Random Acts of Iniquity

by Christy Barritt

  “True.”

  “Or when I disregard the rules in order to help someone. I seem like I stay within the lines, but I don’t. That’s really what it boils down to. I like doing things on my terms.”

  He glanced down and remained silent a few minutes. “I had a feeling this was coming.”

  “I’m sorry, Drew.” I was. I hated hurting people. Hated it.

  “I am too. But . . . at least we know now, right?”

  “At least.” My voice cracked.

  He looked up and drew in a breath as if trying to pull himself together. “You’ve been a joy in my life, Holly. There will never be anyone else like you.”

  I smiled my first true smile in days. “I feel the same about you, Drew. Sincerely.”

  He stood, and I followed his lead. Stiffly, he pulled me toward him in a loose hug. “I wish you the best of luck. And I hope they find the person who did this to you.”

  “Thank you, Drew.”

  I watched as he left, my heart heavy.

  But, as I turned around, Chase stood there.

  I thought he might remark on what had just happened. Instead, he had a new look in his eyes.

  “I think we have a lead,” he said.

  “Really?”

  “I’m not sure if it fits in with this case or not, but I think it’s something you’re going to want to pursue.”

  “What’s it about?”

  His lips flickered with the start of a grin. “It’s about Kari Harling.”

  I sucked in a breath. “What?”

  He nodded. “You were talking about her yesterday, wondering if she could be linked to what happened. I’m not saying she is. But I am saying that I think I found her.”

  Chapter Ten

  My lungs felt like cement had been poured into them as I waited to hear what Chase had found. I lowered myself back onto the couch.

  I’d been trying to track down Kari myself for the last several months, but I’d had no luck. Then again, I didn’t have the same resources the police department did either. My methods had included online searches and generally keeping my eyes open for her.

  “I’ve had a trace on her for a while.” Chase sat down across from me. “If her credit card was used, if her name came up in the system for any reason, or her driver’s license—anything. But it’s been radio silent. Nothing. It’s like she disappeared off the face of the earth, just as you said.”

  “Okay . . .” My hands twisted together in my lap as I waited for him to continue. I had to know where he was going with this.

  “Last night, I decided to have several variations of her picture made by the forensic artist at the station. Some with her hair dark. Others with it short. There were probably six different images in the end. I was hoping to get a hit on at least one of them.”

  I sucked in a quick breath. “And I’m assuming you did get a hit?”

  “While you were talking to Drew, I got a call from one of the beat cops who works in the Queensgate area. There is someone who looks like Kari who’s been hanging out near a warehouse there.”

  My pulse spiked. “Okay then. That sounds like good news.”

  “She appeared to be homeless.”

  His words caused the breath to leave my lungs. “Homeless?”

  In all my imaginings, I hadn’t expected that. I’d expected Kari might be involved in drugs or conning people or involved in some kind of crime ring. Things that would make me dislike her—not feel sorry for her. I didn’t want to feel sorry for her.

  Chase caught my gaze. “I’m not saying she is homeless. Just that she appears to be.”

  “That’s . . . terrible.” I didn’t know what else to say.

  He raised his hand, as if to stop my thoughts before they veered me into Guiltville. He knew me too well. “My guys are checking the warehouse right now, the one where she’s been spotted.”

  “And?”

  He shrugged. “And they’ll let me know what they find out.”

  I stood. Queensgate wasn’t terribly far from where I lived. It would only take us ten minutes to drive there. If the cops found Kari, I wanted to see her with my own eyes, to talk to her.

  “Can we go?” I asked, my voice coming out small and nearly childlike.

  “Go where?”

  “To the warehouse.”

  He gave a quick shake of his head. “That doesn’t seem like a great idea. Besides, I thought you wanted to stay put.”

  Excitement flared to life in me, making me feel more alive than I’d felt since the abduction. “I do, which is exactly why I need to get out.”

  Chase remained still. “What will it prove if you go down there?”

  “I want to talk to her in person.”

  “She’s probably not connected to this case. You know that, right?”

  “Even more reason to talk to her. It will get my mind off things. Besides, the police are there checking things out. The area will be secure, right?”

  “I suppose.” He still looked hesitant.

  “Please?” I finally asked.

  Chase let out a long breath. “Okay. But if anything seems suspicious, you’re staying in my car where it’s safe. Do you understand?”

  Hope spread through me as I nodded. “I understand. Thank you.”

  * * *

  My thoughts still raced as I headed with Chase down the road in his police sedan. I much preferred the safety of my own home right now. But answers called to me. I needed to know the truth, if not about my abduction then about the con artist turned homeless woman known as Kari Harling.

  “Do you think Kari has any part in what happened to me?” I asked, watching as the city blurred past my windows.

  Chase let out a breath as he gripped the steering wheel. “I have no idea. But I think we should pursue it, considering everything that happened between the two of you. This woman was obsessed with you. Whoever is behind this is obsessed with you.”

  “But the person who abducted me is a man, a man who has means and who’s tech savvy. I don’t know about Kari being connected with this.”

  “I agree that it seems like a stretch. But I still think it’s worth pursuing.”

  “I think so too.”

  We continued down the road, the area around us growing more rundown. More graffiti covered. More gang infested. We were in what some people called the hood.

  The hood didn’t scare me. I’d been a social worker for many years, and these places had been a part of my territory.

  Though low economic status did sometimes go hand in hand with crime, that didn’t mean I feared the people who lived with very little means. In fact, my heart went out to them.

  Chase pulled to a stop in front of an old brick-fronted warehouse. The windows had wood covering them. Spray paint let people know this wasn’t their territory. Even the sky seemed bleaker here.

  The good news was that it was daytime, and I didn’t see anyone wandering around the area looking to start trouble. Maybe that was because three police cars were parked nearby.

  Still, Chase looked apprehensive as he put his car in Park.

  “So this is where Kari was last seen?” I asked, trying to imagine her here. She seemed so much like the girl next door when I first met her. I couldn’t even put the two pictures together in my mind.

  “That’s correct. She’s been hanging out outside this building for at least a few weeks.”

  My stomach tightened at the thought. What if she was homeless? What was this woman’s story? What was the truth?

  I had no idea. But I desperately wanted to find out. I also reminded myself she was a con artist. This could all be a part of her plan.

  An officer stepped out of the warehouse and glanced at Chase.

  “Stay here,” Chase ordered. “Until I find out what’s going on. Promise?”

  “Promise.”

  With one last glance at me, Chase climbed out. I watched as he met with the officer. They chatted several minutes before Chase came back to the car and opened
the door.

  “The area is clear,” he said.

  My stomach sank. “No Kari?”

  “No, but there is some evidence that she could be living here.”

  “What’s that mean?”

  “It means I’m going to go check it out. Please don’t make me regret asking you this, but do you want to come?”

  I hesitated for only a moment before pushing Doll Man’s face out of my mind. “Yes, I do.”

  “Then let’s go. Remember—stay close.”

  Based on the fear coursing through me, I had no doubt I would be doing just that.

  * * *

  I held onto Chase’s arm as we stepped into the abandoned warehouse.

  A huge room stretched in front of us, and I suspected there used to be assembly line-like equipment here. Now, broken windows trimmed the top of the space, allowing in grayish-tinted light.

  The whole place smelled musty and like urine.

  Maybe I’d seen too many movies, but it just seemed like the kind of building where bad things happened.

  I swallowed hard and held on to Chase’s arm.

  As we walked across the open space, I glanced down. This building was supposed to be abandoned, but there was evidence that people had been in here recently. Soda bottles. Beer cans. Chinese food containers. Snack wrappers.

  Chase swept a flashlight beam across the floor as we walked, our footsteps echoing in the building. Though officers guarded the perimeter, this whole place just felt ominous.

  We headed toward the back of the building. Apparently, there were offices there, some storage areas, and rooms on a second level that overlooked the production area.

  Was Kari really hanging out here? The word on the street might be that she was living here now, but this didn’t seem like a place anyone would want to live.

  We stepped into the hallway. Chase swung the beam of his flashlight into the office. It illuminated a sleeping bag on the floor, along with a pillow.

  “Someone has been living here,” Chase said quietly.

  It appeared to be a female—maybe. The bag was pink, at least. And there was a hairbrush beside the bed. Maybe the police could test the DNA samples there. Kari had several connections with some minor crimes in the area, which was the only reason Chase could utilize this manpower right now. The police had never been able to find her, nor had she been a top priority.

  Maybe we were onto something.

  But if Kari lived here, where was she now?

  Had she run when she heard the police enter the building?

  “We’ll come back to this room in a moment,” Chase said. “I want to check out the rest of the place first.”

  He continued down the quiet hallway, his light sweeping the floor.

  As we stepped around the corner, a squeak sounded above us.

  We froze.

  Someone was in here.

  The noise had been too loud to be a mouse or other small creature. No, it had sounded like a footstep.

  Chase looked at me. “Wait right here.”

  My throat tightened. I didn’t want to be left alone. But I wasn’t sure I wanted to go upstairs either. Especially since I wasn’t sure whom I’d face.

  I shook my head. The police had cleared the building. I should be safe.

  Still, fear tiptoed across my skin. I pressed myself into a corner while Chase took the steps.

  I knew he was trying to watch out for my safety, in case there was something dangerous upstairs. But I hated being alone. And I really hated being alone in the dark.

  Dear Lord, help me now. Help us to find answers.

  As I said “amen,” someone whispered my name.

  I shook my head. No, I’d been hearing things. I must have been. Who would say my name?

  Except maybe Kari.

  Was she here? Was she watching me right now?

  “Holly . . .”

  I heard it again. My name. A high-pitched voice whispered it so quietly, it sounded like feathers touching the ground.

  I glanced back at the staircase Chase had climbed. I should wait for him.

  But what if it was Kari? What if she was going to get away?

  Slowly, with my back pressed against the wall, I headed down the hallway. Back toward the office.

  What if she’d been inside? What if she’d been hiding when we checked out the space?

  But as I turned the corner, I froze in my tracks.

  Kari Harling wasn’t standing there.

  It was the man in the mask. The man who’d abducted me. Doll Man.

  I tried to scream, but nothing left my throat.

  The terror that had been tiptoeing across my skin now scrambled in a full-fledged panic.

  My abductor was back.

  Chapter Eleven

  “I was hoping I might find you here,” he whispered, stepping closer.

  His mask made me feel like I was talking to a psychopath. The expression painted there made him look so happy. So harmless.

  I scooted back, but not nearly fast enough. Where was my voice? My reflexes?

  Neither fight nor flight kicked in. Instead, I was frozen.

  I couldn’t break myself out of the moment.

  Chase! I mentally screamed his name. But the word wouldn’t leave my lips.

  “You didn’t think you’d get away that easily, did you?” He moved closer and closer. “I always finish what I start.”

  All I could hear was myself breathing. Breathing rapidly. Way too shallow.

  I pressed myself into the wall as sweat scattered across my already clammy skin.

  Images sliced into my mind. Images of me waking up in the strange house. Of the man touching my waist. Standing close. Acting like I was his wife and we lived in a different time period.

  “You’re going to need to come with me.” Doll Man grabbed my wrist.

  As I felt his touch, something sprang to life inside me.

  “No!” The sound came out as a half yell, half scream.

  I would not go with this man. Not if I could help it.

  The man stiffened as footsteps sounded above me.

  Then he ran.

  Go after him!

  But I couldn’t. Instead, I collapsed on the floor, my entire body seeming to shut down.

  The officers were out there. Certainly they would catch him. Stop him. Right?

  Oh, Lord. Help me!

  The Doll Man had been here. If he’d had a knife, he could have killed me.

  “Holly?” Chase appeared from the stairway and sank down beside me.

  I pointed in the distance. “He was here. He went that way.”

  Chase stared at me another moment, as if contemplating whether or not to leave.

  He stayed.

  “Chase?”

  As he moved to the side, I saw someone behind him. Kari Harling.

  I knew he didn’t trust her and didn’t want to leave me with her. Instead, he grabbed his radio and called the incident in. Then he helped me to my feet.

  His entire body felt tense as his arm wrapped around my waist.

  I glanced back at Kari, trying to get a good look at her. She was handcuffed. She’d been crying. And she looked dirty, with matted hair, dirty skin, and torn clothes.

  Too many dilemmas hit me at once. The heartbreaking reality of seeing her like this. The reminder of what she’d done to me. Coming face-to-face with my abductor. The fact that they’d both been in the same place at the same time.

  I couldn’t wait to get out of this dingy warehouse.

  Was anywhere safe? It sure didn’t feel like it.

  * * *

  Chase, Kari, and I emerged from a door at the side of the building. Chase had one arm around me and his other hand gripped Kari’s arm.

  The sunlight nearly blinded me, and I squinted, desperate for a glance of Doll Man. I needed to see him being captured. To know he hadn’t gotten away again.

  Instead, a chain-link fence stared back. Trash collected along its edge, as well as some dried l
eaves. But there was no sign that anyone had just come through here.

  Chase led both of us to the front of the building, his steps taking on an urgent pace. Neither Kari nor I said anything. The conversation I needed to have with her would require time, not quick snippets, so I’d saved my breath—for now.

  As we reached Chase’s car, he turned to his officers. They all shrugged, as if nothing had happened.

  “Did you find him?” Chase demanded.

  “We didn’t see anyone,” one said.

  “You didn’t see anyone come out of the building?” Chase’s voice grew louder with intensity.

  “No, sir.”

  “If that’s the case, he must still be inside. Go search for him. Now.”

  The three officers scrambled into action.

  Chase led Kari to the back of his car and ushered her inside.

  “I’ll get back to you in a minute.” He slammed her door shut and turned toward me, his gaze softening. “Did he hurt you?”

  I shook my head, angry at the stray tear that rolled down my cheek. I quickly wiped it away. “No.”

  “What did he say?”

  The moment flashed back to me. “That he always finishes what he starts.”

  Chase’s face turned red. “He just came out of nowhere?”

  “Maybe he came from the office.” I wasn’t sure. I hadn’t thought things through yet. I’d only reacted.

  Chase’s jaw tensed. “I don’t like where any of this is going.”

  “I don’t either.”

  One of the officers approached, almost looking timid around Chase. “We didn’t see anything, sir.”

  “This man didn’t disappear,” Chase growled. “He went somewhere. Keep searching.”

  “Yes, sir.” The officer scrambled away.

  Chase turned back to me. “Did you hear a door opening? Anything that would give an indication as to where he went?”

  “No . . . I’m sorry. I just froze up. I could hardly do anything. Until he grabbed my wrist. And then panic set in.”

  “I should have never brought you here.” He pulled me into a hug.