A Killer's Watch (17 page)

“Of course not. Where would you like me to go first?”
Truthfully, Reeves was surprised that they didn’t begin the tour with the
house. But Mr. Grant was the boss, so he didn’t question it.

As Graham directed him to the edge of the lawn, through the
gate and across the field, he finalized details of his plan. It stood to reason
that the cops were watching the house, so he couldn’t very well haul Thomas out
of here in his car. But Albert Reeves could. Too bad he would never know what a
help he had been.

Graham did not allow himself to dwell on the inevitable loss
of the lovely Diana, and Allison. The girls would have to be rescued, much to
his, and his mother’s, surprise, in order for his plan to work. How fortunate
that he had stashed Thomas’s things in the cellar last night. He could leave
enough clues behind, so that the police, or FBI, couldn’t help but believe that
Thomas was their man.

Funny how things worked out, he mused. Last night, he killed
Thomas to protect his secret, not knowing how fortuitous the man’s death would
become, a few short hours later.

The problem remained of what to do with the men’s bodies. And
with Reeves’ car. The river was the obvious choice, but where on the river?

He would have to weigh them down, dump them in two entirely
separate places. He knew of a few secluded spots that would work, as long as no
one else was there today. As for the car, he could drive it into Topeka, leave
it unlocked with the keys in the ignition, in a seedy part of town. Problems
solved.

As for himself, he would take a taxi to the back entrance of
the estate. A dirt road that no one ever used. From there, he could easily run
the three miles to the house, appearing that he had never left in the first
place.

It was genius, really, and totally doable. Congratulating
himself on covering all of the bases, he turned to Albert Reeves as the man
pulled to a stop, next to the cellar. Silently thanking him for his timing, and
his sacrifice, Graham opened the passenger door.

“Come with me, Albert. I’ll show you the wine cellar.”

~~~

“That’s Albert Reeves leaving,” Monique said, lowering the
binoculars. “He was only there for forty-five minutes. I suppose that’s about
right for an interview.”

“What is taking so long with that warrant?” Jeri’s
frustration was evident.

“We knew it would be tough, we’ve so little to go on. We
couldn’t prove that he lied, as we didn’t find hard evidence of another cellar
on the property. With his lawyers fighting it, we have to find a judge willing
to buck the system.”

“Buck, shmuck. Two girl’s lives hang in the balance, while
we wait on paperwork. It’s ridiculous.”

“I know, but if we go in without one, Graham walks, no
matter what.” Ethan tried to be the voice of reason, but his patience was also
wearing thin.

“He’s gonna walk anyway, if he pins it on Thomas. At least
for a little while,” Chloe added.

“Not at first. It’s his property, so we can arrest him,
assuming we find the girls. He’ll only get off, after he goes through the
process. Unless we find a way to tie him to the crimes.” Jeri tapped her
fingers on the door.

“Which we will,” Ethan’s confidence was contagious.

“Damn right,” the women said in unison.

“Jessie, get down here this instant, and get your skates out
of the middle of the kitchen floor!” Aubrey Simms Watson tried to sound
ferocious, but she knew that she failed miserably. Her kids knew she was
nothing but a big softie, but they also knew that she had limits.

“Okay, Mom. As soon as I finish this game.” Jessie’s
response wafted down the stairs.

Aubrey put down the flour and headed for the stairs.
Standing at the base, she yelled up to her eldest daughter.

“Game? What game? Did you finish your homework young lady?”

“Jeez, Mom, chill. I’ve got all weekend to finish my
homework.”

The kid had a point. Still Aubrey couldn’t let it drop.

“You may have all weekend to do your homework, but I want
those skates up off the floor, now!”

“Alright, alright.” Jessie’s head appeared at the top of the
stairs. “Are you baking? You’ve got flour on your cheek.” Laughing, the eleven
-
year
-
old clattered
down the steps.

“I’m making pies for the bake sale tomorrow. You could help
me, you know.” Aubrey flung an arm around her daughter’s shoulder.

“Aw, Mom, I just got to level ten. One more and I’ll be in
the Land of Javnick.”

“But the land of cherry pie is so much sweeter,” Aubrey
responded, ruffling her short hair.

“Cherry? You know that’s my favorite! Are you making one to
keep?”

“Maybe, we’ll see.” Aubrey had already planned to make four
pies. Three for the church bake sale, and one for her family.”

“Please, please, please,” Jessie turned her most charming
smile on her mother. “And because Jason’s not home tonight, I can have his
share.”

“You think so, do you?” Aubrey laughed. “Put those skates
away, and finish your homework before dinner. Then we’ll talk.”

It was bribery, but it worked. Aubrey went back to baking,
but she couldn’t shake the feeling that had been plaguing her since they found
that poor girl’s body, yesterday. Something about it, over and above the horror
of a young girl’s death, kept nagging at her.

She’d seen her picture in the paper, vibrant and smiling,
and felt a connection, but she couldn’t put her finger on it. She didn’t know
the family, had never even heard of them, so that wasn’t it. As she mixed
cornstarch in with the cooked cherries, to thicken up the filling, she
considered the reasons why she couldn’t get the girl off of her mind.

Shelby Torrent lived in Iowa, was fifteen, and seemed a
perfectly normal teenager, by all accounts.

“She was only four years older than Jessie,” Aubrey said
aloud, stirring the cherry filling. A pang hit her heart at the thought, so she
moved on. That would never happen to her Jessie. She would never allow it.

Shelby’s mother probably felt the same way.

The thought came, unbidden, and made Aubrey let go of the
spoon. Standing at the counter, she closed her eyes and said a silent prayer
for the family who had lost too much, too soon.

She felt better, having done something so simple, yet so
powerful.

Returning to the pies, she poured the filling into the crust,
already waiting in the pans. Baking was therapeutic, and normally, she loved
it. But today, the haunting feeling that she was missing something would not
leave her be.

Graham glanced at his watch as he strolled along the river
bank, on his way back home. The entire process had taken less than three hours,
which was certainly acceptable, given the scope of what he had accomplished.

Thomas and that Reeves fellow were both at the bottom of the
river, if concrete blocks tied to their bodies worked as advertised. He’d left
them roughly ten miles apart, so there was no chance of them being found at the
same time.

Reeves’s car was probably in a hundred pieces by now at one
of the chop shops hidden along the street where he’d left it. The taxi ride
home was also uneventful, but for the driver questioning letting him out on a
dirt road. The two-hundred dollar tip should go a long way toward erasing his
memory.

All in all, the day had turned out surprisingly well. Anson
would have called Thomas’s unwitting part in the drama serendipity, a happy
accident. But Graham knew better. He felt that his path to Aubrey was clearly
defined, more so now than yesterday. Thomas’s curiosity only accelerated the
inevitable.

Aubrey had always been the goal. The girls he took as
stand-ins were merely preludes to the final act. The fact that he could use
them to create an offshore fortune had been a side benefit. Now, with his
operation effectively shut down, he could focus on the one thing he truly
wanted. Aubrey.

~~~

“We got it,” Jeri told the group after speaking with Nate.
“The paperwork is on the way, along with back-up.”

“ETA?” Ethan asked.

“Ten minutes,” Jeri answered. “As soon as it arrives,
Monique, you and Chloe serve the warrant, Ethan and I will head for the rock
pile.”

“Do you want us to search the house?” Monique asked.

“No, he’s smarter than that. After you serve it, leave a
uniformed officer with the Grants, then come out to the field with us. If that
pile of rocks is not a cellar, then we need to go over the property, inch by
inch. Those girls are here, somewhere. I can feel it.”

~~~

“There you are, Graham! I’ve been looking for you
everywhere!” Belinda pouted slightly, but she was happy to see her son. “I’ve
been wondering about the interviews. Did you find someone to replace Thomas?”

“Hello, Mother. I’ve just been on a lovely walk around the
grounds. We should really have someone come and take out a few trees along the
river bank. Part of it is turning into a forest.”

“Of course, whatever you think is best. But you neglected to
answer my question. How are the interviews coming?”

“I’m afraid that the search is still on, but I’m sure that
the service will send someone suitable tomorrow. The gentleman who came today
was not a good fit.”

“Oh, dear. Whatever will we do? You remember what a
difficult time we had finding Thomas? I hate to go through that again.”

“Not to worry, Mother. I will handle everything. In the
meantime, Rowena can answer the door, in addition to her household chores. We
can hire her an assistant, if the process drags on too long.”

“Heavens, what will people think? A housekeeper answering
the door!”

“Let’s not worry about that now,” Graham walked over to the
bar. “Can I get you something?”

Belinda’s answer was stymied by the ringing doorbell. Graham
put up his hand, stalling her protestations of dismay.

“I’ll get it, Mother.”

~~~

“Follow these tracks,” Ethan told Jeri as they left the
concrete driveway. “From the sky, they appeared to lead directly to the rocks.”

“Easy enough,” Jeri answered, driving faster over the lawn
than she should have been. “Here’s a fence.”

“I’ll get it,” Ethan jumped out and opened the gate.

“About how far was the rock pile from the fence?” Jeri
asked, following the clearly defined tracks in the field.

“Maybe a mile or so, maybe less. We should see it when we
top that knoll.”

“We should call an ambulance,” Jeri’s voice became tense.

“We don’t even know if we’ll find them here,” Ethan said
gently.

“We’ll find them. Make the call, please.” Every fiber of Jeri’s
being told her that they were close. She didn’t want to waste a moment, once
they located the girls.

“There, over there, behind those trees,” Ethan pointed
unnecessarily to the small grove. The tracks were still quite clear.

“Got it,” Jeri drove even faster, sending them both bouncing
wildly in the seat.

Ethan held on, but said nothing.

Skidding to a stop, Jeri threw the car into gear, shut off
the engine, and jumped out before the police car behind them caught up.

She and Ethan rounded the trees at the same time. The old
wooden door, overly secured with wrapped wire and a large lock, greeted them.

“We need bolt cutters,” Jeri called to the officers, just
now exiting their vehicle. “Now!”

The urgency in her command sent one officer running to the
trunk of his car. Within moments, he joined them at the door.

“Get us in there!” Jeri demanded, holding herself back from
taking the cutters from the man.

After two failed attempts, the metal on the lock was finally
severed. Jeri and Ethan moved in to remove the wire, and open the door.

The smell of mildew hit them immediately, but Jeri didn’t
care. Shining her flashlight around the walls, she spotted the light switch,
and flipped it.

The staircase made of rock headed straight down, then
curved, taking them deeper beneath the surface. As she and Ethan led the two
officers, Jeri felt her stomach churn at the thought of being trapped down
here, for more than a minute. Those poor girls, they would have nightmares
about this place for a lifetime.

The stairs led to a corner, and a long hallway peppered with
doors.

“Get these open,” Jeri told the officers as she stopped at
the first one. Turning the handle did nothing, so she stepped back and kicked
the wood structure as hard as she could. Nothing.

“Here, let me,” Ethan told her, after kicking open the first
door on the opposite wall, only to find an empty room. It took three tries, but
he managed to open it. Nothing.

“You need to see this,” one of the officers called out. He
stood outside the door of what looked to him to be a strange operating room. The
metal table, the overhead lights, and the trays filled with instruments looked
like a scene from a horror movie. The camera’s set up around the table only
added to the strange backdrop.

“He’s Anson’s student, all right,” Jeri commented, coming to
stand behind the man. The room was small enough to clear, without walking
inside. “Nobody goes in there except forensics. Tape it.”

Ethan was already kicking in the next door in the hallway,
but he was having a more difficult time. It took two men, him and the other
officer, to break open the door.

As soon as it opened, Jeri stepped to the doorway, her eyes
adjusting to the darkness in the room. Shining her light into the cavern, the
first thing she saw was Allison Wells, tied to a cot.

“Get some blankets, and check on that ambulance,” she
ordered the officer as she entered the room. As soon as she stepped inside, she
saw Diana, in much the same condition, lying on the other cot. Neither girl was
awake.