“Bitch.” He grabbed his jacket off the bed.
“Empress.” She set her to-go cup down to put her jacket on.
He rolled his eyes and slid his jacket on. “I’ll get one down in the lobby.”
“Good idea.” She grabbed her coffee and headed to the door.
“It’s such a great idea, you should have thought of it.” He checked for his wallet and grabbed the case folder before following her out. When he got in the hallway, Heather was nowhere to be seen. He checked her door which was cracked open by the door lock. “What’d you forget?”
“My phone,” she came bounding out with her phone held up. “I guess I don’t need to call Gunner back.”
“No, we heard what he had to say. Director Normandy wants an update today. I’m holding off until this evening. Hopefully, we’ll have something more for him then.”
When they got down to the lobby, he made a quick stop for a cup of coffee. For the next few hours, they bounced from crime scenes to apartment buildings in order of distance. Each stop turned up nothing new to go on. Heath was beginning to think it was a waste of time. The locals hadn’t gathered anything of use to them. Feeling Heather’s disappointment, he felt obligated by sibling law to cheer her up.
“Last stop, then we can go to lunch.” Food always cheered her up. “I think this town has a sushi bar. You can even get a glass of wine.” Alcohol didn’t affect shifters as they did humans. “Then we’ll hit the ground running again.”
“Did she have any roommates?” Heather asked, staring up at the small two-story townhouse.
“Reports never mentioned a roommate, so I’m assuming no.” Heath got out of the driver’s seat and shut the door.
There weren’t any keys found with the victim, so Heath pulled his hotel keycard out to jimmy the door. As they made their way to the front door, Heather picked up flower pots and peeked underneath.
“You really think anybody leaves keys under flower pots these days?”
She picked up another pot and grinned over at him. “Yep, I do.” She tossed the key to him.
He caught the key with ease. “Don’t people know that’s the easiest way to have their house burglarized.”
“Maybe she locks herself out a lot.” Heather shrugged as he unlocked the door.
“The locals already searched the place when she went missing. They didn’t find anything of use in the investigation.” He opened the door and was greeted by stale air. The house had been closed up for over a week.
“I’ll take the left; you take the right.” Heather veered to the left to start the search.
Together, they worked each room. One taking one side and the other took the opposite side. They would meet in the middle. It seemed to be a faster way to work rather than one person per room. Heath wasn’t having much luck finding anything that connected the women. The small two-bedroom townhouse was decorated with art and in pristine shape. There was no clutter or pictures hanging everywhere. One of the bedrooms was turned into an art studio which explained all the hanging art. The last room to search was the master bedroom. If there was something to find, then it was bound to be here. Once again, Heath started on the right, and Heather on the left.
Heather opened the closet door. “Ah, shit! There’s a ton of boxes in here. You want to take this side?”
“Nah, you called the left side.” He laughed when he glanced inside the large walk in closet to see boxes lining the shelves and more on the floor. “I’ll work the rest of the room then make my way to help you.”
She sighed and walked into the abyss of endless boxes. Heath continued looking through the bedroom. Not a single picture set on her nightstands. He dreaded looking into the nightstand drawers, knowing what he’d find. The first drawer he pulled open was filled with the victim’s pleasure toys and various lubricants. He closed the drawer without going through the items. He lifted the mattress, hoping to find a diary of some kind. Anything that could help them identify the other women in the coven. His search of the other nightstand yielded the same results. When he came to the dresser, his hopes were lifted. Sitting on top of the dresser was a small jewelry box. A soft melody played when he lifted the lid. A few rings and necklaces were scattered around on the inside. He pulled some of the pieces out, flipping them over in his hand to see the design. As he lifted out a necklace, a small pin caught his eye. It was the same design as the other victims.
“Hey, I found a pin that matches the others.” He stepped into the closet to show Heather. She was sitting on the floor in front of a pile of boxes.
“If she wasn’t wearing it when she was abducted, that means he was stalking them. Not randomly picking them because of their jewelry. He’s hunting them down.”
He pulled an evidence bag from his pocket and placed the pin inside. Even though he knew the search would be futile, he went to search the attached bathroom. By the time he finished in the bathroom, Heather was coming out of the closet.
“You finished already?”
“Luckily, for me, most of the boxes had shoes in them. Made my work a little easier.” She held out a little black book. “I did find this though. It looks like a spell book but look at these spells.” She opened the book and showed him a few of the pages. “Heath, I don’t think these women were real witches. I mean look at these spells. It looks like a schoolgirl wrote them. I doubt any of these spells actually worked.”
“Ciara saw the last woman move things with her mind.” He believed she was telling the truth. He didn’t sense any lying from her.
“Telekinesis doesn’t mean witchcraft.” Heather rolled her eyes. “Though, I could see how the humans would think that.”
“We still need to find something that tells us if there are others and who they are.” Their search didn’t result in much other than the proof of connection between all the victims.
“Why don’t people display photos anymore?” Heather peered around the room to the void of photos.
“Everything is digital nowadays. It’s all about social media.”
“I was looking through the known victims’ social media last night. I didn’t find any photos with them wearing their jewelry. The only one I saw with the symbol was Adelina Barren’s tattoo on her profile picture.”
“Ok so, what if the killer saw her profile picture then tortured her for information on the rest. It would explain why he tortured them.”
“Then that would mean our only lead to the others is laying in the town morgue.” She sighed. “There has to be another way.”
“We’ll think better with food in our stomachs.” Heather closed the closet door.
On the way out, he locked the door behind them. Before getting in the SUV, he texted Ciara to meet him at the restaurant. Heather wouldn’t mind eating at the bar while he sat at a table with Ciara. At least, he hoped she wouldn’t mind.
They were about to pull into the restaurant when Heather’s phone rang. She answered the phone and immediately her emotions switched from hungry to dread. Heath knew instantly another body had been found. She wrote the address down on a slip of paper and handed it to him. He pulled over on the side of the road to enter the address into his GPS. With the promise that they were on their way, Heather hung up.
“Looks like you’ll have to cancel your date with your girlfriend.” She shoved her phone back into her pocket.
“How did you know I was planning on meeting her?” He asked with a quizzical look. He sent a text to Ciara letting her know he wouldn’t make it.
“Please, you might have the emotion thing, but I have the twin thing.” She crossed her arms. “So, you were going to make me third wheel?”
“No, I was going to leave you at the bar to be closer to the wine.” His lip curled to a smile.
“As long as I don’t have to be the third wheel.” She shrugged. “Bad timing, though. Another woman was found.”
“Where at this time?” He followed the GPS and turned in the opposite direction than the restaurant.
“Local trash
dump. It’s not a gated property. Anyone can dump there and there’s no workers on duty. So, I doubt there will be any witnesses.”
“The killer has to know this area to dump all these women and not be seen at all.”
“Maybe he is seen but he blends in to where no one notices. No one wants to think their neighbor is capable of the things this man has done.”
“I bet we’re finally going to see who the mystery woman is from the grocery store.”
“You don’t think it will be the woman from last night?” She asked twisting in her seat.
“Not if he sticks to his pattern. He takes one, then dumps one.” He told her. “Call Gunner, see if anything has come back from the video feeds around the store.”
Heather pulled out her phone and dialed Gunner’s number. After putting the phone on speaker, she set it down in the cup holder between them.
“Agent Gunner,” he answered on the third ring.
“Gunner, it’s Rockfell. Did you get any leads from the store footage?”
“Rockfell, I was just about to call Cooper.”
“I’m here. Whatcha got?”
“I was able to locate a car pulling into the parking lot with the driver matching the description from your witness. Long, red, curly haired woman wearing a purple tank top. However, when the car left the lot, there was a man driving instead of a female. He was wearing a ballcap, blocking his face from the camera. There wasn’t a passenger as far as I can tell.”
“Are you sure it was the same car?” Heather asked what Heath was thinking.
“I have been going through these videos for hours. I’m sure. No other car matching it came in that day.”
“Did you happen to see a van?” Heath remembered Ciara told them the woman was shoved in a van.
“Are you psychic now, too?” Gunner asked but didn’t wait for a reply. “A navy blue van pulled in moments after the car and thirty minutes later the same van followed the car out. The driver was too tall to get a picture of his face.”
“What about the license plate?”
“Negative. The plates on the car came back to Everly Foxworth. She doesn’t have any living relatives, so it’s been difficult to confirm she’s missing.”
“That’s why no one reported her missing,” Heath commented. “Send over her picture along with one of the van. We’re on the way to another body dump.”
“Another one? Do you need me to come down there?”
“No, you’re doing an excellent job from there,” Heather assured him.
“Thought I’d try.”
“You’ll get your day, Gunner,” Heather told him and picked up her phone. “Check footage around our crime scenes. Maybe we’ll get lucky and ID the van.”
“You got it. You two stay safe.” Gunner hung up.
“You know what this means, right?” Heath asked her.
“It means he has a partner.”
Chapter Eight
Ciara was almost to the restaurant when her phone chimed, alerting her to an incoming message. When she reached the red light, she grabbed her phone to check the message.
There’s been another murder. I’m sorry, I won’t be able to make our lunch date.
“Damn it.” She tossed her phone into the passenger seat.
She had been looking forward to their date since he asked her last night. When the light turned green, she turned right toward the restaurant. She pulled into the restaurant parking lot and parked but didn’t get out. Instead, she grabbed her phone from the passenger seat and went back to her messages. For a moment, she stared at the text from Heath, thinking about what she should reply with. She wasn’t that hungry, so she didn’t want to go in and eat by herself. She’d go through a drive through and get herself something to snack on.
Don’t worry about it. Maybe we’ll get another chance before you leave. Be safe.
She dropped her phone down on the passenger seat and opened the visor mirror. Her hair was tousled from the wind coming in from the open window. After finger brushing her hair, she adjusted the mirror to check her lipstick. That’s when she remembered the packaged candles on the backseat, ready for delivery. Mrs. Barb was a friend of her grandma’s and didn’t leave her home. Ciara had offered to bring the candles to her. She left the parking lot and headed to Mrs. Barb’s house.
Maybe if Heath could squeeze in a dinner break, he’d call her. They must get together before he leaves. How else would her vision come true? With all her visions of him put together, it painted a picture of a happy life. A life that she had only dreamed of and never thought it would happen. The first time a guy suspects she has abilities, they run away faster than a roadrunner. With Heath, he knows what he’s getting from the start and he still asked her on a date.
She pulled into Mrs. Barb’s neighborhood. It was a small community. Small brick houses lined the roads. The only separation the neighbors had were privacy fences surrounding their backyards. As Ciara pulled onto Mrs. Barb’s road, she noticed a van sitting at the end of the road on the other side. She pulled into the nearest driveway and turned around. The van was familiar to her. It was dark blue and muddy like in her vision. The closer she got, the surer she was that it was the same van. When she pulled up to the stop sign, the van was right beside her. There wasn’t anyone sitting in the van. Not wanting to be parked right next to the van, she pulled off on the next road. Turning off her vehicle, she watched the van to see if there was any movement. There wasn’t anyone out in their yards or out on the streets. She took advantage of the solitude and took a couple of pictures of the van. Heath will want these.
I found the van on the corner of Appleveen St. and Merwood Ct. Picture coming.
She sent the text and then the picture. Though no one was around, she quietly got out of her vehicle. As she was about to cross the street, her phone rang, making her jump. Heath’s number popped across her screen and she quickly answered.
“Hello,” she answered. Her stomach flipped, knowing his sexy voice was on the other end of the phone.
“What are you doing?” Heath’s voice was stern.
“I was delivering candles when I saw the van. I know it’s the right van. It’s muddy and there’s even the same dent on the front panel.” She explained, hoping he believed her. They could catch this guy now.
“We’re on our way. Do not go anywhere near that van. In fact, you can go ahead and leave the area. Get as far away from him as you can.” She could hear the concern in his voice.
“There’s no one in the van that I can see. Just get here, quick. Before he leaves.” Before Heath could say anything else, she hung up. What if someone is trapped in there and needs help?
She hurried across the road to where the van was parked on the corner. There wasn’t anyone in the front. She craned her neck around to try and see into the back. There was a black curtain separating the back from the front, blocking her view completely. She glanced down the road again to see if anyone was coming. No one was looking out their windows. Curiosity got the best of her, and she couldn’t hold herself back any longer. She had to know if there was someone in the back of that van. Maybe the woman from the club is still alive and laying in the back all tied up and gagged. No one would know she was back there. What if Heath doesn’t get here in time?
She grabbed the door handle to the sliding door, hoping it was unlocked. Instantly, she was taken from the street and pushed into a vision with such clarity it had to be in present time. This time she was seeing through the eyes of a man dressed in black. He was standing in a living room, looking at pictures on the wall. A woman was singing in another room. The shower was running, a steady flow could be heard. The man moved slowly through the house, taking care to not make a sound. His focus was on the pictures. Was he searching for someone? Ciara let out a small whimper when she realized he was the killer and the woman in the shower was likely his next victim.
“Are you going to join me?” The man said quietly with amusement dripping from his voice.
“Where is she?” He mumbled in frustration. In a fit of anger, he knocked over one of the framed pictures.
The woman must have heard the noise and came running into the room in nothing but her bathrobe. When she noticed the man standing in her living room, she stopped in her tracks and tried to scream out. Immediately, the man threw out his hand in a choking manner and the woman slammed against the wall gasping for air. Her caramel skin reddened as her oxygen supply was cut off.
“Where is the last one?” he asked the woman, loosening his grip on her neck.
She shook her head, refusing to answer him, which only fueled his anger. With a twitch of his hand, her finger snapped at an odd angle. She screamed out in agonizing pain.
“You have nine more chances. Now, where can I find her?” Waving his hand, she jerked from side to side.
She bit her lips to keep quiet. Another finger snapped at the knuckles. She screamed against her pressed lips. His anger rose with every defiant act. Ciara could feel it rising within her. His hate fueled him to find and kill all in the coven.
“You’re going to kill me anyway so fuck you, asshole,” she hissed as his hold on her neck tightened some more.
“How easy that would be?” he commented and stepped closer to the woman.
He cocked his head to the side and snapped two more fingers. Unable to hold back, the woman screamed. His laughter bellowed out. He enjoyed their pain. He took another step closer to her. When he peered inside her open bedroom door, he paused. Something caught his attention in the line of photos on top of the dresser.
“Now, that’s what I’m talking about.” He stepped into the room and strolled over to the dresser.
He focused on a polaroid picture placed between two other picture frames. Ciara stared at the photo, trying to get a better look. A group of women stood in a lavender field, dressed in all white. There were seven women, all holding hands and looking at the camera. Ciara tried to focus on the women as the man picked up the photo. She recognized some of the women from the news reports and a couple of others from her visions. Though there was one woman she didn’t recognize, she did look familiar. Ciara had seen her before but couldn’t remember where. The woman had bright red hair that hung in wild curls around her slim face.
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