Chapter 24
24
CHANDLER
M y raw, scabbed knuckles split open again as I gripped the handle of the coffeepot like a lifeline. I stared at my hand, the abrasions and sting a memento of what I did. Never had I lost my temper like that, but after hearing what that worthless piece of shit Swann revealed, there was no holding back my rage. He was lucky I left him breathing.
The bitter taste of too strong coffee was just what I needed to snap me out of my reverie. With another sip, I sat at the table and stared at the pictures, notes, and other papers strewn along the top. As I drank my morning fuel, I studied the names listed on my initial suspect list.
Shit.
It was all shit.
The only likely suspect after yesterday’s questioning was Jacob, or at least someone within the compound. But that was a dead end unless I could find a way to get beyond those gates without using Ellie as a negotiation tool.
“Morning.” I grunted in acknowledgment to Alec’s greeting. “What’s eating you? You’re usually a morning person. And after last night?—”
“Fucking hell, shut up.” I rubbed at my brows and held out my coffee mug as he shuffled by wearing nothing but a pair of gray sweatpants. “Fill me up, would you?”
Grumbling something under his breath, he snatched the mug. What remained at the bottom sloshed over the rim and dripped down the side.
“Seriously, what’s eating you? You’re in a sour-ass mood for someone who got laid last night.”
“Nothing is adding up with the case,” I admitted. Taking the now full mug from his outstretched hand, I dipped my chin in thanks. “And something happened yesterday with Swann.”
“Oh,” Alec said as he slumped into the wooden chair on the opposite side of the table.
“I don’t want Ellie to know.” Brows raised, Alec leaned forward, resting his forearms on the table, full attention on me. “When I spoke with Jacob yesterday, he mentioned he and Swann had some kind of agreement during those years Ellie was with him.”
“Sounds suspicious. Probably trying to divert attention off himself.”
“That’s what I thought, but then I talked to Swann. The first hour or so, he was combative, ignoring my questions and demanding his innocence regarding the killings. He stated over and over that he wasn’t a sick fuck who would do that to people. His confidence, the anger, it wasn’t forced. So either he’s the best manipulator I’ve ever encountered, or he was telling the truth about his innocence. Well, about the killing part, at least.”
“Go on.”
I leaned back in the chair to look down the dark hall. It was still early for Ellie, the sun just now peeking over the horizon, outside still more dark than light with the fading of the night, but I needed to make sure she wasn’t eavesdropping.
“When I asked about his agreement with Jacob, he clammed up. His confidence wavered, and he started deflecting, which made me realize that scrawny-ass wannabe Jesus was right. So I pressed Swann.” I cleared my throat. “Hard.”
“Is he alive?” Gratitude swelled within me when there was zero judgment in my friend’s tone.
I nodded. “I think so. It worked though. He admitted to what he agreed to give Jacob in exchange for him being with her.”
Alec blanched. “I have a feeling I don’t want to know.”
Bile rose up my throat, hating that I had to say the words out loud. “He taped the two of them, Swann did. And sent those to Jacob as… payment or collateral, in a way, to be with who Jacob believes in his dark fucked-up soul is his wife.”
Alec’s jaw dropped, followed by a rush of red that washed across his face. “I’m going to kill him.” He slammed his fist to the table. Using the leverage, he stood and started for the door.
I leapt from the chair, sending it crashing to the floor behind me, to prevent Alec from leaving. “I might have taken care of that already.” His bushy brows rose. “I lost it. Really lost it.” I shook my head and righted my chair. Slouching into the seat I took a long sip of coffee. The mug trembled in my grip. “When I left him, he was breathing.”
“You know, even though I’m an officer of the law serving this amazing state, I’m still the friend who you can call to help bury a body. As long as the fuckstick deserved it, that is.” His tight smile told me he was trying like hell to calm himself down.
“Thanks. I’ll keep that in mind for the next time.” Silence engulfed the room, both of us lost in thought. “Jacob won’t let me beyond the gate without Ellie.”
“Do you think it’s him or someone behind that fence?”
I nodded, then shook my head with a sigh and shrugged. Heavy bare footsteps smacked against the floor as Alec returned to the table and slouched back into his chair. “I’m not convinced enough to make me use Ellie as bait. What if while I’m talking to the others, he takes her and disappears, or kills her? Or if it’s not him, I’d put Ellie within arm’s length of the unsub who’s hiding among the brainwashed followers.”
“You think we’re missing something.”
“I know we are. Or I am.” I shook my head and pressed a hand to my sternum to ease the guilt weighing on my chest.
“How’d it go with her neighbor, Stan?”
“Not him. He did admit to leaving shows on his ‘currently watching’ list in hopes of making Ellie hot so she’d come running to him.” The corner of my lip lifted with a snarl. “But he’s been watching out for her by intercepting packages he thought were from The Church. What sucks is he tossed the packages before opening them, so they could’ve been from the unsub. Which makes sense that he would’ve tried to communicate directly with her like with the scalp. But we’ll never know.”
Again a heavy silence settled between us.
“I wish we could shut that place down,” Alec muttered a few minutes later.
A subtle shift, a quiet breath down the hall, snagged my attention. Clearing my throat, I gave Alec a pointed look and tilted my head toward the darkened hall.
He nodded in understanding. “So where does that leave us today with the case?”
“I need to think, look at the victim wall for a few hours and see if anything jumps out at me in the timeline. The profile is strong. A bit vague, sure, but it’s who we’re looking for. Where are we on the DMV records and property maps?”
“Working on it more today. What about the objects used to rape the victims and things that could’ve left those marks on the bodies? Can your analyst run recent purchases for anything that could’ve been used for the torture or rape?”
I smiled at Alec, grateful for his input. “That’s a good idea. Once I have the list of locals narrowed down, I’ll have her look into past purchases that would fit that bill.“
Both our heads turned when a tiny body rounded the corner. Hair a mess, wearing one of my long T-shirts that hung past her knees, mouth opened wide with a yawn, Ellie entered the kitchen. “Hi,” she mumbled. She bit back a shy smile when her eyes connected with my own. “Good morning.”
“Morning, baby.” Before she could shuffle past, I hooked an arm around her waist and tugged her onto my lap. “How much of that did you hear?”
“Nothing really, just that we’re back to square one on the suspect list.” Picking up my now room temp coffee, she took a sip. Holding it between her hands, she kept it close to her chest. “I can help with that. With you starting fresh with the suspect list, I can give you insight into the locals. Like Farmer Ben matches your profile, but he’s been in a cast for the last six weeks on his dominant hand. There’s no way he’d be able to drag a body around.”
“I like that,” I admitted. “And that would mean you’re with me all day instead of vulnerable at work.” I gave her a triumphant smile.
“And then we can go to The Church,” she stated nonchalantly.
Alec choked on his swig of coffee. Coughing and hitting his sternum, he narrowed his gaze at Ellie. “What?”
“Listen, I know it’s not what I want, but neither is another woman being abducted, tortured, and murdered. I can deal with Jacob if that’s the only way he’ll let you inside the gate.” She nodded almost like she was trying to convince herself. “I can do it.”
“You heard more than you let on,” I mused. Rubbing down her spine, I kissed her shoulder. “Let’s start with the list and victim wall. Hopefully we won’t need to go that route.”
When she stood, I couldn’t help myself with her tiny ass right there. The smack I landed echoed around the kitchen. Her small hand flew to the spot I’d struck, her dropped jaw sitting on her shoulder as she gawked at me.
“That’s my cue,” Alec mumbled. “I’ll be in my room with my earbuds in and the music turned up really loud. Again.”
Before he had disappeared around the corner, I pulled Ellie back to my lap, lifting her by the waist and helping her straddle my thighs. I wove my fingers through her hair, fisting at the base. With the other hand at the top of her ass, I forced her closer until her weight settled just over my stiffening cock.
The hem of the black T-shirt had ridden up her thighs, stopping just an inch shy of showing off her pussy to me. With a smirk, I slid it up that remaining inch. My smirk fell when I found her pussy bare, no underwear hiding the heaven I was quickly becoming devout to.
In the overhead lights, a glimmer shone between her spread lips, a welcoming beacon begging me to have a taste. I stood, the chair toppling to the floor with the force. Those blue eyes never left mine as I laid her back on the table, gently resting her head among the sea of photos. Not wasting a second, I dropped to my knees. Nipping a line up her inner thigh, I paused, my lips brushing against her swollen clit.
“Chandler,” Ellie moaned, her hands gripping the opposite edge of the table near her head.
Flattening my tongue, I gave her center a hard lick from entrance to swollen nub, pausing to suck it between my lips. Flicking the sensitive tip with my tongue, I pushed three fingers inside, pumping in and out hard and fast. She wiggled beneath me, trying to squirm away from my harsh and demanding treatment, but I held her to the table with a hand pressed to her lower belly.
Torturing her, I’d bring her to the brink and then slow, only to repeat the action over and over again.
Only when delirious begs fell from her lips did I give her what she needed most. On a silent scream, Ellie shook beneath me, a flood of her juices seeping between my fingers. Gathering some of the slick fluid, I dragged it toward her back entrance and slipped a single finger inside, adding another after she relaxed.
“How dirty this morning, baby?” I asked, nipping along her inner thigh.
Hooded eyes met mine over her heaving chest. “Do your worst,” she breathed. Her eyes closed on a moan when I slipped another finger inside. “Yes, Chandler, please.”
“You know I can’t say no when you beg,” I said darkly. “Bend over the table.”
I leaned against the cool tile, allowing the hot water to pound on my chest. With the quiet of the moment, alone in the bathroom, the guilt of not telling Ellie what her asshole of an ex did while they were dating ate at me. Was I saving her from more hurt or causing more because she didn’t know?
But did she need to know?
Pounding a fist against the wall in frustration, I finished rinsing off and jerked the metal handle to the left, cutting off the stream of water. At the sink, I wiped away the layer of condensation and stared at my reflection, marveling at how much I’d changed since meeting Ellie.
The bags under my eyes were nearly gone, the hollow look behind them now full of life and love. I looked happy. Probably because I felt happy. Even with the guilt weighing me down, being with Ellie made everything easier. Sure, I still had a killer to catch and had regrets from this case and others, but that wasn’t consuming my thoughts now.
She was.
She still hadn’t given an answer to coming home with me. But she had to. I needed her with me. I didn’t want to morph back into that shell of a man. I needed Ellie like I needed air to survive. She was my lifeline to a true life, one worth living.
The soft fibers of the towel scraped across my raw knuckles, little lines of crimson left in the wake.
Was it terrible that I didn’t care if the bastard lived through the night or not? I leashed my rage, which was the only reason I knew I didn’t beat him hard enough to inflict too much damage. The worst part was what I did to his ego with my final order.
Step down from police chief and never bother Ellie again.
Beneath the swollen eyes, battered cheeks, and split lip, Swann had blanched.
At the end of the questioning, I was confident Brett wasn’t the unsub. A creepy, manipulative asshole, yes. But our unsub? I didn’t see it.
A distorted knock from the other room had me rotating from the mirror to the closed bathroom door. After securing a towel around my waist, I stepped into the bedroom, a cloud of steam following me. Ellie smiled from her perch at the end of the bed where she was tying her boots, hair still damp from her own shower.
Another round of demanding knocks shook the door, quickening my steps. Whatever it was couldn’t be good. I twisted the knob and yanked the door open.
“We have a problem,” Alec said, gradually lowering his fist.
“Now what?” Ellie groaned behind me.
His intense gaze never left mine. “They found Swann’s squad car. Abandoned. Five miles from here along an old county road. Door open, like he just vanished into thin air.”
“What?” I stated in disbelief. This could not be happening.
“He’s gone.”
My eyes widened as the implication set in. Either he took what I told him to the extreme, or he was running because he didn’t want to get caught.
A soft feminine gasp sounded behind me. “What do you mean, gone?” Ellie whispered, her fingertips pressed against my lower back as if searching for support.
“I mean Brett Swann is now considered a missing person. And there’s more.” Alec’s features tightened. “They searched the squad car for clues to where he might have gone.”
“That’s a good start,” I muttered while massaging my brows.
“You’re never going to believe what they found.”
Thin arms wrapped around my waist, her full chest now pressed against my side. I placed a comforting hand on her forearm and gave it a slight squeeze. “What did they find?”
Alec’s gaze flicked to Ellie, his features solemn.
“Fingers. I’m guessing the most recent victim’s.”
What the hell?
I shook my head in dismay. Several droplets of water sprayed from my short hair as I rubbed my hand over my head.
Could I have been that wrong about Brett Swann?
Was Swann, the police chief tasked to protect this town, a serial killer?