The Steve Williams Series Boxed Set

by J. E. Taylor

  “Ayup.”

  “But isn’t he dead?”

  “As a doornail.”

  “So you’re something of a ghost whisperer too?”

  Steve laughed. “No, I wouldn’t say that. I guess Chris just latched onto me considering he died saving my ass. Now he thinks it’s his job to continue being my vigilant guardian.”

  It is.

  “And your girlfriend can hear his commentary as if he’s talking out loud here in the room,” Steve said, pointing his fork in her direction before returning his attention to the feast on his plate. “Eat up before this gets cold.”

  * * * *

  Carolyn stared at Agent Williams. While she could accept most of his extra sensory gifts, this just crossed a line she wasn’t able to leap even though she heard the distinct voice. Even his boss said Steve was different, gifted with more than just an innate ability to ferret out killers. Different. His picture should be under the definition in the dictionary.

  His gaze swiveled to hers and a gleam of humor reflected in his eyes but he didn’t comment on her train of thought.

  Instead of dissecting more of this man, she focused on Randy and his thoughts while she ate and she paused again when the billionaire’s name flitted through his mind. Chris Ryan. She remembered the man and the inquisition looking into the death of the reporter who held his family hostage. It was one of her first cases in the district attorney’s office and after looking at the depositions, they dropped all charges, categorizing it as a justifiable homicide.

  “You know his office handles the Ryan estate?” Steve said, pointing toward Randy.

  “I got that much from his thought process.”

  “Will you two stop digging in my brain,” Randy said.

  Carolyn traded a glance with Steve and nodded. “Sorry, honey,” she said and planted a kiss on Randy’s cheek.

  When the last of the plates was picked clean, Steve pulled out the zip drive. “We have the list of names that used key cards to enter City Hall today, but now we need to go through the videos of people entering the building this morning prior to when you arrived. I pulled the video feeds from five in the morning until you arrived at seven.”

  “How many cameras?” Carolyn asked.

  “Three.”

  “So there’s six hours of footage?”

  “Yes, but I set up a motion algorithm so the video will automatically fast forward when there is no activity, so it shouldn’t take that long to go through this.”

  “You two go ahead, I’ll clean up in here,” Randy said.

  Carolyn stood and led Steve to the office where he inserted the drive into their computer and started the feed. At six, the first person entered the building.

  “That’s Jim,” Carolyn said and Steve added the name to the list. “He shouldn’t be a suspect.”

  Steve looked up at her. “Everyone who entered this building today is a suspect.”

  “Even the district attorney?”

  “Yes, even the D.A.”

  “Okay,” she said and focused on the screen. “That’s Trent Kaplan and my assistant Jason, damn he got there earlier than normal.”

  “Jason who?”

  “Jason Anderson. He’s an intern.”

  “What time does he usually get in?”

  “When he worked for me, he’d usually roll in around nine.”

  Steve scribbled the information and then pressed the play button again.

  “Pause the tape,” Carolyn said and sat down.

  “Who’s that?” Steve tapped the screen.

  “That’s Linda Britt. Jim’s wife.” Carolyn wondered why she had gone to City Hall and more importantly, why Jim didn’t mention it.

  Steve turned his gaze back to her and lifted an eyebrow.

  “Keep rolling.”

  The next woman to stroll in carrying a tray with two coffee cups in it sent a cold chill down Carolyn’s neck and she shuddered. “Bev Sinclaire.”

  “You don’t like her, do you?”

  “Not one bit. Cold and no personality. I couldn’t read anything from her.”

  Steve grunted and wrote the name down.

  The clock on the display clicked to seven and two dark figures entered City Hall.

  “Who are they?”

  “Cameron Unger and Olivia Montenegra.”

  “They came in a few minutes before you did.”

  “I didn’t see them, but then again, they’d be headed for the legislative end of the building and not our section.”

  Steve still wrote down their names.

  After cross-referencing with the names on the keycard list from the subway entry point, they ended up with twenty-one names. “Well, the good news is that Randy isn’t on the videos and his alibi last night proved to be solid,” Steve said and folded the list, depositing it into his pocket. “I’ve got some work to do. In the meantime, try and relax and let me know if you have any more visions.”

  Carolyn walked him to the door. “How long before you know something?”

  “I’m hoping our answer is on this list and we can nail the bastard before someone else gets killed.”

  Chapter 44

  Carolyn sat up in the dark, her breath locked in her chest and her hands shaking too much to turn on the light. This time the killer not only decapitated the woman, he cut off arms and legs and disemboweled the torso, spilling her entrails all over the alley. The last thing she saw before she woke was her head tumbling into the opening of a garbage bag and she swore she smelled Chinese food.

  She reached for Randy and found an empty bed instead of his warm body. Thunder shook the windowpanes and sheets of rain pelted the glass with the force of a raging river, matching the nasty weather in her vision.

  “Randy?”

  No answer came and she fumbled for the light, this time successfully illuminating the room. The jeans he had draped over the chair were no longer there and she slid out of bed on legs that felt boneless. Her stomach decided the food she ate earlier would be better elsewhere and she lunged for the bathroom, flipping the lid and vomiting.

  After brushing her teeth and rinsing her mouth, she tightened her bathrobe and headed into the living room, switching the lights on as she went. Randy wasn’t in the apartment.

  She rummaged in her pocketbook and dug out her phone, dialing his number with fingers that still shook. She listened to the ringing…once…twice…

  “Hello,” his breathless voice came over the line.

  “Where the hell are you?”

  “I had to get something for my head,” he said and followed with a string of wet sneezes.

  “Oh.” Carolyn stood in the empty apartment, scanning the neat piles of paper and the empty wine glasses still sitting on the coffee table. “You ventured out in the storm to get aspirin?”

  “No, my allergies went into overdrive and I didn’t have any more Benadryl in the house.”

  Carolyn headed to the bathroom and opened the cabinet. There were no antihistamines on the shelves so she closed the medicine cabinet. “So how far did you have to go?”

  “The nearest 24 hour Duane Reade is on Broadway near City Hall. I should be home in about five minutes,” he said and another bout of sneezing took over.

  “You should have woken me before you left.”

  “You were sound asleep and I didn’t have the heart to.”

  “Well, it sucked waking up and not having you there.”

  “Nightmare?”

  “No, another vision.”

  Quiet only broken by the occasional wheeze filtered through the line. When he spoke, his voice carried a chill more severe than sub-zero. “And you think…”

  “No, not this time,” she interrupted, wishing she could shake the small nugget of doubt in her stomach.

  “What makes this time different?”

  “For one, the killer didn’t sound like Rudolph with a mud covered nose and he wasn’t sneezing up a storm either.”

  “I sound like Rudolph?”

&
nbsp; “You sound awful.”

  “Yeah, well, wait until you get a look at me.” The howl of the wind on his phone shut off. “I’m downstairs, I’ll be up in a minute.”

  “Okay,” she said and she folded her phone and went to the living room to wait for him. At the sound of jangling keys, she opened the door. She hardly recognized the puffy-eyed, red and runny nosed, soaking wet man in front of her. He offered a smile before he sneezed into his wet sleeve.

  “God, you look worse than you sound,” she said and pulled him into the apartment, helping him strip out of the rain slicker. “Let’s get you in a hot shower and to bed.”

  “I need to take a couple of these first.” Randy dug a package of Benadryl out of his pocket and she took it from him, leading him to the bathroom where he stripped out of his wet clothes, took the medicine, and stepped into the hot shower she started.

  “I need to call Agent Williams,” she said and closed the shower door, leaving him to the steamy heat of the water. She retreated back to the living room and pulled out her phone, opting for the traditional means of contact rather than the mind connection.

  He answered on the fourth ring. “Hello?”

  “Agent Williams, this is Carolyn Hastings, I had another vision.”

  “Give me a second.”

  She heard the shuffle of fabric and then water running on the other end of the line.

  “Tell me about the vision,” A voice said from behind her.

  When she turned, she took in a tousled FBI agent donning a t-shirt and jeans. Something about the disheveled, sleepy gaze lit a flame in her and she shook the improper thoughts out of her head with a glance toward the bedroom and the sounds of Randy’s shower still in progress.

  “This time he not only cut off her head, but her arms and legs too. I think he had garbage bags for each…” She couldn’t bring herself to verbalize the remainder of the sentence.

  “So, we’re just going to find a torso in the alley this time?”

  “A disemboweled torso.”

  “Lovely,” Steve said and took a seat, rubbing his face. “Anything else you can tell me?”

  “I thought I smelled Chinese food.”

  “All right, I’ll catch you in the morning.”

  She blinked at the now empty space he occupied. How the hell does he do that? She thought and put the phone to her ear. Only the dial tone came through and she disconnected the call. With one more glance around the living room, she turned out the lights and headed back to the bedroom.

  Randy stepped out of the bathroom with his pajama bottoms on and slid into the bed next to her. “Are you okay?”

  She nodded. “Did the shower help at all?”

  “A little. I still feel like crap, though.”

  “Well, you look a lot better.”

  He kissed her forehead and she turned, letting him spoon her in his strong grasp. “Sweet dreams,” he whispered in her ear and she hoped to God those words rang true.

  Chapter 45

  The alarm clock buzzed, shocking Carolyn out of a sound sleep. Randy just began to stir and she reached over him, hitting the snooze button and silencing the harsh sound for another ten minutes.

  Her eyes shut and the alarm’s piercing siren woke her again. “Randy, turn that damn thing off.”

  He grunted and slammed his hand on the clock, silencing the sharp alarm.

  “Hey, Rudolph, you need to get up,” she whispered and pushed his leg with her foot.

  Randy opened a bloodshot eye. “Rudolph?” he asked with a scratchy, stuffed-up voice.

  “Yeah, you,” she grinned at his single-eyed stare.

  “I’m not going in this morning,” he grumbled and turned his head, rolling away from her.

  “Don’t you have meetings?”

  “Not until after lunch,” his pillow-muffled voice answered.

  She ran her hand over his bare back. “Still feeling crappy?”

  “U-huh.”

  His labored breathing evened out to the rhythm of sleep and she rolled out of bed, cleaning up and taking a cup of coffee to the living room and her case files. After reading through the case involving Cameron’s sister, she closed the file and tossed her notes on the table. “Damn it all to hell,” she whispered and ran her hands down her face.

  “Who are you talking to?”

  She jumped at his voice and turned toward the bedroom. Randy stood in the hallway, his hair in complete disorder and his nose and eyes still red, but not as bad as they had been last night.

  She pointed toward the file on the table. “This case is going to hit very close to home and I’m afraid I may lose my closest friend when all is said and done.”

  Randy crossed the room and took a seat on the couch next to her. “How so?”

  “The mother of the victim is Cameron’s sister.”

  “She was abusing her child?”

  “No, her husband was, but she should have known. There are too many inconsistencies in her story and instead of stopping it; she turned a blind eye, ignoring the signs.”

  “So what are you going to do?”

  “I’m going after her too.”

  Randy whistled and sat back in the seat. “That’s going to put a dent in Cameron’s bid for re-election.”

  “No shit, and I’m sure Olivia is going to be pissed at me for being the cause.”

  “Olivia should understand that you’re just doing your job and considering the circumstances…” He offered a shrug.

  “She’s friends with Cameron’s sister.”

  Randy’s eyebrows rose and he sighed. “Are you going to give her a heads up?”

  “I can’t. It’s an active case and I shouldn’t even be discussing it with you.”

  “I promise, it won’t go farther than this room.”

  “Thanks,” Carolyn said and rubbed his knee. “Are you feeling any better?”

  He smiled and shook his head. “Not really, but I’ll live. I’m hoping a shower helps to clear my head a little,” he said and squeezed her hand before retreating to the bedroom.

  Carolyn glanced at the clock and sighed, reaching for the phone and dialing her old apartment number. She hoped Olivia was up by now, but on some days, Olivia considered calls at ten in the morning obnoxious.

  “Hello, darling!” Olivia’s bright voice filled the line. “Damon tells me you’re modeling in the show with us tomorrow.”

  “After Damon showed me the concept and the painted body suit, I figured why not.”

  “I have to warn you, it’s an exhausting day, so make sure you eat a good breakfast!” Olivia said.

  “Thanks, I’ll make sure I have a decent meal before I head over there tomorrow. But that’s not the reason I’m calling. I understand you and Cameron were over at City Hall yesterday morning…” Carolyn paused, leaving the question hanging.

  Silence filled the line for a moment. “I, uh… how did you know we were there?”

  “I stopped in and had a heart to heart with Jim.”

  More silence filled the line. “Then you know.”

  “Know what?” Carolyn said and her pulse throbbed in her throat. She couldn’t read Olivia over the phone, but the silence followed by the deadpan tone chilled her.

  “You know about Cameron’s sister.”

  A measure of relief flooded Carolyn and the throbbing in her throat subsided. For a moment she thought Olivia might have been the owner of the pair of eyes she’d been seeing through. “Yes, I’m aware of the situation.”

  “Can you help her? They took her daughter away and she’s devastated.”

  “Olivia, I got my job back yesterday.”

  “Oh. What does that mean?”

  “I’m the prosecuting attorney on this case.”

  “I thought the D.A. fired you?”

  “He did, but after our talk, he gave me my job back and this case is now on my plate. As such, I can’t discuss this with you or Cameron or anyone involved until I’m officially back on staff.”

  �
�Okay… then why did you ask about City Hall yesterday?”

  “It’s a long story, I’ll fill you in when I see you tomorrow, but it has to do with some weird things that have happened lately in relation to The Scarlet Psychopath.”

  “You’re still having those nightmares?”

  “Yes, and they’re getting worse.”

  “Well, make sure you take a sleeping pill tonight, you’re going to need your rest for tomorrow.”

  Carolyn smiled and closed her eyes, grateful that Olivia hadn’t pushed the situation with Cameron’s family. “I’ll do that. See you in the morning.”

  “I can’t wait!”

  Carolyn hung up the phone and straightened her notes before heading into the kitchen with her empty cup. She brewed a new pot of coffee and waited for Randy to emerge from the shower.

  Chapter 46

  Steve stood in the sitting room of the Britt home waiting for Linda Britt. He scanned the bookshelves, noting where the District Attorney’s legal textbooks transitioned to Mrs. Britt’s trashy romance novels. An occasional photo of the couple graced the shelves, along with several knick-knacks.

  “May I help you?”

  Steve turned to the soft feminine voice. Mrs. Britt stood in the doorway, her platinum blonde hair cut in an attractive bob framing her heart shaped face. Gray-green eyes met his and crinkled in a smile as they traveled down his frame, her blatant study of him unnerving to the point he wanted to hide in a trench coat. This woman may be a prominent staple in the political cog of New York City, but she radiated silence and her eyes held a base animalistic tendency that triggered the seed of suspicion.

  “Hello, Mrs. Britt, I’m Special Agent Williams with the FBI.” He opened his badge so she could see his credentials.

  Her demeanor chilled instantly and her smile faltered. “What can I do for you?”

  “I’m here regarding your visit to City Hall yesterday.”

  She blinked a few times and her expression shut down like a steel trap. “I was visiting my husband, why do you ask?”

  Steve allowed a smile to form on his lips. “Did you see him?”