Chapter 20 #2
Cold and bleak, ripping at what was left of my soul. I stood staring out at the ocean, hoping for some insight or at least a way of calming the anger that had finally leveled out after seeing the photographs of the two women.
One had been taken prior to the girl’s kidnapping, a woman being stalked. The killer was fucking with my mind on purpose.
I’d gotten to him and he was repaying me with like kindness.
I shuddered from the thought and brought the glass to my lips. While I needed to keep a clear head, at this point I doubted a shot or two of scotch was going to have any effect on me.
With Alexia suffering after learning of another disappearance, I had no intention of leaving her alone.
We’d connected even more than before. Not only because of the intense passion we’d shared, which had continued for several hours, but also just being able to enjoy the time spent together. She’d trusted me enough to talk about her diary, thoughts that she’d had over the years.
Nightmares.
Bouts of anger.
Periods of barely being able to function. Where I’d seen a strong woman, she’d fought to keep from falling apart.
On the flipside, where I’d projected a tough guy who couldn’t care less about anyone else, a playboy with luxurious tastes, I’d been reliving what I’d considered my failures several times over.
The incredible woman with a heart of gold and a need for justice for everyone around her had shown me what I was missing.
I’d be damned if I wasn’t falling hard for the girl. I had no business doing so, not really, although I’d begun to believe that karma had put us together thirteen years ago to save both our lives. She’d done so again for the very same reason. We needed each other.
I’d just replayed the audio of my conversation and my buddies were staring at me.
I hadn’t realized I’d laughed out loud until I noticed Chase staring at me. “What?”
“You stalked your own partner?”
“It’s my greatest regret. I felt I had to do something to see inside his mind. The killer was winning at every turn.” Which had been true.
Hudson shook his head. “He’s just getting started. You’ve obviously egged him on.”
“We need to find out if another girl was taken.” Kendrick was right.
“Yeah, I know. Alexia is not taking this very well.” I was more worried than I’d been earlier.
Chase’s grin widened. “Do we get to meet her?”
“She’s resting. It’s not every day you’re sent pictures about a woman who’s about to be abducted.”
“While there’s very little to go on, the police are on high alert for anyone resembling the woman in the picture.
” Gabriel had strong ties to members of the Miami-Dade police department.
Sadly, I doubted there was anything they could fucking do.
The fucker had been smart, taking the picture as a stalker would.
From a distance. And from behind. Yes, you could tell the girl had long, dark, curly hair, just like the first victim who’d gone missing a week before.
Long, dark, curly hair. Just like Alexia.
Unfortunately, the suit the girl was wearing was nondescript. So was the briefcase she was carrying. She could be anyone heading to work on a bright sunny day.
Another dead end because that was part of the sick game.
“As if it will matter.” I scrubbed my jaw, easily able to tell everyone was eager to meet my lovely house guest. I’d all but forbidden her from going to work.
Hudson glanced back and forth from one to the other of us. “So let me get this straight. The man wasting away in prison is Samuel Wells.”
“Yes, his fingerprints would prove that.” At least that was the summation I’d come to.
“The checks and balances were in place thirteen years ago. What we didn’t count on was like DNA.
A brother wasn’t even considered. The man fit the description given by the witness.
He was found in a house listed in his name.
There was DNA at the cabin and on the last victim since she’d only been dead for a few hours.
There was no reason to believe Samuel wasn’t the killer. ”
“But his brother actually handled the murders.” Kendrick had a pensive look on his face.
“What if Samuel assisted his brother? Perhaps by luring the women to being taken. That would affirm the reason his DNA was found in the cabin.” Gabriel shrugged after the suggestion. “If the killer is as highly intelligent as you’ve alluded to, he likely wore gloves.”
“Not when he was around the women, at least not with Alexia.”
“She was special,” Gabriel offered.
Yeah, special enough she’d remained on his mind. I nodded and took another sip, making a face since the taste was suddenly bitter.
“He’s a cocky son of a bitch too.”
I chuckled and took a swallow of my drink, laughing at Hudson’s description. “Why do you say that?”
“He didn’t wait to start killing again until his own brother was six feet under.”
Shifting away from the window, I mulled over his comment.
“Alexia mentioned the killer was gone for days at a time, which could indicate he traveled for work or that his work was important enough he couldn’t leave at a moment’s notice.
Maybe he moved. But…” I thought about what the fucker had told me.
“He knew how I reacted when forced to deal with a crime scene.”
“You think he was there.” Hudson whistled.
“Maybe I’m just reaching for straws. What I do know is that he’s on the hunt again and he won’t stop with two women.” Another nagging moment hit me. The killer had known every step I’d taken in trying to track him down. That’s why I’d felt so behind the eight ball.
Chase had jumped on the computer the moment he’d set foot in my house. He looked up from the screen, his face pensive. “The bastard is a sick fuck to do that to his own brother.”
“You didn’t see him,” I said quietly. “I honestly don’t think Samuel was coerced. But I also don’t think he completely understood what he’d confessed to doing either.”
“Just so you know. I’ve yet to find any signs of gifts coming into the prison.” Chase eyed me carefully.
“Check the warden and his personal accounts. I also need to know who the fuck went to see Samuel so damn often.”
“Maybe his attorney,” Kendrick suggested.
“That was easy to check. No.” I’d called the man myself and he’d laughed at me.
“You think Warden Abbott Baker is on the take?” Kendrick asked, genuinely surprised.
“Don’t act so surprised,” Hudson told him. “Rumors have been flying around about the man for years. Including when he worked with the police department. I’ve always believed the man was dirty. He was involved with some shady cases.”
“So Samuel was treated well in prison. Abbott can’t stop the execution. In fact, he’s eager for it to be over with.” Now I was just talking out loud.
“No, which could mean Abbott is covering up for some people.”
“Who know Samuel was railroaded,” I spit out.
“Very possibly. And I don’t think the thought of losing his own brother meant anything to Samuel’s brother,” Chase threw out. “Was Samuel so enthralled by his own brother he allowed himself to be the scapegoat?”
I shook my head. The thought had been bothering me for hours. “I think there’s a chance Samuel is easily manipulated.”
“Meaning he has some mental faculty issues,” Hudson filled in.
“Yeah.” Which was even more disgusting than that he’d been used for something so heinous.
“Why don’t we start from the beginning. With another victim, I have a feeling whatever plans the bastard has in motion will be expedited.
” I was more agitated than I’d been when awakened in the middle of the night.
I couldn’t get the dream or the phone call from my mind. There’d been no sleep after that.
With Alexia’s help, we’d pulled out various notes, creating new thoughts and pinning them to a bulletin board. With her memories and mine, we’d once again relived the horror. And once again, I’d seen her strength.
We’d spent hours going over the same details that had nearly driven me to madness thirteen years before.
What bothered me was that it appeared the fucker was a chameleon.
I continued to tick off the years since in my mind one by one, trying to ascertain why his accusation had gotten the better of me.
Maybe because the riddle as to why I’d so easily crossed the line with Raven Intel had been solved.
Hours later, the team was all together. Maybe at this point we were throwing spitballs against the wall as I’d done so many times before with this case, but there were a few differences that needed to be ironed out.
All the beliefs I’d had about serial killers didn’t seem to apply to this man. It was entirely possible he’d been behind dozens of other murders because he’d switched styles.
“I got it.” Chase pushed away from the computer, throwing up his arms as if just making the winning soccer goal for the World Cup.
“What exactly do you have?” Kendrick asked.
I moved closer, staring over his shoulder, reading out loud what had been sent to him. “The brother’s name. Samuel and Steven Wells were born in Germany. The mother listed is Hannah Hoffman. Not bad. At least we have a confirmation.”
“And the father?”
“None listed.” Chase lifted his eyebrows.
“None listed,” I repeated. “What do you want to bet the man was a service member who worked on the Army base?”
“That would be killer,” Chase said.
“Maybe so, but without notification of the father, it doesn’t matter.”
“He’s right. Suspicions mean nothing at this point,” Gabriel reminded me.
“I’m surprised we got what we did.” Chase folded his arms. “Although I’ll keep searching for anything about the mother. Maybe their relationship wasn’t condoned, which is why the birth certificate was faked.”
“So they are identical twins.”
Pulling back, I glanced over my shoulder toward Hudson. “That won’t be on the birth certificate. What are the odds the hospital knows?”
Chase shrugged. “We can try, but it might not pan out.”
Gabriel sat up in his seat. “Wait. I’m no DNA expert, but since fraternal twins come from different eggs, there’s no chance in hell their DNA can be identical. That won’t solve your DNA issue.”
“No, typically fifty percent matches,” Chase offered. “However, you said so yourself the DNA evidence discovered was limited. And easy to cover up.”
“Or maybe he used his brother’s DNA. A complete frame job.”
Hudson’s idea wasn’t a bad one either. At this point, I wasn’t certain what to think any longer. “Ruger is discovering what happened to Samuel’s estate.” Hopefully something would come through soon.
While we were slowly putting the pieces together, it wasn’t happening fast enough for me.
“So what now, maestro?” Chase asked.
“Now, we push the killer’s buttons. He knows I’m in contact with the only woman he wasn’t able to keep in his twisted way. What he doesn’t know is how close she and I are.”
“You want to goad him.” Gabriel shook his head as if I was nuts for considering. Maybe I was.
“Why the hell not?”
Hudson whistled. “Because that’s dangerous as fuck. You don’t know what he’s capable of.”
“But the needle needs to be moved. There’s one week before the execution. That man doesn’t deserve to die and without doing something drastic, the fucker is going to continue playing games.”
“He’s right,” Chase told everyone. “Any ideas of how to push his buttons?”
Just by allowing my thoughts to drift to my houseguest, I had the answer. “Yes, I do. First, I’m going to a party.”
“I beg your pardon?” Gabriel coughed.
“Yeah, a swanky party as Alexia’s plus one. In the meantime, I think we need to send notice to the prosecutor’s office that there’s new evidence involving the Python Killer case.”
A smile slowly crawled across Chase’s face. “You’re gaslighting everyone.”
“Why the hell not? The one thing I know about corruption is that rats feed off each other. Why not toss out some crumbs, just like my sweet attorney mentioned and see who comes to gobble them up. If there’s one thing we know for certain.
A number of people want Samuel to die. They’re willing to allow an innocent man to suffer the consequences to keep the fact that they have the wrong man buried. ”
“That you arrested,” Hudson challenged.
“Yes, but one that was basically pulled from my hands when I expressed concern there was something off about Samuel.”
“Then it would involve the prosecutor and potentially your boss. And the warden.”
I glanced at Chase. “Exactly. No wonder I was all but pushed off the force.” And that I was warned.
“Is this a frat party or can anyone join in?”
Hearing her voice and I was immediately at full attention.
So were the others.
“Here comes trouble,” I muttered, which caused her to offer one of her saccharin sweet smiles. “Alexia Martino, my partner in crime.”
“Don’t worry, fellas. I’ll whip him into shape,” she said with a solid purr in her voice.
“I like this girl already. She’s gonna knock our bestseller down a notch or two.” Kendrick was grinning from ear to ear.
She put up her fists as if she was going to punch me, offering a little pout even though her eyes told the story of continued pain. God, all I wanted to do was to wrap my arms around her, keeping her close.
And safe.
“And our boy is turning red,” Chase chortled as he pointed at me.
“He’s a goner,” Kendrick threw in.
I gave each one of them a look. However, they had been riding me about settling down.
The casting of her sinful eyes in my direction brought more than just a smile to my face.
Yes, daring to poke the bear was dangerous as fuck, but I knew in my gut my four best friends would stand beside me to keep her protected.
The others laughed, chiding me as we’d done to each other over the years. They’d been a huge part of my recovery, four men who’d lived the same breach of solidarity with the law. Four men who’d seen it all, who’d suffered alongside victims and pushed limits when necessary.
Now that we were finally free of the chains that had prevented us from acting out in ways considered unlawful, life had become that much more precious.
I’d never thought about my own safety or worried about the what-ifs when handling a mission.
Over the last year I’d fought the good fight.
I’d helped save lives. I’d helped bring justice in the most unconventional ways. I’d killed a few men, bad guys who I thought deserved to die. Judge and jury.
What I hadn’t done was stop to think about my own life or what I wanted.
Until Alexia had reminded me that life was precious.
Somehow, I wanted other aspects of my life that I couldn’t gain in fighting crime. Calm. Normal. A family.
I wanted to share those things with her.
But that would never happen until the Python Killer was found. This time, nothing would stop me from playing God.
One last time.
Nothing and no one.