Chapter 5
5
CHANDLER
T he terrible police station coffee had cooled in the tiny Styrofoam cup, yet still I sipped the motor oil type substance as I surveyed the evidence baggies, notes, and pictures along the long fold-away table. For the tenth time in the last hour, I circled the cheap table, each time snagging something to add to the victim board I’d constructed on the back wall. This was always the first thing I did when starting a case. It helped me visualize the timeline and similarities and differences between each murder.
Under victim seven, I secured the first picture taken of the body. Undisturbed, naked, dumped in the abandoned field like trash. That was exactly how this unsub saw women. At least that was what I initially concluded.
But now with the note carved into her body, I was back to square one.
The physical abuse, vaginal and anal tearing, and raw rings around their wrists and ankles told of a man who used his victims to fulfil his whims. Without knowing when these women were abducted, we had no idea how long they were held and abused before being stabbed in the heart.
That was the cause of death for all the victims, but the recent one was different than the others with the number of stab wounds.
Thirty-eight.
The victims all had a single, large blade stab wound to the center of the heart. Meaning their deaths were agonizing, slowly bleeding out and losing the ability to function without blood pumping needed oxygen to their bodies. But with this final victim, only sheer rage would drive this change in signature. Plus the light bruising around each wound was evidence of the anger behind each blow.
But what had pushed him over the edge? And would it happen again?
I shook my head as all the unknowns swirled around me.
“I expect you to clean that up before you’re gone.”
I didn’t turn from the murder wall to acknowledge the fucker who spoke. Of course with my luck, the police chief of this shitty town was the very same boyfriend of Ellie's who harassed me last night at the bar.
“And I won’t be gone until I do this.” I waved a hand to the wall I’d worked on for well over two hours. “And catch the bastard who abducted and then brutally abused and murdered these women.”
“They could’ve asked for it.”
My blood boiled at his words and haughty tone. Inclining my neck one way, then the other, I stretched out the tension building there while cracking my knuckles to prevent myself from committing blatant murder in a police station. Pretty sure that wouldn’t win any points with the town if I strangled their asshole police chief with my bare hands. No matter how much I wanted to.
“You think a woman would ask to be abducted, held captive, raped, and murdered?” I didn’t try to hide the disgust from my tone. “To be used against their will?”
“I know one who likes it rough.” The snark in his voice was like nails on a chalkboard.
At that I turned, clasping my trembling hands behind my back. If I wasn’t careful, they might find their way around his throat.
“Liking it rough and rape are not the same. Quite frankly, you suggesting it could be says more about your lack of sexual expertise and your sexist ego than it does about any woman and their preferences.”
The sight of Chief Swann’s face turning a nice shade of purple at the nicely constructed verbal slap almost made a smile tug at my lips.
“How’d you know, homo?”
I lifted my gaze to a large water damage spot on the ceiling. “Wow. News spreads fast in this town, doesn’t it?”
He puffed out his chest like that was a compliment.
“Swann, stand the fuck down.” The asshole stiffened as Alec came up behind him, his glare at the back of Swann’s head promising death. “Either help with the case or get out of our way.”
Swann held both hands in the air in surrender while turning to face Alec. “I meant no harm.” I let out an indignant huff at the obvious lie. “You boys are supposed to be professionals, so I’ll leave you to it. Good luck.”
Only once Alec slammed the flimsy fake wood door closed did I trust myself to release my tightly clasped fingers.
“I hate that son of a bitch so much,” Alec snapped, tossing another hate-filled glare at the closed door. “He doesn’t deserve that badge. Gives all officers a bad name the way he flaunts and abuses his power.”
I nodded before turning back to the murder wall, staring at a picture of victim number two, but my mind was stuck on what Swann said about Ellie’s preferences. “How in the hell does that work?”
“What?” Alec moved to stand beside me, hands on his hips. “The stab wounds? It takes a knife and a hell of a lot of force for that.”
“I know how stab wounds work, asshole. I’m talking about your friend Ellie and that waste-of-space police chief being together.”
“Oh, that.”
When he didn’t follow up with any explanation, I turned and faced him, crossing my arms over my chest. Good thing it was warm in the station or I’d be missing the coat I lent Ellie. Call it a good deed or insurance to make sure I saw her again; either way it made something in my chest pulse at the sight of her wearing it.
“Nothing else to add?”
“Yeah, well.” He scrubbed his face, drawing his palm along his square jaw. “That’s her story to tell, but I can tell you they aren’t together anymore.”
I swallowed down the rush of relief so he wouldn’t see how much that revelation affected me. “Really? That’s not what he said last night when he tried to fight me in the bar for talking to her.”
Alec turned to face the table, running his fingers along the surface, disturbing the pictures and evidence baggies. “I’m sure he’d say that. Didn’t take it well when Ellie finally had the balls to walk away from him.” He knocked a knuckle against the wood in quick succession. “I never understood it, honestly.” His gray eyes met mine. “How she could leave one abuser for another who teeters on the line between asshole and abusive. I’m guessing you’ve seen it before and have a theory as to why a woman would do that.”
I dipped my chin. Hard plastic dug into my palms as I leaned forward, bracing myself on the back of a cheap chair. “It’s common, but the why can vary from woman to woman. Not knowing her background or how she met Swann, I don’t want to assume anything. But I can say it is very normal, and if she ever questions it, you should tell her that. Not encourage her to allow that behavior to be directed toward her, but that she isn’t a freak or broken because she did.”
Alec huffed. “I’ve told her that. Even done my own research to help support her more than just offering protection from Swann and Jacob.”
I tilted my head at the name. “Jacob?”
“The Church’s leader.”
My knuckles lost their color as my grip tightened on the chair from the building frustration directed at my friend. He knew her, knew her background and her life, and seemed to care for her. That shouldn’t piss me off, but it fucking did.
“You seem to know a lot about her. You like her?” Please no. Not sure why I was adamantly against him having feelings for Ellie, but jealousy was quickly overtaking my normally rational thoughts.
“Nah.” I relaxed, my shoulders falling as I took a calming breath. The way he said the single word, his soft tone, made me believe him. “She’s just a sweet girl who had it rough and somehow found the courage to walk away from the only life she’d ever known. I respect the hell out of her and want to help without expecting anything in return. But I can tell you I’m not the norm.”
“Meaning?”
“Well, you’ve seen her. She’s beautiful and all alone in the world. Others see that as an opening to take advantage of the situation.”
“Like dipshit Swann.”
He nodded. “Like dipshit Swann.”
“I hate him even more now,” I grumbled.
A smirk erased the anger from his features, and a mischievous spark lit his eyes as he hitched his chin my way. “I’ll ask you the same question, Chandler. Do you like her? We’re friends, worked together before, and this might be the first time you’ve shown this level of interest in someone who wasn’t a suspect or dead.”
I rolled my eyes with an indignant huff as I crossed my arms. Realizing what I’d just done, I relaxed them at my side, hoping he didn’t catch the defensive reaction to his observation. He was right. I normally reserved this amount of attention to detail to aspects of the case and the victims, not random beautiful locals who had me entranced with a single glance.
“Yeah, well, she’s interesting, I guess. That’s it.” Lie. Such a blatant lie. And by the twitch of Alec’s lips, he knew. “Shut the fuck up.” I waved a hand, dismissing the entire conversation, and turned back to the victim wall. “Did you run the prints against the federal database too?” I knew he did but didn’t know what else to say to divert us back to discussing the case and not my fascination with Ellie.
“Yep. Nothing from the prints or DNA. Still waiting to hear back on the bones they found.”
Digging through my bag, I pulled the last two pieces of gum from the plastic casing and popped both into my mouth simultaneously. “What about towns around here? Do they process fingerprints when someone is arrested?”
“Sure.” I glanced over my shoulder at a shuffling sound. Alec stretched his hands high, nearly touching the ceiling, and it wasn’t that low. The big fucker was tall, stocky, and a good guy—the perfect cop. “But whether they enter them into a national database?” He dropped his hands and shrugged. “I don’t see why they wouldn’t.”
“Do you think Chief Swann would ever not book someone if they were open to paying him in other ways?”
“Sexually, you mean?”
“You’re quick for a Texan.”
Alec barked a laugh. “Fucker. So what are you suggesting?”
“Nothing, just tossing ideas out there. What if these women were high-risk, moving from town to town and staying under the radar, but when they were caught, they offered themselves up as payment instead of being processed?”
“Or they could be from The Church.”
“Or that.” I sighed. “I really don’t want that to be the case though.”
“Ellie said she’d look at the pictures to see if she recognized any of the women. That’s an easy way to test my theory if she won’t help us get inside.”
I nodded. “Good idea. How long has she been out?”
“Four years or so.”
“These women all seem to be about her age. What are the odds they joined The Church between the time she left and now? Are they actively recruiting?”
“Always. You seen their website?”
“Such propaganda bullshit.”
“It works. People flock through here wanting to learn more about it. A lot of lost people searching for a place to belong.”
His words ran on a loop as I stared at the seven victims.
“What if these aren’t high-risk like I thought? What if they were some of the few who came through wanting to learn about The Church?” I paced from one end of the wall to the other, looking at the women in more detail. “They wouldn’t be runaways, then, or addicts or prostitutes but young women who went on their own to find a better life.”
“That leads us back to Jacob’s group, doesn’t it?”
“Yes, or someone who preyed on these women before they ever made it into the compound. Is there a waiting period before they’ll allow someone entry?”
“Not sure how they work, honestly. We’d have to ask their security about that.”
“It’s something to consider. Let’s put that on our list of possibilities. Once we figure out how he’s hunting them, then we’re one step closer to finding him.” Turning on my heels, I laced both hands behind my head and inhaled deep. “I’m hungry. You?”
“I could always eat. There’s a Golden Chick down the way about fifteen minutes.” He hooked a thumb over his shoulder without looking away from victim number four. “I can go.”
I slapped a hand between his shoulder blades. “Nope, I’m going. I need to get out of here to clear my head. The alone time will help me process all this and strategize our next steps.”
“I’ll take a number three and six.” I laughed. “What? I ran eight miles this morning before meeting you. What did you do, lanky ass?”
I smiled and shook my head. “I slept in a chair last night. I wasn’t in the mood to start the morning with a run.”
“About that. The house I’m renting has another bedroom. You're welcome to it.” I shook my head, ready to say, “Thanks but no thanks,” until he cut me off. “I hired Ellie to clean the house. She’ll be there daily between four and five.”
“How many jobs does that woman have?”
“Too many. It’s a hard go when you have to be paid under the table.” I raised my brows, not understanding. “Born in the cult, so that means no social, no birth certificate, remember? Ellie doesn't exist, which means everyone here has to pay her in cash.”
“And the reason why she hasn’t left.” Alec nodded solemnly. “Poor girl.”
“Don’t go feeling bad for her. That would be a quick way to be saddled in the friend zone.”
I narrowed my eyes. “Who says I want to be outside the friend zone?”
“The way you get all intense and focused when she’s around. Just an observation.” His cheeks bunched with a wide smile, crescent moon indentations deepening at the corners of his lips. “Just trying to help a friend out. She deserves someone who looks at her the way you do.”
“And how’s that?”
His smile dropped. “Protective instead of possessive. She’s been possessed her entire life. That woman deserves to have more than me fighting in her corner. So, you want to claim that other room or stay at the motel where a murder-suicide happened last year?”
Fairly positive that was the room I slept in last night. Add in the opportunity to see Ellie daily, and how could I refuse?
After graciously accepting his offer, I left the police station, my stomach growling as I climbed into the rental truck.
I stared out the windshield as the engine warmed, my thoughts on the case. It was proving to be more complex than we initially profiled. And, for the first time, I was okay with the possibility of staying longer. That meant more time with one blue-eyed woman.
Whether she felt the same or not… only time would tell.
One thing was for certain: if—and that was a big if—anything went past pleasantries and discussing the case, I needed to be cautious, take things slow. Based on the slivers of information Alec revealed about her past and what I’d witnessed of her zoning out on occasion, the trauma she’d sustained was deep.
Which didn’t scare me. If anything, it made her that much more intriguing.
Maybe I could even help in some way. Show her that a destiny could be altered with some help.
And maybe, if what I felt when she was around stayed true, she could help me too.
Catch a serial killer, help a woman overcome some of her trauma, and make myself feel again.
Sounded like a win-win to me.