No Ordinary Killer (31 page)

“Right,” Dallas added. “He is giving us the chance to
escape before it happens. If we fail, too bad. He loves playing the game,
doesn’t he?”

“So he bugs the boy’s rig, so he knows what’s going
on. The boys call in, they succeeded. If they don’t, he knows we’re alive and
on the run. If the boys don’t call in and the truck doesn’t move, we are all
waiting at the Pearly Gates. Clever bastard,” Cooper said.

“He isn’t as clever as he thinks.” Gulchinski cleared
his throat. “He doesn’t know if you both made it or just one of you. Not
knowing will drive him nuts. He’ll have to know. It’s time to set a trap. Give
it some thought. We have one chance to make this work. Keep a close eye on Pete
for me. ”

 
Silence
completed the conversation. Dallas handed the phone back to Pete. “If the
killer tried kidnapping you at Jamie’s house, what’s to stop him from trying
again at your house? I don’t think we should go back there.”

“Well I do.” Pete stopped for the red light. “Our
place used to belong to some rich movie star while he was having a mansion
built somewhere in Montana. Anyway, there is so much security setup that no one
could get close without trippin’ something off.”

“Really?” Dallas found that incredibly interested.

“It’s one of the reasons dad bought the place.”

“I never knew that.” Cooper yawned.

 
“We’ve been
sworn to secrecy,” he laughed.

“Okay,” Dallas said. “We lay low, and work on the
case. He’s a control freak and will have to try and find out who survived the
cabin. We just may have upset his plan. He’ll get agitated and slowly unravel.
It’s like a chess game. He has to understand the next move before proceeding.”
They had a slight edge for the first time since this whole ordeal began.

“Listen up, I’ve pushed the garage opener. We’re a
block away. Lay low in case someone is watching the house—”

“Stop talking,” Dallas shouted. “Don’t let him see you
lips move. Act natural.”

Pete flipped on the radio. The bass vibrated the
windows. He sang and moved his body to the rhythm. The garage door squealed
slightly as it shut down in place.

“Don’t move after you shut it off. Listen.” Silence
responded. They remained still … one minute … two minutes … three minutes … ten
minutes.

 
“Pete,” Cooper
whispered, “How come we don’t hear Bucket barking?”

“Garage is soundproof.”

“What? You’ve got to be kidding.” Dallas sat. “Why
didn’t you tell us that earlier, Pete?”

“You told me not to talk.”

Dallas laughed. “Guess I did. Well, children. Let’s go
into the house single file. Cooper first, then me. You, young man, will stay
right where you are until we case the place. Don’t use your phone and … just
sit still. Got it?”

“Yep. I’ll take a power nap.”

She couldn’t help smiling. She liked Pete. “Come on,
Cooper, let’s do a room-by-room search. Pete, what’s the first room past that
door?”

“Kitchen.”

“Good. We’ll grab a couple of knives. We’ll be right
back, Pete.”

“You might want me to turn off the house alarm. Damn
thing … darn thing punches one annoying siren.”

“Where exactly is this alarm and what’s the code?”
Cooper asked, shaking his head.

“Right inside, to the right. Take a guess.”

“Come on you two. We don’t have all day here.” Dallas
waited by the door, tapping her foot.

“2-10-10?”

“You got it.”

Dallas glanced at them. “Date Packers won Super Bowl
XXIV. Good one.” She noticed Cooper’s dimpled smirk. She hoped it impressed
him. “Come on, enough already.”

She patiently waited while Cooper inched the garage
door open and head for the alarm. “Stop,” she whispered, then motioned Pete
over. “Shouldn’t that light be red?”

Pete nodded.

“Is it possible it wasn’t set?”

Pete shook his head and mouthed the words,
n-e-v-e-r
.

She motioned with her palm for him to stay, entered
the house and closed the door. They moved as one into the kitchen. She eased a
nine inch bone saw from the butcher’s block and handed it over to Cooper. She
chose the ten inch carving knife for herself. He glanced right and she checked
the area to the left. Fifteen minutes later Dallas opened the garage door and
motioned Pete inside.

“Nothing?” he asked.

Dallas didn’t miss the boy’s tense posture.
“Absolutely no one. The killer wanted us to know he could get inside without
anyone knowing. Another mind game. We’ve steered clear of all the windows. We
want you to go around the house and pull all the blinds and drapes.”

“So we have to ask, how could he have done it?” Cooper
leaned against the door jamb “There is no sign of breaking in and no alarms
sounded or Gulchinski would have told us. Where does that leave us?”

Dallas gently stretched her aching shoulder “We get
our guys in here and search for bugs; audio and visual. We don’t discuss
anything until that’s—“

“Dad, we need a team at the house to search for
implanted devices. We’re fine. The alarm wasn’t set—“

“Dad—“

“Dad—“

“I’m sure I set it. I haven’t told anyone, not even
Jamie.”

“I believe Pete,” Dallas said. “The killer wants us to
know he can come and go as he damn well pleases. It’s part of his game. He’s
proving how clever he is. He wants us looking over our shoulders.”

“He’s doing it again,” Cooper said, tossing the knife
on the counter.

“Doing what?”

“He’s refocusing our attention away from the case.
Every minute we lose is every minute he gains. He realizes we’ll call in the
boys to sweep this place. How long do you think that will take? How many will
recognize us? In two hours he’ll know what he wants.”

“Dad, we don’t want you to call anyone. Uncle Cooper
thinks that’s exactly what the killer wants us to do. He wants to know who
survived. Got ya. Bye.”

Dallas nodded. “Good call, boys.”

“I’m going to set the alarm.” Pete stomped to the back
door.

“Stop. Don’t touch it,” Cooper yelled.

“I agree. It could be a trap … or worse. We can’t take
any chances. Okay, so you call your dad and ask for one guy he knows he can
trust. He should wear a disguise: mustache, hoodie, and even glasses if he
doesn’t wear them. Have him come over, call ahead and we’ll have him park in
the garage. Before we open that garage door, Dallas and I are going to hide in
the back of the Jeep. And, Pete?”

“Yeah?”

“That’s the last call you make on that phone. This
killer is savvy. He knows every move we make. I think he’s taken years to set
this plan in motion. We have to start thinking like him. We need to project his
next move.”

“Maybe we should go to a hotel or a safe house?”

“Pete, you watch too much TV.” Cooper pulled a tall
stool out and leaned on the kitchen island.

“Oh, you mean my Jeep is bugged and he’ll know exactly
where I go?”

“Damn,” Dallas snapped. “I didn’t think of that. Have
the sweeper check the Jeep, too. Is there any other place we can hide while the
guy checks this place out?”

“If I wanted to hide in here, I’d choose the attic.
It’s totally—” Pete opened the refrigerator and stopped in mid-sentence. “What
the fuck?”

“Pete!”

Dallas ran and pushed Pete aside. “Well, I didn’t see
that coming. No doubt our boy was here.”

“Is that a real hand?” Pete asked, backing away.

Cooper closed the refrigerator door and dropped to his
knees. “I … I recognize … my God, Dallas … it’s not possible.”

“What’s wrong, Uncle Cooper?” Pete asked, his tone
wavering.

She knelt beside Cooper and rubbed his back. “Please
don’t tell me it’s someone you know or you’re close to you.”

“That’s Megan’s wedding ring.”

“That’s Aunt Megan’s hand? No way.” Pete vomited on
the floor.

“Why don’t you go to the bathroom and rinse your mouth
out and wipe your face down with a cool cloth. It’ll make you feel better. Make
that call to your dad and tell him what we’ve found. After that go ahead and
pull those blinds like we asked. Come back here when you’re done. Okay?” Pete
nodded and fled without a word.

“I’ll clean this up,” Cooper said, getting to his
feet.

“I would, but it’s pretty hard with one hand.” She
walked over and sat on a stool. “So, just in case we decided not to reset the
alarm, or have a team to check the place out, there is always option three. We
have to call this one in.”

“It’s Captain Gulchinski’s house, so FBI will need to
be called in on this. They find us and we’re all in a heap of shit.”

She watched as Cooper rinsed a cloth in the sink and
wiped down the floor. “Having kids has given you valuable training.” She barely
got an acknowledgement. “If that is Megan’s hand, we might have to face she is
dead.”

“She could still be alive or it’s Megan’s ring on some
other woman’s hand. She would never paint her fingernails that dreadful
fluorescent green.” He sobbed into his palm.

“The killer might have, though. Cooper, this isn’t you
fault. If you fall apart now, he’s won. You’ve been right all along. It’s been
one damn distraction or drama after another and—“

“This is more than a fucking distraction. Megan might
have been tortured and killed by this monster and … and if I’d have been doing
my job instead of allowing myself to be distracted by you, I might have caught
him by now.”

“You’re way off track there buster. If you think I’m
going to sit here and listen to that bullshit, you’re sadly mistaken. I have
not been a distrac—“

“The hell you haven’t. Every fucking thing that has
happened has been a distraction. He knows just what he’s doing. Now he’s added
you to the mix. If he even thinks I care anything about you, you can kiss your
career goodbye. From now on I want you to bite my ass every step of the way. If
I say white, I want you to say black. If I say yes, your answer is no. If I ask
for a file, you tell me I can’t have it. I want everyone around us to see I
really can’t wait for this to be over and for you to get off my ass.”

“That’s a good plan, Uncle Cooper. I could tell you
liked her right away. Don’t help her with her chair or ask how her shoulder is.
It shows you care.”

Dallas smiled. “Pete, you have great instincts. I
guess we’ve risen from the dead, Cooper. That is until one of us kills each
other.” Cooper’s forced smile didn’t fool her. She glanced at Pete’s cell
phone. “Pete, do you ever talk with your Aunt Megan anymore?”

“Not really. When she and Uncle Cooper divorced, she
stopped having anything to do with us. My mom said that happens sometimes.
Cooper is part of our family … so she divorced us, too.”

Dallas handed him the phone. “Why don’t you just give
her a call and when … if … she answers, ask her if she knows where Uncle Cooper
is.”

“Sure,” he said, taking the phone and punching
contacts, then Megan’s number. He looked up and shrugged. “I was going to
delete it, but I keep forgetting. Here, I’ll put it on speakerphone.” Pete
pressed a button and ringing filled the silence.

“You’ve reached author Megan Reynolds. I’m either
working on my next novel or at a book signing. Your call is important to me.
Leave your name, number and short message and I’ll get back to you as soon as I
can. Bye.”

“Hey, Aunt Megan, this is Pete … Gulchinski. Um … I
know it’s been a long time. Sorry. I’ve been trying to reach Uncle Cooper and
my dad wouldn’t let me call his cell. Can you contact him and ask him to give
me a call? I appreciate it. Bye.”

“Nice job. Might not—“ Dallas jumped. They all looked
down at the phone. The call was coming from Cooper Reynolds. “Shit … I mean …
answer it.”

“Hi, Uncle Cooper?”

“Cut the crap and put him on the phone.”

The voice was muffled, but it was definitely a man.

“So, you’ve finally stopped hiding like a scared woman
and had the balls to call. I’m sort of impressed.”

“Shut the fuck up and listen. You have exactly three
and a half hours to get to Garnet Ghost Town. Tell no one. Call no one. Come
alone. You don’t follow my instructions and the twins and their grandma will
burn up like a match in the wind.”

“Is Megan dead?”

“Funny you should ask that. Really, do you care,
Cooper? You tossed her out on her ass. Pretty ass at that. Oh, I know how she
betrayed you and did you the wrong song. Instead of forgiving, you were her
judge and jury. You have always judged. If something isn’t perfect, you don’t
want it anymore.”

“Was that Megan’s hand in the refrigerator? Come on
you bastard, brag a little. You’ve been leading me around by the nose for
months … and since I wasn’t looking … maybe years. Who are you and why are you
trying to destroy me?”