Serial Love: Saints Protection & Investigation (18 page)

The fact was that it was too late to
not
start a relationship. He started one from the moment he held her to his body when they were attempting to help her grandmother. He continued the relationship when he brought the bracelet for Ann. And stayed for dinner. And talked on her front porch. And had her place wired for security. And when he raced over there when he had seen there was trouble. And when he first kissed her. And when she came to him with that fuckin’ fantastic cobbler and gave herself and her trust to him.

Rubbing his hand over his face, he saw the first of his men’s vehicles coming down the drive.
At least I spent most of yesterday focusing on the case.
Stepping inside of his house, he moved to start the business day.

Once more, the eight men sat around the conference table in the SPI command center. While the men had the weekend to recuperate, they all had the hardened expressions of anger that the case was not yet solved.

Monty had been the last to arrive, but his news was the best. “The FBI showed the pictures of the man on the bar stairs with Karen to the friends of Tonya.” Luke projected the pictures to each of their tablets as Monty continued. “They have positively identified him as the person with Tonya, even though his mustache is now brown.”

“Any ID?” Jack asked, but Monty just shook his head. “We’ll get on it,” Jack confirmed. “Who’s up for travel?”

Every man volunteered and, not for the first time, was Jack aware his team was the best he could have assembled. “Right. Cam, you and Blaise hit the witnesses on the western part of the state. Marc and Chad, take the Richland area. Bart and Monty, take the southern campuses. Show that to any roommates, friends, especially anyone who was with the victims at their last known locations. Luke and I’ll coordinate with the FBI in Richland and see what identification magic Luke can perform.”

The others chuckled, knowing Luke’s software could outperform any of the government’s highest security programs.

“Boss, I saw something this weekend that may have no significance, but it hit me weird.”

“Go on,” Jack responded as the others turned to Cam.

“I was at a bar Saturday night just chillin’ and was watching a scene in front of me ’cause I thought I was going to have to intervene. A guy was hittin’ on a girl, but she wasn’t falling for his pick-up lines and told him politely several times to leave her alone. Just when I was about to step in, she whirled around and poked him in the chest while telling him in no uncertain terms to get away from her. The bouncer stepped in, removed the guy, show’s over. But something about that kept gnawing at me.”

Cam looked at everyone and held up his right index. “She was poking him in the chest with her right index finger to make her point. And he was pissed. Can’t tell you he even heard her words, but he sure felt that finger and I got the feeling he wanted to snap it off.”

A deathly silence descended on the group.

“Holy fuck,” Chad said. Immediately the others began to speak all at once.

Jack called the Saints back to order and he reiterated, “So this guy disguises himself. Follows a girl somewhere or maybe just finds someone, tries to pick her up. Remember Tonya’s friends said he wasn’t young. So he tries to pick up someone younger who’s not interested, they blow him off or get mad and maybe resort to poking him to make their point. He snaps. After he captures them, subdues them somehow, tortures, rapes and kills them, then he cuts off the offensive finger.”

“Were they already dead?” Blaise asked, scrolling through his notes.

Jack cursed. “Fuck. No, you’re right. The coroner’s report on Tonya, Helena, and Sheila was that the digit was removed before death.”

The silence once more hung about the group.

“The ultimate revenge. I can’t get you interested, so I’ll rape you. You insulted me by poking me with your finger, so I’ll cut it off,” Bart growled.

Blaise shook his head. “This is much more than a man who can’t get a young woman interested. This fucker is sick and is going to keep killing.”

“Spent the weekend at home with my family,” Marc said, gaining the attention of the group. He looked around, his face a mask of frustration. “Gotta sister at Dominion College. Sophomore. Pretty. Nice. Decent student. And right-handed.”

“Fuck man,” Luke bit out.

“Spent the weekend with her and my parents and even though she’s home for the summer, we talked about her not going back until this is over with.”

“Some serial killers are not caught for years, Marc,” Jack said.

Nodding, Marc agreed. “Yep, but I’d rather her not be at risk than to take that chance.”

“This is exactly why the governor gave us this task. We’ve got to find this fucker and shut him down.”

As the agenda came to a close, the group made their way upstairs to head to their assignments.

“You have a good date with the beautiful Ms. Bridwell, boss?” Cam asked. “I meant to ask when we came in, but we got to the meeting so quickly.”

Jack looked discomfited as he turned and stared out of the window. The men all shared glances, curious but not wanting to pry.

Finally, Jack spoke, “Decided to call it off.”

“The date…or…” Cam ventured.

“Nope, all of it. Told her it wouldn’t work. Not with my business. Figured I may as well let her down easy now than to have to her let down hard later.”

“So you took that choice away from her?” Blaise asked.

Jack’s eyes darted to Blaise’s quickly, his eyebrow raised in question.

“You made the decision for her that your life won’t be good enough. You made the decision for her that she can do better. You never gave her the chance to decide for herself if what you have to offer is enough.”

Before the others chimed in, Jack growled, “Appreciate what you’re trying to do, but my personal life is off topic.”

The other quieted, but it was obvious to Jack they were not happy. Sighing heavily, he rubbed his hand over his face, the weight of the unsolved case and his fucked-up, non-relationship with Bethany bearing down on him.

Shaking his head, he said, “Sorry guys. We’re in this together and I’ve never pulled high-handed shit on you before. Not gonna start now.” He looked around at the faces that were becoming as familiar to him as his brothers-in-arms while in the Special Forces. Ones that for the last two years had been joining with him, having his back as he had theirs.

“My love life…or lack of it…is not up for debate, but I will say I appreciate your concern.”

The others stayed respectfully quiet, allowing him to gather his thoughts, each of them realizing that none of them were in a committed relationship. More than a few wondered if they, too, were giving up the chance of love by being in this profession.

“Right now,” Jack continued, looking at them, “I have to give one hundred percent to this case. When it’s over? Who knows, but for now I’m doing what I think is best.”

The men nodded as they prepared to leave, each with their assignments. With head jerks as goodbyes, they headed out of the door.

Jack poured a cup of coffee and handed it to Luke before getting a second one for himself. “All right, let’s do some identification magic,” he said, as the two of them walked back downstairs.

B
ethany sat on
the front porch of the lodge in the pre-dawn morning, tears sliding down her face once more.
How much have I cried in the past week?
Her heart squeezed with pain as she took a deep breath. Her mind wandered back over the previous days, now all swimming together.

The morning after her parents arrived she knew that this lodge, this life was what she wanted. Convincing her parents had not been too difficult once they could see how much she loved the country over the city, using her degree for her own business rather than for someone else’s.

But life at Mountville without Gram?
How will I bear it?

Once the decision was made, her father had called Golden Arbor and accepted the place for Gram. Thankfully, Gram’s descent into Alzheimer’s meant she was not upset with the transition. In fact, other than some initial concern, she adapted immediately to the nursing staff and other residents. Roscoe pitched in with the use of his truck and they moved her bedroom furniture to her new room. Bethany and Sally fixed it up to look almost like the room she had occupied in Mountville for over fifty years.

Visiting every day allowed them to see her settled comfortably. She now referred to Bethany as Helen each time and once looked at Ed and called him by his father’s name of Martin. Her mind was firmly in the past, but it appeared to give her peace.

Ed and Susan left two days later to fly back to Arizona after heartfelt hugs and promises for Bethany to take care of herself. She held her emotions together, throwing herself into hard work until yesterday. Having gone to check on Gram, she found her smiling in the common room. They chatted a few minutes, Gram continuing to think she was her sister Helen.

Suddenly Gram looked over and asked, “Helen, what happened to Charlie? I liked him.”

Assuming that Gram was talking about the original man from fifty years ago who had been interested in Helen, she just replied, “I don’t know.”

Gram gazed at her for a long time, then said, “You know, he cared for my granddaughter.”

Bethany’s eyes grew wide, uncertain where her grandmother’s mind was at the moment.

“He came around courtin’ my granddaughter. Good lookin’ man. Nice too. I was hopin’ he’d stay with her.”

Bethany’s chin quivered as she blinked to hold the tears at bay once more. Leaning over, she patted her grandmother’s hand and then watched as Gram closed her eyes to take a nap. Slipping out a few minutes later, she drove home, climbed the stairs, and finally allowed the emotions to pour out of her.

Now, days later, she was perched on the porch watching the sunrise over the trees to the east. The sky was cast in pale tints of blue as the night was slowly receding. Roscoe walked by, surprised to see her up so early.

“Ms. Bridwell,” he greeted. “You doin’ all right?”

Shaking her head slowly, she replied, “Nah, but I will be.”

He wandered over to the bottom of the porch and admired the young woman in front of him. “Got a lotta respect for you. You’re a good girl.”

She just smiled her response, then asked, “What are you doing up so early?”

“Sometimes I go to the dock and do a little sunrise fishing before the guests get up. Never know what I’ll catch. Sometimes nothin’. Sometimes enough for my dinner. If you’re ever interested, let me know and I’ll catch some fish for you.”

“I haven’t had fresh fish since Gramps fixed them,” she said. “But you’d have to prepare them for me. I’ve got no idea how to cut them up.”

“It ain’t hard,” Roscoe replied. “Just need a sharp knife and a little know-how.” With a nod, he left her to her privacy and ambled over to the shed.

She sat for a few more minutes, letting the thoughts of her parents and Gram no longer being here drift away. Her mind flowed to the neighbor who refused to give them a chance.
We could have had a shot of making a relationship work, Jack,
she thought for the millionth time.
At least I was ready to fight for the chance to build something with you!

Sucking in a lung full of fresh, early morning air, she let it out slowly as she rose to her feet. Wiping away her tears, she walked back inside. With a heavy heart, she readied to face the day’s chores.

*

Jack sat alone
in the command center, having had a video conference with the men. Each was reporting back from the interviews with witnesses looking at the photo of the mustachioed man. The results were encouraging. At least two of the victims’ friends had seen someone who looked like him the last time they had seen the victim. Luke had scanned the photo through every known database he had and narrowed the field down considerably. There were still a great number of men in Virginia that made a similar match, but for once Jack felt as though the case was moving in the right direction.

Now, he sat alone in front of one of their security monitor screens. For the wealthy, they offered security cameras that were not monitored twenty-four seven, but could be viewed when needed. Except for one. He had one on continuously and he was riveted to it. One that he watched almost every day whenever he was alone and had the opportunity.

The one on Mountville. He had not disbanded the cameras that gave him a view of the lodge.
Invasion of her privacy? Hell yeah. Gonna cut them off? Hell no.

Something was not right. He saw Bethany wander around aimlessly, not with her usual purpose. Sally came but not as often. He watched early one morning and saw Bethany sitting alone on the front porch.
Ann. Where was Ann?
He knew that Ann was not walking alone anymore, but most days either Bethany or Sally would take Ann for a little walk.

Moving to his computer, he quickly did a secure search. Ann Bridwell was now a resident of Golden Arbor.
Fuck! That’s why the bracelet still showed her location at Mountville. They must have removed it before she moved.