by Dana R. Lynn
His voice grew angry.
“I saw you! Riding in his car. Letting him take the rose I gave you. As if it was nothin’.” He was getting so worked up now, spittle flew from his mouth as he continued to rant. “And then you let him kiss you!”
Her stomach lurched. He had been watching! The perfect moment she’d enjoyed with Gavin, thinking she was safe in the privacy of her home, had been an illusion. Damien had been peeping on them! Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Sam shift. She ignored him.
When Damien waved the gun toward her, she pulled back. The reaction seemed to enrage him further. “See how stupid you are! Even now, you are here thinking that you are too good for me. I saw you pull back. You won’t be so high and mighty when you watch your friends here die. One by one.”
Please, God, no! Please protect them.
“Damien, they have nothing to do with this. Let them go. Please. They’re innocent.”
He laughed at that. “Innocent? Doll, no one’s innocent. That one, there—” he pointed at Megan “—she’s been flirting with me.”
Megan paled. She hadn’t been doing more than being kind, Alexa knew. Megan was friendly, and bubbly, but she didn’t flirt.
“And that dude over there, he thinks he’s so important ’cause he’s the doctor. Yeah, well, so was the quack who was here before him. I killed Quinton, and I can kill him, too. I’ll enjoy it.”
“Why would you hurt Dr. Quinton?”
“Because he had found my pictures. The ones I had taken of you.”
She remembered the pictures.
“I knew he was gonna fire me. When I shot that first guy, Quinton suspected me. Oh, he never came out and said it, but I knew he did. I couldn’t chance that he would turn me in to the police. So I took care of him. Then I planted the pictures in his locker, knowing that the cops would focus on finding him.” He looked thoughtful for a moment. “I really miss my pictures.”
He shrugged.
“My next girlfriend’s gonna appreciate me, I can promise you that.”
He raised the gun again.
* * *
What was Lexie doing right now? Was she at work? Was she thinking about him?
Gavin slammed down his coffee cup so hard, some of the steaming liquid slopped over the side and onto his desk, spattering the papers he had spread there. Growling, he grabbed a tissue from the box on the file cabinet and mopped the mess up.
He felt eyes watching him. Glancing up, he encountered the startled gazes of both Zee and Parker. Zee quickly averted her eyes. Not Parker. He sauntered over to Gavin’s desk and hiked a hip to sit on the edge. Then he waited.
Gavin thought about ignoring his pal but decided against it. No one had more patience than Ryan Parker. He’d sit and wait it out until Gavin gave in.
“Is there something you wanna say, Parker?” Leaning back in his chair, Gavin tried to pull off casual and unconcerned. He could tell that Parker wasn’t buying it, though.
“Out with it, Jackson. I can see something’s eating at you. And has been since yesterday. What’s up? Although I can probably guess.”
What was that supposed to mean?
He opened his mouth to deny that anything was wrong. But the strength of his frustration got the better of him. He needed to get it out there, off his chest. It was burning a hole in him.
“It’s Lexie. I know that all the evidence points to the doctor. And I know that it looks like his death was an accident. I just can’t see it happening that way. It’s too perfect.”
Parker considered his words. When he nodded, Gavin’s heart sank. He had really wanted to believe that he was being paranoid.
“I will agree it seems too neat. But if Dr. Quinton wasn’t the stalker, who was?”
Making a snap decision, Gavin bounded to his feet. “Hold on.”
A minute later, he was in the chief’s office, explaining his theory.
“Jackson,” the chief said, the drawl missing. “If you’re right, and I am not in any way discounting your theory, but if you’re right, then Miss Grant is still in danger.”
His stomach clenched. “I know, sir. I need to go through everything we have. Look at all the reports from when she worked at the hospital and all the information we have. See if we missed something.”
“I agree. Use anyone who’s not too busy to help.”
Gavin sighed. He would find the truth. “Can you send someone to watch out for Lexie at the clinic, Chief? I won’t be able to focus if I’m thinking about her being in danger.”
The moment he heard the words spill out of his mouth, Gavin knew that he had just given himself away. He might as well have said “I love her.” Chief Paul Kennedy was sharp.
Indeed, even now, the chief was giving him a knowing smile. “Yes, we can do that.” Gavin began to leave the room. “Oh, and Gavin...”
He stopped. The chief never called him Gavin. Cautiously, he turned back to the chief. “Yes?” He drew the word out.
The smile widened on the chief’s face. “It’s not necessarily a bad thing to care for someone. I would even go as far as to say it makes us better people.”
There wasn’t much he could say to that.
Within minutes he and Parker were poring over all the evidence and interviews. Zee came in to help. They were missing something. Something so obvious, he’d probably kick himself when he found.
Gavin picked up the file containing all the information about the flower shop arson. Opening the file, he started to read through notes. The official report listed the husband and wife owners as deceased. Their bodies had been positively identified. The son’s body, however, was too damaged to be identified. He frowned. The report said that the son’s body had been covered with accelerant. That was odd. Gavin picked up the family picture and squinted at the grainy image.
All the blood drained from his face. “Parker! Zee! I have something!”
The other officers both dropped the files in their hands and rushed over. They peered over his shoulder. Gavin poked the image of the son with his forefinger. Medium height. Shoulder-length dark hair parted in the middle. Dark eyes. A dimpled smile. All of which he’d seen before.
“This guy here, the son? The police report has him listed as deceased, killed in the fire. The body they had assumed was his? It wasn’t. He’s not dead.”
“Where is he, then?” Zee asked.
“He goes by the name Damien Alexander now. He works at the clinic. As their janitor.”
The chief came out at their call. His face went blank. A sure sign that he was concerned. He pointed one finger at Zee. “Find the connection with the hospital. I want this man to be accountable for every murder he committed, and to do that we need proof.”
“You.” He pointed at Parker. “I want a warrant to search his house, and I want it yesterday.”
“Got it, boss.” Parker took off.
“Jackson, go find Miss Grant and do whatever you need to in order to protect her.”
“On it,” Gavin yelled, already heading out the door. He ran to his cruiser, ignoring the icy conditions. Jumping the vehicle, he headed out as fast as could safely be managed. He flipped on the lights and the siren. Cars moved aside as he whipped past them. He was grateful that he didn’t have very many traffic lights to deal with on the way to the clinic. He needed every edge he could get.
Lexie was at work today. He’d told Sam they could reopen the clinic. Then he’d walked away from her. And now she was in danger again, and he was miles away. Never in his life had he prayed as hard as he was praying now.
His phone rang. He jabbed the speaker button. “Yeah?”
“Jackson, it’s Parker here. I found info on Alexander. He was working at the hospital. Apparently, he’d had aspirations to be a nurse but had a problem with authority. According to his aunt, his father had told him he would no longer pay f
or schooling if he wasn’t going to toe the line. The aunt also said that she’d talked with Damien’s father, her brother, and he’d said something about finding that his son had been stealing drugs from the hospital and had decided he needed to own up to his crimes.”
“You think the father was planning on turning him in?” Gavin asked.
“I absolutely think that.” Parker responded.
“So he torched the place.” Gavin tapped his fingers on the steering wheel.
“Yep. That’s my take.”
Gavin considered the information. “I wonder if the aunt guessed that her nephew hadn’t died in the fire.”
“If she had,” Parker replied, “I think she kept silent for fear he’d come after her next.”
“Do we have any idea who might have been the third body found at the flower shop?”
“I asked about that,” Parker responded. “At this point, there are no leads.”
At the clinic, he braked in front of the building, not caring that his vehicle was taking up two parking spaces.
There were quite a few people hovering around the doorway. As far as he could tell, they were all patients and family members. But there were no doctors or nurses in sight. And no Lexie.
“What’s going on here?” he barked at the crowd in general.
One older Amish woman stepped forward.
“We were told to wait outside.”
“Why were you told to come out here?”
A younger man spoke up. “There was an emergency inside. Ain’t that right, Dat?” he asked the bearded man beside him.
The older man coughed before responding. “Jah. An emergency.”
Several other patients nodded. They all were looking cold and miserable standing out there in the cold.
“Who told you to come out? Was it the doctor? A nurse?”
“Nee,” the older woman answered. “It was the man with the broom.”
The man with the broom. She had to mean the janitor. Alexander had the whole staff, including his Lexie, trapped inside the building with him. He paced a step away, giving himself room to think. The first thing he needed to do was to get these innocent folks out of harm’s way. If bullets started flying or another bomb went off, he didn’t want any civilians near the building.
“Folks!” He raised his voice to get their attention. “I need to check out the situation here. I need you all to disperse. Maybe you can wait in the restaurant across the street? Or in the vehicles you came in?”
A couple of the people grumbled, but most moved to do as he said. He heard a couple of people tell their drivers to just take them home. They’d make another appointment. That was fine with him. Fewer people around made his job easier.
Once the sidewalk was cleared, he tried the door. It was locked, as he’d suspected it would be. The blinds were closed, but one was slightly inverted. Bending, he closed one eye and peeked through the opening it made.
The room, or what he could see of it, was empty.
Removing his service weapon, he didn’t even take the time to aim. Instead, he used the gun to smash out the window then reached in through the hole and searched with his hand for the lock. When he found it, he unlocked the door and carefully opened it. Shattered glass crunched under his feet.
There was no one in sight. Out of habit, he flipped on his body camera.
Keeping his service weapon pointed in front of him, he walked as quietly as he could across the floor, listening for any sounds. After a few minutes, he breached the hall leading to the examination rooms. He heard voices.
Correction. He heard one voice. A male voice. A voice that he thought he remembered from the initial interview after Noah Hostetler was shot.
Damien Alexander was in the room just beyond him. And he wasn’t alone.
“You pushed me to it, Alexa. We belonged together, but you couldn’t stay away from the other men. I warned you. You didn’t listen. Really, it’s your own fault you have to die.”
SIXTEEN
Damien Alexander raised his gun toward Alexa. To her shock, Sam stepped in front of her. Apparently, gallantry was bred into both the Jackson men. Their captor shrugged and sneered.
“Don’t matter to me which one of youse dies first. None of youse are leaving this room alive.”
The door slammed open, hitting him in the arm. The gun discharged once, leaving a hole in the wall. Gavin charged into the room. Damien grabbed Linda, the person closest to him, and held her up against him. He pointed the gun to her temple.
“I’ll shoot. You know I will.”
Gavin stopped so abruptly, he swayed. His eyes swept over her and the others in the room, checking out their status.
Sam made a move. Was he trying to play the hero?
Damien saw his movement and switched the barrel of the gun to him. He stopped. Gavin’s eyes narrowed. No. Oh no.
Damien suddenly threw Linda from him with enough force that her face struck the wall. He didn’t even look her way. He had a new target in his sight.
“Since you’re so keen to die, Doctor, why don’t I just give you what you want?” His finger started to tighten on the trigger.
“No!” Gavin leaped forward, between Sam and Damien. The blast of the gun shocked Alexa. Gavin jerked.
Alexa screamed as Gavin stumbled backward, tripping over his feet. He slammed into the wall, his shoulder catching a shelf, which tilted alarmingly. Then it tipped up, ramming the shelf above it. Both slats of thick wood rushed down. Smacking Gavin on the head. He dropped to the floor and lay there, motionless. Only the slow rise of his chest let her know he was still alive.
“Gavin!” she screamed. But she wasn’t the only one. Sam also shouted his brother’s name. When he would have moved, Damien turned the gun on Gavin once more.
“I’ll shoot him again. And this time, he’ll be dead. It’s your choice.”
Sam halted. Alexa had no doubt that he’d do it, too. Don’t move, she begged Sam silently. He blanched. His hands fisted, but he stayed where he was. Although he couldn’t stop himself from casting anxious glances at his younger brother.
Neither could she.
Damien barked a cold laugh. Sneering, he motioned with the gun toward Sam. “So you can listen to someone other than yourself.”
A meaty hand grabbed Alexa’s forearm. She shuddered. The urge to struggle swelled up, but she couldn’t. He’d shoot Gavin if she gave him the slightest reason.
“Alexa, my dear, we need to leave.” He yanked her arm behind her, pushing it high up on her back. Excruciating pain shot through her. He was going to break it if he went too much higher. Tears stung her eyes. She blinked them back; she needed to see.
Still, when he pulled her, she instinctively resisted.
“Don’t make me shoot him, Alexa.” The malevolent growl in her ear killed any rebellious impulses. “It would give me great pleasure to do so. To destroy the man you betrayed me with.”
“Please, no—”
The hand on her arm let go, but only long enough for him to smack her on the side of the head. Ear ringing, she barely noticed when he grabbed the aching arm and again forced it behind her back.
“Don’t ever argue with me. We’ll go out the back door.”
Any thought that someone in the waiting room would see them and intervene died. She knew that no one out there would see them. Megan, the doctor and Marvin’s sister were all in the examination room. Which meant no one who worked at the clinic would be coming back to check on things. And if she screamed or made any noise, someone would die.
She was pretty sure that she was going to die. At the moment she couldn’t think of any way that she’d be able to avoid that fate. He paused briefly to pull a key out of his pocket and lock the door from the outside. As the janitor, he’d had access to all their systems. And no one at the clinic had even questioned it.
Damien continued to push and pull her out the back door and through the heavy drifts of snow. At one point, he pushed her through a drift that was higher than the tops of her boots. Snow trickled inside. Within minutes her feet were frozen. So was the rest of her, as she had been forced outside without her coat on.
Damien pushed her into a car waiting near the curb. Out in the open. Hope started to build within her. The car had been parked in a handicap space. Maybe someone had spotted it and reported it. If so, there was a chance that people would be looking for the vehicle. Damien started driving, keeping the gun trained on her. It was held low. Other drivers wouldn’t be able to see it. However, the patients who had been forced to leave the clinic might become suspicious. She prayed that one of them might decide to call the police. If they did, hopefully her description would soon hit the airwaves. If so, there was a chance someone would recognize her.
Damien threw her a glance. She shuddered at the viciousness she saw in his eyes.
“I thought you were special, Alexa. But you were no better than my parents.” His voice was calm, almost conversational. “They were going to betray me, too. I heard my old man talking about it one night. I was smarter than them. Burned their shop down while they were sleeping. The police, they thought all of us were dead.”
He gave an ugly chuckle. “There were three bodies, but the one in my room wasn’t me. It was the body of a hitchhiker I’d picked up. Just like that, I was a free man. And after I get rid of you, I’ll move on again.”
Alexa couldn’t respond. She’d just about reached her limit.
After a few miles, he pulled over onto a dirt road.
No other vehicles were in sight.
What was he doing? He climbed out of the car and rounded the vehicle to her door, keeping her in his sight all the while. When he yanked her door open, she cringed.
“Get out.”
This was it. Well, no one else was around for him to hurt, so she’d take her chances. Scrambling, she made a motion to go for the other door. He grabbed her and pulled her from the car, hurting her as his fingers bit into her arm.
