Found With Murder

by Jenn Vakey

  “What is it?” he asked, tracing her gaze to the small pile of cigarette butts just to the side of the sidewalk.

  “It's…” she trailed off, trying to make sense of the knots she had at the sight of them. Rilynne closed her eyes and thought about it for several long moments before the heart wrenching realization hit her. She had seen a similar pile before. She'd seen them in a vision she had, right across the street from Lori's old house.

  “Oh, I'm so stupid,” she berated herself. She didn't know why it wasn't one of the first things she thought of. When she took in the perplexed look on Ben's face, she continued. “Lori moved here to escape a stalker. I saw something in a dream I had her first night here. He was standing in front of her house watching her with a pile like this at his feet. And this-” she stepped back toward the large tree on the edge of the yard “-is the perfect place to watch the house without being seen.”

  He pulled out his phone without needing to hear another word. Minutes later, Summers rolled up in front of the house. As she watched him carefully place each one of the butts into an evidence bag, she pulled her own phone out.

  “Matthews, do me a favor,” she said when his voice sounded across the line. “I want to keep it as quiet as possible, though.”

  “Did you find something?” he asked. There was an unmistakable note of fear in his tone.

  “Maybe. I need you to run a name for me and see if he's in town.”

  “What's the name?”

  Rilynne opened her mouth to respond before realizing she didn't have one. She looked at Ben helplessly for a moment before the answer sparked.

  “I don't have one, but Wooldridge will know it,” she said. “Ask him for the name of Lori's stalker in Bodker. Try to keep it quiet, though. She has enough going on right now. She doesn't need to have to deal with this on top of it.”

  After hanging up, she leaned against the tree and closed her eyes. She concentrated as hard as she could but nothing came. When she opened her eyes minutes later, she found Ben's gaze on her. Shrugging and giving him a half hearted smirk, she turned back to Summers.

  “Work with Wooldridge and Matthews,” she instructed. “They should be able to provide a DNA sample for you to compare these to. I also want it run through the system. Someone's been standing here watching the house, even if it wasn't the stalker.”

  He nodded as he slid the last one into the envelope before sealing it.

  Rilynne and Ben stood in place after he left instead of going inside. He seemed to be studying her face, trying to get a read on what she was thinking without asking her.

  “You don't want to tell her.” He said minutes later. It wasn't a question.

  Rilynne shook her head, not needing to think about it. “There's nothing she can tell us that we can't learn ourselves. Besides, I don't want to give her another reason to blame herself. She's doing enough of that as it is.”

  Ben nodded without arguing. He reached out to take her hand before leading her to the front door.

  When they walked in, they found Lori sitting on the couch, staring out the window with Kim's favorite teddy bear in her arms. She didn't even notice they were there until Rilynne sat down next to her.

  “She's going to be so scared without Mr. Fuzzy,” she said, squeezing the bear tightly. “She can't sleep without him at night. He keeps her safe from the dark. She says he scares the monsters away so they don't go in her room.”

  “She'll be glad to see him when she gets back,” Rilynne said. She felt helpless. She didn't even know how to ease her own mind, let alone her friends.

  Rilynne put her arm around Lori and sat with her in silence, watching the others in the room. Jerkins was sitting with the equipment he had set up on the table, sound asleep in his chair. He was still in the clothes he was wearing the day before, as was Lori.

  When her eyes shifted to the kitchen, she found Ben talking with Joe, each working on a large cup of coffee. The scene actually shocked her. Though they had been more tolerant of each other over the last several months, this was the first time she had ever seen them appear almost friendly.

  “I've tried to search my memory for anything that stands out as odd, hoping that I had seen someone watching us but didn't give it any thought at the time,” Lori said. “My head isn't working, though. I can't even remember little things like what the newspaper article I read the other morning was about. If I can't recall something so mundane, how am I supposed to remember anything important?”

  For the average person, not remembering something from a newspaper article wouldn't be anything to fret over. She knew why it was troubling Lori, though. Lori had a photographic memory and a genius level IQ. There was no question as to why she would be worrying over something so small. Rilynne didn't see reason to give it any thought, though. Lori was always very observant of her surroundings, especially when Kim was with her. If she had seen anyone, she wouldn't have overlooked it.

  “The only things in my head right now are the numbers,” Lori continued. “According to a recent study, 46 percent of abducted children are sexually abused, 31 percent are physically abused, 40 percent are killed, and 4 percent are never found. Of the children killed, 76 percent are killed within the first three hours and 89 percent are killed in the first twenty-four.”

  Lori always rattled off statistics when she was concerned or nervous. Rilynne knew all she could do was sit back and wait for her to calm. Short of telling Lori what she had seen, there wasn't anything she could say to convince her Kim wasn't part of the latter category.

  As bad as it made her feel, she was relieved when her phone rang moments later and she had an excuse to step away.

  “I need to take this,” she said, pushing herself off the couch. Lori slowly nodded but didn't turn to face her. She swept quickly out of the room before pulling the phone up to her ear. “What do you have?”

  Matthews let out a low sigh before speaking. “We found a flight from Milwaukee to San Antonio in Maloy's name two days before Kim was taken. We haven't found any record of him in town, but if I had to guess, I'd say he found her.”

  The air left Rilynne's lungs as she dropped back against the wall. “He's here, I know he is. Put in a call to all motels and cabin rentals. Send a picture and see if anyone has seen him. I want eyes on him by the end of the day. No one is to approach, though. If he has Kim, we need to follow him until he takes us to where he's holding her.”

  “What about Sibrian?” he asked.

  “I don't want to tell her anything until we have an answer.”

  He hesitated for a moment. Rilynne didn't need to ask why before she continued.

  “I know she'll be furious with me for keeping her in the dark, but I don't want to give her either false hope or something else to worry about,” she said. “I'll accept full responsibility for the decision. She can be as angry with me as she wants when all of this is done.”

  “All right,” he said uneasily. She could tell he still wasn't happy with the choice she made, but he didn't argue.

  She let out a low groan as she slid her phone back into her pocket. After taking several slow breaths to compose herself, she turned to find Ben and Joe watching her. She cursed under her breath and walked over to meet them in the kitchen.

  Joe's eyes shifted quickly to Lori and back. “What's going on?” he asked quietly. She wondered to herself if Ben had mentioned the decision to keep the new development from Lori, or if he had come to it on his own. “You know something; I can see it on your face. Tell me,” he demanded. “I want to know.”

  With a resigned sigh, she leaned against the island and ran her hands back over her face. “I assume Lori told you why she moved here?” she asked. The question made her feel uncomfortable. It was one thing to tell Matthews so he could look into it, but it felt almost like she was betraying her friend by telling Joe. “The real reason, that is?”

  His eyes settled back on Lori and he nodded.

  “Did he find her?” he asked. “Did he take Kim?�
�

  “We don't know,” she replied honestly, relieved that he already knew. “We're looking into the possibility, though. Actually, Harper might be able to help us if you'll allow it.”

  He kept his gaze on Lori for several long seconds before turning back to Rilynne. “I'll call my mom and have her bring him back. What is it you’ll need him to do?”

  “Just look at some pictures,” she said. “If we manage to track Maloy down before Harper gets back to town, we'll set up a line up for him to look at. He won’t have any direct contact with him, though.”

  “Even if he isn't the man who took Kim-” he said.

  Rilynne nodded. “I will do everything I can to keep him away from her,” she finished. “I'm sure I can find something to arrest him on. Maybe if he's harassed enough by the department, he'll give up and move on.”

  “Don't tell her,” he said shortly. “Not right now. She can't handle it right now.”

  She reached over the tiled island and placed her hand gently on his before nodding.

  As she walked back into the living room, she became convinced that if the department wasn't able to keep Maloy away from Lori, Joe would take it upon himself. Knowing Ben, he would probably want a piece of the action, as well. She was struck with the sudden realization that it was quite possible that both men might end up arrested before the year was out.

  Lori looked like she hadn't moved a muscle since she left her. She appeared almost like a statue, staring blankly out the window. It didn't last long, though. The moment Rilynne made to sit down, the phone across the room rang. Lori spun around and crossed the room before anyone else. Her shaking hand hovered over it impatiently until Jerkins nodded.

  “Hello?” she said timidly.

  Jerkins pushed a button seconds later that sent the conversation echoing through the room.

  “If you want to see Kim again, you will deliver three million dollars to the bench at the north side of the park at nine o'clock tonight. If I see police or anyone following me, you won't ever see her again. When I'm confident I'm safe, you will receive instructions that will take you to where she's being held.”

  The voice was distorted. His tone was harsh, though, which left her with an uneasy feeling. The look on Wilcome's face as he stood against the back wall said he felt the same.

  “Let me talk to my baby,” Lori stated. She was fighting back tears. “You won't get anything until I know she's all right.”

  They sat in silence for close to thirty seconds before another voice came through the line. Unlike the first, this one sent a spark of hope through everyone in the room.

  “Mommy?” Kim said. She sounded scared.

  Tears flooded down Lori's face. “Baby, are you all right?”

  “Yes. I miss you, Mommy,” she said. “I want to go home. I want to see you and my daddy.”

  Before Lori could say anything else, the man came back on.

  “Nine o'clock tonight, not a minute later.”

  When the line went dead, Rilynne turned back toward Wilcome. His brow was furrowed as he stared at the phone. She knew without asking that he noticed the same thing she had. The abductor's tone was different at the end of the call. He was angry.

  If Lori had noticed it, she wasn't reacting. The only thing showing on her face was relief. After the initial joy of hearing her daughter's voice, though, worry settled back in as she seemed to absorb the rest of it.

  Without a word, she stood up and walked quietly back to the living room, everyone else following close behind.

  “I'm going to get the location from the trace,” Jerkins said, reaching for his phone. Wilcome nodded and he walked out of the room.

  “Three million dollars?” Lori asked. She sat down on the large couch, Wilcome and Joe sitting on either side. Rilynne lowered down on the other sofa and dug her fingers into the back of her neck. Ben looked pensive as he sat down next to her, his knuckles dragging across his chin.

  Rilynne glanced up at him curiously for a moment. She knew him well enough to know when he was simply worried or if he was battling with something. This was the latter. She wondered about it for a few seconds before pushing it aside and turning back toward Lori.

  “I don’t know how we can pull together that much before the deadline,” Lori said. “I don’t even have a fraction of that.”

  “We can get it together,” Wilcome said. “It will take too long to get all of it from the department, but we'll be able to get some. As for the rest, Sherri and I have two hundred thousand dollars in savings.”

  Rilynne looked over at Wilcome, both shocked and impressed with his offer, then looked back at Lori. “I have a little over three hundred thousand dollars. I'll be able to get a couple thousand back on my dress,” she said, remembering the dream she'd had. “I can also…”

  Ben stood up and let out a deep breath, sending the room into silence.

  “I’ll pay it.”

  Chapter Seven

  “I can have the full amount here within six hours, less if I can get access to a helicopter to get me to San Antonio and back,” he said. “If that's possible, I can have it here in about three.”

  All eyes shifted to Ben, including Rilynne’s. She stared at him, not understanding exactly what was going on. He was shifting his eyes between Lori and Wilcome, both looking just as confused as Rilynne felt. He seemed to be avoiding her gaze completely.

  “Jared Lewis has a helicopter,” Rilynne said after a few moments. “He owes me a favor.”

  Wilcome stood up and started pacing around the room. His eyes shifted between Ben and the floor beneath him several times. She wasn’t sure she had ever seen him so confused. If the situation were different, she might actually be amused by it.

  “Okay,” he said after a few moments. “Let’s get this done.”

  Rilynne’s eyes were on Ben when she pulled her phone out of her pocket. He did the same, but still refused to look at her. Instead, he put the phone against his ear and walked out of the room.

  It took just minutes for her to get his ride arranged. Jared didn’t hesitate for a moment before offering his helicopter and even agreed to fly it himself. After making the arrangements, she walked to the kitchen and found Ben with an apprehensive expression. He was already off the phone and appeared to have been waiting for her.

  “So is that what you’ve been hiding from me?” she asked, leaning against the counter next to him. “You were too afraid to tell me you have money?”

  He hesitated for a moment, knuckles dragging roughly along his chin. He seemed to be trying to find his words.

  Rilynne moved in front of him. She reached up and grabbed his hand, carefully sliding hers between it and his chin. He leaned into it and kissed it softly before finally meeting her eye.

  “Were you afraid I wouldn’t like you having money, or I would?” she asked. Though she wished he had told her, she wasn’t upset. She couldn’t be. She knew all too well about secrets and the reasons to keep them.

  Taking a step closer, she looked him deep in the eyes. “We were supposed to be married yesterday,” she said. A look of guilt passed over his face with her words. She brushed her hand gently over his cheek and smiled. “For richer or poorer,” she continued. “They’re not just words. I love you. It doesn’t matter to me if you have a few million in the bank, or you’re down to your last dollar. There isn’t anything that will change the way I feel about you.”

  His eyes moved around her face, as if trying to gauge her sincerity. After a few seconds, he reached out and pulled her in, kissing her hard, harder than he ever had before.

  “I love you,” he whispered against her lips before they drew apart. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you. I…”

  Before he could continue, Rilynne stopped him.

  “You have nothing to apologize for,” she said. “If anyone understands secrets, it’s me.”

  “You ready?” Wilcome asked, sticking his head in the room.

  Ben nodded, his eyes still on Rilynne. After ste
aling one last peck, he followed Wilcome toward the front door.

  As they left, Rilynne took a deep breath to compose herself before walking back to the living room and sitting down next to Lori. Not knowing what to say, she just reached out and took her hand.

  Rilynne watched as Ben and Wilcome climbed into Wilcome's car. Her mind was blank. She didn't know what to think about the situation. It wasn't until she heard Lori speak again that she realized the car was already gone and she had been staring off at nothing more than the empty street.

  “Thank you,” Lori said. “I really can't even begin to think of what to say to express how thankful I am.”

  She turned to find Lori looking at her. Her focus was clearer than it had been in days. Though her face was still swollen and wet from tears, she seemed more alert and almost like her old self.

  “Don't thank me,” Rilynne said. “It's all Ben.”

  She must have still looked as flabbergasted as she felt because Lori slowly grinned as her eyes swept across Rilynne's face. “You didn't know,” she said finally.

  Rilynne shook her head quickly. “I had no idea,” she said. “We've never really talked about money. I think the only conversation we ever had about it was when it came to whether or not I should accept the payout for Christopher's life insurance.”

  “It makes sense, though,” Lori said. The topic must have been distracting her, because she seemed almost enthralled by it. “Do you remember how strange he was when we were talking about what we would do if we won the lottery? He didn't really want to give an answer and quickly tried to change the subject after he did.”

  “That's right,” Rilynne said, thinking back to the conversation they'd had earlier in the year. “He started to talk about how many people go bankrupt after winning large sums of money.”

  “Do you think that's why he didn't tell you?” Lori asked. “Do you think he was afraid you would go crazy and spend it all? Or was he afraid you would only want him because he had money?”