Obsessed (The Lizzy Gardner Series) (16 page)

CHAPTER 34

It was Wednesday morning. Early.

Seth slunk low in his seat, surprised to see Madeline running in the park. And she was with a woman he didn’t recognize. A bodyguard? That made him snicker. Madeline’s friend was a tiny thing. Safety in numbers must be what Madeline was thinking. Silly girl. Madeline had stopped running after she lied to her listeners about having a stalker. But now that she really had one, she appeared to be trying to move on with her life as if nothing had changed.

Madeline really knew how to push his buttons.

Without a body, Chris Porter’s wallet wasn’t enough to keep Madeline behind bars. He needed to up his game, make her see who was boss. Madeline should have lost her job by now. Hell, she should be hiding behind locked doors, afraid for her life, not running around the park, free as a bird.

To make matters worse, ever since discovering that Dr. Blair had been taken downtown for questioning, local media had been hanging out at the radio station. Madeline had also retained one of the best attorneys in the area. The bitch was getting more attention than ever. His jaw twitched at the idea that he might have helped boost her ratings.

“Don’t look now,” Lizzy told Madeline, “but when we curve around the park again, I want you to glance at the driver and tell me if the man sitting in the Nissan parked along the curb looks familiar.”

As they came around the corner, Madeline said, “All I can see is a shadow. What do we do?”

“Just hang tight. Keep a steady pace. Whatever you do, don’t let on that you know he’s watching us. When we get a little closer, let’s try to get a look at the license plate number.”

“What if he has a gun? What if he comes after us?”

“If it’s our guy, I don’t think he’ll risk getting out of the car. There are too many people around.”

“I don’t know if that makes me feel better.”

As they drew closer, Lizzy stopped and raised her cell phone as if she’d just received a text. As she tapped out a faux response, she was actually opening the camera app and tapping the screen to zoom in—but instead of a car on the little screen, all she saw was an angry blonde marching toward them.

The Nissan pulled away from the curb and drove off.

Shit.

“That’s Debra,” Madeline said. “What’s she doing here?”

Lizzy frowned, still upset that the car had gotten away before she had a chance to get a good look at the plates. Whoever was inside the vehicle wouldn’t make the same mistake twice. Meanwhile, the agitated blonde was still bearing down on them. “Debra?” she asked.

“David Westlake’s wife,” Madeline said as they waited for the woman to approach.

“David thought you walked on water,” Debra said the moment she was within hearing distance. “There wasn’t anything he wouldn’t do for you.” Every word was lined with bitterness. “He fixed your car, loaned you money, spent too many weekends being your handyman, but it was never enough.”

Madeline reached out to the woman, as if a friendly hug would make things better, but pulled up short when she saw Debra’s expression. “Debra, what are you talking about?”

Debra Westlake stood about an inch taller than Lizzy. Her blonde hair was pulled back into a ponytail. If looks could kill, Madeline would have fallen over dead two minutes ago. Debra’s face was all angry lines and flared nostrils.

“It’s all over the news,” Debra said. “David isn’t the only man in your life who has suddenly gone missing. Your neighbor is also missing and they found his wallet in your house.” Debra stepped closer and shoved Madeline, making her lose her balance. “You killed my husband. What did you do with his body? Tell me!”

Lizzy stepped forward.

“Stay out of this,” Debra growled. “You have no idea what kind of person you’re helping, do you?”

Without giving Lizzy a chance to respond, Debra pulled a CD from her purse and handed it to Lizzy. “Go back to your office and listen to that so you can see what kind of monster you’re dealing with.”

Madeline raked her hands through her hair. “Debra, what is going on?”

Debra tilted her head. “Wide-eyed and innocent until the end, huh?”

This time Madeline didn’t take the bait. Instead, she kept her mouth closed and let the woman have her say.

“I have lawyers, too,” Debra went on. “Thanks to them, I now have recordings of all your shows, Dr. Blair.”

Madeline shook her head.

“Have you told Ms. Gardner here that you asked David to call in and pretend to be your perverted stalker?”

Madeline reached a hand toward the woman as if she wanted to take her in her arms and make the pain go away, but Debra was not having any part of it. She lurched back as if Madeline’s hand were a snake ready to strike, then settled her gaze on Lizzy. “Before my husband disappeared, he’d been acting strange . . . withdrawn. I knew something was bothering him, so I asked him about it. He told me that Madeline had asked him for a favor. She wanted him to call in to her radio show in hopes of getting more people to do the same. David told me that if Madeline’s ratings continued to fall, she might lose her job.

“The worst part of it all,” she continued, “is that I told David he should help her out. What harm could it do him to make a couple of calls?” She wiped her eyes. “He never told me what exactly Madeline was asking of him.”

Debra turned back to face Madeline. “The reason I never pressed the issue and asked him to give me details, Madeline, was because I thought I knew you. Who the hell have I been inviting into my house all of these years? What sort of person have I let play with my children? What kind of lunatic would ask her best friend to call in and pretend to be a perverted stalker?”

Madeline said nothing.

“I want an answer.” Debra’s hands shook wildly. “You killed him, I know it! Tell me where you buried my husband after he refused to make any more crazy calls. Tell me!”

“You can’t possibly believe I would ever hurt David.”

Lizzy tried to step between them. “Maybe we should take this back to the house and talk there.”

“Listen to the calls,” the woman told Lizzy, her voice dripping with contempt. “And when you’re done, you might want to take a long, hard look at who you think you’re trying to help. I wouldn’t be surprised if you’re the next one to disappear. She’s just using you like she’s used everyone else in her life.”

Lizzy and Madeline watched Debra Westlake walk away. “Is it true?” Lizzy asked.

“I had nothing to do with David’s disappearance. How many times do I have to say it?”

“That’s not what I’m asking. Is it true that you had David call in to your show and pretend to be a stalker?” Her silence was all the answer Lizzy needed. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Because I was embarrassed. It was a stupid thing to do.”

“Does your boss at the station know what you were up to?”

Madeline shook her head.

Lizzy started walking off.

“Where are you going?”

“I’m done with this.”

“What do you mean?”

“I can’t work with someone I can’t trust.”

“I’ve told you everything but that.”

Lizzy was fuming. She thought about the wallet, the note Madeline never handed over to the police, the magazine with the cutout letters . . . and now this. Dr. Blair had asked her friend to call in and pretend to be a stalker. She didn’t know what to believe any longer. Debra was right. She didn’t know this woman.

Hearing Madeline following her, she turned to face her. “You better think long and hard about what you’ve done. It was not only an unethical and stupid stunt, it could very well be the reason two people are missing, or worse . . . dead.”

“What if he comes back to the house? My life is in danger. Please, I need your help.”

Lizzy couldn’t recall the last time she’d felt so damn angry. “You said you had a gun,” she said as she walked away. “Well, I hope you know how to use it.”

CHAPTER 35

At the sound of footsteps coming up the stairs, Brian Rosie reached for his gun. Three knocks sounded before the code word was said aloud. Brian pulled away from the Glock and pushed a button on the remote. The door clicked open.

Merrick, taller than shit, his greasy mustache drooping down to cover his entire mouth, strolled into his office and flicked a card on the table in front of him. “This chick is going to cause you some serious trouble.”

Brian didn’t like being interrupted. He was doing the books like he did every month but he didn’t like the way the numbers looked. “We’ve got leakage,” he said.

“Again?”

“Close to five percent this time. Someone is siphoning cash right off the top. We only have three guys counting the money before they hand it over to me, right?”

Merrick nodded.

“I need you and Frank to figure which of the three it is and then”—he pointed to the chair in front of his desk—“I want him sitting right there by the end of the week.” Raking his fingers through his hair in frustration, he noticed the card and picked it up. “Mother
fucker
.” He let out a good long laugh. “That girl doesn’t know when to give up, does she?”

Merrick threw himself onto the couch. “Apparently not.”

“Where did you get this?”

“I have gotten no less than five calls asking if the reward money was legit.”

“What asshole would be stupid enough to call and ask you that?”

“You don’t exactly have a bunch of geniuses working for you, but the good news is they have no idea where you’ve been hiding out for the past two years. Most of ’em think you’re soaking up the rays somewhere in the Bahamas.”

Exactly why some dickhead thought he could skim off the top and get away with it
, Brian thought. He looked at the card again. Where would Hayley Hansen get ten thousand dollars to offer as reward money? It had to be a bluff, a way to flush him out of hiding. “I’ve got an idea,” Brian said.

“What is it?”

“I want you to find someone you can trust, someone who has never heard of my name before, and then I want you to pay them to pretend to be interested in the reward. This guy will call this number and tell whoever answers that he wants proof before he gives her any information about my whereabouts.”

“And then what?”

“Let’s just take it one step at a time.”

Brian had always known that Hayley had a stubborn streak a mile wide. But he’d thought he’d taught her a lesson once and for all when he kept his promise and killed her mother. If that didn’t teach a girl to mind her own business, what would?

“I don’t know,” Merrick said. “From the sound of it, Hayley and her little girlfriend have passed out thousands of those things.”

Brian perked up. “What little friend?”

The man shrugged.

“Find out everything you can about this other girl. I want details.”

“Not a problem. If they really have the money, it might not be long before someone falls for the bait.”

“Anyone who knows me,” Brian said, “knows it isn’t possible to spend ten thousand dollars from their grave.”

CHAPTER 36

As he paced the stained carpet covering the floor in the dingy hotel room, Seth cracked his knuckles and clicked his tongue. The rage he’d felt when he first learned of Madeline’s betrayal had continued to build in intensity. Fury threatened to blind him. Madness made it difficult for him to think. The emotions he’d been experiencing went well beyond anything he’d ever felt in his life.

Every time he thought about Madeline and what she’d made him do, all for the sake of her show’s ratings, his blood pressure skyrocketed. It happened again now. The flashing strobe lights triggering havoc inside his brain. He raised his hands to both sides of his head and squeezed hard, anything to make it stop.

It didn’t help matters that the woman tied to the bed wouldn’t stop sobbing.

He marched to the bed, took hold of both her skinny shoulders, and shook her. “You need to . . . stop . . . all that . . .
crying
.” He shook her so hard, the back of her head rattled against the headboard and the headboard rattled against the wall. “If you don’t
stop
. . . I won’t have any choice . . . but to shut you up . . . once and for
all
.”

Another minute passed before he realized she’d already stopped crying. He let go of her. “That’s better,” he said, his voice ragged.

Her body still quivered like the scared little mouse she was, but at least she was quiet now. He sat down on the edge of the bed and ran his fingers through her hair. Madeline’s little waitress friend might not be kind on the eyes, but she had nice hair. “I’m going to remove the tape from your mouth so you can blow your nose.”

Before he removed the tape, he picked up the box cutter from the table next to the bed and held the sharp tip in front of her face. “Don’t make me use this on you, OK?”

Eyes wide, she nodded her head so fast it was almost comical.

He set the knife aside. Her arms and legs were secured. There was no way she could grab the box cutter and use it to defend herself, but he wanted her to know it was right there if he needed to use it. Now that she’d stopped crying, the flickering lights inside his head died down some. He grabbed a tissue from the box on the nightstand and then pulled the tape from her mouth.

He hadn’t bothered covering her eyes with anything.

She didn’t know it yet, but she wouldn’t be leaving the hotel room alive. If she thought she didn’t have a chance of surviving, she’d really be making some noise.

He held a tissue to her nose as she blew. The girl probably wouldn’t believe it, but he really did feel bad about this. She was just an innocent bystander who happened to have a connection to Madeline Blair.

This was all Madeline’s fault, and she’d all but provided him a map to the people best qualified to help him punish her. Madeline’s address book contained endless names and addresses, all meticulously organized with titles next to names: waitress, repairman, hairdresser, book club member, and so on.

“So,” he said to the girl when she was done blowing her nose like a good girl. “Your name is Amber—isn’t that right?”

She nodded.

The room was warm but Amber shivered as if it were thirty degrees in here. She was such a scrawny thing. He glanced at the suitcase he’d brought and realized it was big enough to fit two of her inside. It would be no problem wheeling her out of there. He wasn’t worried about security cameras since the hotel was older than dirt and should have been condemned years ago.

It boggled the mind to think of how simple it had been to get Amber to come to the hotel room. Initially, he’d had a difficult time deciding between Madeline’s hairdresser and the waitress who served her at Monty’s Bar & Grill twice a week. Both women were a part of Madeline’s book club. In the end, he’d picked the waitress because Amber made it so damn easy for him. People would do anything for a few bucks. Right there on her Facebook page: not only did she offer massages, but she made house calls.

And as advertised, she’d arrived right on time.

“Why am I here?” she asked, her voice squeaky and irritating.

He opened his wallet, pulled out a one-hundred-dollar bill and set it on the nightstand. “That money is all yours when we’re done here. I just need you to do me a couple of favors, that’s all.”

Her bottom lip trembled. “Are you going to rape me?”

“Oh, God, no.” He wanted to gag at the idea of touching her in that way, but instead, he forced a smile. “You have absolutely nothing to worry about, Amber. I’m a married man with responsibilities.”

“Then why are you doing this?”

“Because there’s a woman,” he said, closing his eyes at the thought of Madeline, “who needs to be taught a lesson.”

“I don’t understand.”

“Of course you don’t. Do you know who Madeline Blair is?”

Her eyes grew wide. “Yes, of course. She’s my good friend. We met at the restaurant where I work. We’re even in a book club together.”

“You don’t say.”

“Yes. We meet once a month.” Her gaze roamed over him as she tried to relax. “So, did Madeline do something?”

“The sooner you help me out, the sooner I can let you go.”

She leaned forward, as far as the ropes would allow. “What do you need to know?” She was chomping at the bit to tell him anything and everything. She was one of those gutless people who would sell their soul to the devil without any negotiating.

“I need you to tell me everything you know about Dr. Blair. When that’s done, we’re going to make a phone call.”

“Is this Madeline?”

“This is she.”

“It’s Amber . . .”

“What’s going on? Is something wrong?”

“There’s a man here. He wants you to know that he wishes he could be there with you now. He misses you, and he—”

“What’s his name?”

“He hasn’t said.”

“Amber, I don’t know what’s going on, but do you know this man you’re with?”

“No.”

“You’re not alone with him, are you?”

“I am, but he just wants—”

“Amber, if this isn’t some sort of prank . . . if there really is a man there with you, he could be dangerous and you need to get away.”

“He promised to let me go after I told him everything I knew about you. I think he’s . . . he’s in love with you, Madeline.”

“He’s obsessed,” Madeline said. “He’s crazy. You need to get away. Right now.”

“I can’t. He’s tied me up. I—”

“Where are you, Amber?”

Seth slapped a piece of duct tape over Amber’s mouth before she could say any more. Then he grabbed the phone from her. “Madeline, Madeline. If she told you where she was, that would ruin all the fun.”

“Who is this? What are you doing?”

“I’m your stalker, remember?” His fingers tightened around the phone. “The one who leaves you gifts and keeps you awake at night. I’m teaching you a lesson. How many times do I need to tell you that?”

“Let Amber go. I’m begging you.”

He put his face right up next to Amber’s so that their foreheads touched. “Hmm, that doesn’t sound like begging to me. Does it sound like she’s begging to you, Amber?” He pressed the phone to Amber’s ear.

“Please,” Madeline cried. “I’ll do anything. Let her go.”

“Anything?” He kept the phone so that both he and Amber could hear. “What does that mean, exactly? If I come to the house right now, will your friend from the park be there?”

“No, she’s not here. I’m alone. I’ll do anything you want, just let her go.”

“Liar. I hate liars.”

“I’ve learned my lesson,” Madeline cried. “I will never lie to my listeners again. I was wrong to do what I did. I’m sorry. Please don’t hurt her!”

“You have almost convinced me, but not quite. I’m going to put the phone right here next to the bed so that you’ll be able to hear everything I do to her.”

Amber was thrashing wildly against the bed now. She obviously understood that this was not going to end well.

He pulled out a syringe. “I’m going to give you just enough medicine to take the edge off.”

It didn’t take long for the fentanyl to take effect. Her eyes were open but her limbs were worthless. He ripped the tape from her mouth. Her screams came out in breathless whimpers.

He grabbed the phone. “Can you hear that, Madeline?” When she couldn’t make words, her throat probably frozen in terror, he said, “I know you’re there, Madeline. I can hear you breathing. Whatever you do, do not hang up or you’ll both pay dearly, I promise you.”

He set the phone aside once more, and then used his left hand to squeeze Amber’s throat while he used his right hand to wave the box cutter in front of her face. Even drugged, the woman’s breathing became frantic, her eyes round as saucers, like a rabid dog taking its last breath. “You should be here to see this, Madeline,” he said loud enough so she could hear.

Bubbling with excitement, he used the tip of the blade to poke Amber in the shoulder and collarbone, over and over. The little sounds she made and the terror in her eyes prompted him to ramp it up, slicing her again and again across the chest. He felt like a kid at a circus. “This is Madeline’s fault,” he told the girl. “She should be here, not you!” He couldn’t remember the last time he’d had so much fun.

Out of breath and flushed with excitement, he climbed off the bed and picked up the phone. “OK, Madeline, let’s talk. I need to see you again before—”

The line was dead.

The girl was, too.

Madeline would pay dearly for that. He’d told her to stay on the phone and he’d meant it.