Love Inspired Suspense June 2014 Bundle 2 of 2: Forced AllianceOut for JusticeNo Place to Run

by Worth, Lenora; Post, Carol J. ; Laird, Marion Faith

  Now she was beyond exhausted. If she sat in one place for too long, she would probably fall asleep. Hopefully, Tomlinson would keep it short.

  When the sergeant stepped up to the podium, his expression was grave. His eyes circled the room. “Thursday night, our killer struck again. The newest victim was Kayla Douglas, a twenty-four-year-old teacher at Harmony Grove Elementary. She was found in the woods Friday afternoon, about three miles north of town.”

  Tomlinson’s gaze shifted to Lexi and lingered. If he was looking for a reaction, he wasn’t going to get one. No way was she going to give him a reason to pull her off the case.

  Finally he continued, “The photos arrived at the Ledger in Saturday’s mail. They’re being processed now, along with the envelope.”

  Just like the others. Lexi sighed. It almost seemed a pointless waste of time. The killer had never left behind any prints. No DNA on the envelope seal or the back of the stamp. He used one of the well-known brands of envelope sealers. He was too smart to lick them. Or to touch anything without gloves.

  But as long as he kept killing, they would keep investigating each case as if it was the first. Because eventually they would get a break. When someone kills long enough and frequently enough, no matter how meticulous and methodical, he eventually makes a mistake.

  Tomlinson moved out from behind the podium to pace slowly back and forth across the front of the room. “We’ve checked out her house and lifted some prints from the entry area. But just as with the other women, there was no sign of a struggle, and the neighbors didn’t hear a thing. If she disappeared from home, she went willingly. Or at least opened the door willingly. It’ll be a while till we get the toxicology report back, but my guess is they’ll find chloroform in her system, too.”

  Lexi struggled against the churning in her gut. How could Kayla have fallen prey? She was smart, always cautious. But according to friends and family members, so were the other victims. These weren’t women who hung out in bars and went home with strange men. They were careful, responsible girls who disappeared from their own locked homes after being settled in for the night.

  “As most of you know, this is the fifth one. And the killer’s M.O. is always the same. He shows up at the homes of his victims, somehow convinces them to open the door, then puts them out with chloroform. And before he leaves with his unconscious victim, he meticulously twists the lock and pulls the door shut behind him.”

  He stopped his pacing and faced them fully. “We’re already working with Lakeland, Winter Haven and Bartow. Now we’re going to involve Harmony Grove. So, Simmons, coordinate your efforts with them. I’m guessing you know the chief of police and the two officers.”

  She nodded. Oh, yes, she knew them. One better than the others.

  Six years ago he had offered her a ring. And she had panicked. She was finally ready to claim her independence and, based on her parents’ miserable relationship, decided she was better off alone. She’d left for school, hoping deep down that he loved her enough to wait for her. He waited, all right. Maybe a week. She’d come home during Thanksgiving break ready to tell him she had made a mistake. He’d met her at the door…with his new fiancée. Pregnant fiancée, if the rumors were to be believed.

  Since then, even though her mom still lived in Harmony Grove, she and Alan had pretty well managed to avoid each other. The first two years, she’d been away at school. Then, instead of returning to Harmony Grove, she’d settled in nearby Auburndale. Up until Friday, they had seen little of each other.

  Something told her that was about to change.

  Tomlinson resumed his pacing. “The Harmony Grove officers likely know everyone in town, so they should be able to help us. I want the names of every person she came in contact with for the past month, and every possible lead followed. There’s got to be some connection between these five women, someone they each knew and trusted well enough to open the door for late at night.”

  “Yes, sir.” She wouldn’t leave any stone unturned. Even if it meant working side by side with Alan.

  Tomlinson returned to the podium and rested both hands on its top edges. “The story has already hit the papers, and at some point we’ll call another press conference. But we have to be careful. There’s a fine line between warning the public and giving this guy the fame and recognition he wants.”

  He inhaled slowly. “A lot of killers like to keep trophies, but this guy is different. He wants his crimes on display for the world to see. Right now he’s killing at the rate of once a month. Seeing his actions publicized could spur him to kill more.” Tomlinson’s gaze circled the room. “All right, then. Let’s get out there and get this thing solved.”

  Lexi dropped her pen into her purse and gathered her notepad. So she was going to have to work with Alan. She could handle it. At least Tomlinson hadn’t taken her off the case.

  She moved across the room and as she reached the open door Tomlinson’s voice stopped her.

  “Simmons, hold up. I need to talk to you.”

  She paused in the doorway, apprehension sifting over her. Maybe she was premature on her assessment that he wasn’t going to pull her. “Yes, sir?”

  “Are you okay working this case? I heard you almost lost it out there.”

  Embarrassment surged through her and her stomach clenched. Blanchard or Vickers. One of them had squealed on her.

  Either that or Alan had broken his promise and made a call to her supervisor.

  “I’m fine, sir.” Her gaze traveled past Tomlinson to where a new detective was making his way toward them from the restrooms. Greg something. She had met him once or twice. And she didn’t want him knowing her business. Nothing against Greg. He seemed like a nice enough guy. But she didn’t want anybody knowing her business.

  She waited till he passed, then turned her attention back to Tomlinson.

  “Sir, Harmony Grove is a small town, and I grew up there. So I knew the victim.” That was all she would tell him.

  “I suspected as much. I can assign someone else.”

  “No, sir, that won’t be necessary.”

  He studied her, his kind eyes searching, and she fought the urge to squirm under his gentle scrutiny. Brent Tomlinson was like a father to everyone in the district.

  “Is there something you’re not telling me?”

  She shook her head. “I can handle it, sir.”

  He hesitated for only a moment longer. “Then get out there.”

  Relief washed through her. “Yes, sir. I’ll do that.”

  “Maybe with a lot of luck and some really great detective work, we’ll catch this guy.” He smiled, crinkling the skin at the corners of his eyes. “And a little prayer wouldn’t hurt, either.”

  She nodded. The really great detective work—she was all over that. But the prayer would have to be someone else’s department. She and God weren’t on speaking terms. Hadn’t been for quite some time. Seven years, to be exact. Not that they had been all that close before.

  But when God had taken her best friend, that had cemented it. Of course, even now, she had to admit that God hadn’t exactly taken her. Greed and bad choices had gotten Priscilla killed. And blackmailing some really bad dudes.

  But it hadn’t been that way with her dad. He hadn’t done anything to bring about his demise. He’d spent his entire adult life catering to an impossible-to-please woman. Then three years ago, he’d come home from work, sat down with the newspaper and keeled over with a massive heart attack.

  And now her cousin Kayla. Kayla was the kindest, most generous person she had ever known. She poured her life into her students, tithed her 10 percent and never missed a church service.

  But God had taken her anyway.

  No, if that was the kind of God people served, someone else would have to do the praying.

  *

  A steel-gray sky hung low over the manicured lawns of Peace Memorial Gardens, and a light mist rained down on those gathered around the freshly dug grave. The weather fit the mood.r />
  Alan had joined the others who had made the short trip from the Cornerstone Community Church to the cemetery at the edge of town. Most of Harmony Grove had come out for the funeral, and the small brick church had been filled to capacity and beyond. He had arrived ten minutes before the start of the service and had had no choice but to squeeze in along the back wall. Lexi, he had assumed, was seated at the front with the family.

  But the group attending the simple graveside service was much smaller—about three dozen of Kayla’s closest friends and family members. Pastor Tom stood in front of the casket, in the center of the elongated semicircle of mourners.

  Alan cast a glance at Lexi some six feet away. The simple black dress she wore emphasized the paleness of her skin, and crystalline mini-droplets coated her blond hair, giving her an almost ethereal quality.

  She stared straight ahead, her shoulders stiff and her jaw rigid. He understood. He felt it, too—anger at whoever had done this to Kayla.

  But Lexi’s anger was also directed at God. At least it had been before, when her best friend was killed. Back then he hadn’t had any answers for her. He hadn’t shared any godly wisdom, because he’d had no faith of his own.

  Now he did. He had that faith. And he knew where Kayla had gone. But he still didn’t have any answers.

  After Pastor Tom gave the closing prayer, the small crowd began to disperse. Alan fell in beside Lexi as she walked toward her car.

  “Are you doing all right?”

  She shrugged. “As well as can be expected.”

  “Anything I can do?” He had talked to Chief Dalton about the county and city coordinating efforts to find Kayla’s killer. The chief had thought it was a great idea and said he would talk to the sheriff’s office. Hopefully the sheriff’s office agreed. Kayla had been a good friend. He wanted the creep caught. And it would be that much more rewarding if he could have a personal hand in it.

  “Actually, there is.” She stopped next to her car and turned to face him. “Get in.”

  He hurried around to the passenger’s side of the blue Mazda before she could change her mind. By the time he slipped inside, she was already sitting at the wheel, her gaze fixed on some point beyond the spotted front windshield.

  “It looks like we’re going to be working together. At least coordinating our efforts.” She spoke without looking at him. She didn’t sound thrilled. But she didn’t seem miffed, either.

  “Are you okay with that?”

  Now she looked at him. “We both want to see Kayla’s killer caught. I think we’re mature enough to set aside our past differences and work toward the same end.”

  He nodded. “The sheriff’s office has filled us in on each of the cases. But give me everything you’ve got.”

  “The girls were all early to mid-twenties, two from Lakeland, one from Bartow and one from Winter Haven. The perp feeds on recognition, so he takes photos of his victims and sends them to the Ledger, hoping they’ll be printed.”

  “Have they been?”

  “No. They’ve turned them over to Lakeland P.D., who has turned them over to us.”

  “I guess responsible journalism exists after all.”

  He gave her a wry smile. She might have even returned it. Just a little.

  She continued, expression again somber. “Sometimes we get the photo before we find the body. Sometimes we find the body first.”

  “Kayla?”

  “The photos arrived Saturday.”

  He clenched his fists. It wasn’t enough that the creep had to kill her. He’d furthered his thrill by photographing his work. Alan’s jaw tightened. Whatever it took, he was going to catch this guy.

  “So what can you tell me about these murders?”

  “I don’t know about Kayla, but with the other four, friends or family members have stated that they knew for a fact that the girls were home for the night and not planning to go back out.”

  “Kayla, too.”

  She looked at him sharply. “You’re sure?”

  “Positive. She was with me that evening. I dropped her off at her house at nine-thirty.”

  Her eyes raked over him. “You were dating Kayla, too? You get around.”

  The sarcasm in her tone stabbed at him. “No, it wasn’t like that. She needed to buy a gift and conned me into driving her to Lakeland Square Mall.”

  “Uh-huh.”

  Her response was heavy with skepticism. So he dated a lot. Big deal. Single at thirty-two, he had gained the title of Harmony Grove’s most eligible bachelor. But that wasn’t saying much. There were only a handful of single guys his age.

  At least he kept it casual. He wasn’t out to break any hearts. His dates were more friendship than anything.

  Several years ago he had been ready to commit. To Lexi. She had turned him down flat. In his naïveté, he had held out hope she would come around.

  He should have seen the writing on the wall. When she’d insisted she didn’t want to tie him down while she did her last two years of school out of state, he had believed her. And even though he’d been willing to wait, when she’d suggested they date other people, he had reluctantly agreed.

  It hadn’t taken her long to replace him. Not long at all. What really stung was that she hadn’t had the guts to tell him herself. She’d sent her mother to do it. The message was that Lexi had found someone else. The implied meaning was that this bright, young medical student was worthy of her, and he somehow wasn’t. Her rejection had set him up for a whole series of bad choices of his own.

  But this wasn’t the time to dwell on past mistakes. They had a murder to solve.

  “Is there any link between the victims? Jobs, friends, places they frequent?”

  Lexi shook her head. “None that we’ve been able to find. The first four had no friends in common, didn’t hang out at the same places and had totally unrelated careers. One was an administrative assistant and one was a dental hygienist. The other two were students at two different colleges. One went to Florida Southern and the other to Polk State.”

  “How about physical description? Any particular body type or hair color he’s targeting?”

  “Nope, they go all the way from a petite one hundred eight pounds to a hefty two-thirty. And we’ve got a platinum blonde, a dishwater blonde and two brunettes. And now, with Kayla, a redhead.”

  Lexi heaved a sigh and continued, “The only similarities are their ages and the way they’re killed. He chloroforms them, takes them into the woods, and after they wake up, bloodies them up a little, then strangles them.” Sadness filled her gaze and she lowered her voice. “We know they’re awake because of the pictures.”

  Alan closed his eyes, a vise squeezing down on his stomach. These weren’t nameless girls she was talking about. This was Kayla.

  Lexi let her head fall back against the headrest and stared out the windshield. “Our best clue at this point—our only clue—is that the killer is someone each of the victims knew well enough to feel comfortable unlocking and opening their door late at night. But it has to be a newer acquaintance, or their friends and family members would be aware of him. And so far we haven’t gotten a single match.”

  Alan thought for a moment. Who could each of these women have met recently who would be unknown to friends and family members? “What about workers—cable or phone techs, carpet cleaners, plumbers, electricians, anything like that?”

  Lexi frowned. “Nothing that matches. One of the Lakeland girls had Stanley Steamer clean her carpets three weeks before she was killed. The one in Winter Haven had cable installed two months before she died. The other two didn’t have any kind of work done, at least nothing that shows up on receipts, credit card statements or banking records.”

  Alan nodded. “So what now?”

  “Talk to everyone we know in Harmony Grove who might have any information.”

  “I’ve already talked to her neighbors. No one saw or heard anything that night. Well, I take that back. Old Mrs. Thayer saw me pull up, get out
and walk Kayla to the door.”

  She cocked a brow at him. “That just might make you our only suspect. Have you ever met Meagan Bowers, Stephanie Wilson, Donna Jackson or Sylvia Stephens?”

  “Nope, never heard of them.”

  She gave him a quirky grin. “Okay, then you’re probably not the killer.”

  “I hope your interrogations aren’t always that easy.”

  “No, they’re not. Usually I’m a tough interrogator.” She grew serious again. “Look, keep everything I’ve told you under wraps. Tomlinson is afraid if we give him the publicity he wants, it’ll just encourage him to kill again.”

  “Will do.”

  He climbed from the car, then poked his head back inside. “Lexi, be careful. You’re in that age group.”

  “No, I’m not, I’m two years past.”

  She was right. But with her soft features and girlish smile, she could easily pass for twenty-five. Or younger. “Close enough. So be careful.”

  “Don’t worry, I’m not the type to open my door to anyone in the middle of the night.”

  “Neither was Kayla.”

  THREE

  Lexi walked down the hall of Harmony Grove Elementary School amid the awed stares of first-and second-graders. Since one school resource officer was assigned to several elementary schools in the area, it wasn’t often that the munchkins of Harmony Grove saw a uniformed police officer walking their halls. Especially one who carried a gun.

  The release bell had just rung and teachers were herding their unruly charges toward the pickup area. Kayla’s classroom was up ahead. Third door on the left. Someone needed to clear out her things. And Aunt Sharon was in no shape to deal with it.

  Lexi had another reason for showing up at Kayla’s school. She had arranged to meet with a couple of teachers who’d been close to her. Maybe they would remember something she had said before she died, something that had seemed insignificant at the time but could be important in solving the case. So far she and Alan had come up with zilch.

  When she stepped into Kayla’s classroom, a woman stood facing the front, wiping a rag across a chalkboard in smooth arcs. Two plastic crates sat atop the wooden desk. Lexi cleared her throat and the woman spun to face her.