The Wreck (35 page)

“It’s been a difficult year, there’s no
doubt about that. But the people of Granville are resilient. We’ll get through
this.”

“Are the police any closer to naming a
suspect?”

“I’m not at liberty to discuss the
investigation. All I can say is local, state, and federal authorities are doing
everything they can to catch the person who has been terrorizing our town as
well as young people in other parts of the state.”

“Your police chief, Michael Westbury, was
briefly hospitalized. The chatter on local talk radio has been trending toward
a loss of support for the chief’s leadership. Are you confident in Chief
Westbury’s ability to lead the department during this difficult time?”

“The chief and his men and women are
working around the clock to bring this investigation to a successful
conclusion.”

“But does he have your full support?”

“I’d like to see an arrest—and soon.
That’s all I’ll say.”

“Goddamn him!”
Brian slapped his hand on the steering
wheel. “That’s just what my dad needs—some limp-dick politician twenty years
younger than him taking a shot at him on the radio.”

Carly reached for his hand. “Try not to
let it bother you, Bri. Your dad doesn’t listen to stuff like that.”

“He’s working himself to death, and
people
still
have the nerve to say he’s not doing enough? He’s not a
miracle worker, for Christ sakes. Don’t they think he wants to get this guy as
much as anyone? His own
son
is one of the victims.”

Carly had heard the rumblings in town
since Alicia’s murder. People were frustrated by the lack of progress in the
investigation and looking for someone to blame. Unfortunately, Chief Westbury
was the most readily available target. “Hopefully it’ll all be over soon,” she
said.

“I don’t know how much more of this my
dad can take. I’m afraid he’s going to drop dead one of these days from the
stress.”

“He’ll be fine. He won’t let gossip
distract him.”

Carly’s cell phone rang, and when she
reached into her purse for it, she noticed a scrap of white paper tucked into
her phone. Puzzled, she flipped open the phone, and the paper fluttered onto
her lap. She gasped when she looked down to find the word “SOON” in bright red letters.
“Oh my God,” she whispered.

Brian looked over and startled, causing
the car to swerve. A horn blared from the lane next to them. “Don’t touch it,”
he said, his eyes darting back and forth between the note on Carly’s lap and
the interstate.

“How did he get a note into my purse?”
she whispered.

“Who was it that called?”

Her hands shaking, Carly checked her
phone to find the number unavailable. “I can’t tell.”

Brian’s knuckles turned white from the
grip he had on the steering wheel.

They both jolted when the phone rang
again.

“Who is it?” Brian asked.

Carly glanced at the caller ID. “It’s an
out-of-state number.” She took a deep breath before she answered the call.
“Hello?”

“Carly! It’s Mrs. Townsend. I was so delighted
to receive the invitation to your wedding and to get your mother’s note that
you’re talking again. I’m just thrilled for you and Brian.”

“Thank you,” Carly said, relieved. “I
hope you’ll be able to make it to the wedding.”

“That’s why I’m calling—to tell you I
wouldn’t miss it for the world. I booked my flight from Baltimore just this
morning. Mr. Townsend is living in Phoenix now, so I don’t think he’ll make
it.”

The reminder that Michelle’s parents had
divorced a few years after the accident saddened Carly. Their marriage hadn’t
survived the loss of their only daughter. “Well, I can’t wait to see you. It’s
been too long.”

“Yes, honey,” Mrs. Townsend said. “Yes,
it has. Michelle would be delighted to know you’re finally marrying Brian.”

“I think so, too. You didn’t call before,
did you? A few minutes ago?”

“No, why?”

“I had another call that I missed.”

“No, it wasn’t me. Listen, I’ve got to
run, but I’ll see you very soon.”

“Looking forward to it.” Carly closed the
phone and sat perfectly still with the note staring up at her.

“It wasn’t her before?” Brian asked as he
flipped open his own cell phone to call his father.

“No.”

“Hang on, honey. We’re almost there.”

They
met Michael at a park-and-ride lot in the south end of town. When they pulled
in, he got out of his car and approached the passenger side of the SUV.

Opening the door, he stared at the note
for a long moment before he used tweezers to put it in an evidence bag. “You
didn’t touch it?” he asked Carly.

“No. It fell from my cell when I opened
it.”

“I’d like to also take your purse to be
analyzed for prints. We’ll do it as fast as we can.” When Carly nodded in
agreement, he slipped the small purse into a larger evidence bag.

“What about her phone?” Brian asked.

“That, too,” Michael said, holding open
another bag for Carly to drop the phone into. “Has your purse been unattended
recently?”

“Not that I can think of, but my mind is
racing right now.”

Michael reached out to put his large hand
over both of hers. “Take a breath, honey, and try to think. Were you in a
restaurant and left it at the table to go to the restroom, or in a store—”

“I went to Miss Molly’s this morning to
get coffee,” she said as she suddenly remembered. “I took money with me but
left my purse at home.”

“Where were you?” Michael asked his son.

“In the shower.”

The statement hung over them.

“Jesus Christ,” Brian muttered. “He was
in the apartment while I was in the shower?”

Carly whimpered as she looked at Brian.
“I didn’t even think to lock the door because I was coming right back. What if
he had hurt you?”

Brian rested his hand on her arm.

“Did you see anyone you knew between your
place and Miss Molly’s?” Michael asked.

Carly thought about it, began to shake
her head to say no, but then froze.

“What?” Brian asked. “Who did you see?”

“I saw … I saw Luke. He had just left
Miss Molly’s.”

Michael’s mouth tightened with tension as
he exchanged glances with his son.

“It’s not him!” Carly cried. “I
know
it isn’t!”

“Carly, I know you don’t
want
it
to be him,” Michael said. “Hell, I don’t, either.”

Brian explained to his father about the
gut feelings Carly had relied upon during her years of silence. “She thinks if
she had something to fear from him, she’d know it.”

“It’s not him,” Carly said again.

“We might have another possibility. Did
either of you know a kid named Randy Lowell in school? He was in Sam’s class.”

“I knew him,” Brian said. “But just to
say hi to.”

“I don’t remember him,” Carly said.

“We were so sure this was about you,
Carly, that we never really looked at Sam’s class. I could kick myself for
being so stupid. If it turns out to be him...”

“What’ve you got so far?” Brian asked.

Michael brought them up to speed on the
DUI arrest and the warrant. “They caught him late morning, so he could’ve been
in Granville earlier and put the note in your purse. We spent most of the day
questioning him, and when I left to come here, Matt and Nate were trying to put
together a timeline of his whereabouts for the last few years. Lowell claims he
just moved back to Rhode Island in April.”

“If that’s true, he wasn’t the one who
attacked Tanya Lewis in January,” Brian said.

“I know,” Michael said, sounding
dejected. “He claims he was in Missouri and moved back here to be closer to his
parents. However, he never registered as a sex offender, and he says the whole
thing with the parole violation was a misunderstanding.” Michael frowned as he
added, “The other thing that’s bugging me is he doesn’t fit the physical
description the girls have provided. He’s tall, but not unusually tall like
they all said.”

“Still,” Brian said, “it could be a
break. There’s a tie to all of us going back to high school and a record of
similar crimes.”

“Right,” Michael said. “But there’re
still way too many ifs to say for sure that it’s him. So we have to operate
under the assumption that our guy is still out there. Until this is over, you
two are together every minute of every day, you got me? No more trips to Miss
Molly’s or anywhere else alone. He’s much less likely to go after you if Brian
is with you.”

Carly nodded. “I know.” She took another
deep breath in an attempt to calm her frazzled nerves.

“He’s waiting for his chance, so you
can’t give him any opportunity,” Michael added. “And make sure you always have
your phone with you, son. You still have the pepper spray, right, Carly?”

She patted the pocket of her skirt. “With
me every minute.”

“We need about thirty minutes at your
place to work up the door—not that we’ll find anything,” Michael said. “Can I borrow
your key?”

Brian gave him his. “God, Dad, how much
longer are we supposed to live this way?”

The strain showed on Michael’s face. “I
hope not much longer.” He gestured to the evidence bags on the floor. “He’s
getting more brazen, which is a sign that he thinks he’s invincible. He’ll
screw up, and when he does, we’ll be waiting.”

“Did you hear the stuff on the radio
earlier?” Brian asked.

Michael shrugged with indifference. “The
mayor’s a putz. I’ve been ignoring his calls, so he’s pissed with me. He doesn’t
bother me.”

“You can’t let it get to you,” Carly
said, resting her hand on Michael’s arm. “You have to think about your health.”

Michael smiled and squeezed her hand.
“Don’t worry about me. I need to get back to town. This concert was a nice
idea, but it’s causing us some major security and traffic headaches. Oh, I
talked to Mom while I was waiting for you. She said to tell you she’ll get a
ride into town with Steve and Carol, and she’ll meet you there.”

“Okay,” Brian said.

“You two be careful, you hear?”

“We will,” Brian assured him. “I won’t
let Carly out of my sight.”

“Good. I’ll try to come by the common
tonight to find you all if I can break loose for a bit.” Michael picked up the
three plastic bags and left them with a wave.

Brian and Carly watched him get into his
car and drive away.

“I can’t believe he was in our
apartment,” she said. “If anything had happened to you… What was I
thinking
leaving the door unlocked?”

“Hey.” He brought her into his arms.
“Nothing’s going to happen to me—or you. I won’t let it.”

She rested her head on his shoulder.
“I’ve been so focused on the wedding that I’ve let myself be lulled into a
false sense of security. I guess I thought if I didn’t think about him, he
might go away.”

Brian pressed his lips to her forehead.
“There might be a way to bring this whole thing to a quick end.”

She lifted her head to look at him. A
muscle in his cheek pulsed with tension. “What do you mean?”

“Remember how they wanted to set
something up with you as bait?”

She nodded. “You wouldn’t hear of it.
Have you changed your mind?”

“Not really. But I’m starting to realize
this could go on indefinitely, and that’s no way for either of us to live.”

“So what’re you saying?”

“I might be willing to hear what they
have in mind—if you’re still up for it, that is.”

“I’d be up for anything that would help
catch this guy.”

“Even if it meant putting yourself in
danger? Real danger, Carly.”

She swallowed hard. “I’d do it, if for no
other reason than to get the guy who killed Sam and the others. He all but
ruined our lives, Brian. I want him to pay for what he took from us and so many
other people.”

“Tomorrow we’ll talk to my dad and Agent
Barclay. I’ll need to be 100 percent certain they’ve thought of every possible
scenario before I agree to it.”

“I’ll leave it up to you. You’ll know
better than me if it can be done or not.”

He started the car. “I can’t believe I’m
even considering this.”

“You were right when you said this is no way
for us to live. If we can do something to end it before he hurts someone else,
why wouldn’t we?”

“Because if something went wrong, you
could be raped … or worse. Dangling the woman he loves in front of a psychopath
is not something a man does lightly.”

“Let’s put it out of our minds for
tonight and try to enjoy the concert. Can you do that?”

He snorted. “Um, yeah. Sure. No problem.”