Vile (19 page)

“With all that’s going on, she missed a couple of pills and she just learned she’s pregnant.”

“Oh man.” Chet shook his head. “With Burnett’s house pretty much destroyed, this Spears shit, and the trouble he’s having with the Allen case, no wonder they’re both so stressed out. What’re they going to do?”

Lori shrugged. “We didn’t go into that but I think they’ll get married. They’re crazy in love with each other.”

“So this changed your mind?”

Lori shook her head. “No. But it made me see that life is not something you can plan down to the moment. It happens. You try your best to be prepared for whatever life brings, but the one thing you can’t do as long as you’re breathing is stop it from happening.” She searched Chet’s eyes. Hoped her words conveyed how very much she wanted to be with him and to have his children. “I don’t want to stop
us
from happening. I want to relish every moment of life with you no matter what it brings. We’ll deal with each new development just like we do in the cases we investigate.”

His smile was so sweet, so tender, that tears stung her eyes once more. “You are the most amazing woman, Lori Wells. I want to spend the rest of my life making you the happiest woman in the world.”

She stilled, her heart threatening to burst from her chest. “Did I hear you wrong or did you just propose to me?”

“You just now noticing?” He leaned down and kissed her lips. “I’ve been trying to get you to marry me for weeks.”

She held up her left hand and wiggled her fingers. “Then you better put a ring on it, mister.”

“In that case.” He took her by the hand and led her through the house to the bedroom. He ushered her to the bed. “Sit right there.”

“You know,” she said as she sat on the edge of the bed and he went into the walk-in closet, “I didn’t picture this with you in your boxers.” Her heart was racing so hard she could hardly breathe. Was this really happening? She couldn’t believe it!

Chet returned, his hands behind his back. “Like you said, life happens.” He got down on one knee in front of her.

She gasped, fresh tears brimming on her lashes. “Chet, this is… crazy. Are you sure about this?”

“Lori,” he presented a velvet box and opened it, “will you do me the honor of becoming my wife?”

She stared at the ring. It was a beautiful square cut diamond that was much bigger than she’d ever expected. “You shouldn’t have spent so much money!”

He gave her a pointed look. “Is that a yes?”

She choked out a laugh. “Yes.” She sighed, her lips trembling. “Yes, Chet Harper, I will be your wife.”

He took the ring from the box, slid it onto her finger, and then he kissed her. “I love you.”

She smiled, her lips brushing his. “I love you.”

They climbed onto the bed and made love. His every move was so tender and sweet Lori thought she might die before they came together. The moment was perfect. The ring was perfect.
He
was perfect.

For a long time they lay in each other’s arms, enjoying the incredible afterglow of their lovemaking. When work slipped into her thoughts, Lori felt guilty. She hoped he didn’t feel the new tension growing inside her. She was worried about not only this case but Jess and the chief.

“This is the worst crime scene of my career,” Chet murmured.

She bopped him on the chest. “I was feeling guilty even thinking about work.”

He laughed. She loved that deep sexy sound. “We have twenty or so sets of remains. It’s kind of hard not to think about it.”

“At least it’s not children like all those kids the Man in the Moon murdered.” Murder was murder but when it was a child… Lori shuddered.

Chet hugged her tighter. “Yeah, that was rough.”

Lori thought about the other discovery she and Jess had made. “You know that metal box Jess found?”

“Yeah.” He stroked her shoulder with gentle fingers sending goose bumps over her flesh.

“There was one photo I think Jess recognized. She acted funny after she saw it.”

“Man? Woman?”

“A man. His clothes looked old. Like from the late 70’s or early 80’s.”

“Hmm. She didn’t say anything?”

“I asked her if she thought she knew him. She said she wasn’t sure.”

“That is strange.” He turned over on his side to get face to face with her. “I thought I might have to kick Hayes’s ass today.”

Lori frowned. “What’d he do?” She was kind of irritated with Clint too. He was turning out to be one big jerk.

“He took off on me and Cook. Said he had some things to follow up on.”

“He followed me and Jess, didn’t he?” Lori knew it. What was he trying to prove?

Chet nodded. “I was pissed.”

Lori shook her head. “I don’t understand what he’s doing. I always thought he was such a nice guy. That we were friends.”

“You sure you weren’t more than friends?”

Lori held back for a second, but she was wrong to do so. She wasn’t keeping any secrets from this man. “Definitely just friends. My sister got into some trouble right before she graduated from high school. She and some other kids were at a party and there were drugs. A rap like that on her record would have knocked her out of the running for a scholarship she needed.” She hoped Chet wouldn’t hold this against her. “She was the only one at the party who was eighteen already. If no one else claimed the drugs, she was going down. I talked to Clint to get his legal advice since he has a law degree and he took care of it for me.”

Chet studied her a moment. “Took care of it how?”

Lori chewed her lower lip and considered how to explain. “He called a friend of his and the charges were dropped. I don’t know how. I didn’t ask. He just did it. But,” she went on, “I am relatively certain the method wasn’t legal. I think the drugs went missing. It was all very hush-hush after that.”

“Holy shit. I knew that guy was a sneaky SOB.”

Lori nodded. “I guess so, but he sure did my sister a favor.” She looked to Chet for understanding. “I owe him.”

“Is that why you recommended him for the team?”

“I knew he wanted to move and he’s a good cop.”

Chet grunted. “Maybe.”

“Does that make you think less of me?”

“No. You did what anyone would’ve done. If there was wrongdoing, it was on his part. You just let me know if he ever tries to get anything in return beyond the recommendation you gave.”

“Don’t worry,” she warned, “if he tries getting anything else you won’t have to kick his ass. I will.”

19

11:55 p.m.

Almost midnight. She couldn’t believe she was really here. She damn sure couldn’t believe
he
was here. His man had blindfolded her, tied her up, and then placed her in the trunk of the car. During the ride, she had dreamed of this moment. She didn’t know how long it was before the car finally stopped and the trunk opened. Once she was untied and the blindfold removed, she’d been brought from the garage into the house. Not a house, she decided, a mansion.

Amanda Brownfield stared at the man she had idolized for so very long. She wanted him like nothing or no one she had ever wanted before. The pictures hadn’t done him justice. He was so damned hot! She couldn’t believe he wanted to meet her in person. To have her in his home. Her whole body burned with anticipation.

When he only stared back at her without saying a word, she moistened her lips and inclined her head so that her hair fell across her bare shoulder. She’d picked this strapless dress just for him. “I did everything like you asked.”

“Your hair.” He scrutinized her more closely with those piercing blues eyes.

She dared to move a little closer. A thrill shivered through her, made her wet. She wanted him to touch her. “I made it lighter just like you wanted.”

“It’s not right.”

Her hopes of pleasing him deflated. By God, she’d bleached her hair as light as she could without frying the ends. It was almost right. Her lips puckered in petulance. Was he no different from every other man? Looking for something wrong with her. “What’s wrong with my hair?”

He tangled his fingers in the long strands and pulled her even closer. “Hers is lighter.”

She bit back a whimper of need as he twisted her hair more tightly around his fingers. If he didn’t stop she was going to come standing right here. “I can fix it,” she muttered breathlessly. She would do anything he asked… anything at all. She had been wrong to think he was like other men. There was no one else like him.

“Too late.”

He yanked her head back. She gasped.

“You failed me,” he whispered against her throat.

She leaned her body into his. “Then I guess you’ll have to punish me.”

He licked the pulse at the base of her throat. “Are you quite certain about that?”

She reached between their bodies and squeezed the bulge in his pants. “Yes.” Her breath came in shallow puffs now. “I’m more than ready.”

“You’ll suffer pain as you have never suffered before.”

She shivered. “Show me.”

He led her into the front hall of his big ass mansion and then to the kitchen. He moved a cabinet with the press of a button. A hidden staircase appeared before them.

Her heart started to race in anticipation. “That’s cool as hell. You got any other tricks to show me.”

“You’ll see.” He gestured for her to go ahead of him. She moved down the stairs, her thighs quivering with building excitement. Finally, she was going to have him. She didn’t care how much it hurt. She wanted Eric Spears deep inside her.

At the bottom of the stairs, she waited until the lights came on. Her eyes widened in amazement. The basement was gigantic. Everything was stainless steel, tile, and glass. The drains in the tile floor reminded her of the morgue when she’d gone with her mother to see her daddy’s body. Stainless steel tables and tall glass boxes big enough to hold a person were arranged in the space. Just two tables but there were six of those strange boxes that looked kind of like shower enclosures. The kind that cost a lot of money. Two of the glass boxes were pitch black as if the intense fluorescent lights overhead couldn’t penetrate to the interior.

She walked over to the sleek black glass and touched it. The darkness vanished and inside the box was a woman. She was asleep or dead. And naked. Her body was covered with the evidence of
his
attention. Amanda’s nipples hardened just looking at the bruises and the cuts. The woman’s chest rose with a shuddering breath. Not dead. The idea of sharing his attention tonight made Amanda a little jealous.

Moving to the next box, she touched it. The light came on and another woman was curled in the fetal position. She was naked too. Eric had played with her as well.

Neither was as pretty as Amanda. She was ready for her turn. The lights in the two boxes faded like a computer’s screen saver, making the space beyond the glass go black again.

“Nice.” She liked that the two in their glass cages had dark hair. He hadn’t asked either of them to lighten their hair. That was probably because they were going to die. They weren’t special like Amanda. He had told her that he had special plans for her.

“Take off the dress.”

She reached behind her and lowered the zipper. Taking her time, she let the thin fabric slide down her body then she kicked it aside. She hadn’t worn panties or a bra. Actually, she hadn’t worn a bra since she was sixteen. She hated the damned things. No need. Her tits were awesome. High and firm. Even having a kid hadn’t made ‘em sag. Men always liked her tits.

Eric took a long look at her body before walking over to one of his shiny tables. “Lie down here.”

She was so aroused she felt dizzy as she climbed onto the table and laid back. The steel was cold beneath her hot skin. Wouldn’t take her long to warm it up, she was on fire. She purposely parted her thighs so he could see all she had to offer.

He strapped her to the table with her hands above her head and her legs spread a little wider. Then he rolled a smaller table next to her. He picked up something shiny from the tray of tools there.

“Do you know what this is?” He held it out for her to see.

“A scalpel.”

He nodded as he moved closer and peered down at her.

She could hardly breathe she wanted him so bad. He teased her with the instrument, sliding it down her torso.

“This is going to be very painful,” he promised.

She closed her eyes and waited for the sweet agony. “I’m ready.”

The first burn of the blade made her come. She screamed with the delicious agony of it.

Then she begged for more.

20

Brownfield Farm, Scottsboro

Friday, September 3, 11:40 a.m.

Forty-one sets of remains
. Only six weren’t human. It wasn’t a record but it was right up there in the top ten. They were still assessing cause of death for most.

The road that accessed the farm had been closed on both sides of the property. Between the deputies and the Bureau, a decent perimeter had been made around the primary crime scene—the clearing around the house. The entire twenty acres was considered a secondary scene. There could be bodies anywhere in the woods and pastures.

“I’ve never seen anything like this,” Corlew muttered.

Since Jess hadn’t been able to talk to him last night, he’d come to Scottsboro this morning. Until now, they hadn’t had a moment to themselves.

Sylvia was assisting the Jackson County coroner. The Bureau had put in a request for a forensic anthropologist to help with the identifications. Wallets had been buried with most of the remains, but not all. Identifying those victims would be far more complicated and well beyond Jess’s pay grade. Even the remains with IDs would need confirmation. Closing this case would be a massive undertaking. It would take weeks if not months.

“Some go back decades.” The ominous feeling that had been simmering deep inside her was edging closer to the surface. “We have victims whose driver’s license expired in the 90s and since, but plenty more are from the 80s and earlier.”

“You think it was the old woman. The victim found in the house?”

“Margaret?” Jess shrugged. “Maybe. Or maybe it was her father. According to a family friend, Margaret’s father went to great lengths to keep men away from his daughter. I suppose Amanda’s father could have been involved. He may even be one of the victims.”