“Good. So can you tell me anything else about our sicko?” Holly asked.
“Actually, I was printing out his e-mails, because I think you’ll find some of it pretty interesting.” Martin pulled a couple of pages from the printer. “It looks like he’s deleted most of them. But on the day he was iced, he’d put the e-mails in the trash and failed to empty his trashcan. That’s how I found this.”
Holly started reading the e-mails, and as she did, she realized that this case was only getting more complicated. She was not nearly as close to solving it with James’s death as she’d hoped.
The first e-mail was from William James himself.
I know exactly what you and your crazy boyfriend are trying to do to me. Do you think I’m so stupid that I haven’t figured this out? The only reason I haven’t gone to the police is because I want to keep my own life private. But I’m telling you right now, if you don’t back off and forget your screwy game, then someone is going to get very, very hurt.
WJ
The reply back was from someone named Lady Godiva.
You’re right about your private life and all its secrets that I’m sure the police would be terribly interested in. But your fixation on the idea that I have devised some bizarre scheme against you is just that. My “boyfriend,” as you termed him, is far from a boyfriend. In fact, you know that it’s you I love and always have, but you refuse to commit and stop your own freaky games. If I need some company once in a while because you’re out satisfying your needs, then so be it. But I assure you that going to the police would be a huge mistake. I do not have any scheme planned. I haven’t sold you out, nor do I plan to. So let it go. Can we have dinner and talk about this? I miss you.
Lady Godiva.
“No kidding! Have you got a trace on this Lady Godiva’s computer yet?”
“Working on it as we speak. But it will take some time. She’s sharp and was smart enough to switch her address around and get offline real fast, and with internet privacy laws . . .”
“You need a search warrant,” Holly finished his sentence. “More bureaucratic bullshit to trash out my day. Don’t worry about it. I’ll make a few phone calls and see what I can do. It might take some time, too. I think I know who was sending the e-mails anyway. Thanks for the help. I’ll let you know when we get the warrant. And keep me posted on the chats going on with the internet guys.”
“You got it.”
Holly headed back to the station room, found Chad, and handed him the e-mails. “Get a load of these.”
Chad read over them. “What are you thinking?”
“I don’t know what to think, but I do know this case is far from being solved. I think Darla is our Lady Godiva, and she holds the answers to this puzzle.”
“You think there’s another killer out there?”
“Besides her? Maybe. Or when she talks about his sick needs, she was referring to his need to kill.”
“Or maybe she was writing about his kiddie porn cravings,” Chad interjected.
“That’s possible. But I’m not sure that would bother her so much. Seems that she and William James were two of a kind, and maybe she got into it as much as he did. But I think they’re all tied in together, and if there’s a third party, we better figure out who it is. Because God forbid that third party is the real killer,” Holly said.
“Where do we go from here?”
“We try and track Lady Godiva, and hope she makes a mistake somewhere. If Martin from tech can get a trace on her, then maybe we’ve got a chance of getting her. Hopefully he will, and if so, maybe she’ll screw up and e-mail her other friend. Or better yet, if we can confiscate her computer, which I need to make a call about to a judge right now, then we’ll find some more answers.”
“Have you checked on Kristy yet today?” Chad asked.
Holly shook her head and grimaced. “I talked to the doctor this morning. He says that her brain is swelling, and they’ll most likely have to resort to surgery.”
“That’s awful. What about her dad, have you spoken with him?”
“Briefly. He’s way too upset and stunned. It was pretty awkward since we hadn’t seen each other since Jack’s funeral. But, no, he’s not doing very well. For the first time ever I feel sorry for Bill. I never liked him much, you know when . . .” She caught herself and realized that she’d just opened the door to getting thrown off the case. What was she thinking? She looked at Chad to see if he’d caught her reference to her friendship with the family.
“I had a hunch, Holly. You’ve been way too involved in this, and I had a feeling there was a stronger connection than you were letting on. You knew them? Obviously you knew them,” Chad said.
“It was a long time ago, partner. You can’t say anything to anyone, please. I really want to catch this son of a bitch, and if you tell anyone, you know as well as I do that I’ll be pulled off of it.”
“You should be. You know the rules, Holly,” Chad said, lowering his voice. “You should not be working on this case. I know you’ve worked on it until you’re dragging, but you need to step aside, Holly. It’s not good for you.”
“Please Chad, don’t say anything. I can handle this. I’ve got to.”
“Why? So you can get your revenge on the killer who murdered your friend and nearly killed her daughter? You know that’s not how to do this. It’ll get clouded and someone will get hurt. Most likely you,” Chad implored, looking at her with concern.
“Listen. Yes, you’re right, I want to catch whoever is behind this, and I want to avenge Lynne’s killer. But that is not the only reason I’m keeping myself on this case. I’ve been working it since day one. I know what this bastard or group of freaks, if that’s what we’re dealing with, is capable of, and I can smell the blood, Chad. I can. I’m begging you to keep this quiet. If it gets out of hand, I’ll know. I’ll walk away then. I promise,” Holly pleaded.
Chad took a step back, crossed his arms over his chest. “I shouldn’t do this. I ought to blow the whistle on you. Your staying with this is a bad idea, and I don’t think it will benefit you, this case, or anyone involved to maintain the secret that you knew this family.”
“We all have secrets, don’t we?” She was beginning to get angry. “I don’t exactly agree with some of your methods or secrets, partner, but I’m discreet because I know it’s important to you.”
“I don’t like the sound of that,” Chad replied. He stood back and they looked at each other for a silent moment. “Fine, you’ve made your point and pleaded your case. I’ll shut up for now, but if I see that you’re becoming a detriment to yourself or this case, I will go above your head. I’ll have to for your own good.”
Holly snatched the e-mails from Chad’s hands and stormed back to her own cube, where she collected herself and picked up the phone to call the district attorney to get another search warrant, this one for Darla Monroe’s house. She knew Chad was still watching her. She could feel his eyes on her. She was angered to no end—at herself for screwing up and saying anything, and at him for being such a bastard about it.
But none of it mattered, because no one was getting in her way on this, not even her partner.
She did a rash thing after leaving her office and went to see Brooke with the intention of passing on a warning through her to Chad to keep his mouth shut, but when she reached the good doctor’s office and stood outside her door about to knock, she changed her mind. This would be a stupid move.
As she turned to walk away, Brooke opened the door. “Holly?”
Holly turned back around. “Oh. Hi.”
“Were you coming to see me for something?”
“No not really. Just passing by and was going to say hello, but then realized you were probably busy.” Lord, that sounded lame.
“Never too busy for a colleague or a friend.”
Holly wasn’t sure where, but she supposed that Brooke was indicating that she fit in there somewhere between the two. She smiled, not knowing what to say and feeli
ng very uneasy.
“So this case is keeping you all working around the clock?”
The words you all still carried a faint Texas twang that she was pretty sure Dr. Brooke Madison had worked hard to get rid of, but the trace lingered on. For some reason, that thought helped put Holly at ease. Maybe it was just that even the doctor had her own hidden insecurities. “Yes, it certainly is. It’s a tough one.”
“You want to come in, tell me about it? Maybe I can give you some insight. I know what I told you the last time we talked, but it appears from the reports I’ve received that the playing field has changed some, and you’re dealing with more than one killer. Funny, I didn’t get that in the beginning, but as I said, I’m not always right.”
Holly shifted from one foot to the other. Okay, maybe she would have some insight that Holly didn’t. It was Brooke’s job to crawl into the minds of these monsters and to try to figure out motives and histories. “Sure, why not.”
Holly followed the leggy doc into her office and sat down across the desk from her.
“So talk to me some more about this case. Maureen brought the new info to me yesterday about the latest victims. I’ve been going through it myself, to see what kind of read I can get, but I have to admit this is a strange case. From all that I’ve read of the reports sent to me, it does seem as though there is more than one suspect involved.”
“It does seem that way.” Holly handed her the file containing the e-mails she’d brought with her. She hoped Brooke would assume they were the cause for the visit, never to know it had been her intention to get her to convince Chad to keep silent.
Brooke read over the e-mails. “From these messages, I’d say that we are dealing with more than one psychopath, for that is essentially who these people are. Psychopaths. I told you before what I thought about the killer. Now we have to expand our thinking and consider other alternatives. Most psychopaths are loners, they don’t hang out in groups unless it’s a Manson-type phenomenon, as I see you jotted down in the file. Good theory. Maybe this James fellow or this third person is the leader and the others involved simply don’t have enough self-esteem or grit to think on their own. But, honestly, Holly, I don’t think that’s what it is, either.”
Brooke set the e-mails down on her desk and shook her head. She spread her manicured hands across the papers, a ring on her left hand. No diamond, but a ring nonetheless. A blue sapphire in the middle, with small diamonds edged all the way around it—done in platinum—expensive, very expensive. Too expensive for a cop. God, Holly hoped Chad knew what the hell he was doing—assuming he was the one who’d given the doc the ring, of course.
“I don’t know what we have, and I’m banging my head against the wall along with everyone else on the team. If there’s more than one out there, and our guy was not James, then we still have a killer on the loose, and that scares the hell out of me. After seeing the last crime scene, I know enough about escalation to know that this person is not going to stop any time soon.”
“I agree.” Brooke stood. She came around and sat down in the chair next to Holly’s and in a near whisper said, “Do you believe in intuition?”
“Of course I do. I’m a cop. We follow our gut instincts all the time.” Okay, this was getting weird.
“Take it a little further. Say . . . premonitions?”
Holly pulled her body back and tilted her head to one side. “What are you asking me?” Really weird.
“What would you say if I told you that I have a friend outside the force who has quietly helped us before, or at least me, in these types of cases.” Brooke crossed her legs.
“Like a psychic? Are you saying that you use a psychic to help you?” An interesting side to Brooke.
“Sometimes. When y’all come to me and have questions about a case that I simply can’t get answers to, then, yes, I have a friend I call who has helped me find answers. The only reason I haven’t ever brought this to anyone’s attention is that I know what some of the supervisors in this office would think about using a medium, and it could mean my job.”
“Uh-huh,” Holly replied.
“It’s only a suggestion, Holly. What can it hurt? Do you want to give it a try? It’s lunchtime. We can go and talk to her now, if you’d like. No one will be the wiser, and it might help you. And if it doesn’t, what do you have to lose? Simple folly.”
And time on an important case. “I don’t know, Brooke. It is a bit out of the norm. And I’m feeling pretty pressed for time on this thing. I hadn’t planned on a lunch break today.”
“That’s fine. Just thought I’d run it past you.”
Holly leaned back in the chair for a minute and thought about it. Brooke was right. What did she have to lose? And she couldn’t help but be a bit curious about this medium. “Let’s go.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. Now, before I change my mind. We’ll grab a sandwich on the way. I don’t think too clearly on an empty stomach.”
They left the office, Holly thinking that Chad’s Dr. Brooke was full of all kinds of surprises.
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
Anne Nickels was nothing like Holly expected, nor did she live like Holly expected. Anne the psychic was a petite woman with black hair, cut in a pageboy. Her pale green eyes were remarkable, almost the color of celery. She wore Levi’s and an Old Navy T-shirt. The house was a two story Tudor north of Pacific Beach and just South of La Jolla—an expensive area, but affordable by those who made a decent living. Holly immediately liked Anne, and with the offer of some chamomile tea, she and Brooke settled onto a sofa covered in cream-colored chenille.
“I take it from your phone call that this is pretty important, Brooke.” Anne sat down across from them in a winged-back, distressed leather chair, very shabby chic. Brooke had called from her cell phone during the car ride up, counting on Anne’s availability.
“Yes. Detective Jennings . . .”
“Holly, please,” Holly interrupted, correcting Brooke.
Brooke continued, “Holly is working a case, and I’ve been studying the files. There are some complications surrounding the case.”
“Okay. Can you tell me, are these the cases that involve the mothers and their children? The Family Man cases?”
Holly nodded. It wasn’t like that was too tough to figure out. The cases had been broadcast all over the place.
“Yes, I’ve been following the media reports, and I see your dilemma. I agree that there are three players involved here. But oddly enough, one player doesn’t know about the others. It’s a man. Well, he knows, but not in the sense that they actually work together. Do you understand?”
“No,” Holly replied. “Is this the man who thinks he was being set up?” Holly asked referring to James.
“No. This is the killer himself. He has no real need for the others. But one of them, a female, plays very strongly in this. She has a real attachment to him.” Anne closed her eyes for a minute. “However, he would’ve done this anyway without the help.”
“So they helped him?” Holly asked, not knowing what to believe and not knowing what Brooke might have told her.
“The woman did. She helped him once, and has offered to help again. He doesn’t completely trust her, but part of him enjoys having her around. He likes to keep an eye on her, if that means something to you.”
“Can you tell me what she looks like?”
Amazingly enough, Anne described Darla almost perfectly. “Listen, she has a connection to this killer, and I don’t know specifically what it is, but I also feel like she’s gone.”
“Dead? Do you think he’s killed her as well? And did this man kill James, too?”
“Wait, hold on. Slow down, please. This is too important to rush, okay?”
Holly sat back in the chair. She glanced over at Brooke who was as captivated as Holly had to admit she was.
Anne closed her eyes again and for several minutes didn’t say a word. When she opened her eyes, she spoke. “I don’t think the woman
is dead. But the man is looking for her, and I think his name is Hunter. But that doesn’t feel exactly right, so don’t count on it. However, he is looking for her, and he does seem pretty angry with her right now. She wants to contact him, but she’s afraid. She’s afraid of both him and the police. But her bond to this man is very strong, and although I do think she will eventually make contact, I just don’t know when. And to answer your question about Mr. James, this Hunter man did not kill him. The woman did, and I think she’s hiding somewhere. That’s why I feel she’s not close. She is not in San Diego anymore, I can tell you that much.”
“Mexico?” Holly frowned. She was buying this. How could she not? The woman knew way too much.
“If I had to put money on it, that would be my first guess. But I can’t tell you exactly where.”
“Okay. So this man, Hunter, our killer . . . What about him? Where is he?”
“He’s still here in town, very much so. And I feel that he is closer than you think. It’s almost like you know him. Or you’ll meet him.”
Bet I will, sister. When I shoot his fucking brains out.
Anne looked her square in the eye. Oh, God, did she just read my thoughts?
“I don’t know how he knows you, but I feel very strongly that he does. He’s definitely seen you.”
Holly shook her head and sighed. She had quickly gone from almost believing her to not buying a word she was saying.
“Holly?” Anne asked, still staring at her.
“Yes?”
“Did they ever find your husband’s body?”
“What?” Holly couldn’t have heard her correctly.
“Did they ever find his body?”
Holly looked back and forth between Brooke and Anne. She stood. “We’ve taken enough of your time. Thank you.”
As she opened the front door, Anne spoke again. “Holly, if they never found his body, I don’t know if he’s really dead.”
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