Web of Justice (22 page)

“And this is all out of the goodness of your heart?” Jake asked.

“Yes. That and perhaps for future consideration.”

Jake rolled his eyes and a grim smile appeared on his lips. With Lisa, there was always a catch. As much as he disliked her most of the time, he didn’t want to see her get into a potentially dangerous situation.

“Izzy Wilde is armed,” Jake said. “And you know very well we aren’t allowed to carry weapons. What can we do against an armed man? You need to let the police handle it.”

There was silence for a moment. Finally, Lisa said, “You can call the police after I’m done with the interview, and you’ll still get the credit.”

Jake knew Lisa wouldn’t cooperate unless she got a promise from him not to call the police. If he agreed, at least they would have something to go on. Otherwise, she would shut them and the police out completely. He had no choice. “Fine,” he said. “You have a deal. How’ll I know when you’re done?”

“I have two phones. Wilde will be calling me on my main line to tell me where to meet him. In case something goes wrong, I’ll leave this phone on and you can listen in.”

“Where are you?” Annie asked. “Is this going down right now?”

“I’m on Main Street heading north,” Lisa said. “I’m on my way to interview him now.”

“Is Don with you?”

“I’m alone. In my own vehicle. Wilde doesn’t want the interview on camera.”

The faint sound of a ringing phone came through the speaker.

“That’s him calling now,” Lisa said, her voice breathless again. “Don’t say anything.”

Jake and Annie leaned in and strained to hear the conversation.

“This is Lisa,” they heard her say.

Lisa must be holding her two cell phones together. Jake glared at his phone as Izzy Wilde’s voice came low and clear over the line. “Are you heading north?”

“Yes, I’m on Main,” Lisa said.

“And you’re alone?”

“Yes.”

“Remember, I’ll be watching you. If you double-cross me, it won’t end well for you or anyone else who gets involved.”

“I’m alone,” Lisa repeated. “I give you my word. We have to trust each other, remember?”

“I remember. And you’re sure nobody’s following you?”

“I’ve been in this business a long time, and I’d know if I was being followed. Besides, no one else knows about our meeting.”

That appeared to satisfy Wilde, and he spoke again. “What’re you driving?”

“A silver Toyota Corolla.”

“Then keep driving. Let me know when you get to Magnetic Drive. It’s in the old industrial area.”

There was silence for a few minutes, and the Lincolns waited quietly lest any words spoken carried through to Izzy’s ear and alerted him.

Finally, Lisa spoke. “I’m coming up to Magnetic Drive now.”

“Turn left when you do, then drive slow and keep to the right.”

“I’m turning left.” Lisa’s voice quivered with excitement now.

“Pull in behind unit six forty-eight, then park and wait for me. You can hang up now.”

In a moment, Lisa’s whispered voice came over the line. “Jake, are you there?”

“I’m here.”

“Did you get the address?”

“Yes. I’m familiar with the area.”

“It’s an old building. The whole area looks deserted. Garbage all over the place. A couple of rusty cars. It’s eerie.”

Jake glanced at Annie as she leaned in toward the phone and said, “Lisa, you still have a chance to get out of there before it’s too late.”

“I’ll be okay,” Lisa said. “I know what I’m doing. And if anything goes awry, I have a canister of pepper spray in my bag.”

Annie’s voice took on an uncharacteristic tone of concern for Lisa Krunk. “Please be careful. Izzy Wilde is an unstable and dangerous man.”

“I can take care of myself.”

They waited in silence a few minutes and then Lisa whispered, “He’s coming now. I have to hide the phone in my handbag. Hopefully, you’ll still be able to make out what’s being said. I’ll let you know when I’m finished and clear.”

The distinct sound of a car door opening came over the phone, then a voice said, “Follow me.”

“Where’re we going?” It was Lisa speaking.

“You’ll see.” There was silence, then Izzy spoke again. “Give me your handbag.”

“It’s just my personal stuff.”

A muffled voice was covered by a rustling sound. Then Izzy said, “Why do you have two phones?”

“I want to record our conversation.”

Izzy spoke in a rough voice. “You don’t need to record it. You can write it down or memorize it.”

Jake and Annie looked at each other in alarm as the line went dead. The call had been terminated.

Jake picked up his phone, hung up, and poised his finger over the redial button. “Should we call her back?”

Annie frowned and pursed her lips. “I don’t think so,” she said at last. “We don’t want to arouse suspicion. That stupid woman’s in enough danger as it is.”

Jake dropped his cell phone into his pocket. He stood and paced a moment, considering the situation. Finally, he stopped and turned to face Annie. “I think we should call Hank.”

Annie shrugged. “You promised Lisa you wouldn’t involve the police until she let you know.”

“But if something goes wrong, I wouldn’t want to feel we’re responsible.”

“We’re not responsible,” Annie said. “Lisa’s a big girl. She’s nutty, but it’s her decision.”

“Then we’ll give it half an hour,” Jake said. “Whether or not Lisa’s in danger, we don’t want Izzy Wilde to get away again. There’s no guarantee he’ll stick around after she leaves. I don’t think he’s that dumb. By giving him the chance to escape, she’s putting the lives of others at danger.”

Annie pressed her lips together in a straight line, a light frown on her face. “Lisa has put us in a tough situation,” she said. “If we call the police and they surround the place, he might hold her hostage. And if he feels she’s trying to double-cross him, he won’t be in a good mood.”

Jake considered that a moment. “I’m sure Hank knows how to handle it, and they’re not gonna go in there guns a-blazing. The last thing he’ll want is a hostage situation. They could be ready to go in as soon as Lisa comes out. That way nobody gets hurt, and Wilde would be trapped.”

Annie nodded and looked at her watch. “We’ll wait for half an hour. If we haven’t heard back from Lisa by then, we’ll call Hank and let him take care of it.”

Chapter 36

Friday, 9:22 a.m.

LISA KRUNK clutched her handbag in one arm as Izzy Wilde held the other, guiding her across the pitted asphalt.

Her pepper spray lay on the ground where he’d flung it in disgust after searching her bag. The two cell phones she had depended on were helplessly out of reach, tucked safely in Izzy’s side pocket.

She had only her wits to get her through this.

She clenched her teeth to keep them from chattering, unsure why she was so nervous. She’d been in the presence of killers before, and as long as she hadn’t given them any reason to turn on her, she’d always managed to come out without harm.

If Jake kept their agreement about not calling the police, and Izzy Wilde didn’t smell a double-cross, she’d be fine.

But the thing that bothered Lisa the most was that unit 648 where she had met Izzy was well behind them now. They’d crossed the adjoining properties and were now three or four buildings away from the initial meeting place. If Jake called the police eventually, she hoped they could find Wilde before he got clean away.

As much as she wanted this interview, letting Wilde escape after it was over was outside of even her moral compass. And without a cell phone, it could be a problem.

She turned her head toward her escort and demanded, “Where’re you taking me?”

Without looking her way, he nodded his head toward a nearby building. It was run-down like the rest of the units on this forgotten street. Businesses had moved lock, stock and barrel to the more prosperous west side of town, where commerce was growing and land was cheap. One day, this area would be plowed under and rebuilt as the latest and greatest in family living. But for now, it was isolated and unwanted, the temporary hideout of a fugitive.

A bright red BMW was parked diagonally in the alley beside the unit, its shiny exterior in sharp contrast to the dirty concrete-and-steel buildings on either side.

The rear door of the unit they now veered toward hung open. A pair of windows high above were darkened by aging and faded newspaper.

“Inside,” Izzy said, releasing her arm and prodding her through the open doorway.

Lisa stepped into the dim room and squinted, aided only by a stingy amount of sun that seeped around the newspaper covering the windows or through cracks in the walls of the outdated building.

As her eyes became accustomed to the feeble light, she could make out a small table at one side of the vast room. Hard-backed chairs sat one on either side of the table, an unlit candle in the middle.

Izzy pointed to one of the chairs. “Sit there.”

Lisa sat down, laid her handbag in her lap, and watched as he sat in the other chair and leaned forward, his arms on his knees, and studied her.

“You’re very brave,” he said at last, then chuckled. “Either that, or very stupid.”

“You have no reason to hurt me,” she said.

He shrugged. “Maybe not.”

She didn’t like the sound of that, but she fought her misgivings. “Do you mind if I take notes?”

He shook his head. “Go ahead.”

Lisa pulled a small notepad and pen from her handbag, poised the pen, and cleared her throat.

He interrupted her train of thought by standing abruptly. He reached into his pocket and removed her cell phones. “It’s just a precaution,” he said, dropping them onto the floor.

She gasped as he brought a heel down hard, destroying a cell phone. He pounded repeatedly with first one foot, then the other, until both phones were well beyond use.

“I’m sure you can afford another one,” he said, taking a seat. He smiled. “Now, where were we?”

She raised her eyes to his and remained silent.

He waved a hand toward the ruined phones. “I know those things have some kind of tracer in them. I can’t have anyone finding you if they come looking.”

She glanced toward the open door on the other side of her killer, then trained her eyes back toward his and nodded. “I understand.”

He smiled again, this time showing yellow teeth, unbrushed and unattractive. “What I meant to say was, I can’t have them finding
me
. You’re free to go any time you want.”

Lisa gave him an uncertain nod. “Thank you.” She glanced around the room again. “Is this where you’ve been staying?”

He laughed. “This spot’s just for the occasion. I got lots of other places I can go.”

Lisa hesitated, then asked, “Mr. Wilde, tell me about your desire to kill women. What drives you?”

An unknown glint came into his faraway eyes, the smile now gone from his face. “It’s the evil,” he said. “It keeps coming back.”

Lisa scribbled in her pad. “Evil? What kind of evil?”

He shrugged. “It’s all around me sometimes, and there’s only one way to get rid of it.”

“And how do you get rid of it?”

“Kill it.”

Lisa hesitated. She needed to be careful not to set him off. “Like you killed Hannah Quinn?”

He raised his voice, causing her to shrink back. “Just like Hannah Quinn.”

Lisa took a breath. “Why now, after all these years since …”

Izzy laughed hard, the laughter dying away to a snort as his face twisted into a sneer. “Since my mother died? You can say it.” His voice sharpened. “Because she’s back. That’s why. I fought it for many years. Fought the memory of what she did to us.” He leaned in, his voice becoming shriller. “She destroyed our family. Drove away my father. Then Carter and me. All because of …” His eyes took on a pained look. He breathed long and deep, then sat back and remained silent, glaring at her.

A moment later, he leaped to his feet, cleared his throat, and crossed his arms. He scowled down at her. “Tell me about my fans,” he said.

Lisa wanted to know more about his mother, about his father and brother, and what drove him to kill. But he was getting into a frenzy, and she wanted him to calm down. She thought hard, searching her mind for the right thing to say—what he wanted to hear.

She looked up into his darkening face. “Your fans,” she said, still devising a line she could feed him. “I get phone calls and emails. They want to know more about you. They appreciate what you’re doing, and that’s why I’m here.” She paused and took a breath, waiting for his response.

Without moving his eyes from her face, he took a step back and sat on the edge of the chair. A faint smile appeared on his lips, then a grin that morphed into a smirk as he continued to leer at her. “You’re lying,” he said in a sharp voice. “I have no fans.” He leaned forward, his eyes widening, then he bared his teeth and screamed, “I have no fans. You’re a liar? A filthy liar. Just like my mother.”

Every muscle in Lisa’s body tensed. This was getting out of control. She glanced toward the door again, calculating her odds of escape should his verbal barrage turn physical. Her odds didn’t look good.

“I’m sorry,” she said, biting her lip. “Please, forgive me.”

He stood to his feet and leaned forward, gritting his teeth. “That’s what she said.” He paced in a small circle. “That’s what she always said.” He stopped in front of her and leaned over, his face inches from hers. His breath was foul, and a rasping sound came from his throat as he breathed rapidly. She shrank back into the chair as he screamed, “Sorry don’t do it no more.”

Lisa began to panic, her eyes darting back and forth as she looked for a way of escape. There was none. He had her boxed in, too close for her to move. She could only glare into his fiery eyes, remain silent, and pray he’d calm down.

“The police know I’m here,” she said.

“Then why ain’t they coming to rescue you?”

She had no answer.

Izzy grabbed her arm and wrenched her to her feet. “Why’d you do this? Why’d you do this to Father? And to Carter? And to me?”