Damned (Shaye Archer Series Book 7)

by DeLeon, Jana

  “Then if I’m the source of his pain, why not kill me first?”

  “Maybe he needed to practice first. Maybe he really is hearing voices and believes God called him to that victim first. Or maybe simply because when he kills you, it’s over.”

  “You think by killing other people and taunting me with it, he can punish me for longer.”

  Shaye shrugged. “We have no way of knowing for sure, but yeah, that’s one possibility.”

  “Well, if that was his plan, it’s working. I don’t suppose there’s any way to get the police investigating the girl’s death to look into the electrician.”

  “Not officially. That would require you filing a report. We have opportunity and a motive for harassing you, but we don’t have proof that he killed the girl. Unless you told them about the confession, they would have no reason to assume the two things are connected.”

  “I’m not willing to put everything on the line without more. Perhaps he left evidence on the other victim, but then they’d have no way of matching it unless they focused on the electrician as a suspect.”

  He shook his head and Shaye could see what little hope he had slipping away.

  “Don’t worry about that. I might have a way to filter information to the detective on the case.”

  “That’s something at least. Do you think you can get more evidence?”

  “Yes. But we might have to wait until he makes another move.”

  Nicolas blew out a breath. “I guess that’s why I have Colby, right?”

  22

  Jackson entered Shaye’s apartment, his usual happy-to-see-her expression nonexistent and replaced with one of concern. Shaye knew his case wasn’t going well and after seeing him, she was afraid things might have gone completely south. She’d been tailing Jeff Breaux for about an hour when Jackson had called, asking to meet with her immediately. Given that it was only three in the afternoon, she knew something was up.

  “What’s wrong?” she asked as she closed the door behind him.

  “We have to talk about our cases,” he said as he made his way into the living room and flopped on the couch. “Seriously talk about them.”

  “But neither of us is supposed to do that.” Shaye couldn’t even fathom what had happened that had Jackson ready to spill facts about an ongoing investigation.

  “I’m afraid your case may overlap with my missing teen, Hailey Pitre.”

  She drew in a breath and sat next to him. “What makes you think that?”

  “Grayson and I were tailing Hailey’s father today.”

  Her stomach clenched. “You suspect him?”

  “Let’s just say his reaction to some things has been outside what we consider normal. And we have a fairly wide range. Based on some statements he made to us and to others who know him, he’s very serious about his strict moral code. He also failed to inform us that Hailey’s best friend from their old neighborhood disappeared before they moved. Pitre had a fight with the girl’s father shortly before, claiming the girl was leading his daughter down the wrong path.”

  “Did they ever find the girl?”

  Jackson shook his head. “It’s still an open case, but it’s been over a year.”

  “I assume you saw Pitre do something that set off more alarms?”

  “Yeah, he spent his lunch hour at St. Mary’s, praying and lighting a candle.”

  Shaye’s eyes widened when Jackson said the name of the church. “Plenty of fathers are strict about their daughters, and lighting a candle is normal under the circumstances,” she said, not wanting to go to that place in her mind where a man killed his own daughter because she was a sinner.

  “That’s true. But something is off. I have a bad feeling about Pitre.”

  Shaye felt her back tighten. If Jackson thought something was off, then it probably was. His instincts were excellent, which was exactly why Grayson had requested him as a partner. “You really think it’s him?”

  “He’s my number one suspect at this point. I already had a bad taste in my mouth when I saw him go into the church. Then after lighting the candle, he stood at the front of the cathedral for a full minute, staring at the door that leads to the confessional. Then he got this pissed-off look and practically jogged off. On my way out, I caught sight of Colby Stringer pushing a priest in a wheelchair. He’s your client, isn’t he?”

  Seeing no reason to lie at that point, she nodded. She’d introduced Jackson to Colby and he knew exactly what the former military officer did for a living. He also knew Shaye’s case had something to do with a priest, so it wasn’t exactly a huge leap to figure out that Nicolas was her client.

  “We need to exchange information,” he said. “I won’t repeat anything about your client to anyone with the police department. But I need to know exactly what you’re dealing with and you need to talk to your client and see if he knows Michael Pitre.”

  “Okay,” she agreed. “Might as well start from the beginning.”

  She started with her initial meeting with Nicolas, relaying the confession and Nicolas’s inability to identify the person. Then she went on to describe the notes the penitent was leaving for Nicolas and his run-in with the penitent in the courtyard the night before. She ended with the note he’d found on his hospital tray.

  Jackson listened intently without speaking. When she was done, he ran one hand through his hair and leaned back. “Your client is in serious danger. This guy is certifiable. That body they found today…sneaking into the hospital to leave notes. He’s risking a lot just to antagonize your client.”

  Shaye frowned. “Was Hailey harassed at all before she went missing?”

  “Not that I’m aware of. Neither her best friend nor her boyfriend mentioned anything like that and I’m sure it would have come up.”

  “So why the change in MO?”

  “You’re right. That’s not consistent. Damn it. Just when I think I’m going to catch a break in this case, things are all mixed up again.”

  “I’m not saying they’re not related. Maybe they are. But if so, then there was some reason the penitent focused on Hailey. If we knew that reason, we might be able to break this open.”

  “Assuming it’s the same person.” He blew out a breath. “The longer I think about it, the less likely it seems. Hailey and Sunny were both teenage girls. What could a disabled adult priest possibly have in common with them?”

  “They’re sinners.”

  “We’re all sinners. But why focus on those people?”

  “Looking at it logically, the girls would have been easier targets than boys. And Nicolas’s disability puts him at even more of a disadvantage than a healthy teen girl.”

  Jackson nodded. “So they’re easier to overpower. That I could go along with, but he’s picking his victims out somehow. There has to be some reason he chose those people. Again, assuming it’s the same guy.”

  “Yeah, God told him, remember?”

  “Right. Well, God had to point them out somehow.”

  “Sunny is easy enough to figure out. She worked a street corner. He could have driven by and seen her at any given time. Prostitutes aren’t exactly an uncommon target.”

  “True. And maybe that’s where he started. With someone who wouldn’t necessarily be missed.”

  “And who he knew for certain was committing a sin. The thing that makes it difficult is that he didn’t have to know her personally before picking her. He could have selected her without even speaking a single word.”

  “So in this case, the victim isn’t personal. She might have simply been the one that was easiest to try his hand at.”

  “Why not? It’s as good a reason as any other.”

  “Okay. So if we go with that, there’s two huge unknowns—what was Hailey’s sin and what was Nicolas’s? Did you come up with anything on your background search?”

  “Maybe.” She told him about the car wreck and the woman who had died.

  “But Nicolas wasn’t driving?”

  “No
. The other priest was and he died in the hospital shortly after the accident.”

  “And that’s how Nicolas wound up in a wheelchair?”

  “Yes. But that’s not all.” She told Jackson about the electrician who was on-site at the church the day of the confession and his connection to the victim.

  “That complicates things. I guess it’s possible this guy is looking for someone to blame and the only person left is Nicolas.”

  Shaye nodded. “It’s opportunity and a somewhat sketchy motive, but I can’t make it logically fit with Sunny. If his problem is personal with Nicolas, why kill someone else?”

  “To mess with him? Scare him into heart attack mode before he finishes him off? Practice?”

  She nodded. “And I considered all of those. But he could have scared Nicolas without actually killing someone. The confession alone was enough to cause him to break his vows. And then there’s the way the body was displayed. I can’t believe that was done to scare my client when he wasn’t even aware of who the victim was and might not have ever heard about the circumstances of how she was discovered if I wasn’t involved.”

  “That’s true. Damn it. I really hoped I was onto something.”

  “I’m not saying that you’re not. If the person who killed Sunny and kidnapped Hailey is also Nicolas’s stalker, then he’s picking his victims for individual reasons. But it’s equally possible that Sunny is the victim that the penitent told Nicolas about and Hailey was abducted by someone else entirely.

  “And God tells the penitent who to kill,” Jackson said drily.

  Shaye put her hands up in the air. “It wouldn’t be the first time.”

  He shook his head. “I’m more confused now than when I walked in. I saw Colby and the priest at the church and I was convinced everything was related. Maybe I’m completely off. Maybe I’m so desperate to find Hailey that I’m seeing patterns that aren’t there.”

  “That’s possible. But it’s more likely that you’ve gotten a bad feeling because our cases have something in common even if they’re not related. Trust me, I’m struggling with this as well. I feel like I have so much information but nothing fits together properly.”

  He nodded. “I’m in the same boat. I’m going to press Hailey’s best friend and the boyfriend harder—see if I can get anything out of them that might have triggered setting Hailey up as a victim for this penitent.”

  “If they get DNA off of Sunny, any chance you can run Pitre and my electrician by the lead detective?”

  He frowned. “I could probably manage something, although to be honest, I don’t have a good idea how to do it just yet. Are you looking at anyone else for this besides the electrician?”

  “For the first time ever, I have too many suspects.”

  “Who else are you looking at?”

  She told him about her visit with Robert Croft. “He totally creeped me out, and that’s not an easy thing to do.”

  “He sounds like a good fit.”

  “I know, right? And I thought so too, until last night. Right before I left his office, Croft told his assistant to make sure his jet was ready. He said he was going to New York. So assuming he made that flight…”

  “He wasn’t in New Orleans to stalk Nicolas last night. Do you have any others?”

  “One more, but it’s an opportunity thing. I’m short on motive.”

  “Who?”

  “Father Malcolm.”

  Jackson stared. “The priest who came to Nicolas’s rescue in the courtyard.”

  “Did he?”

  He rubbed his temples. “Jesus H. Christ. You’re right, of course. In fact, there’s no one else with that kind of opportunity that fits the bill, and he’s got the religious end of things wrapped up as well. You run a background on him yet?”

  “On my list for tonight.”

  “Do they both live at the church?”

  “Yes. Along with the senior priest. They share living quarters. Common kitchen and living room, separate bedrooms.”

  “What about the other priest? You looking at him too?”

  “No. Hustle said he has a knee injury and walks with a limp. That’s something the street kid would have noticed. And even though he didn’t see much, Nicolas would have recognized his walk in the courtyard last night. I’ll probably run a background on him just because, but I doubt I’ll come up with anything. He’s been running St. Mary’s for decades.”

  “At least there’s three of them living there. Nicolas isn’t alone.”

  “And I had Colby install a security camera in his room today. I don’t anticipate anything happening to him there with three in residence, but I thought maybe the penitent would get bold and leave him a note in his room. And at this point, I’d rather play it safe.”

  “I’m beginning to think there’s no safe way to play this.”

  Shaye nodded. She’d felt that way ever since Jackson had given her a description of the body placement of the first victim.

  Hudson squirmed a bit and adjusted the collar of his T-shirt before pulling on his leather jacket. “You’re sure she won’t be able to see anything?”

  “Do you plan on getting naked?” Grayson asked.

  “No! No way,” Hudson said.

  “Then she won’t see the wire,” Grayson said. “Even if you take off the jacket. It’s really small. Unless the fabric of a shirt is the clingy type, which yours isn’t, it won’t show.”

  “Okay. Are you sure I have to do this? I mean, every time I think about having to pretend I like that girl, I get so angry I want to punch a wall.” Hudson looked down at the floor. “I know I shouldn’t say things like that, but I don’t like being blackmailed.”

  “I don’t blame you,” Jackson said. “But we need to know if Marcy had anything to do with Hailey’s disappearance. If anyone can get that out of her, it’s you.”

  “Yeah, I know,” Hudson said. “And I want to help, I swear. I guess I’m just having trouble seeing Marcy as capable of something that big. This blackmail thing is totally her but making someone disappear…I don’t know.”

  “And neither do we,” Jackson said. “But the point of all of this is to find out. The less time we spend looking at Marcy the more time we have to investigate others.”

  Hudson swallowed. “You really don’t know what happened to Hailey, do you?”

  Jackson’s heart clenched a little. “No. I’m sorry. I wish we did.”

  “Me too,” Hudson said. He looked up at Jackson, his expression one of sadness and fear. “I was on the internet earlier, looking stuff up about this kind of thing. It’s already too late, isn’t it? I mean, there’s practically no chance she’s alive anymore.”

  “There’s always a chance,” Jackson said. “You have to maintain hope until we find out the truth.”

  Hudson nodded but Jackson didn’t see even a shred of hope in his eyes. He couldn’t really blame him. Jackson knew the facts about abductions as well as any professional, and God knew the internet never focused on the rare positive outcomes. If Hudson had spent time googling abduction cases, Jackson was surprised he wasn’t halfway in a bottle.

  Grayson looked up from the receiver he’d been adjusting. “We’re all set. We’ll be able to hear you from a good distance, but buildings interfere so we need to keep the airways as direct as possible. Take it easy when you drive. If we can maintain line of sight, then we should get everything.”

  “But you have backup in the car, right?” Hudson asked.

  “Yes. There is another unit recording in the car,” Grayson said. “Are you ready?”

  Hudson shrugged. “As ready as I’m getting. Jesus, I’d rather do family dinner night and listen to my mother piss and moan about all my bad decisions than be locked up in a car with that bitch.” His face flushed a little. “I better not find out she did anything to Hailey.”

  “Don’t do anything stupid,” Jackson said.

  “Stupid’s a matter of opinion,” Hudson said. “Like most things.”

 
; Jackson struggled not to smile. He was starting to like Hudson.

  The young man grabbed his car keys off the counter and set out for the back of the auto shop where his car was parked. Grayson and Jackson headed for Grayson’s car and pulled out behind Hudson as he left. There was no reason to create distance until he picked up Marcy, so they followed closely until he turned on the block where the teen had told him to meet her. Jackson figured she didn’t want Hudson showing up at her house. Despite her tough-girl demeanor, Marcy had rules to play by just like everyone else.

  Grayson pulled to the curb at the beginning of the block and they watched as Hudson stopped halfway down the street. Marcy hurried out of a shop, beaming at Hudson.

  “If my teenage daughter ever dressed like that, I’d ship her off to one of those nunneries,” Grayson said.

  “Do those still exist?”

  “If not, then I’d build one.”

  Jackson didn’t like to pass harsh judgment on young people, as he figured most of them were still finding their way. But in this case, he had to agree with his partner’s sentiment. The glittery spandex pants, top that plunged to the bottom of her elevated cleavage, six-inch spike heels, and dark makeup were more commonly seen on working girls than the average citizen. Clearly, she was pulling out all the stops to attract Hudson, but given that Hailey had more of a geeky thing going, Jackson doubted the look would get her the compliments she was looking for.

  Hudson didn’t bother getting out to open the door for Marcy, even though she stood next to it with a pouty look for several seconds. She must have decided it was open her own door or stand on the street all night because she finally pulled it open and climbed inside.

  “You look great,” Marcy said. “I love the jacket.”

  Hudson grunted.

  “Aren’t you going to say anything about the way I look?” she asked.

  “Don’t know how you walk in those shoes,” Hudson said. “Looks like you’d break an ankle.”

  Jackson smiled. It definitely wasn’t the response Marcy was looking for. He only hoped Hudson didn’t make her too mad before he got anything useful out of her.