Murder Stalks (36 page)

“
Tony,” Sally said as she
approached him. The uncomfortable wall that had been between them
was gone. “I took the initiative to call the Dallas police
department. I sent them an email with Michael’s picture. The guy in
the picture wasn’t Michael Rains. They had assumed the real Michael
Rains had moved down here three years ago. No one has seen him
since.”

“
Michael’s not going to go
down without a fight. We need to find Marissa now.”

“
Tony, do you really think
she’s in trouble? What if she’s at her apartment, back at your
house or at the motel you two are staying at?”

“
Rex had officer Farris
check out all three places. She’s not anywhere I would expect her
to be. I can’t imagine her going shopping or to a movie without her
telling me.”

“
Have you checked your
voice mail?” Sally asked. Her attitude was professional, but
concern was evident on her face. They had come a long way since
last week when all they had for each other were angry
words.

Tony reached for his cell phone, but it was
missing. “My phone, evidence still has it in lockup.” Tony dashed
from the room and ran downstairs to retrieve his phone. His heart
pounded out a strained rhythm, making him wish he had eaten better
last week.

“
I need my phone,” Tony
shouted as he reached the first floor.

“
Detective Santos, you’re
out.” Douglas White, the officer in charge of evidence, sat behind
his desk. A smile turned the corners of his mouth up.

“
Didn’t anyone tell you?”
Tony asked.

“
I’ve been on the phone,
and before that I was away from my desk.”

“
The killer is Michael
Rains.”

“
Officer Rains? That’s
strange,” Douglas said as he scratched his head.

“
What? Tell me now,” Tony
demanded, letting his voice rise even though he knew he needed to
keep a calm head.

“
I was in the evidence
room and your phone showed his number on the display. I guess he
was trying to get in touch with you. How eerie.”

“
He called? God, what
could he have wanted?”

Tony grabbed his phone and headed back to
the center of activity, checking his voice mail. Marissa’s message
sent a chill down his spine. She was at Ally’s watching a movie
with Rains. Shit, he was fucked. He breathed in deeply before
walking back into the war room. Marissa’s life hung on a wire. He
was losing ground in his race to find her. Losing her now would
kill him.

“
Tony, we have a problem,”
Rex said before Tony could enter the room.

“
What’s wrong?”

“
Allison’s new address
isn’t her new address. She must have moved to an apartment or house
that included utilities.”

“
Cell phone records. Call
the phone company and get a warrant. Marissa left a message. She’s
with both Ally and Michael. Neither woman will make it out alive if
we don’t find them soon.”

Chapter 41

Marissa’s brain was caught in a fog, unable
to keep up with the sequence of events. Someone leaned over her,
the big body blocking out the light. Recognition clicked in her
mind and fear raced through her.

“
Sleep now, I’ll be back
for you later.”

The laugh echoed as she fought through the
deep fog of sleep. Her eyes fluttered open to find a darkened room.
Had she dreamt the person standing above her? Exhaustion
overwhelmed her, sending her into oblivion.

“
Marissa.”

The voice came from somewhere close. She
pushed the strange feeling away. Someone clutched her shoulder,
shaking her violently. Marissa fought the fog and opened her eyes.
Ally’s face was stark and her eyes bulged.

“
Marissa, you have to wake
up.”

“
Goway.” Marissa words
were slurred from sleep, and her eyes stayed shut.

“
Marissa, I need you to
wake up,” Ally begged, her voice barely above a whisper.

“
Don’t want
to.”

“
We have to leave,” Ally
begged.

“
Too tired. Need more
sleep.” Marissa rolled over, away from Ally.

“
No, Marissa. I need you
to wake up and follow me.”

Water splashed on Marissa’s face. She shot
up, the shock of the cold pushing some of the disorientation
away.

“
I found a bloody
sheet.”

“
What?” Marissa
asked.

“
In my garage. Someone
stuck a bloody sheet in my garage. It had to be Michael. He was in
there yesterday. He had the key to my garage. He’s done something
bad and we need to go.”

The doorknob to her room rattled and Ally’s
face went white. “Be quiet and pretend to be asleep. I’ll get rid
of him.”

Fear caught Marissa in the middle, leaving
her gasping for breath. She rolled over and covered her head.
Exhaustion still played with her, making it hard to keep her eyes
open. She heard Ally crack open the door and Michael speak.

“
Ally, is something
wrong?”

“
No, I’m just changing for
bed.”

“
Why’d you lock the door?”
Michael asked, his voice sounded normal, but would she know if he
was suspicious? She didn’t know anything about the man. Why had
Ally been so trusting? Hadn’t she known something was
wrong?

“
Marissa’s in here. I
didn’t want you walking in while I was changing.” Ally’s voice
wavered and Marissa cringed. What if he busted through the door and
killed them both here?

“
You coming out soon?”
Michael asked.

“
Yeah, I’ll be done in a
minute or so,” Ally said.

Marissa wanted to cry. They were stuck in
the house with a madman. She should have stayed with Tony all day.
God, she’d been so stupid.

“
I’ll be waiting,” Michael
said and Marissa heard the door close.

“
Marissa, you have to get
up,” Ally whispered. “Be very quiet and follow me
outside.”

Marissa pulled her shoes on and walked
towards the door. Her legs shook and her head thundered with an
ache that made her wish she had more water.

“
Not that way,” Ally said
through gritted teeth.

“
My car. We could use it.”
Marissa searched for her purse. “Where’s my purse?”

“
Shit. Michael took
it.”

“
Why?” Marissa asked. She
rubbed at her face, trying to make sense of Ally’s words and
actions.

“
Shhh. Just follow me.
We’ll have to go on foot.” Ally moved to the window, raised it and
quickly climbed outside.

Marissa struggled to get out of the window.
“I need help.”

“
What? Oh, give me your
arm.”

Ally reached through and helped Marissa
climb out. Marissa moved sluggishly through the bushes and over the
green lawn. Her foot caught and she lurched forward. Her hands
banged against her car and the noise echoed off of Ally’s house.
Damn, if they only had her keys. A cool breeze washed over Marissa
and her mind cleared a bit. Ally took off, running across the
street and Marissa followed. As they neared a wooded park, Ally
motioned Marissa into the shadows. They stopped, resting under the
thick green draping of a weeping willow.

“
I don’t know if you heard
me before, I think Michael might have drugged you. I was in the
garage and I found a bloodied sheet. Michael was in my garage
yesterday and he had a key to the garage. No one else could have
been in there. I think he’s the killer,” Ally huffed out between
breaths.

Drugged her? The baby... She couldn’t think
about that now. Michael was a killer. And he was after them. “Oh
God, do you think he followed us?” Marissa checked behind them, she
didn’t see anyone. “We need to get out of here.”

“
How far is the police
station?”

“
Not far, but we’re going
the wrong way. We need to head north, back towards the center of
town.” They wouldn’t make it to the station. If Michael were the
killer, he wouldn’t hesitate to follow them. “We’ll stick to the
shadows, no one will see us.”

Marissa led the way. Blood roared in her
ears. She felt strangely detached from the situation. The silence
of the night magnified the noise from every snapped twig or rustled
leaf. She stopped, and placed a hand on her belly. The baby was
fine, but she felt weak and dizzy from rushing around.

“
Marissa, we need to
hurry. Any moment now he’s going to realize we aren’t
there.”

The hair on the back of Marissa’s neck stood
up. Her eyes darted around, looking for the source of her fear. “I
thought I heard something.”

“
Keep going, we have to
keep moving. We can come out of the shadows once we’re closer to
the police station.”

Marissa and Ally moved quickly through the
wooded park. They were almost to the end of Ally’s street when
Marissa stopped again.

“
Why’d you
stop?”

“
We have to run across the
street, I wanted to make sure we were clear.”

“
I don’t see any cars,”
Alley whispered behind Marissa.

Another voice, deeper, reverberated behind
Ally. “Neither do I.”

Marissa let out a yelp then covered her
mouth, stopping a scream from erupting. Her heart hammered in her
chest and she broke out in a cold sweat. She wanted to run, but
knew she would never make it. Michael Rains would go after her and
catch her. She backed away from him, pulling Ally with her.

“
So, Ally, I guess you
found this?” Michael pulled the sheet from behind his back. He
twirled it between his fingers, smiling as he admired it. “You
shouldn’t have run. The minute you locked the door to your bedroom
I knew something was up. Ally, when will you ever learn that you’re
not as smart as a man?”

“
Shut-up, you crazy
bastard,” Ally shot back.

“
That’s the best you can
do? Come on, we’re adults here. Surely you can come up with a
better insult than bastard. I’m not crazy, though. I’ve known
exactly what I’ve been doing since I started following Tony five
years ago. I knew what I was doing when I took Ashley and found
that mountain lion to finish the job for me. I drugged them all at
the campsite, so you can’t blame the other parents. They never
heard me. No one ever believes that their water source is tainted.
It’s so easy to slip some drugs into water. You fell for it
tonight, Marissa.” Michael circled around as he talked, blocking
them from running across the street.

Marissa heard Michael say the words but the
reality still seemed distant in her drug-fogged brain. Then it all
clicked. “Oh God, you killed Ashley.”

“
Yes, Marissa. And I’m
going to take care of you next. Then it’ll be Tony’s turn. I know
everything about you. Your fears, your desires. See, I knew your
favorite movie. I’ve done my homework. I even knew you were
pregnant before Tony did. Don’t worry; I’ll rub it in his face
before I kill him.”

Marissa moved her feet, backing away from
Michael. The trees closed in around them. She could no longer see
the street. Fleeing was their only choice. She looked back over her
shoulder. The creek was behind them, full to its bank with running
water. She would never make it across.

Marissa tapped Ally on the center of her
back then moved her fingers to the right, hoping she would
understand they were going to make a break for it.

Marissa broke into a run behind Ally. She
made it a few meters when she tripped on a root. Her body slammed
into the ground. Ally stopped and headed back to help her.

“
No, Ally, keep going,”
Marissa yelled. But it was too late. Michael had caught up with
them. Marissa stood with Ally’s help. They moved backward, away
from Michael. He chuckled and Marissa shivered. If Tony were here,
what would he do? She looked for a weapon, but the darkness of the
park muted everything around her. She felt a tear slide down her
cheek. Damn it, she wouldn’t cry, she’d be strong.

“
You’ll never escape me,
Marissa. I know your habits. I know what you’ll do if you run. You
can’t get away.”

“
Marissa, don’t listen to
him,” Ally said, her voice shaky.

“
Oh, Ally. What good do
you think you can do?” Michael taunted.

“
Shut up,” Ally
yelled.

“
Such strong words, just
like at the boys’ home. I remember you.”

“
What are you talking
about?” Ally stopped moving and Marissa almost tripped over her
feet.

“
I was there when you came
in. I remember your daring escape. You’ll be caught, just like you
were by Mr. John back then. You can’t get away.”

Ally ran at Michael. He was ready for the
attack and had her on the ground before Marissa could tell what
happened. He pulled back his foot and kicked her in the ribs. Ally
groaned, and rolled away. Marissa sidestepped to her, pulling her
up so they could stand together.

“
Isn’t that special, the
two of you sticking together. You’re making this easy for me. I’m
only going to have to work half as hard to kill both of
you.”

Marissa turned and look behind them. They
were trapped on a peninsula of land. Their only way out was either
through Michael or across the creek. Icy fear clutched at Marissa’s
chest and she gasped for breathe. She would never make it across
the swollen creek. Fresh tears sprang to her eyes. She and Tony had
just reconciled. She couldn’t die now, not without saying goodbye
to Tony.