“Yeah, but first, we have to head over to the dead woman’s home, and then start interviews.”
“I’m coming with you,” stated the sheriff. “I need to be involved in this.”
They had news for him.
It wasn’t negotiable.
They needed him.
While Bishop was researching, Jagger would be watching his wife, and Maura would be standing guard over Avalon and Lucian.
They needed all hands on deck.
“Works for us,” Nate said, allowing the man to think he’d forced them into it.
“Great. Let’s go.”
“We’ll meet you outside. We want to coordinate with our team.”
That was code for talking about the man.
When he was gone, Nate got serious and fast. “Are we one hundred percent sure that he isn’t the killer?” he asked his fiancée.
“Yes. His aura is clear. If you take me with you, I can scan each person we meet. I’ll be able to feel another psychic the second we cross paths.”
He laughed.
Jagger didn’t.
“What if it’s my wife? If she’s next, Avalon might be helpful.”
Nate headed toward the door.
Jagger was getting angry. “So you’ll protect yours but not mine.”
Nate glanced back over his shoulder. “I’m going to ignore that because I want you to see something and then get your focus back. Come here.”
There was tension in the room.
Jagger crossed to his boss.
“What do you see?” he asked, as they both stared out the door.
The Marine scanned the area. It didn’t take him long to spot what Nate was talking about.
“There’s someone in the bushes.”
“That’s Scott Humphrey.”
“Who’s that?” he asked. “I can make him disappear. Do you want me to handle him?”
Nate was about to make his point. “I would absolutely take Avalon out and let her meet each and every person in town, except that’s a reporter for that rag magazine. He worked with Kathleen Hale, and we’ve already conned him once.”
It looked like he was on their trail, looking for a story.
Well, shit.
“The second I let her out in the open, her face is going to be plastered all over the news. If that happens, we’re screwed. We’re supposed to be dead. It’s not about me valuing the love of my life over yours, Jagger. It’s about keeping us all safe. I have to do what’s best for the team despite my need to help Roxy and your child.”
“Nate. I’m sorry,” Jagger stated.
He knew Jagger would understand once he explained.
“When we left the other cabin, I saw him. He’s following us and either looking for a new story, or working on the psychic angle that his friend was handling.”
Well, that wasn’t good.
“We can’t let him see Avalon.”
“It’s not going to matter,” she stated. “Before you say anything about me staying hidden,” she began, “I had to come. If you think back, you didn’t have this under control. Jagger was out cold, and you all were at gunpoint.”
“I had it under control,” Maura stated.
“Yeah, me too,” Avalon added.
“Team girl wins again,” she snickered, giving Avalon a high five.
“Laugh it up, you two. We have a serious problem,” Nate stated.
“I’ll handle it,” Jagger offered.
“By handle it, what do you mean?” Then again, Bishop wasn’t sure she wanted to know. The Marine was cracking his knuckles and rolling his neck. She was pretty sure that meant something bad.
“Don’t ask,” he offered. When Nate gave him the look, he knew he couldn’t kill him. “I’ll behave. I promise. For the record, you should be giving Maura that look.”
Before they left Happy, the man would have a little tech issue where he lost all his information. Jagger would make sure of it.
Maura laughed. “Thanks for saving my bacon, Maura. Oh, you’re welcome, Jagger. It was my damn pleasure,” she said, talking to herself.
He gave her a fist bump. It was all he had to do. She got it. They were a family.
“We had better get going before the sheriff takes this on himself,” Luke warned. “He’s pacing out there.”
They knew he was right.
“Give us time to leave,” Nate stated. “Chances are, the reporter will follow us.”
He was likely right about that.
“We’ll check on the dead woman, do our interviews, and then rendezvous with you, Bishop, to see if you found anything.”
She saluted. “I’ll get cracking.”
The men headed out.
Jagger held out his hand to his wife. “Let’s go get you dressed and into the morgue. You’ll have the new victim shortly.”
He could tell she was nervous, and honestly, he didn’t blame her. This was scary.
“You’ll be safe.” Avalon reassured her the best she could. The whole thing was starting to play out, and she still hadn’t found a way to fix it. At that point, Jagger was still going to die.
Fate was being a bitch and wouldn’t relent.
When the couple was gone, Maura moved closer. She knew something was up. She’d been around Avalon enough to know when there was a huge issue.
Avalon had crinkles in the center of her forehead.
“Spill it,” she whispered.
What choice did she have?
Her back was to the wall, so she opted to trust the people with her.
“I can’t get fate to release Jagger,” she whispered. Maura’s aura changed, and Avalon knew when her friend got it.
“He’s going to die, isn’t he?” she whispered back.
Bishop gasped when Avalon nodded.
“We have to do something,” she stated. “We can’t let him die, Avi,” Maura stated. “I didn’t just save him to lose him again. That’s unacceptable.”
“I’m trying,” Avalon stated. “Everything I try ends the same way. I can’t find a way to fix this. I don’t know what kind of sacrifice fate wants for his life. I’m perplexed.”
This was bad.
“You have to stick to him,” Avalon warned. “You’re the only factor that slightly alters the outcome. If I tell him, he dies. If Nate sends him away, he dies. We’re safe. No one is going to hurt Lucian or myself. You’re the only wildcard that alters it enough to give him a chance.”
That was all she had to hear.
“I’m not shocked he’s in danger. With being in love, he’s getting sloppy,” stated Maura.
Love made you do stupid things.
Look at her.
There was a time she was methodical, didn’t break the rules, and followed her code. Then Luke fell into her well-ordered life, and it was chaos.
She wouldn’t have it any other way.
Her eyes were going to stay on the man. It would be as if she was glued to his ass.
“I’ve got this,” she promised.
Avalon hoped so.
She’d done everything she could to save him.
If this failed…
Jagger was a dead man.
Chapter Twenty
Saturday
Mid-Morning
When they arrived at her place, they had a tail. The reporter wasn’t even trying to hide at this point. He actually had the audacity to park his vehicle not far from the driveway that was leading to the woman’s home.
Then he stood there, making notes.
There were days when Nate and Luke wished they could smack the stupid out of people, and whenever a reporter was involved, that was pretty much the day.
As soon as Nate got out of his vehicle, he had that feeling. It wasn’t about the dead, but about the place itself.
“Karl Conway,” he stated.
Luke immediately knew what he was talking about. His partner wanted him to run the address.
“What about him?” the sheriff asked.
“He owned a few of the properties where these women lived. That’s why we want to talk to Bob Buck. Apparently, he manages them for the man and maintains them.”
The sheriff stared at him. “I don’t get it. This killer isn’t touching the women. What does it matter that he has a key? There’s no evidence left behind.”
“Avalon told us the killer has met each and every one of them before. He’s familiar with them. As he’s killing them, he’s using their names, he knows information, and he knows all the intimate details.”
“Intimate?”
“Tanya Ware was a victim of date rape.”
He stared at him. “Really?”
“Yes.”
“She never reported it.”
“Most women don’t,” Luke added. “They feel ashamed, guilty, or are afraid they’ll be blamed. They keep it silent and try to forget it happened.”
“Yeah, and in this case, Avalon said the killer knew about it. So, who knows about a date rape?” Nate asked.
“The person who did it or someone they told.”
“I don’t know about you,” Luke stated, “but if I was going to rape someone, I sure as hell wouldn’t be telling the world about it. I wouldn’t want it to get out.”
“Yeah, me either,” the sheriff stated. “I’d never speak of it.”
“So you think the man who is killing these women gave himself away by letting Avalon see that it was personal?”
Yes, yes, they did.
“Most definitely. With all the other victims, he was screwing with them. With this one, it was personal. Why? Somehow, they are connected. We only have to figure out how.”
“Oh, well, that should be easy. Now, tell me how the hell are we getting into this place with that reporter standing there watching us?”
It was times like this they wished Bishop were with them. Apparently, she was damn good at breaking and entering.
“Luke, you get the privilege.”
He headed around back.
“If anyone asks, you and I were having coffee, and you got a call from an anonymous source saying there was an issue.”
The sheriff could do that.
He only hoped no one asked. He couldn’t explain a psychic was stalking people in town. They’d strip him of his badge, and then they’d lock his ass up for being insane.
Yeah, and he wouldn’t blame them.
The heard the subtle sound of glass breaking. They knew Luke was on his way inside.
“Go knock and let’s block the door. We can let our nosy friend think it’s Tanya who opens for us.”
That worked for him.
As they stood there, and the door was unlocked, Luke was already on the phone to Jagger.
“Tell Roxy to send her people. She’s in here on the couch and she’s still pretty warm.”
He hung up.
“Well, Avalon and Lucian were right again. Tanya Ware is on the couch. She must have fallen asleep watching TV because it’s still on.”
They headed in.
All three men stared down at her lifeless body. The only difference was she was covered in bloody scratches.
“She looks like she was attacked.”
Nate pulled a glove out of his pocket. After putting it on, he gently lifted her hand. Rigor had yet to set in, so he knew she wasn’t dead for all that long.
“She did it to herself.”
They all stared at the bloody fingertips with pieces of skin wedged under her nails.
“Why?” asked the sheriff.
“Maybe she was fighting in her dream,” stated Luke. He only wished she’d been able to hurt him.
This asshole deserved it.
“That’s probably what was happening,” Nate said. “The poor girl was trying to escape it all again.”
He sighed.
There was no doubt in his mind how much he loathed this killer. He was destroying people with fears, and that was horrible. He hoped they caught him.
“What’s next?”
Nate hated to admit it, but he knew everything they did from here on out wouldn’t matter unless they could figure out who hurt this girl.
She appeared to be the key.
“We’ll head to her place of employment and talk to the people she works with there. Then we’ll track down Bob Buck, and hit up the general store to talk to Harold Fry.”
“I hate this,’ stated the sheriff.
Yeah, they hated it too.
More than he’d ever know.
* * * O R A C L E * * *
Washington DC
As she knocked on the door, she didn’t know what to expect. All she knew was she hated this. Lying to people she loved was a hard pill to swallow.
When the door opened, there stood one of the men she called brother. Doctor Tony Magnus had been part of her life for a very long time, and she loathed what she was about to do.
“Is your wife here?”
He stared at her. “Elizabeth, what’s wrong?”
“I need to talk to Jaxon.”
He called for her.
When the woman came to the door, she stood there and looked scared. “What’s wrong?”
“With deepest regret, I need to inform you that your brother, Jagger Michael Armstrong, was identified in a building that had burned down. His remains are being transported to our office.”
Her eyes filled with tears.
So did Elizabeth’s.
Tony was watching her, and she was lying to them. It killed her.
It made her sick.
“I’m so sorry, Jaxon. He died in a fire that took the lives of a couple of agents, and another Marine.”
Tears slipped down her cheeks.
“I wish I could say something to…” Her breath hitched. “I wish I had the words to make it better,” Elizabeth stated.
Jaxon couldn’t deal with it. Even though she knew the truth, hearing the words still hurt. So, she walked away.
“I’m so sorry, Tony,” she said, and it wasn’t just for having to deliver shitty news to them. It was also because she had to lie to someone she loved.
It sucked.
“Elizabeth.”
She couldn’t do it.
It was time to escape.
She turned on her booted heel and headed back toward her vehicle. Before she reached it, she felt fingers on her shoulder. When she turned, he was standing there.
“Go be with your wife. She needs you.”
Instead, he pulled her into his arms, making sure his lips were near her ear. “Jagger called us. We know what’s going on. I swear we’ll never tell a soul. The secret is safe with us. I’m sorry you had to do this. I know you hate lying.”
It was almost too much to take. She buried her face in his neck. The familiar scent of his cologne did nothing to offer her peace.
She’d lied.
She’d done so much to break her own rules.
This sucked.
Tony ran his hands up and down her back. “It’s okay, honey. We have your back and know you’re saving all of their lives. Let me help you carry this.”
She broke down and cried.
In that parking lot, beside her car, she let go. She trusted this man, and he had just saved a big part of her heart.
“Shhhhh, it’s okay, honey. I have you.”
“I’m sorry I had to lie to you just now,” she whispered. “I hated doing that.”
He got it.
They all did. She was trying to ensure that the other team was safe. He didn’t know what they were involved in, but he was sure it had to be pretty bad if Elizabeth was lying.
“It’s okay. We know we have to play along. We know you need us to believe. We will. When you find out where they are, just let me know so I can help Jaxon through this. He’s all she has left.”
She stared into the aqua eyes. “She has us, too, Tony. Tell her that for me. Please.”
He kissed her on the forehead. “I will, honey. Go home to your family. I’ll call you later to che
ck on you.”
She set him free.
He wiped the tears on her cheeks with his thumbs. “Your job sucks.”
She laughed. “Tell me about it.”
Tony headed back to his wife’s side to help her do what needed to be done. They were going to bury her brother—or whoever was pulled from that fire.
Hopefully, the world bought it.
He didn’t want Jaxon to live through this again.
* * * O R A C L E * * *
Happy
When the coroner’s team had left, taking the body of the woman with them, Nate, Luke, and the sheriff headed to the post office.
It was open for the day, and they wanted to do the notify so they could get some information. Hopefully, it would be smooth sailing.
As they pulled up to a parking meter and got out, they weren’t alone. There was Scott Humphrey, and he was heading their way.
Well, so it began.
“We have another dead woman?” asked the reporter, shoving a recorder in the sheriff’s face. “Can you tell us if it’s the same person killing all the others?”
The sheriff stared at him. “What are you talking about?” he asked.
“I’m talking about Kathleen Hale, Brianna Moyer, Joann Rice and now Tanya Ware. Someone is preying on the people of Happy.”
Nate stared at the sheriff, hoping the man had something in his bag of tricks. They had nothing. Well, they had lots, but none of it would keep them out of the public spotlight.
“Actually, I don’t believe these cases are connected,” he stated.
The man stared. “Really?”
“Yes, really.”
“How do you know?”
He closed his mouth.
The recorder went off. “How about off the record?” Scott asked.
“Can I trust you?”
Nate and Luke were staring at him, praying he didn’t throw them under the bus.
“Tanya Ware had wounds on her body. That’s how I know this isn’t the same, and the others all died peacefully in their sleep. Maybe there’s something in the water.”
Oracle Saving (The Phoenix Files Book 3) Page 35
