“If Lucy hadn’t been on lockdown, I might’ve thought it was her,” Ford said.
“If I hadn’t been on lockdown, I would have most definitely been responsible,” I said.
I should have felt bad that they died, that they were targeted because of me. Yet I felt nothing, no emotion one way or the other. Maybe it was the acknowledgment of knowing that they wouldn’t attack me again, or maybe I was just in a state of shock. Either way, I felt nothing. I stepped back into the suite and left the others on the balcony. I walked over to the counter where Noah had dropped the letter.
Happy Birthday.
I left your present in the pool. They made a mistake by touching what is mine.
Chapter 19
Gentry was winning in the brains department. I had a room full of muscle that was waiting on me to produce some viable information. He may have done me a favor by removing my would-be rapist from the face of the earth, but that didn’t mean that I had changed my mind about seeing Gentry six feet under.
I was tired of his games, tired of being two steps behind. I was tired of him knowing what we were going to do before we did it. It was time I changed from being the stalked to the stalker, the whole reason I was in this tourist town. Find him, and destroy him, before he could kill me.
I didn't need peace for what I was about to do; I needed Gentry angry. I needed something to tap into, to find him, like a fish on the line. I needed him to take the bait so I could reel him in. I dumped my coffee down the sink and grab three bottles of water out of the fridge, downing my first one. I knew I wasn't supposed to leave the hotel by myself, but I could almost guarantee the others wouldn’t agree with what I was about to do.
I stepped into my room and changed into the red dress that I’d worn that night at the club. I slipped out of the suite. Only Sam saw me. I held my finger to my lips and mouthed that I’d be right back.
He nodded and pointed to his wrist to remind me that I was being monitored, probably by him.
I held up five fingers. I didn’t expect to be gone long, just long enough. I took the stairs down to the lobby and stepped out the front doors. Just as I’d expected, news vans started to arrive. As each person entered, I opened my senses to gauge their determination until I found a female reporter whose persistence registered off the charts.
I stepped in her way. “Excuse me. This is your lucky day.”
Her gaze slid down my dress, and she rolled her eyes. “This isn’t your chance for five seconds of fame; we have a real crime to report.”
“Five bodies scattered around the beach area, a serial killer in our midst, and I’m the connection. Now you can either go report on the three dead college kids in the pool, who died after trying to rape me last night, or you can hear me out and get the inside scoop before your rivals.”
She exchanged a look with the cameraman. “There were only five dead girls.”
“Six, the last one was found yesterday in this very hotel.”
“What’s your angle? What do you want?”
“I need your help. I need to get my message out. I just need you to promise me that, no matter what or who tries to stop you from airing it, you try everything in your power to get my message on air.”
She nodded, and I took her by the arm and led her over toward the trees, out of view of the lobby. Taking a deep breath, I stared at the red light as the cameraman began to record.
“Let’s start by telling us your name.”
“I’m Dr. Lucy Bray, the person who captured serial killer Carl Chisolm and almost killed him.”
The reporter shared a look with the cameraman again. “What can you tell me about the recent string of deaths on the beach?”
“They aren’t over.” I shrugged. “Most of the girls were taken because they looked like me and were wearing a red dress. The killer isn’t picky, but he’s smart. Of course, not smarter than me.” I winked at the camera lens. “Are you?”
“Do you know who this killer is?” she asked.
I tilted my head with a cocky smile. “A low-life man from my past, who didn’t even stand out enough for me to remember his name. He wants what he can’t have, and his daddy’s money can’t buy me. He’s getting sloppier with each kill. His last victim escaped her bindings and was almost home free.” I stared directly into the camera. “I’m coming for you. I am going to stop you, and when I do, you won’t have an attorney to hide behind.”
“Lucy,” Noah growled, and the camera spun in his direction.
The reporter glanced at Noah’s badge. “Special Agent, do you have an ID on this killer, and can you confirm that there are six women now dead instead of five?”
Noah’s eye twitched as he took me by the arm. “We don’t comment on active investigations.”
“But, sir,” the reporter called out, following us to the elevator. “She hasn’t told me who the dead guys are in the pool.”
“No comment,” he said as the doors slid closed.
“Have you lost your damn mind?” Noah growled, pegging me with his glare.
“I needed to make him angry to try and connect to him again. Don’t worry; I made myself a target.”
Noah grabbed me by the arm and pulled me out of the elevator, shoving me inside the suite. “When we get back, you’ll be lucky if you don’t get jail time instead of the psych ward. Now you stay here while I go confiscate that interview.”
“You can’t,” I said, trying to block the door.
Noah glanced over his shoulder at Tines. “You’re in charge. Medicate her if need be.”
My mouth parted as Tines eased me out of the way. I tossed my hands up in the air, defeated.
“I wouldn’t worry about it, Lucy. He’s not going to reach the news crew in time,” Sam said, gesturing to the TV with the remote in his hand. He turned on the volume just in time for my voice to cascade through the speakers.
“They did it,” I whispered.
“Congratulations, you called the killer an idiot and made yourself a target.”
“I know.” I couldn’t hide the excitement strumming through my body. “Now I just hope he sees this.”
“Looks like he caught the live clip,” Sam said, pausing the TV. He pointed to onlookers in the background. “Isn’t that your boy?”
Seeing Gentry standing by, watching me, was even better than I could have hoped for. Now I just needed him to act on it.
I grabbed some water bottles, went to my room, and climbed up on my bed. Crossing my legs as if I was going to meditate, I closed my eyes, searching and waiting for that tug of anger brewing beneath Gentry’s surface waiting to spill free. If I was lucky, I wouldn’t have to wait long.
Sloan
Chapter 20
It took Roth an hour to return to the room. His face was red and blotchy, and his entire presence had changed. The once laid-back man who seemed to just be taking everything in stride was irate.
Lucy was a button-pusher. She could take the well-mannered agent and turn him into a raging lunatic; she had skill.
“Where is she?” Noah asked.
“She’s in her room, doing that meditating thing where she tries to connect,” Ford announced.
“She better hope that she finds something fast. Hunt is on his way, and he’s going to want her head on the chopping block,” Noah said.
“I’d hate to be her,” Ford said.
“He’s not going to hurt her, is he?” Sam asked. The little IT guy had developed some type of fascination with the doctor.
“If he doesn’t like what she has to say, he’s going to throw her butt in federal prison, not the sissy place where she’s been living.”
Not if Sloan could help it. This woman was the only connection they had to the killer. It didn’t hurt that he liked her. If the killer hadn’t killed the ones who tried to rape her, Sloan would have done it himself. No way was he giving her up yet, not until he had what he came for. Sloan pulled out his phone and dialed a number as he stepped out onto the balcony, shuttin
g the door behind him. From inside the room, Noah held his gaze, as if he knew exactly what Sloan was up to.
“Deputy Director Shaw, this is Jack Sloan.” His words came out swift and to the point. Neither the head of the FBI or Sloan liked to shoot the breeze. Truth was Melanie Shaw owed him, for more than one thing.
“Jack, I had a feeling you’d be calling me.” Shaw chuckled.
“I need a favor,” Sloan said.
“I’m sure you do. It doesn’t have anything to do with a doctor now, does it? Because I have to tell you, Sloan, it’s not pretty where she’s going.”
“Deputy Director, I need you to loosen your grip on her so she can work.”
“Ha,” she blurted out. “If anything, we’re tightening our grip after the stunt she just pulled. Hunt is already on his way to deliver the ass-chewing.”
Sloan lowered his head. “She may not be playing by the rules, but she’s close to flushing him out. I can feel it in my gut, Shaw.”
“The infamous Sloan gut.” She harrumphed.
“That gut saved you more times than I can count. I need her, and I’m calling in one of my favors.”
That got Shaw’s attention. “She’s that important?”
“Would I be calling otherwise?”
“She broke some important laws, Sloan.”
“Isn’t that why they chose her for the team? Because she can get the job done when others can’t?”
“Hunt isn’t going to like this,” Shaw said.
“Hunt will get over it, if we deliver him this killer on a silver platter. I believe Lucy can deliver him. She just needs room to stretch.”
“Are you sure that there isn’t more between you and her and that’s the reason that you want her around?”
“Shaw, you know me better than that. Catching my niece’s killer comes first, and then we can talk about having Lucy released from the psych ward.”
“How did I know you were going to say that? Sorry, Sloan, I won’t be able to help you there. Hunt has dibs on her. He pulled some strings to make it happen.”
“Keep the muzzle on your dog, Shaw. I need this woman; we all need this woman. She’s the only connection to this killer. He’s fixated on her, and she can draw him out.”
“You’ve got thirty-six hours, and then she’s Hunt’s to deal with.”
“Thanks, Shaw.”
“Uh-huh.” The line disconnected.
****
Three hours later, Sam was at the computer typing away, Tines was cleaning his gun, and Noah was staring down at a map of Panama City and the beach where he had certain sites circled. Sites that were believed to be connected to either the killing of these women and/or Gentry.
Sloan rested against the doorjamb, staring into Lucy’s room. She’d been sitting in the same position for hours without food or drink. The only thing that was changing was her facial expression.
Noah appeared by Sloan’s side. “Has she said anything yet?”
“Not a word,” Sloan answered in a whisper. Lucy was running out of time before Hunt showed up and she’d be dragged back to whatever hole they’d pulled her out of. They all needed something. Even if she couldn’t connect to the killer anymore, at least they knew who it was, who they were dealing with. “What proof do we have Gentry is the killer?”
“The biker watching us at the scene and him following Lucy. You have to admit that he’s fixated on her.”
“We need more.” Sloan said.
“We started surveillance on Gentry and every place he’s either dumped bodies and on the properties tied to him or his father.”
“Noah, you should come take a look at this.”
Before either of them could move, Lucy’s eyes flew open. Fear and anger stared back at them.
“He’s hunting for a new girl.”
“Any idea where he is?” Noah asked.
“Yeah, the first club where we tried to find him. I recognized it.” Lucy slid off the bed in a hurry and ran out of the bedroom to grab her shoes.
Tines and Ford watched in curiosity.
“How can you be so sure it’s the same place?” Ford asked.
Lucy rolled her eyes. “There’s no time to explain.”
“Make time,” Noah answered.
Lucy sighed. “You know how I work. I tap into emotions; it’s how I connect. I tap into the emotions from the crime scene. Each person gives off a different vibration. Gentry’s anger, or any other exorbitant emotion, sets off the vibration that I can cling to and follow. The last several hours, I’ve been waiting for him.”
“To get angry?” Sloan asked.
“To make a mistake and he did.” Lucy walked back into the room and grabbed the bottles of water, downing one before she came up for air. “You know how we never realized how Gentry knew me? Well I might have just figured it out.”
Lucy walked over to Sam and leaned over his computer table. “Gentry just gave himself a shot. The insignia on the vial was the same as the one from the government trial I was in, the Mind Stalker program. The way he knows me must be from that group.”
“Like Carl?” Noah asked.
“Just like Carl. I wouldn’t be surprised if they were partners.”
“Serial killers tend to work alone,” Noah said. “And it doesn’t make sense. Gentry comes from a wealthy family, and Carl was working as a mailman and a menial job in your program.”
“Gentry’s daddy is a millionaire. Maybe Gentry was looking for something that money can’t buy. Maybe he was Carl’s protégé. It would explain how he became either fixated on Gigi or, if he was in the program, how he became fixated on me. Regardless, that shot he just took wasn’t like mine. It was the opposite. Where mine calms me down to put me to sleep, Gentry’s did the opposite for him. It enhanced his anger to the point that he’s ready to kill anybody in his way.”
“We need to send his picture to Grant to start digging around in the governmental program’s database of participants and employees. It shouldn’t be hard to associate Gentry if he was involved.”
“You can chase that rabbit later. Right now, Gentry is ready to kill and I bet he’ll strike again soon. Bar Wars is scheduled again for tonight.”
“And you got all of that just by meditating?” Tines asked.
“I knew he’d mess up,” I answered.
“How do you know this isn’t a trap?” Sloan asked as crossed his arms over his chest. Gentry was smarter than their average criminal. His desire was what drove him. He’d yet to make a mistake that they could catch, and this had the word trap written all over it.
“Do you want to take the chance that he gets another girl? What if she ends up like your niece and you could have been the one to stop him?”
“I don’t like it,” Sloan said.
“Then stay here. Let me go. That’s why they brought me. Use me as the diversion, as bait. Bait that he won’t be able to deny. Hell, let him get his hands on me.” Lucy lifted her arm and shook the bracelet on it. “You know how to track me. You’ll save me because you have to. I won’t let him take another girl.”
“I haven’t agreed to let you go anywhere, much less with us when we go after him,” Noah said.
“Lucy has a point,” Tines said. “It’s always better to be on the offensive than the defensive. Up until now we’ve been chasing him, not knowing his next move. If Lucy thinks she can predict that, and we can track her, it’s our best move.”
“I don’t like that idea,” Sam said from across the room. “This guy has been killing women like her. What makes you think that he’s even going to take her back to his little hideout to do the deed? What if he kills her in a back alley somewhere? You might not have time to get to her.”
Lucy crossed the room and kissed Sam’s cheek. “Your worry is sweet, no matter how unfounded. Don’t forget what I did to Carl. I can take care of myself.”
This argument was going nowhere fast. Tines and Lucy were ready to head out the door. Sloan could tell just by the reaction on Noah’s f
ace that he was debating on letting them go. Apprehension settled in Sloan’s gut. They were playing right into Gentry’s hand.
“He knows you can tap into his anger. He knows you’ll try to save the girl. He knows that you’ll come after him. How is any of that supposed to be a surprise? Hell, you even told him about the tracker in your bracelet.”
Aggravation settled on Lucy’s face. “What do you suggest, hotshot?”
“I suggest you be smart. The only reason you had the upper hand on Carl was because he didn’t see you coming. Gentry can see you coming.”
“How do you suggest we take back the element of surprise?” Lucy asked.
“That’s simple. You don’t go,” Sloan said. “He’s going to be looking for you. He’s going to be angry that you aren’t there. Tap into that anger and pinpoint his location. Let us do the rest.”
Lucy’s mouth snapped open and then closed again. “I’m the one who can find him.”
“That’s what these are for,” Sloan said, picking up the ear microphones. “You get us in the general vicinity, and we’ll find him. You already told us he was at a club. Let us be the ones to flush him out.”
Chapter 21
Fifteen minutes later, only Sam and I remained in the room while the others loaded up for the hunt. I knew they had a point. I didn’t have to be there in order to take him out. I just wanted to be.
Sam was sitting at his computer, his fingers tapping across the keyboard as if he was in his own zone. “Lucy, I hacked the security feed for the club. My facial recognition program hasn’t spotted him yet.”
I didn’t know why I was so apprehensive. Maybe it was the fact that I wasn’t watching things with my own eyes and had to rely on others to give me the information. Sloan had been right. Carl had been caught off guard, Gentry wouldn’t be. At least not yet. When I didn’t show up for his capture, he was going to get pissed. The only thing that wasn’t making sense was the fact I wasn’t feeling his unease. I wasn’t feeling his anger. I wasn’t even feeling his excitement. It was like he’d cut off all of his emotion strings to stop me from being able to track his movements. His participation in the Mind Stalker program made sense now. The way he knew to block her. The moment I opened my eyes on my bed, I gotten my first taste of his anger.
Stalked Justice (Fractured Minds Series Book 1) Page 9
