A Soul To Steal (The Sanheim Chronicles, Book One) (20 page)

The Headless Horseman was riding in Loudoun. His nightmare was real.

*****

Kate came back to her desk, sat down and sighed. She loved being a reporter, but she wondered how she was going to turn that particular business story into a good profile. It bored her, it bored Josh in photography. She had to face it—it was just boring.

She looked around the room for Quinn to commiserate with, but only Alexis and Helen appeared to be there.

With a start, she realized that her voice message light on the phone was blinking. She had not noticed.

She picked up the phone and dialed in. The voice on the other end surprised her.

“Trina, this is Sue Redacker,” the woman said and Kate bristled at the sound of her old nickname. “Johnny needs to talk to you. He said as urgently as possible. But he was a little worried to leave a message himself.”

Mrs. Redacker named a time and place and Kate started to worry.

Since she had pressed Johnny Redacker for information, she had begun to wonder more about him. At first she had trusted his intel about the Kilgore murder, but the more she thought about it, it felt wrong. He had so many details about the case—almost as if he had been waiting for someone to ask.

One hour later, she pulled up in Quarry Park near Ashburn Village. Clearly he had picked the spot because it was remote—very few people came here because it was off the beaten track.

Johnny was waiting in his car when she pulled up.

He got out and they shook hands formally. This was the first time they had actually seen each other in years and he seemed to be appraising her.

“Your father told me you had turned into a beautiful woman, but I thought he was just giving the usual Dad-is-so-proud speech,” Redacker said after a minute.

“Dad has been known to exaggerate,” Kate said.

“Well, not about that,” Redacker replied.

“Thank you. So, what’s up? I assume this is not a social call.”

Redacker shook his head.

“Look, you have to understand that I thought I was telling you the truth,” he said.

“About Mary Kilgore?”

“Yeah,” Redacker said. “I would never have deliberately lied to you, but...”

His voice trailed off. Kate looked over the park area, which felt bare. It was just a field and a few benches.

“But what?” she said.

“Look, they were quite clear,” he said. “Brown called the guys in and told us what had happened—about Don Kilgore and the marriage troubles. How the arrest was going to take place. He said there would be rumors floating around, that maybe it was something else...”

“Someone like Lord Halloween,” Kate said.

“He didn’t say that exactly, but that was the gist,” Redacker said and glanced around nervously. “He said we should tell anyone—anyone—who asked all about Don Kilgore. He said he didn’t care if that got out, but he didn't want any false rumors going around.”

“And you weren’t suspicious?”

“Of course I was,” Redacker said. “I’m no rookie. It’s just—he was so adamant. Said he wanted to keep everyone in the loop. I knew something was wrong with it, but I never thought…”

“You never thought he would lie?” Kate asked. “Come on…”

“I know, I know,” Redacker said and sat down at one of the benches. “I know it seems stupid. But it isn’t like it used to be in the old days. And when you called…”

“You didn’t know if you could trust me?” Kate asked.

“Maybe that was it,” he said and shook his head. “It just caught me off guard. And I didn’t know what to say. All I had was a vague feeling of unease. I didn’t know anything specific.”

“And now you do?”

“There is no case against Donald Kilgore,” he said. “Brown must have known it. The marriage problems were real enough, but the guy was half-way across town with another woman at the time of his wife’s death.”

“And you know that?”

“Not officially,” he said. “But there is no way the case against Kilgore will stand up in court. Some of the stuff we gave your reporter, it wasn’t… It wasn’t for real. I’m pretty sure Stu made some of it up.”

“Jesus,” she said. “That could get him fired. False arrest, falsifying documents…”

Redacker waved his hands in the air.

“Do you think that matters?” he said. “You’ll never nail him down. Who gave the reporter the documents? Would he turn his source in? Stu isn’t a brilliant guy, but he is far from stupid. If you try and come after him, you won’t get far.”

“Why the deception?”

“I think you know.”

“I need you to tell me,” Kate said. “This isn’t something to just assume.”

“We don’t know anything for certain,” he said.

“Just tell me what you do know,” she said.

“Mary Kilgore? Let’s just say she didn’t seem like she was murdered in the heat of passion.”

“Give me details,” she said.

“Look, I don’t think…”

“Details,” Kate said.

Redacker put his hands up.

“Don’t say I didn’t warn you,” he said.

“Consider me warned.”

“She was killed slowly,” he said and looked away from her. “Whoever did it had at least basic medical training and knew how to cut someone without killing them. The doctor couldn’t be positive, but all indications are that he started cutting while she was still alive and conscious.”

“Jesus,” she said.

“I’m sorry,” he said.

“Sorry that I know the truth?” she asked. “I asked you. Goddammit, I asked you if it was him. And you lied straight to me.”

“Kate, it wasn’t that simple,” Redacker said.

“It seems that simple to me,” Kate said.

“We still aren’t sure it is Lord Hal…”

“Bullshit!” she said and stood up. “How can you sit there like that? One person is dead. I don’t know where he has been or what he has been doing, but he is back. I knew it.”

“You can’t know that,” he said. “Your dad and I think it was really Holober. This could be a copycat.”

“It’s not,” she said.

“You don’t know,” Redacker replied.

“I feel it, Mr. Redacker,” she said. “Call it an intuition or superstition, but I feel it. And you do too. You don’t believe this for a second. I know you don’t. I doubt my Dad does, either. But you are so anxious to fool each other and yourselves…”

“Maybe that’s why I told you what Brown asked us to,” he said. “I just…”

“You don’t want it to be true,” she said and looked across the field. A cold wind blew across it—she crossed her arms and shivered. Winter was coming, you could feel it in the air. “Did you find a note?”

“Brown and Stu said Donald Kilgore was just trying to throw us off the track,” he said. “He was trying to make it look like Lord Halloween.”

“Do you think that’s true?” she asked.

He paused. “No,” he said.

“What did it say?” Kate asked.

“I don’t know,” Redacker said.

Kate turned and stared at him.

“Mr. Redacker, I need to know I can trust you,” she said. “I don’t have many allies here. And I can’t trust you if you keep lying about this. I know you are trying to protect me, but you can’t. I’m older. I chose to come back here, remember?”

“Why? Your dad would freak…”

“You can tell him what you want, but you’re right, he would freak,” she said. “But I’m not leaving. Things are just getting started.”

“But that’s crazy. You don’t need to be here. If the guy is out there, we will catch him,” Redacker said.

“You didn’t before,” she replied.

“You know we tried,” he said.

“But it didn’t really cut it, did it?” Kate said. She felt her fingers twitch and gritted her teeth. “I need to know I can trust you. Can I?”

“Yes,” he said, but he put his head down.

She wondered when the change had happened. Kate had always looked up to her father and her father’s friends. They had seemed so strong and commanding when she was young. Now Redacker appeared old and frail.

“Then tell me what the note said,” she said.

He lifted his head.

“It didn’t say much,” he said.

She waited for him to continue.

“It was a small post-it note on her chest,” Redacker said. “It said, ‘Did you think I would stay away forever? I will be making up for lost time. LH.”

 “That’s it?”

“That’s it,” he said.

“Not very frightening,” she said.

“He had it attached to her with a carving knife,” Redacker said.

“Any prints?”

“What do you think?”

“He never left any before,” she said. “He seemed familiar with police procedure.”

“Exactly,” Redacker said.

“And you really believed it was Donald Kilgore? That he stuck a knife through his wife’s chest?”

Redacker looked down.

“Is that it?” she asked. “Is that all?”

“That’s all I know now,” he said. “I…”

The radio in his car squawked for a moment.

“Hang on,” he said and walked back to his vehicle.

“Yeah, I’m out in Ashburn now,” she heard him say. “Yeah, I can head over there. No problem. Five minutes.”

He walked back to her.

“I’ve got to go,” he said. “I’m sorry about before. And maybe we’re wrong…”

“Just be honest with me,” she said. “If not for my sake, then for my mother’s.”

Slowly he nodded.

“Okay,” he said. “I promise I’ll do the best I can.”

“What’s your call?” she asked.

“Not sure,” he said. “Some lady wants us to check out her friend’s house. She said her friend was visited by the police last night and she hasn’t been able to talk to her since.”

“Was she visited by police?”

Redacker shrugged.

“I’ll check it out,” he said. “Usually it turns out to be nothing. I should get over there. Are we okay?”

“Yes,” she said. “Just remember your promise.”

“I will,” he said and walked back to his squad car.

She watched him go. She idly brushed her hair out of her face. She would have to go back to work soon. But she saw her hands were shaking.

Now she knew. Suspecting was one thing, but now that she knew, it felt all the more real. But what had she expected?

It was irrational, but she knew it wouldn’t be long before Lord Halloween figured out who she was. He had a county filled with people to target, but Kate would be on the list, she was sure of it. So she wasn’t going to wait around for that to happen. She had to find him before he could find her.

Chapter 13

Saturday, Oct. 14

Quinn was startled by a loud pounding on his door. He glanced at the clock. It was barely past 5:30 a.m. The pounding became more insistent.

He got up and moved cautiously to the door, wearing only his boxers. He was not sure what to expect. Maybe it was Janus or Bill with some story.

He had no peephole at the door and briefly wondered what to do.

“Who is it?” he called out.

The pounding stopped.

“It’s Kate,” a voice came back.

Quinn opened the door and she walked in.

“Get dressed,” she said, practically ordering him. She breezed past him and went into the kitchen. “You have any coffee?”

“What’s going on?” he asked.

“Something bad,” she replied. “Throw on some clothes. We need to get moving before time runs out.”

“Should I call Janus?” he asked.

She thought briefly about it for a moment.

“You might want to,” she said.

“Do I have time to shower?” he asked.

“No,” she said simply and opened the refrigerator. “Can I have this Mountain Dew?”

Quinn waved at her to do what she wanted. He was so tired he forgot to be embarrassed about his lack of clothes. Instead he stumbled back into his room and pulled on jeans and a long-sleeved shirt. He brushed his teeth, but didn’t even take the time to comb his hair.

He came back out to the kitchen.

“Where are we going? Jesus, have you already had the whole thing?”

Kate appeared to be holding a nearly empty bottle of soda.

“Anxiety makes me thirsty,” she said.

“Yeah, and all that caffeine should really calm you down.”

Quinn picked up the phone and dialed Janus, who answered like he had been awake the whole time.

“What’s up?” he asked.

Kate gave Quinn directions, who relayed them to Janus. Then the two of them were out the door.

“I got a call from my source,” she said as they walked to his car.

“Who is?” he asked.

She didn’t answer.

“Jesus, Kate,” Quinn said. “Are we on the same side or not? It can’t be a state secret.”

“Johnny Redacker,” she said.

Quinn whistled. 

“He’s pretty high up in the department,” Quinn said. “He might have even been sheriff if it hadn’t been for that incident in Stone’s Creek.”

“I know,” she said.

He started driving.

“Before I get there, can you tell me what is going on?” he asked.

“I’m not sure,” she said. “But we had a talk yesterday. He admitted the Kilgore murder wasn’t done by her husband.”

“Shit,” Quinn said. “I’m not shocked, but still. Is it something we can use?”

“You know, I didn’t even think about the paper,” she said. “I was more worried about me.”

“Okay,” he said. “But that still doesn’t tell me why we are heading out before 6 in the morning to a house in Leesburg. Who lives there?”

“A woman named Mary Louise Fanton,” she said. “Evidently she disappeared Thursday night.”

“A victim of the Horseman?” Quinn asked.

“The who?” Kate said and looked at him funny. “The Horseman?”

Quinn shook his head.

“Sorry, never mind,” he said and wiped his face with his hands. “It’s early. I meant Lord Halloween.”

Kate continued to stare at him for a moment.

“I don’t know,” she said. “All I know is I got a call this morning from Redacker. He told me I needed to be out at the house as soon as possible.”

“But why is he helping you now, if he lied to you before?”

“He promised he would,” Kate replied. “He is a man of his word.”

“People who keep their word don’t lie in the first place,” Quinn said.

“Well, I don’t think he is lying now. Something in my gut,” she said.

“If the woman is missing, what are we going to find at her house?” he asked.

But by that time they were nearing the neighborhood. Quinn pulled onto the street and then pulled the car over alongside the curb.

“We aren’t there yet,” she said.

“I know, but we can’t exactly drive up if the cops are all around it, can we?” he asked.

A second later, Quinn saw Janus pull up behind him.

The three of them cut between two houses and ducked into the woods, approaching the house slowly. Kate seemed to be chomping at the bit to go faster, but both Quinn and Janus persuaded her not to rush ahead.

As they approached, they could see numerous cop cars out front. Janus pulled out his camera and started shooting, stopping every few feet to take a photo. Quinn counted six cars near the front. 

“Hell of a missing persons case,” he said.

“Is that what this is?” Janus asked.

“A lady disappeared from here Thursday night,” Kate said. “Her friend said a cop showed up and asked to use her phone. And the friend hasn’t heard from her since.”

“But this is a lot of people to have crawling around here, isn’t it?” Janus asked.

They quickly counted. Quinn saw at least 12 cops around the house and also saw some movement over in the woods. The police had put up ropes in front of the house marking it as a police scene.

“They found something in there,” Kate said. “It’s the only way to explain all this.”

“A body?” Quinn asked.

“Maybe,” she said. “But I would think they’d be more subtle.”

“How did you know about this?” Janus asked while Quinn was on the phone.

 “It’s a long story,” Kate said.

“You seem to know an awful lot about this place for someone who is new to it,” Janus said between drags.

“Haven’t we covered this already?” Kate asked.

Janus held up his left hand.

“Relax,” he said. “I’m no fucking rat. I just enjoy shaking people up a little.”

“I had noticed that,” she said.

“My mum said it’s my mission in life,” he said.

“What is?”

“To annoy people to death,” he replied and grinned. Janus pointed over in the woods directly behind the house.

“There are a bunch of guys out there,” he said. “What the bloody hell is going on?”

“They are looking for something,” Kate replied.

“But if they are looking for a person, how come they aren’t calling out?” Quinn asked.

“Because they know that person isn’t alive,” Kate said.

“What would make them so sure?” Janus asked.

“If they are looking for a person in pieces,” Kate said.

“Oh, I like her,” Janus said. “She’s just brimming with positive thinking.”

They moved closer to the house. Janus took shots of cops in the woods and more of them roping off the house. So far, no one had noticed them.

“Let’s see if we can get a look inside,” Kate said.

“We’ll get caught,” Janus said.

Kate shrugged.

“So?” she said. “I’m not exactly intimidated by them.”

They approached the house slowly, but the cops’ attention still seemed focused elsewhere. They came at it from the side, hoping to get a look in the den window.

They had nearly reached the window when cops started shouting. All at once, five officers stood around the three of them.

“Hiya blokes,” Janus said. “Do you have any donuts? I’m really famished and this seemed like the best place to grab a bite.”

The cops started throwing questions at them. Who were they? How did they get here? What was with the camera?

Then a voice cut through the rest.

“Janus, I should have known,” he said and the group parted to let an officer come through.

“Stu, how are you?” Quinn asked.

Stu looked at him warily.

“Let me see your camera, Janus,” he said, turning away from Quinn.

“I really don’t think that is a good idea,” Quinn said.

“Why not?” Stu asked. “I wouldn’t want to have to call you guys in for questioning. But if I were to have the camera for a minute…”

Janus busted out laughing.

“Oh, that’s a great threat,” he said. “I’m fucking quaking, aren’t I?”

The cops around them seemed to be growing angrier.

“Give me the camera, Janus,” Stu said.

“You’ll have to pry it out of my cold dead hand,” he responded.

“What do you say, Kate?” Quinn asked. He pulled out a notebook and pen from his jacket and started writing. “Let’s see… ‘When reporters approached the house, the officers became extremely anxious and threatened to take away a photographer’s camera.’”

“Now hold on,” Stu said.

“Honestly, Stu, do we look stupid?” Quinn asked.

“Well, we might actually look stupid,” Janus said. “We just aren’t.”

“There is no way you can force that camera out of his hands,” Quinn said. “Are you going to accidentally break it or something? I would think you would know by now how to treat the press. But if not, let me give you a tip: Stop being an asshole.”

“That’s it,” Stu said. “You three are all coming with me.”

“Right, throwing us in jail will improve the sheriff’s reputation in town?” Kate asked.

“Let me put it this way,” Stu said. “You guys are at a crime scene. You are interfering with police business. You’ve been taking unauthorized photos.”

“Unauthorized?” Janus asked. “Since when is a newspaper photographer taking photos of a crime scene unauthorized? Give me a fucking break.”

“Look, you little English shit,” Stu said. “I’ve had it with you. All of you. You’re coming down to the station.”

Kate pulled out her own notebook and started writing everything down.

“First of all, I’m not fucking English,” Janus said. “I’m Welsh. There is a huge difference. For example, you are probably English by blood. It’s the only way to explain your looks. And blind stupidity.”

Stu crossed over to him.

“Gentlemen,” Quinn said. “This is getting a bit ridiculous, don’t you think?”

“Another time, Janus,” Stu said. “You and I should have a man-to-man talk.”

“Cut the macho bullshit,” Kate said. “If you want to have us down at the station, we are happy to go.”

“We are?” Janus asked.

“Sure,” Kate said. “But we want a meeting with Sheriff Brown.”

“It’s just past six in the morning…” Stu said.

“I’m sure he is in,” Kate said. “You just tell him we want to talk.”

“Lady, whoever you are, there is no way he will talk to you,” he said. “If you think you can trespass onto a crime scene and then win yourself an exclusive interview, you’ve been drinking from the same water as these two.”

“Just tell him we want to talk about the message found inside the house,” Kate said and pointed.

Stu looked at the cops around him. He paused for a moment and licked his lips.

“What message?” he asked. “We don’t know what you are talking about.”

“Did you think I would stay away forever?” she said.

Stu’s jaw practically came unhinged and he stood there for a moment with his mouth open. Janus grinned at Quinn.

Stu stood still, until finally he sent the other cops away.

“I don’t know what you are talking about,” he said finally.

“Sure you don’t,” Kate said. “Now how about that meeting?”

Stu pushed his tongue out to his cheek and considered.

“I’ll see what I can do,” he said.

*****

Brown was waiting for them in his office.

“This is ridiculous,” he said, before any of them sat down. “I will not have members of the press interfering in police business.”

“And what, exactly, did we do?” Janus asked.

“You were trampling all over a crime scene,” he said. “You were attempting to enter a residence…”

“We attempted to look inside,” Quinn said. “There is a difference, you know.”

“Is there?” Brown said. Stu shut the door behind them. “I want you three to know I’m lodging a complaint with your editor.”

“Go ahead,” Quinn said.

He picked up his notebook and started writing in it.

“What are you writing down?” Brown demanded.

“This conversation,” Quinn replied. “I need to record it for my article.”

“You are not going to write an article about any of this,” Brown said.

“So you’re the editor now?” Janus asked.

“This is ridiculous,” Brown said.

“Call it whatever you like,” Kate said. “The return of Lord Halloween is big news.”

Brown appeared more flustered than ever.