Now Jocelyn understood why Trevor had gone along with this plan—to allow Jocelyn into a dangerous situation. He’d give away the sting operation if he sent in backup or sent someone else in Jocelyn’s place. The only way forward was to send Jocelyn, to make Regina believe she’d drawn a real estate agent with long dark hair and a name that began with a J into her clutches. She’d try to live out her warped plan, picking out women who reminded her of the one who’d damaged her.
“We need surveillance vans near each bus stop on the line. A sniper up high. Boots on the ground and wheels on the street.” Trevor began assigning tasks to the members. SWAT would cover the street; the surveillance teams were already in place. Two snipers left the room to go to their locations.
“Any questions?”
An officer raised his hand, pointer finger up.
Trevor nodded.
“Will Jocelyn be wired?”
“She’ll wear a tracking device. No radio. We’ll have the ability to listen to everything said within two hundred yards.”
“At what point do we go in for the package?” a burly man standing in the back of the room with his arms folded over his beefy chest asked.
By package, he meant Jocelyn. At what point would the team move in to rescue her? She turned to Trevor, who met her look grimly.
“At any point when her safety is compromised. Regina pulls a weapon. We lose sight of Jocelyn. Take no chances.”
“I’ll give you a sign,” Jocelyn said, and when Trevor’s gaze grew impatient, she added, “If I’m in a position to hand her over to authorities, or can keep her from getting away, give me the opportunity. I’ll know when I need help.”
Trevor thought that through and said, “Fine. The code is Time for some pie. You say that, the team goes in.”
“Agreed,” she said.
“But if I think you’re in too much danger, I can say the same.” He scanned the entire team, meeting each man’s and woman’s eyes. “Each and every one of you is authorized to use the code. If you see Jocelyn in danger, if you think she needs help, use the code.”
A chorus of “Yes, sir” passed through the crowd.
“Roger that,” the burly man said, giving Jocelyn a nod.
Reassuring, to know she had a team of confident commandos backing her. But Trevor might be taking his protectiveness too far. And then again, maybe not. She trusted him to keep her safe.
When no one else asked any more questions, Trevor said, “All right. Let’s catch this killer.”
Chapter 15
Jocelyn drove to the bus stop in a car the bureau gave her. The plates would trace to Jocelyn the real estate agent, not Jocelyn of the FBI. She parked and climbed out, walking down the sidewalk with soundless steps. She’d dressed in slacks and a business jacket and tactical shoes that would pass as business. She’d clipped her hair up in a prudish bun and donned her stylish sunglasses. She and Trevor had had just enough time to go back to the apartment to change and arm up.
With a gun in her purse and a knife strapped to her calf, she arrived at the bus stop and searched the area. A man waited for the bus, sitting on the bench absorbed with his cell phone. Cars passed on the four-lane road, one-story strip malls on each side, dated and run-down. She took out the cell phone they used for the sting operation and waited.
As the bus approached, the phone rang.
“Looks like I’ll be getting on the bus,” she said, knowing the team would hear. She answered the call. “Yes?”
“Get on the bus.”
“And then what?”
“Just get on the bus.” Regina disconnected.
With a look around, Jocelyn boarded and sat in the middle, checking each face. None looked like the waitress from Buckaroo Burgers. The man who’d sat on the bench passed her and sat a few rows down.
The bus rolled out and Jocelyn looked down at the phone. It didn’t ring until the bus reached the next stop.
“Yes?”
“Get off here.”
Jocelyn looked back and checked all the faces again. How had Regina known exactly when she’d arrive? She checked the street through the windows. Traffic passed as the bus stopped along the curb.
She followed the man from the other stop off the bus. He walked down the street, seeming oblivious.
Jocelyn searched for signs of Regina. The last stop had been located in a rough area, but this one far surpassed that. A topless bar across the street wouldn’t be open for several more hours, but the hole-in-the-wall a couple of doors down had already drawn a bawdy crowd. A drunk man stumbled outside and two more leather-clad, tattooed men with greasy hair entered.
The bus pulled back out into the street and Jocelyn felt a moment of aloneness that had her questioning the wisdom of doing this.
Trevor had the team in place. He had everything under control...except his overprotectiveness.
A car drove up and parked. The passenger window rolled down.
“You’re the lady who’s meeting the waitress?” the driver asked. A middle-aged man with an untrimmed mustache and tired, bloodshot brown eyes, he seemed ignorant of the purpose of the meeting.
“Who are you?” Jocelyn stepped closer to the car as the cell rang again.
“I’m your driver. I’ll take you where you need to go.”
“You’re a cab driver?”
“A private one. I don’t work for any company. I do this on the side.”
The cell rang twice more. She answered.
“Get in the car.”
“Why? Where will it take me?”
“Get in the car or the woman dies.”
Jocelyn began to have a bad feeling. She looked for Trevor’s team and didn’t see anyone. She didn’t see the man who’d left the bus in front of her, either.
“Who is the driver?”
“You ask too many questions. He doesn’t know anything. Get in the car.” Regina hung up.
Jocelyn debated going into the car a few seconds and then opened the back door. She checked the interior for anything suspicious. No litter cluttered the floor or seats. The driver had no identification.
“Your fare has already been paid,” the driver said.
Jocelyn sat in the back and reluctantly closed the door. “How do you know Regina Willard?”
“Who?” The driver pulled out into the street, glancing in the rearview mirror.
“Regina Willard. Isn’t that who paid you?”
“I don’t know no Regina Willard.”
“Who paid you, then?”
“She didn’t give me her name. It’s the kind of business I do. I don’t ask. I just get paid well for what I do.”
“Driving people to suspicious places?”
“Driving, errands. I’m a multitasker.”
For criminals? Maybe he’d be arrested when this was over.
“How did she know to call you?”
“Don’t know how she got my name. Word travels on the street. I have a reputation for discretion.”
“Even when crimes are committed.”
“I don’t get involved in anyone’s business, ma’am. I’ll drop you off at the address given to me, and then I’ll leave. Whatever business you have with the lady who paid me is none of mine.”
“What did the woman look like?” Jocelyn removed her wallet from her purse and took out a photo of Regina. “Did she look like this?”
The driver took the photo she handed to him and looked from that to the road a few times.
“Yeah. ’Cept with red hair.” He handed the photo back.
The driver looked into the rearview mirror, clearly curious as to why she carried a picture of the woman who’d paid him to drive her somewhere.
Regina had kidnapped Janice and decided to use her to
draw Jocelyn. A real two-for-one. This time Regina planned to kill two women who had names that began with J.
“She paid you in advance?” Jocelyn asked.
“Yes. That’s one of my requirements. The other is not to tell me your business.” His gaze stayed in the mirror longer than the other times.
“Where did you meet her?”
“I mean no disrespect, ma’am. You don’t discuss your business and I don’t discuss mine.”
When he drove out of the city and onto a country road, Jocelyn had to quell rising apprehension.
* * *
Trevor did not like this. “She’s moving her too many times.”
“Easy,” Chief Murray said. He’d driven the unmarked police car behind the bus. They’d parked down the street to wait. When the strange car had appeared and Regina instructed Jocelyn to get in, Trevor felt an ulcer developing in his stomach. Now the car left the city.
“We’re going to be made,” one of the teammates said into the radio. “It’s too open out here.”
“Stay back,” Trevor said. The best way to protect Jocelyn right now would be to avoid detection.
Murray slowed and let the other car gain distance.
“Don’t let us get farther than two hundred yards from her.” As long as they could hear her, they could find her. He hoped.
* * *
“This must have cost her a fortune.” How could a waitress afford to pay for an expensive taxi fee? Janice was a successful woman. Maybe she’d taken the money from her.
A ranch came into view. When the driver slowed to make the turn onto the driveway, Jocelyn knew she’d reached her destination.
“An abandoned ranch?” She spoke aloud so the team could hear.
The house had boarded-up windows and missing trim. The roof must surely leak. Weeds grew into the driveway. The barn appeared the least weathered, metal roof still intact, red paint fading but still passable. Whoever owned the place, or used to, must have cared more for their livestock than their home.
“What is this place?” she asked.
“Don’t know.” The driver stopped at the end of the driveway, where a carport had fallen over and broken into several pieces.
Jocelyn studied the buildings, looking for signs of Regina. She could be hiding somewhere with a gun aimed at her, red marker ready.
“You going to meet this woman or not?” the driver asked.
At least he wouldn’t leave her here. Balancing his clientele must get challenging in situations like this. Had he ever been threatened by anyone for not dropping off his riders?
“Won’t you be in trouble if you drive me back to the city?”
“I have my terms, and I have security—also part of my reputation. Discretion comes with a price. People respect mine, I respect theirs. It’s simple.”
“Right. Simple.” Jocelyn took out her pistol. She had a big purse to carry this beauty. Seeing the driver twist to see better what she had in her hand, Jocelyn opened the back door. “Thanks for the ride.”
He said nothing as she left the vehicle. Regina had to be his most dangerous client to date.
With no trees to cover her approach she had to assume Regina already saw her. She walked with her hand on the gun inside her purse, the purse securely strapped from shoulder to hip.
When the sound of the unmarked taxi driving away faded, the doors to the barn opened and Regina appeared. She went back into the barn and got into a car. Driving out, she stopped in front of Jocelyn, the passenger window down.
“Get in.”
“I think I’ll pass. Where’s your friend Janice?” Jocelyn saw no sign of her.
Clever.
“Don’t try anything or you will never find her. Get in.”
It didn’t matter if Regina thought Jocelyn had come armed and would consider trying to overtake her. Jocelyn wouldn’t try anything until she knew Janice was safe.
Wherever she kept Janice, she’d arranged for Jocelyn to be dropped off here. Even the discreet driver wouldn’t be able to say where Jocelyn had been taken.
“I’ll just drive away and no one will be able to save Janice. Do you want that on your conscience? You let an innocent woman die because you wouldn’t get into the car?”
“Why should I care about some woman I’ve never met?”
Regina smiled wickedly. “You obviously do, or you wouldn’t have come this far. You passed your first test.”
So, she had tested Jocelyn to see how much she cared? If she hadn’t been able to draw her out, what then? Just be satisfied with killing one woman whose name began with a J?
“Why are you doing this?” Jocelyn asked.
“All you cheating women are the same. You’ll take any man from a woman who’s better suited for him. You control them and warp their thinking. You poison them. Well, no more. Get in.”
“I’d be stupid to get in this car with you.”
“Then Janice dies.” She began to slide up the window.
“Wait.” Jocelyn had pushed all she could. She had to get into the car. She did.
Sitting in a killer’s vehicle unnerved her. She struggled to get back on track. Be the agent. She’d trained for this.
Regina drove her back in the direction of the city, all the way to the first bus stop, turning on a street not far from there and driving into the parking lot of an abandoned warehouse.
Jocelyn recalled that Janice’s pleading voice had echoed. She was inside this building.
“You took Janice to this warehouse?” she said for the team.
“Shut up and go inside.”
Jocelyn got out of the car and walked toward a metal door. Regina used a key to unlock it, looking around to make sure no one saw, not knowing that she had an audience of police and FBI personnel.
Inside, the warehouse gaped open and empty.
“Help me!” a woman screamed. “I’m in here!”
Jocelyn had to decide her next action. Should she wait or take her chance now to overpower Regina.
The crazed woman had her back to her, overconfident as Trevor had accurately assessed, more concerned with the noise Janice made than anything Jocelyn might do. Now would be an opportune time.
Not wasting another second, Jocelyn took out her pistol and pressed it to Regina’s head. “Hands up, Regina.” For the team, she said, “Time for some pie.”
Regina stopped and her head whipped to see her. “What did you say?”
“Time for some pie. Hands up where I can see them. Now.”
“Who the—”
“Get your hands up now!” Jocelyn shouted.
Regina lifted her hands. She had made a mistake not keeping her attention on Jocelyn. “You’re under arrest for the murders of several women.” She began to name off the victims one by one. Her backup would be here anytime. Regina was captured.
“Who are you?” Regina asked when Jocelyn finished reading her rights.
“Jocelyn Locke, FBI.” She patted Regina down and quickly found her weapon. Sliding it out from the back waist of her jeans, she held it up in front of Regina’s face before tucking it in her own pants.
When all she got was a glare, Jocelyn finished patting her down. “We’ve had you under surveillance for a while now.” She reached for her handcuffs and then remembered she’d left them behind because too much gear would be too noticeable.
Regina eyed her with mounting hatred. “You’ve been watching me?”
“Yes. The restaurant? The hamburger complaints?” She put both hands on the pistol as she aimed. “The pie?” She breathed a short laugh. “Delicious, by the way.”
“You faked all that.” Disbelief rang in Regina’s tone.
Enough chatter. “Walk,” Jocelyn ordered. “Take me to Janice.” Jocelyn jabbed Reg
ina’s ribs with her gun. “Keep your hands up.”
Regina obeyed and headed for an enclosed office near the front, using a key for the padlock holding the door secure and inescapable. As she pushed the door open, Jocelyn spotted a frightened, tear-streaked Janice cowering on the floor, knees bent and shaking, hands tied behind her back and to the exposed plumbing of what had once been a bathroom. On the ledge and out of reach, Regina had left a big knife.
“Untie her.” Jocelyn gave Regina another jab. “Now.” She glanced back at the warehouse entrance. Where the hell was the team? They should be swarming this place by now.
Regina untied Janice, who scurried over to Jocelyn.
“You’re safe now. Help is on the way.”
Wasn’t it?
* * *
“Damn it!” Trevor slapped the dashboard. “I told you not to fall more than two hundred yards away!”
“Regina would have made us. It was too open by the abandoned ranch. We had to wait until she started driving down the highway.”
Regina had driven fast back into town. They’d reached the city with no signal from Jocelyn.
“Unit 1, any sign?” Trevor asked into the radio.
“Negative.”
“Negative for Unit 2.”
“Unit 3, as well.”
“Drive a grid.” He ordered the units to spread out and work their way deeper into the city. They had enough vehicles to cover the ground fairly quickly, but would it be fast enough?
* * *
“What are we waiting for?” Janice asked.
Jocelyn would like to know the answer to that, as well. That gnawing apprehension had mushroomed in the past few minutes. Had the team lost contact with her?
“My team will be here any moment.” Although Jocelyn sounded confident, Regina didn’t look convinced.
A Baby for Agent Colton Page 18
