Experiment in Terror (Koehler Brothers Book 1) (9 page)

“Got an extra razor I can use?” Matt asked.

“You bet. You’ll find everything you need in the bathroom just off this room. Towels are in the closet next to the bathroom. I’ll get some fresh clothes for you and lay them outside the door.”

Matt grabbed a couple of towels and stepped into the shower. He closed his eyes as the hot water beat down on his body. He couldn’t remember when anything had felt so good. Next on his agenda was a good steak, but he would have to wait until tomorrow for that.

He was anxious to get back to his office and see how much work had piled up. As soon as he cleared out all the important things, he would head up to Boulder one morning and hit the Creek Path. Instead of hanging out by the stone bench where the homeless men did, he would go to the area of the path where he had talked to her that one evening.

The University had an indoor tennis court nearby. He should take his tennis racket and hang around like he had just finished a game. Wear a pair of shorts and tennis shoes. He liked that idea.

After he shaved and showered, he wrapped a towel around his waist and opened the door to get the clothes Ryan had laid out for him.

“I can’t begin to tell you how good it feels to shower and put on clean clothes,” Matt told Ryan as he was preparing to leave.

“I don’t know how you stuck it out for three weeks.”

“Seeing the bodies of the first three girls in the files the Chief of Police gave me, kept me motivated.”
Also looking forward every day in the hopes of seeing the blond biker.
But he didn’t say those words aloud. Ryan would think he was crazy.

Matt was happy to see when he reached his office the next morning that Susan, his secretary, had kept everything running smoothly. She had told anyone who called in, he was out of town on an assignment. There was a list of names and numbers of calls he needed to return.

After he finished with the calls that sounded most urgent, he booted up his computer and logged into his e-mail. His inbox had numerous ones to sort through. One from his brother, Mitch, caught his eye and he clicked to open it.

Hey, ole buddy. This assignment is turning out to be a total blast. Jade, the model I’m traveling with, is a real beauty and appears to be as sweet as they come. It’s totally ridiculous to think she might be a murderer.

To be perfectly honest, I think I might be falling for her in a big way. But I doubt a gorgeous model like her would ever go for a cop. Plus, I’m probably too old for her.

There was someone following us in LA. I’m afraid she might be in danger from whoever it is. But they would have to come through me to get to her, since I’m with her day and night.

Matt clicked on ‘reply.’

Don’t kid yourself, bro. Any girl would be lucky to get you. So if you think you want her, go for it! I’ve just come off an assignment in Boulder. I brought Karen in on it and after going undercover as a homeless man for two weeks, we caught us a serial killer. Unfortunately, they didn’t call me in until after three University students had been raped and killed. But with Karen acting as decoy, we were able to apprehend him.

He clicked on ‘send’ and
smiled as he reread his brother’s e-mail. He leaned back in his chair, and clasped his hands behind his head. He sat for a few minutes, enjoying the feeling of knowing his brother had fallen for someone.

What was the possibility they both had found the love of their lives?

Chapter 9

When Matt disappeared from the group of homeless men, Amanda became frustrated.
Maybe it’s only temporary
, she thought. When the news came out about the Boulder Creek Killer being caught, her heart sank.
Could it be Matt?

He
had
shown up after they had found the third girl who had been raped and killed. Then disappeared when the Boulder Creek Killer had been apprehended.

Somehow she couldn’t believe it. She needed to see a picture of the killer. None had been published in the paper. In fact, it said the Boulder Chief of Police had made the announcement to the papers in a brief statement. No details had been given.

She wondered if Gary Kaufmann could find out something. She gave him a call, but he was one jump ahead of her.

“Amanda, I was just going to call you,” he said.

“Really? Why?”

“I don’t have to reiterate my feelings to you about the homeless man being the Boulder Creek Killer.”

Amanda said nothing, afraid of what was coming next.

“I was so sure he was, but I was wrong.”

“How do you know?”

“When the news came out about his arrest, I went and talked to the Police Chief. He totally understood my feelings, and he showed me a picture of the killer. He was bald headed and wore glasses with lenses so thick it magnified his eyes many times over. Plus he was only five-foot-eight as compared to the homeless man who was over six feet.”

Amanda didn’t want Gary to know how relieved she was. Instead, she said, “I was beginning to think you might be right after all.”

“Why is that?”

“At the same time the announcement was made in the papers, the tall homeless man disappeared and I haven’t seen him on the Creek Path since.”

“I suppose he has moved on to another town, looking for a job.”

“Probably,” she said, afraid to admit the overwhelming disappointment she felt. She was happy there was no one around to see her misery.

“Something you might find interesting,” Gary said.

“Yes?”

“The killer’s name is Aaron Griswold. According to the information Vi Cap has, it is possible that he is guilty of murders of young women on campuses in several other states. The MO is the same. But they’ve never been able to catch him.”

“Vi Cap? What’s that?”

“Vi Cap stands for Violent Criminal Apprehension Program. It’s a federal program the states have access to, in order to help them apprehend criminals.”

“Learn something new every day,” Amanda said.

“Well, I hope you never have need of it,” Gary said, and Amanda could hear the smile in his voice.

“Gary, I appreciate you letting me know. You are going above and beyond what I paid you for.”

“Just thought you might be interested.”

After Amanda hung up the phone, she leaned back in her chair and stared thoughtfully at the wall opposite her desk. She was relieved it had been proven the homeless man wasn’t the killer, but how was she ever going to find him now that he had disappeared.

Of course, she did have his first and last name. Matt Lowry. Maybe she could do an Internet search. It was amazing what you could find out about the normal, everyday person on the Internet. Get more background on him. That might give her an idea where to look. She might even find a relative that might help her locate him.
But what if he had a wife
? The thought was too depressing to even consider.

Pushing back from her desk, she stood up and went into the store to see what was going on. It was busy, so to take her mind off Matt, she went out into the store and approached each of the customers who appeared to be browsing. Even though she preferred to shop peacefully, she asked each one until she found a man who was totally pleased when she asked if he needed help.

She gave a sigh of relief when he told her he could use some help finding a birthday gift for his wife. After asking a few questions as to her taste in jewelry, her hobbies, and preference in artwork, she was able to help him settle on a framed photo by Dennis Hamilton.
Of all people
.

The customer assured her his wife would love it. She had been looking for something to hang in her office at work and this was exactly what she had wanted.

“I’m surprised she hasn’t come in here and found this for herself,” he told Amanda as she rang up his purchase.

“I will take this back to our shipping department and put some lightweight bubble wrap around it,” she told the customer. “I wouldn’t want the glass to get broken or the frame chipped while you’re transporting it.”

By the time the picture had been wrapped and the customer had left, the store had cleared out and there was no one else for her to help.

“It looks like I’m going to have to call Dennis to come in with something to fill that empty spot,” Jenessa commented as she and Amanda watched the customer walk out of the store with the large package under his arm.

“I have to admit,” Amanda said. “People do love his photos.”

“I didn’t tell you,” Jenessa said. “But he asked me to go hiking in the mountains on my day off. He thinks I might be able to help him find some unique scenery.”

“Is there something going on between the two of you?” Amanda asked in surprise.

“I’m not sure. I had dinner with him the other night. But it’s hard to tell. He’s not the least bit flirtatious with me.”

“I hardly think he would ask you to dinner and hiking with him, if he wasn’t interested in you.”

“I do like him a lot, so I hope he is.”

“You had better call him about putting something in that empty spot. See if he has something different from what he already has in here. I like people to have the feeling when they buy something here, there aren’t a dozen more out there like it.”

“I agree,” Jenessa said.

Amanda went back into her office. The break had been enjoyable and it had taken her mind off Matt. But when she sat down at her desk, she couldn’t help wondering how she was going to find him.

A few days after the arrest of the Boulder Creek Killer, Amanda rode her bike along the path beside the rippling waters of the creek. Once again, she mulled over the problem of how she was going to find Matt, now he was no longer hanging out with the homeless men. The only thing she had found on the Internet was the Matt Lowry who was a co-anchor on NBC’s Today show. No other Matt and no Matthew Lowry.

Riding across the first wooden bridge, she was soon crossing another bridge, which was built over the creek right before the indoor tennis courts belonging to the University. As she turned the corner to ride past the large canvas structure, she saw a tall figure in white shorts carrying a bag and tennis racquet.

There was something about that walk
.
Why was it so familiar?

Her heart appeared to jump into her throat and without thinking, she called out the name.

“Matt!”

The man turned, and a smile lit the clean-shaven face as he recognized her.

“It is you,” she said, swinging off her bike as she reached him, staring up into familiar steel-gray eyes, fringed with thick black lashes.

“Yes, it’s me.”

She wanted to tell him how happy she was to see him. Instead, she asked the first questions that came into her mind.

“What happened to you? Did you find a job?”

He smiled down at her as she pushed her bike along between them.

“I
had
a job,” he said.

She waited for an explanation, but when he made none, she said nothing. She was so glad to see him, she found it hard to think, let alone talk. Hard to think of all the questions she had previously wanted to ask him. Only one question popped into her mind and she knew it wasn’t the time to ask him.
Was he married?

She glanced down at the hand wrapped around the handle of the tennis racquet and was relieved to see no ring.
But that doesn’t mean he isn’t married.
They continued to walk in silence as though finding each other was too overwhelming to even comment on.

Finally he asked, “Do you have time to go for a cup of coffee?”

“I have to open the store first. Then I could meet you at Paradise,” she responded, hoping he wanted to talk to her as much as she wanted to talk to him.

“Sounds good.”

“Give me an hour and I’ll meet you there.”

They had reached the stone bench and she prepared to mount her bike. When she saw the light turn green, she hurried to make it and with a brief, “Bye, see you in an hour,” she shot across the street.

Elated, Matt stared after her until she was out of sight. His plan had worked. In another hour, he would be having coffee with her and he had a feeling it was only the beginning.

He wondered how she had recognized him. He would have to ask her. He had been surprised to hear his name called. When he turned, he hadn’t expected it to be her. He had been so overcome at seeing her, he couldn’t think of a thing to say. It was fortunate he had had the good sense to think of asking her for coffee.

He retraced his steps back in the direction they had just come. He had parked his car in the parking lot beside the indoor tennis courts. He would retrieve it and find some way to kill an hour before meeting for coffee at
Paradise
.

What was wrong with him?
He hadn’t even asked her for her name. He would take care of that oversight as soon as they met at Paradise.
That name was certainly apropos
.

Amanda was exhilarated as she rode the last two blocks to her store. She couldn’t believe her luck. Matt hadn’t left town after all. And he said he had a job. Not only was his face clean-shaven, but his dark wavy hair was neatly trimmed.

Wait a minute. Dark, wavy hair. What was going on
?

She distinctly remembered his long shaggy hair had been a dirty dishwater blond. He didn’t seem the type to have dyed it to its present color. One more mystery she hoped to solve when she met him for coffee.

What had he meant when he said he had a job? Was he implying he hadn’t been without a job the past two weeks?
But she had seen him hanging out with the homeless men as though he was one of them. She couldn’t wait to get answers to all her questions.

As she unlocked the back door to the store, she glanced impatiently at her watch. She hoped the next hour passed quickly. She was excited to meet him for coffee. Wait until she told Charlie that the homeless man she had been attracted to wasn’t homeless after all.

She would call her right now. Shoving her bike into the closet, she hurried to the front of the store and into her office. She practically threw her helmet on the desk in her hurry to reach the phone. She dialed and listened to the ringing, giving a big smile as she heard Charlie’s voice.

“Charlie, you’ll never believe what just happened.”

“Something exciting, by the sound of your voice.”

“I found Matt.” Amanda had told Charlie how upset she had been when Matt had disappeared.

“What do you mean, you found Matt? Was he back on the Boulder Creek Path with the homeless men?”

“He was back on the Creek Path, all right, but he’s not homeless.”

“I’m coming over. This is too exciting for the phone.”

Amanda smiled as she heard the dial tone in her ear. She went to the front door and unlocked it. Looking out, she saw Charlie walking across the mall.

“What’s going on?” Charlie demanded as she entered the store.

“Let’s go into my office and I’ll tell you all about it,” Amanda said.

A few minutes later, Charlie stared at Amanda in amazement as she finished telling her about running into a clean-shaven Matt, dressed in tennis shorts and carrying a racquet.

“What do you think?” Charlie asked.

“I don’t know, but I’m going to find out in about . . .” Amanda glanced at her watch. “. . . thirty minutes.”

“When you do, promise me you’ll come by Bare Threads and tell me all about it.”

“Of course I will,” Amanda said, her blue eyes sparkling with excitement. “I can’t believe this is happening. I never thought I would find him again. And best of all, to know he isn’t homeless.”

Amanda accompanied Charlie to the front door and stood watching as the other woman crossed the mall to her store. Turning, she gave a wave at Jenessa who was setting up the two registers for the day.

“Charlie’s over here early,” the manager commented. “What’s up?”

“Nothing much,” Amanda replied. “She just wanted to check on some plans we had made.”

She knew her answer was purposely vague, but it appeared to satisfy Jenessa. She glanced at her watch again. Five minutes had elapsed. She wondered if she should go to Paradise a few minutes early. Not wanting to appear too anxious, she decided against it. Besides, she had to get the deposit ready and take it to the bank.

Everyone in the bank was excited about the Boulder Creek Killer being apprehended. Amanda visited a few minutes and then went back to her store. Every few minutes, she glanced at her watch. Time seemed to be moving along at a snail’s pace. She finally felt like it wasn’t too soon to go to Paradise. It fact, it had been longer than an hour.

She grabbed her handbag and hurried to the front door.