“Okay, just so I understand, do you mind if we run through it one more time from the top?” he asked, speaking to her as if she were some kind of half wit.
“Yes, I do mind!” She had tried to stay calm, repeating it twice already, but now she was losing her cool. “I’ve told you everything I know. All you have to do is get in touch with Brecon Point police and they will fill you in on all the details I haven’t covered. Now, can we please get out there and start looking for my niece?”
“It’s not that simple, I’m afraid.” He even seemed to speak in slow motion. Looking at his wide girth, she suspected he did everything in slow motion. “We have to do everything through the proper channels.” He picked up his pad where he had been scribbling notes as she filled him in on the case. “Leave it with me and I’ll be in touch as soon as I can. Is there a number I can get you on?”
Not trusting herself to speak, Kat scribbled her cell number down on the bottom of the pad he was holding out to her and, without another word, turned and walked out. What a waste of time that was! She was fuming. If he thought she had come all this way just to sit around and wait until they decided to do something, they were wrong.
There wasn’t much more she could do for now, and the overnight drive was taking its toll. She could barely keep her eyes open. She’d spotted a hotel not far from the police station on her way into town, so she headed there now. After checking in, she took the elevator to her room and let herself in.
Knowing that it was unlikely that combing the streets at this time of the morning would do any good, she decided to get some sleep and start looking once it got dark. She would spend every night walking every street in town if he had to. Holding on to that thought, she just about managed to get herself undressed and climb under the cool, crisp covers of the bed before falling into a deep and blissfully dreamless sleep.
Twenty-Eight
He was pissed. Damn that stubborn woman! When he hadn’t heard from her by midday, he’d driven up to the house to find her. It had been Carrie who’d opened the door and informed him that she’d left during the night, leaving a note for Jake. It hadn’t said much, just where she was going and that she’d be back as soon as she could. It didn’t take a genius to figure out what she had planned. The question was, what should he do now?
He should just let her get on with it and get back to his own job. She was a highly trained detective, as she’d been so eager to remind him. It wasn’t his fault that she was too damn impatient.
Banging his fist on the steering wheel of his car which was still in the driveway of the house, he cursed. He knew he wasn’t going to let her do this alone and it irritated the hell out of him that he couldn’t just walk away.
From what she’d told him the night before, Jamie was on the streets and you didn’t need to be an L.A. detective to know that wandering the streets at night looking for someone was not the safest, or smartest, thing to do. He knew she’d argue that she didn’t need a man to protect her but, whether she liked it or not, it was much more dangerous for a woman alone. He didn’t have a choice, really, did he?
Putting his car in drive, he headed home. He’d need to pack a few things, not that he was planning on being away long, and make a couple of calls. He needed to let his boss know what was happening and he should call Carla and let her know, too.
He’d been dating Carla for about six months now. She owned the local hair salon and they’d met at a mutual friend’s barbeque, hitting it off right away. He wasn’t looking for anything long term, and he’d made that plain to her at the start, but recently things had been getting more and more committed. She spent most nights at his house now and he’d noticed more and more of her things left behind after each visit. He hadn’t brought the subject up yet as he wasn’t sure about his own feelings about it, but he knew the time was coming when he would have to make a decision about their future.
For now, though, he didn’t have time to worry about it. Getting the all clear from his boss, he threw a few things into a gym bag and headed out the door. If she’d left in the middle of the night, she would have arrived early this morning. That meant, he hoped, that she wouldn’t have had chance yet to actually get out onto the streets. If he made good time, he could be there by late afternoon.
Twenty-Nine
The noise from the street outside woke her. Glancing at her watch, she realized with a start that she’d been asleep for several hours and it was now late afternoon. Sitting up, she raised her hands above her head and stretched, her body tense after lying in the same position for a long time.
Padding over to the hotel room window, she pulled the curtains aside, letting in the last of the afternoon sun. The streets were full of people going about their business. Somewhere out there was her niece, and she wasn’t going home until she found her.
Knowing that she had a long night ahead of her, she decided to shower and then go and have something to eat. Her stomach was reminding her that she hadn’t eaten that day and she needed to re-fuel.
She was just about to step into the shower when she heard a loud buzzing. Curious, she slipped on the hotel’s courtesy robe and stepped back into the bedroom, realizing it was her cell, vibrating silently on the bedside table.
Picking it up, she noted that she had twenty-five missed calls and several voice mail messages. She must have been in a really deep sleep as the buzzing hadn’t woken her up. Pressing the button to listen to the messages, she soon realized each one was from Finn and he sounded increasingly pissed in each one. The last of the messages had been left just now and in it he told her that if she didn’t call him back he was headed straight to the police to report her as a missing person.
Annoyed, she sat back down on the bed and dialed the number on the screen.
“About damn time!” he barked at her as soon as he picked up. “Where the hell have you been? I’ve been trying to get hold of you since lunchtime!”
“I’m sorry, since when do I answer to you?” She was pleased that he’d called, but who did he think he was talking to her like that? “And where did you get my number from anyway?” She could hear him take a deep breath down the line.
“I’m sorry if I shouted. I’ve just been worried because I’ve been trying all afternoon and you didn’t pick up. I stopped by the house this morning and Carrie gave it to me, along with your note.”
“I’ve been asleep. I drove through the night and needed to catch up. My phone’s been on vibrate.”
“Well, if you had waited for me instead of dashing off in the middle of the night you wouldn’t have had to drive through the night, would you?”
He had a point, but there was no way she was admitting it. “Well, it doesn’t matter anyway. I did and I’m here now. What do you want, anyway?”
“Where are you now?”
“In a hotel. I’m just going to shower then have something to eat and start looking.”
“What hotel?”
What was this? Twenty questions? “A Holiday Inn near the police station. Why?”
“Just go and have your shower. I’ll talk to you later.”
And with that she was left holding the phone to her ear, listening to the dial tone. What was that all about?
Shrugging it off, she showered quickly, not wanting to waste any time, and got dressed in fresh clothes.
The knock on the door made her jump and as she opened the door she was stunned to find Finn standing there. She was speechless and didn’t know what to say as he walked through the open door and past her, into the room.
“This is nice,” he said, looking around the room.
“What are you doing here?” She finally found her voice, though it sounded a bit croaky to her own ears.
“You didn’t really give me much choice, did you, Kat?”
He stood there casually, hands in his pockets, but she could tell he was really mad. His eyes were almost burning through her and she had to look away.
“Why? I can do this on my own. I don’t
need a babysitter.”
“Look, you came to me for my help, remember? And that’s what I’m here for. To help. If you had waited instead of going off half-cocked, we could have come up together.”
“I’m sorry. I just needed to do something. I’m not very good at being patient.”
“So I see. Anyway, I’m here now. I’ve booked the room next door so, unless you’ve eaten in the last twenty minutes, I suggest we go and get something to eat and decide what we do next.”
Nodding her agreement, she followed him out of the room to the elevator. She didn’t want to admit it, but she was pleased he was here. Between them, they would find her. She just knew it.
Thirty
He’d grabbed her from behind. She’d never even heard him coming. Business had been quiet on her usual corner and she’d been using a shortcut through a vacant lot to try her luck somewhere else when he’d struck.
The darkness of the alley enveloped her as she was dragged further in, the street lighting gradually fading.
He had one hand clamped over her mouth so tightly she could feel her skin bruising. His skin was rough and it scratched against her as she tried to shake her face free. His other arm was wrapped around her waist, clamping her arms to her sides. God, he was strong. His grip felt like a vice and try as she might, she could not wriggle free.
This must be what the other girls felt. There was no doubt in her mind that this was the man. The man that they were all so scared of.
She’d lost her shoes and now she could feel her bare feet being torn as they scrambled for footing on the alleyway’s floor. She was going to die.
She didn’t want this to be her last memory. She didn’t want the smell of oil from his fingers to be her last smell. Hot tears fell from her eyes and down her cheeks, onto her assailant’s hand.
“You’re a pretty one,” he whispered, his breath hot in her ear. “What am I going to do with you?”
Panic rose in her throat and threatened to choke her, and she tried again to wrench her mouth free of his grip.
“Now, now, settle down. There’s no point fighting it. All the others tried and look what happened to them?” His voice was deep and throaty and confirmed her worst fears.
Thinking of the other girls who’d been murdered at his hands, she felt her panic dissipate, replaced instead with a determination not to go down without a fight. Managing to open her mouth slightly, she pushed her teeth against his hand and sank them into his palm.
“Bitch!” he cried, trying to jerk his hand away, but she wouldn’t let go. The copper taste of blood filled her mouth as she sunk her teeth deeper still.
The arm around her waist loosened and she grabbed her chance. Letting go of his hand and spitting the blood out of her mouth, she wrenched away from him and started running. Stumbling in the dark on torn and bloody feet, she didn’t get very far before he was on her, grabbing her and bringing her crashing to the ground.
Her face pressed into the gravel she saw him pick up a brick near her head. “Take this, bitch,” she heard, an instant before it made contact with the side of her head and her jaw went slack as she crumpled to the ground.
Thirty-One
“So what’s life like on the LAPD?” he asked, as he reached for a breadstick.
They’d found an Italian restaurant not too far from the hotel and were now seated at a table in the back. It was a typical Italian place, with empty Chianti bottles hanging from the ceiling, red and white checked tablecloths and old black and white photos of Italy hanging all around. The walls were painted dark red and that, combined with the low lighting, made the atmosphere warm and inviting. Almost romantic, if you were on a date. Which she most definitely was not, she reminded herself.
“It’s good. Tough, incredibly busy, but very satisfying.”
“And they’re okay about you taking all this time off?”
“I’m owed a lot of vacation time.”
“I guess you’ll be headed back there when this is all over?”
She looked at him, trying to see if there was any more to the question, but he just looked back at her openly, no hint that he cared either way.
“Yep.” She nodded. “Assuming we find Jamie and can bring her home, then yes, that’s the plan.”
He just nodded and made no comment.
Their food arrived, and they ate in silence for a few minutes. Kat was starving and had ordered the lasagne. She dug in and didn’t stop until she had satisfied the worst of her hunger pangs. Putting her fork to one side, she took a sip of water and sat back in her chair.
“I’ll be honest. I’m not sure where to start. I don’t have much of a plan.”
“Well, what were you going to do before I arrived?”
“The video footage was taken at the scene of the murder of one of the local prostitutes. I checked online and found out that the murder took place about ten blocks from here. It got a lot of coverage because they think it’s the work of a local serial killer.” She took another drink of water. The lasagne was delicious, but far too salty. “I thought I’d just head over to that area with a picture of Jamie that I brought with me and see if anyone recognizes her.”
She’d expected him to laugh but was surprised when he nodded slowly. “Good place to start. Certainly there’s not much else we can do tonight, so I agree. That’s what we should do. If we don’t have any luck, we can make a new plan.”
The rest of the meal was filled with small talk, Kat not wanting to bring up the past. Finn filled her in on what had happened to some of the others that they’d hung around with in high school, and she found herself relaxing and enjoying his company. For her part, she told him about her unauthorized trip to London with Kyle and more about her job, but she didn’t touch on the early days right after she’d left. There would be a time and place for that, and it wasn’t now.
After eating their fill and settling the check, they decided to walk rather than take the car. It would be a good way to get a feel for their surroundings and the night was dry and clear. They’d been walking in companionable silence for a few minutes before he spoke.
“Did you ever think of me after you left?”
The question took her by surprise. She had thought about him. Almost every day at first. Over time, the yearning to come home had passed and the sorrow she’d felt when she thought of him had turned to curiosity about what he had done with his life. “Yes, I did.” She answered truthfully.
They carried on walking, not looking at each other, and Kat waited for more questions to come but none did.
As they grew closer to their destination, the streets around them change. Gone were the upscale businesses and well kept residential townhouses, replaced by shops protected with steel bars across the windows and rundown buildings in various stages of disrepair. The sidewalks were no longer busy with people walking about purposefully going places; now the street corners were filled with groups of people just watching them as they walked past, tracking them with their eyes.
“I think this is as good a place as any to start.” Kat eyed the prostitutes that had started appearing. “Here.” She handed Finn one of the photos of Jamie that she had brought with her. “You start on that side of the street and I’ll do this one.”
She knew this wasn’t going to be easy. In her experience, working girls were naturally suspicious and didn’t like talking to strangers. But they might get lucky, and this was what she was counting on.
As she approached the first group of three girls on her side of the street, two immediately peeled off before she could reach them. One remained, though, looking defiantly at her as she approached.
“Hi, I hope you can help me. I’m looking for someone, my niece. Would it be okay if I showed you a photo?”
The girl just shrugged so, taking this as a yes, Kat showed it to her. She kept a close eye on her face as she took in the image, but there was no sign of recognition and with a shake of her head, the girl just turned and walked off.
She c
arried on all the way down the block, showing the photo to anyone she could get to look at it, but no one seemed to recognize Jamie. Hoping that Finn had had better luck, she waited for him at the end of the block and watched as he spoke to the last group of girls on his side before thanking them and turning to walk towards her.
“Any luck?”
“No, no one recognized her and I’m pretty sure they weren’t lying.”
Kat nodded. “Yeah, same on my side. But it’s only the beginning,” she said, making herself sound positive. It was still very early; they had the whole night ahead of them and a lot of ground to cover.
Fueled by coffee at every opportunity they got, they canvassed street after street, growing increasingly despondent and tired. Most people they approached were simply unwilling to even look at the photos and those that were had nothing to offer.
“Someone must know her!” Kat’s feet were hurting, so she sat on the edge of a wall by an abandoned lot, sipping what must have been her tenth coffee since they’d set off. Thankfully, there was no shortage of corner shops open all night to keep them supplied.
“Maybe we should call it a night and come back tomorrow, after speaking to the police again.”
“No, we’re here now. We may as well keep going for as long as we can.” Kat blew on her coffee to cool it down, looking at Finn over the rim. She desperately wanted to ask him about the woman she’d seen at his house but it really was none of her business.
“So, you joined up as soon as you left school?” She wanted to know more about his life since she’d left. She’d heard bits and pieces from her sister, but she wanted to learn more.
He laughed. “No, not right away. They wouldn’t have taken me.”
True Deceit (Blindsided Book 1) Page 25
