ideas?”

  “Not really. I have a feeling he won’t be hanging around the Boulder Creek Path since that’s where we apprehended him.” He swallowed with difficulty before he said, “I just hope he hasn’t left town with Amanda Barton.”

  “That’s too awful to even consider,” Heller replied. “If he leaves town with her, we may never find her in time.” He was quiet for a minute. “I’ll see you when you get here and maybe we can put our heads together and do some strategic planning.”

  Matt agreed and cut the connection. His phone rang almost immediately and when he punched into the speaker, he was surprised when Mr. Barton identified himself.

  “Matt, hope you don’t mind, but I got your cell phone number from your office. Have you heard about Amanda?”

  “Yes. I just spoke to Heller and I’m on my way from Colorado Springs. I hope to be in Boulder in another hour.”

  “You’ve got to find her.” His voice choked up and he was quiet for a minute, obviously struggling for control. “Her mother and I won’t be able to deal with it if anything happens to her.”

  “I totally understand,” Matt said. “You must know I love your daughter. I promise to do everything I can to find her.”

  “I know you will,” Mr. Barton said. “Her mother and I are counting on you.”

  “I’ll let you know as soon as I find out anything.”

  After he hung up from talking to Mr. Barton, he racked his brains trying to think of something other than what the Chief had already done. His stomach churned with anxiety and frustration. They had to catch Griswold. He was sure he had kidnapped Amanda.

  All the evidence led to it. The bike and helmet under the bushes. No answer at her home or cell phones. The fact she hadn’t shown up to open her store. Her manager said in all the years she had worked for Amanda that had never occurred.

  If anything happened to her, life would never be the same for him. He loved the fact that she had been so attracted to him that she had hired an investigator to find out about him. He loved biking and dancing with her. He loved the fact that she was close to her parents.

  In spite of the short time he had known her, he knew he was in love with her. In fact, he had whispered as much in her ear when they were dancing. She hadn’t replied, so he wasn’t sure she had heard him, much less how she might feel about him.

  Amanda knew they would be heading out on the Walter Orr Trail until it ran into the Mallory Cave Trail. The hiking trails were well marked with signs. The Mallory Cave Trail wasn’t a long one, but it was steep and Amanda was out of breath when she and Griswold reached the red rock staircase, which signaled the last few feet of the hike.

  By that time, it was getting dark and Aaron had turned on the flashlight. He kept the rays shining in front of her.

  “Be careful,” Aaron warned her. “Those steps can be treacherous. Fortunately, they are dry so you shouldn’t slip. But I’m right behind you if you need help.”

  Even though she was tempted to throw herself over the side of the steps, Amanda tried to be as careful as she could. Although she knew she would rather fall and be badly injured than be raped by Griswold, she had a feeling he wouldn’t call for help, but would probably leave her there to die. The backpack wasn’t helping any. Sometimes it bumped against her back as she moved up the steps, causing her to feel off balance.

  When they made the final ascent, she turned to look back. The lights of Boulder spread out below them.

  “Why is this cave closed to the public?” she asked.

  “Because of an epidemic of white-nosed syndrome.”

  “White-nosed syndrome. What on earth is that?”

  “A fungal disease that has destroyed bat populations across the country. It’s believed people are the main reason for the spread of this disease, because it is found only in the recreational caves that people visit,” Griswold explained.

  “Interesting,” she commented, hoping to keep him talking. “What else do you know about bats?”

  “Let’s get settled in and then we’ll talk.”

  She wondered what he met by “settling in.” What was there to do in a cave? She set her backpack down beside his and watched with interest as he began to unpack them.

  First he removed two sweatshirts and threw one at her, with a warning that it would be cool in the cave. After shrugging into his sweatshirt, he motioned her to go inside. He took out several bottles of water and some packaged food, which he sat on a nearby rock. From his pack, which was much larger than the one she had carried, he hauled out two down sleeping bags, shook them out, and spread them on the ground.

  “Sit down,” he said, “while I build a fire.”

  She was surprised when Aaron went to a shadowy corner of the cave where there was a stack of wood. He picked up a few pieces and laid them on the ground between them. Wadding up some newspaper that he took from one of the backpacks, he stuffed it between the pieces of wood, and then lit them with a cigarette lighter. />
  Amanda grabbed a bottle of water as she sat down on one of the sleeping bags. The climb up to the cave had made her thirsty.

  “So tell me about the bats,” Amanda said as Aaron sat down on the other sleeping bag.

  “People don’t realize how much bats contribute, not only to our eco-system, but in giving us a healthy environment. They are necessary to our rainforests and other ecological habitats. They perform essential services such as pollination, seed distribution, and insect control.”

  “I had no idea,” Amanda said as Griswold paused.

  She moved closer to the mouth of the cave. It was totally dark. Stars twinkled in the distant sky. Soon there was a nice fire with flames dispersing the darkness of the cave and removing the chill from the air. Amanda wondered what they were going to do with the evening that stretched before them. It was obvious he had no plans to kill her or why had he bothered to bring two sleeping bags.

  Maybe she could keep him talking and distract him from any plans he might have for approaching her in a physical way. She wracked her brains for a subject that might be of interest to him. Despite her outward show of confidence, she was more frightened than she had ever been in her life and her mind refused to work.

  Finally she said, “Your car had Illinois license plates on it. Is that where you’re from?”

  His glasses glinted in the fire light, as he turned to look at her.

  “I grew up in a small town in Illinois. My parents are both dead. They died one night in a fire when a faulty gas line in our house blew up.” He paused, and Amanda saw a strange look cross his features. Almost a look of satisfaction.

  “I was an only child,” he continued. “After the fire, I went to live with my grandparents and worked on their farm. Then when my grandparents died, they left me the farm. I sold it and haven’t worked since. Just traveled around seeing the country.”

  Amanda couldn’t help but shiver as she wondered if he had been responsible for his parents’ death. Something in his face as he talked about the fire which had killed them. She realized more and more what a dangerous man he was and she prayed she would somehow find a way to escape. She decided her best hope would be to keep him talking.

  “In your travels, what place have you enjoyed the most?”

  “I believe I would have to say Boulder,” he replied instantly. “The college campus is beautiful and there are a lot of pretty girls. I love the mountains, too.”

  “The mountains would be a change coming from Illinois. Have you driven up in them? Visited some of the ski resorts?”

  “Not yet. Maybe that’s something we could do,” he said thoughtfully. “You’ve lived here all your life, you could be my tour guide.”

  “I’d be happy to,” Amanda replied, thinking it might give her a chance to escape.

  “I’ve neglected to ask your name,” he said. “If we’re going to be traveling together we should know each other’s name. I’m Aaron and you are . . .?”

  “Amanda.”

  “So, Amanda, tell me something about yourself.”

  “You already know I grew up here in Boulder. Both my father and my mother are professors at the university.”

  “What do you do for a living?”

  “I own a store on the Mall.”

  “What kind of store?”

  “It’s a store that sells the artwork of local artists. I wish you could see it. It’s really fascinating. I got the idea for it when I was in college and realized how many talented people there were living in the area. After I graduated, my father put up the money for me to open the store.”

  Amanda went on to tell Aaron how it worked and what kind of artists she represented. She went into great detail, hoping to fill up the time until she could crawl into the sleeping bag.

  “Some night after the mall closes down, we should go to my store and I could show you around,” she suggested.

  She wished she knew his plans for her. It didn’t sound like he planned to kill her anytime soon. But she desperately hoped his plans didn’t include rape. She shuddered at the thought.

  As though he had read her mind, Aaaron said, “I suppose you are wondering what my plans are. I want to try an experiment.”

  What was that to be? Some kind of experiment in terror?

  When she said nothing, he continued, “Usually I rape and kill the girls who catch my attention. But you’re different from the college students. More mature. I’ve never had a friend, so I would like to see if it would be possible to have a friendship with you.”

  Amanda wanted to tell him a person didn’t kidnap someone he wanted for a friend, but she didn’t want to upset him, so she kept quiet.

  There was no conversation between them for several minutes, and then Aaron asked, “Do you know who my role models were when I was growing up?”

  “I have no clue. Who were they?”

  “Ted Bundy, who was convicted of killing at least 30 women, Robert Yates, who killed 13 prostitutes in the Spokane, Washington area, and Gary Ridgeway, known as the Green River Killer, who was convicted of killing 48 women, but admitted to killing almost twice that many.”

  Amanda was stunned into silence. She remembered she had been assigned in one of her classes in college to write an essay on the effects of the availability of pornography on the college campuses. In her research, she had discovered it often led to rape, even killing. Several serial killers admitted that was how they had gotten started, by getting caught up in pornography. How could she ever hope to escape from such a sicko?

  “Don’t you want to know how many girls I’ve killed, so far?”

  When she didn’t answer, the silence grew tight with tension. For a moment, she was afraid he was going to attack her.

  “Well, we’ll talk about it tomorrow,” he finally said. “I’ve had a busy day. I hauled all that wood and water up here, which took several trips. I’m tired so I’m going to call it a night,” Aaron said as he began to climb into his sleeping bag.

  Somewhat relieved, Amanda followed his example and slipped down into her sleeping bag, hoping she was safe for the next few hours. She was sure she wouldn’t be able to sleep. Would she ever see Matt again? Fear knotted inside her. As she thought of him and the time they had spent together, the shock of discovery hit her full force. Charlie had been right. She was in love with Matt.

  When Matt arrived in Boulder, he drove immediately to the police station. Although it was well into the evening, Heller was still in his office. When Matt paused in the doorway, the Chief motioned him in.

  “Anything yet?” Matt asked.

  “Not a thing. Sit down and let’s discuss our strategy.”

  “I thought about that while I was driving and it seems to me you have done everything possible. I don’t know if it would do any good to hang out around the Boulder Creek Path or not. I can’t think of anything else to do except sit and wait, which would drive me crazy.”

  The chief smiled in sympathy. “I know just how you feel.”

  “Do you have any more background on Griswold? Where he grew up, what his childhood was like, etcetera?”

  “We have talked to some of the teachers at the high school where he attended.”

  “Did you come up with anything useful?”

  “I don’t know how useful it will be, but I found it interesting.”

  “Let’s hear it.”

  “His mother got pregnant with Aaron when she was a teenager and her parents insisted she marry the father of her baby. Neither one appeared to want the child and were quite abusive of him when he was growing up.”

  “You’re right,” Matt agreed when Heller finished. “It is interesting. Well, if there’s nothing else you can tell me, I think I’m going to go hang out around the Boulder Creek Path. I think I have the advantage now. I know wh
at he looks like, but he won’t recognize me. I’ll see you first thing in the morning. Call me if something new turns up, no matter what time it is.”

  Chapter 15

  When Amanda awoke the next morning, she was surprised she had finally fallen asleep the previous night. Her thoughts went immediately to Matt. A new and unexpected warmth spread throughout her body. She loved him. In spite of the worry that she might never see him again, she had to believe she would. How could she love him so deeply, yet never see him again?