WATCHING (42 page)

Chapter
53

****
*

Hell knocked once, inexplicably nervous. He felt more scared at that moment than he ever had been as a tall, gangly teenager.

He checked his watch one more time; to be certain he was neither too early nor too late. Seven o
’
clock, and it was five minutes before. Perfect.

He knocked again. No answer; he knocked louder. Hell knew both Dr. Bellows and Georgia should be inside. He tried calling through the door as he knocked one more time.

He pulled his cell free, hitting speed dial number six, then listening as it went straight to her voice mail. He tried Dr. Bellows
’
number next as he walked around to the back door, thankful the number was still programmed in from South Dakota.

Hell heard a cell ring inside. Every instinct he
’
d developed in fifteen years as an investigator had him reaching for the Sig Saur he always wore. His free hand dropped to the knob.

It twisted too easily.

Georgia would never leave her door unlocked, even when expecting company. They
’
d seen too many cases where children were taken, where women were victimized in their own homes, for Georgia to not lock the back door.

He pushed the door open.
“
Georgia?
”

The townhouse was quiet
—
too quiet. It took seconds for him to move through the utility
room, past
the living room, and into the kitchen. There was no sign of anyone
—
Georgia, her son, or Dr. Bellows. That left only the upstairs and the dining room.

Hell
’
s stomach seized when he saw a pair of small, feminine legs visible on the cream carpet between the dining room table and front hallway. Training kicked in and he rounded the table, dropping to one knee with his back to the wooden cabinets on which Georgia had arranged pictures of her son and various mementos.

He felt a guilty relief that the woman wasn
’
t Georgia, then fear for both women. And Matthew, where the hell was Matthew?

Dr. Bellows was alive, but her pulse was weak and thready. There was a sizeable, and growing, amount of blood surrounding her head.

He called for an ambulance and back-up, keeping his voice low. Weapon ready, he did a quick visual search of the upstairs, with its four bedrooms and bathroom. There was no sign of Georgia or the boy.

He returned to Dr. Bellows, checking her pulse once again. A movement caught his attention and had him jerking toward the cabinet less than a yard from where the doctor had fallen.

A wooden door slowly pushed open—from the inside. Hell found himself staring into the terrified brown eyes of Georgia
’
s little boy.

“
Matthew, Mattie. Thank God.
”
Hell knelt in front of the child. The little arms reached for Hell and he scooped him up with his free hand. Matthew hadn
’
t made a sound. His arms wrapped around Hell
’
s neck, and he sniffled.

“
Matthew, are you hurt? Do you have any owies?
”
He used the hand not clutching his gun to ruffle the blonde curls.

“
Mommy.
”
Was all Matthew said.

“
Matthew, where is Mommy?
”
Who would take Georgia and leave her son? What the hell had happened? The dining room showed subtle signs of a struggle, a vase on the floor, there was a hole in the drywall on the wall closest to the door. 

“
The bad giant took Mommy. After he hitted my Aunt Jules.
”
Matthew tried to peek at the woman on the floor, but Hell wouldn
’
t let him.
“
Is Aunt Jules deaded, too? Like my daddy and Uncle Rick? I don
’
t want her to be deaded, Mr. Giant.
”

“
No, pal, but she is hurt. We
’
re going to stay right here with her until the policemen get here, ok? We don
’
t want Aunt Jules to wake up and be afraid, do we?
”

“
Unh-uh.
”
He sniffed again.
“
Want Mommy.
”

“
I know. Can you tell me about the man who hurt Aunt Jules?
”
Hell rocked him, keeping Matthew
’
s head pressed to his chest. Matthew didn
’
t need to see his aunt injured on the floor.

Hell had seen enough blunt-force injuries to be able to identify where someone had been struck with a hand-gun. Thank God the bastard hadn
’
t hurt Matthew.

“
Big, Mr. Giant. Big, like you. But fat.
”

“
What color hair did this bad giant have?
”
Did Georgia
’
s son ev
en know his colors yet? He was
only four, his fifth birthday still a week away. Hell didn
’
t know.
“
Was it brown like Mommy
’
s? Or black like Uncle Malachi
’
s?
”

“
Yellow.
”
Matthew patted his own head.
“
Like Mattie
’
s. He talked funny.
”

“
Like how? Can you remember the words he used?
”
Hell wasn
’
t worried about leading the witness, or compromising the court case, or anything like that. He wanted information, and like it or not, the only one with that information was a four-year-old.

The little boy lay his head on Hell
’
s chest, closed his eyes. Hell strained to hear the mumbled words.
“
The bad giant said
‘
He didn
’
t mean it. And not lie-ack that.
”

Lie-ack? It took Hell a moment to figure that the child meant
like
. Like said with a southern accent.
“
Who did he say that to?
”

“
Aunt Jules.
”

“
Where were you?
”
Hell looked down at the woman. The bleeding was slowing, thank God. But she
’
d still not opened her eyes. He checked her pulse. It was faint, but had steadied since his last check. That was good.

“
Playing agent. In there.
”
He pointed at the cabinet.
“
Then the bad man comed.
”

He started crying again, small sniffles interspersed with larger sobs. Hell rocked and soothed.
“
Shh. It
’
ll be ok, Matthew. The bad man
’
s gone, now. I promise.
”

“
Aunt Jules tried to hitted the bad giant with the flower thing. He-he-he wanted Aunt Jules to go wid him. Copy. But out Dennis.
”

That made little sense to Hell.
“
What else happened? Where was Mommy?
”

“
Bad man grabbed Aunt Jules here.
”
A small hand patted Hell
’
s neck as the sound of sirens wailed outside the building.
“
Then he pushed. Said
‘
Mouse. Sorry.
’
Mommy runs, saying
‘
Mattie, are you ok?
’
But it wasn
’
t Mattie who made the noise. It was Aunt Jules when the bad man hitted her.
”

“
What happened next, pal?
”

“
He hitted Aunt Jules wid his gun. Then Mommy gone and Aunt Jules won
’
t waked up.
I hid. I don
’
t want her to be deaded.
I want Mommy.
”

“
I know; I
’
ll find Mommy, Mattie. You did real good.
”

***

Five minutes later Hell was explaining the situation to local law enforcement. An SUV pulled up and Agents Lorcan and McLaughlin, as well as Georgia
’
s father climbed out.

“
Hellbrook!
”
Dennis ran across the lot, hands
reaching
for the child Hell still held.
“
Dammit, where
’
s my daughter?
”

“
Grandpa!
”
Matthew leapt from Hell
’
s arms into his grandfather
’
s, fresh sobs and tears hitting him.
“
The bad giant took Mommy and hurted Aunt Jules real bad!
”

Hell launched into what he knew, ending on a frustrated note.
“
Until
—
or if
—Dr.
Bellows regains consciousness and gives us more, we have nothing.
”

Lorcan nodded toward the crew leading a stretcher out Georgia
’
s front door.
“
Her condition?
”

“
Blunt force trauma to the temporal bone. Matthew said the man grabbed her throat then hit her with a hand-gun.
”

“
Overkill?
”
Lorcan asked.

Hell
’
s eyes were trained on the stretcher as it rolled past. The M.E. was still unconscious. It struck Hell
again
how small she was, how vulnerable. He wondered, sick, if they
’
d find Georgia in a similar position. If they found her at all.

“
I don
’
t know. From what I can piece together, Bellows kept herself between him and the cabinet Matthew was playing in. Georgia wasn
’
t in the room. I
’
m thinking she was upstairs and came down the back stairs and through the utility room.
”
Hell pictured it in his mind. Who or what had set off the UNSUB? Had he been there to rob or rape? Was it something more personal? Matthew said he
’
d wanted Dr. Bellows to go with him, so why had he taken Georgia?

“
So he wanted Georgia and Julia was collateral?
”
Dennis asked.

“
That
’
s how I saw it,
”
Hell said.
“
But something Matthew said makes me think he recognized, or knew
both
women.
”

Dennis pulled his cell from his pocket. Hell listened as he ordered Agent Len to start pulling the CCU
’
s cases for the past twelve months. Fifteen minutes later Hell, McLaughlin
,
and Lorcan were racing into the FBI building.

***

They knew the statistics, women who went missing were more likely to be raped, abused, and then killed immediately in these types of situations.
“
We need to go through all of her cases for the last year
.
”

“
And yours. She
’
s been on your team for half that time. Chances are good it
’
ll be your case, as well. Probably most likely,
”
McLaughlin said.

“
Guy
could have a grudge, it wouldn
’
t be the first time I
’
ve seen it. Could also be an ex-boyfriend. The kid said the guy knew he was in the condo. So the
guy
had to know enough about your girl to know the kid lived there. So he probably watched her. Or knew her,
”
Lorcan said.
“
But if it was someone she knew well, wouldn
’
t the kid have recognized him
?
”

“
Georgia hasn
’
t dated anyone in years, according to Ana. Not since the fiancé died,
”
McLaughlin said.

“
Wrong. I spent the night with her last night,
”
Hell said.
“
It
’
s possible the bastard has a grudge against me
.
”

“
But you two don
’
t exactly get along. Anyone who knew either of you would know that,
”
McLaughlin said, a few steps behind Hellbrook as they ran into the FBI building. Dennis had taken Matthew to the hospital for a checkup then would be joining them.
“
That changed
?
”

“
Yes, it has
.
”

“
When
?
”

“
This last week, this case
.
”

“
So if it was a grudge against you
—
who would know you and Dennis finally figured things out
?
”
McLaughlin demanded.

“
Those involved with this most recent case
.
”

“
Maybe you need to fill us in, step-by-step
.
”
Lorcan pushed the button for the elevator to the sixth floor.

“
We got the
UNSUB
.
”

“
Still, how large of a role did Dennis play
?
”
McLaughlin asked.

“
A larger one than usual. She tackled the
guy
.
”
Hell said,
“
We were looking for a UNSUB whose victimology focused on brunettes. Small build
.
”

“
Small brunettes. You certain you got the right UNSUB
?
”
McLaughlin asked.

“
Yes. More than one hundred percent it was the guy
.
”

“
Half your team was injured, right
?
”
McLaughlin
’
s eyes narrowed.

“
Yes. Compton, Sparks, and Georgia
.
”

“
So this
guy
what? Went from small brunette females to federal agents within the span of a week
?
”
Lorcan asked.
“
Big jump
.
”

“
Byrum fit the profile, and confessed. Case is airtight against him. And we had a family member as witness. It
’
s not him. Plus he was a small man with darker hair and eyes. Georgia
’
s son insisted this bastard had yellow hair like his. Not him
.
”

“
But-
”
Lorcan started.

“
It wasn
’
t him
.
”
Hell
’
s eyes scanned the bullpen, taking stock of the agents still there. Carrie sat at her desk, Dan at her side. Half of Brockman
’
s team were present, as were
Alessandra
Brockman and Paige Daviess. Stephenson
’
s Agent Hartlett was also present. Hell cupped his hands around his mouth and shouted.
“
Everybody listen up!
”

Everyone jerked to face him. Dan stepped closer.
“
Hell? What
’
s the matter? Wh
ose
blood
?
”

“
Dr. Georgia Dennis was taken from her home about an hour ago,
”
McLaughlin said.
“
Dr. Bellows was attacked. We need to give this everything we
’
ve got to find Dr. Dennis!
”

“
Is Dr. Jules going to be ok?
”
Carrie asked, worry on her pretty face.

“
We think,
”
Hell told the gathering agents.
“
She
’
s at the hospital now. But now our focus is finding Georgia
.
”

“
What about Matthew
?
”
Dan asked.

“
Edward Dennis has his grandson.
He
was unhurt,
”
McLaughlin said.
“
But Matthew saw the UNSUB. We
’
re trying to piece together what he knows. See if we can identify this guy and quick
.
”

“
We have any idea of a trigger
?
”
Dan asked. Hell could see the older man was worried, too. They all were.

“
No
.
”
Hell pulled the whiteboard the center of the bullpen and grabbed a marker.
“
We have Matthew
’
s statement to go by until Dr. Bellows
’
can give us more. Locals are canvassing the neighborhood. See if we can get anything
.
”

He started writing what he knew on the board.
“
Matthew Dennis, he
’
s four, nearly five. He saw a man at least my height. He said fat, as well. He also said the man used the word
like
but with a southern accent
.
”

“
Hell, we need you to tell us what you saw
.
”
Dan had his own notebook in his hand.
“
In Georgia
’
s home
.
”

“
The door was unlocked. Dr. Bellows was lying on the dining room floor, close to the hall leading to front entrance. She
’
d been struck with a blunt object. Probably a handgun. There were some signs of a struggle. A dent approximately five feet from the floor on one wall. Probably point of impact for Dr. Bellows
’
head
.
”

“
So Dr. Bellows fought back
?
”
Hartlett asked.
“
She
’
s the medical examiner, right
?
”

“
Yes. That
’
s her,
”
Hell said.
“
She
’
s also a fully-trained federal agent. And she
’
s smart. She wouldn
’
t have fought unless she thought it was necessary. She was lying in front of a small cabinet where Georgia
’
s son had been playing
.
”

“
You think he was after Matthew
?
”
Dan asked.

“
No. Mattie said he wanted Dr. Bellows to go with him first. I think Matthew said
copy
. Then he threatened Georgia to go quietly or he
’
d take her son. He was after the women to begin with
.
”

“
Both of them
?
”
Agent Daviess asked.
“
That could narrow down potential UNSUBs, if they
both
knew him
.
”

“
From what I can piece together, he knew them both, yes
.
”
Hell didn
’
t know what made him think that, but something Matthew had said was tickling the back of his mind.

“
So either they had a common enemy from their past, or it was someone from this most recent case,
”
Dan said.

“
What makes you say that
?
”
McLaughlin asked.
“
Dr. Bellows and Dr. Dennis aren
’
t the type of women to make enemies easily. They
’
re both on the quiet side, both tend to stay to the background in large groups, mostly out of preference. These are also highly compassionate women. They help others, not harm them. I can
’
t see a common enemy
.
”

“
Dr. Bellows had a theory,
”
Hell began.
“
She believed there might have been a second UNSUB in South Dakota
.
”

“
It didn
’
t profile that way,
”
Dan said.

“
No. But the x-rays showed that the man who hit Compton was as tall as I was
.
”
Hell looked at the one other person who was present in those woods. Carrie just looked at him.
“
Dr. Bellows and Dr. Brockman thought it may be someone with a grudge against the CCU
.
”

“
Someone who also had a grudge against Dr. Bellows
?
”
Agent Daviess asked.
“
Who would that be
?
”

“
Ana and Malachi are in South Dakota trying to answer that very question,
”
McLaughlin said.

“
Was it possible this guy followed you back
?
”
Lorcan asked.

“
It
’
s possible we took him with us in the first place
.
”
Hell
’
s realization came slowly.
It was the only thing that fit.
“
The only ones in the woods that day were
our
people
.
”

“
The only ones Dr. Bellows would have interacted with were our people,
”
Dan said, closing his notebook.
“
So what all can we lay at this guy
’
s feet? And who was there each time
?
”

“
My tires were slashed
.
”
Hell made another column on the board.
“
Stanton, Handers, Stephenson, and four locals. Left Georgia and I stranded in the woods
.
”

“
Josh attacked,
”
Dan said. Both he and Hell turned to Carrie.
“
Then Carrie. And we were all in the woods that day, with the exception of K.D
.
”

“
Carrie
.
”
Hell knelt in front of his youngest agent.
“
I need to know everything from the moment you and Josh separated in the woods
.
”