Dangerous Passage

by Lisa Harris

  Jackson watched the color start to return to her cheeks again as determination settled in. She was right. They had to find this guy and find him quickly. The fact that he’d given the gift to Tess could have been a coincidence, but he didn’t think so. And Avery was thinking the same thing, because she’d be looking at the situation both as a detective and a mother.

  KATE’S FLOWER SHOP was imprinted on the envelope. Avery turned to her daughter. “Tess, this is extremely important. I need to know everything you can tell me about the man who gave this to you.”

  “I don’t know . . . It was just like I told you. Some guy in a uniform came up to me, handed me the package, and said it was for Avery North. Then he left. I thought it was a surprise from Jackson.”

  Jackson stared at the flower on the floor. The edges were already beginning to wilt. “Did he leave through the front doors?”

  “Yeah, I was standing over there by the food table eating one of these little quiches.”

  “I need you to tell me what he looked like, Tess.”

  “Mom, you’re scaring me.” She reached down to pick up the flower, but Avery pulled her back gently. She’d already have to eliminate fingerprints on the card, but that was okay. She was thinking like a police officer again. “Tess, we need to leave the flower where it is for now.”

  “It’s just a flower.”

  “Just tell me what he looked like.”

  “I’ll try.” Tess let out a sharp breath. “He was an inch or two shorter than Grandpa. Dark brown hair, I think.”

  “Beard or mustache?”

  She shook her head. “No.”

  “Did he wear a uniform or have a shirt with a logo?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “Think, Tess. Close your eyes and think.”

  Tess closed her eyes and wrinkled her nose. Music played in the background as the party went on around them. Everyone laughing, eating, drinking, with no idea what had happened. Avery ignored it all.

  If he could get to Tess . . .

  She opened her eyes. “I think he had some sort of logo of a flower on the front pocket. It happened so fast. He gave me the present and made me promise to give it to you.”

  “Good girl.” Avery turned to her father. “Dad, keep Tess with you. I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

  Avery struggled to catch her breath as Tess and her father walked away.

  “She’s safe for now, Avery, and you’ll have plenty of time later to figure out how to keep her safe.” Jackson followed her across the room. “For now, the clock is ticking and your priority needs to be to find this guy.”

  “This shouldn’t have happened. Not in front of my daughter and friends and family.”

  But there weren’t rules in this kind of game. And Jackson was right, the clock was ticking. There wasn’t time to sit and wish it would simply all disappear.

  A minute later she had her team assembled. “Carlos and Mitch, check the parking lot. He’s got a head start, but maybe we’ll get lucky. Look for a male, Caucasian, midtwenties, dark hair, no facial hair, wearing a shirt with a florist logo. I’m not ready to assume this wasn’t our killer.”

  Mitch and Carlos double-timed toward the door. Avery turned to Tory.

  “Tory, get ahold of the owner of Kate’s Flower Shop and find out who ordered a single magnolia.”

  “What do you want me to do?” Jackson asked.

  She grabbed a napkin from the nearest table, picked up the glittery bag along with the flower and card, and handed it to Jackson. The moment she let the situation become too personal, she’d lose her focus. “This isn’t exactly an official crime scene, but if you could take it to forensics and see what you can find on it? Fingerprints, DNA trace evidence, anything.”

  “Consider it done.”

  She hesitated before following Mitch and Carlos to the parking lot. “Jackson . . . I’m sorry. This isn’t exactly the evening I imagined.”

  “As long as you promise me a fourth date, I won’t hold it against you.”

  Avery smiled, despite the seriousness of the moment. “I think I can arrange that.”

  Five minutes later, Jackson had already headed to the lab while Avery stood in the parking lot beside Mitch. Half a dozen streetlights lit the lot except one in the northwest corner that had burned out, leaving shadows along the back fence. A couple was leaving in their sports car, but no delivery van or signs of the man Tess described. Whoever had delivered the flower was long gone.

  “Did you know that the magnolia flower isn’t pollinated primarily by bees or butterflies, but instead beetles?”

  “Beetles?” Avery looked up at Mitch. “You never cease to amaze me.”

  “My mother’s always been into botany. Used to bore me to death as a child, but you never know when you might need a bit of trivia to lighten the mood.”

  She laughed, which is what she knew he was after. Something to break the tension in the air, hanging heavier than the humidity. Something to distract her from the reality that there was a killer out there who knew her family.

  “It worked.”

  “You’ll have to thank your mother for me.” Her phone rang and she answered, praying for anything that would bring them one step closer to their killer. “What have you got, Tory?”

  “The shop was closed, but I was able to track down the owner and get ahold of her. She’s agreed to meet you at the shop. I’m sending the address.”

  “Tell her we’re on our way. Mitch and I will take it from here.”

  Avery scanned the parking lot. There was nothing more to do here. A minute later she was driving toward the florist with Mitch.

  Mitch tapped his fingers against the armrest. “Sorry you had to leave the party early. I know you looked forward to this for a long time.”

  “My mother has been the one looking forward to this party, but as long as Daddy knows how proud we are of him, that’s all that really matters.”

  “I think you succeeded.”

  She’d suggested to her father to let the party wind down naturally and not tell Mama unless they had to. No need for everyone’s evening to be ruined. And if Mama asked, Daddy would simply tell her that an emergency had come up in the case Avery was working. Mama had been married to an officer of the law for forty years. Emergencies and late nights weren’t exactly a surprise.

  “I guess we both had to leave our dates.”

  “Fiancée,” she reminded him.

  “It has a nice ring, doesn’t it? I asked Jenkins to drive Kayleigh home. She insisted she could get a cab, but with all that’s happened tonight . . .”

  Avery understood. It was hard not to worry about those they loved. “So what does she think about living with a homicide detective who takes on the world of crime on a daily basis?”

  “Her uncle was a police officer in New York, so she’s not coming into this completely unprepared.”

  “Still, it’s one thing when you’re investigating a murder. It’s a different matter when you’re the one being threatened.”

  “How are you?”

  “Coping. I’m more worried about Tess . . . and what my mother’s reaction is going to be when she finds out. I don’t want to make this into something it’s not, but I can’t ignore the note and its implications.”

  She’d done everything she could to ensure Tess was safe. One thing Mama had always insisted on was the latest in home security. Depending on how things went over the weekend, school next week might be out of the question as well. While she had no intention of letting this man run their lives, neither was she going to ignore basic precautions.

  Mitch broke the silence. “We’re not going to let anything happen to you or Tess. Not that I wasn’t determined to catch this guy before, but what he’s done has made it more . . . more personal.”

  Avery pulled into a parking spot in front of the corner florist shop. “Then let’s go get him.”

  There was a light on in the store despite the CLOSED sign in the window, and a bell jingle
d as she swung open the front door. The strong scent of flowers greeted them, along with shadows casting darkness on shelves full of knickknacks.

  Avery introduced themselves to the owner, Kate Wright, who sat behind the counter, then gave a brief update on the man they were looking for.

  “Sean made the delivery.” She checked the log on the computer. “That was his last one for the evening. I still don’t understand what the problem is, though. Is Sean in some sort of trouble?”

  “No, it’s the person who ordered the flower that we’re looking for.”

  “Then you might be in luck. Normally, I don’t remember the details around every specific order, but not too many people ask for a single magnolia to be delivered. The request stood out.”

  “What can you tell me about him?”

  “Not much. The man came in yesterday and asked for it to be delivered at eight o’clock tonight at Captain Hunt’s party.”

  “Any other specific instructions?”

  “Not other than the fact that it was for . . .” She glanced at the order on the computer screen. “Avery North.”

  So Tess had just been a coincidence? But he knew who Avery was. Knew she was working on the case. Knew she was still working on the other Jane Doe case.

  She would have to deal with implications later. “What about a description?”

  “Nothing that stood out. Caucasian, wearing jeans and a T-shirt, baseball cap.”

  “Any camera footage we could look at?”

  “I’ve got a couple security cameras I’ve been meaning to fix. Not too many people looking to steal a dozen roses, so it’s never been much of a priority. I figure just having them helps ward off any would-be thieves.”

  “How did he pay?”

  “Cash.”

  Figured.

  “I just remembered something.” The owner started digging through one of the drawers. “He filled out one of our store’s frequent buyer forms that includes name and address.”

  Mitch leaned against the counter. “What would be the point of paying cash in order to remain anonymous and then fill out personal info?”

  “That I don’t know.” The owner dug through the pile of cards. “Here it is. It’s dated yesterday and signed . . . Michael Hunt.”

  22

  Jackson glanced at his watch, then quickened his steps down the narrow hall of the precinct toward Avery’s office. Five till midnight. He shouldn’t worry. Of all the people he knew, Avery was capable of taking care of herself. But even that realization couldn’t stop him from driving across town just to make sure. Not when he’d called her cell phone a dozen times—with no answer. If she wasn’t in her office, he was going to have to end up putting out a BOLO for her.

  He rubbed the back of his neck and felt the tension spreading. Overreacting wouldn’t help, but the incident at tonight’s party had everyone involved on edge. It was one thing to lead an investigation by following up on all the forensics, evidence, and a list of suspects. It was another thing when the killer tried to turn things into a game of cat and mouse.

  Ahead, a yellow beam of light from Avery’s office spilled into the darkened hallway that had been freshly mopped, leaving behind the strong scent of industrial cleaners.

  Jackson wrinkled his nose at the odor and stopped in the doorway of her office. Relief swept through him. She sat behind her desk, surrounded by crime scene photographs, forensic reports, and an evidence box, so intent on what she was looking at that she didn’t even notice his arrival.

  He leaned against the wooden door frame, content to watch her work for the moment. She still wore the black dress from the party, complete with tiny diamond earrings dangling from her ears. She looked tired, but just as stunning as the moment he’d picked her up for the party. Relief mingled with the worry he’d felt over the past few hours, confirming that he was smitten. Funny. He’d once told his grandfather that he’d never get involved with a detective. Their job was simply too dangerous and time-consuming. But none of that seemed to matter right now.

  Once, before he and Ellie married, she’d asked him how he could work with dead people every day. While she’d always encouraged him, he knew she’d be the last one to show up in his autopsy room. He’d smiled and told her that they never talked back like the patients she saw on a weekly basis at their church’s counseling center.

  Ellie had been his first real relationship, and he’d loved her fiercely. But Ellie was gone. And while he wasn’t looking for someone to replace her, he’d never stopped longing for someone to fill the emptiness she’d left.

  Avery was managing to do just that. Somehow, she’d found a way to wrap herself around his heart—and at the same time change his mind about detectives. She understood his desire to fight for justice—no matter what the cost.

  Which meant they both knew it was worth the risk and the long hours to track down killers. His motivation came from seeing young girls like Tala lying dead on his autopsy table.

  The fluorescent lights overhead crackled, pulling Avery’s attention toward the ceiling. Her gaze stopped on Jackson. “Hey. How long have you been standing there?”

  “Not long. I tried calling your cell, but you never answered.”

  “I’m sorry.” She shot him a sheepish grin and shrugged. “My phone . . . it’s somewhere around here, more than likely with a dead battery.”

  “I was worried.”

  “I came here after we finished up at the florist, hoping that if I went through everything again, I might find something we’d missed. We’ve got to find this guy.”

  “We’re going to.”

  She didn’t look convinced. “He used my brother’s name to sign some stupid frequent buyer form. Why would he do that?”

  Jackson sat down on the empty seat across from her. Except for the cluttered desk, the rest of the room was immaculate. “He’s toying with you, Avery. He’s trying to get in your head, distract you, scare you, and lead you on some wild-goose chase. That’s what serial killers do. They’re psychopaths who would like nothing more than to take you down as well.”

  “I guess finding out who is in charge of the case wouldn’t be hard.”

  Every lead they’d followed up on in the past five hours had seemed to focus on that very fact. The deliveryman, the prints on both the card filled out at the flower shop and the bag, and now Michael’s signature . . .

  The only thing they could do at this point was continue searching and pray he made a mistake. Which he would. And then they would catch him. Until then, they’d have to keep examining the evidence and trying to turn up new leads.

  Avery leaned forward, allowing the dimmed light to catch the fatigue in her expression. Five days working on an intense—and personal—case wasn’t just physically exhausting, it was emotionally draining as well. She needed a day off, but since he was sure she wouldn’t go for that, at a minimum she needed a good night’s sleep.

  “You need to go home. You’re exhausted.”

  She shot him a half smile. “So it shows?”

  He had no intention of falling into that trap. “I’m not answering that question.”

  She looked away, her smile quickly fading. “Tell me what you would have me do. I can’t ignore what happened tonight.”

  “But you also can’t let him start leading this case. You’re in charge of this investigation. You have to find a way to keep the lead.”

  She shook her head. “That’s the problem. I’m not in charge. He chooses his victims. Determines their fate. Kills them in cold blood. I’m not in control of anything. Everywhere I look ends up being the wrong direction, which means all I’ve done is run around chasing a bunch of crazy red herrings. And to make it all worse, he’s made it pretty clear that someone else is going to die.”

  She shook her head and drew in a deep breath. “Tess came too close to things tonight. What if the killer had been the one delivering the flower?”

  “He wasn’t.”

  “Still, it’s not right for me to put m
y family and my child in danger. Which is why sometimes—like today—I have to ask myself if it’s worth it.”

  Her doubts took him by surprise, or maybe more accurately what struck him was the fact that she had the courage to verbalize them to him. Avery wasn’t a quitter, he knew that, but neither was she the kind of person who would put her career above her family. It was a tough balance that many officers in her field struggled to find. And why many of those he knew had given up having a family for their career.

  He tried to read her expression. “Maybe it’s time to give this case to another team.”

  “No.” A spark of determination was back in her eyes. “But I can’t stand by and take any chances when it comes to Tess. I’ve had run-ins with criminals, threats against my life, but this . . . this was personal, Jackson. It’s made me think about just how dangerous my job is, and no matter how much I love it, it’s not worth losing someone else I love.”

  There it was—that irresistible mixture of competence, persistence, and smarts thrown together with a hint of vulnerability that made him want to wrap his arms around her and promise her everything was going to be okay. Except that wasn’t something he could guarantee. “It is a risk.”

  “I don’t think I ever told you that Ethan died in the line of duty. A car wreck in a high-speed chase in north Atlanta.”

  “No. You hadn’t told me how he died.”

  “I don’t talk about it much. I guess I figure most people around here know. Do you know how many times I planned to quit after his death? I even typed up a resignation letter and brought it to work.”

  “What stopped you?”

  “A case I was working on at the time. A young girl had been found murdered in one of the neighborhood parks. She was nine years old. The same age as Tess at the time. Like this case, I remember thinking it could have been Tess. I could have lost her too. When we found the man who killed her, he had another girl in the back of his vehicle. She would have been dead in another hour. Knowing that she was going to live, seeing the joy in her mother’s eyes, gave me what I needed to keep going. To do everything I can to save one more.”