Ruthless (33 page)

As Jess reached the porch once more, her cell shimmied in her back pocket. She dragged it out and frowned at the name on the screen. George Louis.

Why in the world would her landlord be calling her?

Oh God, what if her place had burned down or blown up? She was just getting used to the eclectic little apartment.

“Harris.”

“Jess?”

Like many older people, Louis shouted as if he feared she wouldn’t be able to hear him.

“Yes, Mr. Louis, it’s me.”

“I’m sorry to bother you on a Saturday afternoon. I’m sure you’re out getting your shopping done or having a late lunch.”

“No bother, Mr. Louis. Is something wrong?”
For God’s sake, man, get to the point. I have a monster to track down.

“There’s a gentleman here to see you. I told him you weren’t home, but he insisted on waiting. I thought I’d better call you.”

The first trickle of cold fear leaked into her veins. “Where is the man right now, Mr. Louis?”

“Why, he’s in my living room. I couldn’t leave him out in the heat. He has the sweetest little girl with him. She’s having cookies and milk.”

The terror blasted her. “Listen very carefully to me, Mr. Louis.”

“Now, now, you need to stop calling me that. We agreed that you’d call me George.”

Jess grabbed Dan by the arm and pulled him close as she spoke. “I’m sorry. George.” Her gaze locked with Dan’s. She could hardly breathe. “Listen carefully, George.” She prayed he wasn’t going to freak out when she told him this part. “The man in your living room is extremely dangerous.” He started to interrupt but she cut him off. “Listen to me, George!
Please.
That little girl’s life as well as yours depends on what you do next.”

Dan rushed toward the kitchen, ran into Harper in the doorway. They would know what to do. She had to ensure George Louis didn’t screw this up.

“You tell the gentleman I’ll be there in about forty minutes. Be sure to make him feel at home, George. Be absolutely certain not to do anything that will upset him. Just be a good host. Can you do that for me?”

“I understand. We’ll be waiting. I’ll make tea.”

9911 Conroy Road, 5:05 p.m.

Dan was fit to be tied.

But he’d just have to get over that. She couldn’t wait
another minute. She had told Louis forty minutes, and by God she wasn’t falling down on that promise.

SWAT was almost in place.

Lori, Harper, Cook, Dan, and her two uniformed followers parked three houses down and had assumed positions around Mr. Louis’s house.

Jess was still wearing her vest. She had her weapon in her bag and a .32 strapped to her ankle.

She was as prepared as humanly possible.

She knocked on Louis’s front door. Her hand shook as soon as she uncurled her finger and she had to remind herself to breathe but otherwise she was pretty steady. The com link was other-worldly silent.

Mr. Louis opened the door looking completely unperturbed. She would need to make this up to him if they survived this little tea party.

“You’re right on time, Jess. Come in.”

Inside, Fergus Cagle sat in a corner away from any windows. If he was armed, the weapon was concealed.

Janey sat on the floor in front of him. Jess’s heart lurched. She was okay. Looked good.
Thank you, Jesus.
The child was playing with what appeared to be exquisite china cups and a teapot. Not toys. The real McCoys.
Thank you, Mr. Louis.

“I’m afraid I didn’t have any toys,” Louis lamented. “Join us. Would you like tea?”

“No, thank you, George.”

“I didn’t realize,” he said, noticing the vest she wore, “you were working today.”

“It’s all right.” Jess smiled for him then walked over to sit in the chair closest to Cagle. “Hello, Mr. Cagle.”

He didn’t look at her.

“Would it be all right if George takes Janey in the kitchen so you and I can talk privately?”

His head turned in her direction, his expression grim, his eyes empty. He looked nothing like the man she had interviewed day before yesterday. That man was gone. This was the one who’d stolen little girls year after year… holding them prisoner in that basement of his. This was the face of evil.

“No.” Cagle glanced at Louis. “You need to leave.”

Louis looked taken aback.

Jess nodded for him to go on.

He hesitated for a moment, but then he left the room. Cagle said nothing else until he heard the kitchen’s back door slam.

“It took you long enough.”

“You didn’t leave me anything to go on, Fergus. How was I supposed to find you?” Jess had psyched herself up for this meeting but inside she was trembling.

“This is
your
fault.”

“You keep saying that.” She shifted in her seat. He tensed visibly. Jess held her breath until he relaxed. “To my knowledge we’ve never met before you sent me the first package.”

“I didn’t have to meet you,” he growled.

Janey looked their way, fear cluttering her little face. Her chest seizing, Jess wanted to tell her everything was all right, but she didn’t dare break the connection with Cagle just now.

“I controlled the urges all those years.” He shook his head. “Until you showed up. Then I was forced to go to the burying tree and exhume my treasures. I couldn’t touch them and continue to resist.” He glowered at Jess. “You have taken
everything
from me.”

“You can redeem yourself in your family’s eyes, Fergus. Just let this little girl go and they’ll know you’re not that man anymore. Everyone makes mistakes.”

“You don’t understand. I can’t,” he snarled. He leaned toward her. “I have to finish this.”

Jess fought the urge to recoil. “You can let her go,” she urged. “I’ll make sure your daughter knows you did the right thing this time. You changed for her and your grandchildren.”

He laughed. “You really don’t understand. I’m doing
this
for my daughter and her children.”

Before she could attempt to reason with him further, he stood and moved toward Janey. Heart crashing against her sternum. Jess leaned forward, reaching for the .32.

Cagle turned back to her, a nine-millimeter aimed in her direction. “We have to go outside.”

Shit.
Her heart stumbled. This was not going to end well.

“Fergus,” she reasoned quietly, so as not to alarm Janey, “you’re an intelligent man. You must know what’s outside. Why don’t we stay in here and work this out?”

Whether this monster lived or died was irrelevant to Jess, except that she needed the location of the other children. She couldn’t let all hope of finding them die with him just because SWAT’s sharpshooter opted to take out the lowlife scumbag child killer with the first clear shot he got.

“We have to go outside where
he
can see.”

He?
Was he working with someone else? Were there two Men in the Moon rather than one? She needed answers, not a gunfight in Louis’s front yard.

“Tell me where the other children are, and then you and I will go outside. There’s no reason for her to go with
us. Let her stay inside.” Jess avoided using Janey’s name so as not to scare her any worse that she already was.

For one long moment Jess was sure he would agree, then he barked, “Janey, come to me!”

The child looked up at him, tears sliding down her cheeks.

Jess wanted to snatch her up and run—her whole body cried with the need—but he was the one who had the gun out and ready to fire.

Shaking in her little pink-and-white polka-dotted PJs, Janey walked over to Cagle. He picked her up with his free arm and then motioned to the door. “Let’s go.”

“Going outside is a mistake,” Jess repeated, mostly so those listening would be fully aware of their movements.

“Move,” Cagle demanded.

Jess walked to the door, took a breath and opened it. Bracing herself, she stepped out onto the broad, shady porch.

Please, God, protect this little girl. Don’t let her die like this.

A loud
thwack
sounded behind her, and suddenly Cagle was on top of Jess.

They went down on the porch.

Janey screamed.

A dozen voices echoed in Jess’s earpiece.

The child tumbled from Cagle’s arms. The dead weight of the man on top of Jess seemed to indicate he was stunned or unconscious.

“Run, Janey!” Jess shouted. “Run!”

The child stumbled but she regained her footing and took off like a shot.

A man in full SWAT garb tackled her in the yard and whisked her away.

Cagle moved.

Jess reached for his gun.

He snagged it first.

She tried to reach for the .32, but he pinned her to the porch.

“Don’t move, Cagle,” she warned. “They’ll shoot and I’m not ready for you to die.”

“This,” he murmured, “is for my daughter.”

He shoved the nine-millimeter in her face.

Images of Dan and her sister flashed across her mind as her breath stalled in her lungs.

The pop of an assault rifle sounded a split second before a bullet pierced the center of Cagle’s forehead.

He slumped on top of her.

Her heart abruptly thundered back into action and Jess shoved him off. She snatched up the nine-millimeter and jumped to her feet.

She glanced back through the open doorway and Mr. Louis stood there, not a hair ruffled, with an ornately carved cast iron andiron in his hand.

Jess swayed and Dan was suddenly next to her, steadying her. Members of her SPU team and SWAT swarmed the place.

Jess started to hand over the nine-millimeter to the nearest cop but something felt wrong. She checked the chamber and then the magazine.

There wasn’t a single round in the weapon.

Jess stared at the dead man on the floor… he’d committed suicide by cop.

And she still didn’t know where the other children were.

Parkridge Drive, Homewood, 9:30 p.m.

C
het unlocked the door and stepped back for Lori to go in first. She’d been a little distant all day, but then they’d been a whole lot busy.

“I can order pizza or something if you’re hungry.”

She just shook her head and kept walking. He didn’t know when she’d eaten last, but he hadn’t since this morning and he was starving.

Down the hall he heard the bedroom door close. Her showers always took longer than his. He could call in a pizza, take his shower, and have a piping hot meal waiting for her when she emerged all soft and warm.

He couldn’t wait to celebrate this victory with her. The Man in the Moon was in hell, and the little girl who would have been his next victim was safe and sound. Badly shaken but not a scratch on her.

Chet selected the pizza place down the street from his contact list and placed the order. He had thirty minutes.
He shoved a couple of beers in the freezer to get them icy cold and headed for the other bathroom—the one in the hall he and Chester shared so Lori would have her own private sanctuary in the master bedroom’s en suite.

The hot water felt amazing. All he could think about was sinking into Lori and celebrating life. They were so lucky. Jesus, he loved that woman.

He opened his eyes and thought about the appointment he had with the urologist next week. As long as he wasn’t producing sperm antibodies the odds were really good that reversing the vasectomy would make things right. He would be good to go with only a little downtime.

He intended to make love to Lori as many times as possible before that happened.

Once he had the final verdict he would sit down and tell her everything. He didn’t want to tell her until he knew one way or the other what they were facing.

Nearly a year ago, when he’d first laid eyes on her, he hadn’t dreamed she would ever be his. Not for a second. He had hoped, but he’d been reasonably sure she was unreachable for a divorced father like him.