Murder Stalks (12 page)

Then the doctor came. He made each boy strip
naked. Ally had refused. She ran from the building, crossing the
grounds and hopping a fence before the headmaster caught up with
her. She screamed and cried all the way back, kicking him with her
bare feet, trying anything to get away. That was her last day at
the boys’ home.

With renewed anger, Ally plunged her hands
into the water. Her body ached, but that wouldn’t stop her. She
always pushed to the limit, searching for the end of her female
strength. The weakness that had made her so detestable to her own
father wouldn’t slow her down.

Damn it, why hadn’t Michael come by? Fear
gripped her chest. Maybe she was totally unlovable. That weakness,
the female type, always got in her way.

Life as a boy had been painful, but life as
a woman was unbearable. Her hormones drove her to the edge of
reason, making her do stupid things. Like giggling when Michael had
smiled down at her. Just the memory of his muscular body sent
Ally’s hormones into overdrive. She should have ignored him. Her
silly female need had won out. She’d made an ass out of herself,
succumbing to his charms. Hell, she liked herself better when she
was a man.

“
Damn it,” Ally swore,
slapping her hands against the wall at the end of the lane. She
ripped the goggles off her head, and plunged under. She shot out of
the water, her hair plastered against her head.

“
Hey there, beautiful, I
didn’t know you swam.”

Ally opened her eyes, blinking away the
chlorinated water. Michael Rains was leaning over the starting
block at the end of her lane. Heaviness settled over her, making
her feel tired and used.

“
You know, I’ve been
trying to get a hold of you,” Michael said, his mouth curving into
a sexy smile. Ally noticed the way his shirt pulled over his chest
muscles. His biceps bulged under the cloth, making her want to
reach out and rub his flesh.

“
Really?” Ally said,
unconvinced. Could this man really want her?

“
I got your number from
the club but it didn’t work.”

Ally slapped her forehead with the palm of
her hand. That’s what she had forgotten to take care of. Work
needed her new number. She pulled herself out of the water, not
bothering with a towel.

“
I had to change my phone
number,” She said as she squeezed water from her hair.

“
You know, it should be
illegal for you to walk around like that.”

Her face heated at his words. Unsure what to
say, Ally stood silent. A deep desire burned through her, leaving
her wanting Michael’s touch.

“
Ally, can I drop by your
place tonight?”

She paused, wondering if she should have him
over before they went out on a real date. He smiled, showing a cute
dimple and clean, straight teeth. Michael wasn’t mean, he was nice
and sweet. “I’m busy at the club until ten.”

“
I’ll come by at eleven.
How’s that?” Michael lifted his hand and brushed a finger along her
clavicle. Delight ran through her, sending a welcome pulse to her
core.

“
S—sure,” Ally stammered.
A date, well almost a date. Michael would be in her house at night.
Tonight, to be exact. Good thing her place was immaculate. No need
to clean for her hot date.

****

Tony slowed his stroke and watched Michael
talk to the other swimmer. The woman was well built, more muscles
than most men he knew. She could probably do massive damage to both
he and Michael if she wanted. Muscles rippled on her body as she
pulled herself out of the water. He wondered what was going on
between her and Michael.

Exhausted, yet refreshed, Tony pulled his
body out of the water and reached for his towel.

“
Officer Rains, You here
to see me?” Tony pulled the towel across his back, drying the
flecks of water that clung to his skin.

“
Yes, I need to talk to
you.”

Tony could see the disappointment on the
young woman’s face. A cop's love life wasn’t always convenient. If
this woman wanted to stick around, she would have to learn that
hard lesson.

“
Let me get dressed, then
we’ll talk. Meet me in the parking lot in ten.” Tony walked away
but didn’t miss Michael telling the woman he would see her
tonight.

Tony stuffed his towel into his gym bag as
he walked to the parking lot where Michael waited by Tony’s car.
Marissa had always checked his trunk for wet towels. Now that task
was his. He was zero out of ten in getting the towel into the wash
before mold set in. Hoping to improve his record, Tony tossed the
bag into the backseat of his car before turning his attention to
Michael.

“
I’ve got something you’re
going to want to hear about.” Michael leaned against Tony’s car.
The smile on his face was contagious. They needed a break on this
case, and if one of his team members came to him with news that had
him smiling, then it must be great.

“
Go ahead, shoot. Tell me
something good.”

“
This morning, a teacher
over in Freeport saw a suspicious car in the school’s parking lot.
She approached the car and found a man gratifying himself. She ran,
but he got to her before she could make it inside.”

“
Damn. Did she
survive?”

“
Yes, but she’s in
intensive care and won’t be cleared to talk to us for a day or
two.”

Tony shook his head and gritted his teeth.
He hated the fact there were jerks out there that preyed on
children. His throat tightened as he thought about the kids who
were in danger from this freak. Something wasn’t right. Why was
Michael acting like he had good news about their case? “Freeport.
That’s about a two-hour drive from here. This guy, why is he
important to us, and why would I want to hear about this?”

“
Get this. The guy
confessed to our murders.”

“
What?” A cold chill raced
down Tony’s spine. Call it sixth sense or a cop’s instinct. He
didn’t believe it.

“
Tony, the case is solved.
This guy confessed.”

The words sunk into Tony’s skull and a brief
flash of elation erupted deep inside of him. Then reality hit.
“Psychotic serial killers don’t downgrade. Whacking off in a school
parking lot doesn’t fit our killer’s modus operandi. Forced
submission, that’s our guy’s thing, not seeing little kids run
around on a playground. The guy in Freeport needs to be locked up,
but not for murder. Something doesn’t jell.” He turned and started
pacing around the parking lot. Michael kept up with Tony’s clipped
pace.

“
Tony, he confessed. Call
Freeport, see what they say.”

“
How did you hear about
it?”

“
A call came in to the
main line. I was there and they put it through to me. The officer
told me about the confession. He faxed me a sheet. Here it
is.”

Tony read the paper and pulled out his cell
phone. He punched the speed dial for Rex, they’d have to go. The
phone rang four times then rolled over to voicemail.

“
Rex, we have a situation.
Call me as soon as possible. We need to go to Freeport. Now.”
Pacing across the cracked blacktop, Tony began working a plan in
his mind. If this was their guy then the case was solved. However,
if this was a trick to throw them off, then their killer was more
devious and far-reaching than they had guessed.

Michael’s gruff voice interrupted his
concentration. “You don’t believe the confession?”

“
No, it’s too
convenient.”

“
I’ll go to Freeport with
you. Call Rex back and tell him it’s covered.”

“
No. I want you and Janice
to go over your notes. Piece together a timeline for each murder.
Make a note-card for each detail and set up a board. We need to do
some intense paper shifting. After Rex and I get back, I want you
and Janice to give me a full report on your findings.”

“
Sure, that’s just great.”
Rains’ face fell in disappointment. Had this case been simple, he
would have invited Rains along. But they were two steps behind this
guy, and he needed Rains here, searching through their files,
trying to come up with something to catch their killer.

“
Maybe I should send
Farris.”

Michael shook his head. “The guy confessed.
He’s our man. Farris wouldn’t be able to convince the other police
department to give him to us. You need to go.”

“
You’re right. If this is
our guy, I need to be there and Rex needs to go with me. Damn, I
hope it’s him.”

“
I’ll call
Janice.”

Michael stalked across the lot as heat waves
danced around him. If this guy turned out to be their suspect, then
it was all over and they could celebrate. If not, then they were
stuck. Something had to break on this case and soon. Maybe this was
the opportunity they had been looking for.

Chapter 10

Tony was pissed. He wanted to barge into the
interrogation room and ream the detective doing the questioning.
Instead, he hung back, letting the acrid smell of old coffee mixed
with stale food permeate his nostrils. He watched the suspect pick
at a spot on the old wooden table as the detective read over the
confession. The guy in Freeport wasn’t their killer.

“
The women, how did you
pick them?” The detective’s voice crackled over the speakers. Tony
leaned against the large two-way mirror, studying the suspect’s
face. This wasn’t right. The muscles at the base of Tony’s neck
tightened. The whole scene felt like a setup. Tony clamped his jaw
to keep from cursing and yelling.

“
I saw them, and well, you
know. They were there,” the suspect answered. He hunched over, his
long stringy hair grazing the surface of the table.

“
What’s this guy’s name?”
Tony asked through gritted teeth.

“
Steven Johansen. He’s
been brought in before for exposure. He was in juvie for petty
theft,” the officer standing behind Tony answered. The officer’s
name was Richard Montes. Tony had met him once before when working
a cross jurisdictional case.

“
He’s not our killer,”
Tony said. He watched as the suspect began plucking dirt out from
under his fingernails. Their guy was a neat freak, cleaning up and
dusting after each kill. He wouldn’t need to pick the dirt out from
under his fingernails.

“
He confessed. What makes
you think he’s not your guy?” Montes stepped forward, an angry
challenge ringing in his voice.

The door opened and two officers walked out.
Tony stared at Montes. The tough Hispanic stood with feet apart. An
angry scowl turned his lips down and created lines around his eyes.
Tony had nothing against the guy, but sharing sensitive information
about his case with the Freeport PD wasn’t going to happen.
Already, Tony suspected their man was on the inside of a police
force, but it didn’t have to be Juniper’s.

Steven Johansen knew a few details about the
murders. He knew the names and the fact that both women had been
raped. Nothing he couldn’t have picked up in the newspaper. Someone
had leaked information to the press, it was inevitable in a touchy
murder investigation, but Johansen wasn’t their guy.

“
He doesn’t have all of
the facts right. Johansen doesn’t fit the profile,” Tony stated
plainly.

“
You’ve got a confession
from an admitted sex offender.”

“
He lied to you, Montes.
This guy is into kiddie porn. He’s not a murdering sadistic sexual
predator, yet. He didn’t even rape the schoolteacher, just knocked
her over the head with a bottle so she couldn’t tell anyone else
about the sleazy guy in the parking lot. I’m not rolling over to
some patsy who wants fame. He needs to be locked up, but he ain’t
my guy.” Tony’s words were blunt and laced with disdain.

“
The guy’s a freak show,
but it’s your town and your murder. If you don’t want to accept his
confession, then wait. Maybe he’ll recant.”

“
Let me talk to him.” Tony
rolled forward on the balls of his feet as anticipation shot
through him. This guy would recant in five minutes if Montes gave
him a chance. Tony moved towards the door, ready to talk to the
suspect.

“
Whoa there, cowboy.”
Montes held his hand up and stepped in front of Tony, blocking his
way to the interrogation room.

“
Someone has to go in
there and convince this jerk to take back his confession,” Tony
said. “I can’t sit around here waiting for it to happen. The real
killer will strike while we’re playing games.”

“
You leave that to us. By
midnight, he’ll change his story if he’s not the real
killer.”

Tony squeezed his fists, fighting the urge
to push this guy to understand. He had no authority here. If the
Freeport PD didn’t want Tony questioning the witness, there was
nothing he could do about it. However, if the guy didn’t take back
his confession, Tony would request that the prisoner be transferred
to his jurisdiction. The two murders would carry the weight Tony
needed to extradite the guy. Then he would have his chance to talk
in depth to this character and get him to tell the truth.

“
Okay, Montes. I’ll give
you until midnight. After that, this guy is mine.”

Tony exited the building and saw Rex leaning
against the car, reading the newspaper and chewing gum. They had
driven all this way for nothing. His best detective was playing
chauffer while their murderer still roamed the streets. Tony kicked
a rock and sent it sailing across the parking lot.