Chapter 13 #2
Maybe Cam was on the right path having secured a room and leaving his truck in the parking lot of the Lighthouse Motel as a decoy.
Especially if he could convince Doc to be the one to stay there waiting for something to happen.
They needed some way to draw the killer out into making his move. The sooner the better.
It was well past time for this nightmare to be over.
Cam was far too aware of Evie sitting beside him. It was hard to concentrate, especially when she kept reaching out to touch him. He assumed that was part of her compassionate nurturing personality, but if she kept it up, he was going to do something crazy.
Like kiss her again.
He leaned back, rubbing his hands over his face. The coffee had helped, but his sleepless nights were still catching up to him.
Bruno shifted beneath the table, resting his head on Cam’s foot. He glanced down at the dog, remembering how he’d sat and barked near the fallen log.
Should he move Evie to a new location? Was the rental property compromised? He’d run the situation by Doc once he arrived.
His phone vibrated with an incoming text message. Doc’s name flashed on the screen as if his teammate and fellow Grayson’s Guardian were reading his mind.
Delayed, ETA is 0030.
“Twelve thirty?” Evie’s dismayed tone made him feel guilty. “That’s still four and a half hours from now.”
“I know, but don’t worry. I’ll be here with you until Doc gets here.” He glanced at her as he typed a quick response. “You know military time?”
She rolled her eyes. “We use military time in the hospital setting. Far less confusing especially when it comes to administering medications. Can you imagine how often nine a.m. would be confused with nine p.m.? If you ask me, everyone should know military time.”
“Hey, no complaints from me.” He rose and moved away to stretch his muscles. Bruno scrambled to his feet, apparently thinking his standing meant it was time to head outside. The dog walked to the back door and stood, staring at it as if it would magically open.
“I see you, Bruno.” Evie rose and crossed to her dog, giving him a gentle smile. “Do you have to go outside? Huh, boy?”
Bruno’s tail wagged back and forth. She opened the door, then glanced back at him. “You coming?”
“Yes.” He fully intended to make good on his promise not to leave her alone. He stayed close to her side as they walked into the backyard. He scanned the woods near the house but didn’t see anything alarming. Not that it was easy to see much of anything in the encroaching darkness.
Maybe he should have asked Doc to bring extra gear, like night vision goggles. It was too late for that now, but if they didn’t get results tonight at the Lighthouse Motel, he’d ask Rex to ship a pair for him to use.
“Get busy, Bruno.” Evie slapped at a mosquito. “And be quick about it.”
He watched Bruno closely. The dog was sniffing the entire backyard with interest, but he didn’t alert. That was probably a good thing, even though he knew he shouldn’t put too much stock in the dog’s ability to scent and track the killer.
Assumptions could get you killed.
When Bruno crossed to the spot where the path led into the woods, he tensed and quickly followed the dog. But then the animal stopped and sniffed the ground again.
After five minutes, Bruno seemed satisfied there was no lingering threat. He trotted over to lift his leg on a nearby bush, then loped over to join Evie.
“Good boy!” She bent to run her fingers over his thick fur.
Taking one last long look around, Cam turned and followed Evie and Bruno back inside. Since they still had another hour to kill before Doc pulled into town, he went back to his work on the computer.
“I don’t know that we’re going to find anything useful on social media,” Evie groused, covering her mouth for another wide yawn. “No killer is going to reveal his dark side for everyone to see.”
“I think this guy has been hiding in plain sight all along,” he quickly pointed out. “Leading a normal life while hiding his true nature.”
“You might be right, but that doesn’t mean we’re going to be able to figure out who he is by scouring social media.” She frowned, then added, “What if the killer is a woman?”
“Anything is possible, but 98 percent of all serial killers are white males who are young and either living alone or, as in the case of that guy in New York, living with a spouse and kids. And let’s not forget, Jasmine may have been naked, which indicates a possible sexual assault component.”
Evie scowled. “I don’t find that reassuring.”
He grimaced. “I didn’t say that to scare you but rather to explain why we need to stay focused on the men who have been here since we were in high school.”
“Okay. Have you found anything interesting on Rick Thomas?” She propped her chin on her hand. “Maybe you can use his wife, Marcie, to help find him.”
“Good call.” He quickly typed Rick and Marcie Thomas into the search engine. To his surprise, Marcie’s name popped up. He clicked on the image and recognized their former classmate from their earlier lunch. Marcie’s profile picture included her with the kids.
Personally, he wouldn’t post photos of his kids on social media for everyone to see. To his way of thinking that was just asking for trouble. Shaking his head at some people’s foolishness, he dug deeper, hoping to find a link to her husband’s page.
Unfortunately, Rick or Richard Thomas wasn’t listed as one of her friends, which meant it was likely the guy hadn’t bothered to open an account. Scrolling through the photos, he found a picture of the entire family.
“Rick looks a lot different from what I remember from school.” He turned the screen so Evie could see it more clearly. “He’s going bald.”
“Male-pattern baldness is hereditary.” She peered at the screen. “I must agree, though. He has less hair and carries more weight around his middle than I recall.”
He almost mentioned she looked almost exactly the way she had back in high school but thought better of it. He would mean it as a compliment but wasn’t sure she’d take it that way. “Yeah, he’s a regular family man.”
“One who doesn’t look like a serial killer.” She sighed, then turned the screen back toward him. “Not that he still couldn’t be guilty.”
“Looks can be deceiving.” He stared at the group family photo for a long moment. He couldn’t get a good read on the guy’s eyes from the picture. “We’re not going to find anything more about Rick other than what his wife posts about him. I say we move on.”
“That’s fine.” Evie glanced at her watch, and he knew she was anxious for Doc to arrive. “Who’s next?”
He’d already tried each of the police officers they knew by name. Drumming his fingers on the table, he considered who else to try. He really wished he’d been able to find a page for Dan Johnson. Then a thought occurred to him. “Why not try Dan Johnson’s ex-wife?”
Evie’s gaze held doubt. “Why would she be on social media when she has a restraining order against him?”
She made a good point. Still, he typed Loretta’s name in the search bar anyway. “He’s not on social media, so she might feel safe enough to post.”
“That’s still too risky,” Evie protested.
He didn’t disagree. He found a page for Loretta Gilmore, her maiden name, but a quick glance at the page revealed she hadn’t posted anything in the past three years. In fact, her location still identified her as living in Grand Haven.
“Okay, you were right. She’s not active on social media.” He stared up at the ceiling, frustrated that their efforts for the evening had been in vain. “I can’t think of anyone else to search for. We don’t know anything more than we did earlier.”
“What about Beverly Jenkins?” Evie suggested. “She mentioned her husband was a cop but didn’t give us his name. Maybe she has a social media presence.”
“We can try, but we won’t know her married name.” He typed in the name Beverly Jenkins and was surprised to find an account in her name featuring her familiar face. “Wow, I’m surprised to find she is on here, under her maiden name of Jenkins along with the last name of Abernathy.”