Watching Whitney

by Jerri Drennen

  “That’s not such a bad idea, Steve.”

  “What do you mean?” Steve went back to the table and sat down.

  “Use her to catch this guy. If she’s his target, we could set him up to be caught.”

  “No fucking way. She could get hurt.”

  “Calm down. It was just a suggestion.”

  “Not a very good one.” Steve couldn’t believe his cousin would think he’d allow Whitney to do such a thing.

  “You’ve fallen for her haven’t you?” Flint asked out of the blue.

  “Of course not. The woman has a child for God’s sake. If something happened, Kylie would be left alone. I can’t let that happen.”

  “I think you like her daughter, too.”

  “This conversation is getting off track. Call me when Bryan learns anything new.”

  Steve closed the phone and placed it on the table in front of him. He sucked in a cleansing breath.

  “What don’t you want me to do?” Whitney’s question had him jumping half out of his chair. He hadn’t even heard her get out of bed.

  He looked at her, her expression serious. “Nothing.” No way was she even hearing Flint’s idea. The darn woman would probably volunteer to do it.

  She stared at him intently. “What’s going on, Steve? I think I have a right to know since this involves me.”

  “Look, Whitney. This is complicated and I don’t want you to have to worry any more than you already are. Just drop it.”

  “I’m going to worry no matter what. I think it’s best I know everything you do.”

  Steve shook his head. “No. Now go back to bed.”

  “I’m not going anywhere until you tell me why Flint called.”

  Steve fisted his hands on the table. He’d never met a woman so stubborn in his life — with the exception of his mother. Whitney reminded him of her. He’d always loved his mom but she wouldn’t listen to him when he told her to slow down. Maybe if she had, she’d still be alive today. He didn’t plan to make the same mistake with Whitney. She’d listen to him if he had to hogtie her to do it.

  “Sit down, Whitney.” He pointed to the chair next to him.

  She padded over and dropped into the seat. “So,” she prompted.

  She’d be upset when he told her about this new case. “Bill heard on the scanner that they found a woman’s body two counties over.”

  “Do they know if she was murdered?”

  “I’m assuming they think so.”

  She chewed on her bottom lip. “Did she look like me?”

  “I don’t know, Whitney. They should know more in the next couple of days.”

  “But Flint thinks it’s the same guy who murdered the woman in the lake, doesn’t he?”

  “Bryan does and you know that’s his job. Profiling victims and killers. It all seems likely they are connected since it’s so close.”

  “What did Flint want me to do?”

  Steve shook his head. “I’m not letting you do anything that’d put your life at risk, and you shouldn’t want to. You have Kylie to think about.”

  “Why don’t you tell me what it is and I can decide for myself.”

  Steve rose. “No. Now drop it.”

  He walked over to the window and looked outside. No wonder Whitney couldn’t see the peeping Tom. He could barely make out a single star above with the overcast sky. Did that mean it was going to rain? He hoped not because that would only complicate things further.

  • • •

  Whitney finished her tasks, made more difficult by her turbulent emotions. Steve Morgan had to be the most hard-headed man she’d ever met. He refused to tell her what Flint had wanted her to do — though she had her ideas. Steve had a point. She couldn’t chance getting hurt. She was all Kylie had and she had to remain healthy — and alive — for her daughter.

  Right now, she was glad Kylie was at Bethany’s; she’d sense something bothering her mother.

  “It’s raining,” Steve said as he stood by the window of bungalow two.

  “I guess I wasn’t fast enough. We’ll have to make a run for it.”

  “You done, then?”

  “Yes.”

  “Let me go get the SUV. That way you won’t get soaked.”

  Whitney waited by the door and raced out into the rain to the vehicle when he pulled up. She tossed her supplies into the back and looked at Steve. “I need to drop these off and talk to Mason.”

  He shoved the SUV into reverse and backed out, turning onto the road to the rec center. He insisted he go with her inside.

  Whitney felt like a prisoner. She returned her supplies to the closet, then walked down the hall to Mason’s office and knocked. When no one answered, she knocked louder. She tried the door but found it locked. She glanced over her shoulder at Steve. “It isn’t like Mason not to be here.”

  “It’s lunchtime. Could he be over at the café?”

  “Maybe.”

  “Come on. We’ll go check.” Steve took a hold of her arm.

  Whitney nodded and allowed him to lead her from the center to the café a few hundred feet away.

  They raced inside and Whitney shook the rainwater from her hands. “It’s really coming down now.” She stomped her feet on the worn mat on the floor.

  Whitney went to the counter and looked around. No Mason. Perhaps he was in the back talking to Harold. Maybe they had to work up the order for the week.

  She turned to Steve. “I’m going to go back and see if Mason is with Harold.”

  When he made a move to go with her, she held him back. “Mason doesn’t like anyone but employees back in the kitchen. It’s a liability thing. I’ll be right back.”

  “All right.”

  Whitney smiled and walked through the swinging door. She looked around all the stainless steel equipment and frowned. Where was everyone?

  “Hello. Harold? Mason? Are you in here?”

  Maybe they couldn’t hear her because they were in the walk-in counting supplies.

  She started toward the freezer when she heard a noise behind her. She turned to see what it was when the lights went out.

  Chapter Fourteen

  The lights in the front of the café flickered and then went out. Steve shot through the double doors leading to the kitchen, the room so dark he immediately ran into something solid and banged his knee.

  “Son-of-a — ”

  Using his hands to guide him, he felt his way around the long, smooth object. “Whitney, where are you?”

  When he got no answer, the warning bell’s in Steve’s head went off. He knew he shouldn’t let her go in alone. But she could be so stubborn. Were his personal feelings getting in the way of his professional judgment? “Whitney,” he called louder, moving slowly down what felt like a metal table.

  His ears perked up when he heard a banging sound from somewhere toward the back of the room. Steve picked up his pace and followed the noise, hoping it would lead him in the right direction.

  With a thud, he ran face-first into something cold. He placed his palm on the surface and moved it up, then down until his fingers connected with a handle of some sort.

  The banging started again, a vibration telling him it was on the other side of the thing, whatever it was.

  Steve pulled at the handle and it popped open just as the lights came on.

  Whitney shot out of what he now realized was a walk-in freezer, her face as white as a sheet.

  “What happened?” He pulled her into his arms.

  “I don’t know. One minute I’m feeling my way around, the next someone is dragging me toward the back. Whoever had my arm, shoved me in the walk-in when he heard you calling.”

  “Where is everyone?”

  A low groan had both Whit
ney and Steve turning toward the freezer. Inside, lying on the floor in the back and holding his head was the café’s cook Harold Huntley.

  Whitney raced to his side, Steve hot on her heels. Both squatted next to the injured man while Steve examined a bloody gash at the crown of his head.

  “What happened, Harold?” Whitney asked, her face masked with worry.

  Harold shook his head.” I don’t know. Someone hit me from behind when I stepped into the freezer.”

  “You didn’t see the person?” Steve looked at Whitney and frowned.

  “No. I didn’t see anything. Didn’t hear anything.”

  “Was anyone in the front of the restaurant? Deidre? Were there any patrons?” Whitney asked.

  “Dee got a call from one of her kids. Some kind of emergency. I told her to go, and no, no customers were here at the time.”

  “Do you know where Mason is? He wasn’t at the rec center.”

  Harold grimaced and rubbed his head. “I don’t know. I haven’t seen him all day.”

  “We’d better get you to a doctor.” Steve stood to help the older man up, “Looks like you’re going to need a couple of stitches, plus you may have a concussion.”

  Steve guided Harold to the SUV while Whitney locked the café door. The nearest hospital was close to forty miles away, so Steve chose to take Harold to Doc Leland’s. Surely, he could sew up the cut.

  The drive took ten minutes longer in the rain. Steve parked in front of Doc’s house and came around to help Harold to the door. Whitney knocked while Steve kept a shoulder-hold on the injured man.

  The doctor came to the door and frowned when he recognized Steve. “What’s going on?”

  “He took a hard whack to the head. I hoped you could take a look at him.” Steve caught hold of Harold more firmly when he swayed.

  “Bring him down into the basement.”

  Steve helped Harold down the small flight of stairs and got him seated in a chair. As Doc Leland examined his head, Steve stood next to Whitney and noticed her hands shaking. He took her fingers in his and held them tight. “You okay?” he asked in a low tone.

  “I’m not sure. What’s going on? Where’s Mason?”

  Steve felt a ting of jealousy at her concern for the man. Why, he wasn’t sure. “I don’t know, Whitney, but we’ll find him.”

  “You don’t think something’s happened? Maybe he’s lying in his office like Harold had been in the freezer.”

  “Calm down. He could have just run into Marble. Try not to jump to conclusions until we know more.”

  “I’m going to call Bethany. I want to make sure everything is all right there.” Whitney stepped away and dug her cell phone from her purse.

  Steve watched her and realized for the first time that he seriously cared for the woman. When she hadn’t answered him in the kitchen, his heart had stopped pumping. He’d been terrified that something had happened to her. That had to mean something — that and his sudden fit of jealousy. He’d never felt that before.

  Her saying goodbye brought him back to her. “Everything okay?”

  “Yeah. Bethany asked if Kylie could spend the night. Do you think she’d be okay doing that?”

  “I don’t see why not.”

  “Okay, I’ll call her a little later and tell her yes then.”

  “He’s going to need stitches,” Doc said, drawing both to him. “I should have everything I need to do it here. How did this happen?” The Doc looked to Steve for answers.

  “Someone hit him when he was in the walk-in freezer at the lodge’s café.” Steve crossed his arms over his chest. “Probably an attempted robbery.”

  “You don’t say?”

  “I do.”

  “You know, detective, Marble was a quiet little town until you arrived. Do you bring trouble wherever you go?” Doc Leland cocked a gray eyebrow.

  Steve could tell the old man jested, yet he did have a point. Why had his presence in town stirred up such a hornet’s nest of trouble? Did he bring it with him?

  • • •

  Whitney sat in the SUV as Steve ran into the drugstore for something. She could only assume it was condoms. After all, they were going to be alone since Kylie would be spending the night at Bethany’s.

  She couldn’t say that disappointed her. She couldn’t wait to be alone with him, though that wouldn’t be for hours yet. They had to stop by the Frys’ and talk to Bryan and Flint to find out if they were able to learn anything about the other dead woman.

  Steve opened the driver’s side door and slid in behind the wheel. He handed her a small pink bag. “I got that for Kylie. I hope she doesn’t already have one.”

  Whitney peeked inside and smiled. He’d gotten her a pink toy compact. She couldn’t have been more touched by his gesture. No man had ever thought to buy her daughter anything before. It elevated him even higher in her mind. “She’ll love it. Thank you.”

  He pulled away from the curb and Whitney couldn’t help but be drawn to his profile. She loved his face. Strong and handsome.

  “What?” He glanced toward her, then back at the road.

  She turned to look out the window being pelted with raindrops. “Do you think Bryan and Flint found out anything?”

  “I sure hope so. It’s about time we caught a break.”

  He pulled up in front of the Frys’ and they both made a mad dash for the house. On the front porch, they shook the water from their jackets.

  Patsy stuck her head out the door. “You too look like drowned rats. Come on in. I’ll put on some coffee.”

  Inside the house, Whitney glanced around, the squelch of a scanner made her jump.

  “Some woman was found over by Buford. They’re keeping it hush-hush. I think she must have been murdered.” Patsy’s eyes showed her horror at the idea.

  “Flint told me last night when he called,” Steve confirmed. “Are he and Bryan around? I need to talk to them.”

  “They’ve been holed up in my son’s room all day. Wouldn’t even come down to eat lunch. Bill joined them a few hours ago. You know men.”

  “Can we go on up?”

  “Sure. Go ahead. It’s the first door to your right.”

  Whitney followed Steve up the steps, admiring the view. Stop it, Whitney. You’ll have plenty of time to think about his butt later. When you two are alone.

  Steve opened the door and stepped inside the room.

  “Steve. I was about to call you.” Flint walked over to him. He saw Whitney behind his cousin and grimaced. “Maybe Whitney should go down and spend some time with Patsy.”

  “She knows everything,” Steve said before Whitney had a chance to argue the point.

  “We did a background check on Schaefer. He and his wife were where he said they were when the woman from Idaho was murdered. That has to cross him off the list.”

  “Damn. I really thought he could be our man.”

  “I told you he wasn’t,” Bill interjected. “Dennis is a hard man to get to know but once you do, you can see he has a big heart.”

  Steve shook his head. “So we’re back to square one then.”

  “Wait. Not all is lost. The dead woman from Buford’s name was Karen Bond. She had a young daughter. She’d been missing for three months. The little girl woke up the night her mom was abducted and told the police that the man who took her had brown hair. That seems to match the description the girl from Idaho gave.”

  “But that still doesn’t give us much.”

  “At least we’re fairly certain these murders are related.” Bryan rose from the edge of the bed. “What’s got me baffled is the time frame between the first and the second murders. It just doesn’t feel right. I think we have more women out there. I did a search of missing women with the same characteristics and I found six.”<
br />
  “Six?” Whitney’s jaw dropped at the mere thought.

  “Another woman from Idaho. Two from Wyoming and three from Colorado. The bureau is faxing the info to me on them. I hope to have it by this evening.”

  “Did all these women have small children?” Steve rubbed Whitney’s back.

  “Yes. All children under the age of five, but they weren’t all girls.”

  “You’re the profiler, Bryan. Why is he doing this to these women?”

  “I’m working on a theory.”

  “Care to fill us in?” Flint asked.

  He raised a hand in protest. “Not yet. I want to see these women’s files first. I hope to have it all figured out by morning.”

  “Let’s call it a night then,” Bill said, heading for the door. “Patsy is probably fit to be tied by now with us hiding up here all day.”

  “Okay.” Steve led Whitney from the room.

  Whitney didn’t know how she felt about what she’d just learned. The man who was after her had killed a number of women before her. She just prayed they’d catch him before she became the next.

  On the way to the cabin, she remained quiet, contemplating her situation. She didn’t know what to think — how to feel. She couldn’t help that she was a single mother, and that she had dark hair and green eyes. That seemed to be the killer’s criteria and she just happened to fit into it. She’d always been lucky in that way, or unlucky in this case.

  “You okay?” Steve asked once they were parked in front of cabin four.

  Whitney sighed. “How would you feel?”

  “I’d have to be worried, but remember I’m here and I’d never let anything happen to you.”

  “I know.” She gave him a weak smile.

  Steve opened his door and came around to hers to help her out. The rain had let up somewhat but the ground was like a sponge. A crack of lightning made them both jump.

  They looked at each other and laughed at their edginess.