The River's Secret

by Peggy Dulle

  The woman reached over and touched his arm. Then they were both laughing. I patted my gun. If I had to, I could just shoot her.

  She smoothed William's hair with her left hand. That's when I saw it - the blue sapphire ring. I had seen it before. One evening when I straightened up the kitchen after William cooked, I saw it in the closest thing to a junk drawer in his entire house. I was surprised by the lovely black velvet ring case. An exquisite ring, diamond-shaped blue sapphire surrounded by twelve diamonds in a platinum setting was inside. I took it to William.

  “Is this real?” I asked.

  “Yes.” He shrugged.

  “What's it worth?”

  “I don't know, maybe twenty thousand.”

  I coughed and almost spit out the soda I was drinking. “And you keep it in your junk drawer? What's it for?”

  “It's a copy of the engagement ring my dad gave to my mom. He had it made so I could give it to the woman I planned to marry,” William smiled. “My dad's really sentimental. He wanted me to have it, but not take the original away from my mom.”

  I handed it to him. “You shouldn't keep this hidden in a junk drawer. Put it in your pocket, you never know when you'll meet that right girl.”

  And now here it was on the hand of a stunning woman. Was this William's fiancée? Is that why he had wanted to talk to me? To tell me that he was getting married? Oh, hell no. I slowly backed out of the dining room and leaned against the wall.

  A hotel employee came over to me. “Are you okay, Miss?”

  I stood up. “Yes, I'm fine. Could you ask the valet to call me a cab?”

  “Of course.”

  I walked out of the hotel and a few minutes later a cab pulled up. I gave him the police station address and leaned back against the seat. William was getting married? He had definitely moved on. And wasn't I doing that, too? But damn! I closed my eyes, fighting back the tears that tried to surface. Why was this affecting me so much? It had just been a straightforward affair, no commitment required. And it had been over a long time ago. I straightened my back, shook away my racing thoughts and unsettled emotions.

  When, twenty minutes later, the cab let me off at the station, I dialed William's phone.

  “Hello?”

  “Hey, William.”

  “Where are you?”

  “I had to take a cab to the station. John and I need to go over some strategies for the press conference. I want to stir the Jackal up.”

  “But I needed to talk to you.”

  “About what?”

  Silence.

  “Are you there, William?”

  “Yes. Never mind. I don't want to talk about it on the phone. Maybe later.”

  “Okay. I'll see you at the station.”

  “Sure.”

  The conference room was empty. I looked at the photos on the white board of the four women: Jane, Sarah, Pamela, and Desiree. All killed because they worked at the same kinds of jobs I had during summer vacations. And all of them dead because they had the same name as people who were quoted in a newspaper article.

  My fault. My job was to save lives, not cause death. There was just one hope left - the Jackal usually killed five. Would I be the fifth in this series, too? My chest tightened as I took in a quick breath. It made sense for him to come after me, but that would end the game. I couldn't chase him if I was dead.

  Which was more important to the Jackal, kill me or keep the game going? Would he drag me back into his bizarre game if he only wanted to kill me? Couldn't he have just come to Arroyo and done that? What if I never was going to be the fifth? Did that mean another female agent was in danger? Or maybe I was totally off and I was to be the fifth victim and end this game.

  I quickly dialed John.

  He answered his phone as he walked through the conference room door. “Good morning, Connie.”

  I nodded and closed my phone.

  I motioned for him to sit down. “I need to talk to you.”

  He sat down. “Sure, what's up?”

  “A couple of things. Can you get some tracking devices from the Riverbend Police Department?”

  “Sure, why?”

  “I want to wear one. If the Jackal grabs me again, I want you close behind me.”

  “That makes sense.”

  Then it hit me. Damn it! Why hadn't I thought about it before? “I also want you to get one for Sheryl and also a police escort for her.”

  “Why?” John asked.

  “Two reasons. First, something the Jackal said to me when I first got here. I can't believe I didn't catch it then.”

  “That was before we had the recorder on your phone. What did he say?”

  “He said that he messed up my life.”

  “Well, that's an understatement. Being kidnapped, raped, gutted, and buried alive in a muddy hole will do that to you.”

  “No, I think it's even more personal than that, more than what he did to me.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “I think he's talking about how my marriage fell apart after my encounter with him.”

  “Okay,” John shrugged. “He wants to get you and Matthew back together again?”

  “I think so.”

  “Okay,” John shook his head. “What's this got to do with Sheryl?”

  “Did you know that she's seeing Matthew?”

  John eyes widened. “No.”

  “Well, she is. Eliminating her satisfies two of the Jackal's requirements. The next job I had was being an FBI agent. Sheryl's FBI and without her in the picture, the Jackal might think that Matthew and I would get back together.”

  “How would he know about Sheryl and Matthew?” John asked an obvious question.

  “I don’t know. I only learned about it yesterday.”

  “He’s in town, so maybe he’s following you. Could he have overheard your conversation with Sheryl?”

  “It’s possible. We were jogging in the park and it was filled with people.”

  “Is there any chance of you and Matthew getting back together?”

  I shook my head. “Only in the Jackal's mind.”

  John dialed Sheryl's cell phone. His brow furrowed. “I got her voicemail.”

  Panic shot through my body like a knife blade. “In the eight years I've known Sheryl, I have never gotten her voicemail. I think she even takes the stupid phone in the shower with her. Could he already have her?”

  “No!” John stood so quickly the chair fell over behind him. “There has to be another explanation. I'll call her hotel room.” He frantically dialed again, then shook his head.

  All the memories of my horrific experience with the Jackal flooded back. Please let Sheryl have just forgotten to take her phone with her. Let her walk through the door, right now! My stomach tightened as I knew, deep down, that she wouldn't. John called the hotel and asked the manager to go up to Sheryl's room. He reported a minute later. The room was empty and the bed hadn't been slept in.

  The fifth victim wasn't me - it was Sheryl!

  Chapter 21

  A few minutes later we were back at our hotel where the crime scene techs examined Sheryl's room. Jake, Ed, John, and I stood in the hallway, Jake in a rumpled black suit this morning, and Ed his usual tailored blue.

  “When did she leave the station?” Jake asked.

  “A few minutes after you all did,” John said. “I gave her a lift to the hotel and we rode up on the elevator together. Then I went to my room and crashed for a few hours.”

  “How far is her room from yours?” Jake asked.

  “Two doors down.”

  “Did you see her go into her room?”

  John shook his head. “I should have waited.”

  “No, I should have figured out the Jackal's clue earlier,” I said and leaned my head against the wall.

  Jake held up his hand. “There's no use second guessing ourselves. Let's concentrate on finding her.”

  “You know this perp better than I do, so do you think she's already dead?” E
d spoke for the first time.

  John and I shrugged.

  “Let's keep positive thoughts here.” Jake frowned at us.

  When my phone rang, we all looked at it. It rang again and again.

  “Are you going to answer that?” John asked, his tone elevated with each word.

  “Yes.” I took a deep breath to settle my nerves, opened my phone, and put it to my ear.

  “Connie.” It was Matthew, his voice barely audible. I shook my head at the team and walked away.

  “I'm sorry, Matthew.”

  “Please find her, Connie.”

  “We're doing our best.”

  “No, please find her,” he hesitated, then continued, “fast,” he whispered. “I don't think I can go through this again.”

  I thought that Sheryl would be going through this, not him, but kept my thoughts to myself. “We'll find her, Matthew.”

  “If you need anything, more agents or more resources, please call me.” His voice sounded more normal and in control as he slipped into his role as our supervisor, then back to a whisper, “When you find her, please call me.”

  “No matter what?”

  Silence. Then, “Yes.” And he hung up.

  I walked back to the team. John raised his eyebrows questioningly. “That was Matthew. He said if we need anything to give him a call.”

  “Who's Matthew?” Ed asked.

  “Our boss,” John said.

  “Her ex-husband,” Jake replied and tilted his head toward me.

  “Sheryl's current boyfriend,” I added, tilting my head back at Jake.

  Ed shook his head. “You Feds are weird.”

  William rushed through the stairway door, panting, and tried to catch his breath and slow his pace when he saw us outside Sheryl's door. “I went to the conference room, found no one there, and they told me that one of the women on the team was taken,” he glanced at me then back to John. “What do we know?”

  “Not much,” John shook his head.

  The Jackal had Sheryl and I should concentrate on that, but part of me wanted to know how he enjoyed his breakfast. That man was under my skin and I needed to get him out of it!

  Thank God my phone rang before I asked him, although part of me wanted to toss it into the nearest toilet.

  I took another deep breath, slowly opened it, and pushed the speaker phone button so everyone could hear.

  “Hello, Connie.” The Jackal's mechanical voice squealed, the excitement obvious in his pitch.

  “Where's Sheryl?” I demanded.

  “Good girl, you already know I've got her.”

  “And that Pamela and Desiree are dead, too.” I hoped to enrage him so he would make a mistake during our conversation.

  “I know,” he said flatly.

  “How do you know?”

  “I had a device attached to the air conditioning units. When you turned them off and back on, I got a signal.”

  “So is Sheryl still alive or is she dead like the others?”

  “Actually, she is still alive. Although I should have killed her immediately, then you and Matthew would be together again.”

  I wasn't sure how to answer. If I said yes, then he would kill Sheryl in hopes that it would bring Matthew and me together. But if I said no, then he might just kill her anyway, because then she wouldn't have any value. Either way, she was dead. There had to be a third option.

  William stepped over and put his hand on my arm. “You're wrong, you know.”

  “William, is that you?”

  “Yes.” William's tone had a menacing quality to it.

  “What am I wrong about?”

  “Sheryl isn't Matthew's girlfriend, she's mine. And I'm not like Matthew. I have the money and resources to hunt you down if you harm her.” His voice turned deep and angry. I had never heard it like that before.

  William continued, “No hole is deep enough or hiding place secret enough to keep you safe from me. I will find you and pound you so far into the ground that you'll never see daylight again.”

  “Oh,” the Jackal squealed. “I like this new game.”

  “Time frame and clue,” William demanded, his voice still dark and flat.

  “Ten hours. But let me think, this changes everything. I put Sheryl in a particular place, but now I'm not sure. I'll call you back.” He hung up.

  Everyone on the team stared at William. He shook his head. “No, she's not my girlfriend. She's Matthew's. But I couldn't see any way to keep her alive using that scenario.”

  The third option. William had come up with it.

  No one said anything for a few minutes. We all waited for the Jackal to call back.

  After ten minutes, Jake said, “I can't just stand here watching the phone. I'll go see if the crime scene techs have found anything.”

  “I'll go back to the station,” John said, glancing at his watch. “The press conference is in thirty minutes. We've got to figure out what to tell them. Connie and William, I want you two with me. Ed, you stay here with Jake.”

  Ed nodded and walked into Sheryl's room.

  When we came out of the hotel, William's rental car was parked in the circular driveway, the doors open and the engine idling. A valet stood by the driver's door. William nodded to the valet, handed him several bills, and then said to us, “I'll meet you at the station.”

  He was gone in a flash. I glanced at John. “I guess you're my ride.”

  “What's with William?”

  “I don't know.”

  “Did you catch the tone in his voice when he was talking to the Jackal?”

  “Yes.”

  “He had me believing that Sheryl was his girlfriend and that he'd personally rip out the Jackal's throat if he hurt her.”

  I nodded. We got into John's sedan and he put on the sirens and lights. He was right about William's tone. I had never heard him that angry or sounding so dangerous. William was the intellect on our team, not the strong arm. Sure he was trained as an agent, but I had never seen him pull his gun on a suspect or throw-down with one either. But today I saw a different side of him and I wasn't anxious to see it in action.

  When we arrived at the station, William's car was already parked in the front. John frowned, “How'd he beat us? We came with lights and sirens.”

  I shrugged, “He came with speed.”

  John went in search of Riverbend's police chief and to make sure the information about me was being passed on to a reporter. He also wanted the chief present at the press conference. I found William in the conference room. He had taken down all the victims' photos and had started to write other information on the board.

  I walked over to him, put my hand on his shoulder, and he slowly turned. Our eyes met. That electric charge went through me, just like it always did. He smiled.

  I ignored it and asked, “What are you working on?”

  “I'm trying to figure out where he'd take Sheryl.”

  “But even he didn't know.”

  “I know. But he has to have her someplace, now. Before he moves her.”

  “Okay, what are you thinking?”

  “Right now, she's somewhere that's meaningful to you. Have you been to this city before?”

  “No.”

  “Okay, I've written out the things I know about you.”

  I looked at the board. One column was my likes: drive-through restaurants, the beach, cinnamon buns, Italian food, action movies, warm weather, fast cars, fast motorcycles, and fast roller coasters.

  William pointed to the last three. “I see a theme here.”

  I ignored him and kept reading.

  The other list was my dislikes: rain, water, spicy food, cold weather,

  “Why the things I don't like?” I asked.

  “I was thinking that Sheryl is someplace that has to do with your likes. If we miss her there, then we move to your dislikes. He doesn't know enough about me, Sheryl, or Matthew to go with ours.”

  “It makes sense.” I picked up the marker and added a
few items to the dislikes list: secrets, bullshit, and liars. I faced him, expecting a confrontation, but just then John came into the room.

  “Let's talk about the press conference.” John sat down at the table and William and I joined him. John continued, “I’ve set it up with the chief. He’ll make sure a reporter knows who you are and why you’re here”

  “Good, then I can let it slip that we know about Pamela and Desiree. And that the Jackal cheated the time frame.”

  “And what do we tell them about Sheryl?” John asked.

  “Last time we kept it quiet too long,” William said, glancing at me and then back to John. “We need to go public right away about her being taken. Let me do that.”

  “Then what?” John asked.

  “It's the Jackal's move, unless we can figure out where Sheryl is right now.” William walked over to the white board. “Constance and I have tried to figure out where he might take her.”

  John and I joined William at the board. John pointed to the list.

  “Riverbend doesn't have an amusement park or a beach. No racetrack for those fast cars or motorcycles. It's got plenty of drive-through restaurants and a couple of Italian restaurants, but I don't think those are viable options.”

  “That eliminates everything on the list.” William looked at me. “What else?”

  I shrugged. “I don't know. We could be looking at anything.” I turned to John. “Didn't Sheryl do a profile of this town before we got here?”

  “Of course, she always does.” He went to a small file cabinet near the computers, pulled out a file, and brought it to the table. “Here's everything she compiled about Riverbend.”

  He handed me a piece of paper, listing all the businesses in Riverbend and information about its population. Then I saw it.

  “Riverbend's got two auto junkyards?”

  “I guess so.” John looked at the paper. “Lou's Auto Lot and Clark's Tow and Stow.”

  “What are you thinking, Constance?” William slid his hand on my arm.

  A nonchalant touch was one of things I enjoyed the most when William and I were together. He didn't realize he had done it, but my heart leapt - an instant reaction to his touch.