“So Townsend was innocent.”
“Yeah, and the killer knew we’d watch the security videos, ask questions, and go after Townsend.”
“Who’s the killer then?”
“We’re getting closer. I can feel it.” Zander looked toward Wynn’s house. He hadn’t spoken to her all day. She asked to be alone and he had to respect her wishes.
“I know you, brother. You think you know who it is, don’t you?”
“I have my suspicions, but I can’t move on him just yet.”
“I wish I could stay and watch this go down, but I have to go back to the office and finalize a few things,” Kiersten said.
“I’ll tell you the story.” He winked.
She shrugged. “I’m sure you will.” She kicked a leaf with the toe of her boot.
~~~**~~~
“Still no baby?” Zander kissed a very pregnant Lanie on the cheek.
She held her full stomach and sighed. “The doctor will induce me in a few days if baby doesn’t decide to make her appearance on her own. I don’t think I’ll be able to move if I get any bigger.”
“Rudy wanted me to stop and speak to him.” Zander removed his Stetson and placed it against his chest.
She narrowed her gaze. “Listen, he needs rest, physically and mentally, from work.” She waved her finger at him accusingly.
He grinned. “I get it.” He couldn’t fault a woman who wanted to keep her family safe.
“It’s okay, sweetheart. I’m no good at just sitting around,” Rudy said from the doorway. Besides the fact that he had a bulging bandage on his chest from his broken ribs and was leaning on a cane, he looked as vicious as ever.
“Sorry, Rudy. I don’t want to get you into trouble with your wife,” Zander said.
She kissed her husband on the cheek. “At least invite Zander into the living room where you can sit down. I’ll make you both a cup of coffee.” She shot Zander a warning look over her shoulder.
Once they were seated, Zander hooked his hat on his knee. “Have you heard about the out of towner’s death?”
Rudy shot a quick glance toward the kitchen. “I feel like I’m in prison getting secret messages when the guard isn’t looking.” He smiled, softening his words some.
“She loves you. Let her shower you with nurturing. Once the baby’s born you’ll miss the attention.”
“I’m a lucky man, yet she wants me to resign.”
“Yeah?”
“Right now, she’s afraid our baby won’t have a father. Once she gives birth I’m sure she’ll see how safe Crooked Creek is. So, you think Wynn is the next victim? Who’s with her now?”
Zander leaned his elbows on his thighs. “She doesn’t want to see me right now. I think she’s in shock over what’s happened. I’ve asked Kace to help out.”
“Does she know?”
“Hell no. She’s the type that wouldn’t like having someone watching over her.”
Rudy eased back into the cushion of the couch, squinting. “Is Salvano’s death from his business partners?”
“I don’t think so. Their MO would be to dispose of the body where it wouldn’t be found. I think the killer was sending a message.”
“I know you and I can bet you have an idea of what happened.”
“Sure. Let me fill you in on the details.”
CHAPTER 22
THE KNOCK ON the door startled Wynn from a restless sleep on her couch.
After gathering her wits, Wynn got up and peeked through the window of the door, then opened it. “Hi, Jeff. Zander isn’t here.”
“Hello, Wynn. Zander asked me to come by actually.” He removed his cap.
“He did?” This was awkward. He’d tried to call her several times, but she’d ignored his attempts. For now, she needed some time to herself to get a handle on her feelings. They’d both kept secrets from the other and when things settle down, they would have to talk. She peeked outside looking for Zander’s brother, Kace. She’d figured out almost immediately that he had been watching her. The man had been hanging out at Zander’s and she’d finally just went over and said “hello.” Kace never did admit that he was keeping an eye on her, but he didn’t need to. At least they’d had a nice conversation.
“If you’re looking for Kace, he had something come up and Zander asked if I’d take his place.”
Wynn didn’t need anyone babysitting her, but to keep the peace, she wouldn’t argue. “How’s the case coming?”
“They’re getting close.”
She spotted something dark on his shirt. Leaning closer, she pointed at the stain. “Is that blood?”
Jeff smiled. “Could be.”
Her chest tightened. She knew enough about the man that he was always polished with his clothes without wrinkles and his shoes spotless. Looking down, she noticed a smear of mud on his boots. Something was off.
“It’s really not necessary for you to hang out here with me.”
“Zander insisted,” Jeff added.
“I’m going to give him a call…” She started to close the door, but he placed his foot over the threshold to keep it from closing.
“We don’t want to bother him. He’s a busy man.”
Her throat felt like it was on fire. “I don’t think he’ll mind.” Taking a step back, the hairs on her nape lifted. Turning, she reached for her phone and started to race for the hallway when Jeff caught her with a hand on her shoulder, swinging her around. His face was red and inflamed with anger. “Wh-what are you doing?”
“Let’s not pretend any longer. You know what I’m doing,” he seethed.
“You’re the killer, aren’t you[TT1]?”
His laughter made her stomach twist. “You’re a smart one, and a touch older than the others, but you, my dear, will certainly be the most beloved.”
Her brain ticked through what was happening. How could he be the killer?
She jerked away, brought her foot up and landed it hard between his legs. He dropped to his knees, moaning like a dying animal. This was her chance to escape. Speeding down the dark hall, she made it to the door, hand on the doorknob, but the man was fast. He fisted her hair and jerked her back so hard that she felt roots pop and saw spots before her eyes. She looked into his face, never seeing anyone so mad.
“Listen, bitch, and listen closely. I’ll slice your throat right here and then blow Zander’s head off when he steps through that door. Behave,” he pushed through thin lips.
“Go ahead. Kill me! I won’t go down without a fight!”
“Fine by me!” He pulled his arm back and slammed his fist in her jaw.
Pain shot through her face seconds before everything went black.
~~~**~~~
Deputy Lansing watched his prey stir on the bed. Even with her face swollen and black and blue she still was the prettiest target. Her hair spread like satin across the pillow and he reached out to touch a tendril, but her eyes came open and he jerked back.
She fluttered her eyes like the wings of a butterfly, coming awake…
Fright crossed her face and she popped up, but he pressed her back down. “Stay still,” he demanded.
“Fuck you!”
“Oh, but my sweet, you’re the one who is fucked. The sooner you realize this, the easier this will go,” he soothed.
“You won’t get away with this! Zander is on to you and you know it.”
He laughed and finally gave into his need. He lifted a wispy tendril of her hair and curled it around his knuckle. “You’re certainly the juiciest prey I’ve had the pleasure of targeting. I never would have targeted you if I hadn’t seen you at the hospital following your lab work. You fell into my lap like fate was telling me you were next.”
“Fate didn’t tell you anything. You’re crazy!” she spat.
He dropped the wisp of hair and sighed. “Yes…yes, I am.”
She blinked and bucked against the bed. “Let me go! You have time to get away.”
He reached into his pocket, took out
the crumpled tissue, and wiped the spot of blood on the corner of her mouth. “Poor, poor little Wynn. You should be thanking me. I took care of a big problem for you.”
Several seconds passed and then the realization flickered in her expression. “You killed Rory?”
“Oh, you say that as if you care. Come on, you’re glad he’s gone. He was a stain on your life. I heard what he was doing to you. The things a man can hear when he eavesdrops.”
“Why?”
He threw the tissue into the trashcan and wiped his hands down his thighs. “He also fell into my lap. I was watching your house, then along came the rabbit and I caught him in my snare.” He laughed.
“What did you do to Kace?”
“Rest your pretty little head about the giant oaf.” He patted her shoulder. “I only hurt those who deserve it. It only took a call from the hospital that his father was having a heart attack. He believed me. I’m just that convincing. Call it skill, I guess.”
“You’re just that sick.”
“Oh, now hush, my dear. Let’s not allow things to get in the way of our last hour together.”
CHAPTER 23
WYNN FAUGHT AGAINST the aching at her temples. She wasn’t sure how long she’d been out but when she came face to face with evil, she remembered what happened.
Deputy Lansing’s silhouette was blurry, but he was there.
“Why? Why all those innocent girls?”
“Here’s some water. Drink it and you’ll feel better.” Lansing sat down on the edge of the bed.
She backed up across the bed, hitting the cold wall.
“Don’t fight me, my dear. Drink the water.” When she didn’t take the glass, he placed it nearby on a table. “Suit yourself.”
Her vision started to clear and she was able to see her surroundings better. She didn’t have a clue where she was, but it was a bedroom with nice, oak furniture and a painting of the forest on the wall. On the dresser was a variety of make-up and hair products. Did a woman live here?
She struggled against the weakness in her limbs. She wanted the water—had a thirst like never before, but fear kept her from giving in. He could have easily poisoned the water.
He must have seen her staring at the glass because he smirked. “Are you afraid I’ve tampered with the water. Watch this.” He grabbed the glass and took a drink, then held it out for her.
Her mouth was as dry as a cotton ball. She couldn’t resist the need. Taking the glass, she sipped just enough to ease her thirst, but not anymore. He took the glass back, placed it on the table, and then he strolled to the other side of the room.
“Where am I?”
“You’ll find out soon enough.” His words seemed to come through a tunnel, although he was only less than ten feet away.
“I don’t understand. Why am I here?”
“Like I said. It’ll all make sense soon. Just be patient.”
~~~**~~~
Wynn’s house was empty.
Zander put the pieces together. After he found that Deputy Lansing’s wife had severe asthma and had died from her illness, Zander knew, without a doubt, who the killer was. Before he could make it to Wynn’s, he’d gotten a call from Kace explaining about the phone call he had received.
Zander had hurried to the house, hoping she was still there, but he’d been too late.
He called Wynn’s number and heard her ringtone. The phone was laying on the floor and her nebulizer was still in her purse. He remembered her saying she’d never leave home without it.
Obviously, she’d been taken from the house against her will.
Zander would kill the motherfucker.
He paced back and forth, clearing his mind of any emotion and focusing on the case.
Then it came to him.
Reaching for his phone, he stabbed in a number and the Sheriff dispatcher answered. “Give me Deputy Lansing’s current and previous addresses.”
After a moment’s pause, the dispatcher came back on the line. She told him the current address. “But there isn’t a previous address here.”
Clicking off, he raced to his truck and spun out of the driveway, sliding in the snow as he headed back onto the main road. Thankful the plow had been through recently.
But his disappointment grew once he stood on the landlady’s stoop who had rented an apartment to Lansing.
“And you have no clue where he is?”
“I really don’t know.” The elderly woman tugged her shawl tighter around her shoulders. “Wait, I do know that he visited Emily White every Tuesday. She was his mother-in-law, but she passed away several months ago.”
“Do you know where she lived?” He could find out her address, but it was much easier if the woman could tell him.
“You know, I think I have the address written down. She and I used to exchange Christmas cards until we had a falling out. She was a nosey old bird before her daughter died, but afterward she became impossible. Death of a loved one can do that to a person.”
“Ma’am, I’m in a bit of a hurry.”
“Oh, yes…let me grab that for you.”
Flashes of Wynn ripped through his head.
All his life had been about his career and little did he know that the true meaning of his existence would show up at the house next door. It seemed everything came down to this moment—to Wynn’s survival. If anything happened to her, he’d lose many opportunities, mostly at being happy for the rest of his life. He needed her to know how much he loved her, and that he wanted to spend the rest of his life with her. How he wanted to have children with her, wanted them to create a legacy together.
No one fucked with his future…or the love of his life. No one. Lansing would fucking pay.
CHAPTER 24
WYNN’S BREATH WHEEZED from her chest. She had a hard time drawing in her air.
“I bet you’d like to take a sip of this, wouldn’t you?”
She saw that he held an inhaler in his hand, but it wasn’t hers, and he was grinning from ear to ear. He apparently got off watching people suffer.
“I think now might be the time for me to tell you where you’re at and why.” He strolled over, dragged the chair from the desk and placed it next to the bed and took a seat. He set the nebulizer on the table like cheese to a mouse. As she started to reach for it, he slapped her hand. “No, no, my dear. Listen only.”
She drew her hand back. Wynn had to count on Zander finding her. He would, she knew he would. He’d search every nook and cranny of Crooked Creek until he did. But what if she wasn’t in Crooked Creek? She would find out…
“This room,” he encompassed the space with his hands gliding through the air. “This was her bedroom, our bedroom. My wife. She and I lived here, and we were happy. So many plans had been created here.” He investigated the distance and it seemed his mind wandered. “It was even here that she told me she was pregnant. I can’t begin to describe how happy I was. She was my everything and soon our circle would be complete.” He leaned forward, his eyes glazed. “The economy was bad and I didn’t have the painting jobs I once did. I could no longer afford insurance. That meant we had to pay for her treatment out of pocket. Oh, I don’t want to leave out the most crucial part of the story. She had asthma. I’m sure you understand how important treatment can be.”
Wynn sat up, leaning against the wall, feeling too vulnerable lying down, and she was having difficulty breathing. He didn’t seem to care as he retold his story.
“She was almost six months pregnant when she started getting sick. I’d drained our savings account paying for her prescriptions. I tried everything, even got a job at a factory, but because she had a previous illness, she couldn’t get coverage with my plan. I took her to the emergency room, but they refused to keep her more than two days. They said she was well enough, but I knew it was because she didn’t have insurance. It all comes down to money.” His gaze met hers a mere second before he drifted again. “One night she woke me up and she couldn’t breathe. We tried everythin
g. The inhaler. Nothing worked. I held her, feeling the spasms rack her body as she drew in each breath, each one deeper and shallower. I counted the seconds, anticipating hearing the sirens in the distance that could mean she’d live. But the only sound that filled the room was the gasping of my dear’s breaths. They became farther and farther apart as she clung to life. And then I heard the last labored breath before she went limp in my arms. That was the moment my life ended.”
“Jeff, I’m sorry, but she wouldn’t want you hurting others.”
He jerked his head her direction, nailing her with a scowl. “You’re sorry? Don’t enlighten me and think that’ll work. I didn’t want to kill anyone. I really didn’t, but as I watched woman after woman walking in and out of the hospital, getting the care they deserved for their asthma, it made me angry. To the point that I had an insatiable hunger to watch them take their last breath, right here, just as my dear did long ago.”
“Her death was painful, and you have every reason to be hurt and angry, but these women, they didn’t deserve to pay for what someone else did.”
All life seemed to leave his eyes. “This wasn’t for spite. This is to show the world that insurance companies are only out to line their pockets. Doctors, nurses, they’re all the same. They take an oath to heal and yet they let a woman, pregnant, go home to suffer.”
“This isn’t the way. Think of what your wife would want.” Wynn’s chest ached. She looked at the inhaler. It was within reach, but she couldn’t fight him for it. She was too weak.
“How does it feel to be granted air? It’s free and yet, not everyone can breathe freely.”
She concentrated on the beats of her heart, keeping her breaths slow.
“If the victims had asthma, why the syringes of heroine?” She wanted to know the truth and to keep him talking. She prayed Zander got here before it was too late.
Lansing reached into his pocket and took out a full syringe. “I have one for you too. I have a sliver of compassion left in me. As their lungs start to collapse, I like to sweep in and offer peace. This,” he held up the syringe, “offers comfort, unlike what my wife had.”
Wanted by the Lawman Page 18
