Cold Conspiracy
Page 19
While the others hung back to provide cover, he and Gage approached the front door. Travis knocked, then tried the knob, and the door swung open. They disappeared into the house and emerged a long five minutes later. “It’s clear,” Travis called.
The others entered the empty, though orderly, house. Dust covers draped the furniture in every room but the kitchen and a small den where Tim and Alex had apparently established themselves. A couple of sleeping bags were rolled up on the floor of the den, and a few empty cans in the kitchen garbage can were the only evidence of occupation.
“Search every room,” Travis said. “I want anything that might be tied to them, or that might tell us where they are now.”
Dwight found Donna’s corsage on the floor of the mudroom, the flowers crushed. Jamie stared at the forlorn flowers, then turned away, breathing hard.
“I noticed a shed out back,” Dwight said. “Someone should check that.”
“I will,” Jamie said. She needed to get out of this house where her sister had been held.
The shed was a prefab wooden structure, about five feet by seven feet, with a single door. The door wasn’t locked, but Jamie had to force it open. When she finally stepped inside, she saw the reason for her difficulty as she shone her flashlight over the body of Pi Calendri. Her heart sank as she passed the light over the wound in his shoulder and the pool of blood on the concrete floor.
“Somebody help me,” he moaned, and Jamie dropped to her knees beside him.
“Pi, what happened?” she asked, feeling for his pulse.
But she never heard his answer, as her head exploded in pain, and the world went black.
Chapter Twenty
Jamie came to in a fog of pain. Her head pounded and her arms ached, and the smell of dust and old wood smoke mingled with the haunting scent of her mother’s perfume. As her head cleared, she realized she was lying on a bed, her hands bound beneath her back. Dusty wood beams stretched overhead and nothing looked familiar. She turned her head to the side and relief surged through when she saw a teary-eyed Donna staring back at her, and the memory of being with Pi in the garden shed returned. Someone must have attacked her and brought her to this place. “Are you all right?” Jamie whispered.
“I tore my tights,” Donna said. “And I lost my flowers.”
Before they could talk more, the door opened and a young man in a blue beanie and parka shuffled in. “Who are you and what are you doing with us?” Jamie asked.
“You don’t know who I am?” He chuckled. “I’m the Ice Cold Killer.”
Jamie recognized him now, from the flyer Travis had printed. Tim Dawson. “There are two of you,” Jamie said. “Where’s your friend?”
“So you figured that out, did you?” He stripped off his coat to reveal a faded red sweatshirt over jeans, then dropped into a straight-backed wooden chair. “He had some things he had to take care of.”
“What are you going to do with us?” she asked.
“What do you think?” He clasped his hands behind his head. “The same thing we did to the others. My friend is out there now, looking for a good place to dump your bodies.”
Donna began to cry. Though her hands were bound, Jamie shifted her body toward her sister, trying to comfort her. “Why are you doing this?” she asked.
“You haven’t figured that out?” He leaned toward her. “Cops are so clueless. The Ice Cold Killer kills women, right? So killing a cop would be the ultimate. Your sister was just a way to get to you.”
Jamie lay back on the bed, trying to memorize the details of her surroundings, searching for a way out. The room they were in wasn’t very big, and seemed to be a combination kitchen, dining, living room and bedroom. A cabin, then. One of those Forest Service cabins where Alex and Tim had hidden before? Presumably when the second killer returned, they would kill Donna and Jamie, and transport them to the dump site. Or would they transport them first and kill them there? The latter provided more opportunities for escape, but she couldn’t rely on that.
She would probably only have one chance to save her sister. She would have to be ready to take it, with no hesitation.
* * *
“WHERE’S JAMIE?” NATE ASKED, when he had finished searching the upstairs bedroom of the house, which had yielded no evidence that the two killers had ever been in there.
Dwight looked up from pulling books from the bookcase. “She went out to check the shed.”
“You let her go out there alone?” Nate asked.
“I’d let you go out there alone,” Dwight said.
Nate didn’t bother answering but raced outside. The door of the shed stood open, and as he approached, he heard moaning.
Pi Calendri lay in a pool of blood on the floor of the garden shed, his head resting on the deck of a lawnmower, his feet on a sack of mulch. Nate pulled out a phone and called for an ambulance, then knelt beside the young man and tried to rouse him.
Pi’s eyes flickered open. “It hurts bad,” he said, his voice faint.
“Hang in there, buddy,” Nate said. “Help is on the way.” He examined the injury to the boy’s shoulder. Pi had lost a lot of blood and he might be in shock, but the wound was a clean one. “Tell me what happened, so I can find out who did this.”
“Those two climbers? I saw one this morning and figured they were in the neighborhood. I knew you were looking for them. I figured maybe they were the Ice Cold Killers. I figured I’d find them—you know, be a hero.” He closed his eyes. “Guess I was really stupid.”
“Stay with me,” Nate said. “The ambulance will be here soon.”
Pi moaned.
“Pi!” Nate patted his cheek and the young man opened his eyes. “Did you see a woman come in here? Just a little while ago.”
“No, I haven’t seen anything. Just help me, man, I’m scared.”
“I’ll help you, I promise,” Nate said. “What did you see before you were shot?”
“I found the house. I knew it was the right one because I saw the Jeep in the garage. I looked through the back window and saw one of the guys with this chubby girl dressed all in pink. I was looking for a way into the garage. I thought maybe I’d disable the Jeep so they couldn’t leave, you know? But when I got back here, the other one stepped out from the shed and just shot me.”
“Did you overhear any conversation? Did they say where they were headed from here?”
Pi shook his head and closed his eyes again. “I didn’t hear anything. It really hurts. Where’s that ambulance?”
“It will be here soon.”
The light changed and Nate turned to see Dwight in the doorway. “What happened to him?” he asked.
“Gunshot wound. The ambulance is on its way.”
“Where’s Jamie?”
“I don’t know.” Nate rose. “Stay with Pi, will you? I’ve got to go look for her.”
He found Travis in the living room, on the phone. The sheriff ended the call. “I put out a BOLO on the Jeep, and there’s already an Amber Alert for Donna.”
“With the roads closed, we know they can’t go far,” Nate said.
“It’s still a big county,” Travis said.
“I think they’ll go somewhere familiar,” Nate said. “Some place they don’t think we’ll look, because we’ve looked there before.”
“You think they’ll go back to the summer cabins?” Travis asked.
“It makes the most sense,” Nate said. “It’s easy to get to, but away from other houses and people.”
“Which cabins?” Travis asked.
“Sundance,” Nate said. “They stayed there at least a few days, and the back way to the road makes it easier for them to get away. And they burned the Toyota there. They keep coming back to that location.”
“Then let’s go.”
* * *
JAMIE FOCUSED ON keeping Tim
talking. As long as she was talking, she and Donna were still alive. “What made you come to Eagle Mountain?” she asked. “You’d have a lot more targets in a big city like Denver.”
“More cops, too,” Tim said. “But coming here was my partner’s idea. Some woman he knew was here and he wanted to see her. Then he realized how easy it would be to fool a little sheriff’s department like this one. It was kind of an experiment, I guess.”
“And you just went along with the idea of killing a bunch of women?” Jamie wasn’t sure she did a good job of masking her disgust.
“Yeah, well, I was a little freaked out with the first one, but then, it was kind of a thrill, you know? Getting away with something, right under the cops’ noses.” He stood and walked over to the bed. “And now there’ll be one less cop to follow us around.”
Donna whimpered and pressed closer against Jamie, who could feel her shaking. “Is this really your sister?” Tim asked. “She doesn’t look like you. Must be a drag, having to look after her.”
“It’s not a drag,” Jamie said. “Donna is the most wonderful sister in the world. I’m very lucky to have her.”
“Well, you won’t have anything much longer. As soon as my friend gets back—” He made a slashing motion across his throat.
Donna began to sob again.
A phone rang and Tim answered. “Yeah? Where are you, man? I’m waiting...What? You’re gonna make me deal with both of them?...No, I’m not saying I can’t do it, just that that’s not how this works. We’re a team, aren’t we?...All right, all right. I’ll bring them and we can do them there. Where are you?” He glanced toward the window. “It’s really coming down out there, isn’t it?...Yeah, I know you like the snow ’cause it covers our tracks. It’s still cold...All right. Be there in a few.” He replaced the phone in his pocket. “Change of plans, ladies. We’re gonna go for a little ride.” He reached for Donna but as soon as he touched her, she screamed.
“Shut up!” He slapped her across the face, then pulled a bandanna from his pocket and stuffed it in her mouth. “You cooperate or I’ll slit your throat right here.” He shifted his gaze to Jamie. “And if you give me any trouble, I’ll kill her first—slowly.”
Jamie suppressed a shudder. For whatever reason, Alex had left Tim to deal with her and Donna on his own. That upped the odds in her favor. “Donna, honey, you do what he says,” she said.
Tim hauled Donna to her feet. “That’s better,” he said. “Now I’m gonna put you in this chair by the door, then I’ll get your sister. I’ll tie the two of you together and cut loose your feet, then we’ll all go out to the car. And remember, don’t try anything.” He pulled a small pistol from beneath his sweatshirt. “I can’t miss from this close range.”
Jamie’s stomach clenched as she stared at the pistol, then she forced herself to look away. Even if he fired on her, he might not kill her. Some chance of staying alive was better than none. She braced herself and when he bent over to pull her to her feet, she resisted. “I’m caught on something,” she said, pretending to try to raise up. “I think the tape on my wrists is hung up on a spring or something.”
“What?” He bent over to take a closer look and she brought her knees up and hit him hard in the nose. A sickening crunch, and blood spurted across her. Tim screamed and dropped the pistol, clutching at his nose. He stumbled backward and Jamie struggled upright. She dived for the gun even as he reached for it, and then he was standing over her, kicking her and cursing. She dodged his blows and kicked out at the pistol, sending it skittering under the bed. Tim struck her hard on the side of the head. Her vision blurred and her stomach heaved. “Donna, run!” she shouted. “Hop or crawl if you have to, just leave.”
Donna remained in her chair, tears streaming down her face. “Jamie, I can’t leave you!”
“Donna, go!”
“Neither one of you are going anywhere.” Tim had retrieved the gun and stood over her, the barrel of the pistol inches from her forehead. Jamie closed her eyes and thought of Nate—how she would never see him again, or get to tell him that she loved him. She’d been so foolish, wasting time being afraid of what might happen, instead of enjoying the time they had together.
The door to the cabin burst open and gunfire exploded. Jamie braced herself against the pain she was sure would come, but instead only felt hands reaching for her. She opened her eyes to find Nate beside her, slashing through the tape at her wrists and ankles. She threw her arms around him and he gathered her close. “Donna?” she asked.
“She’s fine. Travis is helping her.”
The tears she had been holding back for the last few hours burst forth. “I love you,” she sobbed. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you before.”
“Shhh.” He patted her back, soothing her. “You didn’t have to tell me,” he said. “I knew.”
“How did you know?” She stared at him through the tears.
“That day I saw you at the scavenger hunt on Travis’s ranch, when you wouldn’t even look at me. I knew I’d never stopped loving you—and that you wouldn’t avoid me like that unless there were still some strong feelings buried somewhere.”
“You were awfully sure of yourself,” she said.
“I was sure you were the only woman for me,” he said. “I had to go away to figure that out, but now I’m back to stay.”
Jamie clutched his shoulder. “I come with a lot of baggage, you know.”
He hugged her close. “Donna isn’t baggage,” he whispered. “She’s an extra bonus. I never had a sister, you know.”
“Am I gonna be your sister?” Donna knelt beside them.
“If you’ll have me for a brother,” Nate said.
“I think you’d better ask Jamie if she’ll have you for a husband,” Donna said. “That’s the way it’s supposed to work, you know. You propose to your girlfriend, not her sister.”
Jamie almost laughed out loud at the expression on Nate’s face, but he recovered quickly and took her hand. “What about it, Jamie?” he asked. “Will you marry me?”
“Yes.” She kissed him.
“Yes!” Donna said and kissed him, too.
Someone cleared his throat, and Jamie looked up to see the sheriff standing over them. “Tim Dawson is dead,” he said. “Do you know where Alex Woodruff is?”
“He called and told Tim to meet him somewhere, and to bring us with him,” Jamie said. “But I don’t know where.” She looked at Nate. “Did you shoot Tim?”
“If I hadn’t, he would have killed you,” he said.
She nodded. “Yes.”
“Maybe we can trace Alex through Tim’s phone,” Travis said. “We’ll gather what evidence we can here. In the meantime, Nate, will you take Jamie and her sister home?”
“I should stay and help,” Jamie said, trying to scramble to her feet.
“Take care of your sister first,” Travis said. “That’s an order, Deputy.”
“Yes, sir.” She would take care of Donna. She and Nate together. They would be a family. Amazing how wonderful that sounded.
Ice Cold Killer Claims Another Victim
A twenty-three-year-old local woman is the Ice Cold Killer’s latest victim, after her body was found in her vehicle on County Road Seven early Tuesday morning. Her identity has not been released, pending notification of her next of kin.
Sheriff Travis Walker announced Monday evening that Timothy Dawson, 21, who was one of the chief suspects in the string of murders that have shocked Rayford County over the past few weeks, was killed during a confrontation with law enforcement officers. Dawson’s accomplice remains at large and, as the latest murder seems to indicate, intends to continue his killing spree.
* * *
Look for the conclusion of Cindi Myers’s
Eagle Mountain Murder Mystery:
Deadly Wedding miniseries,
Snowblind Justice,
And don’t miss the previous titles in the series:
Ice Cold Killer
Snowbound Suspicion
Available now from Harlequin Intrigue!
Keep reading for an excerpt from Marshal on a Mission by Ryshia Kennie.
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Marshal on a Mission
by Ryshia Kennie
Chapter One
The icy chill of déjà vu crept down her spine as if it had all happened only yesterday, and as if tragedy were about to happen again. Tara Munroe pushed the uneasy feeling away.