Child of Mine: a psychological thriller

by Chambers, V. J.

  Isaac tried a smile. “This shouldn’t take long.”

  “We’re primarily interested in the man you saw,” said Lorelei. “We think we might know who he is.”

  “Who is he?” said Hailey. “Someone the FBI knows about? He’s like some serial killer or something, isn’t he? Hell.” She rubbed her face.

  Isaac shot Lorelei an annoyed look.

  She shrugged, trying to look apologetic. How was she to know that was going to set this Hailey person off? The truth was, she and Isaac never much did field interviews. Interviews with convicted criminals, in the confines of a prison? Sure. They’d done that. This was kind of new territory for them. But how hard could it really be?

  Isaac cleared his throat. “Um, could you take a look at a picture for us?”

  “I guess so,” said Hailey.

  Isaac had to pull it up on his phone. The only picture they could access easily was Ross’s mugshot, from when he’d been arrested. Isaac found it on the screen and then handed it to Hailey.

  “He’s a criminal, then?” said Hailey. “Is he a serial killer? What did he do?”

  “Is that the man you saw at the window?” said Lorelei.

  “Yeah,” said Hailey. “I mean… he looked different. Older. Shorter hair. His face was thicker, like he gained weight. But it was definitely this guy.”

  “You’re sure?” said Isaac.

  “Positive,” said Hailey. “Now, what did he do?”

  Lorelei shifted on her feet. She turned to Isaac. She’d screwed things up enough. Maybe he could handle this one.

  Isaac rubbed his chin. “Uh, well, he did, um, kill some, uh, sorority girls. Six sorority girls.”

  “What?” said Hailey. “So, why isn’t he locked up?”

  “He escaped from the facility where he was being held,” said Lorelei.

  “Jesus,” said Hailey. “Jesus.”

  “Listen,” said Lorelei, “be careful, okay? Keep your doors and windows locked. Don’t be alone. You should—”

  “There’s going to be like a big announcement or something, right?” said Hailey. “A campus-wide curfew or something?”

  Lorelei hesitated. “Well, we’re not exactly here in an official capacity, so I don’t know if—”

  “You call the police if you see him again,” said Isaac. “And call me too.” He handed her a business card. “The cell number is the second one. Call my cell.”

  * * *

  “What was that?” Lorelei said as they got back into Isaac’s car. “What are you going to do if she calls you?”

  “Well, we need hard evidence on Ross,” said Isaac. “I want to be there to make sure I can get it.”

  “You made it sound like you could protect her, Isaac.”

  “It’s not like we aren’t trained to use firearms, Lorelei,” he said to her, giving her a dark look.

  She pulled the door closed and buckled her seatbelt. “Yeah, but being trained and actually shooting someone is a whole different ballgame.”

  He got in the car too. He sighed, fitting the keys into the ignition. “I’m trying to help you here. The whole reason I’m here is because of that.”

  She studied her hands. “No, I know that. I’m grateful.”

  “You don’t sound grateful.”

  “I’m not trying to be insulting or anything. I just don’t get why you did it.”

  “I’m explaining, though,” said Isaac, starting the car and backing it up.

  “This isn’t some macho guy thing, right? You don’t think it’s going to impress me? You’re not still trying to impress me?”

  “No,” said Isaac, pulling the car out onto the road. He stared straight ahead.

  “Good,” she said. “Because that wouldn’t make any sense.”

  “No, it wouldn’t,” he said quietly. “By all rights, I should go back to pretending you don’t exist. There’s no reason for me to be part of your life. Simon is not my kid, and there’s nothing between you and me anymore.”

  “Exactly,” she said.

  It was quiet.

  The car picked up speed. He sat back in the driver’s seat, resting his head back.

  She turned to look out the window.

  “Well, the thing is, Lorelei, I don’t know if it has to make sense.”

  She turned back to him. “What?”

  “I never stopped thinking about you, you know? It’s been a long time, and I’ve had chances to move on, and I never really could bring myself to do it. I always felt like losing you… it was like something got cut off in the middle of everything. It wasn’t like an end, just an indefinite pause.”

  She twisted her hands together. She didn’t say anything.

  “I guess it wasn’t like that for you?”

  “I don’t deserve you, Isaac.”

  “Yeah, well, I’m a real prize, right? Letting you run off while I thought you were pregnant with my child and not even bothering to send child support?”

  She shut her eyes. “But he wasn’t yours.”

  “But I didn’t know that.”

  She opened her eyes again. She was starting to get confused. What was this conversation even about anymore?

  “I’m only saying that if we’re going to have a pissing match over who’s been the shittiest person, I can play that game too. I’m not saying that things you’ve done haven’t hurt me, or that your actions haven’t pissed me off royally. But I am saying that I don’t know if it ultimately matters, because… for reasons that may not make sense, I still… I… You’re…” He let out a frustrated sigh. “Forget it.”

  She started to say something, but then she didn’t. She turned and looked back out the window, watching the scenery slip by in the darkness. She felt a pull coming from the other side of the car, something sweet and familiar, and part of her wanted to give in to it.

  Everything with Isaac had always been easy. There were complicated relationships and there were simple ones, and being with Isaac had been simple. It had started one night when they went out for drinks together after work. It wasn’t the first time they’d gone out to have drinks together, but it was the first time they did it without having a case in common to hash out. She remembered being surprised that they could talk to each other so easily, and that even without something from work to discuss, things seemed to flow between them.

  After the bar closed, he asked if she wanted to continue the evening at his place.

  She said yes.

  Another drink, the two of them perched on his couch together. They were sitting close, she remembered, very close, and every once in a while, when she shifted position, her leg would brush against his. Those touches between them had been electric.

  He’d set down his drink and grinned at her. “I’ve got an idea,” he’d said.

  She’d raised her eyebrows. “Oh?”

  “Might turn out disastrous, but I think it’s worth the risk. You game?”

  “For what?”

  His voice had dropped in pitch. It was almost gravelly. “A little experiment.”

  She’d felt both hot and cold at once, but it was a pleasant feeling, buoyed up by the few drinks they’d had. “What kind of experiment?”

  His face had inched closer to hers. “Close your eyes,” he’d urged in that low, low voice.

  She’d shut them, pleasurable anticipation flooding her.

  And his lips had been on hers, and it had been like buttercream icing—sweet and smooth and delicious. And easy. It was easy to kiss him. It was easy to make love to him. It was easy to be with him.

  He had been that one easy, perfect thing.

  And she’d cheated on him with a fucking serial killer.

  She turned back from the window. “So, where can we find hard evidence on Ross, do you think?”

  His eyebrows shot up. “We’re changing the subject?” He made a rueful face. “Of course we’re changing the subject.”

  * * *

  “Thanks for this, Mia,” said Lorelei. “You didn’t have to
give him the presidential suite.” She and Mia were standing outside the door of Isaac’s new hotel room. When she and Isaac had returned, Lorelei had called Simon to make sure that he was okay, and he’d told her he was over at Jordan’s place. Mia happened to be around and wanted to know what was going on. When Mia heard that Lorelei was using her comp rooms for Isaac, she’d insisted on giving him an upgrade.

  Now, Mia smiled at Lorelei. “He’s your friend, and your friends are my friends.”

  “Thanks again,” said Lorelei. She hesitated. She had a strange desire to go in and see Isaac again. What she’d say to him she didn’t know, but she felt the pull she’d felt in the car, and the memory of kissing him swam to the surface of her brain. Warmth spread through her body.

  But she couldn’t just send Mia off. And anyway, it was probably a bad idea to rekindle anything with Isaac. A stupid idea. She took a deep breath and then started walking down the hallway.

  The hallway was decorated in understated wallpaper in muted greens and mauves. There was a painting on the wall of a sailboat in the sun.

  Mia kept pace with her. “Listen, this is crazy. I remember this Ross guy. We talked about him when this all started.”

  “Yeah,” said Lorelei. “I can’t believe he was loose all this time.”

  “Well, he may be fixated on you,” said Mia. “I mean, that’s got to be why he’s attacking those girls that Simon’s been taking pictures of, right?”

  Lorelei hadn’t quite put that together, but she had to admit it made sense. “He escaped and he sought me out. And then he tailed Simon.”

  “Yes,” said Mia. “Maybe he sees himself in Simon, the boy he was when he did the murders. Maybe that’s why he’s trying to frame your son.”

  “You think he’s consciously trying to pin it on Simon?”

  “I don’t know,” said Mia. “But it kind of sounds like that to me. And no matter what the case, I don’t know if you and Simon are safe all alone in that little apartment over there. Why don’t you two stay with Jordan and me?”

  “Oh, that’s not necessary, Mia.”

  “Seriously, there’s plenty of room,” said Mia. “I’ve got bedrooms coming out my ears. You’ll both be comfortable. And then he won’t know where to look for you. It’ll throw him off.”

  The two women stopped at the elevator bank.

  Mia pushed the down button. “What do you think?”

  “I don’t know,” said Lorelei. “It seems like an awful lot of trouble for you.”

  “Not at all,” said Mia. “Come on, say yes. If you don’t, I’ll be worried about you.”

  Lorelei smiled. “Well, okay. Sounds like it might be a good idea.”

  * * *

  By the time Lorelei and Simon had bags packed, a storm was rolling in. The dark clouds blocked out the sky, and the air was full of the humid threat of rain. Simon had come back with her to the apartment to pack his clothes. She had told him to pack enough for a few nights, but she didn’t know if they’d actually stay longer than one night. After all, Ross had been free for quite some time, and he hadn’t made any attempt to hurt them. But if he really were trying to frame Simon, then Lorelei supposed that he’d been acting aggressively.

  She and Simon climbed the steps onto the veranda of the house. Lorelei set down her bag and banged on the door.

  A few moments of waiting, and then the door opened. Jordan was there, wearing a long white nightgown with lace around the collar and on the edges. Her dark hair hung down her back. “Hey,” she said.

  Simon took in the nightgown and made a face. “Hey.”

  Jordan made a face back.

  Lorelei let out a little sigh. She’d forgotten all about this drama. She’d wanted to wait to talk to Mia about what was going on with Jordan, but if they were all going to be on top of each other in this house, she wasn’t sure she’d be able to wait that long.

  “Come in,” said Jordan.

  They stepped inside. It always seemed dark in this house, due to the dark hard wood floor and trim, but it seemed even darker with the storm outside. The hanging light overhead seemed to barely illuminate the dark, polished staircase and the tall leafy plants next to it. On the wall, paintings of various generations of Dawson families gazed down disapprovingly.

  Jordan pointed at the stairs. “Mom said you guys could stay upstairs. If you want to take your bags up?”

  “Sure,” said Lorelei.

  “Mom and I are in the living room,” said Jordan. She clasped her hands together and then darted away, through the doorway into another room.

  Lorelei climbed the steps and found two open doors at the top of the steps. The beds in both rooms had folded linens and blankets brought over from the hotel. Lorelei set about making her bed up and then went over to check on Simon.

  He was struggling with the fitted sheet, so she helped him get the bed made up.

  Then the two of them went downstairs to the living room. There was a fire in the fireplace, roaring away. More paintings decorated the walls. The curtains were open on the tall windows that surrounded the room, and Lorelei could see the storm rage beyond the glass. Thunder rolled across the sky and lightning whited out the world.

  Simon’s face twitched. He wasn’t fond of storms. She knew he wouldn’t make a big deal of it in front of Jordan, but she also knew her son wasn’t pleased with the noise or flashes of light.

  “Sounds like it’s really going to rain,” said Mia, who was sitting on a rocking chair.

  Jordan was kneeling in front of her.

  Mia was combing the girl’s hair, running a comb from root to tip in a rhythmic motion.

  Lorelei felt oddly as if she’d intruded on something private. She didn’t know what to do with herself.

  Mia gestured to the couch. “Sit down.”

  Lorelei sat down.

  Simon sat down next to her.

  The two exchanged a glance.

  Mia continued to comb Jordan’s hair. “I’m so glad you’re here. Honestly, it’s more for my benefit than anything else. Knowing there’s a serial killer on the loose, it’s very upsetting. I don’t want to be alone here, you know. Having you two here really eases my mind.”

  “Well,” said Lorelei, “Ross isn’t really a serial killer.”

  “What’s that?” said Mia.

  Jordan stared straight ahead, barely blinking.

  Lorelei felt uncomfortable just looking at the girl. “Uh, well, I guess he is now, if he killed Brittany and Calico and Darla. But before, what he did to get locked up, it was all one incident.”

  “There’s a difference?” said Mia.

  “Killing serially is typically to stalk one victim at a time, you know, serially. When a person kills a bunch of people in one incident, they’re more often referred to as a mass murderer,” said Lorelei.

  “How interesting,” said Mia. “But I guess he hasn’t changed much. He took one girl the first time, and then two the second time. Maybe next, it’ll be a whole group.”

  Lorelei cringed. “He can’t be allowed to do it again. We have to catch him.” She didn’t know if the police would find him or not.

  “I’m sure he’ll be caught,” said Mia.

  Another peal of thunder.

  Simon jumped.

  Mia’s comb got tangled in Jordan’s hair.

  The girl flinched.

  “Sorry, honey,” said Mia. She pulled the comb through, smoothing out the tangle she’d created. “I think that’s about enough, anyway.” She ran her fingers through Jordan’s hair. “Your hair is so pretty.”

  Jordan didn’t say anything.

  “Jordan, that was a compliment,” said Mia.

  “Thanks, Mom,” Jordan muttered.

  “Stand up and look at me,” said Mia.

  Jordan did.

  Mia looked her over. “Such a pretty girl.”

  “Thanks, Mom,” said Jordan.

  Lorelei swallowed. She had to talk to Mia about all of this. Whatever this strange ritual was, combi
ng Jordan’s hair like that, making her wear lacy nightgowns, it could only be making everything worse. If she talked to Mia, made her friend understand, she could put an end to all of this. “Mia?”

  Mia turned to Lorelei. “Don’t you think she’s pretty?”

  “Uh… of course,” said Lorelei. “But, Mia, have you ever considered that maybe Jordan doesn’t want to be pretty?”

  Mia made a confused face. “What are you talking about? Every little girl wants to be pretty.”

  “I want to be pretty, Mom,” said Jordan, shooting a look of terror in Lorelei’s and Simon’s direction.

  Simon glared at his mother, giving his head a slight shake of disapproval.

  Lightning splintered the sky outside the window. Another crack of thunder and the sky opened, rain pouring out of the clouds and drenching the earth below. It ran in rivulets over the windows.

  Another burst of lightning.

  Lorelei stood up.

  She’d seen something illuminated at the window. A figure.

  She hurried closer to the window.

  “What is it?” said Mia. “Where are you going?”

  He was there. At the window, standing there and getting soaked. His hair was plastered to his forehead, and water was running down over his face, dripping off his nose.

  Dylan Wayne Ross cocked his head at her, taking her in as if he was endlessly fascinated by what he saw.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE

  “Ross!” Lorelei screamed. “What do you want?”

  Ross just stared at her.

  Mia was up, clutching the back of the rocking chair, looking horrified. “Lorelei, is that him?”

  Lorelei pointed at Mia. “Call 911.” She hurried away from the window, towards the door out of the living room.

  “Where are you going?” Mia called, her voice thin.

  “Mom?” yelled Simon.

  “Call the police!” Lorelei threw over her shoulder, and then she ran to the front door. She threw it open and rushed out into the rain. The water droplets were cold, and she was drenched almost immediately. She ran around the side of the house to the window where Ross was standing.

  Except Ross was gone.

  “Shit,” she muttered, turning in a circle. “Ross!” she yelled. “Come out, wherever you are.”