by Mary Eason
“Has anything unusual been happening in her life? Anyone new that you know of?”
“No, not as far as we knew. She seemed happy with her life the way it was. Said she wanted to pursue her law degree. She had started taking classes again, as you know.” He stopped for a second and then asked, “Davis, did that son of a bitch rape her? Tell me what happened to my baby.”
“Mark, don’t go there. This won’t help you or Nancy. Just let me take care of this.”
“I swear I’ll kill him if I ever find out who did this to her. You tell him that, Davis. You tell him I’ll kill him.”
Outside the Youngtree’s house, Davis told Kara he needed to go back to the command center.
“Kara, you should go back to my place and get some sleep. I can’t. I can’t even think about sleep right now. I want to stay and help. There’s going to be lot of evidence to process. This could take hours.”
“No, I’ll stay with you. Maybe I can help.”
He lowered his head, accepting her answer. He started the car and then asked, “Have you talked to Ava lately?” Kara knew he wanted to be sure Ava was safe without giving her location away.
She hadn’t told him about Ava earlier because she didn’t want to worry him. “She’s okay.” When he looked at her questioningly, she added, “She’s fine, Davis.”
“Thank God for that. I can’t imagine going through what Mark is going through right now. I don’t think I could bear it if anything happened to either of you.”
The evidence from Jessica’s crime scene began to arrive shortly after their return. Dozens of evidence envelopes had been collected at the scene. The taskforce spent the rest of the evening and well into the morning sifting through their contents to no avail.
“It’s like he’s getting better with each new victim. There’s no footprints, no fingerprints. No hair samples. No semen,” Ryan said once all the evidence had been processed.
“She was raped?” Davis asked. Kara could tell he knew the answer already.
“Yes. Looks like repeatedly. This is one sick bastard,” Ryan told them both.
“He’s a monster but he’s also human. Sooner or later he’s going to screw up.”
“I hope you’re right, Davis. But so far, with four bodies behind us, he hasn’t shown any signs of screwing up.”
Davis flinched at Ryan’s choice of words. “They’re more than bodies, Ryan. These are women I knew personally. And you were close to both Rachel and Jessica.”
“I’m sorry, I know that. I only meant that he’s perfecting his MO and expanding upon it. I think we have to face some facts here.”
Davis sat down on the edge of the table, covering his eyes for a moment. “What are you getting at?”
“Well, think about it, Davis. During the original case, we saw some evidence that seemed to indicate the Angel, or as we suspected at the time, Frankie, might not have acted alone. Maybe there are two killers. Maybe we should be looking for someone close—”
“To us? Someone working the case, Ryan? Why not just say it? You’re starting to believe all the stories about me now as well. Do you really think I’m capable of doing such horrendous things to anyone, much less the people I know?”
“No! For Christ’s sake, Davis, that’s not what I’m saying at all. Of course not! But you have to admit this is starting to look less like the original killer acted alone, even on the old cases. I’m thinking someone connected to the Angel case maybe leaked evidence without even realizing it. What I’m saying is I think we need to tighten the circle of people who have access to this case to only those we know we can trust. Like it or not, someone is exposing information that could prove crucial to solving the case. We can’t afford another scandal like the last one. You know this, as well as I do.”
“You’re right,” Davis said wearily. “I’m sorry, Ryan. I’m just upset about Jessica. I’ve let this get too personal.”
“It is personal. You knew all these women. Maybe…”
“Maybe what?” Davis met his gaze unflinchingly.
“Maybe nothing. Maybe we’re all tired.”
“Ryan, I want to find out who’s behind this more than anyone. I have a huge stake in this as well. But you’re right. Go over the files of the people involved in the past cases as well as this one and let me know what you find. Oh, and Ryan, do it quickly. I want to let Jessica’s parents know something soon.”
“Of course, I’ll get right on it. Why don’t you go and try to sleep. You look terrible. I’ll call you when we know something.”
“I’m fine. Just get me some answers soon. Where are you on re-interviewing the people connected to the first murders?”
“We’ve gone through just about everything in the files. There’s nothing new. I talked to a few of Frankie’s acquaintances from the past. I was hoping that maybe we missed something in his life that might help us now. It was a dead end.”
“I know it’s difficult, Ryan, and I appreciate all your hard work, but still he’s out there. We both know it. And we’re running out of time.”
Davis turned to Kara. “You feel up to a little ride?”
“Sure. Where do you want to go?”
“Let’s go back to that barn again. It’s almost daylight. I’m thinking maybe we overlooked something. Something critical.”
“Davis, we went over every inch of that place,” Ryan told him. “We didn’t miss anything.”
“Maybe, but I’m hoping we missed something important that can’t be seen through normal eyes.”
Chapter Seven
“He was only trying to help, Davis,” Kara told him quietly once they were heading back to the crime scene.
God, he dreaded going back there again but knew they had little choice. They’d missed something. He hoped Kara could find it.
“I know.” He glanced her way then finally smiled. “I know I’m being super sensitive about this, but dammit, Kara, I knew this girl. Hell, I knew them all. I was married to Rachel. This creep has made this personal for me. It feels as if he’s turning everyone I care about against me.”
“He hasn’t turned me against you. And he never will. And Ryan still believes in you. He’s just frustrated. Like Ed. We’re all frustrated. I just wish I could see his face for once, but he’s too powerful. I don’t understand it. Before the Angel, always in the past, I’ve been able to get some insight on the killer.”
“It’s okay, babe.” He stroked his thumb along her cheek. His eyes held hers. “Right now I wish for nothing more than this to be over. I want out, Kara. I need out. Once we’ve solved this case, I’m done. I can’t do this again.” He could tell his confession surprised her. Kara believed he bled Bureau blood.
“I don’t blame you for not believing me, but the Angel case destroyed so much. It cost me you, Kara. I would have given anything—I still would—if I could just go back and do things differently between us. I never wanted you to leave. I thought you knew how I felt. Now I realize I couldn’t have been more unclear and I’m sorry for that. I’m so sorry I hurt you. That I wasn’t there for you when you needed me.”
He was stunned to see tears in her eyes. Davis pulled into a parking lot and took her in his arms.
“Please don’t cry.”
“Davis, I want to believe you mean that. It’s just hard.” When she tried to move away, he held her tighter.
“No, don’t. Please. Just let me hold you for a moment.” He felt her slowly relax against his chest.
“When this is over, I want you and Ava to be with me. I want us to be a family.” She still didn’t trust him not to hurt her again. He hated that she couldn’t believe him.
When his lips met hers, just for a moment, she gave herself to him completely. She tasted like forever. He wanted to hold her this close and keep right on kissing her, believing that her sweetness could somehow drive away the bitterness of the past.
When she pushed against his chest he let her go.
Davis understood how hard it was for Kara t
o believe he meant what he said about leaving the Bureau, but that didn’t stop the pain. Or the fear in knowing there might be a chance one of them wouldn’t survive this case again. When she looked into his eyes, he knew she would see the tears in his as well.
“This is a nightmare. But it’s one that has to be solved if you and I are ever going to be able to put this thing in the past once and for all.”
For a long time neither said a word. They were still close. And for the time being it was enough.
“I think we both could use some strong coffee.” Davis nodded toward the restaurant close by.
“Yes. Right now that sounds like heaven.”
From the restaurant, they called Ava together. She still appeared shy with him even though he believed she now trusted him. It was hard to accept that he didn’t really know his own daughter.
“I’m sorry.” Kara had read his thoughts so easily. “I should have told you about Ava. It was wrong, and I know that. I was just so angry.”
He squeezed her hand. “I know. I guess we both made mistakes. You have no idea how many times I wanted to come after you. And I know you don’t believe me now, but I’m serious about leaving the Bureau. I’m done. I want a normal life. I want you.”
She laughed at this. “Sorry, Davis, but I’m not anything close to normal. And it’s looking like your daughter isn’t either.”
“Maybe not, but you’re everything I’ve ever wanted, Kara. You and Ava. You’re all I want.”
In the light of day, outwardly the barn appeared innocent enough. But the evidence of the brutality of the murder that had taken place there was everywhere.
From the road leading to the property, Kara could feel Jessica’s terror again.
“She was here for a while,” she said and saw Davis’s surprise. “He brought her here a few days before he killed her.”
The closer they got to the barn, the harder it became to shut out the terror Jessica Youngtree experienced. Kara could see her, the white scarf around her eyes, naked, cold and shivering. She been frightened and alone, waiting for her fate.
Kara got out of the car and stood with her eyes shut tight. The image of Jessica being dragged from the car into the barn appeared. She’d tried to scream but he had something in her mouth. Kara couldn’t make it out.
Her body was covered in blood. He’d taken his time with her, enjoying every minute of her pain. It excited him. After each attack, he’d raped her, heightening his pleasure.
Inside the barn, Kara knelt where Jessica’s body had lain.
“The last few minutes before her life ended happened quickly. Thank God for that.”
He glanced at Kara and then looked away from the evidence there.
“Yes. But I don’t think that will ease her parents’ pain, do you? It certainly doesn’t help mine.”
“No, I know. I’m sorry.”
“Kara, you said he moved her here a few days before. Do you see anything that might help us figure out where he kept her before here? We need to figure out where he had her. Maybe he left something behind there.”
Once again, Kara closed her eyes and concentrated on the emotions filling her head. Fear. Pain. Cold. She could see Jessica’s body lying there shivering and broken.
Her hands folded neatly around the lilacs as she died.
Then, suddenly, Jessica’s final moments disappeared, but not before she captured a fragmented plea. In the moments before her death, Jessica had tried to connect to Kara! Jessica had known Kara would come for her.
How? Had he told her?
She hadn’t noticed this before because there were too many other distractions in her thoughts. Ava. Davis. The Angel. She hadn’t heard Jessica’s cry for help. Kara tried to focus more closely on what Jessica had tried to tell her.
“I’m sorry, Jessica. But I’m listening to you now. Tell me what you need me to know.” She touched the cold earth where Jessica breathed her last breath.
“What?” Kara barely registered Davis’s question. He grew silent when he saw her expression. He’d seen it a million times in the past.
The barn became quiet again. Slowly Jessica reached out to her once more with one single clear thought.
“She’d trusted him. He would be someone who she felt comfortable talking to about her problems. Someone she considered a friend. No, wait. There’s something else. This is someone she had a secret crush on. Someone she pursued. Someone she slept with.” When Kara opened her eyes again she saw Davis shake his head in frustration.
“Kara, I have no idea. I thought she told me everything about her life, but now I realize there were so many things about Jessica’s life I didn’t know, even though we were friends.” He stopped the second the words were out. “Oh no. No, this isn’t happening. She trusted me, Kara. She had a crush on me. The profile you just gave, with the exception of sleeping together, could fit me. Jessica herself used to tease me about—”
“About what?” Kara prompted finally when he didn’t finish.
“About being hung up on you still. She said I couldn’t see a good thing when it stared me in the face. I ignored her usually, dismissed it as just a crush. But I knew she would have taken it further if I’d only given the word.”
“Who else knew how she felt about you?” Kara forced herself to ask the question. It was hard hearing that another woman had loved him. But Kara could feel Jessica’s love for Davis even now.
“You mean besides everyone at the office? I’m sorry, Kara, I know how this must hurt to hear.” He looked at her for a moment before answering.
“I don’t know. She wouldn’t have told her parents—her friends, maybe. She still kept in touch with most of the kids she hung out with during high school. Everyone loved Jessica. Ryan might know. He and Jessica had become close. They used to go to university football games together. Ryan went to UV as well. I think he helped convince her to go back and pursue her degree.”
“We need to talk to her friends, Davis.” Kara wondered if Jessica ever had anything to do with the Angel case. She wasn’t around when Kara had been in DC, but maybe she had something to do with the filing, or reporting of the case. Or maybe just a morbid curiosity. The case drew all kinds. Maybe she’d unknowingly been the leak.
“Do you think Jessica knew anything about the Angel case? I’m wondering if there’s any connection between her and Frankie even. Something that might tie all the loose ends together.”
“No, at least as far as I know she never handled anything connected with the case. It would have been in storage by the time she came on board. And Jessica wasn’t the kind of girl to think about such things. She hated hearing the details of some of the cases we worked.”
“None of this is making any sense now. I think we need something to clear our heads. Let’s get some fresh air, maybe take a walk around the property.”
They stepped out into the early fall morning. The beauty surrounding them was very different from the horror that took place there the night before.
Densely grown Norwood maples and white mulberry filled the woods ahead of them. The farther into the woods they went, the darker the trail became.
“The agents searched out here?” she asked, knowing the answer already.
“Yes, they’ll be back again today. I don’t think they missed anything though. They’re the best.”
Davis brought out a small flashlight from his pocket and shone it on the trail in front of them. Nothing seemed out of place.
“He didn’t come this way,” she said at last.
“Then how did he get past us? He was there just minutes before. This is the only way out of here without running right into us.”
Kara closed her eyes and tried to feel him there but she couldn’t.
“I don’t know, but he didn’t come this way.”
The woods emptied out into an open field. After an extensive search produced nothing, they returned to the car.
“It’s useless. We’ll leave it to the experts, but there’s no
thing here. How can he not leave even a single piece of evidence behind? No footprints, no tire tracks unaccounted for. It’s impossible.”
“It doesn’t make sense.” Kara’s gaze met his. She knew he was thinking the same thing.
“Where has he been all these years? It’s almost like he’s been orchestrating this whole thing for years. Even when you and I were apart. It’s like he knew this day was coming. And how was Frankie Shepard connected to all this?” Before he looked away, Kara saw the fear and helplessness Davis hadn’t been able to disguise.
“Frankie Shepard grew up in an affluent section of Virginia. Until the age of twelve, his family had been one of the wealthiest around. And then the summer of his twelfth birthday, everything changed. Why?” Kara asked.
“According to our file, Frankie’s father divorced his mother and married another woman soon after. He left Frankie’s mother with a young son and little else, forcing Marilyn Shepard to go to work for the same people with whom she’d once socialized. After Frankie’s death, the mother told us she first noticed a change in her son around this time. Frankie became very shy, made few friends. He seemed to retreat within himself.”
“Maybe, if she’ll talk with us, we can find out more about what happened during that time.”
Davis shook his head. “No, she passed away shortly after Frankie.”
“Did something else happen? Did he meet the Angel by accident? Knowing what we do now, Frankie certainly made a fitting patsy,” Kara said.
“Let’s go someplace where we’re not surrounded by the current killings.” Davis told her. He glanced at his watch. Almost midday. They’d been at it nonstop for more than twenty-four hours.
“In fact, let’s go home for a little bit. I, for one, could use a shower.”
He spread the case files out on the coffee table of his living room and sat on the floor reading them while waiting for Kara. He could hear the shower running. All of the old need returned to remind him it had been six years since he’d touched her. He’d buried that part of his life when she left him. Now, every nerve in his body felt as if it were coiled tightly, ready to spring to life whenever she was close. His body craved her to the point of desperation, but he didn’t want to screw things up again. He needed her to trust him. To give herself to him willingly.
