by JANIE CROUGH
Conner couldn’t believe he had forgotten it. This morning Adrienne had come in all excited about a possible location where Simon—Faraday—might be keeping the women before he killed them. In the excitement of a new package and a live victim, her discovery had been pushed aside.
But she had given him a file, put it on his desk. Conner quickly tore through the papers on his desk. He found it and pulled out the map and information she had written. Mission Delores Basilica. She had highlighted the few places she thought could be Simon’s hideout.
Conner was almost giddy with relief.
“Seth, I forgot until now. This is a map Adrienne left me. She mentioned something this morning. It’s where she thought Simon Says was taking and killing the women.”
Both men stood. It wasn’t much, but it was better than sitting here looking at files on Victor Faraday. Within moments, both men were sprinting for the car.
* * *
ADRIENNE WOKE UP to the screaming in her head. The noise and pain made her thoughts work slowly. She couldn’t figure out where she was or how she had gotten there. She took deep breaths, trying to calm herself and focus.
She realized she was lying on the ground and her arms were restrained in front of her. The floor was hard, uncarpeted. She turned her body as gently as she could, so she could look around the room. High ceilings with dark rafters. A stairway that led to a thick door. No windows. It was an oversize cellar.
Through the fog of her brain Adrienne realized she had seen this place before. In her visions about Simon Says. It all came back to her then. Victor Faraday had brought her here. Victor Faraday was Simon Says.
“There you are. I thought you were never going to wake up. I tied you up while I was gone, but it looks like I don’t really need to, do I?” A high-pitched giggle caused Adrienne to cringe in pain. Her fog-permeated brain could not figure out where the voice was coming from.
She knew she had to keep Simon talking. She could feel his malice—the terrible things he planned to do to her.
He had no plans for her to be alive in the next hour.
The agony of remaining conscious was almost more than Adrienne could bear. But she forced herself to focus. She could see Simon now. He was sitting on a wooden crate just a few feet from her.
“Where did you go?”
“Had to drop off the package to the FBI, of course. I couldn’t mail it. That would take too long. I wanted them to know I had you today. Right now.” That high-pitched giggle again. Adrienne was sure her head would explode. “Victor just waltzed right in and handed it to your boyfriend.”
So Conner had made it back from the other crime scene. That was good. He would figure it out and come for her, Adrienne knew that. They were at the place Adrienne had noted down and left for Conner in the file.
But would he remember it in the midst of everything going on? Would he get here in time?
Adrienne had to give Conner as much time as she could. She had to keep Simon talking.
“So Victor just walked in?”
“Yep. They didn’t suspect a thing. I was sad he couldn’t stick around and see Agent Perigo’s face when he read the letter.” Simon walked around her as she lay on the floor. Adrienne flinched away from him no matter where he was. She didn’t want him to touch her, even by accident.
“You know,” Simon said in his grating, singsongy voice, “I’m not surprised you and Conner fell in love with one another. It was fate.”
Just keep him talking. “Oh, yeah. Why is that?”
“I like to look up what people’s names mean. Simon means ‘to be heard.’ Don’t you think that’s perfect for me? I have always known I was meant to be heard.” The giggle again. “Do you know what Conner means?”
Adrienne didn’t want to talk about Conner with this sick bastard. “What?” she muttered through teeth gritted in pain and annoyance.
“Conner means lover of hounds.” Simon clapped his hands like an enthusiastic second grader. “Don’t you get it? Conner means lover of hounds. Like bloodhounds. And you are known as ‘the Bloodhound.’ So apropos! Just perfect in every way.”
Adrienne smiled just a bit through the pain. Conner probably wouldn’t like knowing that’s what his name meant. Too much like getting her name and picture tattooed on his skin.
But, “lover of hounds”? Somehow the nickname she had hated so much all those years ago didn’t seem so terrible anymore. Not if it linked her with Conner.
Adrienne knew she was getting loopy. She needed to concentrate.
But it was so hard to think clearly with Simon so close. The pain was overwhelming.
“But not all names are correct,” Simon continued as sadly now as he was delighted a moment ago. “Victor means champion. And that couldn’t be further from the truth.”
“But you’re not Victor.”
“That snivelly little bastard? No.”
“Can I talk to Victor right now?”
Adrienne could feel his anger before he even stood. She cringed away from him but couldn’t get far, lying on the floor with her hands tied. Simon walked over to her, anger suffusing his face. He grabbed her hair and brought his nose inches from hers. Adrienne fought to hold on to consciousness. Having him near was bad enough. Him touching her was unbearable.
“Do you think I’m stupid? That idiot could never do what needs to be done. He never could.” Simon jerked her head away from him and released her in disgust.
Adrienne knew she was on dangerous ground. The wrong words said to Simon would send him into a murderous rage.
“Victor couldn’t do things right like protect you from her?”
Adrienne could feel hesitation in Simon, along with bitterness and fear. He turned from Adrienne and walked back to his perch on the box.
“Auntie always ignored us, and when she wasn’t ignoring us, she hurt us,” Simon whispered. “We were never good enough for her. She had to be punished.”
“But you know those women aren’t her, right?”
“But they sound like her and act like her. They hurt and ignore people, like Auntie. They needed to be punished.”
“Did the women hurt you?”
“No, but they ignored me when I tried to talk to them, just like Auntie. They mocked me and hated me, just like Auntie.”
Adrienne wanted to keep Simon talking as long as possible. “The women made fun of you?”
“Not out loud. But I could tell they were laughing at me inside their heads!”
Adrienne could feel the rage emanating from Simon at the thought of these women mocking and laughing at him.
“But how could you tell, Simon? Did they say mean things to you?”
“No,” he scoffed. “They didn’t have to. I would try to talk to them and they would just ignore me. But I could see in their eyes that they were laughing at me. All of them.”
Adrienne knew trying to further convince Simon of the women’s innocence would be futile at best, and possibly deadly for her. She sat silently. You couldn’t reason with madness.
“I had to punish them!” Simon continued. “So they wouldn’t hurt other people—just like Auntie. I had to stop them. It was good for me to stop them.”
Simon paced back and forth, muttering under his breath. His mind began to calm; evidently he found peace in thinking he was ridding the world of these women.
Adrienne took advantage of the lack of pain and attention from Simon to test the tightness of the rope that tied her hands. Not as tight as she had feared—perhaps she would be able to get them off if she worked at them. But she’d never be able to walk away with the agony of Simon’s thoughts filling her head. It was all she could do to stay conscious right now.
But Adrienne still kept working at the bonds—even if she had to crawl away, she could do that.
“Mostly, you’re not like them, though. Although you are a little bit because you couldn’t even remember Victor’s name.”
Adrienne could feel Simon’s thoughts grow darker.
“I know you’re not really like them, but you have to be punished, too, because you’re a cheater.”
“Didn’t you punish me enough when you burnt down my barn?”
The maniacal giggling came again. “That was so much fun! You all looked so inane running around trying to save the silly horses. It was the best entertainment I’d had in a week!”
“I saw you on the porch in the rocking chair,” Adrienne muttered through gritted teeth.
“I thought you might have! I’m so glad. You should’ve come over. We could’ve chatted.”
But Adrienne could see what he would’ve done to her if she had tried to confront him that night. She definitely would not be alive now. Adrienne shuddered, bile growing in her throat.
“I did mean to kill Agent Harrington,” Simon continued. “I must admit I was quite upset he made it out of the barn alive. That was your fault.”
His rage was back and targeted at her. Adrienne knew she had to do something—right now—but thinking was so hard she couldn’t figure out what.
Simon paced back and forth, rubbing his hands together as if he was in deep thought. “Just wanted your opinion on something. I was thinking I would kill you and leave you at the hotel where you first stayed here in San Francisco. Kind of a full circle, don’t you agree?” That hideous giggle erupted once more.
Adrienne knew time was running out.
“I think it would be poetic justice for Agent Perigo to find you there, don’t you agree?”
“They know who you are now, Simon,” Adrienne managed to get out around the pain. “They know what Victor looks like. The FBI has files on him.”
Simon stomped his foot like a petulant toddler. “I know! That’s so unfair! Now I won’t be able to watch as they find you!”
Simon walked toward her and, crouching down, whispered conspiratorially, “That was my favorite part, you know. Watching the FBI process the scenes. Watching them appreciate my handiwork. Knowing they were too stupid to figure out it was me.”
Adrienne eased farther away from him. “But they know what you look like. You’re going to have to stop. Maybe if you turned yourself in now, they could help you. Maybe you wouldn’t even have to go to jail.”
Adrienne didn’t care what lies she told if it bought her more time. She knew that was what Conner would want her to do.
Simon wasn’t buying it. “No, they don’t want to help me. They just want me to stop.”
Simon stood and walked across the room to another table. Adrienne watched in terror as he picked up one of the knives on it. He had made his decision; he was going to kill her now. Adrienne knew her time had run out.
She had made some progress getting her wrists loosened, but it didn’t matter—the first time he touched her, she would be totally helpless. Her thought process was difficult enough now, and he was across the room.
Whimpering, Adrienne began dragging herself across the floor away from Simon. She heard him laugh and knew he would soon be coming after her. Adrienne tried to stand but collapsed on the floor without even making it to her knees. She began to scoot slowly across the floor again; her limbs were too heavy to move any quicker.
She turned and saw Simon watching her from the table, a knife shining in his hand, smiling with evil glee. “Cheaters never win,” he said in his singsongy voice.
It happened so gradually, Adrienne didn’t really feel it at first. But instead of being overwhelmed by Simon’s thoughts, Adrienne found she could think a little clearer. Looking around her, she saw the door for the first time. She knew that was where she had to get to. She started dragging her body in that direction.
This time when she tried to crawl, her body obeyed. Soon she was able to stumble up onto her feet. She looked over at Simon and could see his surprise that she was able to stand. He was expecting her to fall again.
But Adrienne was able to balance and stay on her feet as she made her way toward the door. She could see the door and Simon clearly. The noise and the pain were leaving.
It came to her then. Conner. It had to be Conner. He must be somewhere nearby, blocking her abilities and therefore getting Simon out of her head. She just needed to stay alive for a few more minutes, and Conner would find her.
But Simon didn’t look like he was willing to give her a few more minutes. He ran at Adrienne, knife raised in his hand. Adrienne forced herself to stay calm and stepped out of the way as Simon brought the knife down right where she had been standing. She kept her back to the wall and scooted away quickly as Simon advanced on her again.
She could hear a pounding on the door and knew it had to be Conner and Seth.
“Conner!” Adrienne yelled as loudly as she could.
“Adrienne?” she could hear Conner’s muffled response before the pounding on the door became more intense. They were trying to break it down.
Adrienne could see the murder in Simon’s eyes. Conner and Seth would be too late to help her. She would have to save herself.
Adrienne saw the piece of wood lying on the ground just as Simon rushed her again. When he swung the knife toward her head, she ducked and grabbed the board. As she rose, she swung with all her might, cracking him in the jaw. Simon crumbled at her feet.
A few seconds later the door gave in and Conner and Seth stormed into the building with their weapons raised, obviously ready to take down Simon.
Adrienne could only see Conner. Using the last of her reserves, she stumbled over to him.
“What took you guys so long?” she managed to say as, for the third time in a few days, Adrienne collapsed in Conner’s arms.
Chapter Sixteen
“Multiple personality disorder. Unbelievable,” Conner muttered. He and Adrienne were back at Conner’s town house much later that night. Simon/Victor had been treated for a concussion and broken jaw—thanks to Adrienne—and arrested. Conner and Adrienne had provided statements and had been debriefed, with the promise to be back at the ViCAP offices first thing tomorrow morning.
But multiple personality disorder? Seriously? Well, it certainly explained why Simon/Victor had been able to slip past Adrienne’s abilities unnoticed. Evidently Victor had no ill intent toward the women Simon had killed. And the personalities were so separate that Victor had no real knowledge of what Simon was doing.
So he had been around Adrienne all the time but had never given off any ill thoughts to attract Adrienne’s abilities. Every once in a while Simon had made his presence known, and those were the times that had hit her the worst and really scared them all.
Conner wasn’t certain he believed any of the MPD stuff. He just hoped it didn’t end up being the basis for an insanity plea that got Simon off the hook. Too many women had died at the hands of Simon or Victor or whoever you wanted to call him.
And Adrienne had almost been another of his victims.
Conner would never forget those hours of absolute panic when he’d known Simon had Adrienne in his clutches. And those final minutes, trying to get into the building, when he was afraid they weren’t going to make it in time. When they got the door open just to see Adrienne crumple to the ground right in front of him, Conner had watched his own world lying broken at his feet.
In that moment it had been crystal clear to him: nothing in his life had any purpose without Adrienne in it.
She sat across from him now, eating a burger they had picked up from a local fast-food place. She looked exhausted—still had dirt on her cheek and some sort of plaster or something in her hair and every bit of makeup had long since worn off.
She was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen.
“I love you.” T
he words were out of his mouth before he had even finished the thought.
Her eyes rounded, and her throat began working up and down. He thought for a second she might be choking and stood up in case she needed help.
“Are you okay?”
Adrienne nodded and finally managed to swallow her food. Conner sat down again. He wasn’t expecting the little fist that darted out and punched him in the shoulder. Hard.
“Hey! What was that all about?” Conner complained.
“You’re going to make me remember this terrible cheeseburger forever! You’re not supposed to say something like that when a girl has a mouthful of greasy food!”
Conner smiled. “Sorry.”
“You should be sorry. And I love you, too, Agent Jackass.”
“And I want you to marry me.”
Adrienne’s eyes were wide open again, but this time she didn’t have any food in her mouth. Conner knew that less than two weeks wasn’t long to know someone. But he had felt more for Adrienne, felt deeper for Adrienne, than he had for anyone in his whole life. He wanted to be with her, to laugh with her, to protect her, to give her the silence she needed whenever she required it.
“Our lives are different,” Adrienne finally managed to say.
“But not unblendable. We’ll just have to figure out the right balance as we go along. But I want you to know that I don’t expect you to come back and work for the Bureau.”
Adrienne reached out and stroked his cheek. “I want to help. With you around, I finally think I can.” She sighed and pulled away. “But I feel like you give me more than I give you. That it’s unequal.”
Conner leaned forward and gazed at her intently. “Well, I feel like you give me everything that’s important in my life, and I can’t live without you. So I’m not sure how we can be unequal.”
Adrienne smiled and walked over to his chair. She pushed her finger against his chest until he leaned back, then hiked her legs over his hips so she was sitting astride him. She wrapped her arms around his neck.
“Everything that’s important, huh?” she asked. He settled his arms around her hips.
