One of these was his identification of which of his fan girls he would get in contact with to help him. Spalding knew there was a good chance Tyler knew a lot of people in the underworld who might possibly still help him out, but he also knew how untrustworthy Tyler would find these people. Barring that, he would have to either work alone, or else use someone who was loyal to him. With this idea in mind, Spalding had long ago set up accounts with each of the Tyler Ford groups, and had even commented from time to time as a teenage girl to keep up appearances. What sold him on Anna’s site was she praised Tyler’s writing as well as his looks. This would play to Tyler’s ego; Spalding was sure of that.
Tracking what Anna was up to had led Spalding to where he now stood. He sipped on a hot coffee and leaned against the wall of the bookstore as he looked across some wasteland than adjoined the car park of the Cedar Views Motel. The blue Toyota was in the lot, motionless and likely to remain that way for the night. He’d watched them as they checked in, saw that they were sharing a room and was not surprised by this. Tyler was a sexual being after all, even Sarah Brightwater could attest to that, why shouldn’t he have some fun with this young woman. Especially on his last night on this earth.
Spalding bought a book and then went and sat in his van. He sat in the back and read his book while a camera mounted to the side of the van showed on a screen the whole vista of the motel from this side. Spalding didn’t think it was likely Tyler would venture out tonight. This was probably the first time he’d been with someone on his journey back from Washington and probably the safest he’d felt since being outed as a serial killer.
The stores on the small strip all closed early save a tiny gas station at the far end from where Spalding was parked. The whole are seemed to be thrown into complete darkness once nigh fell. Only one of the five street lamps worked, and that was the one outside the gas station, which having its own lights didn’t need the street one. It was a perfect night for a killing.
At close to midnight, Spalding left his van and walked across the wasteland, taking a large arc to come on the motel building from the side. He wanted to do a circuit of the building, to see the lay of the land as it were, before deciding on what he was going to do.
The motel grounds were like that of a million others, a small strip of untended grass out the back of the rooms, only the tiny bathroom windows showing out to this side. A fence, broken and bent from people using the land as a shortcut surrounded it. There was a small office at the end of the building, looked like it wasn’t much bigger than a toilet from the outside. The light was on, but he couldn't make out anyone at the desk right now. The neon ‘Vacancy’ sign buzzed in the air above the doorway.
Spalding looked at the next to empty parking lot and thought, ‘You’ve got vacancy aplenty, alright.’ There was only one other car in the lot and Spalding assumed this belonged to the person who should be manning the desk right now. This wasn’t the kind of place someone like Tyler Ford would ever choose to be his place of death. Still, no one really gets to make that choice for themselves, do they? You might have an idea where you’d like to expire but the chances are it wouldn’t be that place for most people. Especially the ones who died before their time.
Spalding checked his watch once again. It was still relatively early. Tyler could still have his full wits about him, unless of course he was making use of the warm body sharing the room with him tonight. He still hadn’t made up his mind if he was going to kill Anna or not. He didn’t see that she could be of any real use to him later on, but you just never knew. He’d had the same feeling about Ellie and look how much mileage he got out of her in the end.
It was too early. Spalding decided to hang back for a little while longer.
He paced the nearby streets for a little, listening all the while for the tell-tale sound of the Toyota’s engine in case Tyler and Anna had decided to leave for any reason. It was a mild night and no one else walked the streets here at this hour. At moments it was as close to silence and you could get in a non-rural area.
“You’re procrastinating,” Spalding said as he stopped walking. He looked back towards the motel. “You’re giving him a chance to get away, to continue to play with him, even though you know you shouldn't.” He nodded as though in agreement despite the face he was talking to himself and made for the motel once more.
Still the desk was unoccupied, and this time Spalding walked right to window of Tyler’s room. As expected, the curtains were closed in such a way that there was no visibility within the room at all. It was likely Tyler wouldn’t not be in the bed, or at least the bed would not be in the place you’d expect to find it. Tyler would have taken the precaution of moving it lest someone burst in the door, or simply try to shoot where the bed should be through the window. He’d never known Tyler to carry a gun, but now that he was on the run it was a distinct possibility. This thrilled Spalding; it was not often that he didn’t know what was going to happen.
He stepped back from the door to the room and then lunged forward with enough force to crash into the room as though the door wasn’t even there.
Anna screamed, threw herself back against the wall and pulled the bedclothes up around her as though they would be any protection against any would be attacker. Tyler was on his feet before Spalding even saw him and a heavy righthand cracked against the giant killer’s chin, swivelling his head a little before he felt a sudden hard kick in the back of the knee. It was almost enough to make him stumble— but not quite. Spalding feigned going down from the kick but then sound deftly on his other foot and caught Tyler’s neck with his forearm and sent him banging into the cheap wardrobe, shattering, and splintering its front completely.
To his credit Tyler reacted fast and was away from the wall in an instant, another kick delivered to the inside of Spalding’s knee that this time did cause him some pain and to buckle for a moment. Tyler followed on with a hard whack on his elbow to Spalding’s cheek and then a high-powered jab into his ribs. Spalding was impressed, he’d never gotten to see Tyler in action like this before and was glad it wasn’t as easy as he’d hoped to kill this worthy foe.
Spalding leaned over and took up a chair in one hand and smashed it over Tyler. It would have been his head, but Tyler ducked last second and the bulk broke on his upper back. It was enough to hurt him, though and send him to his knees. Now it was Spalding who followed up fast, planting a heavy kick into Tyler’s side that sent him sprawling to the doorway.
On feeling around for his bearings, Tyler used the door frame to pull himself outside just as Spalding’s foot came stomping down where his chest had just been.
“What’s the matter, Dwight?” Tyler said getting to his feet and wiping some blood from his lip. “Having a tantrum about losing all your hostages?”
“Not at all,” Spalding laughed stepping outside the room. “I can’t give you credit enough on finding not only myself but also a lot of my hideouts. I underestimated you. I never thought anyone would be able to find me.”
“I flattered,” Tyler said sourly, and then as though to goad Spalding added, “I’m not even going to tell you how I did it.” To this Spalding only laughed again, a hearty laugh full of life.
“I wouldn’t expect you to,” he said. “I may have underestimated you, but I haven’t made that same mistake with anyone else. With you gone, I won’t have to worry about anything as I finish out my plans.”
“What about Sarah?” Tyler said. “You’ve underestimated her.” Spalding shook his head,
“Not in the least. I know full well what she is capable of. I saw that in her a long time ago.”
“What do you want with her?” Tyler asked. He was swaying on his feet and it wouldn’t be hard to finish him off now.
“You state that you won’t tell me anything and yet you ask me for information?” Spalding said shaking his head in mock disappointment.
“Killing me won’t end your troubles,” Tyler said after a moment of the two men eyeing one another.
“It could be one of many,” Tyler shrugged. For a moment Spalding did not fully comprehend what Tyler meant by this, and it was this one moment that gave Anna the time to shove her taser up under his chin and shock Spalding through with shocking electricity. Spalding was frozen to the spot and the felt his world tilt as he fell over landing heavily on one side.
“Get to the car Tyler!” Anna was shouting. Spalding met eyes with Tyler and saw the want in his eyes to kill him. He shook his head and looked to Anna and then back to Spalding.
“This isn’t how it ends for you,” he whispered harshly and then made for the car. Though he couldn’t get up Spalding watched them go, seeing Tyler stumble and Anna having to take his weight as the fled. Tyler was in bad way, a possible head injury, or even a spinal one. He wouldn’t get far in that condition. And Spalding meant to be right behind him as soon as he could get up.
Chapter 18
Since seeing the video of her mother, Sarah had not been able to get the images from her mind. It had been such a beautiful thing to see her alive, see her smile and move but knowing the horrors she would endure later that same night made black oil run through her veins. How beautiful her mother had been, and how awful the thought of the death at the hands of Spalding.
Of course, the FBI had not reinstated her on foot of the two victims thus far— what kind of a precedent would that set. But Dan Martin had called to see how she was and if she knew anything more about the murders. She didn’t know anything and told him as much but got the impression he didn’t fully believer her. At the time she’d been angry about this, but now she understood how he felt. How could he trust her?
On hanging up the phone, Sarah thought about Spalding. What was his purpose in showing her this video? Did he want her mind completely frazzled or was this his sick and twisted idea of a gift to her? Did he think this would aid in bringing her back on the case? Surely not. Unless... A new thought pleased her. Was he the one finally coming unhinged? The pressure was on him now. His hiding places were being systematically destroyed and his known haunts becoming known. For the first time perhaps in his life, things were not going as he planned. Was this causing what must be a fragile mind to falter? Where they falling apart together, at the same time?
In an effort to get the video images from her mind, Sarah delved back into her files on Tyler. She’d spent enough time these last couple of days focusing on Spalding and Tyler was getting a free ride. She read some of his older articles— the ones Spalding had sent on to her— and then thought she should check in on the blogs and websites related to him.
The first couple were the same mindless dross that had been doing the rounds the last couple of weeks since Tyler was outed as a killer. Some of the girls were posting pictures of him and saying things like ‘I don’t care what he’s done, I’d still do anything for him’ or ‘I’d love be his victim!’. Sarah couldn’t believe it, but then she had to remind herself these girls were really just kids after all. They had no more idea of the real world than of anything else. They were wrapped up in fantasy worlds, still not even knowing who they were yet, trying to find their way.
The one he checked last took her breath away.
At first she wasn’t sure what she was seeing, or to be more accurate she couldn't believe it. There was an image of a sleeping Tyler on the page, his head gashed, and face puffed up and swollen; he looked like he’d been badly beaten and was unconscious. The picture had no story attached to it but had the caption ‘Look what those animals did to him!’ Sarah didn’t know who ‘those animals’ was referring to, but it didn’t much matter right now. She looked at the photograph, feeling the thrill of recognition.
She knew this place!
Sarah pulled up the image in full screen and scanned it. It was a hotel room, one that she felt she knew. True there were a lot of chin hotels with matching rooms all over the country where you wouldn’t be able to tell one from the other, but she didn’t think this was that kind of hotel.
Her eyes took in the bedspread. It was pretty generic, so she didn’t think it was that. The nightstand, wooden and aged looking, not much of a clue either. The wallpaper was a flowery pattern and though probably common enough in the industry she felt she’d seen it before. It was somewhere she’d been with Marcus. When though? And where was it? What where they doing. She tried to recall birthdays and anniversaries when they’d gone away bit each time she did a new hotel came back to her mind that didn’t match this one. Each of these memories also had the added sting of regret at all she’d lost in letting Marcus get away. If she’d managed to stay with him, perhaps she could have avoided all the pain and the mess with Tyler.
Shame ran though her as she thought about what Marcus would think if he knew about her suicide attempt.
“No time for that!” she cried out trying to clear her head and think back on the hotel room and where it was. One of the fugitives she wanted was lying helpless in a place she knew. If she could recall it she would have him. Tyler would be in jail this very night. She took in the image once and this time closed her eyes. Images of rooms flashed by one by one, some she was sure were amalgamating but it didn’t matter, she hadn’t found the right one yet.
“Chicago!” she suddenly recalled. Marcus and she had been on the way to Chicago, but they left much later than they intended and ended up staying at some hotel along the way. What was the name of the town? She couldn’t recall and pulled up a map and followed the route they would have taken until one name jumped out at her. Fort Wayne Indiana! She recalled Marcus saying they were still three hours from Chicago, and it was already 9pm.
A quick search of hotel in Fort Wayne was all she needed to see the one she knew. The Ford Hotel, a three-star place lucky to have the third star. That was where Tyler was, and that was where Sarah was going to be as soon as she could get there. It was hours away, but she felt she could make it. She had to make it. And it had to be her who went. Something within told her she shouldn’t call the cops or the FBI about this. She needed to bring him, it was the only way it could happen.
Chapter 19
Sarah wasn’t the only person who thought about the footage of her mother over the next couple of days after it was found. In fact, not only was he thinking about it, but Detective Freeman had also watched it a few more times too. Though he wasn’t on the case, his friend Doug Patterson had allowed him access to it and also let Sarah on the scene too—he conveniently disappeared on a call while Sarah was there so he could deny knowledge if it leaked.
Freeman didn’t quite know why if stayed focused in his mind, or why he felt the need to watch it over and over. There was nothing in the video that was of any use in an investigative sense, otherwise Spalding wouldn’t have let them have it. Freeman had a feeling he couldn't explain, like he felt Sarah’s mother was somehow alive if the tape was running. He knew it was ridiculous but still the feeling was there.
“Are you still watching that clip?” Doug asked on coming into the room.
“Yeah,” Freeman answered, there was nothing else he could add.
“Have you had any more thoughts on the case?” Doug asked not feeling the need to ask why the tape was so important. Freeman was sure he understood that it didn’t always make sense to other people why certain parts of a case stuck with a cop.
“No, it looks to me like it’s purely for the papers.”
“To highlight Sarah Brightwater’s situation?”
“Seems that way,” Freeman agreed.
“Why would someone do that?” Doug asked.
“Have you read up on her cases over the last few years?” Freeman replied.
“I’ve glanced; she’s been in a lot of shitty cases.”
“Well, the kind of people she deals with are the kind of people who like to play sick games and this current couple of murders is just another part of one of those games.”
“So, one of the killer’s she was chasing wa
nts her back on his case?” Freeman nodded to this. “Any idea who?” This time he shook his head. It didn’t feel right to be lying to his old friend, but he wasn’t in a position to tell the truth right now. He consoled himself with the idea he might be saving his friends life by keeping him in the dark.
“I’m going to go out and get a coffee, you want one?” Freeman said getting up and stretching out his back. How long had he been sitting there?
“Just had one, but if you bring you back when you’re done I might be ready again by then, Doug said taking the seat just vacated.
Freeman had only left the building when his phone rang. It was Sarah and he answered right away.
“Freeman,” he said.
“Hi, it’s me,” Sarah said, “I need your help.” She sounded out of breath.
“What is it?”
“I need to you trust me,” she said, “where are you?”
“I’m at the station, what’s going on?” he asked.
“I’m on my way for you. I know where Tyler Ford is, but it’s going to take us six hours to get there.”
“What? Call it in, he’ll never still be in the same place when we get there!” he replied not believing what he was hearing.
“He’s hurt and he doesn’t know anyone knows where he is,” Sarah said, “Come on Freeman, you said you would work with me on this.”
“I know, but you’re talking about going out of state! I won’t have jurisdiction. I don’t know about normally but right now you don’t have the jurisdiction either.”
A Fall of Woodcocks (The Birdwatcher Series Book 5) Page 7
