The Killing Ground: A Foxx Files Thriller (26 page)

“So, you took his loss and punished him for it?”

“Richard Hudson was a bastard. I did the world a favor by taking him out of the picture.”

“And were you doing Elizabeth a favor by killing her and taking her baby?”

Meghan waggled her finger at Rebecca. “Tsk, tsk Detective.” The word Detective dripped with disdain. “What the world didn’t need was his spawn.”

“And that was your choice to make?”

Meghan slammed her fist down. “Of course it was my choice. I’m the only reason she was pregnant in the first place.”

“How did you kill them?”

Meghan studied her for a second, measuring her up. “The case files tell you all of that, I’m sure.”

“Yes, they do.” Rebecca nodded. “But as I said before, we weren’t quite sure of some of the details.”

“It was quite easy actually.” Meghan studied her fingernails. “Women are so trusting these days. They don’t sense danger. It made killing them rather simple.”

“And raping them and leaving DNA at the scene? Kind of hard for a woman?”

“Not really.” Meghan smug smile returned. “You’re a lesbian, Detective. I’m sure you know that there are tools out there. A strap—on and a condom full of semen. It’s not that hard to figure out.”

“And taking the baby? How about that, Meghan? Was that easy too?” Rebecca’s tone bordered on contempt.

Meghan’s eyes softened slightly. The only sign that she cared about life at all. “They were my children. I was saving them, Detective. Can’t you see that?”

“I don’t understand.”

“I couldn’t let them grow up in a world where love and vows mean nothing. I couldn’t let them be in a world where people like Christine could steal everything from them.”

Rebecca’s stomach turned. Meghan honestly believed she had done some magnanimous turn by killing them all. She swallowed as Meghan looked on expectantly. It was almost as though she took joy in what she had done.

Rebecca clasped her hands on the table. “What about Phillip Stein? Why him?”

Meghan looked at her askance. “Detective, everyone knows the perfect murder is the one you commit without being caught.”

“So, you steered us to him?”

“Giving you Phillip was as easy as leading a pig to the slaughter. You had already fucked up and caught the wrong guy once. You needed to break the case. All I needed to do was put the suggestion out there and you would find a way to fit the pieces into the puzzle.” The ghost of a smile formed in the corner of Meghan’s mouth. Her eyes looked almost triumphant.

Another wave of nausea. “Nine people are dead because of you. Doesn’t that bother you?”

Meghan sneered again. “They all died because of Christine. She still needs to die.” She leaned forward, put her finger on Julie’s picture and slid it in front of Rebecca. Their eyes locked. “She will die too.”

Rebecca felt a cold chill slide down her spine. “No one else will die. I promise you this. You will rot in jail.”

“Ahh, Detective.” Meghan smiled eerily. “As I said before, that’s the thing about the perfect murder…not getting caught. You have nothing on me. No way to tie me to any of them. At the most, you have assault and battery on a federal agent. But as you already know…” She rolled her finger in a circle near her temple. “…I’m crazy. I’ll do a little time in a cozy institution somewhere for a year or so.”

This time it was Rebecca’s turn to smirk. “The funny thing about evidence is you never know where it will pop up.” She looked over her shoulder and nodded.

The smile disappeared from Meghan’s face as the door opened and two officers deposited several bags of evidence on the table containing items that she immediately recognized.

Rebecca picked up a bag containing specimen cups. Meghan’s face blanched. “They’ve already been tested. Richard Hudson and Phillip Stein.”

Meghan swallowed. “Where did you get that?”

Rebecca picked up the next item. “I’m pretty sure that if we test the epithelial cells found on this strap—on with yours, they will be a match.”

“All that proves is I’m into penetration.” Meghan crossed her arms defensively.

Rebecca pulled the case folder out that the officers had just dropped off. She pulled several pictures of perfectly preserved fetuses out and lined them up in front of Meghan, who jerked away quickly. She cocked her head. “How am I doing so far?”

“You’ve got nothing, Detective.” Meghan said stoically, but her disdainful hubris was gone. “None of this ties me to the murders.”

Rebecca leaned back and smiled cryptically. “The funny thing about the perfect murder is there is no perfect murder. You made a mistake. You thought you had committed the perfect murder. That’s the problem with thinking you're smarter than everyone else.”

There was a flash of panic in Meghan’s eyes before it was replaced with cold fury. “You’re just trying to trip me up.”

“Not necessary.” Rebecca leaned forward. “You did that on your own.”

Meghan eyed her skeptically. “How so?”

“It’s funny how people will talk, isn’t it?” Rebecca smiled condescendingly. “You thought you had everything sewn up perfectly. Frame the perfect person. Leave behind nothing that really ties you to the case. This was all found at the clinic. It would be easy to fit it to Phillip Stein, just like you wanted. You figured it would be enough to convict someone else.”

“You’re fishing.” Meghan said flatly.

“Am I?” Rebecca countered with barely veiled civility. This was the moment she had been working up to. The coup de grace. The finishing stroke. “What you didn’t figure into the equation was human emotion.”

Meghan stared at her blankly.

“You see when you got Phillip Stein fired, you took away Ruth Dawson’s chance to get pregnant. She was perfectly happy to start talking once we asked the right questions.”

Meghan blanched. She couldn’t have known about that, could she?
Stupid cunt!

As if on cue, the door to the interrogation room opened with an ominous creak. This time it was Jordan, who came into the room carrying a manila folder. “Here you go.”

The air in the room crackled around them. Jordan handed the folder to Rebecca, nodded at her and shot Meghan a murderous look.

Meghan saw the smug look of satisfaction of Rebecca’s face, and her breath caught. She knew what the folder contained. She was now the hunted. She was the prey. She balled her hands at her side angrily. “I want my lawyer.”

“Believe me, you’re going to need more than that.” Rebecca shot her a cold smile, the feeling of having finally caught the killer filling her with a sense of pride. To drive the nail further into the coffin, Rebecca pulled a specimen bag out and smiled smugly. “You got too cocky, Meghan. Your last victim fought back. The scratches on your face, we know how you got them, and I’m pretty sure the cells found under the victim’s fingernails are going to point to you.”

Meghan shifted and touched the raw skin subconsciously. She could no longer hide the fear. Her world was unraveling right before her eyes and the stupid bitch in front of her was the reason.

Rebecca opened the folder and pulled out six pictures. She slid them across the table silently. Pictures of every victim besides Julie stared back at Meghan. She began to rock back and forth, the instinct to flee overwhelming. “I’m not saying anything else.”

“You don’t have to.” Rebecca stood up. “I’m sure that the jury will just love the fact that you took pictures of your victims, and that each one of those pictures was found in a hidden access panel that only your fingerprint would open. And as far as your crazy plea goes, I hope you do a much better job acting for the jury.”

Meghan stared back at her, unmasked fury in her eyes. “You won’t get away with this. I’m coming after you too.” Meghan shoved her chair back and lunged at Rebecca. No sooner than she jumped, her face was slammed into the table, and her arms were twisted behind her.

Rebecca leaned over the table almost in Meghan’s face and sneered. “No, my dear…” Rebecca said softly. “I’ve already gotten away with it.”

She watched them drag Meghan from the room then slumped against the wall. It was over.

Chapter 27

Rebecca grabbed Jordan’s coat and held it out for her to step into. “Here.”

“I can do it myself.” Jordan shrugged herself into the arms and winced when it hit her wounded arm. The cut from Meghan's knife was healing slowly, but the muscle still ached at even the lightest contact.

“Are you always going to be this stubborn?” Rebecca pulled Jordan’s coat around her and kissed her softly. “’Cause last time I checked, you are my girlfriend, and we help each other with stuff like that.”

Jordan smiled ruefully. “I’m learning slowly. I’m a work in progress, remember?”

Rebecca stood on her tiptoes and wrapped her arms around Jordan’s neck, pressing her lips tightly against hers. She pulled away and murmured against her lips. “Yes, I know. I figure I might as well stick around long enough to see how you turn out.”

Jordan chuckled throatily, her eyes dancing mischievously. “I like the sound of that. You sticking around I mean. Maybe I’ll just slow down my progress and keep you around a bit longer.”

Rebecca reached down and smacked her bottom playfully. “You are incorrigible.”

“That’s why you love me.” Jordan teased and pulled Rebecca into her for a long kiss. She felt the heat in her neck rise and a pull in her loins. Begrudgingly, she broke the kiss, but not before it left them both breathless. “We should get going.”

Rebecca swallowed. “Umm, yeah. I’m thinking that is a good idea.” She followed Jordan to the front door, grabbing her purse on the way. “Taking your car?”

“Only if you drive.” Four months ago, Jordan would never have dreamed of saying that. Her 370Z was her baby, but she was still nursing a wounded arm and driving a stick was cumbersome if not painful.

Rebecca smiled. “Deal.” She had never been a car person, but driving Jordan’s 370Z was like sex with a lover. The hum of the engine underneath you, fingers skillfully coaxing it to higher levels of pleasure. The feel of pure adrenaline when you relax and let go.

The ride to the courthouse was quiet. It couldn’t be helped. Meghan Mercer would stand trial today for the cold—blooded murders of nine people. Neither woman had a doubt that she would go away for a very long time, but the case had been too close to home for both of them and reliving it was going to be hell.

Rebecca slid the car into a spot and turned the car off. She turned to Jordan. “You ready?”

“More than.” Jordan unconsciously rubbed her arm.

They weaved their way through a throng of media, dodging questions the entire way with firm “no comments” thrown to random faces. The doors shut behind them, and Rebecca breathed a sigh of relief. “God, I’m ready for this to be over. The press was ready to vilify us for messing up. Now we are the heroes. I just want this done, so we can move on with our lives.”

Jordan squeezed her hand reassuringly and pushed the door to the courtroom open. They sat down behind the prosecutor’s table. The room was oddly empty. The judge had ordered a closed trial, and the room was devoid of the normal volume of media and spectators.

The bailiff led Meghan in minutes later. She was dressed in orange scrubs that categorized her as a maximum-security prisoner. The letters D.O.C. emblazoned the front of her v—neck shirt. Her hands and feet were cuffed and chained together.

The chain rattled quietly as she shuffled past them. Her gaze flicked to Rebecca, and her steps paused. She sneered menacingly and licked her lips as if she were an animal tasting the blood of her prey after the kill.

Rebecca shivered. Not from fear, but from the cold chill of pure evil. She felt Jordan’s strong hand on hers, and she could breathe again.

Meghan pulled her eyes from Rebecca with a smirk. She slid into an empty seat next to her attorney, her face now devoid of any expression.

The judge entered from his chambers, and the bailiff’s voice broke through the quiet. “All rise for the Honorable Judge Maddux.”

The next few moments were a blur. Rebecca saw a lot of things in her time as a Detective. Things she never wanted to see again. She wanted to close her eyes and take them out of here. She wanted not to relive the horrors she still saw every night. She glanced sideways and saw Jordan’s jaw clenched. She was her strength. Jordan was the person that made everything all right again.

For a second, it was just the two of them once more, and Rebecca knew no matter what happened during the trial, no matter what she would face in the future, she could face all of that with Jordan by her side. She squeezed her hand once again and when she looked forward, it wasn’t the courtroom she saw anymore. It was her life. Her future. Her forever with the woman she loved.

Syd Parker
was born in California and resides in Indiana. She loves golfing, biking and spoiling her ten nieces and nephews. She loves to travel and anywhere on the water feels like home. She spends her days toiling away at her day job until she figures out a way to drop the last fifteen strokes to make it on the LPGA tour, although she's totally mastered Tiger Woods Golf on the Wii.

Most days when she's not writing, you will find her on the trails or riding her road bike and praying she doesn't end up in another ditch.

She loves to read a good love story and thoroughly enjoys writing them as well. "It isn't just about writing a story, it's about creating a world and having the reader climb into it, experiencing it in first person. That's my goal...that's why I write."

Check out Syd Parker and Syd Parker Books on Facebook, or online at www.sydparkerbooks.com.

Other titles by Syd Parker:

Immediate Possession -
Regan Sloan has had her share of bad luck in her relationships. She isn’t sure she is even willing to give it another shot. But all bets are off when she “runs into” Darcy Grey. Darcy leaves more than just an impression. She gets inside Regan like no other woman has. That should have been just fine with Regan…except Darcy isn’t exactly single and she isn’t exactly a lesbian. Can the two women get past the hurdles and accept their love is bigger than the hurdles they face?