Trix

by Kate Morris

  “They all are.”

  “This one’s out there pretty far.”

  Craig walked in a second later and asked, “Read it?”

  “Yeah,” Jack answered since Lorena had her head in the letter again.

  “He wants to communicate with her, so we’re going to arrange it.”

  “What?” Lorena asked with surprise and took out a package of Spree candies from her pocket. “How?”

  “Press conference. We’re scheduling it with the local media, nobody else.”

  “Wait, I’m not good at that kind of stuff.”

  “It doesn’t matter. We need you to make some sort of connection with him. For whatever reason, he’s reaching out to you. He wants to communicate with you.”

  “You have to,” Jack said. “Hailee’s still alive. He as much as said so in the letter.”

  “Fine, but I need to make some calls. I’m getting my niece out of here,” she said and left the room.

  “That’s probably a good idea,” Craig said to him.

  “I agree.”

  “This freak has formed an attachment to Lorena for some reason. We have the shrinks workin’ on it. They think he wants to communicate with her for the celebrity factor, that he wants more notoriety than he’s getting.”

  “Seems possible,” Jack agreed. “Find anything else out since last night?”

  “The cell was wiped, bleached. But it wouldn’t have mattered. She wasn’t with it, so he obviously knew she had it on her or took it from the house. The step-mother said that Hailee’s purse is gone, too, so he must’ve taken that with him.”

  “Maybe to take souvenirs out of it?”

  Craig nodded and said, “Maybe.”

  “Anything else?”

  He shook his head, “Not really. We’re looking into the friend’s father who lives an hour north, Mr. Chambers, Skylar’s dad. I’m going up later to meet with him if you want to come. We’ll know soon enough if he’s connected.”

  “Yes, I think we’d both want to go. What about the pervert we told you about that the boyfriend told us hit on her at her mother’s charity event? Get anything on him yet?”

  “The only ones who would know about him are Hailee’s parents, and they said they didn’t know anything. I got the impression Victor Neumann didn’t really want to rat out a friend.”

  Jack nodded, “Yeah, he wouldn’t. But he hired that private investigator. He’ll probably have his P.I. look into it. Victor’s an asshole, a controlling dick, but I think he cares about his daughter. I’ll talk to Elizabeth and see if I can get the guy’s name.”

  “Cool, thanks,” he said. “We don’t really want Neumann to send someone to rough up the dude if he’s our killer. Kind of hard to get a confession if he’s dead.”

  Lorena came back into the room and said, “I’ve got her a direct flight that leaves in two hours.”

  Craig said, “Good. I’ll let them know that you need to take her to the airport. Then we’ll go north and talk to Mr. Chambers.”

  “You found him?” Lorena asked.

  “Yeah, he even agreed to talk with us.”

  “That helps,” Lorena quipped. “Let me just run and get Grace ready to go, and we’ll meet back up with you.”

  “Sounds good,” Craig nodded.

  Jack noticed that his eyes lit up when he was talking to Lorena. There was more there than just co-worker appreciation. He’d seen this before in Craig. Jack firmly believed that their friend was interested in more than just a professional relationship with her.

  Jack drove them back to the apartment as Lorena read over the letter again since Craig made her a copy. When they arrived at the apartment, Grace was already packed.

  “I need to change,” Lorena said.

  “Spill jelly donut on yourself again?” he asked with a smirk, getting a snarky look in return. She ate a lot of junk food but also wore it sometimes. “I’ve told you many times that carrots and apples don’t stain like your sloppy garbage food.”

  “Shut it,” Lorena warned. “I need to get some better clothes. I’m supposed to go on camera later remember?”

  “Oh, no!” Grace declared and took off after Lorena into the bedroom.

  She emerged a few minutes later and smiled at Jack.

  “What’s going on?” he asked.

  Grace said, “I had to help her. She’s not good with fashion and that kind of stuff.”

  “Ya’ think? Sometimes I don’t even know if she remembers that she’s a girl.”

  “Hey!” Lorena said as she walked into the room. She was changed into a gray silk blouse with a navy-blue feather print on it and coordinating navy blazer. Gone were the jeans, replaced with black slacks and matching heels. Her hair was styled differently, pulled back into a bun or whatever it was called at the base of her neck. He wasn’t sure what it was called, but it did look more elegant than the braid. She was even wearing makeup. The clothes were probably something that belonged to her sister. He still couldn’t believe he’d made such a stupid mistake when he packed her clothing for the trip.

  “Don’t forget to take your makeup bag with you, Aunt Lo,” Grace said, reminding her.

  She disappeared from the room again, and Grace smacked her forehead and shook her head. Then she groaned and yelled after her aunt, “You’re gonna want to reapply it before you go on camera!”

  “You told her?” Jack asked when Lorena came into the living room again.

  “Unfortunately,” Lorena mocked. “We need to go.”

  “Ready, kid?” he asked her niece.

  “I don’t want to go,” Grace complained. “We didn’t even get to do anything fun yet.”

  “Grace, this is my job. It’s not fun. I’m sorry we didn’t do more, but I don’t want you here,” Lorena explained.

  “Gee, thanks.”

  “You know what I mean. You’ll be safer back in Ohio with Bob. Something…has come up here, and I don’t think you’re safe here anymore.”

  “If you’re worried about my safety, then that means you’re in danger, too,” Grace said astutely. “I’m not stupid, Aunt Lo. If some jerk’s doing something that scares you enough to send me home, then that means he’s a threat to you, too.”

  Jack wished he could come up with a convincing lie but found himself falling short. The kid was as smart as Lorena. Nothing he said was going to sound right to her.

  “I’m fine,” Lorena told her. “Let’s go. We have to get you to the airport on time. We’ve only got an hour and a half, and I need to meet up with Craig later.”

  “Fine, but you have to promise to call me in the morning before school and before you go to bed at night…well, just at night before I go to bed so that I know you’re all right.”

  “Yes, Mom,” Lorena said with sarcasm.

  Grace rolled her eyes and looked at Jack, “Make sure she calls me, Jack. These kids today, they can be a handful.”

  “You’re treading on thin ice, young lady,” Lorena chided half-heartedly.

  They drove to the airport, and on the way, Lorena received a call from Craig telling her that he’d made arrangements for an agent to fly companion with Grace back to Cleveland. Jack could tell she was relieved. He had to admit, he was, too. They bought her food through a Taco Bell drive-thru on the way.

  The Special Agent met them at the security check-point and took custody of Grace. He was glad they sent a woman.

  “Be good for Bob and Louise, ‘kay?” Lorena requested as she touched her shoulder.

  Grace dropped her pack and flung herself against Lorena, holding tight around her middle. Jack turned his back to give them some privacy.

  “Be careful,” Gracie said softly. “Be careful, Mom.”

  Jack had heard Grace call Lorena that once recently. She hadn’t known what to say, and they hadn’t discussed it later. He was pretty sure Lorena was just as shocked.

  “I will, honey. Don’t worry. Just listen to Bob. Don’t argue with him about what you can and cannot do. He knows what
’s going on out here, so if he tells you that you can’t go somewhere or do something without the boys, don’t argue.”

  “I won’t. I love you.”

  “Love you, too, honey. Hey, don’t do that. Don’t get upset, Grace. I’ll be home very soon. I’m going to work so hard to get out of here as soon as I can so I can come home.”

  “I know.”

  Jack turned back to them, and Grace hugged him, too. He patted her back soothingly.

  “You can call Keagan and make her take you shopping,” he offered of his youngest sister. His sisters, nieces, nephews and even his mother had all adopted Lorena and Grace into his family. They made a lot of hints about the two of them getting together no matter how many times he explained that she was his partner and only his partner. They didn’t seem to get it.

  “Cool,” she exclaimed. Then she whispered, “Take care of Aunt Lo, Jack.”

  “You know it, kid,” he said and released her to the FBI agent.

  He and Lorena waited until she was through security before they left.

  She groaned on the walk back to their car.

  “What’s up?” he asked.

  “I hate leaving her with a stranger,” Lorena said.

  Jack chuckled. “It’s Grace we’re talking about here. She’s already talking the agent’s head off. They’ll be best friends before the flight even takes off.”

  Lorena smiled and said, “Yeah, I don’t know where she gets it.”

  “Definitely not from you,” he said, knowing Lorena so well. She was very introverted, a little odd, and eccentric. She was still a good partner, though.

  “Thanks,” she said. “And the FBI wants me to do a press conference.”

  They reached the SUV, and Jack hit the remote locks. “I know. Haven’t they seen any of your other ones?”

  She slugged his shoulder. He laughed heartily and got in the driver’s side. Lorena plugged in her earbuds and got back to work. Jack drove them to meet up with Craig, who hopped in with them and gave Jack directions to Dermot Chambers’s home an hour north. Lorena mostly ignored them as they drove and talked about the case.

  Skylar was right. Her father did like living remotely. Jack wasn’t sure for a moment after he turned off the main road if he was going to have to put it into 4x4 to make it up the steep hill to the cedar home. Once they got there, he could see why the man loved the place so much. He had one hell of a view. Jack put it in park and tapped Lorena’s shoulder, making her jump.

  “We’re here,” he announced.

  She nodded, and they went to the house with Craig. Jack took a quick glance around and noticed that Lorena did, too. This could be their first real suspect.

  There was a barn about twenty yards to their west where two horses grazed in the enclosed pasture connected to it. Other than the barn and what looked to be a small, firewood storage shed, there was nothing around for thousands of acres. His was the only house in view. It would be the perfect place to bring women, keep them and torture them, kill them and eventually dump their bodies. Nobody would bear witness to his vehicle coming and going. No one would hear someone screaming here. It was in complete isolation from the rest of the world.

  “You look nice,” Craig commented and knocked on the front door.

  Jack said, “Thanks!”

  Craig laughed and looked at Lorena pointedly.

  “Oh,” she said. “I have to do this interview, so…”

  “You look nice regardless…”

  There it was again. Interest.

  She went to say something in return, but the door opened.

  “Mr. Chambers?” Craig asked the man.

  “Yes, come in. Special Agent Ferguson?” the man asked.

  Craig flashed his badge. “Yes, sir. Thanks for seeing us on such short notice.”

  “And you are?” he asked Jack and Lorena.

  “Advisors on the case, sir,” Craig explained and introduced them.

  He showed them into the living room.

  “This is great,” Jack said, trying to gain rapport. “Man, what a view.”

  He stood near the tall windows facing the forestry and a small lake below it.

  “Yes, it’s quiet here. I like that.”

  “Is the lake stocked?” Jack asked.

  Mr. Chambers nodded. “Yes, bass mostly.”

  “This place is definitely secluded,” Jack noted. “Bet it gets darker than dark after the sun goes down.”

  “Yes, well, I like my privacy,” Chambers said and offered them seats on the plush leather sofas. “It’s peaceful and quiet, and that suits me and my lifestyle better than the city. I can get a lot more work done here than I ever did in the city.”

  “I bet,” Jack concurred. “What is it that you do?”

  “Software engineer. I develop software for companies, tailor-made to fit their individual needs.”

  Jack observed the man as he took a seat across from them. He was rugged but refined in his brown corduroy slacks, flannel shirt, and loafers. However, his hair was on the longish side, hitting the tops of his shoulders, and he sported a full yet neatly trimmed beard. His dark eyes took everything in. Chambers was also studying them as Craig continued to question him about his company.

  Then Jack asked, “How long have you lived here, Mr. Chambers?”

  “I’ve owned the place for twelve years,” he answered.

  “Really? That long?”

  He nodded and said, “Yes, but the wife didn’t like coming here. If she stepped ten feet outside of the city, you’d think her life was over. Hard to find a place up here to get a mani-pedi.”

  “She didn’t enjoy the solitude?”

  “Are you kidding? How was she going to go to her Pilates classes?”

  “And when you were still married, did you come up here often without your family?

  “Sometimes. The boys came with me sometimes, too. They like visiting. The ex didn’t like it at all, though. She was the problem. She could turn the kids against coming up on the weekends. She’d bribe them to do something funner and more expensive in the city if I even brought up coming to the cabin. So, most of the time I came up on my own. I always got a lot of work done.”

  Jack noted the deer mount over the fireplace, “Kill it yourself?”

  “Yes, got it about four years ago. Twelve pointer.”

  “You like hunting, Mr. Chambers?” Lorena asked.

  He nodded. “Anything outdoors. I just like being one with nature.”

  “Did you always, even as a child? I’m just curious. My nephew wants to start hunting, but he’s only ten. I think that’s too young,” Lorena lied.

  “Oh, no, that’s not too young. Get him out there. As long as he’s with an adult who has experience, it’s safe. There’s nothing like it. Hunting is…well, it’s sort of a passion of mine.”

  “I might just do that,” Lorena lied again.

  “Good. Boys need to be boys. Most of the kids I know now are sissies.”

  “No kidding. Mr. Chambers, do you ever recall meeting one of your daughter’s friends, Hailee Neumann?” Lorena asked next.

  He shook his head, “No, not that I can recall. I only see Skylar on the weekends. And, well, she’s a teenager now, so she has a life of her own in the city. It’s not necessarily a life that I approve of, but it’s hard for her to leave her friends to come up here and hang out with her old dad when they’re so much more fun.”

  “Why don’t you approve of her life down there?” Lorena questioned.

  “She’s changed a lot since the divorce,” he explained. He picked up a cigar and lit it. “Skylar used to be a lot different. Her grades have slipped considerably. I know she skips school sometimes. It’s been all I could do to convince the school to allow her to continue going there.”

  “Yes, divorce can be hard on children,” Lorena said.

  “She’s going through this phase, too. At least, I hope it’s just a phase. The dark makeup and weird hair colors. I don’t know. I want her in ther
apy, but my ex won’t allow it. Everything I try to do to help, she just blocks.”

  “Yes, I know lots of couples who go through the same struggles after they get divorced,” Lorena concurred. “Back to Skylar’s friend, Hailee. Are you sure you’ve never met her?”

  Lorena slid a photograph across the table, and Chambers picked it up to study it.

  “Oh, yes, this girl,” Chambers revealed. “I have met her.”

  “You have? When?” Lorena asked.

  He puffed his cigar twice before handing back the picture.

  “One time when I was picking Skylar up for a visitation.”

  Lorena nodded and asked, “Do you remember when?”

  “Let me see. I think it was about a month ago, no, maybe two months.”

  “Where was it?”

  He thought for a moment, “A bookstore. The girls were hanging out at a bookstore. Better than doing something else, right? Sky’s always been a big book reader. She gets it from me.”

  He announced this with pride, and Jack felt sorry for the guy. He was losing his daughter, the ex-wife was a monster, and all he had left was visitations with her when she wanted to leave her friends to see him.

  “That’s great,” Lorena said softly and redirected him again. “What do you remember about Hailee?”

  “She was a nice girl,” he said. Then he paused and thought for a moment. “Come to think of it, I thought she was a little strange.”

  “Strange how?”

  “She acted strange around me,” he said. “Like she didn’t like being around men my age. I don’t know. Maybe that’s my imagination, but I just remember that about her. She wasn’t thrilled with my being there. She left soon after. I felt bad because Sky was upset her friend left. She’d wanted her to go to dinner with us.”

  “Had something upset her? Did she get a call or anything?”

  He shook his head, “Not that I can recall.”

  “How’d she leave? Did her parents pick her up?”

  “No, I asked her if she needed a ride, but she didn’t want one. She was going to get a ride with someone. I wasn’t happy about that. I didn’t want this young girl leaving without knowing how she was getting home. I wouldn’t have liked that if it was Sky. I felt responsible for her. She wouldn’t take a ride home, though. She was kind of weird about it, too.”