Picture Perfect Murder

by Rachel Dylan

  “You said that she was with Jackson? Are you absolutely sure that she was with him?”

  “I left for dinner before she did, but that was the plan. He was going to come pick her up and take her out.”

  “And you’ve tried Jackson, too?”

  “Yes. No answer from him, either.”

  “Alison, I’m going to ask you something, and I need you to think carefully before you answer.”

  “Okay.”

  “Do you know if Jackson has ever had any interest in Lily that goes beyond friendship?”

  “Well, he definitely crushed on her hard in high school. I think she was totally oblivious to it. But since we have been adults, if he has romantic feelings for her, he hasn’t mentioned it to me.” She paused. “You’re beginning to frighten me, Rex. What are implying?”

  “I’m just trying to consider the big picture.”

  “Jackson wouldn’t hurt Lily, if that’s what you’re thinking. He loves her. We’re a tight-knit group. The three of us have known each other since we were children. There’s just—there’s just no way.”

  “I want to make sure I get all the facts from you right now.”

  Then he heard Alison start to cry. “You’re serious, aren’t you? Jackson is a killer? He murdered all those women? And maybe even Lily, too?” Her voice cracked as she spoke.

  That was exactly what Rex was afraid of. “Alison, just sit tight. Let me make some calls and get back to you.”

  “All right.”

  “Oh, one more thing. Where is Grace?”

  “She’s here with me. She’s fine.”

  “Thanks. I’ll call you back.”

  Rex knew that Lily wouldn’t have left Grace overnight without letting Alison know. He called Derrick immediately and filled him in on the situation. As he spoke to Derrick, he jogged out to his car and started driving. He had to get to the prison quickly. Something was terribly off. There was a missing piece of information, and he felt that Sean would be the one to have it.

  After pulling some strings and working with Derrick, Rex was able to get in front of Sean, even though he was technically on leave from the FBI.

  Across the prison glass, Rex looked into Sean’s eyes and saw what he already knew. “You made a false confession. Didn’t you? Why?”

  Sean looked down and back up. “I’m so sorry. But the killer threatened my kid sister and her newborn baby. And my mother. Said he would butcher them all into a million pieces. I had no choice.” Tears filled Sean’s eyes. “I couldn’t let that happen to them. Not if there was something I could do to stop it. I knew what that guy was capable of, so I didn’t want to test him.”

  “Who is he?” Rex asked.

  Sean shook his head. “I don’t know. My attorney brought me the letter during one of our visits to discuss my case. It was in a sealed envelope.”

  “Did your attorney know what was in the letter?”

  “No. And I just assumed the note was from my family because the killer had put their return address on it. That indicated that this madman knew exactly where my family lived. It wasn’t an idle threat. Either I confessed or my loved ones would be killed.”

  Rex had to admit it was a brilliant strategy on the killer’s part. All roads led to Jackson, but he needed to get out of that prison and start tracking him down. If he wasn’t already too late.

  TWELVE

  Lily awoke with a strange taste in her mouth. Then she realized that she had been gagged. She tried to move, but Jackson had tied her to a chair with her arms behind her back. Her body ached all over and her neck was stiff. She had no concept of time and how long she had been out.

  She looked at her surroundings and instantly knew she was in the basement of the log cabin. There were no windows and no visible exits, except up the steps to the main floor. Immediately, she started working on the ropes that bound her ankles and wrists. She’d been trained in techniques to get out of situations just like this. But she would need a little time, and her escape would be contingent on the strength of the knots. There was no way she was giving up without a fight. She hadn’t made it this far to die in a basement at the hands of a man she’d thought was a friend but was actually a cold-blooded killer. She’d now been terribly wrong about two men in her life. Well, at least she’d been right about Rex. Would she ever see him again?

  Lord, I’m going to fight my hardest to get out of here, but if I don’t make it out alive, I want to make sure I’m right with You. I know I turned away from You and hardened my heart. But I want to walk with You again. I want an opportunity to grow my faith. Yet, if this is the plan You have for me, I can accept it. Just please forgive me.

  She let out a deep breath and started to think. While she was relieved to know that she’d been right about Sean, she was horrified to think that Jackson was the killer. Had he really been hung up on her all these years? The look in his eyes had been one of total delusion. And as much as she hated to believe it, there had also been an evil gleam. One that she’d never seen from him before.

  Jackson had been the kid who was a friend to everyone. And as an adult, he seemed totally put together. A solid job, a tight circle of friends. He was compassionate and helpful. Now she felt the man who had done this was a total stranger.

  “You’re awake.”

  She looked up to see Jackson walking down the steps and into the basement.

  “Jackson, we need to talk,” she said. She didn’t even know where she was going to go with this, but she had to do something before it was too late.

  “I agree.”

  He seemed so calm right now, as if they were about to have a friendly chat over coffee. Just like old times. Except that nothing was like it used to be. Her life, even if there wasn’t much of it left on this earth, had been forever changed by this man.

  “I was a bit overbearing last night.” He pulled one of the other wooden chairs directly in front of her and took a seat.

  She started putting the pieces together and realized it must only be the next day. Maybe morning? Or later? One thing she knew was that she had to keep him talking. She had to buy time in hopes that Rex would find her. It was a long shot, but it was the best she had. She felt she could take Jackson in hand-to-hand combat, but tied up she was practically helpless. She needed more time to work on the ropes.

  “I should’ve given you the opportunity to really tell me how you feel about me,” he said. He reached out and touched her cheek, and she didn’t flinch. She couldn’t let him see her sweat. And she definitely couldn’t act repulsed by him. If she needed to play a part right now to stay alive, she was going to give it her best shot. Her CIA training would get her through this. It had to.

  “You’re one of my oldest and dearest friends, Jackson. You understand that, right?”

  “You know, I was mad about you leaving after college and going completely off the grid. Never calling or anything. But once I learned about your CIA career, I was able to forgive that.”

  “Thank you,” she said. “I’m sorry that I had to break off most contacts. It was just easier that way. And safer for all of you.”

  He nodded. “But what I don’t understand is how you could’ve chosen the FBI agent over me.”

  She needed to keep her cool. “Like I told you before, Jackson, there is absolutely nothing going on between me and Rex.”

  “I want to believe that, Lil. I really do.” He looked down at his watch and frowned. “We’re going to have to leave the cabin soon. It’s only a matter of time before Alison starts to worry about you and the FBI gets onto our trail.”

  “What’s the endgame here? Where are you going to take me?”

  “Don’t worry about all of those details. Rest assured, I’ve planned for every contingency. You’ll be well taken care of.”

  “If you want to be w
ith me, then why do you have me tied up? That’s not exactly a way to make me feel loved.”

  He cocked his head to the side. “We’re way past love, Lil. You’ve forced me to do awful things. Kill so many people. All because of you. And now you’re going to have to pay for that by dealing with some rules and regulations that I have put in place to make sure that we can be together.”

  She swallowed and contemplated her next move in this chess game. She let some silence pass between them before asking, “What do you want from me?”

  He smiled. “I want you, Lil. All of you. Forever. You’re mine and no one else’s now.”

  “Will you stop hurting other women now that you have me?”

  “That’s really none of your concern.”

  “Please, Jackson. If you care for me like you say you do, then you’ll do as I ask and stop the killing.”

  His hand connected with her face before she even registered the hard slap. She recoiled. She hadn’t expected this violent outburst from him. And then just as she was catching her breath and trying to compose herself, he hit her again. Hard. She tasted the tinge of blood in her mouth.

  As she made eye contact with him she felt that he might just finish her off right then and there. She steadied herself as she waited for the next blow.

  “Why did you make me do that, Lil?” He stood up and started pacing. “You’re always making me do these things I don’t really want to do.”

  She didn’t respond.

  “Now you’re bleeding!”

  It was at that moment that Lily realized she’d made good progress on the ropes around her ankles and her wrists.

  He walked away from her, and she quickly kept maneuvering out of the ankle ropes and wrist ties until they were both loosened enough for her to break out of.

  A few minutes later, he strode back into the room with a washcloth in hand. His mental illness was evident. Hitting her one moment and trying to take care of her the next. But she was smart enough to know that the ending Jackson had planned would be a deadly one. She had to fight back if there was any chance of getting out of this alive.

  When he crouched down in front of her and placed the warm washcloth on her lip, she took a deep breath, sending up a prayer for help.

  This was the opportunity she needed. She delivered a swift, hard kick upward to his groin. He fell over on the ground and moaned. She didn’t waste a second.

  She ran as fast as she could up the stairs and out of the cabin.

  * * *

  Rex had picked up Derrick and now they were speeding down the road. Jackson had once offered up his cabin to Lily to use as a safe place. Rex was now banking on the fact that Jackson would’ve taken her there. Alison didn’t know the exact location, but she did know the time frame for when Jackson had bought it and the FBI was able to run a property search to determine the cabin’s location.

  Rex only prayed that they wouldn’t be too late.

  “She’s going to be okay, man,” Derrick said, attempting to reassure him.

  “I appreciate you saying that, but you and I both know that she’s in the hands of a psychotic serial killer.” Rex accelerated his already fast pace as he said those words. “Even a minute could make the difference between Lily living or dying.”

  “I still can’t believe what he did to Sean. And that Sean went along with it.”

  “If he’d threatened to kill your family, including an innocent child, you would’ve done the same thing.”

  “You’re probably right. It’s an awful scenario any way you look at it.” Derrick checked the GPS. “We’re about fifteen minutes out.”

  Rex planned to cut that down to ten. Now they seemed to be in the middle of nowhere, weaving through the Georgia countryside. It was amazing how rural it could get just half an hour outside the city.

  “This area appears to include a lot of farmland,” Derrick said.

  “Perfect place for a serial killer,” Rex said, not hiding his sarcasm. “I still can’t believe I didn’t even consider Jackson. I sat across from him at the kitchen table. I interviewed him. Asked him questions about his friendship with Lily, and I never saw it coming.”

  “No one did. We were all off base. No one ever considered that Lily was actually the impetus for the killing to start. We just assumed she was just like any of the other victims.”

  “If something happens to her, Derrick, I don’t know how I’ll be able to shoulder that type of pain and guilt.”

  “Don’t think like that. None of this is your fault.”

  “It sure feels as though it is.” He’d replayed every single interaction with Jackson over and over in his mind, trying to figure out how he could’ve missed the signs. “I should’ve put together the connection. He should’ve at least been on my radar. But he just seemed so benign. He showed what I thought was genuine concern for her well-being, as any real friend would.”

  “Like I said, he had us all fooled.”

  “That doesn’t provide me much solace if she’s dead.”

  “Don’t talk like that.” Derrick paused. “Take this next turn on your right. We’re almost there.”

  Rex didn’t take his eyes off the road as they sped down the street that led to a large multistoried cabin. It certainly didn’t look like a serial killer’s den. Bright blooming flowers lined the front yard. The main house was flanked by a smaller barn off to one side and a wooded area on the other.

  “Don’t hesitate to use whatever force necessary to take this guy out,” Derrick said.

  “You don’t have to remind me of that.” Lord, please let Lily be alive and unharmed. He stopped the car and jumped out, gun drawn. He wasn’t taking any chances.

  They ran toward the cabin and saw that the front door was wide-open. “Let’s clear this house ASAP.” He rushed down the basement steps fearing the worst—afraid that he’d find Lily’s dead body. But what he found gave him hope.

  He saw a chair and ropes. Also blood speckled on the floor. Had he tied her up? Had she gotten away?

  Then the dreaded thought came to him that they were too late. That Jackson had taken her and was long gone.

  Derrick joined him in the basement. “The rest of the cabin is clear.”

  “Look at this.”

  “There was a struggle here,” Derrick said. “Maybe she was able to get away.”

  “Or she tried to fight him off and he took her to another location?”

  “We can’t do much about it if he’s already on the road. We’ll have to radio that in. But since his truck is still here, it’s most likely that they are both here, unless he had another vehicle. Backup is about fifteen minutes out. We can canvass the area until they get here.”

  “We need the search-and-rescue canines out here,” Rex said. “This property is huge.”

  “They’re en route,” Derrick said. “I requested them as we were leaving because of the rural setting.”

  “I’m not going to wait on them, though.” He jogged back up the steps and walked through the cabin with Derrick right behind him. Rex exited the front door and started his search.

  “If I were her, I would’ve headed toward the woods,” Rex said. “It would provide Lily with much more cover. If she headed west, she’d encounter wide-open fields and the road, making her an easy target.” If she’d been able to get away unharmed, Rex felt Lily could hold her own against Jackson, given her extensive training. But that was a lot of ifs.

  Right now he had to try to keep his head on straight and not lose hope. There was no time for second-guessing. If Lily was in those woods, he was going to find her.

  * * *

  Keeping up a solid pace, Lily ran like the wind, her arms and legs aching from her overnight ordeal. She’d never been more thankful for all of her physical training, and hoped she could outrun Jacks
on. Or at least put distance in between them. That was her first objective.

  Well, her first objective was to stay alive. But after that she needed a plan. Each minute that she kept breathing, she felt more motivated to survive. She wasn’t going to give up.

  As she ran, she also kept her eyes open for a suitable hideout that would give her good visibility, but so far, no luck. The hilly terrain was jagged, with tons of rocks and branches. This hot pursuit reminded her of one of her first missions with the CIA when she’d got on the wrong side of a foreign asset. She prayed this ended the same way as that chase had. With her getting away safely.

  Her heart thumped loudly in her chest as her feet pounded into the damp ground.

  By the time she heard the footsteps gaining on her, it was too late.

  Jackson tackled her hard from behind. Hitting the ground covered in twigs, branches and rocks with full force, she tasted the grit of dirt in her mouth.

  She didn’t know what kind of weapon Jackson had, but it didn’t matter. She was going to fight for her life even at gunpoint because that was her only alternative. There was no way that Lily was going to let Jackson take her back to the cabin or his truck.

  Rolling over, she pushed him off her using all her strength. Jackson was taller and outweighed her by at least fifty pounds, but it was obvious that he wasn’t a trained fighter. She sprang to her feet and instead of trying to engage in direct combat, she started running again.

  “Lil, don’t make me end it this way,” he yelled.

  Then she heard the sound of gunshots. Much too close for comfort. She did her best to run in random patterns to try to avoid getting shot in the back. But she refused to stop because she couldn’t risk getting shot at point-blank range. Even if Jackson wasn’t a great shot, the closer he was, the better his chance of hitting her. This method at least gave her a chance to get away.

  Her heart pounded as adrenaline surged through her body. In her efforts to try to avoid getting shot, she didn’t notice the uneven drop-off in the ground until it was too late. She fell into the pit and knew she’d made a deadly mistake.