Chapter 25
25
ELLIE
T he whirling of the truck’s tires against the rough blacktop filled the otherwise silent cab as we drove toward the police station. Cold seeped from the glass window into my forehead as I watched the dismal scenery pass by.
A search party for Brett Swann.
Police chief, my ex—and a serial killer?
“This doesn’t feel right,” I said for the thousandth time in the last five minutes. “Sure, Brett is an asshole who doesn’t take no for an answer, and he’s terrible at his job, but a killer?”
“I agree, but the evidence is all there.” Chandler’s clear blue eyes reflected in the rearview mirror, meeting my own. “We’ll figure it out shortly. But killer or not, he’s obsessed with you coming back to him, and with us not having tabs on him, I need you attached to my side or Alec’s until we find him.”
“Yeah, sure, that makes sense.” Was this what all those wives of the serial killers felt, the complete foolishness and embarrassment of knowing the man responsible for heinous crimes, yet you never realized? “Wonder what set him off to ditch his squad car right there in the middle of the road with evidence inside. Why be meticulous to this point, then bam, evidence everywhere?”
“That might be my fault,” Chandler admitted. He cleared his throat and adjusted in the driver seat to sit taller. “I was informed of some illicit activity of his, which prompted me to offer him an ultimatum. Either he stepped down from police chief or I’d arrest him.”
“Now that, the illegal stuff, I believe over him being a killer. What was the information?” Chandler avoided looking into the back seat. Not good. Dread weighed heavy in the pit of my stomach. “I don’t want to know, do I?” I whispered.
“That’s up to you. If you want to know, I’ll tell you, Ellie, but there’s nothing we can do about what happened in the past.” He paused. “It was a bluff, about arresting him. I don’t have any evidence, just his confession, which I didn’t record.”
We slowed to take the turn into the crowded police station parking lot. Almost every space was taken with old trucks, a couple tractors and side-by-sides, and one bike. The entire town showed up to help search for Brett, either because he was a danger to the town and to himself or because they were worried about him. A little of both, I surmised, based off the men’s faces as the truck crept through the lot, Chandler searching for a place to park.
The moment he cut the engine, we hopped from the truck. Chandler’s protective hand pressing against my lower back guided me through the chatting crowd as we maneuvered our way to the entrance. When the double glass doors shut behind us, I inhaled deep through my nose and shook out my trembling hands. With a quick scan of the reception area, I located Ryan in the back corner, talking to a couple officers. He noticed me at the same time and nodded in acknowledgment, his face drawn with worry.
Hands shoved deep in my new coat’s pockets, I rocked back on my heels as Ryan excused himself from the conversation and came to stand with me, Alec, and Chandler. Chandler snaked an arm around my waist and tugged me an inch closer and therefore an inch farther from where Ryan had paused.
“Anything new since this morning?” Alec asked, crossing his arms over his broad chest as he peered down at Ryan.
“No,” Ryan said, his lips dipped in a frown. “This is ridiculous. My brother isn’t a killer. There must be a misunderstanding of some kind.” Hope dripped from his words as he looked between Alec and Chandler, who shared a look of their own. Pleading eyes locked on me. “Tell them, Ellie. Tell them Brett wouldn’t do this.”
I bit my lip to keep from saying a single word. I did agree with him, but this wasn’t my investigation, and I really didn’t want to mess anything up for Chandler and Alec.
“Did you see him last night?” Chandler questioned, flexing the fingers around my waist.
Ryan nodded. “Yeah, he came home after you talked with him. He looked terrible.” Chandler’s face tightened with a cringe. “I thought he was drunk because he was mumbling to himself about making someone pay, and—” Ryan rolled his lips in and glanced at me, “—about getting Ellie back no matter what.”
“Anything else?” The hard tone in Chandler’s voice made a shiver bolt down my spine.
“I’m not sure what he meant, or if he even knew what he was talking about, but he said something about tying up loose ends, then left in his cruiser.”
Alec cursed. “I sure as hell hope that doesn’t mean another victim will die by his hand. Does he have access to another vehicle since we have his cruiser?”
“Our old farm truck is missing,” Ryan sheepishly admitted. “I don’t know for how long. I don’t look in the barn that often, but this morning with him missing, I went to check.”
“He could’ve stashed the truck somewhere yesterday for when he ditched the cruiser, which has a GPS tracker and is easily identifiable.” Chandler’s brows furrowed, gaze unseeing. “This doesn’t make sense. He doesn’t fit the profile. We said the unsub would have a menial job, be an underperformer in almost everything in his life. Brett had a job that gave him power and prestige. And he’s a sloppy alcoholic. He couldn’t pull all this off without leaving trace evidence behind.”
Continuing to mumble to himself, he spun on his heels, wrapped his hand around mine, and led me toward the back of the station. Stopping at a nondescript door, he pushed it open and urged me inside before following right on my heels. Pictures, evidence baggies, notes, and other things I couldn’t identify were taped to the far wall, separated into columns.
The victim wall.
Chandler helped me into a chair before standing close to the wall, staring at the victims. I sat in silence, giving him the quiet he needed to process what Ryan revealed about his brother.
“What if I was wrong about one thing?”
The chair creaked as I leaned back. “About what?”
“Sure, Brett had power in the job title, but he really didn’t have any power over the one person he wanted.” Chin on his shoulder, he cast a weary glance my way. “You. What if that was what made him feel powerless? And in a small town, what power does a police chief really have? Besides being the boss and having a couple officers under you?”
“I could see that, but not in this case.” Brushing the ends of a lock of hair against my lower lip, I stared at the basic brown table. “I just can’t see it being Brett.”
“He has motive, you leaving him. He has the means, a police cruiser that could get him to Waco to pick up the last victim and make it easy for the other victims to feel safe enough to get into the car alone. He’s depraved enough to do the physical abuse the victims endured, and he has the strength to stab a long blade through the ribs into the heart.”
There was something off in Chandler’s tone. Almost like he was trying to convince himself.
“All that does make sense, and for anyone else, I’d say yes. But I know Brett, and I can’t see him doing this.”
“Me either, but I have to follow the evidence even if my gut is telling me we’re wrong and that I’m missing something.” He paced along the wall, taking in the pictures. “I’m missing something that is so obvious, I can feel it.”
I agreed, but that wasn’t what he needed in this moment. Standing, I stretched my arms up over my head. “You think he’ll come after me?”
“I do.”
“But I’m safe here.”
“You’re safe here with me and Alec.” He inhaled deeply and massaged his eyebrows. “But we need to go out with the search party. The sooner we find Brett, the sooner we’ll have answers. And if we can find him before he ‘ties up loose ends,’ maybe we can save a life too.”
“Then go,” I insisted.
“I’m not leaving you,” he snapped. “Sorry, I just don’t know how to do what I need to do for the case and keep you safe.”
I was holding him back. He didn’t say those words, but I could see it in the way he seemed at war with himself.
“Come on,” I said. At the door, I pulled it open and waited until he was behind me before going back out into the lobby area.
Alec still stood in the intimidating stance, now giving orders to two officers and a handful of local men. Ryan was nowhere to be seen.
“I want a man watching for a late eighties model hunter green Ford F150 on every corner. Focus around the diner, bar, and Golden Chick since those are the places Ellie works. The rest of us will head up the search party. His brother mentioned a few isolated locations within hiking distance from their house that we’ll check out first. We’ll split up if we need to cover more ground faster in case there’s a victim out there.”
“I’m going to stay here,” I cut in. Alec and Chandler glared, but I didn’t shrink back. “Leave an officer with me, hell, even give me a gun, but I’m staying here. I’ll only slow you down out there, and you guys know it. I refuse to be the reason Brett gets away or you don’t get to the other victim in time. We need answers, and he’s the only one who can give them to us. Go.” I gave Chandler’s strong arm a push. “I’ll be fine.”
“Brett would expect us to bring her with us,” Alec mused. “Maybe this was his ploy to get her out in the open, take us out, and then disappear with her.”
“I’m not leaving you alone,” Chandler gritted out through clenched teeth. His jaw flexed and moved as he ground them together.
“This isn’t your choice.” I pointed at Jake, an officer I knew well and trusted. “You’re staying here with me.” Jake nodded. “There. Now you can go do your job, find Brett, and I’m safe.”
Chandler pursed his lips, but Alec stepped between us before a fight could ensue.
“She’s right. Those short little legs will hold us back?—”
“Hey,” I shouted and smacked his back, hurting my hand more than him.
“The ground is unforgiving out there in the fields we’ll have to cross by foot to get to a few of the old barns.” He hooked a thumb toward the doors. “Ryan is outside, said he’ll go with us as a guide. It’s our best option. If any of the locals on the lookout for the truck see it, they can radio it in to the station. I’ll even put two locals I trust outside the police station if that makes you feel better.”
“It doesn’t.” Chandler’s voice was muffled with Alec standing between us. “But I don’t have a better option or a choice, so it seems.” Leaning to the side, he peeked around Alec, a single brow raised. “Do you know how to shoot a gun?”
“Um,” I said, stalling. Tell the truth that I’d never touched one or lie so he’d give me a gun to protect myself, making him feel more comfortable about leaving me behind?
“I’m taking that as a no.”
I gave him and Alec a sheepish shrug.
“We need to get going,” Alec barked to those standing around us. “Everyone outside for your assignments.”
Eager to help, the small crowd followed Alec out the double glass doors, converging with the other locals waiting outside, until it was only me, Chandler, and Officer Jake in the lobby.
“I’ll be fine, Chandler.” I gave his bicep an encouraging squeeze. “Go. Find Brett, get our answers.”
His hot forehead pressed against mine. “I don’t trust anyone, not when you’re the one in danger. If it’s not Brett, the unsub could be anyone. We still have a long list of locals to go through to narrow down. What if it’s him?” He cast a narrowed-eye glare that promised death in Jake’s direction.
“It’s not Jake.”
“How can you be so sure?”
“Because I’m gay,” Jake voiced from where he leaned against the wall.
I gestured toward the man who’d just proved my point for me.
“Oh,” Chandler grumbled.
“That’s why I trust him. We’ll be fine, Chandler. He’ll protect me, and I’ll protect myself too.”
The corner of his lips dipped in a frown. “I’m not leaving you unarmed.” Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a pocketknife. Flipping my hand palm up, he set the heavy metal into my hand and folded my fingers around the red handle. “If anyone acts suspicious or you feel uncomfortable, stab them here.” He pressed two fingers to the side of my neck. “Or here,” he whispered, pressing against the inside of my thigh. “For maximum damage.”
“Got it.” Toes pressed to the linoleum floor, I stretched as high as I could and planted a kiss on his cheek. “Now go, and hurry back.”
Before I moved away, Chandler turned his head and pressed his lips to mine in a scorching kiss. When he pulled back, allowing my feet to float back to the floor, my legs felt like rubber.
“Be safe, and don’t trust anyone.” At the door, he turned, confliction pinching his features. “I love you, Ellie.”
My heart stopped at those emotional words neither of us had expressed but clearly both felt.
Then all the love and softness vanished from his gaze when he turned to Jake. “If anything happens to her, you die.”
I continued to stare out the glass door long after Chandler and the search party had driven off. A smile crept up my cheeks as heat filled my face.
“He’s intense,” Jake said. Groaning, he fell into a plastic chair and stretched his legs out long. “Not that I blame him. If someone I loved was the target of a serial killer, I’d probably be the same way.”
Nodding absentmindedly, I dropped into the chair opposite Jake and tucked my knees to my chest. As he continued to talk, telling me about this guy he met in Waco, I played with the knife, pulling it open a few hundred times to engrave the motion into my brain. I didn’t think Brett was our guy, but that meant our killer was still out there.
Waiting.
Watching.
For the right moment to claim his prize.
Me.