Eva Rae Thomas Mystery Box Set

by Willow Rose

  Now, she was looking around and wondered just how long she would have to be in this place before her mother would find her. A set of heavyset dark eyes lingered on her and made her feel uncomfortable. They belonged to a Hispanic looking man who was standing further down the line. Olivia lowered her eyes again and kept her head down, then walked closer to the woman in front of her in the line, pretending to be with her, or at least to make sure she didn’t look like she was there alone.

  A flock of prostitutes stood on the corner and went to talk to the men in cars that drove up to them. One of them decided to get into a dark car, and they took off. Olivia felt her heart sink, thinking that the girl didn’t look like she was much older than Olivia herself.

  Please, hear my message, Mom. Please, come and find me.

  The Hispanic man approached her, then grabbed her shoulder. Olivia gasped and looked up. He smiled and winked, then leaned forward and whispered, “Need money? I can help you get money. What are you? A runaway? Or did your parents throw you out? You know what? You don’t have to tell me. I see girls like you come here all the time, and I can help. See those girls over there? They work for me. They make a thousand dollars a day. Do you want to make a thousand dollars a day? You won’t have to eat soup anymore. You’ll be able to go to real restaurants and have lobster. Do you want lobster, huh, little girl? Of course, you do.”

  Olivia breathed heavily. She felt his clammy hand on her shoulder and wanted to scream. Her heart was pounding in her chest with fear, and she tried to move away from the guy, but he held onto her tight with his big hands.

  “Please, leave me alone,” she said, but the words were barely a whisper as they left her lips.

  The guy laughed and held onto her even tighter. She had no idea how to escape him when a van drove up on the pavement and made some of the waiting homeless people jump for their lives. The van came to a sudden halt, and the roller door on the side went up. Two men jumped out and ran toward Olivia. One of them swung a gun in the air, and suddenly, people surrounding them scattered without a sound. Even the Hispanic man was gone in a matter of seconds while the men grabbed Olivia by the arms and dragged her into the van, closed the roller door, and took off.

  Chapter 75

  “I knew it!”

  Carter came to Matt’s desk, smiling widely. He grabbed a chair and sat down. Matt exhaled and tried to seem excited, even though everything inside of him screamed with anxiety. That look on his face could only have to do with Eva Rae, and if Matt was honest, he could barely take any more bad news.

  “What’s going on?”

  His voice was slightly shrill as he asked the question, and he sipped his coffee while trying to act calm.

  “They found traces of the gas in the Mustang,” Carter said, looking triumphant. He threw a file on the desk in front of Matt and opened the forensics report.

  “See, here and here,” he said and pointed. “Sarin gas. The same nerve gas used in all three attacks. All traces were found in the trunk.”

  Matt wrinkled his forehead. He couldn’t believe any of this. “Nerve gas? In the Mustang that Eva Rae Thomas and her sister drove around?”

  Carter snapped his fingers.

  “Bingo.”

  Matt shook his head. Part of him wanted to laugh because it seemed so ridiculous, but unfortunately, it was no joke.

  “But… this… I mean come on…” Matt said.

  “What are you talking about?” Carter protested. “This speaks a very clear language. I think we’re getting closer to a really big fish here. She is involved in these attacks somehow. I just haven’t figured out her role in it yet. But she’s involved with NYX and the attack; there’s no doubt about it. She might even be in charge of it all. She’s the only one there who fits the profile. My guess is that Lori Moore didn’t want to be a part of it, that she wanted out, and that was why Eva Rae Thomas killed her. One of the men killed at the port was also NYX. Maybe all that was just about her getting rid of him, maybe because he wanted to talk as well. Who knows? Maybe it has all been about the attacks? Even the raids on the spas up north? Maybe they’re all in it, and she’s been cleaning out her ranks.”

  “Do you really seriously think that Eva Rae Thomas, honored FBI-profiler, mother of three children, is capable of murdering all these people, among them several children, and even using children to perform the task? You think she could do that?”

  Carter shrugged. “Why not? She went through a bad divorce almost a year ago, and that’s when things went downhill for her. It’s been bad for a while; think about it. She feels guilty about not being able to save her partner’s child; she is divorced; she quits her job and moves back to her hometown, where she finds out her father is a serial killer, and she loses it. She wants to send the world a message of some sort, so she starts planning these attacks and joins this cult who will believe anything, especially that the world is going under soon. Christopher Daniels and her plan it all together. Here, she can get the hands she needs to fulfill her plans, and the funds since the cult appeals to millionaires. But then her daughter disappears. My guess is the daughter ran away from her crazy mom, or maybe she was taken by some people who wanted to stop her, but Eva Rae uses it as an excuse to go rogue and get rid of anyone who might stand in her way. The first attack has already been done, but now some of them are getting cold feet when they realize what they have been a part of. These spas have been providing girls for her to train and use in the attacks, and they have threatened to reveal her, so she decides to rid herself of them under the pretense that she is searching for her daughter. Then she comes down here and hooks back up with NYX and helps with the last two attacks.”

  Carter looked at Matt like he expected applause, but Matt had no idea what to say to him. This was so far-fetched that it made him speechless.

  “I know; I know,” Carter said. “I don’t have all the details yet, but I will soon. I’m sure I will. And once I crack this baby open, it will make my career. Just you wait and see.”

  Chapter 76

  It was dark before he came out. I waited and kept my distance, while not letting my eyes look away from the entrance to the police department even for a second. I couldn’t risk missing him.

  As I finally spotted him walking out the glass doors, my heart dropped. He was standing under the streetlight, talking to someone, then they said their goodbyes, and he left.

  I stared at the man I loved, feeling a deep punch in my heart as he got into a cab. I rushed to the cab parked right behind his and got in.

  “Follow the one in front of you,” I said. “But not too closely. Just make sure we get to the same destination.”

  The driver looked at me in the rearview mirror, then wrinkled his forehead. “Say, haven’t I seen you somewhere around here before?”

  “I don’t know. Maybe,” I said and pulled the cap further down my face. “I take taxis all the time.”

  “Are you famous or something? I feel like I’ve seen you on TV,” he continued.

  My eyes were fixated on the cab in front of us, and as they took a left, I feared my driver would lose them.

  “They went left. Go left here.”

  “Easy there, lady. I’ve got this. You’re not the first girlfriend in my cab trying to stalk their cheating boyfriend.”

  I wanted to tell him that Matt would never cheat on me, that he was the most honorable, most noble and loyal boyfriend anyone could have. And that I didn’t deserve him. Because it was the truth, Matt was way too good for me.

  But I didn’t say anything. Instead, I just stared at the driver in the mirror, then turned to look at the cab in front of us.

  “Is it the secretary?” he continued. “It often is. Or maybe an old high school sweetheart who came to town? Those are always tough to beat. There’s something about that first love that just won’t leave you.”

  “Sounds like you speak from experience,” I said dryly.

  The cab driver chuckled. “Touché.”

  “Yeah,
well, I’ve been told I’m pretty good at reading people.”

  “You some kind of psychologist or somethin’?” he asked.

  “You might say so. Go right. They’re going right.”

  “I’ve got this.”

  He turned, and I stared at the cab with Matt in it as it came to a halt in front of a Marriott. I handed the driver a bill and told him to stop further down the road.

  “Good luck with your cheating boyfriend,” he said. “For what it’s worth, I’m sure she ain’t half as pretty as you are.”

  I gave him a wry smile, then left the car and walked up toward the hotel, where Matt soon disappeared inside. I stood on the stairs outside for a little while, contemplating my plan, feeling myself get cold feet for a second. Would Matt believe me? Would he help me? Or was he here to take me down? Had he lost his confidence in me because of what I had done? It wasn’t well-received among law-enforcement to take the law in your own hands, especially not a cop. Had he turned his back on me for doing what I did? Did he resent me for it?

  There was only one way to find out.

  Chapter 77

  “Do you have a Shock Top, please?”

  Matt sat on a stool with a heavy sigh. The bar in the hotel was pretty much empty except for a woman sitting at the other end of the counter, sipping a cocktail. She looked to be in her mid-thirties, slim, and with long blonde hair reaching down by her shoulders. She smiled gently at him, then saluted him as his beer landed in front of him. Matt responded with half a smile, making sure she knew he wasn’t there to pick up ladies. It was the last thing on his mind right now. He really just needed a beer after a very, very long day. Her eyes told him she understood. She looked like she had a long day as well. He wondered if she was on a business trip. She didn’t look like a tourist in her skirt and white buttoned-up shirt.

  Matt looked away and took a sip of his beer. He closed his eyes as the liquid slid into his throat, then put the glass back down. Matt rubbed his forehead in agitation like he’d been doing all day.

  How was he supposed to solve this? How was he going to help Eva Rae?

  Carter had set his heart on taking her down; heck, he was willing to risk his entire career for it. Yet none of it made any sense to Matt. Was he just being blind? Was he unable to see it for what it was, just because he loved her?

  You’ve known her your entire life, Matt. Get a grip.

  Matt shook his head and sipped his beer again, thinking about the necklace. He had been through the file from the findings at Lori Moore’s kitchen. The necklace had been found there, and he couldn’t for the life of him figure out how it would end up there. He knew that necklace; heck, he remembered toying with it between his fingers while kissing her.

  What he wouldn’t give to be able to kiss her again, to feel those lips pressed against his, to smell her hair, to... to…

  “A glass of Chardonnay, please.”

  Matt opened his eyes with a small gasp. The woman sitting on the stool next to him smiled gently and instantly melted his heart.

  “Put it on his tab,” she said addressed to the bartender while nodding in Matt’s direction.

  “Eva Rae?”

  “The one and only,” she said as the bartender slid the glass of white wine toward her. She grabbed it and drank.

  “Oh, boy. I needed that.”

  “What the heck are you doing here?” Matt asked, suddenly overwhelmed with fear that someone would see them together. “The entire police force is looking for you. Your face has been on every screen in this town. If anyone sees you here, they’ll…”

  Eva Rae gave him a look that made him shut up. He bit his lip as her eyes pierced into his. He didn’t know what to say. There was so much he wanted to tell her, but no words seemed sufficient. He had dreamt of seeing her again for so long, and there she was, right in front of him, looking even more gorgeous than ever. It seemed impossible. She was out of this world.

  “You’re being investigated,” he said quite unromantically. “Not just for the petty stuff you did up north at the spas, like impersonating a health inspector and beating up the spa-owners, or even for the murder of Lori Moore or the three men at the harbor. But also, as someone involved in the three nerve gas attacks around town. This is serious, Eva Rae. This is getting really serious.”

  Chapter 78

  I felt like I was choking. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. Did they seriously think I had anything to do with the gas attacks? I stared at the man I loved, unable to speak a single word, unable to fathom what on Earth was going on.

  “They found your necklace at Lori Moore’s place,” Matt continued. “They think you killed her because she wanted to reveal your plans since she defected from NYX. They think you’re involved with NYX and Christopher Daniels, that… that you’re the one pulling the strings.”

  My eyes grew wide, and I sipped more wine, then finished the glass and ordered a second one.

  “And what do you think?” I asked when it arrived, and I could finally speak again. I waited for his response, scrutinizing his eyes, wondering if some part of him believed they were right, that I was capable of such a thing. He waited a little too long for my liking to give me his answer. The hesitation made me concerned.

  “I think that it makes no sense, any of it,” he said in almost a whisper. “But I don’t know how to stop it. It’s like lava coming toward you, and I can’t prevent it from hitting you no matter how hard I try.”

  “You’re darn right it makes no sense,” I said with a snort.

  “What were you doing at the estate?” he asked. “The NYX estate? They said you were there recently.”

  “I was hiding,” I said and sipped my wine. “But then they wouldn’t let me leave. They tried to force me to stay and locked me in. Sydney helped me escape. I thought I might find Olivia there, but she wasn’t at the estate.”

  “We raided the place today,” he said. “Took in everyone and interrogated them. They found your car, and it had traces of Sarin gas in it.”

  I wrinkled my forehead. “Why would there be Sarin gas in my car?”

  He sighed and drank from his beer, his eyes avoiding mine. I didn’t know what to make of him. He seemed confused, and it had me worried. I needed him to be on my side. No matter what happened, I needed him to know the truth. I placed a hand on his arm, and he looked up at me. I could tell he hadn’t slept much lately. His eyes were red-rimmed, and he had deep furrows beneath them. This wasn’t the healthy, always tanned and happy Matt that I knew so well. This had broken him.

  “I am sorry,” I said. “For dragging you into all this. It wasn’t supposed to happen. I have made some bad choices along the way and gotten carried away emotionally, and I still haven’t found my daughter. For a little while, I thought she might be at the NYX estate, but I couldn’t find her there. Did they interrogate Christopher Daniels when they brought him in?”

  Matt nodded heavily. “He’s not talking. None of the cult members have said a word. Daniels doesn’t even deny the accusations; he’s just staring at us with a smug smile on his face. JTTF did the interrogation, but we watched it from the outside. You should have seen him, the way he thought it was all a joke. I want to punch him in that perfect face of his.”

  “That makes two of us,” I said. “What about Sydney; was she brought in too?”

  Matt nodded. “They want to use her to get to you. My partner Carter tried to work her all day. He is obsessed with getting you. But she has a good lawyer, and he will get her out tomorrow morning, just like the rest of the NYX members. They have some good lawyers and a lot of money. Sydney didn’t say anything either, not even about NYX.”

  “Smart girl,” I said. “The last thing she needs is them coming for her like they did to Lori Moore. There are some pretty powerful people in that cult. She could end up never working again, or worse.”

  Matt nodded and grew absent for a second, then looked at me again, affection in his eyes.

  “I missed you, though,” he
said with a deep sigh. “I missed you a lot.”

  I swallowed and smiled back. “I was thinking about turning myself in. I need to tell my side of the story.”

  He nodded again but seemed hesitant. To my surprise, I realized that he didn’t think it was a good idea. It was the right thing to do, in a perfect world where justice was served, but that wasn’t our world, was it? By the look in his eyes, I sensed he didn’t fully believe it was the right thing for me to do, yet he couldn’t say so since it would go against everything he believed in, everything he stood for.

  I sipped my wine again, a tear shaping in my eye, thinking about my poor Olivia. Was I ready to give up searching for her myself? Did I believe that she would be found if I left it to the police to look for her? The same police that believed I was a mass-murderer?

  “I saw her, you know?” Matt said.

  I almost choked on my white wine. “You saw Olivia? My Olivia?”

  He nodded. His eyes weren’t smiling, and he didn’t seem happy to tell me, which scared me half to death.

  “At the attack at the school. She was there. It was just for a brief moment, then she was gone, escaped somehow in the chaos.” He grabbed my hand in his, then leaned over and whispered close to my ear. “I think she got away. She’s alive, and she’s out there somewhere.”

  I nodded, thinking about how I saw her on the footage from the chopper, but it felt good to have it confirmed. I wasn’t just seeing things when I saw her on the surveillance footage from the train station either. She had been there, both times. But that also meant that my theory was correct. She was being used by unscrupulous people to perform these attacks along with other trafficked girls.