Chapter Twenty-Four #2
“You were involved. You still are. You’re a bounty hunter in my jurisdiction.
I thought you’d brought trouble to our door.
You didn’t. Just like your late husband, Ashton Dempsey has made his own choices.
He might truly believe you were responsible for his parents’ deaths.
He might truly believe you escaped justice because your father is a judge.
He could have chosen to get therapy for his grief and rage.
But he chose to kill eleven people and frame you for murder.
I think trying to kill you is his next step.
Will you consider going to a safe house now? ”
Elle was quiet for a moment as she stared at her hands.
Then she lifted her gaze, first to Ronan and then to Howard.
“First, thank you. It’s very meaningful to hear that from someone who had every reason not to like me.
People who care about me have to say things like that.
” Her smile was self-deprecating. “But you didn’t like me and defended me anyway.
Second, no. I won’t go into a safe house.
This has gone on long enough. It’s time to draw him out. ”
Ronan drew a breath, ready to stop her from saying what he was sure was coming next, but she lifted her hand, stilling him.
And then turned his world upside down.
She lifted her chin. “Use me as bait.”
Fort Bragg, California
Wednesday, February 4, 11:10 a.m.
Ronan scowled at her, his gray eyes as turbulent as the sea he loved so much. “No.”
Elle had expected Ronan’s response and was even grateful for it. But enough was enough. If Dempsey could be stopped using her as bait, she wanted to do it.
Unfortunately both Gary Simpson and Howard Bennet were shaking their heads as well.
Jessica watched, assessing them all. Elle hoped the psychologist would agree with her, and that her opinion would carry weight if she did.
“We can’t guarantee that we can protect you,” Howard said. “I appreciate the offer and the courage you’ve shown in making it, but no. We won’t risk your life like that.”
Elle had expected that response as well.
“Look, he’s going to keep coming after me until I’m dead or in prison.
He won’t buy you arresting me at this point.
If he could bug me for two years, he’s smart enough to listen to a police scanner.
He knows we know who he is and why he’s doing this.
If you put me in a safe house, he will do one of three things.
One, he could try to lure me out by continuing to kill people, knowing I can’t live with the guilt.
Two, he could lure me out by going after my family.
He’s already shown he’s willing to do that by planning a hit on my dad.
Three, he could go into hiding until I return to my life.
You wouldn’t keep me in a safe house forever and you all know that.
So does he. He’s shown that he’s patient and has excellent survival instincts.
He can wait me out. He has plenty of money and at least one alias with skillfully forged documentation.
As you yourself noted, Lieutenant Bennet, he might have more than one alias.
More than one set of authentic-looking identification documents.
He could even change his face again and slip away.
Where he would continue killing, if for no other reason than to make me suffer. I will not be the cause of more death.”
She’d made her point with Bennet. She could see it in his eyes. But before he could reply, Ronan spoke.
He was furious and Elle was sorry about that. “Are you finished presenting your case?” he asked quietly but maintaining his respectful tone.
Elle loved that he could be angry in a productive way. One more tick in the “pro” column for Ronan Clarke.
Maybe they really could have something. I want that. I want something with Ronan.
Assuming she survived this.
“Yes.”
He drew a deep breath and let it out. “First, your points are good ones. Second, I disagree that we can’t fake your arrest while you are safely in a safe house. Third, you will not make yourself bait. We don’t operate that way.”
She smiled at him. It was a tactic she’d learned long ago. A gentle smile could sometimes disarm the most hostile of foes. And Ronan wasn’t hostile. He cared about her and that made her all warm inside.
“I’m listening.”
Gary was watching with undisguised fascination. “I need popcorn.”
“With extra butter,” Howard added blandly.
“Junior Mints for me,” Jessica said.
Elle chuckled. “I’ve been partial to candy cap caramels since I came here. Well, Ronan? What’s your plan?”
Ronan was not amused. “We put you in a safe house after we make a big production of taking you away in handcuffs.”
She tensed. The Sarasota police had cuffed her to the gurney the night of the accident—only one cuff since her arm had been broken, but still. It wasn’t an experience she ever wanted to repeat.
She hadn’t realized until recently how much trauma she still carried from that night.
She made a mental note to find a good therapist. Jessica might be able to recommend someone. Wait, what was she thinking? Jessica’s recommendation would only be useful if she stayed in Mendocino.
Was she considering that?
Apparently, I am.
But for now, she was preparing to poke a lot of holes in Ronan’s plan.
“What will you be arresting me for? Can’t be murder.
You’ve gone all around town telling people that I didn’t do it.
Unless you find me crouched over a dead body with the gun in my hand and I confess then and there, nobody’s gonna buy that you suddenly think I’m guilty.
Oh, and I’m not going to do that, just for the record. ”
Ronan’s scowl intensified. Gary’s grin grew brighter. Howard sat back and watched.
Jessica made some notes in her notebook.
“I’ll think of something,” Ronan said. “Fraud. Theft. Conspiracy. I’ll find something believable.”
Howard shook his head. “Give that one up, Ronan. Dempsey won’t believe it. He’s seen you together. He’ll know you’re tossing a Hail Mary pass and crossing your damn fingers. What’s your other plan?”
Ronan abruptly sat up straighter. “You can’t seriously be considering making her bait. Please tell me that’s not what you’re thinking right now.”
“Sorry. She’s made some valid points. I have to at least consider it. Jessica, what’s your take? Have you developed a profile for Ashton Dempsey? What can we expect from him if we put Elle in a safe house?”
Elle was about to reiterate that she was not going to a safe house, but Jessica shook her head, an infinitesimal gesture that had her closing her mouth.
“I have developed a profile and was able to refine it after listening to his aunt. I found Ashton’s Instagram account from when he was in high school.
Also his mother’s Facebook page, which was never taken down after her death.
She posted photos of Ashton frequently. He was a golden boy before the accident.
” Jessica pointed her pen at Elle, who hadn’t realized her face was twisted in a grimace.
“Don’t you take responsibility for the accident.
Howard’s right. It could have been much worse.
You saved lives that night through your evasive maneuvers.
Unfortunately Albert and Fiona Dempsey weren’t among those saved. ”
“I’ll try.” She was trying, but it was hard. She’d felt responsible for so long that it had become habit.
Maybe I’ll get one of those snap wristbands. Or a ponytail holder. Inspired, she removed the ponytail holder from her hair and slid it over her wrist. I can pop it every time I feel guilty.
“Do more than try,” Jessica said, not unkindly. “You have an Achilles’ heel that Ashton knows about and won’t hesitate to exploit. Your ability to shake off whatever he says or throws at you could be the difference between surviving this and being number twelve.”
Ronan inhaled sharply, his gaze swinging from Jessica to Elle. “Listen to her. She’s right. Do not let him get to you.”
“I won’t.”
I can’t.
I won’t be number twelve.
“Good,” Jessica said. “Now, back to Ashton Dempsey. As I said, he was a golden boy, but from the tone of his posts and what other people said about him, he wasn’t a bully or even all that conceited.
He mentored younger students. He was smart, like his aunt mentioned.
Kept straight A’s despite his sports schedule.
This homicidal streak isn’t consistent with his personality before his traumatic brain injury. ”
“We figured that,” Ronan said. “Is he bipolar? His aunt mentioned periods of excitement.”
Jessica shook her head. “No, I wouldn’t say bipolar.
I’d say more paranoia, delusions, and some OCD mixed in.
I think he honestly believes you got away with murder, Elle, because your father is a judge.
He’s fully immersed himself in the delusion, going to the trouble of training himself to fire guns.
Going to the target range every day could be a symptom of his OCD.
He’s been at this for two years in a deliberate and careful way.
But his goal has been denied him. He’s going to think we’re all in on the conspiracy.
We’re out to get him because we’re on Elle’s side.
She’s absolutely right, Ronan. He will not stop until he either sees her charged with all the murders or she’s dead.
Based on his actions to date, he will go full scorched earth on her.
If Ashton can’t have her arrested, he’ll see her punished in other ways. ”
“And he heard how upset I was when I found out that Kasey Arnold’s body was discarded in that well,” Elle added quietly. “He knows how to hit me where it hurts.”