Using his right index and middle finger, he removed the cigarette. "Now let’s make you pretty, little girl."
Sticking it back between his lips, he knelt between her spread legs and scraped the dainty instrument across the sensitive skin between her thighs, removing the foam with a cloth after each pass. Maya clamped her eyes shut. She was a cop, dammit. She wouldn’t cry. Instead, she contemplated the logistics of forcing herself to vomit so she could choke on it.
"There," he crooned, dabbing a rough cloth against her skin. "Smooth as a newborn baby."
He had just shaved all her pubic hair. The sick bastard wanted her to look like Violet and her sister had all those years ago, pre-puberty. With a sense of detachment, she wondered whether he made Violet’s mom shave in order to get it up when they were married.
Her stomach rolled as Willie Jack began stripping off his clothes. Oh, God, this can’t be happening. Maybe if she tried to talk to him, it would stall the inevitable.
"How'd you get the scar?"
Willie Jack paused, his finger tracing the raised white path zig-zagging his cheek. "This pretty thing? One of my mates didn’t appreciate my proclivities," he murmured, stroking the wound lovingly. "Said he didn’t want to share a cell with a child molester." He talked as if it were a badge of honor rather than a mark of disgrace. "Lucky for him, he didn’t have to share it long." He laughed as if he were conversing with an old friend instead of a bound captive. "The same knife that carved this found its way into his chest."
How could he get away with that? And how did he get hold of a knife in a federal penitentiary? She needed him to keep talking. "You killed him? How did he get a knife?"
"Now, now, now, it was proven self-defense. Why, I was even called a hero for eliminating unwanted scum." He raised a finger to his mouth and made a "shushing" sound. "Just between you and me, it was my knife. Your whore of a mother smuggled it to me." His face darkened. "I was tired of him calling me names. I was going to quiet him one way or another. I lunged at him with the knife but he caught my hand and forced it back on me, slashing my face." His palm now stroked his cheek. "I overpowered him and plunged the blade into the tree truck he called a chest. I called for guards as he lay dying, telling how he had tried to kill me." He sighed fondly, proud of his duplicity.
"You kept in touch with Vio—er, my mother?"
"Now, how do you think I found you so easily? Your mama gave me the address." He laughed heartily and then slapped his fleshy thigh. "Course she don’t know it. After I satisfied all my pent-up lust on her, I asked her nicely." His smile vanished. "Damn bitch wouldn’t tell me where you were…even after I tortured her."
Maya couldn’t stop the shudder that racked her body.
"Where," she cleared her throat and tried again, dreading the answer. "Where is she?"
"She’s pushing up Daisy’s…get it?" He guffawed. "Like your sister Daisy." He thought his sick joke was actually funny. "I heard your baby sister croaked, can’t say I’m not happy about that. Saved me the work of doing it myself."
Bile burned her esophagus. This man was truly and unbelievably evil.
"So you killed my mother?"
"Come-on Violet, stop the act. You never got along with her. In fact, all she did was bad-mouth you. But when she refused to tell me where you was, ordering me to stay away from you like she was some damn mamma bear protecting her cub, I shut her up for good."
Maya hoped she lived to tell Violet of the ultimate sacrifice her mother made for her: her life to save her daughter from ending up in the hands of a monster.
Maya vowed not to let Violet’s mom die in vain. She would figure out a way to get out of this mess. If she couldn’t do it herself, she had faith in Nick. He would find her.
"Enough talk." Willie Jack prowled closer. Maya forced the tears back, unwilling to cry. She considered telling him that she wasn’t really Violet, that she was an officer of the law, but she knew he would just kill her and go after Violet. If this was how she would die, she would do it with dignity. But not before Willie Jack answered a few more questions.
"Why did you wait so long to find me and why did you kill all those innocent girls?"
"What the hell are you talking about? I ain’t killed no one ‘cept that asshole in prison." Willie Jack threw back his head and cackled. "And of course your whore mother. And I waited just long enough to observe you. Find your weakness. I saw you take that kid to that stupid bear factory and I knew she was your weak spot. I toyed with the idea of using that big ox with you, but he would have been harder to manage."
"But those other seven girls, the ones with hair and eyes like mine. You killed them."
"Enough talking!" His hand slashed through the air, his words reverberating through the small space. She would get no more answers this night.
Peeling off his heavy flannel shirt, he uncovered a hairy, tattooed gut hanging over the belt of his pants. He rubbed a circle on his belly as his tongue wetted his lips. "Willie Jack’s gonna have himself a little fun."
His hand moved to his zipper and Maya closed her eyes, sending a silent plea. Please help me, Nick. I need you.
#
Nick navigated the icy streets like a pro, the headlights cutting through the dreary evening like laser beams. A complaint had been called in about a man and woman driving erratically on a snowmobile in this area. "She’s close, I can feel it," he said, more to himself than Kincaid.
"Stop," Kincaid ordered. Nick did as instructed. "There," he said, pointing. "Fresh tracks."
Dual narrow marks cut through snow pushed into a pile by a passing plow. Nick turned off the road and followed the trail to the parking lot of an abandoned motel while Kincaid called in their location, warning all cars to kill their lights and sirens. The path led around the back of the dilapidated building.
"There’s the snowmobile." The machine was partially hidden beneath a rotting stairwell in a dark hallway between units. "Idiot forgot the tracks when he tried to hide it."
"The footprints lead to that room," Nick said, slamming the car into park. He jumped out and charged forward. He took three steps before Kincaid practically tackled him.
"Slow down," he ordered in a harsh whisper. "We can’t go in guns blazing without assessing the situation."
Nick paused, knowing he was right. But his need to find Maya, assure himself she was okay overrode his police training. As they edged closer to the building, Kincaid jerked his head to the window where shadows flickered against the pulled shade.
Stopping on either side of the door with weapons pointed skyward, Kincaid mouthed, "one, two, three." Nick slammed his foot into the door, leveled his weapon and yelled, "Freeze, you sonofabitch."
Caught off guard with his pants around his knees, Kinney stumbled, as he lunged for his gun on the nightstand. He palmed the pistol and turned to fire. Kincaid dove through the opening, his shoulder crashing into Kinney’s abundant abdomen before he could pull the trigger. The force of his hit drove them against the wall. Kincaid pinned Kinney’s arm above his head with two hands and struggled for the pistol. Nick rushed over and wrestled the gun from his grip. With a roar, Kinney lunged forward, launching the trio into a wooden table that splintered under their weight. Kincaid grunted in pain as he hit the floor on the bottom of the pile. The lantern sailed through the air and crashed to the ground, the glass globe shattering into a million tiny shards. Fire caught the edge of the cheap polyester curtains and they erupted into flames.
"Maya," Nick yelled. With superhuman strength, he pushed the heavy man off him and dove for her. Ah, God, she was naked, tied to the bed. He reached into his pocket and withdrew a knife, sawing through her bonds as flames licked up the walls.
"Nick, please hurry," she cried.
He was barely aware of Kinney grabbing a thick leg of the smashed table and bashing Kincaid with it before escaping. Nick sawed through the last of Maya’s binds and snatched her off the bed. Covering her head, he dove through the barrier of flames, rolling befor
e they hit the concrete to absorb the blow. A thick layer of snow helped cushion the fall, but he still felt the impact jar his spine.
"Jake," Maya cried as she scrambled to her feet. Nick grabbed her arm before she could charge through the inferno to save Kincaid in all her naked glory. Yanking off his parka, he thrust it at her. "Wait here," he ordered. The blaze roared like a freight train, the abandoned building burning like fresh dried kindling. The heat was almost unbearable. If he didn’t get to Kincaid soon, he would die of smoke inhalation, or worse. "Kincaid," he called out.
Suddenly a shape burst through the flames, collecting Nick in his escape. They hit the ground in a tangle of limbs. Nick let out a harsh groan, his body protesting the second hard fall. Damn, that hurt.
He found his voice. "You okay?"
Kincaid coughed and nodded, rolling off him to sprawl on his back in the snow. Nick forced his battered body to move, to locate Maya. They literally ran into each other, his hands whipping out to steady her. An engine sparked to life. They spun to see Kinney backing the snowmobile out of its hiding place. Maya pulled Nick’s gun from the pocket of his parka, closed one eye and aimed. Direct hit. The machine sputtered and died.
Nick didn’t have time to congratulate her on her expert marksmanship as Kinney leaped off and sprinted away. Kincaid popped off the ground and lumbered after him. Nick whisked Maya off her feet and carried her to his car. He dropped her inside, secured a blanket around her legs, turned the heater to high and instructed her to lock the doors.
"I’m a cop, too, dammit," she argued. Her chattering teeth ruining the effect. "I should be out there with you."
"In case you’ve forgotten, you are currently without shoes," he pointed out, not needing to remind her that she was also without clothes. "In about ten more seconds, you’ll have frostbite." When she acquiesced easily, Nick realized how shaken she was. "Did he..." He couldn’t force the words out.
She shook her head. "You saved me before he could." He stared into her eyes, wanting to stay and comfort her but he had something more important to do. He had to hunt down the bastard and kill him.
Taking off after the two men, he caught up with Kincaid as he stood on a rugged snow-covered beach. They watched Kinney slide across the icy surface of Lake Champlain. He was a good twenty feet out when he glanced over his shoulder, noticed they weren’t following and flashed a feral grin. The grin froze as a sharp crack sliced through the night air. Kinney’s wide eyes moved from the two men to his feet. With a scream, he plunged like a lead ball into the frigid water.
Nick followed Kincaid as he inched tentatively on the unstable surface to the spot where Kinney disappeared. Nick took a step and halted as ice fractured like cobwebs around him. Kincaid barreled into him, knocking all the air from his lungs as he hurled him to safety. Chunks of ice broke off and floated away, leaving a dark black hole where Nick stood seconds earlier. He hit the solid ground with a thud, his body screaming in protest. He was going to hurt like hell tomorrow.
"We can’t reach him," Kincaid said, pushing to his feet. "He’s gone."
Kincaid helped him up and the two men hiked back to the inferno. Fire engulfed the ramshackle building, dark smoke hovering in a thick cloud. The stench of burning debris coated the air, black ashes raining down to mix with a light dusting of white snowflakes. The sound of flames cracking and popping warred with wailing sirens in the distance.
Maya had moved the car to safety. With a raw groan, Nick whipped open the door and gathered her into his arms, hugging her tight. "Don’t ever do anything like that again," he growled. "I was scared out of my mind."
"I wasn’t," she whispered against his shoulder. "I knew you would find me."
#
Violet bounced against the seat and willed the speeding police car to go faster. She was a raw bundle of nerves. She could see the orange glow of a massive fire in the distance. Knowing Jake was in the middle of it made her stomach cramp.
Finally the cruiser pulled into a parking lot and circled the burning structure, dodging fire equipment and personnel. Violet shot out of the door as soon as the car stopped. Smoke slammed into her lungs but she ignored the burn. Firemen in full gear rushed in front of her, headed for the blazing motel. She stepped over crisscrossing water hose and spotted Jake in the back of an ambulance, an oxygen mask attached to his face.
"Jake."
He looked up, whipped off the mask and slid to the ground in time to catch her as she launched herself at him.
"Oh God, Jake, are you okay?" She peppered kisses over his soot covered face, knowing she was smothering him but he was alive and she was so damn happy.
"I’m fine, baby," he croaked, his voice scratchy and raw from the smoke.
"Maya?"
He jerked his head to the side. "She’ll be okay."
Violet spotted the policewoman in the back of another ambulance decked in oversized sweats, engulfed in the arms of Nick Turner. Smiling, she turned back to Jake and wiped some of the grime from his face. Suddenly she paused, her hand against his cheek. "Willie Jack?"
"He fell through the ice. We couldn’t reach him."
She followed his gaze to the clearing where Lake Champlain touched the shore. Two men in black wetsuits pulled a bloated, naked, lifeless body from the water.
Willie Jack.
It was over.
No more murders. No more watching over her shoulder. No more worrying he would make good on his promise to kill her.
After twenty years of pain, torment and heartbreak, it was finally over. Daisy was avenged.
CHAPTER 27
Violet woke to sunlight filtering through the bare branches of a stately Maple. She smiled. She was home and she was safe.
Jake had wanted her to stay a few more days at Nick’s brother’s house but after everything that happened she just wanted to sleep in her own bed. She would miss the pool and the heated dog run, but she needed to feel secure in her home again. Jake finally acquiesced, stopping to gather Zeus and her belongings first. Then he made love to her three times, each more passionate and cataclysmic than the last. When he left, he issued stern warnings to set the alarm and not leave the house.
A glance at the clock revealed that she had slept well into the afternoon. She bolted upright with a sense of relief, quickly chased by a wave of despair. The nightmare of Willie Jack and the murders was over. Jake had no reason to stay in Burlington. She flopped to her back and heard a matching sigh.
"Hi baby," she said as she hugged the big dog. "He’s going to leave us," she whispered into his fur. "We will never see him again." She didn’t realize she was crying until a big, pink tongue licked away the wetness on her cheeks. "Somehow we will get through it together."
Forcing herself out of bed, she padded to the bathroom and lingered under the soothing fall of hot, steamy water. When the water turned chilly, she stepped out of the tub and reached for a towel as the phone rang. Hoping it was Jake, she quickly answered.
"Hello?"
"Hey, beautiful."
Just the sound of his voice sent ripples of excitement through her body. With a shiver of naughtiness, she decided to inform him of her state of undress. "Hey, yourself."
"I’m sorry I didn’t wake you when I left but you were sleeping so soundly. How are you feeling?"
"Better than I have in a long time. In fact…." Should she do it? "I just stepped out of the shower."
"Um, sounds great," Jake muttered.
"I mean just stepped out of the shower."
Violet heard an audible gulp. "A-are you telling me you’re naked?"
"Completely," she confirmed. "The cool droplets feel so good on my body. I’m running my hand over my dewy skin, in between my breasts."
"Jesus, Violet," he groaned. "You are getting me as hard as steel and I have to walk into a room full of cops and reporters and give a debriefing report in about five minutes."
"You know what I could do in five minutes," she teased. She proceeded to tell him in graphic d
etail.
A low groan rumbled through the phone. "I gotta go," he croaked. "I have to go crank the shower in the locker room to cold."
"Jake?"
"God," he ground out. "Have mercy. I can’t take more."
She smiled at his harsh tone, pleased that she could do this to him. "What time are you coming back?"
There was a long pause. Her heart sank. He was coming back, wasn’t he? Finally, "I don’t know. Late. I’ve got a lot to wrap up. Don’t leave the house until I return," he ordered.
She hung up, sadness surrounding her. Wrapping up usually meant finalizing. Did he mean their relationship, too?
All she could do was tell him how she felt and see if it made a difference. She shook her head. Thinking that he had a decision to make was not being fair to him. He made it clear how he felt about Vermont’s bitter cold and never-ending snow.
Forcing her legs to move, she guided Zeus outside to do his business. After brewing a pot of coffee, she picked up the phone to check on Melissa and make sure she was okay after the ordeal. Her brows furrowed when a recording clicked on informing her that the number was no longer in service. "That’s strange," she mumbled. Disconnecting, she dialed the little girl’s school. She was familiar with most of the women in the office so she asked Ms. Horner if Melissa came in today. She sat motionless as the woman told her that Melissa’s mom had withdrawn her from school, packed up and moved without telling anyone where they were headed.
Violet hung up, feeling numb. Why did she always lose the people she loved? First Daisy, then Grandma June. She loved Melissa, now she was gone. The restlessness she sensed in Chris meant she might uproot and move also. She loved Jake and she would probably lose him, too.
Refusing to give into depression, she longed for the support of a good friend. Checking the clock, she realized Chris had a class but Todd would be in his office grading papers. She needed to apologize for practically accusing him of being a killer, for dragging his name through the mud. Although it could never be the same, maybe they could work on repairing their friendship.
Violets Are Blue Page 28
