Chapter 29
Dover made it halfway to the hospital before remembering she had left her phone in the front seat of her car. “After you drop me at the front door,” she said to the patrol officer. “Go back and get my phone off the front seat and bring it to me wherever I am in the hospital. Can you do that?”
“Yes, ma’am,” he answered. They rode the rest of the way in silence. Finally, he pulled up to the emergency entrance of the hospital.
“Thank you,” she said, jumping out. She swung the car door closed and jogged through the automatic door of the emergency lobby.
“Fox Addams,” she barked at the harried-looking receptionist. The woman opened her mouth to say something only to find a gold shield waved in her face. With a scowl she picked up a phone and paged someone behind the swinging doors.
“You’re asking about Foxworth Addams,” a young doctor said, stepping through the doors. “Ms. —?”
“Detective Addams,” she corrected.
“Detective. Let’s step over here.” He led her to the side of the room that wasn’t as crowded. “He’s being evaluated. As you can imagine, his throat is badly abraded. He needs to rest before he’s interrogated.”
“There is a serial killer out there, and I’m losing time finding him because I’m dealing with you.
I will be talking to him, so you can either take me, or I’ll find him myself.
Your choice.” She cocked a hip as she stared at him.
His face morphed through several emotions before it finally settled on one.
“Follow me.” Turning, he quickly walked through the doors. She followed him down a hallway to a triage room. There, she found Fox dozing on a bed covered in blankets. “The less he speaks, the better,” the doctor said before disappearing.
“Thank you, I’ll keep that in mind.” Her gaze moved back to her brother.
He was paler than normal, and his throat was a deep purple from where the strap had been.
An IV line ran to the back of the hand that lay across his stomach.
She watched as his chest rose with each breath he took. She had come so close to losing him.
Her attention shifted as the door to the room slowly opened. The gun on her hip was in her hands before she had time to even think. She felt her shoulders relax when Knox slid inside. His hands immediately flew up when he saw her.
“Are you planning on shooting anyone who comes through the door?” he asked.
“Maybe.”
“Okay. Well, there’s a cop standing outside who almost wrestled me to the ground.
I think he’s safe for now.” He put his arms down and walked to the other side of the bed.
“How’s our boy doing?” He took the untethered hand in his.
“He’s good. He’s a fighter.” She knew he said it as much for his own benefit as hers.
“I need to ask him some questions, but I can’t bear to wake him.”
“Except there’s a killer on the loose,” he said, completing her thought. “I think he’ll understand. Hey, buddy.” Knox gently tapped Fox on the chest. Fox’s eyes flickered open and he looked first at his brother, then over at Dover.
“Did you see who kidnapped you? Was it Edmund Anderson?” she asked.
“He was waiting for me. He killed Brooke, didn’t he? Where’s Ethan?”
“With Bailey. He’s fine.”
“What’s he saying?” Knox asked.
“Shit, I need something for him to write on. I’ll need to get an officer in here to take his statement.”
“I’ll get it.” Knox left the room in search of paper.
“You scared the shit out of me, you know that?” she snapped.
A tear rolled down her cheek. “You’ve got the entire Boston PD chasing a phantom around town.
All Memphis could tell us was that it was one of the Andersons’ warehouses.
Danny’s trying to get the employee records now. I’ll let him know to focus on Edmund.”
“Here we go,” Knox announced, stepping back into the room. “Also, some terrified looking rookie gave me your phone.” He handed Fox a clipboard with several sheets of paper and a pen.
“For sure it was Edmund?” Dover asked. She watched as Fox scratched something on the paper. “You were working for him?” she asked, reading the scrawl. “On a project?”
“Yes,” Fox whispered. “Edmund.”
“Edmund Anderson? How is that possible?”
“Who’s Edmund Anderson?” Knox asked.
“Only the son of one of the wealthiest families on the East Coast.”
“I’ve known some wealthy assholes in my day.”
“Point taken,” she agreed. “I’ve got to get back to the office.
I’ll get Danny to put out a BOLO on the way in.
We need to get his passport pulled.” She was almost to the room door when it was shoved open.
Bailey rushed in looking like the devil was on her tail.
Her gaze landed on the bed, and she froze.
“Fox,” she whispered. Quickly, she moved to the bed. “Please tell me you’re all right. He’s all right, isn’t he?” She met Dover’s gaze then her head swiveled to meet Knox’s gaze. “Tell me he’s going to be fine.”
“He’s going to be fine,” Knox answered. “He’s a little worse for wear, but nothing that won’t heal.” He moved toward her when she swayed slightly. Finally, she sat on the edge of the bed taking Fox’s hand.
“Two cops showed up at my door saying Brooke was dead, and Fox was missing. They couldn’t tell me anything else. We weren’t allowed to leave. Your phone went right to voicemail,” she said to Dover.
“I’m so sorry. I didn’t have my phone with me, and everything moved so fast. I wouldn’t have been able to answer anyway.”
Fox whispered something, and they all leaned in to hear him better. “Ethan?” he said, trying again to be understood.
“We ran into Dex outside. He took him to get something to eat in the café downstairs,” Bailey said. “We were so worried about you.” She turned to face Fox again with tears beginning to roll down her face. He pulled her down until she was snuggled against him.
“I really do need to get back,” Dover said.
“I’ll walk with you to the door and then go find Ethan. Give them a second,” Knox added. They quietly slipped out the door into the hallway. “We need to get them into a safe house. This guy could be anywhere.”
“At least we have a lead on him. I’ll get a warrant to search every damn piece of property they own if I have to. Forensics should have that room processed soon. I’ll see what they found. Can you stay with Bailey and Ethan until I can get them moved?”
“Absolutely. Would you have a problem if I squirreled them away in Connecticut? I know a guy with a well-protected house all three can stay at.” They reached the elevators right as one opened, and Dex stepped out carrying Ethan.
“Hey, buddy,” Knox said reaching for him.
The little boy wrapped his arms around Knox and buried his head in his shoulder.
“Back to the office?” Dex asked.
“Yeah, we’ve got work to do,” Dover agreed.
“So, is it good if I whisk this group a state over?” Knox asked.
“That’s a good idea. They’ll be safe there. The fewer people who know where they are, the safer, I say,” Dex added. With a nod, they parted company. Knox headed back to the hospital room while Dex and Dover entered the elevator. “Don’t worry about them. Knox will make sure they’re safe.”
“I’m just going to have to take your word for that. I don’t have time to second-guess that decision. Fox said it was the son, Edmund Anderson, who abducted him.”
“Do you think that’s also who killed Brooke? I’m thinking it would have to be. There are simply too many coincidences to discount that they’re connected.”
“I agree it has to be. Right now, our priority is finding Anderson. Have you heard from anyone about either scene?”
“I was just hanging up from talking to Danny when I saw Bailey. He was still waiting for the reports to come in—said he’d crack a whip if he had to.”
“He will too. Grab one of these patrol officers to take us back to the office while I start the BOLO for Edmund Anderson.” Dex headed toward a patrol car while she dialed her phone.
“Danny, we need warrants for anywhere Edmund Anderson lives, works, or breathes. We also need to put out an all-points for him. I’ll explain when I get back. ”
She hung up and walked to where Dex was waving at her. Even her bones felt weary as she slid into the passenger side of the car. It was a struggle to even remember the last time she slept. Now she was gearing up for a manhunt of a serial killer. But only if Fox’s memory could be trusted.
Laying her head back on the headrest, she closed her eyes.
She needed to collect her thoughts. Was it possible that the other half of this killer team had been under their noses all this time?
Or was Brooke just another fatality of one killer?
None of it made any sense. They would need to make a timeline of her movements over the past months.
There was a list of things to do forming in her head.
She needed to check with Sean about Brooke’s autopsy.
The murder board needed to be updated with Fox’s information.
There was a timeline one of the other officers started that would need to be added to.
She could rely on Danny harassing forensics, so that was off her plate.
“Detective?” she heard. Opening her eyes, she found herself outside the police department.
“Right. Thank you,” she said as she opened her door. She was heading inside when she remembered Dex was locked in the back of the cruiser. “Sorry,” she said when the officer opened the back door for him.
The incident room was packed and loud when they entered a few minutes later. “Okay, listen up.” She crossed to the front of the room as it drew silent. Picking up a marker, she wrote the name “Edmund Anderson” at the top.
“This is our focus now.” Danny handed her a photo to attach to the board.
“We need to find this man as soon as possible. He is considered to be armed and dangerous. I need people tracing his steps over the last couple of days. I also need his friends interviewed. Find his parents. See if they know where he is. He is very well connected and considered a flight risk.”
“The warrants to search his home and any properties he owns have just come in,” Danny broke in.
She set the marker down and walked to his laptop.
“Special Agent Tanaka will head up the search for Mr. Anderson while I lead the search of his home. Anything comes in, I want to know about it immediately. Let’s go.
” Danny stood and followed her out. They picked up the warrants down the hall.
“Hey,” Dex said, catching up. “One of the nurses handed this to me. I thought you might want to see it before I take it to trace.” He held out a plastic bag. Inside was a medallion of a man holding one arm up and a book of script in the other. “St. Vincent Ferrer. Patron saint of carpenters.”
“Does that mean he targeted my brother?” Her thoughts went back to Fox hanging from the strap around his neck.
She had been too busy trying to free him to notice something under the strap.
What she had noticed, though, was the fear in his eyes as he fought to stand as still as possible.
She would never forget how he fell into Knox’s arms in exhaustion.
“I don’t know, but I thought you needed to see it.”
She nodded and continued through the building toward the parking lot with Danny on her heels. If he planned to take her brother instead of it just having been bad happenstance, it was a completely different problem. It meant Fox was still in danger. The killer could still finish the job.
With renewed determination, she pushed through the doors. It was time to hunt down a killer. And if he didn’t make it to the jail cell? Well, that was fine by her. It was time he reaped what he sowed.