He nodded. “My sister. Married to Logan’s brother. Killed by the Chupacabra.”
Rebecca hoisted herself into the seat, frowning. “But we’ve been told the beast kills in a pattern of three. That’s what we learned from the last three cases and that’s what our background research had told us.”
Greg came around and climbed into the vehicle beside her. “But we only had the two kills that time. I’d know if there had been another one.”
She snapped her fingers, a chore with gloves on. “The same thing in Maine, The first time around my nephews were killed and we didn’t have a third one. Damn!”
“What? Maybe it’s just changed its patterns.” The deputy pulled out of the driveway and turned onto the two-lane highway bracketed on both sides by high drifts of snow. “Isn’t that a possibility?”
“Of course it is.” She tried to tamp down the bubble of excitement. “When Jonah Grey was sent to Maverick County in Texas to check out the first body we investigated, the information we gave him was the beast had an established kill pattern. Neither Logan or my sister disputed that.”
“Maybe it just didn’t register.”
“No, they’re too smart. Maybe they just thought the beast’s habit had changed. But what changes it, Greg? What makes the pattern change?”
“Okay.” He slid a glance at her. “I can tell something’s jumped out at you. What is it?”
“I have to call Logan. Right now.” She yanked off her gloves and pulled her cell phone from her jacket pocket, punching in the speed dial for Logan. She tapped her foot on the floorboard impatiently until he answered. “Logan?”
“Good. I’m glad you called. We’ve got—”
“I don’t care. I have something to tell you.”
“Rebecca, we figured something out,” he went on insistently. “You need to know what it is.”
“What? No, listen. Just listen to me.” Her theory spilled out so fast she tripped over her words. “So if what we believe is right, these experiments have been going on for some time. And one group had artificial intelligence implanted that signaled it to kill twice. But now they’ve improved it so the pattern has gone to three. Hell, Logan. What if they can program them to kill four times? Five? More?”
“Jesus.”
“We need to call Ric and the team,” she told him.
“Take a breath and let me fill you in on what we discovered looking at the sketch the artist just did from Ben’s description.”
As she listened her impatience grew. “All the more reason for us to call the ranch.” She looked over at Greg. “We’re done with this today. How fast can you get me back to the sheriff’s office?”
The deputy grinned at her. “With or without lights and sirens?”
“Without, but don’t pay attention to the speed limit. Logan? You still there?”
“I’m here. You sure we should do this from Danvers’ office?”
“He has broadband, right? And you and Ben are already there. We can do it from the conference room.”
“Okay. Get back here as fast as you can. I’ll text Ric to let him know to be ready.”
Rebecca disconnected the call and leaned back in the seat, nausea rolling through her. If they were right, whatever maniac was behind this had ramped things up considerably. And the third kill could be just around the corner.
* * * * *
“That really ramps things up,” Logan said. Tension vibrated through his body as he absorbed all the new information. “You heard Ric. This could also mean that this abomination will kill more quickly the next time. That it may already have the bloodthirst running through it and staked out its next prey.”
They had just finished the video call with Ric and the team. Now they sat around the table, everyone trying to figure out what to do next.
“Forget about me spending my time trying to warn people,” Rebecca put in at last. “The deputies need to keep up the patrols, Sheriff, but they would have as much luck as I would. I need to hunt with Logan and Ben. We have to find this devil beast before someone else dies.”
“But how do you pinpoint where to look?” Danvers looked at his copy of the map Logan had given him. “There’s six different possible killing sites on here and as many suggested hiding places.”
“We’ll have to figure out how to cover all of them,” Ben answered.
The sheriff shook his head. “Impossible.”
Logan looked at Ben, exchanged a glance with him.
“Ben and I can handle most of them, Rance. We can take the horses out. And we know the terrain a lot better than people who are used to town living.”
And we can hunt as wolf, but Danvers doesn’t need to know that. Wouldn’t believe it, anyway.
“It just makes me nervous for the two of you to be out there by yourselves.”
Logan rubbed his neck. “You know what kind of a sheriff I was. A damn good one. Give me credit for knowing what to do here.”
“Ric suggested coming up here with the helicopter,” Rebecca broke in. “I think we should call him back and tell him to come on. He can cover a lot of territory in a short while.”
Logan nodded. “And he can pinpoint places for us. He’s got infrared equipment in that bird that can focus in on living things.”
“Yeah?” Ben frowned. “First of all, you don’t even know if this is a warm-blooded creature. You’d have to get the reports from your boss to see what they discovered. And how would you distinguish between it and the other wildlife?”
“I don’t know. But let me talk to him. He can call Craig Stafford and they can figure something out.”
“Do you need to set up another video call?” the sheriff asked.
“No. I’ll call him on my way back to the ranch. You keep those deputies out trying to warn people to be careful.” He looked at Ben. “You coming with us?”
“I need to swing by my place and check on my horse and some other stuff. Then I’m good to go.”
“Okay, see you in, what, an hour?”
“Pretty much.”
Rance Danvers cleared his throat. “This is all way beyond me, Logan, but you know I’m on board now and will do whatever I can to help you.”
“I appreciate that.”
Randi Turner stood to the side, holding her laptop bag and her jacket. “I hate to take off now and not see what happens. I’m scared shitless but I’d hate to be left out of things.”
“Would you like to come back to our house with us?” Rebecca asked. “I don’t know how soon we’re going to wrap this up but—” She looked at Logan. “It’s your house. Am I presuming to invite a guest?”
He gave her a quick hug. “Not at all. Randi, you’re more than welcome.”
“Thanks. I do have an overnight bag in my car. My go-bag. I never travel without it. I’ll just follow you out of town.”
“You could leave your car here and ride with me,” Ben blurted out.
Everyone turned to stare at him. Logan forced himself to swallow a smile.
That fast, huh?
“I think Miss Turner probably wants to have her own wheels with her, right, Randi?”
Her faint blush told him that whatever current had passed between her and Ben had sizzled her nerves too. Well. Didn’t that just present another wrinkle in the situation?
“Um, yes, but thank you so much.”
“Rance?” Logan shook hands with him. “I’ll call you and give you an update as soon as we have things in place.”
“I’ll be waiting to hear from you. And if I get anything from my deputies I’ll pass it along.”
Chapter Thirteen
The beast crawled from its cave, sliding between the rocks, peering around to see if danger awaited it. Its sensors hadn’t indicated any but once or twice those sensors had been off and the creature had nearly paid for it. But now, as the sun rose high overhead, the desperate thirst for blood raced through its body again. Somewhere in its brain, whatever sent indicators to various parts of its body was sig
naling that it was time to hunt again. The big prey.
Blood!
The thirst for it—the uncontrollable need—was like a rampaging monster devouring it. The small creatures had settled immediate hunger, the need for flesh, but not the overpowering craving for the blood that only the specific prey could provide.
Sometimes the beast’s head ached as messages bombarded its brain with unrelenting force. What was it supposed to do? How was it supposed to do it? Hunt at night? During the day? But then, as if a train had finally found its way onto a track, the stream of signals became one long prompt. And its body would respond. Just as now, when it knew the hunt was on.
It had searched the area programmed into its brain, finding the first two victims easily. Expanding beyond its boundaries was tempting but each time it passed a certain point painful jolts would zap through its body, pushing it back to the defined area.
Isolated.
Unprotected.
Unsuspecting.
Like other wild animals they were the same parameters used to define and hunt prey. The beast had identified its third victim and now the urge to attack and kill possessed it.
With an unholy roar it leaped from its place and raced away, homing in on the kill.
* * * * *
Russ Connolly stood on his back porch, late afternoon sunlight warming his face, watching his Malamute Shadow doing his “I’m glad to be out of the house” dance. The animal wore a collar that received signals from the electronic fence Russ had installed. He hadn’t wanted to fence his property with actual fencing. The ten acres sat about five miles outside of Overlook, close enough to town for convenience but far enough out that he could enjoy the isolation. The feeling of being embraced by nature.
He liked the fact that white-tailed deer could venture from the protection of the huge ponderosa pines, stopping to stare at his house. In the spring it wasn’t unusual to see fawns nursing, the does standing stock-still as if frozen in place. In the winter the rutting bucks with massive racks thundered across his backyard as they chased the does. And of course there was the other wildlife, large and small, that he often glimpsed.
The electronic fence kept Shadow from racing into the woods and getting lost or worse yet killed. It was bad enough that the occasional stray dog found its way into his yard. Just yesterday, in fact, a mutt of indeterminate heritage had come loping down the driveway, wagging its tail, tongue lolling. Obviously looking for food, but Russ was smart enough to know if he gave it anything he’d never get rid of it. When the dog had growled—baring its teeth at the lack of response—Russ had hurried back into the house and kept Shadow away from his doggie door.
Now, standing on his back porch, a shiver ran down his spine, the kind people always said meant someone was walking on your grave. Only of course he wasn’t dead yet. Retired, but far from dead.
He whistled for the Malamute.
“Come on, boy. Come here. We’re going inside.”
But the dog had stopped where it was, the hair raised on its back, teeth pulled back in a snarl. A growl issued from his throat, the kind signaling that danger was near. Russ looked around but nothing appeared out of the ordinary. He took a step off the porch toward the dog, barely noticing a shadow detaching itself from the stand of trees nearest the house.
His heart stopped at the apparition that emerged and he turned to race inside, yelling for Shadow. Too late. With an unholy roar the beast was on him and Russ Connolly fell into the snow, gripped by the worst pain he’d ever felt in his life.
* * * * *
Rebecca disconnected the call on her sat phone and looked at the people sitting around the dining room table. She waited until Logan had finished the call he was on, one that apparently was not good news, judging from the look on his face. She wondered what that was all about.
“That was Ric,” she said. “He’ll be here any time now. He plans to land in the yard just behind your house and wants to know if there’s anything beneath the snow he needs to watch out for.”
“No. He’s good.” A muscle twitched in his jaw.
Rebecca’s stomach cramped. Something really bad was happening.
“What is it, Logan? Another kill? So soon?”
He shook his head. “That was Rance Danvers. Apparently his people haven’t been able to sit on all the specifics of Jade Robinson’s death and the gruesome details have made their way into the community. He said it’s spreading through the county like wildfire.”
“But isn’t that good?” Randi asked. “If the deputies have been out trying to warn people to be careful, won’t this make them more cautious?
Anger flashed in Logan’s eyes. “Some asshole has started the rumor that the sheriff—and Rebecca and me—made up the monster to cover the fact that the killings are actually the work of a human. And they want Rance to come out here and arrest him.”
“What?” Rebecca was stunned. “That’s absurd. Do they even have a candidate for that?”
“Unfortunately, yes.” He looked at Ben, and Rebecca got that sick feeling in her stomach. “You’re the newcomer to the area so they’ve decided you’re it.”
“What?” He stood up so suddenly his chair crashed over backward. “Are you fucking kidding me?”
“I wish. You’re the unknown so apparently someone’s decided you’re out killing residents for the sport of it. Rance said someone told him they think it’s the effects of PTSD, because of your tours in Afghanistan and Iraq.”
Rebecca glanced at Randi, who looked as if she was about to pass out. Rebecca put her hand on the other woman’s arm.
“I can promise you that’s not true, Randi. We haven’t known Ben that long but I can tell you with no reservation that this is nothing but a crazy rumor someone started.”
“Because they can’t accept the facts,” Logan added. “Sit down, Ben. Please. Ric will be here any minute and we can start our search again.”
“Sit down?” Ben looked around, wild-eyed. “What the fuck? How can I sit down when the population of this great county is after my head?”
“Sit down, Ben,” Rebecca repeated. She wasn’t sure who to attend to first—Randi who still looked about to faint or Ben who looked as if he might stroke out. “Everybody take a deep breath. Logan, where’s that good bourbon you mentioned the other night?”
“The bar in my den, but I’ll get it.”
“No.” She rose from her seat. “You keep everyone calm here. I’ll pour us all a stiff drink. I think we can use it.”
By the time she returned to the kitchen, filled four rocks glasses with ice and poured drinks for everyone Ben had taken his seat again.
He still looks ready to bolt any minute.
But a healthy sip of the aged whiskey put some color back in Randi’s face and took the edge off Ben’s nerves. He still vibrated with tension but the wild look was gone from his eyes.
Logan was about to say something when they heard the familiar whop! whop! whop! of chopper blades. Rebecca looked out the window and watched the helicopter land amid a swirl of the snow it kicked up.
“Everyone stay here,” he said. “I’ll get Ric.”
The look he exchanged with Rebecca was unmistakable.
We have to keep things under control.
But as Logan opened the back door they heard the screech of sirens as at least one sheriff’s vehicle came screeching up the driveway.
It took every effort from both Logan and Rebecca not to let things get out of hand during the next ten minutes. She slid Randi out of the room and into the den, telling her to stay there.
Logan met Rance Danvers at the door and refused to allow him into the house. Ric managed to make it in through the back door and lock it just as two deputies rounded the corner of the house. Rebecca pulled her gun from her purse on the counter and Ric slipped his from the holster at the small of his back.
“You’re making a big mistake, Logan.” The anger in Danvers’ voice was like a knife slicing through the air. “You don’t know
this man any better than I do. These people could be right.”
“Get in here.” Logan’s voice was tight with rage. “Just you. The rest of you stay the hell out there.”
Rebecca heard footsteps and in a moment Logan and the sheriff appeared in the kitchen.
“Now.” Logan stared at Danvers. “Let’s put this bullshit aside and talk facts. Who the hell started this anyway?”
“I don’t know, Logan. I wish I did. All of a sudden there’s a gang of people busting into my office demanding I arrest Ben Crater.” He sighed. “I think we should have started showing those photos of yours around after Jade was killed.”
“And then what? You think anyone would have believed it? You didn’t at first, and neither did most of your deputies.”
Danvers lifted his hat, raked his fingers through his short-cropped hair and set his hat back on his head. “My deputies know Ben’s truck is out there. What am I supposed to do? Send them away?”
“You tell them I’ll bring him in but not with a lynch mob waiting.”
“Wait a minute,” Ben interrupted.
Logan held up his hand. “Think about this, Rance. If you bring Ben in, that leaves the beast still out there. We’ve figured out that its programming has probably been tinkered with. What if its kill cycle is now four instead of three? Do you really want it roaming around your county?”
Danvers looked as if he wanted to cut someone’s throat. “Of course not. But all these damn people are just—”
“Get everyone the hell out of here,” Logan broke in. “You too. We’ll get the beast for you but we need some breathing space.” He gestured at Ric. “Meet Ric Garza. He brought our ‘eye in the sky’ and we’re going hunting. But not until you’re all out of here.”
At that moment the radio on the sheriff’s belt squawked at him. He lifted it to his mouth with an impatient gesture.
“What?”
“Sheriff?” The voice of the dispatcher cut into the tension-filled air. “We’ve got another one.”
“Another what?” he demanded.
“Body.” The woman’s voice sounded panicked. “Just like Jade Robinson.”
Branded by Lust: 4 (Night Seekers) Page 19
