“Like you.” He stared at Jilly.
“I’d say you do have a type.” She put her hand on his cheek and pushed his face back toward the murder board. “Now stop looking at me and study the damn photo.”
Cody grinned, and focused on the picture she’d indicated. He shook his head. She moved on to the next. As he looked at the woman, he thought about Mary Ellen and how different she’d looked. “Maybe.”
“Maybe what?” she asked.
“She does look kind of familiar.”
“I have an idea.” Jilly started pulling down all the pictures and left the room. Cody followed her.
She went over to a desk where a guy, somewhere in his mid-twenties, was busy on a computer, “Hey, Jeff.”
The guy looked up. “Hey, Jilly, what’s up?”
“You know that Christmas card you did for the department? The one where you put elves costumes on all of us and a Santa outfit on the Bud?”
“Yeah, why?”
“That was pretty funny, by the way,” she said.
“Bud didn’t seem to think so,” Jeff remarked.
Jilly laughed. “No, he did not. Anyway, I was wondering, since you added those clothes, can you take stuff off of a photo too?”
“Sure. What did you have in mind?”
Jilly handed the stack over to him. “Do me a favor and erase the women’s hair, make-up and jewelry. Okay?”
Jeff took the pictures and started flipping through them.
“Sure, but I’d have to do it after my shift, the software is on my home computer.”
“I understand. Just bring them with you when you come in tomorrow, okay?”
“You got it.”
“Thanks,” she said.
Cody and Jilly walked back toward the conference room.
“Jeff has a degree as a graphic artist, but was having a hard time finding work when his girlfriend got pregnant. They married and he got a job here. We’re lucky to have him. He’s also our sketch artist.” Jilly glanced at her watch. “It’s late. Think we should pack it in?”
“Yeah, I didn’t get much sleep last night. I am a bit tired.” He slid her a look.
She glanced around the room, then back at him and grinned.
“That’s funny, neither did I.”
They rode back to the Thomas cabin in Jilly’s SUV. As she pulled into the driveway, the headlights hit the forested hill behind the house.
Jilly gasped and slammed on the brakes.
“Holy mother of God.”
TWENTY-FOUR
“What the hell?” Cody opened the passenger door and slowly walked forward.
“Who is it?” Jilly’s voice came from behind.
They stood side-by-side staring up. Cody’s brain was too busy taking in the scene to answer. He wasn’t exactly looking at the face.
“Oh, no, Jasmine Littlefoot,” Jilly said.
Above them, on the side of a forested hill, was Jasmine’s outstretched body. Her wrists and ankles secured between two trees. Her torso had been carved from breast to pelvic region. Her entrails spilled from the gaping wound.
Blood soaked the leaves and pine needles below her. Cody glanced back at the house and checked the windows. All dark at this time of night, but come morning, she would have been on display. That’s what the killer had in mind.
“This is not a body dump,” Cody said thinking aloud.
“Nope, he did her right here,” Jilly added.
He touched her calf. “She’s still warm.”
He scrambled up the hill.
“What are you doing? You’re disturbing the crime scene.”
Cody placed his fingers on her carotid artery. “She’s still alive. Help me get her down!”
Jilly raced back toward her vehicle.
Shocked. Cody yelled after her, “Where are you going?”
“To get a knife,” she shouted back.
He tried to untie the knot securing her right ankle. He noticed it was a 10.3mm-10.4mm width climbing rope. The knot was a bowline. The killer was undoubtedly a climber.
“Here.” Jilly shoved him aside and cut the rope, then swiftly moved to the other ankle and did the same. She scaled the incline and latched onto one of the trees to steady herself. “Hold onto her.”
Cody hiked up the hill behind Jasmine and grabbed her under the arms. “Go.” Once her wrists were free, he started to pick her up, but stopped. “Jilly, I need you to grab her intestines.”
“You’ve got to be shitting me.” Her eyes were as round as saucers.
“Can you think of a better way?”
She looked at them. “Uh.”
“Hurry, dammit, we don’t have much time!”
Jilly scrambled back down and tried to get a grip on the bloody mess, but like eels, they kept slithering out of her hands. “I can’t seem to get a hold of them.”
“Dammit.” Cody gently laid Jasmine on her back. He ripped off his tie and tossed it. Then he removed his white dress shirt and laid it on the ground. Between the two of them, they corralled the innards and wrapped them inside the shirt.
Then he stood and scooped up the woman. Jilly picked up the shirt containing the rest of her and hurried alongside Cody toward the vehicle.
“Jilly, get in the back. After I slide her in, hold onto her. Keep her as steady as possible; it could be a rough ride.”
She didn’t argue. She placed her precious bundle on top of the victim and crawled in. Cody laid the woman’s body across Jilly, who clamped her hand over the package, holding it in place.
Cody jumped in the driver’s seat. The SUV had been idling, so he backed out of the driveway, and took off. He couldn’t go as fast as he would have liked. This part of the road had many twists and turns, but the moment he got to a straightaway, he gunned it. “Call the hospital and tell them we’re coming. We’ll need them to meet us with a gurney.”
“On it.”
Cody glanced in the rearview mirror and caught her eye before breaking contact and looking back at the road.
“This is Deputy Reid with the BBSD. I’m bringing in a woman, mid-thirties. Her torso has been sliced open and she’s lost a lot of blood. No, I don’t, but I can tell you she’s barely alive. How the hell should I know? Check your records and see if she’s ever been admitted. Jasmine Littlefoot. Just make sure someone meets us at the ER entrance. Right.”
The moment she’d ended the call. “What did they say?”
“He wanted to know her vitals and blood type,” Jilly answered.
“At the end you said ‘right’ in a sarcastic tone. What was that all about?” Cody glanced in the mirror and saw her eyes roll.
“The dickwad told me to hurry. Jesus. If the guy were standing in front of me right now, I think I would have decked him.”
He smiled into the mirror. “Always the lady.”
“Bite me.”
Cody chuckled. The hospital was coming up, so he slowed to make the turn. “Get ready, we’re here.” He came to a screeching halt just as the ER doors slid open and two people wearing scrubs ran toward them with a gurney. He set the vehicle’s gear in Park and jumped out.
“What happened?” A woman in a white coat yelled.
Cody grabbed the back door handle and yanked hard. “We found her staked between two trees. Her stomach’s been cut open and her intestines had fallen out. We had to stuff them in my shirt for transport. What are her chances?”
“I won’t know anything until I get her on the table,” the doctor said.
Cody helped them lift the body onto the gurney. Then they were off. He watched as Jasmine disappeared through the glass doors. He glanced at Jilly in the back seat. Her lap was soaked in blood. “You’ll need to change your clothes.”
“I should get a hold of her aunt first.”
“Is she next of kin?”
Jilly took out her phone and typed in three numbers. “As far as I know.” She put the phone to her ear. “Big Bear, California. I’d like the number for Rose Cunningham
. Yes.”
Cody could hear the phone ringing from where he stood.
“Rose? This is Deputy Jillian Reid. I’m sorry to wake you, but there’s been an accident. Jasmine’s at the hospital. Would you like someone to come pick you up? Okay. See you when you get here.”
She closed the phone and addressed him. “Her husband Clive is going to drive her. Thank God he’s home. He’s a long haul trucker so it was a fifty-fifty chance.” She looked at her lap. “I’ve got to get cleaned up.”
“Do you think we could get someone to loan us each a pair of scrubs?” Cody asked.
“I hope so.” She opened her door and slid out. “We’ve got to hurry. We can’t take the chance of Rose and Clive seeing us like this.”
Cody was standing just inside the glass ER doors when Jilly joined him. Her hair was wet. She’d obviously taken a shower. Although his clothes were ruined, he wasn’t as messed up as Jilly. He was able to wash up in the bathroom.
“Any sign of them yet?” Jilly asked.
“No, but a truck just pulled in and parked. That’s probably them.”
“Any news on Jasmine?” Jilly asked.
“She’s in surgery, that’s all they’d tell me.”
“Here they come, look alive.”
They faced the entrance and waited. Soon a pair of worried faces came into view. Jilly greeted them and took the woman’s hands in hers.
“What happened? How is she? Can we see her?” Rose’s words tumbled out in a rush.
“Come on over here, let’s take a seat.” Jilly’s eyes met Cody’s. He knew what she was thinking. The only thing worse than telling someone their loved one had met with violence, was telling them they were dead because of it.
Cody left them alone to make some calls. He had to contact the sheriff and let him know what had happened. Bud would contact the parties required to work the scene. Then Cody needed to wake his brother and tell him what was going on.
He didn’t want Jesse to wake up with klieg lights illuminating the house and be freaked out. With all the windows, the place would be lit up like an alien invasion.
At the thought, a childhood memory flashed through his mind. Jesse and Wyatt, tormenting him and their younger siblings after they’d first watched the movie Close Encounters of the Third Kind. He laughed to himself. He should forget the call all together, it would serve Jesse right. But Cody couldn’t take the chance that Meagan would wake first.
By the time Cody returned, Rose was crying on her husband’s shoulder. Jilly noticed him and came over.
“The doctor just left. Jasmine didn’t make it.” Tears stood in Jilly’s eyes. “I’ve got to go call Bud.” In a daze, she took a step away and stopped.
Cody snagged her arm and gently turned her toward him. “I already called. He’s taking care of things.”
“Oh. Good thinking.” She stood there, just staring at him as if she were lost. He wrapped her in his arms and pulled her close. The moment her face pressed against his chest, her body shook with sobs.
He stroked her hair and let her get it all out of her system. He knew her body was crashing after the adrenaline rush, but more importantly, they’d both grown up with Jasmine.
She wasn’t just another victim.
Cody’s cell phone rang. He pulled away and gazed into Jilly’s tear-stained face. “I should take this.” She nodded, wiping her eyes and sniffling. He dug his phone from a pocket in the scrubs.
“Agent Thomas here.”
“Cody, it’s Robin. We got a ping from that cell phone you wanted traced. It’s coming from Laredo, Texas, moving northwest. Do you want us to move in and apprehend?”
TWENTY-FIVE
Thomas set his phone on the nightstand.
“Who was that?” Meagan asked groggily.
“Cody. There’s been another incident and the yard will soon be swarming with law enforcement. Babe, we really have to get out of here. I don’t care where we go, but I’m not taking any more chances with your safety.”
Meagan scooted over and put her head on his chest, he wrapped his arm around her. “What about Bridget? Any word?”
“Not yet, but the FBI is on it now so we should hear something soon.”
“I hope so. She’s all I think about. My calls go straight to voicemail, and she won’t return them.” Her head tilted back. Worry lines creased her face. “God, Thomas, I hope she’s okay.”
He brushed a curl off her forehead. “I know it’s hard. I’m sorry you have to go through this. But remember, there’s nothing in his background to suggest the guy’s lethal. All evidence points to him wanting those girls. We’ll just make sure he doesn’t get them.”
She nodded and her body relaxed against his. He continued to stroke her wild red mane as his mind ran through possible scenarios. He prayed he wasn’t wrong. A guy with a temper like Samuel’s could do almost anything, whether intended or not.
He’d seen enough cases as a homicide detective to know this to be true. Men were physically stronger than women. Add an extra hundred pounds to the rage and fists become deadly weapons.
A simple backhand could send a woman flying where she’d hit her head. A push down a flight of stairs might result in a broken neck. A well-placed punch to the jaw could shatter bones like glass. Kicks to the ribs could result in a punctured lung.
The list was endless.
In each scenario, Bridget starred as the helpless victim. He was driving himself crazy.
His phone rang. Thomas glanced at the screen.
“Hey, Cody, what’s up?”
“They’ve traced Bridget’s cell to Laredo, Texas.”
“Texas? But they were just in Florida?”
Meagan sat up and stared at him.
“Not anymore. They’ve tracked them going northwest toward New Mexico.”
“New Mexico. That’s a hell of a lot closer. Are the FBI moving in?”
“Not yet,” Cody said. “Look, bro, I know you want Bridget back and safe. But from what you’ve told me, she went with the guy willingly. Who’s to say she won’t fight us when we swoop in to save the day? I want this guy behind bars, he’s bad news.”
“What do you have in mind?” Thomas stared at Meagan.
“Like you said, the guy was in Florida just a couple of days ago, right?”
“Yeah,” Thomas said slowly.
“Well, it looks to me like he’s on his way to California.”
“To get the girls?” Thomas ran a hand through his hair.
“Why else?”
“So you want to catch him in the act.”
“Exactly. We have no way of knowing if this guy has done anything illegal. If Bridget refuses to press charges, we won’t have a case. But a suspected pedophile kidnapping children.”
“Just a second.” Thomas focused on Meagan. “Babe, would you do me a favor and make a pot of coffee?”
Her brows furrowed. She was no dummy. “You promise to tell me everything when I get back?”
He dipped his head. “You got it.”
She rolled out of bed. Her naked body disappeared under the red silk robe that barely covered her beautiful heart-shaped ass. Her feet thundered on the stairs before he returned to his brother.
He kept his voice low. “Okay, I get where you’re coming from. I agree, I want this asshole locked up. But isn’t this dangerous for Bridget? Meagan hasn’t been able to get in touch with her for a couple of days.
“No one else has heard from her either. We have no way of knowing if it’s because he took the phone away or she can’t answer for some god-awful reason. Meagan would never forgive me if something happened to her sister.”
“I know it’s a risk. I swear we won’t do anything without your approval. Just think about it. Until he gets those girls, Bridget should be safe. But once he has them, it’s anyone’s guess. Why would he still need the mother?”
Thomas blew out a breath. “Money? Meagan mentioned that Bridget is pushing to get the divorce finalized and the house sold
so that she can get her half.”
“There you go, he needs her. I’m certain Bridget is safe for now.”
“How far are they from Laguna Niguel?” Thomas asked.
“About nineteen, twenty hours if they drive straight through.”
“So we have nineteen hours minimum. Okay, I think I can work with that. As long as he keeps moving, he can’t harm Bridget because one of them will have to be driving. I’ll put a patrol car on the house. Meagan and I will be heading home today. Keep me posted on their progress.”
“Will do.”
“And Cody, I really do appreciate all this.”
“No worries, bro. I’m glad I could help.”
Bridget awoke to find her cheek resting on the toilet seat in the closet they called a bathroom. Her entire body ached, but her stomach felt the worst. She’d been vomiting on and off since yesterday.
She had the nastiest bout of flu she’d ever encountered. She tried to stand, but her legs buckled, so she had to crawl back to bed. The RV wasn’t moving, so at least she had that in her favor.
When she opened the door, the sound of pots and pans rattling in the kitchen accosted her. The thought of food made her stomach seize. She wrapped her arms around her middle. Once the cramps subsided, she inched her way into the bedroom and climbed on the bed.
She fell against the pillows, breathing in shallow pants. Sweat drenched her face and dripped down her breasts. The trek had been slow and exhausting. The tank top and yoga pants she wore were too warm. She wanted to remove them, but the simple act was more than she could bear. Maybe after she got some rest.
“Come on, sugar. Time to wake up. We need to get some fluids in you so you don’t get dehydrated.”
Bridget heard Samuel’s voice. She wanted to appease him, but her eyes wouldn’t cooperate. The simple act of opening them took far more strength than she had.
“Sugar? Baby?”
She felt his hand on her arm jostling her, but try as she might, she could not obey.
Thomas had just ended the call, when Meagan came through the bedroom door carrying two coffees.
NightScream Page 17
