Cold Truth

28

“What are we looking for?” Cass asked the chief, who’d called her back to Wainwright’s rented house.

“We’re looking for anyplace he might have stashed his souvenirs.”

“Do we know for certain he kept them?”

“We know none of our victims’ wallets have ever been found. I spoke with the profiler, Dr. McCall, late this afternoon. She feels very strongly that he would keep them all in one place, and he’d keep them close to him. We found the car he’s been driving, and we have some techs going over it, but nothing so far. The house is our second choice.”

“If it’s here, we’ll find it.”

“Give me a call when you do. I’m heading over to Lilly Carson’s. I need to assure her mother we’re doing all we can to find her daughter. Then we’re gearing up for a press conference just in time for the eleven o’clock news. I’m releasing the name, the sketch, everything we have on him. I want him to know for certain that we’re breathing down his neck. I want this bastard.”

She frowned. “What do you think the chances are he’s left town?”

“It’s possible, but somehow, I’m thinking he hasn’t. We found his car twenty minutes ago, there’s no train service through town, and the bus only runs three times each day.”

“He easily could have stolen a car, or even a boat.”

“Yes, he could have. No reports of that yet, but then again, he could take a car from any street. Most of the summer people park their cars when they get here, then walk to the beach or to town. It might take a while to notice if your car isn’t where you left it. As for boats, we always have one or two of those missing. We have two now, as a matter of fact. I have an officer looking into that.”

“Chief,” one of the uniforms called from the doorway. “I think we have something.”

Cass followed Chief Denver into the house and up the steps to the second floor. A portion of the wall behind the bed had been pried free, and a large trunk had been dragged into the middle of the floor.

“Open it,” Denver instructed.

“Want me to shoot it open?” an officer from Tilden asked.

“No, I don’t want you to shoot it, you might destroy evidence. Try something else.”

“I got a tire iron in the trunk of my car,” someone offered. “Maybe we can pry it open.”

“Give it a try, and if it doesn’t open, take it back to the department and see what tools we have that might get that lock off.” Chief Denver looked at his watch. “I have to get over to the Carsons’. I’m already late.”

Cass stepped out of the room and pressed against the wall as the chief passed by on his way to the steps.

“If nothing else, maybe we’ll be able to give someone closure,” she said to Rick, who stood across from her on the narrow second-floor landing. “Think of what might be in there. For parents, or husbands, or siblings of women who disappeared over the years; maybe we’ll finally be able to at least let them know they can stop wondering.”

“Let’s not get our hopes up. For all we know, the trunk holds his old baseball cards and a few Mad magazines.”

Her cell phone rang and she looked at the incoming number.

“Khaliyah, hi,” she said. “What? I can’t hear you. The reception is poor here. Hold on… let me try downstairs…”

She ran down the steps.

“Is that better?” She paused, but still could not understand what was being said. “Let me go outside…”

She went through the front door and onto the lawn, where thin patches of grass stubbornly grew in the sand.

“Much better,” the voice on the phone told her. It was not Khaliyah’s. “Now, step out a little more. There, that’s good. I want to see you.”

“Who is this?”

“Oh, Detective Burke, I think you can figure it out.”

“Where are you?”

“Closer than you think. Now, listen carefully. I have Lilly Carson. She’s alive, but whether she stays that way, well, now, that’s going to depend on you.”

“What do you want me to do?”

“I want you to turn and walk to the end of the driveway… right now. Don’t look at anyone, don’t give a sign to anyone. I can see you. One wrong move, and I’m out of here. And Lilly Carson will die.”

She did as she was told.

“There, that’s a good girl. Now walk down the street to your right, all the way down to the very end. Good, good. See the red sedan on the opposite side? Wave to the driver, Cass.”

She did. He waved back.

“Now, I want you to cross the street. Stay in the shadows there, we don’t want anyone to see you. Now walk straight to the passenger’s side.”

He leaned over and opened the door.

“First thing, take the gun from your waistband and drop it right there on the ground,” he demanded. “Then you can toss out that little number you have strapped to your ankle.”

“How do you know I have-” she started, and he laughed.

“Because all you chick cops think it’s cool to strap a little handgun to your leg.”

He chuckled as she pulled her jeans up to her knee and exposed the gun.

“You’re all so predictable.” He shook his head. “Take it off and drop it.”

“Someone will find it.”

“Well, hopefully it won’t be some little kid, right?” He gestured for her to get into the car. “Of course, if that little kid should turn out to be one of my nephews, maybe that wouldn’t be so bad.”

She got onto the passenger seat.

“Close the door.”

She did.

“Now, I’m going to remind you that a young woman’s life is at stake here, so don’t try to grab the wheel or yell out the window or do anything stupid… which reminds me, put the cell phone right there in one of the cup holders, where I can see it.”

She popped the phone into the nearest cup holder and he immediately picked it up and tossed it out the window.

“Any other weapons I need to know about?”

“No. Just the two.”

“That’s what I figured. I’ve never known a woman who packed more than two.” He smiled with self-satisfaction.

The twenty-two felt as if it had begun to glow in the small of her back. She was so conscious of it, for a moment she thought surely he could see it.

“Where’s Lilly?” she asked, her heart pounding with anticipation. She was on an adrenaline high, to be this close to him, to the man who had destroyed her life.

“Lilly’s waiting for us.”

“Where are we going?”

“I want it to be a surprise.”

He drove along the bay for several minutes before pulling over to the side of the road.

“Get out,” he told her, and she did.

“Now we’re going to take a little walk, Detective Burke.” He took her arm and steered her into the marsh. “Again, I remind you that a young woman’s life is at stake, so don’t think to try to overpower me with some cheesy martial arts move. You do know martial arts, don’t you, Cass?”

She nodded.

“I figured you would. Trust me when I tell you, you could never best me.”

Something hard and round butted her in the middle of her back.

“Just a little insurance,” he said, “in case you decide your life is more important than poor Lilly’s. Though I doubt you would. You’re the type who would want to be a hero, aren’t you, Cassandra? Idealistic to a fault, right?”

The ground was becoming softer, wetter, as they continued into the marsh. Soon Cass could feel the ooze beneath the marsh grass sucking at her shoes with each step she took. They were almost to the bay now-she could smell it, salty and pungent. Where the hell was he taking her?

He pushed her forward lightly and her feet slid into water. They walked along the edge of the inlet for another minute before she saw the outline of a small boat tied up to the bulkhead of a long-forgotten dock.

“On board.” He shoved her from behind. “Here. Sit right here… no, turn around. I want you facing the other way.”

Again, she did as she was told, praying his hands wouldn’t graze her lower back. Sitting as she was, he was within a foot of the handgun hidden there. With her back to him, she felt certain he could see the small bulge of the gun.

Thank God it’s so dark, she thought. Maybe he’ll miss it completely.

“Don’t think I don’t know what you’re thinking,” he said in her ear.

“What am I thinking?” she asked calmly.

“You’re thinking maybe you can jump over the side and swim for help.”

“Actually, I was wondering what corner of hell the devil is saving for you.”

He chuckled. “All of them, my dear. All of them.”

He rowed on, her anxiety increasing as the minutes passed. Had anyone realized she was missing yet? Surely Rick had. Surely he was looking for her right now.

The oars splashed lightly as the boat made its way along the edge of the marsh. There was a time when she had known every nook and cranny of the marsh, every little tidal pool and inlet. But it had been years since she’d taken time to explore the back bay, and she was now totally disoriented. When he headed toward shore and jumped out to pull the boat to land, she had no idea where they were.

“Out,” he told her.

She stepped out of the boat and made her way through the soft sand to the firmer shore, where the grasses grew eight feet tall and thick as a hedge. He guided her to a place where the cattails had been tamped down slightly into a path.

“Walk.” He nudged her forward, the gun in his hand once again.

“Where are we?” she asked. “Where are you taking me?”

“Why, Cassandra Burke, I’m surprised you haven’t figured it out,” he replied, a touch of glee in his voice. “I’m taking you home.”