The Fifth Victim (21 page)

Jacob sauntered into the room, his movements slow and cautious. “What are you doing here, MacKinnon?”

“I came to give Genny a gift.” Brian smiled at Genny.

She forced herself to return a watered-down version of her usual smile. “I would ask you to stay for dinner, but—”

Drudwyn’s growl almost drowned out Jacob’s blatant snarl.

“Some other time,” Brian said. “I’ll telephone you tomorrow.”

Genny moved toward Brian, intending to walk him to the door. Before she’d taken the second step, Dallas clamped his hand on her waist and held her in place. Jacob jumped into action and walked with Brian out of the living room, into the foyer, and through the front door. When the two men disappeared onto the porch, Genny turned to Dallas.

“Brian told me that Matt Newton isn’t going to bring charges against Jacob, and they’re not going to sue Jacob, either.”

“I see.” Dallas gripped her waist with both hands and turned her to face him. “What brought about this miracle? Exactly what did MacKinnon want from you in return?”

“He said he’s doing it as a gesture to prove to me how much he cares about me.” Genny glanced over her shoulder at the closed front door, wondering what Jacob was saying to Brian. “I hope Jacob doesn’t—”

“MacKinnon isn’t going to get what he wants—because he wants you.”

“Yes, he does, but for now he’s willing to settle for my good opinion of him.”

“Which he doesn’t have, does he?”

Genny shook her head. “I’ve wasted a lot of time believing Brian could change, that he wanted to change. Even poor Wallace thought he saw signs of improvement in Brian’s behavior.”

Jacob came back into the house, removed his coat, and hung it on the hall tree. “Looks like I can quit worrying about getting sued or having Matt Newton press charges against me.”

“I think I can be nice to Brian for a bit longer,” Genny said. “It won’t be easy, but it’s necessary.”

“If nothing else good comes out of the media torture I’ve been going through, your realizing that MacKinnon is beyond redemption is enough.”

“I don’t want you to be too nice to him,” Dallas said.

“I’ve never been too nice to him,” Genny replied. “Not the kind of nice you mean.”

Suddenly Jacob’s cell phone rang. He paused a couple of seconds before reaching over and lifting it from his coat pocket. “Could be news about Nina MacNair.”

Genny looked at Dallas. “What’s this about Nina MacNair?”

“Her husband reported her missing. It seems when he woke up this morning, she was gone. No note. All of her things still there at the house. She had taken her purse with her, but that’s all. The doctor thinks she might have walked to the grocery store, but no one at Shop Rite has seen her.”

“Do you think—”

“Maybe. Our killer hasn’t made a move in six days.”

Jacob returned his phone to his coat pocket and walked into the living room. “No sign of Mrs. MacNair. Nobody in town has seen her. Roddy and I are in agreement that considering we have a serial killer loose in our county, we’re waiving the waiting period on filing a missing person’s report.”

“Do you have to go now or can you stay for supper?” Genny asked.

“I’ll grab a quick bite, then head back into town.” Jacob turned to Dallas. “If you decide to stay a while, I can send one of my deputies to pick you up later.”

“Thanks,” Dallas replied, never taking his eyes off Genny, “but I think I should go back into town with you.”

“While y’all eat, I could see if I can pick up anything on Nina MacNair,” Genny said. “Since I don’t know her and have seen her only a couple of times, I’m not sure—”

“Go ahead and see if you can sense anything about her,” Jacob said. “But do not go anywhere near the killer’s mind. Do you hear me?”

“I hear you loud and clear.” Genny ushered the two men into the kitchen, served up plates of chicken and dumplings, along with several vegetables, and tea cakes made from Granny’s recipe for dessert.

While they ate, Genny ventured off into the living room and sat alone by the fireplace. Gazing into the flames, she relaxed and let her mind open up and fly away. She kept repeating the name Nina MacNair over and over again. Dark shadows swirled and then vanished. Soft gray light floated through her consciousness. She sensed a desperate need to escape, but no real fear. Laughter bubbled up. A great sense of relief. Keep running. Don’t look back. A man’s hand reached out. Still no fear. A woman’s hand. A man’s hand. Together. Touching tenderly.

Genny’s eyelids flew open. How odd, she thought. How very odd. She joined Dallas and Jacob in the kitchen, poured herself a glass of milk and sat down at the table. She picked up a tea cake and broke the rich, buttery cookie in half.

“I don’t think the killer has Nina MacNair,” Genny said, then took a bite of tea cake.

“Then you picked up on something?” Dallas asked.

Genny nodded and wondered if Dallas realized what an about-face he’d done since they first met. A little over a week ago, Dallas Sloan had been a skeptic, believing in nothing beyond his five senses; now he accepted her psychic abilities without question. Or at least with very few questions.

“I think Mrs. MacNair ran off with another man,” Genny said.

Jacob snorted. “She didn’t happen to leave a forwarding address, did she?” he asked flippantly.

“I’m afraid not,” Genny replied, then finished off her tea cake and washed it down with half a glass of milk.

Several minutes later, just as Dallas was helping her clear away the dishes and Jacob was dumping the scraps from their plates into Drudwyn’s bowl, a telephone rang. Three sets of eyes glanced at the wall phone, then realized it was the distinctive ring of Dallas’s digital phone.

He released it from his belt clip, punched the
ON
button, and said, “Sloan here.”

Dallas listened, while Jacob and Genny watched and waited.

“What’s up, Teri?” Dallas asked. He remained silent while she responded. “What?” There was a short pause when Agent Teri Nash spoke again. “My God! Are you sure about this?”

Dallas’s gaze met Genny’s; she sensed that whatever Teri Nash was telling him had something to do with her.

“You know what this means, don’t you?” Dallas spoke into the phone. “Finding out the four women who were the fifth victims actually had something that distinctive in common tells us who he’s chosen for his final victim here in Cherokee County.”

Chapter 20

Dallas thanked Teri, then returned his phone to its holder, all the while not breaking eye contact with Genny. Of the various things he might have expected Teri to tell him, he’d never expected that her discovery would bring his life full circle. He had spent eight months feeling guilty for not having been able to save Brooke, no matter how irrational that guilt might be. Realistically he knew there wasn’t anything he could have done to have prevented his niece’s death; but he could do something to find her killer. God damn it, he was a federal agent. He’d spent most of his adult life in a job he thought meant something. He had believed when he’d begun his pursuit of this elusive, diabolical murderer that catching the man and bringing him to justice would bring Dallas and his family some sort of closure. How wrong he’d been. Not in his worst nightmare had he envisioned facing the loss of someone else he loved at the hands of the same madman.

And God help him, he loved Genny Madoc.

“What is it?” Genny asked. “What did Teri tell you about me?”

Jacob snapped his head around and stared at Genny. “What do you mean, what did she tell Dallas about you? What could she possibly—”

“Teri has searched through every bit of information she could find about the fifth victim in each series of murders,” Dallas said. “Linc Hughes believes that all the other victims, the first four in each case, might have simply been chosen at random, but that the fifth victim was somehow different.”

“Different in what way?” Genny reached out and placed her hand on Dallas’s chest, right over his heart.

“We know he doesn’t just drink the fifth victim’s blood,” Jacob said. “He removes her heart and…well, he probably eats it.”

“Through some intensive research, Teri has found something that all four of the fifth victims had in common.” Dallas laid his hand over Genny’s where it rested against him.

“At last, a real breakthrough.” Jacob narrowed his gaze to pinpoint where Dallas’s hand lay atop Genny’s. “Why is it that I get the feeling I’m not going to like what you’re about to tell us?”

“Barbara James, who was the fifth victim in Mobile, had a rare talent,” Dallas said. “According to her family and close friends, Barbara was clairvoyant.”

Genny shut her eyes. Dallas closed his fingers over Genny’s hand tightly, holding it over his heart.

Jacob laid the empty plate in the sink. “What about the other three?”

“The first fifth victim, Kim Johnson, entertained her friends with telekinetic tricks. Several of her friends told Teri that Kim could move objects with her mind and…” Dallas sucked in a deep breath, then released it slowly. “Daphne Alaire worked part-time as a medium. She claimed to have the ability to converse with the dead. And Lori Wright was telepathic. Her sister told Teri that Lori didn’t want any of her college friends to know about her ability because the kids she’d grown up with considered her a freak.”

“Good God!” Jacob clenched his jaw. “Why is this information just now surfacing?”

“Because Teri dug pretty deep,” Dallas said. “Apparently the friends and families of the fifth victims hadn’t bothered mentioning their unique talents to the authorities because they hadn’t thought that information had anything to do with their murders.”

“How the hell did this guy find these women? And why is he killing them?” Jacob balled his hands into tight fists.

“We don’t know,” Dallas replied. “But if he’s true to form, then his fifth victim will be someone who has a sixth-sense ability.”

“I’m the reason he’s come to Cherokee County,” Genny said, certainty in her voice. “He intends for me to be his fifth victim.”

“It won’t happen,” Dallas told her with absolute conviction.

“You’re damn right it won’t,” Jacob added. “We’ll keep you under guard twenty-four seven. I’ll move back in here to protect you.”

“Jacob, you have a job to do. Let me take care of Genny,” Dallas said. “I’ll move in here with her tonight.”

“Yes, of course,” Genny replied. “But, Dallas, you can’t stay with me all the time. Jacob needs you to help him find this man before he kills the fourth victim.”

“Whenever Dallas can’t be with you, I’ll make sure a deputy is,” Jacob said. “And in the meantime, we’re going to do whatever it takes to find the killer.”

Dallas grasped Genny’s shoulders tenderly. “We will keep you safe. I swear to you that this man isn’t going to—”

“You must let me help you discover his identity,” Genny said. “With my life at stake, I have every right to take a risk and try to telepathically connect to the killer’s mind.”

“No!” Jacob shouted.

“Yes,” Genny told him. “I’ll get plenty of rest tonight and tomorrow morning, and then tomorrow afternoon, with you and Dallas here with me, I want to try.”

“She’s going to do it whether you agree or not,” Dallas said. “I’ll be here with her when she does try. Will you?”

Jacob huffed. “Damn it, yes!”

Laura tossed back her blond curls and lifted her snooty little nose into the air. “As your fiancée, I have every right to know what’s going on. Ever since we came to Cherokee Pointe to visit your grandparents, you’ve been gone more than you’ve been here. You stay out all night and tell me you’ve been with old high school buddies. How many old buddies can you possibly have?”

“Now, don’t go getting your panties in a wad, lover.” Jamie tried to wrap his arm around her, but she outmaneuvered him so that he grasped thin air.

“Are you seeing other women?” Laura demanded. “Is that where you’re going tonight, to see someone else?”

“Now, why would I be seeing other women when I have you?” Jamie grinned sheepishly at her. “Baby doll, you’re more than enough woman for me.”

“You’re lying! I may not be all that experienced, but I know when a man finds me boring.”

Jamie lunged toward her and this time was able to catch her before she sidestepped him. When he pulled her into his arms, she struggled to free herself.

“Calm down and let me show you how easily you can satisfy me.” He tried to kiss her, but she turned her head.

He bit her earlobe. She yelped in pain.

He licked her ear, then whispered, “I don’t find ass-fucking boring.” He rubbed his hand over her buttocks. “Take your panties off and bend over and I promise I won’t be going anywhere else tonight.”

Laura’s eyes widened in shock. “Are you seriously asking me to participate in such a depraved act?”

“I could force you,” he told her. “Would you like it better that way? You could cry and whimper and beg me to stop and act as if you didn’t like it.”

“No, Jamie. I don’t want to—”

He silenced her with a kiss. A tongue-down-her-throat kiss. Laura was a good-looking girl. Not really pretty, but cute. And she had perky tits and a first-class ass. Unfortunately, she wasn’t very adventurous in the bedroom. He’d figured out after the first time he’d screwed her that she didn’t know much about sex. Later, she’d admitted that he was only her third lover. Hell, he couldn’t even remember who his third lover had been…or his thirtieth. His first had been one of the maids who had worked for his grandmother. He’d been fourteen and enjoyed the twenty-five-year-old’s body for quite some time. Until she’d up and quit. The next memorable partner had been Jazzy Talbot. Now there was one hot piece of ass. But for the life of him he didn’t recall if she was lover number five, six, or seven. Certainly not number three.

The kiss quieted Laura momentarily, but the minute he released her mouth, she groaned. “I love you, Jamie, but I won’t put up with your having other women after we’re married.” She stuck out her lower lip in an adorable pout.

He grinned, then planted a quick kiss on her pouting mouth. “I promise that once we’re married, I’ll be as faithful as an old dog.” He wasn’t lying to her. Not really. What she didn’t know was that he had no intention of ever marrying her.

“I wish I could believe you.”

When she relaxed in his arms, he knew he had her. She was succumbing to her love for him. He preferred it when a woman loved him. Women in love were always easier to handle.

“I love you, Laura. You know that. I’ve never loved another woman the way I love you.”

God, how gullible women were. They fell for that old line every time. He’d lost track of how many times he’d used those exact words. Hell, all he did was tell Laura what she wanted to hear, what every woman wanted to believe.

Putty in his hands, she melted into him. “Will it hurt?” she asked.

“Will what hurt?”

“You know.” She grasped his hands and dragged them down from her waist to cup her buttocks.

Jamie laughed. “Oh, that. Lover, it won’t hurt me a bit, but…it could be a little uncomfortable for you.”

“How uncomfortable?” She looked directly into his eyes, her gaze filled with anticipation.

“You’re dying to find out, aren’t you?” He grabbed her hand and dragged her across the room toward the bed. “Just take off your robe and remove your panties and I’ll satisfy your curiosity.”

He released his hold on her. She hesitated for a second, then eased her robe from her shoulders and let it pool at her feet. Beneath the robe she was naked. He sucked in his breath. Just looking at her gave him a hard-on.

“I love you, Jamie.” She turned her back to him and bent over, bracing herself with her open palms flattened on the foot of the bed. “I wouldn’t let you do this if I didn’t love you so much.”

Jamie ran his hand over her smooth, firm butt, then unzipped his pants and freed his sex.

Jacob spent the night in his office. Again. Since Susie Richards’s murder, he’d spent as many nights at the Sheriff’s Department as he had his own apartment. With each passing day, he came to regret having run for sheriff more and more. Logically he knew the only way to become a top-notch lawman was with experience, but right now he sure as hell would like to find a quick way to bypass those years of on-the-job-training and move right on up to seasoned sheriff.

Hell, man, what more could you do than you’ve already done?
he asked himself as he looked through the stack of crime-scene photos for what seemed like the millionth time. Was there something he was missing? Was Dallas’s personal experience clouding his expert vision? Why hadn’t the task force helped them solve these crimes?

With frustration and lack of sleep added to his normal quick temper, Jacob swept his hand across the top of his desk, a motion that sent the photos flying into the air and then dropping haphazardly onto the floor. He shot up so quickly that he accidentally flipped his swivel chair onto its side. He kicked the back of the overturned chair and cursed a blue streak.

The killer wanted Genny. He had chosen her as his fifth victim because she had psychic abilities, because she had inherited
the sight
from Granny.

He had to protect Genny at all costs. She was the dearest person on earth to him. He loved her like a sister.

And Dallas Sloan loved her, too. Instinct alone told Jacob that Dallas would lay down his life for Genny.

Tewanda Hardy called out through the closed office door. “Sheriff Butler, Dr. MacNair is here to see you.”

Jacob checked his watch. Ten-fifteen. “Yeah, Tewanda, tell him to come on in.” Jacob righted his chair and bent to hurriedly pick up the scattered photos.

The door opened and the town’s newest doctor crept in. Crept was the only way Jacob knew how to describe the man’s demeanor. Head bowed. Eyes downcast. Acting like a whipped dog. MacNair was one of those soft-looking men, stocky in build but not muscular, with a ruddy face, washed-out blue eyes, and small, almost feminine features.

“I’ve made a terrible mistake,” MacNair said.

“How’s that?” Jacob had a feeling he already knew what the doctor was going to say. Genny had probably guessed right—Nina MacNair had run off with another man.

“My wife isn’t missing.”

“Have you heard from her?”

He shook his head. “Not directly. But her mother called me about thirty minutes ago. It seems Nina contacted her because she didn’t want her mother to worry about her. Nina knew I’d call Mrs. Grant.”

“And your mother-in-law told you that your wife is all right?”

“Nina has left me. Mrs. Grant told me that Nina had her old boyfriend come to Cherokee Pointe and pick her up early this morning. She walked from our house into town. She’s going to move in with her mother until after we get a divorce, then she’s going to marry…. She didn’t take anything with her this morning. She didn’t want to risk getting caught. She was afraid I’d beg her to stay.”

Jacob didn’t need to hear this, didn’t want to hear it. He hated seeing a man humbled and humiliated by a woman he loved.

Jacob crossed the room, planted his hand on the doctor’s shoulder, and said, “I’ll take care of the missing person’s report. I can explain that Mrs. MacNair’s gone home to visit her mother.”

“I’m sorry about all this. I honestly thought…” MacNair gulped down a sob. “Thank God I was wrong about the killer having her.”

Jacob walked the doctor outside to his car, all the while very grateful that he’d never allowed any woman to emotionally castrate him.

Genny lifted a quilt down from a high shelf in the hall closet and carried it into Dallas’s bedroom. She’d given him Jacob’s old room, which was directly across the hall from hers. When Dallas heard her approaching, he turned to face her.

“Here’s an extra quilt.” She held out the last patchwork creation Granny had put together before her death. “Is there anything else you need?”

Her heartbeat accelerated when she noticed the way he was looking at her. As if she was everything he wanted, all that he would ever need.

Dallas took the quilt and tossed it onto the foot of the bed. “You need a security system.”

“All right. Should I call someone tomorrow?”

“I’ll do it.”

“Thank you.”

“No need to thank me. I’m here to take care of you, and getting a security system installed is part of keeping you safe.”

“Your being here makes me feel safe.”

Dallas studied her, his gaze moving rapidly from her face to her feet and then coming back up again in slow motion. “When we first met, I was surprised by how strongly you affected me. I told myself you’d cast a spell on me.”