Predator (20 page)

W
hen David heard Ryan leave, he stormed into the kitchen to find Krista. But she had gone into the bathroom. He stood outside the door, waiting for her, then he heard water running. He paced into the kitchen again, filled a glass with water, and drank it down.

How dare that guy come into his house? How dare he hit on Krista when she was so vulnerable?

What were they doing? He opened Krista’s laptop, ran his finger across the trackpad. The display lit up with a girl’s GrapeVyne page.

Maxi Greer.

He didn’t recognize her picture, so he scrolled down. Then he saw a half-finished email.

How would Krista have access to this girl’s email?

He heard her come out of the bathroom, go into her
room. Quickly, he navigated to Settings, pulled up her account. Maxi Greer’s email address was the same as Krista’s email at work.

Alarms went off in his chest, and he went back to her page, looked into her Sent mail, and saw the exchanges between Maxi and Steven.

His lungs stopped working. Krista was baiting the killer!

He bellowed her name out, shaking the house. “Krista!”

She shot out of her room and came into the kitchen. When she saw that he was at her laptop, she dashed forward and slammed it shut.

“What…are you…
doing?
” he yelled. “Luring some guy…saying these things…”

“Dad, I can explain.”

“You were baiting him! Drawing him out!”

“But it wasn’t him! I went to the mall to see if it was him, but it was that kid…I just went home. I didn’t do anything.”

“He could have killed you!” He slammed his fist into the wall, breaking the Sheetrock, then turned back around with his teeth bared. “How could you do this? You’ve already been run off the road, almost murdered!”

She reached out for him. “I just want justice.”

He shook her off. “I’ve lost total control of my family, of my life.” He clutched his head. “I can’t stand it.”

“Daddy, come sit down. Let me fix you something to eat.”

“I don’t need food! I want my family back!”

“
I’m
your family.” She stood there in front of him, weeping, but she feared he didn’t see her. “Dad, I’m still here.”

He leaned back against the refrigerator, his hands over his face. Finally, he slid his fingertips down and met Krista’s eyes.

“I want you to still be here tomorrow, and the next day. I don’t want to lose another child.”

He did see her, she thought. She wasn’t invisible. He dropped his hands, then reached for her. She fell into his arms, and they clung to each other.

“Daddy, it’s going to be okay,” she whispered. “I won’t do it anymore. I’ll cancel Maxi’s account. It was stupid, but I thought—”

“Cancel it now,” he said. “Tonight.”

“I promise.” Somehow, his despair comforted her. He really did love her.

He let her go and bent over the sink, dropped his head down. “We have to make some changes or we’re both going to die.”

She wiped the tears from her face. “What kind of changes do you want to make?”

“I’ve been thinking about quitting my job and moving,” he blurted.

She stared at him for a moment. “Moving where?”

“I thought we could go to Dallas, and be closer to our family—my mother, my brothers. You could be closer to all your cousins.”

“But Dad, we have lives here. What good would it do to move?”

“I want the danger to be over. I want to get you out of here. And I want to move to a place where I don’t have to think about Ella every single minute of every single day.”

She shook her head. “I want to stay here. I don’t want to give up all her memories.”

“The memories break my heart,” he bit out. “Don’t you understand? This isn’t safe. We have to go before he takes more from you than he already has.”

“Who? The killer, or Ryan?”

Her father shook his head. “Maybe both,” he said.

W
hen her dad went to bed, Krista stared at the hole in the kitchen wall. Tomorrow she would go to the store and buy some drywall mud, patch up the hole, and paint over it.

After deactivating Maxi Greer’s GrapeVyne account, she went to Ella’s room and lay down on her sister’s bed, pulled the pillow against her. She breathed in the apple scent from the cologne that sat in a bottle by the bed. She brought it close to her face, squeezing her eyes shut and missing her sister.

She had never seen her father like this. She feared he was right. The crushing grief would kill him. Maybe even by his own hand.

Maybe he
should
move and start over fresh. It might save his life.

She thought of being in Dallas, getting a new house, a new job…

Everything new.

But it wouldn’t fill the void Ella had left, or distract them from their grief.

And what about the girls at Eagle’s Wings? If she dropped out of their lives, would anything really be lost? Especially now, when she had so many doubts about what she could offer them.

Ryan’s words tonight echoed softly through her head.
Doubt is not the same as failure.

But wasn’t it?

She thought of Jesse, the girl who’d lost her brother and mother. She’d failed her. What difference had her work made in Jesse’s life? Her last conversation with her had left Jesse empty.

Still, Krista didn’t know if she could walk away. She loved those girls. They needed Christ, and someone to tell them they were beautiful and important. Someone to remind them they had purpose and hope.

Because they did. Even with evil stalking, hope shone a beacon light.

For I know the plans that I have for you…plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

Jeremiah 29:11 – 13 had been her life passage for years. Now, even after so much tragedy, she found she still believed it.

Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.

Maybe Ryan was right. Maybe she could understand the girls better now that she shared their pain. Maybe she
was still called. Maybe God would rebuild her strength and courage, so she could help build it in others.

But her father would never understand. So her choice came down to doing what might be best for her dad, or doing her best for God.

And then there was Ryan. She’d never expected good to come out of her suffering…but wasn’t that how God worked? This thing with Ryan was new, but their bond was already tight. His kiss tonight had opened floodgates in her soul. His touch was healing. She couldn’t walk away.

Later, she went to her own bed and tried to sleep, but her conversation with her father played over and over and over in her mind. Sleep never came, and finally she got up and went to the kitchen to wait for morning.

When it did, she heard her dad rustling around. When he came into the kitchen, she poured him some coffee.

“Have you been up all night?” he asked.

She nodded. “Dad, I just keep thinking about what you said last night.”

He took the coffee. “Yeah?”

“I can’t move to Dallas with you. I’ve questioned my calling over the last few days, but it’s real, and my work is important. I want to stay. I want to keep working at Eagle’s Wings.”

He leaned back against the cabinet. “Krista, I can’t go without you.”

“Then don’t go. It’s not going to make the grief go away.”

He blew out a long sigh, pulled out a chair, and dropped into it.

If only they could find Ella’s killer. Then maybe her father would have the peace that justice would bring. Maybe then he wouldn’t want to dismantle his life…and all his memories. Maybe then they could all move on.

K
rista did her best to patch up the hole in the Sheetrock with the things she scavenged from the garage. As she waited for the mud to dry, her cell phone rang. Megan’s name appeared on the Caller ID.

She answered it quickly. “Hi Megan.”

“Krista.” Megan sounded stopped up, like she’d been crying, and Krista could hear the grief in her voice. It was similar to what her father had sounded like last night, and the way she’d sounded herself with Ryan. “I just wanted to tell you that I’ve packed up and made my flight reservation. It’s for three this afternoon.”

Krista didn’t answer for a moment. Though she’d expected the call, the sense of defeat crushed down on her. “You’re sure you want to go home?”

“I have no choice.”

“I know,” Krista said. “I just hate for this man to rob you of your dreams and goals.”

There was a long moment of silence. Then Megan said, “I don’t have dreams anymore, Krista. I think he beat them out of me.”

Krista would never get over the tragedy of that. “Will you still let me take you to the airport?” she asked Megan.

“Sure,” she said. “My flight’s not for a few hours, but I’m all packed up.”

“All right,” she said. “I’m heading over to get you right now. You can hang out with me until it’s time to go.”

K
rista Carmichael had stayed in most of yesterday, from what he could tell. He had watched from his car for several hours, parked on the curb several houses down, trying to determine if she was alone. It was hard to tell, because they kept the garage door closed, and he couldn’t see if her father was there or not.

Since he couldn’t watch her house constantly, because of his work and the expectations of others, it was possible her father had left at some point during the day. But since he hadn’t seen him go, he’d had to wait.

Now he saw her garage door going up. He started his car, watched as she backed out of her driveway. When she drove toward the neighborhood entrance, he followed at a distance.

The baseball cap and sunglasses he wore provided some
cover, though he knew she wouldn’t know who he was even without them. No, when he finally had her where he wanted her, she wouldn’t know what hit her. She’d searched so hard for Ella’s killer. She’d finally fulfill her dream of meeting her sister’s killer. Wouldn’t she be surprised to learn she was his next victim?

He followed her across town, his heart pounding with the thrill of the hunt. He was ready to force her into his car if she got out in an isolated area. But he was a patient man. If not today, then tomorrow.

If it couldn’t happen today, he was all set up to make his hunt easier. If he couldn’t get to her without being seen, he’d wait until she parked her car. Then he would put a transponder under it, so he could track her via his computer. He’d know where she was at all times, even when he wasn’t nearby.

She took the exit for Rice University, which gave him pause. Where was she going? He slowed as she pulled onto the campus and headed to one of the dorms.

His mouth went dry. This wasn’t a safe place for him to be. If Megan Quinn saw him, she could identify him.

He didn’t park, but circled the dormitory as Krista went in. He came back around, and thought of parking somewhere some distance away, and taking the opportunity to put the transponder on.

But it was too dangerous for him. No, now wasn’t the right time.

When he came back around the block a second time, he saw her at the trunk of her car with another girl.

His heart jolted. Megan Quinn.

So this was where she’d moved. He had no idea that Krista and Megan knew each other. But of course they would. They had a lot in common.

He slowed as he drove the block again. Megan was on crutches, and Krista loaded luggage into her trunk.

Was Megan going home to New York?

He’d hoped to find her and kill her before she identified him. It was just too good to be true…having them both together like this. He laughed out loud as he came around the block again and saw them pulling out of the parking lot.

Now he had a new urgency. He had to act while they were together. Almost giddy, he followed them back to the interstate.

K
rista’s phone rang as she and Megan pulled onto the interstate. She checked the Caller ID. “It’s Ryan,” she said to Megan. “Do you mind if I get it?”

“No,” Megan said. “Go ahead.”

Krista clicked it on. “Hey, Ryan.”

“Hey there,” he said, his voice soft. “I just wanted to check in with you. See how you’re feeling today.”

She thought of last night, the kiss, the way he’d comforted her. “I’m better today,” she said. “I’m with Megan. She’s decided to withdraw from school and go home. Her flight’s in a few hours.”

Ryan paused. “I’m so sorry we haven’t been able to figure out who the killer is yet. I wish we could have given her that peace.”

“Me too.”

“But this morning Ian downloaded the GrapeVyne and Willow employees’ directories, with the pictures they have on their badges. I was thinking that maybe Megan could come by and look at them all, and see if she recognizes anyone. Would you mind bringing her here to do that before she leaves? We’re staying at the Hampton Inn.”

She glanced over at Megan and started to repeat the invitation. But Megan had heard him.

Her eyes rounded with hope. “Yes, we can go. Can we do it now?”

Krista nodded. “All right, we’re coming,” she said. “See you in a few minutes.”

R
yan hung up the phone and rubbed his eyes. They felt raw as he tried to focus on his computer screen. He and Ian had been up all night, reading every article they could find on each of his board members, trying to determine if any of them had been behind his murder attempt. Then they’d finagled a way to download the employees’ directories and had begun to research the other top executives at Willow, to see who might want them dead.

“The idea of it being a conspiracy that involves several people is just too preposterous,” Ryan had told Ian last night. “No, whoever wanted us dead has to be only one person…or two at the most.”

“I don’t know,” Ian said. “It’s bizarre that the dude who’s been texting Megan Quinn might have some connection to GrapeVyne or Willow, and here we are looking for another person who tried to have us killed. It’s just too coincidental.”

Ryan mulled that over. “Maybe it’s not really a coincidence. Maybe it’s the same person.”

Ian shook his head. “Don’t think so, man. We’ve got a crazed predator who’s killing girls…and an angry board of directors that’s mad because we’re uncovering some industry secrets. I don’t see how the two can be related.”

“What if it’s not the industry secrets that they’re really mad about? What if it’s something deeper?”

“That they’re murdering girls?”

“Not they. Him. Maybe one person.”

“So how does the Data-Gather stuff fit in?”

Ryan stared at his coputer.

“Maybe this person is using that information to find and stalk his victims.”

Ian had stared at him for a long moment. “Dude, I think you’re onto something.”

Now he hoped Megan would be able to help. Maybe when she scanned the faces of the Willow and GrapeVyne employees, she would find her attacker.

Ian came out of the hotel bathroom in a pair of jeans and a T-shirt, his hair wet from his shower. “Did you find out anything else while I was showering?”

Ryan shook his head. “No, but Krista’s bringing Megan over to look at the directories.”

Ian looked distraught. “Chicks? Why don’t you tell a guy so he can shave?”

Ryan looked around. The small suite was a nightmare of clutter. “Pick something up, will you? They’ll be here in a minute. I can’t let them think we’re pigs.”

Outside, the killer was watching from across the parking lot as Krista got out of the car at the Hampton Inn. Megan got out with her, hobbling toward the door on crutches.

Who could they be visiting here? Were Megan’s parents staying here? Maybe they had come to get her.

The parking lot was too visible from the street, so he couldn’t make his move here. But he was pretty sure he could get under Krista’s car without being seen. There was a security camera on one corner of the building, but if he parked around the corner and came at the car from the other side, he wouldn’t be seen.

He opened the box on the seat next to him. He got out the transponder, mounted on a magnet to hold it in place. Opening his laptop, he checked to make sure it was working. A map came up on the screen, with a triangle pinpointing the transponder. Yes, it would work beautifully.

He pulled on gloves, just in case the transponder was found and fingerprinted, and wiped it down with a handkerchief.

He pulled around the corner, parked, and got out of his car. He bent as though looking for something, making sure he was hidden by the cars he passed as he made his way to her Kia. Then he knelt, and quickly placed the device inside her wheel well.

He checked to see if anyone had seen him. There was no one near, and none of the traffic passing by had slowed enough to watch him. Heart racing, he went back to his car. He got in and opened his laptop, and checked the device again.

Perfect.

He would always know where she was, even when he couldn’t follow her. He could trail her without ever getting close enough to be detected. And sometime soon—sometime in the next few hours—he would be able to make his move. Megan was the icing on the cake…

As he entertained the possibilities, his appetite intensified.

Soon it would be satisfied again.

Ryan was startled by Megan’s appearance as he let them into the hotel suite. He had expected her to be more healed from her wounds, but she looked almost as bad as she had in the hospital. The brace on her leg, the crutches, the bruising and stitches…

Krista looked like she still hadn’t slept, and her skin had a chalky, pallid color. Ryan wondered if she’d eaten anything since the pizza last night.

He smiled at her as he let her in, and Krista’s cheeks blushed pink. He gave her a quick hug. But Megan’s body language was stiff and unaccepting, so he only patted her shoulder.

“I’m glad you guys came by,” he said. “Megan, this is Ian. He helped me start GrapeVyne.”

Ian gave her an awkward salute. “Hello.”

“Nice to meet you,” she said softly. “I’m sorry about your firing.”

“Yeah, well.” He combed his fingers through his wet hair. “Sorry for being all wet. I just showered. Didn’t know we were having company.” He moved his laptop off the couch, set it on the table. “Have a seat.”

Megan and Krista sat down. “Can I see the directories?” Megan asked.

Ryan handed her his laptop and sat down on the other side of her. She opened it while he explained. “There are thumbnail pictures of everyone here that you can scroll through,” he said. “If anyone looks familiar, click on the picture, and a larger view will open.”

She swallowed and began scrolling down, looking intently at each face.

As they waited, Krista looked at him. “You guys okay? Has anything else happened?”

“No, I think we’ve managed to keep our whereabouts a pretty good secret.”

“You should change hotels tonight. Just in case.”

“Yeah, we were thinking about that.”

Ryan glanced at Megan as she scrolled through the faces.

“And you haven’t heard anything from the police?” Krista asked.

“No, nothing. I hope they’re working on it.”

Suddenly, Megan sprang up, dropping the laptop.

“Whoa!” Ryan caught it before it hit the floor.

Megan’s face turned crimson. He thought she was choking. “You okay?”

Pointing, she said, “Him.”

“Who?” Ryan asked.

“That man…” She sucked in fast, shallow breaths. “It’s him…”

Krista’s face went white, and she grabbed the computer. “Him who? Which one?” She saw where the cursor was on the screen, clicked the thumbnail picture. A face came up, with a name beneath it.

“Henry Hearne?”

Ryan’s heart jolted.
“What?”

Megan was hyperventilating. “Call…call the police.”

Ryan couldn’t grasp it. “Are you saying he’s the one who attacked you?”

Ian took her shoulders and looked into her face. “Megan, are you saying Henry Hearne is the killer?”

Megan’s legs wilted under her, and she leaned against Ian and almost fell. “Yes!” she whispered.

Krista grabbed her phone out of her purse and began to dial.

“Bathroom,” Megan gasped. “Gonna be sick.”

Ian pointed. “In there.”

Krista thrust her phone at Ryan and helped Megan into the bathroom.

Putting the phone to his ear, Ryan stared at Ian. “Henry Hearne.”

“No way,” Ian said. “No stinkin’ way. If he’s the killer, and we were uncovering all the data he was collecting…then he’s the one who wanted us dead too.”

As Ryan heard Megan purging her terror, the detective answered. “Detective Pensky. Hello?”

Ryan tried to steady his voice. “This is Ryan Adkins,” he said. “We know who the killer is.”