Don't Touch (17 page)

“Let me page her.” He picked up the phone and
in a few minutes a lovely blonde with green eyes came out of the
back.

“How can I help you officers?”

Thomas smoothly moved over to her his card in
hand. “I’m Detective Thomas Lord. Can you tell us about Gerard
Black and his booth?”

She nodded. “Sure, he was nice enough and not
a bad on the eyes. But there was just something kind of creepy
about him. I didn’t get my make up done. I just wanted to browse
the new goods. When I was looking at the cosmetics he offered me a
free tube of lipstick.

Something in that stuff made my lips swell up
like a bad collagen treatment. Plus I couldn’t even keep water down
for two days.”

Jackson handed her a copy of the profile and
the girl nodded. “Yeah that’s him. He paid his last week’s venders
fees then disappeared.”

Ryan knew he had disappeared with Phyllis.
“Do you still have that tube of color?” The girl went to a locker
and pulled out her purse then handed the tube to Ryan who took it
in her gloved hands. Once outside Jackson gave her a small baggie
out of his pocket.

At her questioning look he shrugged. “I
always carry one or two you never know what you might find at a
scene.”

She was careful not to smudge any prints that
might be Black”s as she took off her glove. She looked around and
there were some benches near the ticket booths. Once she was seated
between Jack and Tom she let the tube fall into her naked hand.

The cart was filled with tubes of mascara,
lip gloss, lipsticks, and shadows. He carried hair brushes and
mirrors. The little mirrors they had found with the victims were
there with a display of the Palace Peachberry lip color.

Ryan didn’t push away she wanted a good look
at Black. He chatted the pretty blonde up and tried to talk her
into letting him ply his talents on her. “No, I’m beautiful enough
with out all that stuff.” Was her witty reply. She wore only
mascara, lipstick and a touch of blush.

Smiling and not giving up completely he gave
her one of the lipsticks. “Here, try this one on me. Palace has a
wide spectrum of shades to bring out your lovely eyes.”

Looking at her watch she realized she was
late getting back from lunch. Taking the small cylinder and
dropping it in her purse she hurried off. “Thanks. Maybe I’ll be
back when I have more time so stick around.”

Gerard watched her go disappointed. She
thought it was because he didn’t make a sale. Ryan knew it was
because he had picked her to be the next one; she had been a lucky
woman that afternoon.

She dropped the Peachberry color into the
evidence baggie. “Time of day makes no difference. He picked her
and she left before he could talk her into doing her make up or
trying the lipstick there. We need to find out where these women
bought cosmetics.”

Jackson pushed her hair over her shoulder. “I
know you haven’t spoken to Amber lately, but do you have any idea
where she bought hers?”

“She used to go to Belk’s in the mall but if
something caught her eye she wasn’t adverse to tying it.” She sat
for a few minutes watching Jack swing the baggie. “Wait a minute
wasn’t there a street party in Eustis? Amber loved stuff like
that.”

Thomas nodded. “Yeah, they have one the first
Friday of every month.”

The next stop was Eustis City Hall. They
talked to the event organizer for the street parties. “I have all
the approved venders and performers and there is no Gerard Black or
Palace Cosmetics. We wouldn’t have something like that to begin
with. These parties are to bring community minded people out.”

Jackson gave her a copy of the profile. “It’s
possible that he set up anyway, he’s very skilled in deception. Can
we show this to workers who where there?” Reluctantly she agreed
and they sat in the break room as people who either worked the
event or those who attended came in. After an hour and a half one
of the clerks pointed.

“He was with a brunette woman. They were
laughing and having a good time. Especially her, the woman was out
there. It was like she was stoned.”

Thomas took a swallow of coffee. “He didn’t
have a booth or cart set up?”

“Not that I saw. They were just walking down
the walk where the shops are.”

Armed with that information they found a drug
store that had allowed him to set up thinking it would bring in
some of the party business. But the guy had disappeared during the
evening. Out of all the women that night, he picked Amber.

As the man gave a description of the set up
and Gerard, Ryan’s thoughts wondered to how lucky her sister had
been in the past. There had been several times Amber had narrowly
escaped danger. Three car wrecks all her fault, a boat crash, she
had even been mugged at gun point once. “Her luck was going to run
out sooner or later.”

“I’m sorry.” The pharmacist gazed at her
confused.

Ryan cleared her throat. “Excuse me sir. I
just need some air.”

Turning she went out to get some space to
clear her head. Jack followed while Tom left a card and numbers in
case Black showed back up for some reason. Jackson found her on the
Lake Walk sitting on the bench he had brought her to on her first
day out. It seemed years ago now.

Approaching he heard the sound of her breath
hitched with a sob, the grief had found her. When he sat down she
threw herself in his arms and let it all go. He held her as the
lake breeze warmed by the sun touched them. “We used to come to the
street parties together. I feel guilty for pushing her away but she
had no right to do what she did either. I just can’t help being mad
at her or hating her right now.”

Jack held her stroking her hair. “Babe,
listen you don’t hate her. You just can’t hate family, no matter
how rotten they are. You did not push her away, Amber didn’t try.
Then she took advantage when Amber should have been helping you.
She could have been the one to take you out here and to the museum
way before I did. Amber could have reassured you that it was
okay.

Instead, she treated you like a person that
needed to be locked away. In a lot of ways you lost her long before
she was killed. It’s okay to grieve for the loss of the sister you
remember going to the parties or out shopping with. That’s the
sister you’ll miss not the one that we saw at the court house.”

Her face wet with tears she sat up. “That
e-mail I deleted was the last thing she would have said to me. I
didn’t even think, just punched the button.”

Tom sat handing her a tissue. “There were
already too many ugly things said between you recently. Let it go
and like Jack said remember your sister not the ugly woman in the
court room.”

She wiped her face and hugged them both. “You
know there is one thing left that I haven’t tried.”

Jackson shook his head. “You are not handling
the knives. Yes, it’s a direct link but that’s the point. Seeing
all that other stuff is bad enough I just can’t let you get into
that monster’s head.”

Getting up and leaning over the railing Ryan
looked out over the lake. With the warmer weather there were more
folks on the lake fishing and boating. “It’s all we’ve got. Now
he’s even taunting us by sending a picture of the house knowing we
can’t find it yet. I have to try, Jack.”

“No, I refuse to think we’re beaten. We know
how he’s abducting the women and that the selection is random.
Along with an idea of the kinds of places he likes to set up in.
Let’s use those leads first, let the other lay until we have no
where else to go.”

“A last resort?”

“Yeah, very last resort.”

Ryan turned around and the strong breeze blew
her hair like a halo as the setting sun lit the sky behind her.
Jackson thought he was seeing a vision of his own. She took a
breath, “Why don’t you want me to at least try it?”

He stood and stalked over to her seizing her
lips with his as a hand curled in her hair. He stepped back leaving
her breathless. “That’s why.”

Thomas cleared his throat. “I’d say that’s a
good reason. I thought you said there wasn’t anything to
confess.”

Ryan looked at the men as she regained focus.
“One more of those and there will be plenty to confess.” Taking
Jackson’s hand they walked back to the car.

Tom’s phone chirped. “Voicemail.” He dialed
and listened. “Head back out to the Pittman Forestry station. They
may have something for us.”

It was a small station on the edge of the
forest. No one really knew how many people lived so close to nature
until they drove down this way. Most of this area between Altoona
and Route Forty was forest and there were whole communities built
up in it. Not to mention the several campgrounds.

One of the rangers met them and pulled out a
set of aerial maps. “These were taken some time ago and given to
us. I don’t know the exact areas these represent yet but here and
here are trails I’ve never seen before. And here looks to be an old
mobile home. What I do know is that all this area is Ocala National
Forest, government land not privately owned lots.”

Thomas studied the maps. “How long will it
take for you to narrow down a search area?”

The ranger shrugged. “I was told they should
have something for us to go on by Monday.”

They left with copies of the maps and a bit
disappointed. “They could have told us that over the phone.”

Thomas grumbled as Jack snorted. “Yes but we
wouldn’t have been able to drive all the way out in the middle of
nowhere again.”

Ryan leaned on the door. “I have an
idea.”

The men looked at her as if she were going to
suggest the evidence again. “Tomorrow is Saturday, it will be a
busy flea market day. Our guy likes to set up as a vendor in open
malls and markets. We could check them out, say Renninger’s or one
of the larger markets. At the least someone may have
information.”

Thomas clapped his hands. “Good idea it might
work. At least we can find out if he’s targeted them before.”

Jack wasn’t keen on the idea. “You can’t be
bait.”

“Yeah, I can. I’m the best one for the job
since I have a keener sense of danger so to speak. Plus the two of
you will be there to come to my aid.”

After a bit of arguing Jackson relented and
agreed that it was a plan. At least until they had an area narrowed
down to search for this mobile home in the forest. He just had a
really bad feeling about this. The detective was falling for Ryan
and didn’t want her hurt anymore than she already had been. He only
hoped she was falling as hard as he was.

Chapter 15

They had hit every flea market in the Lake
County area by eleven am. Sitting at a table in Luigi’s Italian
Restaurant, Jackson was relieved. He hadn’t wanted Ryan to be the
one to find the guy. “It was a good idea but I think we may have
driven him under ground.”

Ryan put down her sandwich. “There are some
of the bigger markets. Only problem is we are out of
jurisdiction.”

Thomas pulled out his cell phone and dialed
Captain Heinz. With in thirty minutes Heinz called them back. “They
will let you in at Markets of Marion. I’ll push the others to at
least check for the guy. It would be a shame for him to get away
just because he was across our lines. Of course that could be what
he’s hoping for.”

Nodding Thomas said a silent prayer that the
other counties would be as cooperative. “Thanks Cap that’s all we
can do. I guess we head out to the Markets of Marion.”

It was late in the day for a flea market,
most vendors were packing up. When they got out of the car a shiver
ran down Jackson’s spine. He took Ryan’s hand. “Stay close, avoid
the crowds. The moment you see him signal us. Do not approach him
without us there promise me.”

Squeezing his hand back she was already
scanning the booths. “You feel it too. There is something different
here like the air is bad. I promise I won’t take any chances.”

Soon she was walking through the stalls
making her way to the center of the markets. Feeling drawn by the
“bad air”. Most of the venders that were still open had little left
of their wares. Ryan made a few purchases trying to be just another
shopper.

As she spoke to a woman about a perfume
bottle for her collection a shiver ran clear down to her toes. She
knew he was watching her, could almost feel his eyes on her.
Thanking the woman, Ryan dropped the bottle into her purse and
glanced around casually. She saw him, at least she thought it was
him. He was in the corner by the ladies restrooms.

Prime spot for someone looking to nab a
woman. She pretended that the display was what caught her eye. As
she slowly walked over smiling she punched the side button on her
cell phone that dialed Jack. “Don’t be far behind me.” She
whispered to herself.

“Palace Cosmetics! I thought they had stopped
making it. They had the best blush.” Typical girl she started
flipping open the cosmetics on display and examining the colors
next to her skin.

Gerard smiled warmly and pulled out a special
tray marked tester. “Such a lovely lady shouldn’t need all that
much help.”