Closer Than She Knows

by Kelly Irvin

  “I would’ve killed him,” she whispered the words for Dad’s ears only. “I meant to kill him.”

  “I know. You did good.”

  “I missed.”

  “It’s over. You’re safe. That’s all that matters.” He let go and dropped to his knees. “Leyla?”

  Max had removed the tape from her mouth while Billy cut away the ties on her ankles and wrists. “She’s out of her mind with fear and shock.” Max backed away. “She needs you.”

  Dad gathered her up in his arms and crooned soft nothings in her ear. She ceased to struggle. “Daddy?”

  “It’s me, baby, you’re safe.”

  Leyla’s eyes closed. Teagan clung to them both for a few seconds, then eased away. “Max.”

  He smiled. He had the most beautiful smile in the world. “You almost shot my head off.”

  “Did not.” She crawled over to him. “I prayed to God I’d find the gun. Do you think He was shocked at such a request?”

  “He might have been a little surprised that it came from you, but nothing shocks God. He knew what you needed in that moment.” Max pulled her into his arms. He leaned in close and whispered, “Don’t think I don’t understand what it cost you to pull the trigger. I’m so sorry you had to make that choice.”

  “I couldn’t let him kill Leyla. And I couldn’t live without you. I don’t want to live without you.”

  Teagan slid her arms around his neck and planted a kiss on him that went on and on. They might as well have been alone. The two of them healing each other’s wounds, tearing down old walls, making new promises. Even Cole’s singsong rendition of Teagan and Max sitting in a tree, k-i-s-s-i-n-g couldn’t stop them.

  He no longer had a hold over them.

  40

  Even as Billy dragged Cole to the back of an SAPD unit, the man couldn’t button his lips. The steady stream of vitriol directed at her dad only died when the door slammed shut.

  Teagan ignored him. Keeping her hand entwined with Max’s, she glanced up, seeking her father. He held Leyla’s hand while EMTs loaded her on a gurney.

  A CSU investigator strode between them, carrying the butcher knife by gloved fingertips.

  The feel of that blade against her cheek, pressing against her skin, sent chills through her. Max let go of her hand and slid his arm around her. They both smelled of sweat and fear and mud. They smelled alive. His grip tightened. She looked up at her dad. “How did you find her and us?”

  “Joanna Dean told us they had turned Leyla over to Cole before they came after you. She said he has other hidey-holes out here.” His voice turned ragged. “They weren’t sure if Leyla was . . . alive.”

  “Joanna turned herself in?”

  “No. We had a couple of off-duty guys parked at Chase Slocum’s house—”

  “You didn’t tell me that.” Teagan shook her head at a Medina County EMT.

  He squatted anyway and shone a flashlight across her battered arms and face. His face grim, he turned to Max. “Both of you need to be examined by a physician.”

  “No.”

  “Yes.” Dad intervened. “We need it for the investigation. Every bit of this will go into the record to be used in court.”

  The EMT’s partner arrived with a gurney. “I can walk.” Teagan struggled to stand and found she couldn’t. “Give me a minute.”

  Dad helped her onto one gurney while the EMT did the same for Max. She held his gaze for as long as possible. He gave her a thumbs-up. She wanted to laugh but her throat hurt too much.

  She grabbed her dad’s hand. “Tell me the rest of the story.”

  “One of the employees we interviewed in Sandoval’s office building mentioned seeing two janitorial types shoving trash bins into a white minivan. She thought it was weird that it didn’t have a cleaning service name on it. I remembered the one parked at Slocum’s house. It was a long shot, but these guys owed me.”

  “Not enough to follow Slocum around.”

  “Not a tail, a stakeout. I wanted to see if someone unexpected showed up at their house.”

  “Cole Reynolds is too smart for that.”

  “He had his claws dug deep into those two. I think Cole wanted to prove he was the better son to Leo Slocum, the true son.”

  “Competition for their father’s approval.” A fundamental driving force in the lives of many siblings. But Cole had other primitive forces at work. Teagan repeated what Cole had shared about his dad’s reaction to finding out Cole was responsible for the new murders. “Cole might have wanted approval, but he also wanted to make you pay for putting his father in prison before he had a chance to know him or get his approval. Leo Slocum refused to see him. He denied to Chase that he had another son.”

  “Which only added fuel to Cole’s fire.”

  “He killed Deidre.”

  “I know. Joe Cruz called me after they found her body. He was broken up about it. He had such disdain for her and now she’s dead.”

  “Do you think he killed her because we interviewed her?”

  “No. He’d been planning that since the day she let CPS take him.”

  The words rang true. Some people exemplified the nature-versus-nurture argument. No parent set out to raise a serial killer. What about Chase? He grew up in a loving home, never knowing of his father’s dark side. Yet he allowed himself to be dragged there by a half brother he hardly knew. “How did you get onto Chase and Joanna?”

  “They disabled the camera in the elevator in Sandoval’s office building, but they couldn’t do anything about the one in the lobby without drawing attention to themselves. We got a good digital grab of Joanna’s face.”

  “You recognized her? I didn’t immediately. It was her voice that tipped me.”

  “I had my guys look around their house. They found several wigs, glasses, sunglasses, your garden variety disguises. And guns—lots of guns—in the master bedroom closet. After they returned to the house last night, my guy sneaked a look in the back of the van. The blonde wig was still there. Joanna couldn’t bring herself to get rid of it. Her favorite, she said.”

  “Wait until Cole hears that.”

  “Neither of them ever committed a crime in their lives. They followed his game plan to the best of their ability. Which isn’t saying much. It took about forty-five minutes to break Joanna. She’s never even had a speeding ticket.”

  “And she has two kids.”

  With Chase’s three, five children had been caught in a psychopath’s snare.

  “Her story is that Cole showed up at the house and introduced himself as Chase’s half brother right after their dad was convicted. It was fraternal love at first sight.”

  “He can be so charming.”

  “She claims she went along because she’s in love with Chase, and she had no place else to go. She also insists she never killed anyone.”

  Her expression in the elevator didn’t jive with her claims. The woman who brought them to the cabin had been enjoying herself. “What does Chase say?”

  “He claims Cole did the killing. That they were forced to do everything against their will or Cole would kill their kids.”

  “Cole doesn’t kill kids. Not his MO.”

  “After she told us where you were, we headed this way. We had parked on the road, and the plan was to walk in quietly and surprise Cole. When we heard the shot, I was sure it was too late.” His hoarse voice choked. His Adam’s apple bobbed. He sniffed. “Seeing you with a gun pointed at him was the most surprising sight of my life.”

  “It surprised me more.”

  “Joanna and Chase are already jockeying for deals.”

  Deals made the justice system work. They kept the antiquated process moving. Court reporters knew that better than anyone. The system couldn’t handle a jury by trial every time a murder was committed. So deals were made even when precious lives had been lost.

  Kristin Moreno. Evelyn Conklin. Charity Waters. Julie Davidson.

  Four women who left behind devastated families and
lost opportunities in lives not lived.

  And then Deidre Patterson, whose affair with a serial killer produced a psychopath who killed her.

  “No deals, Dad.”

  “I’m sorry. I wish we could throw them into dungeons and leave them in leg chains for life, but it doesn’t work that way.”

  The guillotine would be more satisfying.

  Dad settled onto the narrow bench next to her gurney. The EMT closed the ambulance doors. The engine revved. Teagan closed her eyes. “What about those kids? What will happen to them?”

  Dad touched her cheek. His fingers brushed twigs from her hair. “I don’t know. I’d like to think Chase’s sister or his mother will step up for his three. Joanna Dean doesn’t have any close next of kin. CPS is involved.”

  CPS. Where Cole’s life had taken an irrevocable turn years ago.

  He was blessed with good foster parents who adopted him—unlike so many other children in the system. But his adoptive parents couldn’t be blamed for his fatal character flaws. Nor could his biological mother.

  Leo couldn’t even be blamed for his son’s behavior.

  The explanation lay hidden somewhere in Cole’s shattered psyche. A single trip into that region had been enough—too much—for Teagan. She never wanted to go there again.

  41

  The sight of Leyla’s bruised face against a bleached-white pillow sent a wave of relief through Teagan. Her little sister looked tiny in the oversized hospital gown. She’d curled up on her side with a half dozen wires running to equipment beside her bed. A bag of saline dripped behind her.

  Teagan tugged on the curtain that separated Leyla from the patient sleeping in the other bed and pulled up a chair in the minuscule space left. The rooms in the hospital’s older wings were small and spartan. Teagan refused to be admitted. The only way she was spending the night at Methodist was sitting by her sister’s side. Leyla needed her and Teagan needed assurance she would be all right.

  Leyla’s efforts to escape after her kidnapping had earned her a pistol whipping. She had broken ribs, a ruptured spleen, broken nose, broken collarbone, and bruises covering much of her body. She would need dental surgery to repair damage to her front teeth. The doctors said her attacker had not hurt her in any other way.

  They were wrong.

  She would carry scars on her psyche for the rest of her life. Dad and Jazz had gone to get clean clothes for Teagan and pack a bag for Leyla. Max went to get food and coffee from the cafeteria. They would converge on this room eventually. Leyla would not be left alone while recovering from her injuries. Teagan took her sister’s hand.

  Leyla opened her eyes with a start and a sob. She grabbed the blanket and hiked it up around her neck with shaking hands. “Teagan? Teagan! Where am I?”

  “In the hospital. You’re safe.”

  Her face contorted with fear and uncertainty, Leyla tugged at the blanket until it covered her up to her chin. “You’re alive.”

  “I am. Safe and sound.”

  Sort of.

  “He told me you were dead. He said it was my fault for trying to escape.” Her swollen lips, swollen tongue, and two missing teeth garbled her words. “I thought you were dead.”

  Teagan squeezed Leyla’s hand. A hug might hurt too much. “I’m not. We’re both here. We’re both alive.”

  “Did they get him?”

  “Yes. He’s in jail. He’s never getting out. He’ll get the death penalty.”

  If the system worked.

  Tears tracked down her bruised face, and Leyla shifted on the pillow and winced. “I thought I was going to die.”

  “Me too.”

  “I thought I would never see you again. I’d never see Dad and Mom, Gracie and Billy.”

  “I know, honey, believe me, I know. Dad and your mom went to the house. They’ll be back any minute. You’ll see them again. Billy’s still at the lake, but Gracie’s on her way too.”

  Leyla closed her eyes. The tears cascaded down her purple-and-black cheeks. “I’m still scared. I’m so scared. Is it over?”

  “It is over. I promise.”

  “I thought I was so all-that. I had a gun and I knew how to use it. Chase Slocum took it from me like it was nothing.” Leyla struggled to sit up. “My gun. What happened to my gun?”

  “It hasn’t been recovered. Cole wouldn’t keep such an incriminating piece of evidence. He probably dumped it. Don’t worry about it right now. You and me, we’re smart enough to know we’ll need help to deal with this.” Teagan stood and bent over her sister so she could get closer. She kissed her forehead and brushed away her tears. “Max goes to a really good therapist. We’ll go to see him together.”

  “I don’t know if I can talk to a man.” Her voice cracked. “I don’t want to feel that way, but I do. He said things. I thought he was going to do things to me . . . What if he gets out of jail?”

  “He won’t. We’ll find the therapist who’s right for you, I promise.”

  If in some strange twist of fate Cole managed to escape, the O’Rourkes would take care of him. Of that, Teagan was certain. God would not approve. The ends did not justify the means, but her father would not take God’s position into account. He would never let Cole Reynolds hurt his family again.

  “I’m so tired. I’ve never been so tired.” Leyla clutched Teagan’s hand. “Can you bring me my blue blanket and my piggy?”

  The blue blanket and piggy had been Leyla’s best friends through her parents’ divorce and the move into a stranger’s house. They had a place of honor in her room as she grew older. They’d gone with her to UT when she started college. They came home for visits over the summer. “I will.” She kissed Leyla’s cheek and brushed her hair from her face. “Try to sleep. I’ll be right here.”

  “So will we.”

  Teagan turned to see Dad standing inside the door, Jazz right behind him.

  “I didn’t hear you come in.”

  He held up a duffel bag. “Your clothes, her blanket, and her piggy.”

  Jazz had been crying again. She tugged the piggy from the bag and handed it to Leyla, who clutched it to her chest. It was far too soon to tell how Teagan’s stepmother would deal with the horrific events of the past few days. If she blamed Teagan, she would be right.

  Dad settled the bag on the rolling table next to a pitcher of water. He covered Leyla’s hand with his. Her eyes closed, Leyla shifted and murmured something about a gun. “I have mine, honey, don’t you worry.”

  “Dillon, please. No talk of guns.” Jazz kissed her daughter’s cheek. “What my baby needs now is peace. Lots of peace. We’re here, baby, rest.”

  After a few seconds, Leyla relaxed and faded out.

  Dad released her hand, stepped away from the bed, and approached Teagan. “How are you?”

  “Fine. She’s still so scared. He tortured her mentally and physically.”

  “She’s strong. She’ll get through it. And she’s got all of us to help her.” He cleared his throat. “So do you.”

  “She’ll need professional help.”

  “You can stop worrying now, T.” Dad enveloped her in a hug. “We’ve got this. We’ve got you.”

  Teagan relaxed into the feel of his strong arms around her. “Thank you, Daddy.”

  “Where’s Max?”

  “Getting us some food.”

  “Let him take care of you too.” Dad leaned back and smoothed Teagan’s hair from her face. “Can you do that?”

  “Yes, I think I can,” she whispered.

  “Go on, go find him.”

  “He’s right, Teagan.” Jazz’s smile was watery. “Life is short. If anybody should know that, it’s you. Go be happy.”

  Good advice. She swung open the door and let it shut softly. Now to figure out a way to spend the rest of her life with the man she loved.

  They’d survived a serial killer. Anything was possible.

  42

  Don’t make big decisions while suffering from grief.

  That
tidbit, overheard as a child, had stuck with Teagan after her mother’s death, but she never really knew what it meant. She dug her bare feet into the grass still cool and wet with dew on this July morning and contemplated her future. Should she—could she—stay in this house and daydream on this front porch? In this neighborhood? Could she let what happened run her out of her dream home? Would she always see Julie’s broken, bleeding body lying next to the Little Free Library? Would the Victorian home across the street, now for sale, always be a psychopath’s way into her life?

  Teagan had two dogs to think about now. Her tiny plot of land didn’t provide enough roaming room for the spirited play of a pit bull and a Lab still learning to be friends.

  Six weeks had passed since she had fought for the lives of the people she loved at Medina Lake. She slept in fits and starts. Her appetite had yet to make a reappearance. She was on short-term disability leave from work. How could she go back to writing records of horrific crimes again in the courtroom she once shared with Julie? Family and friends had spread Julie’s ashes over her beloved Pacific Ocean from a Costa Rican beach. Teagan had not been invited.

  Their pain and anger were understandable but no less hurtful.

  Tigger and Huck followed her from room to room as if they knew something wasn’t quite right.

  Don’t make any decisions while suffering from grief.

  Today, a hot, brilliant day, the sunrise brimmed with the possibility of taking a tiny step forward. She sat cross-legged on the front porch, the dogs on either side, and drank a glass of iced latte. The sweet bite of the coffee touched her tongue, and she thanked God for the ability to taste it. She thanked Him for the chance to see another sunrise.

  Stephanie waved as she walked by, her sleeping baby tucked in her stroller. Normalcy crept back into the neighborhood. Dana Holl had started jogging again. Plans were complete for a Fourth of July celebration.

  But it would never be the same again. Robin and her family had yet to sell Evelyn’s house. People shied away from buying a home where an elderly woman had been attacked and killed. Teagan’s house would always be the one where the Triple S Murderer’s fourth victim had been found. Both houses, along with Cole Reynolds’s, would probably end up on a macabre Halloween tour one day.