by Wanda Dyson
In the course of tracking Ted Matthews’s past, they’d hit a brick wall called a “sealed file.” So Edward “Just Call Me Ted” Matthews, aka Theodore Bateman, had a juvie record. Well, it might be sealed, but that didn’t mean it was inaccessible. He was going to get a copy of that file and find out what the man had done that was so bad he changed his name and moved halfway across the country.
His gut instincts had been right. These were two different cases. Someone in the Matthews’ house had disposed of Jessica Matthews. Granted, JJ was shifting his focus from the flighty and unstable Karen Matthews to the secretive Ted Matthews, but he wasn’t ready to dismiss the idea that they were both involved.
Then there was the serial killer. Though they’d found only one body, it was tragically likely they’d find at least one more.
He had been right on target again. Two different cases, just like he’d been telling Harris from the start.
While the Matthews case was progressing, the Emily Terrance case was going downhill faster than a seal on ice, and JJ felt hopeless to stop it. They had no leads, no clues, and no helpful evidence. The killer was slick. And he was toying with the police.
Who was this guy?
Worse yet, when and where would he strike again?
chapter 15
Thursday, April 20
He stood in the woods and watched her playing in the sandbox. He didn’t know her name yet, but he knew she was going to be one of his precious flowers.
She didn’t look to be more than five or six, with long, long dark hair, an impish grin, and the cutest dimples. He was particularly fond of dimples. He couldn’t see the color of her eyes yet, but he would. He imagined they were hazel, or maybe green.
The mother came to the door and he shrank back against the tree trunk. She was wiping her hands on a dishtowel, looking a bit disheveled.
“Lisa!” She pushed open the screen door and stood there watching her daughter. “Your daddy will be here soon to pick you up; don’t go getting dirty.”
“I won’t, Mommy.” She lifted a shovel of sand and turned it, letting it slide through her fingers. She giggled.
He loved the sound of it. Lisa. Ah, sweet Lisa. What a perfect name for such a perfect flower.
The screen door slapped shut and he was left alone once again with the object of his desire.
#
Zoe had been awake since just after seven. She wasn’t sure what it was that had woken her. The alarm hadn’t gone off. The phone hadn’t rung. Figuring she was already awake, she decided she might as well get up.
After working all morning with her mother at the store, she did some grocery shopping, browsed through the bookstore without buying anything, and then headed home.
The moment she walked into her house, she knew something was wrong. The hair on the back of her neck stood straight up. Warily, she slipped through the living room and into the kitchen, quietly putting the grocery bag on the counter. Then she slid a carving knife out of the block and set her purse down, carefully dropping her car keys into her pocket.
She went back into the living room, looking for any sign at all that someone was there—or had been there. Nothing. Slowly she made her way down the hall and peeked into the guest room. Nothing. She stepped into her bedroom and looked around. Nothing.
She was ready to laugh at herself as she slowly lowered the knife.
Idiot. Jumping at shadows.
She turned.
And then something caught her eye.
She stopped. Frozen. And then screamed.
#
Stretched out in his chair, long legs propped up on the corner of his desk and crossed at the ankles, hands linked behind his head, JJ leaned back a little farther and eyed the clock. A few minutes after one. He’d expected a call from the D.A. by now.
He reached over and picked up Gina’s autopsy file. In spite of the advanced decomposition, one thing had been glaringly obvious. The killer had taken the child’s heart. JJ felt a cold shiver down his back. Why the heart? Love? Innocence? What did it represent to this sick mind? He’d sent a fax to Zahn at Quantico with an update but hadn’t heard back yet.
The phone rang. Thinking it was someone from the D.A.’s office, JJ jumped for it. It was dispatch. Another missing child. This time a six-year-old by the name of Lisa Brandt had disappeared from her backyard.
“Page Casto for me,” he told the dispatcher, slipping into his jacket and adjusting his shoulder holster. “Tell him to meet me at the scene.”
Matt pulled up in his SUV just as JJ came down the front steps of the building. “That was quick.”
“I was just blocks away. Climb in. I’ll drive.”
JJ circled the light blue Durango and jumped in. Knowing Matt, he quickly fastened his seat belt.
“Anything on Matthews?” Matt asked as he pulled away from the curb with a burst of speed that had JJ gripping the door handle.
“Nothing yet. I was waiting for the call when this came in.”
The words were barely out of JJ’s mouth when his cell phone rang. He flipped it open. “Johnson.”
He listened, giving an occasional “Really” or “No kidding” before he finally smiled and disconnected the call.
“Anything interesting?” Matt asked.
“Yeah. Marsha Bateman, sister to our Ted Matthews, is deceased. Died at age five.”
“Dead end there.”
“Wrong. She died at the hands of her brother, Ted Bateman, aka Ted Matthews. As soon as we get back, I want you to place a call to Ted Matthews. It will seem less threatening than if it comes from me. Ask him to come in and talk to us. Make it sound routine. Typical procedure. Want to ask him about his wife; we have a few questions, yadda, yadda.”
“You got it.” Matt turned the wheel sharply, nearly taking the corner on two wheels. A marked police car came into view in front of them, lights flashing. Matt started closing the distance between them while JJ’s knuckles went white as he gripped the door handle.
“Matt?”
“Yeah?”
“It really won’t help matters if we die before we get there.”
Matt laughed and stomped on the gas, passing the police car. “Coward.”
#
“Zoe! Slow down! I can’t understand a word you’re saying!”
Zoe, on her knees, rocked as her mother’s voice snapped in her ears. Her grip on the phone tightened. “Amy’s bracelet, Mom. Where is Amy’s bracelet?”
“What bracelet? Zoe, what in the world is going on with you? You sound hysterical!”
“The bracelet!” Zoe screamed into the phone. “You and Dad bought us bracelets for our fifth birthdays—I.D. bracelets with a diamond in the corner. Where is Amy’s bracelet?”
“I don’t know, Zoe. I think she was wearing it when. . .she was taken. You two never took them off.”
“Oh, God.” Zoe folded as silent screams racked through her body. “Amy. Amy. Amy.” The chanting didn’t ease the pain that had her doubled over.
“Zoe, if you don’t tell me what’s wrong right now, I’m calling the police!”
“Call them. Mom, please call them. He’s been here. Oh, God. He’s been here. He killed Amy and now he’s coming after me.”
She lifted her head and stared at the I.D. bracelet lying on her pillow. A child’s bracelet with a diamond in the corner. And a name engraved in script across the bar.
Amy.
#
Ted stormed into his home, startling Karen, who was folding clothes at the kitchen table. He tossed his briefcase on the counter and started pulling at his tie.
Karen set down one of the towels and picked up another. “What’s going on? You’re home so early. It’s not even five.”
“I heard from the kidnappers!”
Karen felt her heart lurch as she dropped the towel, staring at her husband. “Jess?”
“She’s fine. At least that’s what they told me. Said to bring the money but not to call the police or they’d kill he
r.”
Karen reached out for Ted and clung to him, her emotions spinning out of control. She wanted to laugh and cry at the same time. “When? How soon? How much money? We can get more. I can. . .”
Ted shook his head as he stepped back out of her arms. “I cleaned out the account. It’s enough.” He reached out and gripped Karen’s hand. “Karen, I need you to listen to me. No matter what happens, we can’t let the police know what’s going on. Do you understand?”
“Yes.” Karen nodded, willing to agree to anything. Her baby was coming home! Oh, Jess, my love. Just a few more hours.
“I’m going to get Jess back.” Ted looked around the kitchen, his fingers combing through his hair, his eyes darting from one thing to another. “Do you have dinner started yet?”
Karen shook her head. “No. I was going to make meatloaf. . .”
“I spent my lunch hour at the bank and didn’t get to eat. I’m famished. Forget cooking. Just order something for me.”
“Okay. But what time are you supposed to go get Jess?” Karen twisted an unfolded towel in her hands.
“I’ve got about an hour and a half before I have to leave.”
“How long will you be gone?”
“I’m not sure. An hour. Maybe a little longer. As soon as I have her safe, I’ll call you.”
Karen put the towel down. “Why don’t you go take a shower? I’ll call Louie’s and order some food. What do you want?”
“I don’t know. I can’t think straight. And my stomach is tied in knots. Just get me anything.”
“I’ll get you something light.”
“Fine.” Ted walked into the bathroom, unbuttoning his shirt.
“Ted, I want to go with you to pick up Jess.”
He stopped and turned around. “You can’t. They were very specific. Bring the money, don’t call the police, and I’d better be alone or they’ll kill her on the spot.”
Karen sank down on the bed, feeling as though every drop of her blood had just turned to ice. “Please don’t let them hurt our baby.”
Ted knelt down in front of her, taking her hands in his and rubbing the chill from them. “I won’t. I promise. Have I ever let you down, baby?”
Karen shook her head.
“A couple more hours, Karen. Just a couple more hours and you’ll have Jess back in your arms. I just need you to hang in there a little bit longer.”
“Okay.”
“Good girl. Now, why don’t you call Louie’s. I’m starving.”
He turned at the bathroom door and smiled at her. “It’s going to be fine, Karen. You’ll see.”
#
JJ eyed the coffee suspiciously as he poured some into his mug. There was no telling how old it was.
“I made it fresh half an hour ago,” Gerry told him as he pulled out a chair at the conference table and dropped into it.
“Bless you, my son.” JJ set his mug down on the table and looked around. “Where’s Matt?”
“I’m here!” Matt breezed into the room and grabbed a chair. “I was just talking to the lab. Our guy may have gotten sloppy. They got a good cast mold from that shoe imprint.”
“Finally, a break! And what about Ted Matthews?”
Matt nodded as he clicked his pen. “Talked to him. He said it was no problem. He had to work until about six and then he’d come straight over. Should be here by six-thirty or so. Sounded anxious to be of assistance.”
“Let me know when he gets here.”
Matt nodded and leaned back. JJ turned to Barone. “Next.”
“You were right. There is a pattern.” He tossed some papers on the table and started pointing to things so fast that JJ gave up trying to read anything and just listened.
“Every five years or so there are three to five unsolved abduction cases on the records. All are girls between five and twelve, and they’ve all occurred within a two-hundred-mile radius.”
“How far back?”
“Long time,” Barone said breathlessly. “Twenty years.”
JJ whistled. “Twenty years this guy has been getting away with this?”
“Different counties, three different states, never too many to draw too much attention.” Barone rocked back on his heels. “And here’s another little thing I found interesting. One of the first children taken was. . .”
“Amy Shefford,” Matt interjected, reaching over to pull a folded newspaper out of his coat pocket. He tossed it to JJ. “Twin sister of Zoe Shefford. It’s in today’s paper. I meant to show it to you earlier, but we got the call about Lisa Brandt and I forgot all about it.”
JJ sank down in his chair, his gaze going first to Matt, then to Barone, then down to the paper. Page six, bottom of the page. Psychic’s Sister Starts It All. . .
“She never told me. Why didn’t she say anything?”
Matt shrugged. “Maybe she didn’t think it was any of our business.”
JJ glared at him and then went back to reading the article. “She was only ten. Dear Lord in heaven. And I called her a fake—telling people she knew how they felt. She did know. She knew all too well.” Well, there was nothing he could do about it right now. He’d talk to her later. In the meantime, they had another missing little girl.
“Good work, Barone. Keep at it and let me know anything else you find as soon as you find it. Wayne, check in with Barone as often as you can and see if he needs you to help him run anything down.”
Wayne nodded. “Sure, JJ.”
“Okay, guys, listen up.” JJ held up Lisa Brandt’s photo. “This is our latest victim. She’s five years old with dark brown hair, brown eyes, and distinct dimples in her cheeks. No tattoos, scars, or birthmarks. She was last seen wearing blue denim shorts, a red checkered top, white socks, and white sneakers with a Barbie logo on the side. Her ears are pierced, but the mother couldn’t remember which earrings the child was wearing. Most likely just gold posts, but that’s not confirmed yet.”
Marsha poked her head in the door. “I’m sorry, JJ, but it’s Mrs. Shefford on line two.”
JJ’s brows lifted and his face tightened. “Mrs. Shefford? As in Zoe Shefford’s mother?”
Marsha nodded, her corkscrew curls bouncing around her ears. “She says the killer was at Zoe’s and left her something. I couldn’t make out what she was saying. She was just real upset and crying.”
Matt stood up. “You want me to go handle it?”
JJ shook his head and tossed his notebook to Matt. “You take over here. I’ll see what’s going on over at the Shefford house.”
Barone cleared his throat as JJ walked past him. “I think there’s one more thing you should know.”
“What’s that?”
“He never abducts children beyond the end of April. If we don’t catch him by May first, we won’t get another chance for five years.”
#
Karen headed down to the kitchen in search of her shoes. They were still under the kitchen table where she’d kicked them off earlier.
Jess was coming home. She wanted to laugh out loud with pure joy. Her baby. Safe and sound and coming home. She’d forgotten to ask how much the kidnappers had demanded, but it didn’t matter. It was worth every dime they had. She would have paid anything. Any price.
Ted had promised her he’d get Jess back, and now Jess was coming home. She hadn’t harmed her daughter! She’d tried to tell everyone, but no one would believe her. Well, they’d believe her now. And once she had Jess home, she was never going to let anyone tell her she was crazy ever again.
She grabbed her keys off the hook in the kitchen, picked up her purse, and headed out the door. She had the best husband in the world.
#
When JJ arrived at Zoe’s townhouse, there were two cruisers sitting out front, a uniformed officer on the front porch, and nothing but chaos inside. Zoe was sitting on the sofa, her arms folded around her middle, and she was rocking back and forth, her face white with fear. Or hysteria. He couldn’t quite determine which. The look in her eyes wh
en she lifted them to meet his was frantic. She opened her mouth but no sound came out.
One of the uniformed officers, Jimmy Poole, handed JJ an evidence bag with a child’s bracelet in it. “Says this was her sister’s.”
JJ took the bag and examined the bracelet through the plastic. Amy.
Denise stood, her fingers twisted and interlocked as she wrung her hands. “My husband and I gave both the girls I.D. bracelets when they turned five. They always wore them. I’m almost certain Amy had hers on when she was taken.”
The full impact of what she said hit JJ like a sledgehammer between the eyes. He staggered back. “Amy was wearing this? When she was taken? You’re sure?”
Denise nodded. “As sure as we can be. And there’s something else I think you should know.”
JJ stared at the bracelet in his hand. The killer had taken Amy Shefford nearly twenty years ago, and now he was coming after Zoe. Dear God, could this get any worse? He lifted his head. “What else?”
“Zoe has a matching bracelet—with her name on it, of course—and now it’s missing.” Her bottom lip trembled and her knees buckled as she sank down next to Zoe. She reached out and wrapped an arm around Zoe, but Zoe appeared oblivious.
JJ handed the bracelet back to Poole and dropped to his haunches in front of Zoe. “Zoe, listen to me.”
She didn’t look at him. Just kept rocking back and forth, back and forth. He reached out and placed a hand under her chin, lifting her face to his. “Listen to me, Zoe. You can’t fall apart now. We almost have this guy. Do you hear me, Zoe? We’re close. He messed up today. He got sloppy. He left evidence. We’re going to get him now.”
Zoe shook her head. “He didn’t get sloppy. He didn’t care. He knows he’s smarter than you. He knows he has you running in circles. You don’t scare him at all. He took another little girl today, didn’t he?”
“Yes,” JJ admitted with a heavy sigh.