Every Dark Corner (The Cincinnati Series Book 3)

by Karen Rose

  ‘You need to watch your step.’

  He frowned again. ‘What’s happened?’

  ‘Some guy was arrested yesterday. Corey Addison. Did you catch the news?’

  ‘No, I was busy.’ Getting stabbed and missing Griffin Davenport again.

  ‘Addison was arrested for possession of kiddie porn.’

  He was glad he was sitting down. ‘Oh?’

  ‘He was taken away from his office by Special Agent Kate Coppola.’

  He swallowed the growl that rose in his throat. He should have killed her when he’d had the chance. Fucking Kevlar. Fucking bum arm. Fucking tattooed bastard who’d thrown that fucking knife. ‘So?’ he asked, managing to keep his tone light.

  ‘So, she was accompanied by Officer Kendra Cullen. They made the six o’clock and eleven o’clock news as well as every damn Internet news source.’

  Get to the goddamn point. ‘Again . . . so?’ he asked, making himself sound bored.

  ‘So . . . Cullen is a brand-new cop. Less than two years out of the Academy.’

  Oh. ‘Why does a brand-new cop accompany a seasoned FBI agent on a high-profile bust?’

  ‘Exactly. I did a little digging and found that Cullen filed a report a week ago. She got between Corey Addison and a young woman he was harassing. He called her Sunshine Suzie.’

  Fuck, fuck, fuck. He drew in an unsteady breath. ‘And?’

  ‘And Sunshine Suzie just called the central operator, who passed on a message to Officer Kendra Cullen asking to meet her at the Enright Kroger.’

  ‘Impossible. Mallory’s at the drugstore.’

  ‘You sure? Sounds like she’s at the Kroger.’

  He was only sure that the car was at the drugstore. Suddenly everything made sense. She’d been angling to get to the grocery store for days. She hadn’t wanted to go to a different store yesterday. He’d been right. She was planning something. Goddammit to hell.

  ‘Thank you.’

  ‘No problem. Usual payment.’

  ‘Sure. Later.’ He hung up and dropped his head into his good hand. Think. Think, dammit. She wouldn’t talk. Nobody would believe her.

  That might have been true last week. Depending on what she knew . . .

  Fuck. He grabbed his keys and ran into the living room. Four sets of eyes looked up at him. He made himself smile. ‘Guys, I have a little family emergency I have to deal with. Can I trust you to stay here and stay out of trouble?’

  Seth nodded. ‘I’ll make sure everyone behaves.’

  ‘Pffft.’ The older girl pulled a face. ‘More like we girls will keep you boys in line.’ She smiled up at him. ‘We’ll be fine, sir. I hope everything’s okay.’

  ‘It’ll be fine,’ he said with a fake smile. He walked at a normal pace to the door, but once he was outside, he ran to the Mercedes.

  Cincinnati, Ohio,

  Saturday 15 August, 11.50 A.M.

  ‘There.’ Kate pointed to Kendra, who was leaning against a car parked in the handicapped space. The car had a handicapped sticker, so it wasn’t Kendra’s. The officer’s eyes were pinned to the front door of the Kroger. Troy stopped behind the car and Kate rolled down her window. ‘She still in there?’ she asked.

  Kendra nodded. ‘Yes. My partner is behind the store with our squad car, in case she spooks and runs. He’s got a photo of me to show her to calm her down if she does go out that way.’

  ‘You said she got dropped off by a cab?’ Troy asked.

  Kendra nodded. ‘I would have missed her if I hadn’t been looking right at the pay phone at the time. I’d been watching for that beat-up car of hers.’

  ‘I don’t know that we’ll see that again,’ Kate said quietly. ‘It was used in Dani’s attack.’

  Kendra’s eyes widened, but she didn’t look away from the storefront. ‘I didn’t hear that.’

  The girl is not getting away if Kendra can help it, Kate thought. ‘We’re keeping some of the details from the media. Oh, there’s Meredith.’ Adam had stopped in front of the store to let her out. ‘She and I are going in the store. We’ll shop.’

  Kendra frowned. ‘No offense, Agent Coppola, but you look like a cop. Meredith doesn’t. You might scare the girl away.’

  Kate sighed. ‘I know. I’ve been told this.’ She glared at Troy, whose lips twitched but who wisely said nothing. ‘But I’ve got to cover Meredith. Adam looks more like a cop than I do, and he’ll hover.’ She rolled up her window and murmured to Troy, ‘Watch out for Kendra?’

  Troy nodded. ‘She’s an earnest one, isn’t she?’

  ‘A kinder term for obsessed,’ she muttered, then joined Meredith at the store’s entrance. ‘I’ll follow you, but at a distance. You’re wearing a vest, right?’

  ‘Yes, and it itches like hell.’

  ‘I was glad for mine last night.’

  Meredith lifted her brows. ‘So I heard. We’ll talk later about the risks you take, Kate.’ She got a cart and entered the store.

  Kate picked up a basket and filled it with canned goods from the first display she saw. They’d make a handy rolling mess if she needed a non-ballistic diversion. So many shoppers. Noon on a Saturday? Suzie couldn’t have picked a worse time for this.

  But the girl had been determined to get here. A cab. Wow.

  Kate followed Meredith, watching her from the endcaps. They both spotted the girl at the same time. She was at the cash register, buying first aid supplies. She looked just like the photo that Kendra had downloaded from the web, barely any older at all. She appeared nervous, but determined. She also looked banged up. A fading bruise was still visible on her cheek, and her lip was split. But she’s alive.

  Meredith abandoned her cart and made her way casually around the cash registers, and Kate followed, dialing Troy on her cell. ‘She’s coming out,’ she murmured and disconnected.

  The girl waited at the curb, looking anxiously one way, then the other. When she saw Kendra straighten and raise her hand in greeting, a look of profound relief took over the girl’s face. She started to push her cart across the street.

  And all hell broke loose. Kate saw the dark green Mercedes from the corner of her eye as its engine revved, loud enough to overwhelm the background noise of carts and shoppers. It roared then, speeding through the loading lane, headed straight for the girl. Drawing her weapon, Kate ran for the girl, but not fast enough to beat the car.

  People screamed and Kate aimed. She had one shot that was clear of shoppers, so she took it. More screams filled her head, but her focus was the car’s back window, which pebbled on the bullet’s impact, but didn’t shatter. With a squeal of tires, the car took off through the crowded parking lot, forcing shoppers to leap out of its way. The crash of metal followed by a scream twisted her gut. An elderly woman hadn’t been able to get out of the way fast enough.

  The revving of another car followed. A big black SUV, Deacon behind the wheel and Decker riding shotgun. They’d taken off after the Mercedes, but had slowed when the old woman went down.

  Kate evaluated the scene in a glance. Suzie was lying in the street, eyes closed, completely still, her leg bent at an impossible angle. Her head was bleeding, but Meredith was crouching over her and Adam Kimble and Kendra had their weapons drawn, providing cover.

  Kate ran toward the elderly victim, waving at Deacon to keep driving. The SUV revved again and took off after the Mercedes.

  The entire course of events had taken less than thirty seconds. Kate knelt by the old woman, who was moaning pitifully. Kate could see Adam on his phone, sure he was getting help. ‘I’m Special Agent Coppola. We’ve called for an ambulance. Try to hold still.’

  When Adam finished his call, she dialed his number. ‘I have another victim. She’s hurt, but conscious.’

  ‘I saw her. I called for two ambulances,’ Adam s
aid. ‘That green Mercedes . . . ?’

  ‘It matches the one that Delores saw last night. Is the girl . . . ?’

  ‘Alive. Not conscious.’

  Kate’s heart sank, but her phone beeped, keeping her focused. ‘Got a call coming in.’ She tapped her screen and heard Decker’s voice, strong, but pissed.

  ‘He’s gone. He ditched the Mercedes behind the store, but first he plowed it into a row of parked cars. We’re checking now to see if anyone was in the cars, but it looks like they were all unoccupied. Probably belong to folks on shift in the store. Deacon and I didn’t get a good look at him, did you?’

  ‘No. The vehicle had tinted windows.’

  ‘We don’t even know who we’re looking for, Kate.’

  ‘I know.’ The man used disguises. ‘He could be anyone. Contact Adam, let him know.’

  ‘Where’s our CPD backup?’

  Lieutenant Isenberg had sent four unmarked cars. ‘Blocking the exits and controlling the crowd. I can see two of them.’ She waved one of the cars over to wait with the elderly lady until the ambulance arrived. ‘I’m going to do a walkaround in the front parking lot.’

  Hanging up, she walked through the crowd, searching for the eyes that had stared at her the night before, just before shooting her in the chest, but she saw none that were even close. She spotted Troy establishing a perimeter and jogged over to help him. ‘Nothing,’ she said shortly.

  Troy shrugged. ‘I didn’t think so. He could be anywhere.’

  She was spared having to reply by the ringing of her cell phone. Decker again. ‘Yeah?’

  ‘Was Kendra here with her partner?’ Decker asked. ‘Caucasian male, about forty?’

  Kate’s shoulders sagged. ‘She said he was watching the back. He was in his squad car.’

  ‘That’s what we were afraid of. We know how the Professor got away.’

  ‘He stole the squad car,’ she murmured. ‘Is her partner alive?’ she asked, and beside her, Troy sighed.

  Decker’s hesitation answered the question even before he spoke. ‘No. He was shot twice. Once in the temple and once in the back of the head. His gun belt and service weapon are gone. So are his shirt and hat. Buttons everywhere. His shirt was literally torn off him. There appear to be silencer marks on his skin. It was quick. Took only a minute or two tops. This guy is fast, Kate. He thinks on his feet. We actually saw the cruiser drive by. We thought it was backup, so we let it go. It exited to the access road behind the store. We were ten feet away from him, dammit,’ he finished bitterly. ‘Novak’s calling in the BOLO now. We almost had him. Goddammit.’

  ‘Great,’ Kate said, suddenly so tired she wanted to cry. ‘Just fucking great.’

  Troy nudged her. ‘Kate. Adam’s waving at us to come over there.’

  ‘I’ll call you back,’ she said to Decker, and she and Troy jogged over to where Adam crouched on the girl’s left side. Meredith knelt on her right, holding her hand. Kendra stood sentry, silently watching.

  The girl’s eyes were closed, her respiration unsteady. Her leg was broken, the bone visible where it poked through the skin. Kate could look at a body that had been cut up and stored in a set of matched luggage, but that bone made her queasy. The pain must be excruciating.

  Kate tore her eyes away from the girl’s broken leg and looked at Kendra. She doesn’t know yet, Kate thought. I get to tell her. Fabulous.

  ‘Kendra,’ Kate said carefully. ‘Did you drive here today with your partner?’

  ‘No. I called him when I saw her get out of the cab. He met me here. Why?’ But something on Kate’s face must have told her, because Kendra’s eyes widened in horror. ‘No. No.’

  Kate put her hand on the younger woman’s arm. ‘I . . .’ She had no idea what to say.

  Troy took over. ‘Come with me, Officer Cullen,’ he said gently. ‘We’ll wait in my car.’

  Numbly Kendra let herself be led away.

  Adam looked up at Kate grimly. ‘The partner’s dead?’

  Kate nodded. ‘And the squad car is gone.’

  Meredith closed her eyes. ‘This is a nightmare.’

  ‘Come down here,’ Adam said. ‘I don’t want to shout.’

  Kate immediately dropped into a crouch, putting her ear close to Adam’s mouth so that he could whisper in her ear. ‘She opened her eyes for about a minute. Said her name is Mallory. Said we have to save the kids at his house. And also we have to save Macy.’

  Kate frowned. ‘Who is Macy?’ she whispered back.

  Meredith stroked the girl’s hair from her face. ‘We don’t know. Except that she’s worth Mallory risking her life to save.’

  Twenty-five

  Cincinnati, Ohio,

  Saturday 15 August, 12.45 P.M.

  Breathe. Just breathe. He drew air through his nose, trying to slow his pulse. This is not the time to panic. This is the time for clear, logical thinking. He’d get out of this. He would.

  Mallory had called the police. He still couldn’t believe it. I should have killed the bitch a long time ago.

  How? How had this happened? Too much freedom. He’d allowed her too much freedom.

  But that didn’t matter now. He needed to tie off loose ends, but every time he turned around, he had even more loose ends to tie off.

  At least they still don’t know who I am. He’d listened to the police radio the whole time he’d driven the stolen cruiser. There was not one BOLO issued for him. The Professor, yes, but not for me. No one knew what his real face looked like. Yet.

  Which meant Mallory hadn’t yet talked, probably because, according to the police radio, she was unconscious. If she did talk once she regained consciousness, they would know way too much. Should have killed the fucking bitch this morning.

  But he hadn’t, and so now here he was, standing on Gemma’s back doorstep, shaking like a damn leaf. He hadn’t rung the bell. He didn’t want her to know he was here.

  Plus, he had a key. He got it out now, managing to turn the lock and push the back door open. He snagged a set of keys to Gemma’s minivan from the pegboard by the back door. He’d dropped the stolen cruiser off in the parking lot of a crowded shopping center about a quarter-mile away. He’d taken with him the bag with his tools – he’d had the presence of mind to remove it from the Mercedes before abandoning it – and walked the remaining distance to Gemma’s house, discarding the dead officer’s torn shirt and hat in a dumpster along the way.

  He crept through the house, listening. His brother-in-law was at work, but Gemma was here somewhere. Probably getting high again. He could hear the TV in Macy’s bedroom. Sounded like cartoons. He went to the closet and disabled the security system. His cameras ran off a different system and had been hidden so well, Gemma and her husband had never known they were there. Which was how he wanted to keep it.

  He’d need to keep a watch on Gemma after she learned her child had been stolen, to make sure she didn’t go off the deep end or that her cop husband didn’t put two and two together and actually get four for the first time in his life.

  He planned to simply take Macy and keep her hidden until it was time to film her. In the meantime, he’d publicly grieve her abduction like the good uncle and godfather he was.

  The fact that he had Macy would keep Mallory quiet for the time being, at least until he was able to get close enough to finish what he’d tried to do in the parking lot. End her. Hopefully painfully.

  He rooted around the closet for something he could use to hide his face. He didn’t expect Gemma would have a ski mask, but an old ski cap would do. He found one with the winter wear and pulled it all the way down so that it covered his eyes and nose, leaving only his lips visible.

  Just in case they had cameras he didn’t know about. It was possible. He took the cap off long enough to use his blade to cut holes for his eye
s, then pulled it back on. It wasn’t ideal, but it would do in a pinch.

  He opened his bag and found the ether he’d brought. He’d intended to use it on Mallory when she emerged from the grocery store. But the cops had beaten him there. They’d been waiting for her, surrounding her.

  If he’d had full use of his right hand, he would have shot her between the eyes. But he knew he’d never hit a moving target with his left hand, not from that distance. So he’d done the only thing he could think of and used the Mercedes itself as a weapon.

  He poured just enough ether on a rag to knock Macy out, then crept through the hallway to her bedroom. She was sitting at her desk, reading, ignoring the blaring TV next to her bed. She had earbuds in her ears, listening to music on her phone. Which was ridiculous – giving a child her age a phone. Macy’s was pink, the case decorated with sparkles and decals of the Powerpuff Girls. At least the earbuds would keep her from hearing him approach. Bonus.

  He was within reaching distance when she looked up and saw his reflection in the window over her desk.

  She got off a shriek before he slammed the rag over her mouth. He grunted, because the kid was surprisingly strong for an almost-ten-year-old. She struggled, knocking into his injured arm with her elbow, and he almost moaned out loud.

  Then she kicked over her chair with a final burst of panicked desperation, and his heart stopped. He froze, listening.

  ‘Macy?’

  Fuck. It was Gemma. He put the now-sleeping Macy on her bed and waited behind the bedroom door. He had enough ether left in the bottle to knock Gemma out as well. He’d tie her up and leave her here and she’d be none the wiser. She’d report a masked intruder. He held his breath, preparing himself, then grabbed her as soon as she came through the door.

  ‘Ma—’

  He covered her mouth and growled a warning. ‘Don’t struggle and nobody gets hurt.’

  But she did struggle, and she was so much stronger than he’d expected. She fought like a wildcat, clawing at the skin at his wrists, trying to force his hand from her mouth, trying to scream. Then she slumped against him and he slumped back against the wall, breathing hard. His arm throbbed and dark spots floated in front of his eyes. He was hyperventilating. He’d never done that in his life.