Something Wicked: HarperImpulse Romantic Suspense (18 page)

Again, Watkins looked at Zach. So the medical examiner knew who Zach was. Interesting. He’d have never figured the man for a reality TV fan.

Zach stepped closer, his eyes narrowed as he returned Watkins’ inquisitive gaze. Dylan almost shook his head. Watkins was giving off some serious gay vibes right now, and Zach was the object of his fascination. Zach was giving off some weird vibes, too.

“I’ll catch you later.” Watkins nodded at Dylan and turned away.

Dylan started to move, but Zach grabbed his bicep. He nodded toward the van. “Who was that guy?”

“Medical examiner. Why? You interested?”

Zach reeled back as if offended. “Don’t be an ass.”

Dylan raised his eyebrows. “So?”

Zach glanced back toward the van and frowned. “I don’t know.” He scratched his neck. “I don’t think he was telling you the truth.”

“You can read minds now too?” Dylan shook his head. He really did not have time for this crap. He left Zach standing there as he hurried toward the front desk. He asked the volunteer on duty if she’d seen Alexandra. “Pretty blonde? Fairly tall. She was wearing a loud shirt with a pink flamingo on it. Hard to miss.”

“
Alexandra
was?” Zach asked from beside him.

Dylan sent him a scathing look. He wished Zach had waited in the car.

The old woman at the desk shook her head. “I’m sorry. I don’t remember seeing her leave. She came in, with a police officer. That’s all I remember.”

“Thanks.” Dylan tapped the desk, acknowledged the young security officer stationed beside it, and moved toward the elevator. He pulled out his mobile radio. “Graham, any sign of Miss King yet?”

“No sign of her. If she’s still in this hospital, I have no idea where she’d be.”

“She’s not here,” Zach proclaimed. “Gut feeling.”

Dylan jabbed the up button on the elevator anyway. “Does your gut know where she is?”

Zach glanced back toward the entrance. “That guy. Watkins. I think you should question him.”

“Why?” The elevator dinged as the doors opened.

“Call it a hunch.”

Dylan shook his head as he stepped into the lift. “I work with facts, Zach, not hunches.” He held the door open. “You coming or not?”

Zach said something low and menacing beneath his breath, but he stepped into the elevator. “I’ve been working with Alexandra on developing my senses. She’s been teaching how to…pick up on things. That guy is…” He shook his head.

“What?”

“Dark.” He swallowed. “Got this sick feeling in the pit of my stomach just looking at him.”

Dylan scoffed. “He works with dead bodies for a living. Can’t get much darker than that.”

“This is different.”

Dylan had heard all he could stand. Anger and fear and anxiety bubbled up inside of him so fast, his chest felt like it was imploding. He shoved his brother against the elevator wall. “Why are you here? I haven’t seen you in years, and you think you can just come in and make everything all right? Huh?” He shoved at Zack’s shoulder again.

So quiet his voice was almost menacing, Zach murmured through clenched teeth, “I don’t want to do this now.”

The elevator pinged seconds before the door slid open. Zach gave him a humorless look and pushed past him.

He was right. There would be plenty of time for family drama later.

Alexandra was in danger. Dylan felt it in his gut, too. If he had to take a leap of faith and put it all in Zach, he would do it. He would do whatever it took to find her.

Heaven help him, he
would
find her.

Alexandra had been missing for almost four hours.

The longest four hours of Dylan’s life.

He gripped the back of his neck and paced the conference room at the station. He had no clue where to start looking for her now that all of his ideas had been exhausted. Her cell phone wasn’t picking up a signal, which meant she either didn’t have it or it had been turned off. It was useless as a tracking device. There had been no sign of her at the hospital. Only one witness, an orderly, had seen her talking to a man a few minutes before Graham looked for her.

“I only saw the back of him. Man was in scrubs. I thought it was a doctor,” the orderly said. “I didn’t think anything about it. They was just talkin’.”

Something was gnawing away at Dylan about that statement. None of the doctors who’d been on Reedus’s floor that morning had owned up to talking to a woman fitting Alexandra’s description. Had the killer stolen scrubs to blend in?

No. The killer was a hospital employee
.
It made sense. Watkins had indicated the chloroform used in each killing was a low-grade tincture mix, available online, but they’d never been able to find a seller. What if the chloroform wasn’t low-grade? What if Watkins had been wrong?

Or what if Zach was right and he was involved?

Dylan took note of his brother seated at the table, being brought up to speed on the case by McCormick. It had been hard convincing the captain to sign Zach on as another consultant. His brother had always been good at charming people and, five minutes after being left alone with the captain, Zach had emerged with a non-disclosure agreement to sign and a cocky smile on his smug face.

Dylan quietly stepped out of the room and used his cell phone to contact Graham. He didn’t want this going out over the police scanner.

“You still at the hospital?”

“I was wrapping things up. I don’t think we’re going to find anything else here tonight. Sorry, Collins.”

“Do me a favor. Make some inquiries about Dr. Jeffery Watkins. Find out if anyone there has noticed anything suspicious about him.”

“The M.E.?”

“Yeah, the M.E. Find out if any of the supplies there are coming up short. Check his department specifically.”

“We already checked. Watkins told us—” She caught herself, seemed to think about what Dylan was implying. “You think he’s involved?”

“I didn’t say that.” He glanced back toward the room. “Maybe.”

“Okay.” She sounded a little surprised. “I’ll let you know if anything throws up a red flag.”

He turned to move back into the room, but a young, uniformed woman hurried toward him, her face set in stern lines. “Phone call on line one. The voice is distorted. He asked to speak to Zachary Collins.” Her gaze flicked toward the room, and more specifically, his brother. “I think it’s the killer, sir.”

Dylan hurried to the phone at the center of the table. He hit the speaker feature and then answered line one. “Detective Collins. Who am I speaking to?”

“Which Collins is this?” The familiar, distorted voice of the killer replied. “I want to speak to The Psychic Detective.”

“I’m here.” Zach stood, put his hands on the table, and leaned toward the phone. “What have you done to Alexandra King?”

“Nothing, yet.” The rasp of breath against the receiver was loud. “I wish you’d joined her sooner. It would have been more fun with both of you here to play my game.”

“If you hurt her—” Dylan growled.

“I’m willing to keep her alive a while longer. I want to see if Zachary Collins can find her before I fulfill my plans. I want to see if you’re as good as you seemed on TV.”

“What do you want from me?” Zach demanded.

“Find her. Stop me.”

Dylan watched his brother closely. A twitch in Zach’s jaw was his only reaction. “This is Watkins, isn’t it?”

A pause. “Who’s Watkins?”

“No one else knows I’m here.” Dylan met his brother’s gaze. Zach was right.

“Wrong!” The response caused the speaker to vibrate. Then, in a much calmer voice, “It’s on TV. The news. They’re doing a special report about me right now, and you’re the new guest star.”

Dylan glanced through the open door toward the television mounted on the wall in the other room. Sure enough, a reporter was highlighting footage of him and Zach leaving the hospital. He nodded so Zach would know it was true.

His brother swore beneath his breath.

“I have a question for you, Psychic Detective.” Zach said nothing, so the distorted voice continued. “Do you see them too? The ghosts?”

“No. I’m not a psychic medium.”

“Shame.”

The call disconnected.

Zach pushed away from the table. “Did you trace it?”

McCormick shook his head. “Same trick he used before.” He explained to Zach the killer’s prior method of escaping a trace.

“We know he has her now.” Zach met Dylan’s gaze. “Forget these files. Tell me. What leads have you been following to catch this guy?”

Dylan turned to McCormick. “What about the car Alexandra wanted checked out? Where are we on that?”

McCormick shrugged. “Last I heard they were still going through the list. Want me to follow up?”

Dylan nodded and glanced toward his brother when they were alone. Zach was leaning against the wall now, arms crossed, staring at nothing in particular. It was hard for him to admit, but Dylan had to put his pride aside. “I’m all out of ideas here, man. You got something or not?”

Zach turned his dark, intense gaze toward him. “Maybe.” He pushed away from the wall. “What kind of car did Alexandra pick up on?”

“Dodge Avenger. Older model. Maybe late nineties.”

“Mind if I make a long distance call?” Zach nodded toward the phone.

“Do what you have to do.”

Zach punched in a number and asked to talk to “Spider.” Dylan blew out an incredulous breath. “You talk to spiders now too?”

Zach’s expression gave nothing away. He hit the speaker button and a young female voice said, “What’s up, bossman?”

“Spider, I need you to find me information, fast. Alexandra’s life might depend on it.”

The girl’s voice sounded worried. “What’s happened to Alexandra?”

“Short version: We think she’s been kidnapped.”

The sound of typing was loud and fast in the speaker. “I’m on it. What do ya need?”

“I’m looking for the owner of a Dodge Avenger, nineties model, Charleston, South Carolina area. I want you to dig into a guy named Watkins. He’s a medical examiner at the Medical University of South Carolina. Tell me if he owns that model of car.”

“Got it.” She was tapping the keyboard fast and furious. “Watkins. Jeffrey. Age 36. That the dude?”

Dylan placed his hands on the table and leaned forward. “That’s him.” How had she found it so fast?

“Um, he doesn’t have a Dodge Avenger registered with the DMV.”

Dylan pushed away from the table. They shouldn’t be wasting time on this.

“However.” The girl drew out the word’s syllables. “There’s a blue ’97 Dodge Avenger registered to a Martha Watkins, and guess what? They’re related. The dude used to have the same address, so I’m guessing maybe she’s his mom or something. I dunno.” She kept typing. “Seriously, this guy is weird.”

Dylan turned around and met his brother’s gaze. Zach asked, “What do you mean?”

“I just hacked into his IP address. He’s looked at our agency’s website about a hundred times in the past week. I mean, who does that?” There were more clacking sounds. Hell. They didn’t have a warrant to be obtaining this kind of information, so Dylan moved and shut the door as the girl continued talking. “He’s done a lot of internet searching for Alexandra’s name. There’s some websites about ghosts in Charleston that this guy is keeping in business. I mean, seriously, the paranormal to porn ratio here is scary. Oh, get this. He’s a frequent visitor to CallerIDSpoof.org. Why would he be spoofing phone numbers?”

Zach stood straight, put his hands on his hips, and blew out a frustrated sigh. “He’s gotta be our guy. Is there any way to track his cell phone or something to find out his current location?”

Spider huffed. “Depends on what kind of phone he has and if it’s turned on. Hold on. That one might take a few minutes.”

Opening the door, Dylan stepped into the doorway and gestured to Vinson. When the older officer came over, he said, “Jeffrey Watkins, the medical examiner. Get me his address, phone number, everything you can find. Get his photo from the hospital or DMV. Send it around to the tour guides we’ve already questioned and see if any of them recognize him.”

When Dylan stepped back into the room and shut the door behind him, the girl was saying, “His mobile isn’t pinging off any towers right now.”

“Where was the last place it pinged?” Dylan asked her.

There was a brief hesitation. “Looks like the hospital there. Hold on. Let me check something.” Damn she was killing that keyboard. “Yep. His cell phone and Alexandra’s cell phone both pinged off the same tower at 3:22 p.m. Both lost their signals around the same time.”

“Who the devil is this person?” Dylan nodded toward the phone. “She’s impressive.”

Zach half smiled. “Dylan, meet Spider. She’s my cyber security specialist.”

“Dylan, as in Collins? As in your brother?” The girl sounded delighted. The soft slap of skin on skin indicated she was clapping. “Cool. Kickass. Knew we’d find him.” More typing. “What else you need?”

Zach turned and paced the length of the room. “Spider, how fast can you book a private jet and get Hannah and her animals here?”

“Dunno. Could probably find someone and have them there in a few hours. Why?”

Dylan would love to know that too.

Zach sighed. “I’m thinking my mother can help us. Problem is, I need animals to communicate with her. You don’t have a pet, do you?” He directed the comment to Dylan.

“No, but there’s a shelter not far from here. I think McCormick has a dog.”

“We can try, but my hunch is that she’s hanging around my animals.” Zach shook his head. “Abbott’s the smart one. I need him here, but Hannah’s not going to leave the dogs at home.”

The girl scoffed. “Well, duh. Ever heard of Skype? Video chat. Way easier and less expensive. Just sayin’.”

Zach seemed interested. “How fast can we do it?”

“Where’s Hannah?”

“Home.”

“I can be there in maybe fifteen minutes.”

“Do it.”

“You gonna be able to get hooked up there without me, bossman?” Spider’s voice sounded doubtful. The sound of shuffling indicated she was already moving. She was fast at everything.

“Just call me on my cell when you’re ready.” Zach ended the call and sent Dylan a pointed look. “I’m gonna need a laptop.”

Dylan moved to the doorway and yelled McCormick’s name across the precinct. The younger cop ended his phone call and hurried over. Dylan placed a hand on his shoulder. “Get me a laptop in here. Fast. You know anything about Skype?”

“Sure. I use it to talk to my nephew.”

“We’ve got fifteen minutes to get it up and running. Go.”

Always eager, McCormick turned and sprinted toward their IT department. He was back in under five minutes carrying the equipment. He sat it on the table and booted the machine. “It’s an easy program to use.” He glanced up at Dylan. “What are we doing again?”

Dylan almost laughed. He wasn’t about to admit his estranged brother was gonna use the thing to try to communicate with their dead mother through a cat.

“A consultation.”

“A private consultation,” Zach added, crossing his arms.

McCormick frowned but got the program running. “I can stay and help if you want.”

Zach pulled out the chair in front of the laptop and moved to take a seat. “I appreciate your offer, but I need to do this alone. Please shut the door behind you and make sure we aren’t disturbed.”

Looking at Dylan for approval, McCormick reluctantly did as requested, leaving Dylan alone with his brother again. Zach pulled the laptop closer and glanced at where Dylan stood. “I might have more success doing this alone.”

“No way. I’m staying.” He already hated the fact he’d relied on Zach so much until this point. It was as if his brother had walked in and taken over the entire investigation. Dylan felt useless. He was still reeling from the revelation Watkins seemed to be the Grim Reaper. He’d stood right there and let the man leave the hospital. Had Alexandra been in the van? Clenching his teeth at the thought, he moved to the conference room blinds and closed the ones that were open, giving them more privacy. “You really think this is gonna work?”

“Hell if I know. Right now, it’s the only thing I can think to try.” Zack was testing the computer, getting familiar with the program.

Dylan sank into the chair beside him. “Alexandra told me Mom had pestered her to come find me. Didn’t believe her at first.”

Zach glanced toward him. “Yeah, she tried to convince me to look for you myself.”

“Why didn’t you?”

“Figured it would be a wasted effort. Doubted you would even talk to me.”

He’d been right. It had taken Alexandra storming into his life and kicking down his walls to open his mind to reconciliation. That beautiful, gutsy woman. “She’d better be safe when we find her. Otherwise, I’m gonna kill the sonofabitch.”

Zach’s eyes narrowed on him again. “You two have gotten close.”

“I care about her.”

“
I
care about her,” Zach countered. “She’s a pain in the ass and if you tell her I said this, I’ll kick yours, but she’s like family. Something tells me you don’t feel the same way I do.” Zach looked toward the computer. “You’re in love with her.”

Dylan reeled back. “I barely know her.”

A slight smile tugged at his brother’s mouth. “It happens that way sometimes.”

Did he love Alexandra? Hell. Maybe. He’d never felt this jumbled mix of emotion for any other woman, not like this. His chest tightened. “Let’s just find her.” He’d deal with his feelings for her then.

Zach’s phone rang, and he answered. Spider must have been guiding him through ways to connect with her because he kept grunting “Uh huh” as he tinkered with the computer. “Got it. I see you.” He put his cell phone on the table.