“Final destination?” He should have gotten the exact location and directions from Abby when she’d called.
“Not quite sure.”
“Do not let her out of your sight.”
“Understood, Detective.”
“As soon as I have a vehicle, I’ll call you back.” Royden disconnected the call.
Billy had closed his eyes, breathing deep in an apparent attempt to contain his temper. “I’ll call Lexi and ask her to track Abby’s phone as soon as it’s active.”
Royden twisted to face Johen. “If anything happens to her, don’t worry. We won’t bother with handcuffs. I will come for you, not during working hours and not during daylight. You’ll know before you draw your last breath who you’re facing.”
Johen paled in the back seat.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Abby turned onto the bumpy road resembling a well-traveled deer path. Had the turnoff not been marked, she would’ve stopped and waited for Royden. What I wouldn’t give to have Hoover or Damien with me now. Both dogs were protective and possessed an uncanny ability to sense danger, but she didn’t want to risk Lottie’s fear of animals or risk Hoover getting lost after chasing a deer.
The fact Oregon had more National Forest Roads than any other state gave little comfort when the trees cocooned her in a solemn and darkened world.
As a kid hiking trails with her brothers, she remembered the vast expanse that held such fascination. Now, a sense of finality blossomed in her mind. Lottie said she’d fled her apartment the moment her ex called. The forest was the last place anyone would think to search for a self-declared city girl. The reasoning had made sense at the time.
Now, Abby wasn’t so sure when her body vibrated from an overload of vivid imagination and hyped up on excessive caffeine. She’d needed the early morning boost after a restless night.
The officer escorting her was vaguely familiar and had presented a professional front. No doubt, her brothers had been the one he called when he’d picked up his phone as seen in her rearview mirror.
It doesn’t explain why my mind is conjuring images of death and destruction.
The road narrowed and twisted until she had to slow to a crawl, her body jolted left and right from the deep ruts and potholes of the convoluted path. If she needed to turn around, she’d have to go a ways to find the space to do so.
A red cloth tied around a tree trunk marked the next turn onto a dirt road. Deep tracks marked the path of a previous vehicle leading to an unmarked drive. No mailbox, overgrown weeds, and her twitchy imagination deemed her current mission foolhardy.
Looking at her directions again, it seemed she should’ve reached her destination. To take her mind off the dire situation, she flipped through her mental catalogue of favorite times with Royden, bungee jumping, rollerblading, or just sitting in front of the fire and cuddling on the couch.
Flashbacks of huddling in the corner on a dirt-floored underground cell filtered through her mind despite her determination to wipe them away. The vacillation gave her a headache.
In the early part of the previous century, the U.S. Forest Service had developed a program. The intention of Cabin in the Woods allowed citizens to establish homes in the National Forest, paying a yearly rent for the use of the land. The twenty-year permits came with restrictions for the property’s use. She’d seen a few homes dotting the land here and there. Most appeared well kept, even inviting.
A small sign ahead signaled the end of her journey. She didn’t hesitate to pull onto the dirt driveway. The cabin looked a little worse for wear with a sagging porch and some missing wooden shakes on the roof. No one sat on the rickety chair. Lottie has a right to be cautious, but where’s her vehicle?
The narrow path used for an entrance came to a T in front of the cabin. Abby stopped a short distance away. Behind her, the trooper turned on his flashing lights, the blue strobing the surrounding forest.
Her escort was out and moving forward before she’d unbuckled her seatbelt. While rolling down the window, she turned on her cell.
“Stay in the car, Ms. McAllister. I’ll check out the cabin and bring your witness out.”
Chivalry was far from dead. In this instance, his taking the lead allowed her to inhale a deep breath.
The trooper’s hard gaze scanned the surrounding woods before advancing the thirty yards toward the door. Apparently, his intuition warned him of danger, too.
Abby started to open her door, prepared to tell her escort to wait and let Lottie come out on her own.
The cabin door opened when he was halfway to the steps with his hand on the butt of his pistol. He stopped. “Ma’am, are you Lottie Davidson?”
The petite brunette wore a loose gauze shirt and long flowing skirt that swayed with the slight breeze. Her hands were in her pockets.
Abby opened her door to warn the officer. “No. That’s not Lottie. That’s... that’s Jenna. She’s Mitzie’s friend who met us at the bar.” Lottie didn’t say she was with anyone. Before Abby could finish, the woman repositioned her hand, clearly showing the outline of something long and narrow covered by the flowing cloth of her skirt. She’d fired her gun before the trooper could clear his weapon.
Abby ducked behind her door, her thoughts unable to disentangle the horrific events, throwing her mind back in the past.
The officer spun sideways and stumbled while clutching his neck. Blood leaked from between his fingers and down his arm. Shock in his gaze proclaimed the impossible happening.
His body arched back, and his knees buckled with the force of the second shot. One hand clutched his side and the other gripped his neck. He dropped face down in the leaf litter.
A scream died in Abby’s throat as her gaze found the shooter’s calm façade, grinning like she’d won the lottery. Her hair was different but those eyes, the eyes held a coldness few people could match.
How had she missed the signs? Pieces of the macabre puzzle came together in a twisted joining of unlikely events yet failed to unveil the overall portrait of death and destruction. The girl seemed too young to contain the evil emanating from her gaze.
Abby was too close to the cabin to run, hence wouldn’t make it into the woods before bullets brought her down.
A feral smile lifted the corners of Jenna’s mouth. “You can come out now, bitch. There’s nowhere to go.”
Abby nodded and raised her hands in a show of surrender. A thousand different possibilities flitted across her catalogue of possible outcomes. None existed where she survived.
She’d wanted to wait to start her marriage until her future held no threat. Now, she wouldn’t get the chance. She was in the middle of nowhere, facing a psycho with a gun, with no support and no weapon. In leaning over and dropping her hands to push open the door farther, she slipped her phone from her pocket and into her sock. It seemed the best impromptu plan available.
“Where’s Lottie?” Standing, she looked around. She might be able to outrun Jenna, but not the gunfire.
Inane thoughts filtered through her mind. The top contender included running in a crouch and using her car door as a barrier until she reached the rear of the police cruiser. Any distance would help before crossing open ground into the surrounding brush.
If Jenna had remained on the porch instead of advancing, it might have made a half-baked plan. Despite not knowing the area, Abby did know how to navigate in a particular direction from a static position.
“Come on now, Abby. Not only will I let Lottie free, I swear no further harm will come to her.”
“How do I know you’ll keep your word?” The sound of scurrying footsteps stopped her from retreating. The killer had anticipated the move.
Abby sidestepped with her hands up. She’d run out of options. Though cabins were arranged in tracts, wide expanses spaced them far apart. The current dwelling either existed outside the authorities’ parameters, or simply didn’t have close neighbors. Even if she could get away, it wouldn’t do to lead chaos to someone else
’s door.
“I’m coming.” She stepped forward, not surprised the killer stood just beyond the front of her car, able to duck and take cover should Abby have had a weapon. “Who are you?”
“I’m the author of all your nightmares to come, even if they don’t last long.”
“I thought Carrigan’s brother orchestrated all this, but I know he doesn’t have any sisters. Are you his girlfriend? One we didn’t know about?”
“You mean your hacker family hasn’t nailed my identity?” A tsk tsk coincided with her pouting lips. “I’m Carrigan’s half-sister. I don’t share the last name because my parents never married. I’m also the one who’s going to finish the job he began... You McAllisters think your shit doesn’t stink, but I assure you, they’ll all get their comeuppance. I’ll be sure to spread it out over time, so they won’t see me coming.” With her gun, she motioned Abby sideways. “Where’s your cell?”
“In my purse, on the front passenger seat.”
“It can stay there. They’ll trace the cruiser anyway. Clever girl. Good thing I planned for such eventualities.”
“Where’s Lottie?”
“In the cabin, of course.” The killer spared a glance at the cop in passing. He hadn’t moved or made a sound since falling. “No need to waste a bullet.”
“You said you’d let Lottie go.”
“I did. Not that it matters, I don’t think she’ll go far—as a corpse.”
“You said you wouldn’t hurt her!”
“I said I wouldn’t cause her further harm. And I won’t. I can’t.” The tinkling laughter mimicked that of a madman.
“Why the charade?’
“You have no idea to what lengths I’ve gone or the fun I’ve had. I’ll tell you about it on our journey. This way.” She motioned Abby forward with the gun. “By the way, you can call me Helena. I liked the name Jenna, hence used it in cultivating a friendship with Mitzie.”
“You’ve been pumping my assistant for information.”
“I tried, but it didn’t work. So, I gave her a friendship necklace with a small mic in it. Had to trade it out for a fresh battery during our girls’ night out, but that wasn’t any problem.”
“Did you arrange the accident that killed Phyllis Rollison and her daughter?”
“Sure did. That was the easiest part of the puzzle. The genius part is what followed.”
“You arranged for someone to break into my office. Why?”
“I wanted to create chaos, my penultimate goal. I’ve succeeded in leading your brothers and cop boyfriend on a merry chase. For the coup de grâce, I’ll have a fall guy, the CEO himself.”
“You got Credlin to break into my office?”
“No, you’re not paying attention. That was the work of your associate, Johen, and I arranged that. I promised he’d get the promotion if he did. Well, plus I blackmailed him. With what he’s done to get it plus the wig, makeup, and contacts I wore when around him, he can’t give me up to the cops. Then I also slept with your boss, Brad. He’s so damned greedy, wanting Credlin’s account so bad he jumped at the chance to influence the partners.”
A deep sigh of satisfaction conveyed things Abby didn’t want to contemplate. “You whored yourself to get what you wanted.”
“I wouldn’t put it like that. Hell, I’ve never had so much fun orchestrating this elaborate of a plan. You see, I’ve always been competitive with Daryl, my half-brother. He thinks his nerdy brain makes him superior. Ha.” Jenna shoved Abby in the back to move her forward into the woods. I’ll show him how an artistic talent using mayhem can outperform a nerd.”
“You’re insane.”
“On the contrary. I’m brilliant. Your idiot brothers will never disentangle it all. I slept with Credlin because I wanted the final laugh and bragging rights when I looked back at my labyrinthine success. I also want to gloat to my sibling with how close I came to all of my pawns, changing my looks so they can’t point to one woman, then manipulating them however I saw fit.”
After a few minutes, another piece fit into place. “You went all the way to New Zealand to shoot me? Why’d you wait till I was in the water?”
“It was the closest I could come to mimicking your prison on short notice. But that’s not all.” Jenna followed Abby but kept enough distance to prevent any offensive maneuvers. “I’ve led your PPD on a merry chase.”
“How so?”
“I might as well tell you, as you’ll have at least a bit of time to contemplate my elaborate victory.”
The chuckle reaching Abby’s ears numbed her muscles. Her killer no longer intended a quick death by bullet. No, something more sinister awaited. She thought of the time Lexi and Caden faced a horde of crazed, engineered rats. They’d recovered with time, something Abby didn’t have.
“Why kill Charlee?” To think the doctor had died for this woman’s entertainment pierced Abby’s soul.
“A woman dumb enough to accept my assurance I could help. However, I did give her a decent last meal. I even super-sized it.”
“Why did you... boil her down to the bone?”
“I was curious how long it would take. I’ve always wanted a skeleton ashtray, you know, for keys and stuff. The damn thing is, once I got her almost clean, I realized the skull just wasn’t going to work. What a waste of time. But innovation saved the day. I left her long black hair as a funny anecdote to Royden and your brothers. I figured the police might suspect you or your boyfriend.”
Acid churned in Abby’s stomach. “What are you planning to do to me?” Visions of stepping into a boiling vat of acid made her stumble, her hand catching on a tangle of thorns.
“Oh, nothing near so painful. You should be grateful.” The sinister laugh declared otherwise. “I think you’ll figure it out pretty quick once we get to our destination. It’s not too much farther. Once I deposit you, I’ll be on my way.”
“You knew I’d come if Lottie called.”
“Yeah, you bleeding hearts always do. She was born trash and died the same way.” Jenna snorted. “Look at the bright side. They’ll track the police cruiser and find both the cop and Lottie. They both get a decent burial. Win-win situation.”
“What about me?”
“You’ll already be in the ground... Remember the pie I sent you?”
“Oh, god.” Abby fell to her knees, her hands landing on budding briars. “Not again.”
“Oh, but this time is different. It’s better. You’ll have time to contemplate your pathetic life and the loser cop you didn’t marry. I bet you regret that now.” Jenna chuckled. “I do hope you’re not pregnant though. I shudder at the thought of killing babies.”
Abby tuned out the drone of Jenna’s words. Her mind couldn’t face another underground prison without shattering.
“You’re competing with Carrigan, your stepbrother? This is all just an elaborate game.” In her heart, she knew, but needed to hear it. Nothing would make sense except to the mind of a sociopath.
“Of course. Daryl Carrigan is my stepbrother. You’ve experienced advanced sibling rivalry 101.”
“You talked about Daryl when we were at the bar. I didn’t make the connection.”
“I didn’t give you a reason to make the connection. It was his nickname growing up. It’ what I’ve always called him, kinda like when you call someone named Robert, Bob.”
One name said it all. Abby had indeed come full circle.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
The lunatic referring to herself as Havoc guided Abby through the forest while avoiding people and bragging about her ingenious plan. Descriptions of sexual exploits confirmed the assassin’s twisted psyche.
Royden and her brothers would locate the trooper’s cruiser yet not know where she’d gone. Two more deaths weighed on her conscience.
Anger burned through her soul. “My brothers won’t stop until they find you. And handcuffs won’t be the first thing they reach for.” Her kidnapper, despite derangement, seemed to have no sense of self-preserva
tion.
The thought of suffocating in an unmarked grave weakened her legs. Again, she fell. Thorns tore at her skin and clothes, but this time when she stumbled, she grabbed them, hardening her jaw against the pain. The small amount of blood left would be plenty for a well-trained S&R dog.
Matt would bring Damien, one of the best tracking canines in the department. No doubt, the timing wouldn’t spare her death, but her family would find her and have closure.
“On a bad day, I’d shoot you for leaving a trail. Honestly, it’s insulting. However, just to show you I do have a heart; I’ll let it slide... Because you see, they won’t be in time. This way, they’ll have hope before failure crushes them all.” A vicious chuckle, as well as her actions, reserved her a special place in hell. “If I weren’t sure the eldest prick would bring his dog, I’d hang around to get some real candids of Royden holding your dead body.”
With all Lexi and Katt’s hacking, they’d never uncovered Carrigan’s extended family. Then again, the twisted doctor who’d nearly killed her brother was as devious as he was brilliant.
“Are you going after my brothers next?”
“Hmm, eventually, yes. Before that though, I think I’ll get some snapshots of them grieving. Their guard will be down, and I’ll be able to get some decent close-ups with a good camera. They’ll make nice additions to my scrapbook.”
“You keep a scrapbook?”
“Sure, haven’t you heard? It’s one of the most satisfying hobbies a woman can have. Anyway, after I’ve collected enough pictures, I’m thinking of breaking my idiot half-brother out of jail. I might need his help when it comes to taking on your entire clan. Plus, I’ll also have a fall guy in the end. Carrigan can go back to jail. Isn’t that clever?” Her tittering laugh startled nearby squirrels, forcing them to scamper up a tree.
Abby’s heart wept for the lost opportunity of sharing Royden’s life and love. If she could do one more thing, it would be to give him closure and pray he found peace.
McAllister Justice Series Box Set Page 48
