by C. M. Sutter
Jade groaned. “You’re wrong, Kate. You and I worked hand in hand two years back on the Lynch brothers’ murder spree.”
“But I was only acting as a consultant at the time and explaining my premonitions to you. I wasn’t actually employed by the sheriff’s office. The Lynch brothers’ killing spree was something they did to entertain themselves on the way to finishing me off. Now, Marvin’s blood is on my hands, and Jade’s was nearly too.”
“I’ll keep you posted. With any luck, we’ll see something on the freeway cams. Get some rest, Jade, and I’ll talk to you tomorrow.” J.T. clicked off the call.
Jade slid my phone back to me. “I’m going to need a new phone, so how about picking me up at lunchtime tomorrow and we can go get one.”
“Sure, not a problem.”
Jack knuckled the table. “Okay, I’m heading out so you ladies can get some sleep.” He pointed at Kate and me. “I’ll see you two in the morning. We have a lot of brainstorming to do.” Jack stood, and I walked him to the front door. He gave me a concerned look. “Dead bolt, knob lock, and security system, the second I step out. Make sure you get an appointment set up for the outdoor security system too.” He tipped his head back toward the kitchen. “Bring those notes to work tomorrow so we can review them.”
“You got it, boss. Good night.” I closed and locked the door behind Jack then peered out the sidelight. I knew he’d be standing on the porch until he heard the clicks of the door locks. I waved, he smiled, and I watched as he followed the sidewalk to his car.
Chapter 26
The cigarette smoldered, and the smoke burned his eyes. The inch-long ash bent toward the squashed cigarette butts in the ashtray. Warren picked up the cigarette, flicked the burned ash with his fingernail, and took a deep drag. He pressed it back into the tar-stained slot and continued writing. He’d try a few more ways of taking out the women individually. A face-to-face, hands-on murder was definitely the way to go. The physical act of taking another person’s life sent thrills up his spine. Killing all three at once and blaming it on an accidental gas leak? That was nothing short of boring. Warren liked taking risks—and lives. The act of killing invigorated him, and he was way overdue for some excitement.
He jotted down several ideas. He’d begin following the women again tomorrow. He was anxious to see who would give up their vehicle to Jade, the killer.
The only difference between me and her is that she has a license to kill. In reality, she probably enjoys it as much as I do.
He folded his notes and placed them in his pants pocket. He turned out the light and hoped he’d dream of ending the women’s lives.
Chapter 27
I heard moaning. The sound had to be coming from Jade as she shuffled down the hallway toward the kitchen.
She rounded the breakfast bar. “My body aches. It even hurts in places I didn’t know I had.”
I gave her a gentle embrace when she reached me. “I bet it does. Have a seat, and I’ll make you a cup of coffee.”
“Do I smell bacon?” Kate popped into the kitchen from her basement bedroom.
“Hell yeah,” Jade said. “It’s the only reason I dragged my aching ass out of bed.”
“Do you think there’s anybody in the entire world who doesn’t love bacon?”
I responded to Kate’s second question of the morning. “Probably half of the world doesn’t eat bacon because of ethnic and religious beliefs, but I bet they would love it if they could. Scrambled eggs or fried?”
They both decided on scrambled.
Kate poured herself a cup of coffee. “So what are you going to do today, Jade?”
“Take a long, soothing bath and then look up security installation companies around town. As long as I have to be home, anyway, I might as well get that done. Amber is leaving her phone here today so I can get that appointment set up. At lunchtime, she’s taking me to get a new phone. Oh yeah, I have to call my insurance company too. I’m not quite sure how to file a claim on a car that was deliberately sabotaged. They’ll have to go to the crime lab to assess the damage. Guess I’ll have to get a rental until the claim goes through.”
Kate swiped the air. “Don’t bother. That’s too expensive. Amber and I will buddy up, and you can use my Civic for as long as you need to.”
“Are you sure?”
“Of course I am. We need to stick together. Today I’m driving on my own, though. I have to take my car through emissions at lunchtime.”
We left for work at seven forty-five. Before we left through the garage, I yelled back to Jade that I had set the alarm.
“I hope she won’t be bored out of her skull while she takes the rest of the week off. You know how she is, always wanting to solve something.”
Kate nodded. “I just want to get this current nightmare figured out as soon as possible. Worrying about what might happen next and watching over my shoulder is not conducive to being a productive detective. Plus, leaving Jade at home alone bothers me.”
I pressed the button on the wall, and the overhead lifted. “She has a big gun within reach. She’ll be okay.” I climbed into the driver’s seat. “See you at work.”
Kate walked to her car that was parked on the driveway and climbed in. She pulled out, and I followed her to the sheriff’s office.
Chapter 28
He watched them leave the house from the next block. Amber drove away in her Prius and Kate in her red Civic.
Well, isn’t that interesting? It seems like Jade Monroe has been left all alone. I guess she needs some time off work to recover from her injuries. No means of transportation in case of emergency might make my job a whole lot easier.
He pulled the vibrating phone from his coat pocket and laughed when he tapped the text icon. A message had come in from Kate Pierce, of all people. “What a simpleton. This morning couldn’t have started out any better.” He read what she had written, and grinned.
The idiot is handing herself to me on a silver platter. Maybe she wants to make amends for having the cops interfere with my plans last night, but that means Jade somehow alerted them that she didn’t have her phone.
He looked toward the house again with mixed thoughts.
I wonder if she has a phone to use now.
He returned to the present and sent a text to Kate. “Yes, I’d love to have lunch with you. Name the time and place, and I’ll be there. I’m looking forward to it.” Warren hit the blue arrow and sent the text.
Seconds later, a reply came. Warren clicked the button and read that Kate suggested the Mexican Cantina on Paradise Drive at noon.
Warren texted his confirmation as he shifted the car into Drive. “Yes, I’ll be there at noon. I can’t wait to catch up with you.” It was time to check out that restaurant and see if there was a secluded place in the parking lot where he could end Kate’s life.
He gave the house one last look. Warren was itching to kick in the door and shoot Jade between the eyes, just as he had with that old man. What a nice surprise that would be once the other two bitches got home after work. He remembered seeing that alarm system yard sign near the front of the house when he peered in Kate’s basement window a few nights back. He didn’t need an interruption from the cops. When it was time to kill Jade Monroe, he wanted to do it slowly and enjoy every minute of it.
Warren left Ashbury Woods and headed toward the Mexican Cantina.
Chapter 29
When I pulled in and parked, Kate was waiting at her car. She dropped her phone into her purse as I climbed out of the driver’s seat and closed the door behind me. “Please don’t tell me you’re checking in on Jade already.”
“No, I’m not. She said she was going to take a bath, so I won’t bother her with unnecessary phone calls.”
“But you wanted to, didn’t you?”
She gave me a thoughtful smile. “Can you blame me?”
I wrapped my arm around her as we power walked to the front door. “Not one bit. Come on. Let’s go solve this damn case.”
/>
We crossed into the bull pen minutes later. Jack rose from my desk and said he had already explained last night’s events to Clayton and Billings. “Now let’s hit the conference room and put our heads together.”
I carried with me the folded sheet of legal paper from last night. On it was written everything Jade had remembered at the time. We took our seats, and everyone had their notepads and pens ready to go.
“Let’s start with what we know for sure.” Jack wiped down the dry-erase board that still had the notes from a previous case written on it. He opened his folder. “Okay, according to the autopsy report, Marvin was killed by our mystery man on Sunday afternoon sometime between noon and three p.m. His ex-wife and adult kids have all given you alibis for that time. Have any been corroborated?”
Clayton flipped the pages in his notepad. “Only Nancy’s so far. We checked with the ladies from her church, and they did indeed play bingo after the Sunday services. Nancy was there until four o’clock, when they all left together and went to dinner at Bradley’s on Fifth.”
“What about Megan and Shawn?”
I took over. “Megan said she was out running errands, and the husband stayed home with the daughter. He can verify that, but it doesn’t really tell us where Megan was.”
“Okay, pin her down, and if you need to verify her timeline by store surveillance, then go ahead. What about Shawn?”
“I’d say he’s the most likely, but his story checks out, plus he doesn’t know Jade or Kate. Why would he have a beef with either of them?”
“I doubt if he does, but we had to rule him out so we can focus on other leads. It still wouldn’t hurt to pull his financials. Clayton, you can work on that later.”
Jack jotted notes on the whiteboard. First, we needed to find out exactly which stores Megan went to on Sunday. If necessary, we’d pull store surveillance. The second note was to check Shawn’s financial records to see how desperate he was for money. Although Marvin’s murder now seemed to be connected to the attempts on Jade and Kate’s lives, we had to exclude Megan and Shawn before we could move forward.
“We need to discuss the secondary angle,” I said. I knew I was speaking out of turn, but we couldn’t help Marvin at that point. Kate and Jade were alive, but somebody wanted to end their lives—and soon. “We have to apprehend the person who is after Kate. It’s what’s most important right now.”
Jack rubbed his brow. “Okay, we know that the only connection between Kate and Jade as far as any case is concerned is the Lynch murder spree. Granted, they killed a number of innocent women during that time, but the person on their radar was always Kate. Robert Lynch wanted to finish what he had started years earlier, and that’s where Jade got involved. So, let’s assume somebody is still trying to finish Kate off. Is this someone really acting on behalf of the Lynch brothers, or is it something totally unrelated? Kate, you’ve helped law enforcement in several other states before working with us.”
“That’s true, but then why involve Jade? The Lynch case is the only thing it can be. I know for a fact that Tony is still in prison.” Kate lowered her eyes and stared at the table. “I called yesterday to ease my mind.”
Jack reassured her. “It’s okay, and nobody blames you. Moving on, what do we know about their relatives?”
Billings responded. “The closest family in the Atlanta area is their mother, Lea, an uncle, James, and a cousin, Mark. After that, the family ties dwindle, and most of the relatives are scattered somewhere in the lower Appalachian region.”
Jack wrote that on the whiteboard. “We need to plug those names into the database and see if any of them have a criminal record. We also need to call the prison and find out who Tony’s cellmate was, if that person has recently been released, and request phone transcripts to and from the Lynch family for the last six months. We’ll weed out the person responsible for these acts, one way or another.” Jack tapped the table and stood. “Let’s get these few things accomplished and touch base again before lunch.”
Clayton filled his coffee cup and hunkered down at his desk. He pulled the financial records from Shawn’s bank account and looked them over closely. I saw him tap the print tab, and the printer at the back of the bull pen whirred to life.
“How far back are you going?” I walked past Clayton’s desk and filled my own cup.
“A year, which might be more than I need, but it could also show a pattern of spending habits.” Clayton rose and retrieved the copies.
I returned to my seat and made the call to Megan Shultz. I prepared myself for an uncooperative woman on the other end of the phone. After the events of last night, I wasn’t going to be as patient with her as I was yesterday.
I glanced at Kate before I dialed Megan. Kate and Billings were hard at work gathering information from USP Atlanta, where Tony Lynch was serving his life sentence.
The phone on the other end had already rung twice, but I continued to wait. Megan wasn’t going to wear me down.
“Hello.”
“Megan, it’s Detective Monroe calling.”
“I thought I said all that was necessary yesterday.”
I sighed. “Actually, you didn’t, so that’s the reason for my call. You told us your husband watched your daughter on Sunday while you ran errands.”
“Right. And?”
“And, that’s too vague. I need the name of each store you went to and in order. I also need the time when you left the house and when you got back.”
She grunted. “Are you serious?”
“As serious as a heart attack. Is there a reason you don’t want to cooperate with law enforcement?”
“I didn’t say that.”
“Then I need that information now, or I’ll be ringing your doorbell in thirty minutes. I’m not on the phone to waste my time with you. Go ahead and begin.”
“Whatever. I left the house before noon.”
“What time?”
“Noonish.”
“Is that noon or sometime around noon?” I doodled while she consulted her memory.
“I left the house at ten to twelve.”
“Now that wasn’t so tough, was it?” I heard mumbling on the other end of the line and assumed it was low-pitched curse words. “Where did you go first?”
“To the Target in Fox Point.”
“And then?”
“Then I went to Lowe’s because Target didn’t have the paint I wanted.”
“And after that?”
“To Sendik’s for groceries, and then I came home at three o’clock.”
“You’re sure that’s it? The locations are in the proper order, and you got home at three?”
“Yes, I’m sure.”
“Good, because I’m going to have each store pull up their video footage of you entering and exiting. Last chance. No changes?”
“I did stop at Wendy’s drive-through on my way home.”
“And you still got home at three o’clock?”
“Yes.”
“Good. I’ll be in touch.” I clicked off, cracked my neck, and then rolled my chair over to Clayton’s desk. “How do the bank statements look?”
“Strange. Shawn withdraws a thousand bucks twice a month like clockwork. I wonder what he’s doing with it.”
“Call him and find out.”
Clayton grinned. “While he’s on the production line?”
“Sure. There’s no time like the present.”
Chapter 30
I had promised to pick up Jade around noon—it was now eleven thirty, and we hadn’t even gathered for our morning follow-up. It looked as if Kate and Billings were still on the phone with USP Atlanta. I was sure red tape, as usual, was the holdup.
Clayton and I went ahead and showed Jack what we had found. I had written down Megan’s timeline for Sunday and wasn’t sure whether I would actually check out the store videos. Making her feel a bit uncomfortable earlier during our phone call led me to believe her story would check out. I’d leave that decision to Jack.
“Did you get ahold of Shawn?” Jack was interested in knowing who those two monthly withdrawals were going to.
Clayton chuckled. “Yep, and he sure didn’t like it. Apparently, he has a gambling problem. He goes to the Potawatomi Casino twice a month on Saturday nights and plays blackjack. From the looks of his dwindling bank account, he mustn’t be very good at the game.”
“Hmm.”
Clayton and Jack turned toward me.
“What?” Jack asked.
“Didn’t Madge say that Marvin played poker every Tuesday night with the guys in the neighborhood?”
“She sure did.”
“Maybe it’s just a gambling addiction Shawn picked up from his own dad.”
Jack nodded. “Possibly, but he’s still on my watch list. His bank account indicates that he needed money.” Jack looked over his shoulder at Kate and Billings. “They might be a while. Go on and take your breaks. I know you promised to pick up Jade. We’ll get the rest of the updates after lunch.”
“Thanks, boss.” I slipped on my coat and gloves and left the building.
I arrived home ten minutes later and parked in the driveway. I glanced around to the side yard and looked at that area again. The indentation in the snow had all but vanished due to evaporation. I shook it off, unlocked the front door, reset the alarm, and went inside.
“You ready to go, Jade?”
She answered from her bedroom. “Just feeding the birds.”
I followed the sound of her voice and entered her bedroom. “How are the sore muscles?”
“Sore.” She kissed Polly and Porky’s heads and put them back in their cage. “Give me a second.” Jade went to the kitchen and shook three ibuprofen from the bottle into her hand then guzzled them down with a glass of water. “That should hold me over until tonight. I’m anxious to get a new phone. I was due an upgrade, anyway.”
“Yeah, but that creep has your contact list and all your pictures.”
