The door he’d seen on his last visit had been replaced. Instead of a wooden door, there was a solid metal-framed door. He checked his watch. Ten minutes had passed. He couldn’t use the front door. Windows were out as well. Mind racing, he couldn’t think of a viable option. He thought about forcing the front door. When the cops came in, he’d be waiting. It would be easy to kill them quickly, then carry on with the plan. But the cops would call for backup when they saw the door. In minutes the house would be surrounded by cops. Even if they tried to negotiate for hours, and he raped her during that time, in the end they’d capture him. All the planning would be wasted. This wasn’t something he wanted to hurry. It was too important.
He walked down the stairs and up the side of the house. A couple of houses away he heard cars behind him. He peeked over his shoulder. The cops were back with her. Damn!
Wolfe drove around the northwest for a while, then drove into Bowness and past the old hotel and bar. He stopped at the lot where the Gypsy Jokers’ Clubhouse had stood. Two years ago, the city got a court order and had it demolished. He had a lot of memories from that place. The parties were beyond amazing. All the booze you could drink, food and women—lots of women, there to do whatever you wanted. He preferred the feisty ones. Like Annie. He’d had too little time with her. That would change. She was on his list, too. The lady cop was actually third on his list, behind Blighe and Annie. Circumstances had changed the order, but not the details. Once he was done with Blighe, the young blond was next. Sometime soon he’d need to kill Coulter, too. That cop was a big pain in his ass. He’d spent so much time planning what he’d do to the women he hadn’t thought about getting revenge on the cops. He’d gotten a bit of that frustration out on Devlin already. The day had gone to shit but thinking about killing cops brought a smile to his lips. Yeah, that would be cool. Figuring out how to make Coulter pay. He’d work on that tonight. Since Coulter didn’t live too far away, Wolfe decided to swing past the house.
Two years ago, Wolfe had blown up Coulter’s car. The rival club, the Satan’s Soldiers, got the blame. If only Coulter had been in the car. Things would be much different now. He slowed for the playground zone and that gave him a reason to take his time as he passed the house. What the—
A police cruiser was parked out front and a Crown Victoria was parked behind. Two uniformed cops were talking to a guy in a suit and a chick in a pantsuit—cops. Why the hell would Coulter need protection?
Wolfe drove to the end of the road and did a U-turn. He stopped on the opposite side of the street, three houses away from Coulter’s place. He watched the cops talking. They seemed pretty relaxed. Then they all turned toward the house at the same time. Two women were walking toward the cops. Coulter’s bitch!
Why hadn’t I thought of this before? A perfect way to get at Coulter—do his bitch like I did the cop.
If seeing the bitch was a surprise, then seeing Annie was unbelievable. Coulter was protecting Annie at his house. Wolfe admired Coulter’s thinking. Fuckin’ brilliant. Too bad that idea was blown now. Wolfe was already thinking of the possibilities.
Annie got into the back of the Crown Victoria and the cops in suits sat up front. The car pulled away from the curb and drove past Wolfe. They didn’t look at him. He touched the gas and casually pulled onto the street. Once he was past Coulter’s house he sped up, made a quick right and then a left turn. He’d almost been too quick. The cops had just cleared the intersection as Wolfe arrived. He pulled in behind them and stayed well back. He wondered where they were taking Annie. To another house? To court? No, she was carrying a gym bag. To play sports? All the guessing in the world wasn’t going to help. He relaxed and followed as they headed south. Ten minutes later he was sure of where they were going—Mount Royal College. That made sense. Books and other shit in the gym bag.
Wolfe pulled into the parking lot of Mount Royal College and watched as the Crown Vic pulled to the curb at the southwest entrance. The lady cop got out of the car and opened the back door. Annie stepped out and walked with the lady cop into the college. The Crown Vic pulled away from the curb. Wolfe guessed he was going to park the car.
Wolfe jumped out of his car and raced across the parking lot to the entrance. He entered and was immediately surrounded by students rushing to class. This place had to be filled with young pieces of ass — a regular smorgasbord of young pussy. A group of girls—well, teens—giggled their way past. They glanced at him and kept walking. How the hell would he find Annie in this crowd? He also realized he didn’t fit in. He was in his thirties, big, bald, and mean looking. He wasn’t a professor and certainly not a student. A caretaker’s cart was sitting against a wall to his right. He glanced around but didn’t see the caretaker. He grabbed the cart, walked farther into the college, caught up to the girls, and followed. He couldn’t make up his mind which one was best. A blonde, always his favorite, caught his eye. But a brunette had the nicest, tightest ass he’d seen.
The girls turned into another hallway. Wolfe followed, then stopped. Walking toward him was a group of cops. What the hell. How could they know he was here? He started to back away, looking for an escape route. But something wasn’t right. They were all young, walked casually in a tight group, and were smiling and laughing. They had nothing on their belts, nothing at all. Then they stopped at a concession. None of them paid any attention to him.
This was too good to be true. Wolfe grabbed a mop and slowly worked his way toward the cops. While they waited for food or drink, they talked about the class they’d been in. Wolfe realized they were recruits. Even more fun. He mopped toward them, then asked them to step back while he mopped at their feet. Not one of them glanced at him. Wolfe cleaned his way back to the cart and set off down the hallway. The group of girls were gone, but there were many more to take their place. Another time. He needed to find Annie.
Ahead of him a girl came out of the restroom. Blond, slim, and confident. Annie.
He watched as she walked away, mesmerized by the sway of her hips and the bounce of her ass. Oh, how he remembered that ass. He pushed the cart toward her. As he reached the restroom, the lady cop came out. She looked left and right, then followed Annie. Wolfe slowed and looked around. On the other side of the hall, the cop in the suit was jogging to catch up. He looked across the hallway to the lady cop. She nodded.
Wolfe followed, but kept his distance. Annie turned into a classroom. The man continued past but stopped about three classrooms farther. The woman stopped across from the classroom.
That fuckin’ Coulter. He had no reason to think Wolfe would find her, let alone at college, yet he’d planned just in case.
For the next hour Wolfe worked his way up and down the hallway, cleaning. Ten minutes to the hour the classroom door opened and the students flowed out. Annie came out with the last group and walked to another classroom. Her protectors followed, and Wolfe followed them. Annie entered the classroom and the cops took up the same positions. He’d seen enough. No sense following them all day. Eventually the cops would get suspicious. After all, Wolfe knew where they’d be later in the day.
There were two roads that the cops could take to get back to Coulter's house. Fortunately, both of them led to the house. Wolfe stopped and picked up a newspaper, a couple of hotdogs and a large soda. He parked several blocks away and waited.
He’d almost drifted off to sleep when the Crown Vic raced by. He followed a couple of blocks back. When the cops parked outside Coulter’s, Wolfe pulled to the curb. His view was hampered by the cars parked in front of him, but he couldn’t risk getting out and being seen. He decided he would risk using the binoculars.
Annie and the lady cop got out of the car. They were met by the paramedic bitch and a dog. The fuckin’ dog that attacked him! Killing him would be a pleasure.
The three women stood at the curb talking. A smile crossed his face. Nice to have options—two in one place. He had a new plan.
Chapter Fifty-Six
Friday Afternoon
“Annie came home from school upset,” Maggie said.
“I need to hear it from Annie,” Brad said.
Annie had her knees up to her chest and arms around her legs. She was shaking. “I don’t know how to describe it. The morning was fine. But then in the afternoon, before two, I felt a chill. I looked around, but I couldn’t see anything wrong. I’d gone to the restroom and I was fine. When I came out, I don’t know, I just felt something was wrong.”
“Did you tell your detail?”
“Not right away. I figured I was being silly. I was safe at school. When I went to the restroom, Brenda came in, too.”
“But you didn’t feel weird when you were in the restroom.”
“No. But right after I got out and headed to my next class, I felt something was wrong. I looked around, but nothing was different. Lots of students were heading to their next class. Lots of instructors, caretakers, and delivery guys. It’s always busy between classes.”
“When you looked around, did you see a familiar face? Anything threatening?”
“No. That’s why I think I’m overreacting. But Maggie said we should tell you.”
Brad turned to a knock at the door. Brenda Edwards and Lou Houghton entered the living room.
“You wanted to talk to us?” Edwards asked.
“Yeah,” Brad said. “Annie got a bad feeling at college today. Did you two see anything out of the ordinary?”
Edwards shook her head and glanced at Annie. “We didn’t see anything suspicious. Annie didn’t say anything to us. When did this happen?”
“About two this afternoon,” Brad said. “She wasn’t sure if it was anything.”
“It would have been better if she told us right away,” Edwards said. “We could have checked it out.”
“So, nothing caught your eye?” Brad asked.
“Sir,” Houghton said. “Other than quite a few guys looking her over there’s been nothing out of the ordinary.”
“You’re sure?” Brad asked.
Houghton’s face flushed. “We know what we’re doing. That’s why you hired us. If there were a threat, we would have seen it.”
“I don’t mean you didn’t do your job. I’m a big believer in gut instinct. Something triggered a gut reaction in Annie. I’m trying to figure out what that was.”
“I understand, sir,” Houghton said. “Perhaps if this happens again Annie will let us know right away.”
Brad glanced at Annie. “I can assure you she will let you know if she has the slightest suspicion.”
Houghton nodded. “We’ll be extra vigilant now that we know something is triggering a gut response. We both believe in following our instincts.”
“I’ll keep closer contact with Annie,” Edwards said. “She wanted us in the shadows. Perhaps it’s best if I’m with her all the time. Even in classes.”
“No way,” Annie said. “That’s not gonna—”
Brad held up his hand. “That is a great idea, Edwards. Annie, you will not give Edwards any grief and you will let them know if you get that feeling again.”
“But—”
“No buts.” Brad turned to Edwards and Houghton. “You know how to contact me.”
“Do you want us to stay tonight?” Houghton asked.
Brad shook his head. “We’re good here tonight. I’ll stay home and we’ve got Lobo. I appreciate the offer. Sorry if I came across like I doubted you. Annie means a lot to us. Have a good night.”
Chapter Fifty-Seven
Saturday July 12
The boardroom was silent. Brad faced the wall of victims. He didn’t need to look, he had them memorized—images that would haunt him forever. He’d never be rid of them.
Steele slept, his head on a desk. Griffin flipped through the tips that had come in over the past week. Zerr paced around the room.
There was a knock at the door. Zerr sprinted over and opened it.
A uniformed constable poked his head in. “Got a package here for Detective Coulter.”
“I’ll take it,” Zerr said.
“The sergeant gave me strict instructions to give it to Detective Coulter directly.”
“It’s fine. He can bring it to me.”
“If you say so, sir.”
Zerr grabbed the package and was about to hand it to Brad when he stopped.
“What’s wrong?” Brad asked.
“Since you’ve been a detective, how many packages have been delivered to the station for you?”
“None.”
“The entire time you’ve been a cop, how many packages were delivered to you at work?”
“One.”
“What was in the package?”
“Women’s underwear.”
Griffin popped his head up. “What?”
“I had a stalker for a while.”
Griffin shook his head and went back to his paperwork.
“There, that’s my point,” Zerr said. “We’re deep into this investigation and out of the blue, you get a package. Something’s not right.”
“Easy way to figure it out: we’ll open the package.” Brad reached out.
“I’m going to check it first,” Zerr said.
“You think it’s booby-trapped or something?” Brad asked.
“You don’t know till you look,” Zerr said. “If we assume this is a threat, then it makes no sense for us all to stand here. Everyone out. I’ll call you when I’m through. Or you’ll hear a boom and that also means I’m finished.”
“Fine.” Brad followed the others out of the room but stayed near the door, watching.
Zerr set the package, wrapped in brown paper and big enough to hold a sandwich, on the table. He used his knife to slit the tape, then used the tip of the blade to pull back the paper. Nothing suspicious.
Zerr lifted the package off the table and held it out in front of him, then used the knife to cut the tape on the bottom. The paper came free and he let it fall to the floor. On the lid was a picture of a postcard. The box was used to ship postcards to stores and was taped closed. Zerr cut the tape and slipped off the lid.
Inside the box was a note that said Coulter. An elastic held the note holding it to a two-inch stack of paper.
“All clear,” Zerr shouted. He handed the box to Brad. “All clear, boss.”
Brad pulled the stack out and slipped off the elastic band. He unfolded the note.
Beneath the word Coulter were the words:
You’ll find her where she belongs, with the trash.
Brad dropped the note and grabbed the stack—Polaroid pictures. Tina. Barely recognizable, but it was her. His guts rolled as he choked back the bile rising into his mouth. His breath caught, throat tightening. Brad reached out a hand to steady himself, vision blurring as tears formed.
He flipped through them numbly, one by one—each picture more gruesome than the one before.
“What’s up, boss?” Steele asked. “You got awfully pale.”
He couldn’t speak. He flipped through the twenty or so pictures again.
“Boss?” Steele said.
Griffin looked up from the papers. “Coulter, what’s up?”
Zerr stepped toward Brad.
He found his voice. “No. Sit.”
They stared, puzzled.
“What’s going on?” Steele asked. “You got to tell us, boss.”
Brad cleared his throat. “Griffin. I need to talk to you.” Brad grabbed the package and raced out the door.
Griffin followed.
Brad sprinted down the hall, stepped into a vacant interview room, and slammed the door after Griffin.
“For Christ’s sake, what the hell’s going on? Coulter?”
Brad stopped pacing the room and threw the stack of photos on the table. He staggered to the corner and punched the wall. “Failed. I goddamn failed.”
Griffin flipped through the photos. “Mother
fucker. He killed her, he…he killed her.”
Brad pressed his head into the wall, his breath coming in gasps.
“But not right away.”
“Not right away.” Brad picked up a chair and threw it against the wall. “Fuck!”
Griffin flipped through the pictures one more time then threw them onto the table. “You can’t let Zerr see these.”
“You think?”
“Send him home,” Griffin said. “Get him as far away from this investigation as you can.”
“I can order him to stay away. But he’s going to do his own thing. It’s easier having him where I can keep an eye on him.”
Griffin grunted. “Like the other night?”
“Steele said he could keep Zerr under control.”
“Didn’t work, did it?”
“Didn’t work.” Brad hung his head. “I’m going to the boardroom to talk to Zerr and Steele.”
Griffin grabbed Brad’s arm. “Clean yourself up. They see you like this, you won’t have to say anything—they’ll know.”
Brad glanced down at his bloodied knuckles and took a deep breath.
When Brad entered the boardroom, Steele and Zerr looked up.
“What’s going on, boss?” Steele asked.
Brad pulled out a chair and sat across from them. He didn’t know how to say this.
He looked at his two best friends. “Tina’s dead.”
“What?” Steele yelled. “How do you know?”
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