Wicked Lies (41 page)

Harrison couldn’t argue with that. “So, you don’t think he’s the one who took your son’s car?”

It’s possible, I suppose. If it helped him achieve his goal. This woman you spoke of, if he’s tracking her, she needs to be extremely careful. For her safety, she should go back to Siren Song until he’s caught.

Harrison thought that over. Though he kind of thought Zellman was serving up a whole bowl of crazy, he couldn’t quite dismiss it all. “I’m going to leave you my cell number. I know you can’t talk, but maybe your wife or son could call if you think of anything else?”

He nodded as Harrison wrote his number on the pad of paper Zellman had been using earlier.

We will let the sheriff’s department know about Brandt’s car.

“Good. Thank you.”

They shook hands, and as Harrison left, he met Mrs. Zellman coming back inside, her hands full of car keys.

Nothing like locking the barn door after the horse escapes.

CHAPTER 33

J
ustice awoke on the floor of the rough-hewn space he’d rented, lying on his back, his head supported by Cosmo’s jacket. The ceiling boards let in light through the cracks, which striped his body; the window offered a warm square of June sunshine from outside.

Still, he was cold. It was the shivering that had awakened him. He’d eaten the last of Cosmo’s jerky and energy bars and wondered without much interest where he was going to find his next meal. He wasn’t hungry now. Wouldn’t be for some time. All he needed was fuel to keep going, and he was sure he could find it when he needed it without raising suspicions.

Transportation was the big issue. He’d ditched the Nissan compact, and he’d switched to Zellman’s Range Rover . . . And then he’d lost that car somehow.

Justice blinked, his mind twisting corridors that he could run down but in which he could find no end. He couldn’t remember why he’d lost the car. There was nothing there. No answer.

Then
bang.
Memory returned in a flash.

Lorelei. The devil’s mistress. He’d found her, but she’d escaped!

Justice sat up straight, his head rushing from the effort.
Something wrong,
he thought. It felt like pieces were loose and floating around inside his skull.

Lorelei . . . ,
he called to her.

Lorelei . . . I’m coming for you. . . .

But there was no answer.

Laura’s cell phone vibrated in her pocket. She hadn’t been able to pick up the call she’d received earlier; she’d been too busy. But now she snatched the phone from her pocket, saw that it was Harrison calling, and punched the ON button. “Hello? Harrison?”

“Hey, there,” he said. “When are you off for dinner?”

“Now, if I want to be. We had three accident victims here earlier, but they’ve been taken care of or moved to another hospital.”

“Kid named Matt Ellison?”

“Oh, God. Are you writing up a story?”

“No. I ran into someone, a classmate of this Matt’s. I’ll tell you all about it when I get there.”

“You’re coming here?”

“We’re going to the sheriff,” he reminded. “Didn’t they call you?”

“Yeah . . . I know. How romantic,” she quipped, though she wasn’t really in the mood for jokes. She thought about the upcoming interrogation and the word
inquisition
slid through her mind. All her secrets would be exposed. Of course, she would tell the police everything; more than anything she wanted Justice behind bars forever, but still . . . sharing all her knowledge of the man, of her upbringing at the Colony, of her sisters . . . She shuddered. She’d told the officers everything that had happened last night, when she was interviewed, but the questions hadn’t probed too deep into her personal life. Today, she knew, she wouldn’t be so lucky.

“It’s gonna be all right,” Harrison said.

“Of course it won’t be, but I’ll be looking for you.”

“Twenty minutes,” was his response.

She had just enough time to check her reflection in the mirror, add a little blush and lipstick, and wrinkle her nose at the pale color of her cheeks. A greenish tinge showed underneath her skin, she thought, annoyed. Pregnancy? Probably.

Lorelei . . .

She blocked her mind, fighting a shiver. Justice had been calling her for the past half hour, but she was bound and determined not to answer. If Harrison were here . . . if she were with him . . . she might consider taking the “call.” But alone. No way. The twisted fury on his crazed face hadn’t left her inner vision, and her quick shiver turned into a violent shudder at the memory.

It was climbing toward 5:00 p.m. when she walked out of the hospital, her purse strap slung over one shoulder. Harrison’s Chevrolet came down the drive, its engine definitely louder than she’d noticed before.

She opened her mouth to say something as she climbed in the passenger door, but he beat her to it.

“The damn thing could just quit on me,” he said with a certain amount of regret. “If I have to get rid of this car, it’ll hurt.”

“How long have you had it?”

“Me? Ten years. Before that, I’m not sure how many lucky owners there were.”

She was silent for a while as they headed south toward the Tillamook County Sheriff’s Department. Then Laura observed, “Sometimes I think you’re living in a different time.”

He squinted a look at her. “Wow. Spoken from a woman whose family wears long dresses and their hair in buns.”

“Have you met any of my family?”

“Not formally. So, how am I from another time?”

“The old car. The longer hair . . . I don’t know. I guess you do have a cell phone,” she added with a shrug.

“Yeah, well, I have issues giving out my cell number. Hate being called by anybody at anytime and being expected to pick up.”

“Isn’t that almost a job requirement in your field?”

“Well . . . yes. Your point?”

She smiled. Good Lord, she was starting to like him. No, it was more than that. Far more than simple affection and it was definitely a problem.

“There’s been a strange turn to the Turnbull investigation,” he said, and Laura was brought back to the present with a bang.

“What?”

“I think Justice has been driving Dr. Zellman’s son’s car. That’s the one that was on your access road. The black Range Rover.”

“
What?
”

Harrison proceeded to tell her about his meeting with the Zellmans and the conclusions he’d come to regarding Justice. He finished with, “I told Brandt to let the authorities know about his car. Maybe Justice still has the first car. If not, how’s he getting around now? Maybe he meant to use Brandt’s car longer and something happened, or maybe not.”

“He chased me into the ditch,” Laura said. “If he got back in his car, I would have seen it leave and probably known it was him. And then you came right after that.”

“It was probably safer for him to abandon the car and walk away.”

“I hope he didn’t stop a hitchhiker or grab another woman and take her car.”

Harrison made a face. “He’s got to have some form of transportation. I guess we’ll just have to wait and see.” After a moment of them each being in their own thoughts, he went on. “You know how you said you thought he was sick? Physically sick, maybe? Well, Zellman said he’s been off his meds for long enough to have some effect. Like his psychosis would get worse.”

“He’s unraveling,” Laura said suddenly, feeling the scratch down her back again, as if he’d physically marked her.

“Worse than he already was. Hard to believe.” He shook his head. “Zellman said something else, too. Sort of weird. He said that Justice revealed once that he could find the Colony women easier when they were pregnant. That he could smell them. Do you believe that?”

Laura’s heart leapt in her chest. Her blood pulsed in her head. “What?” she whispered.

“That his victims are easier for him to locate when they’re pregnant . . . or at least in his twisted mind that’s what he thinks. Who knows?”

She swallowed hard. Did Harrison know? Suspect? She grabbed the armrest, her fingers blanching white.

“I told Zellman about you,” Harrison was saying against the roar that had started in Laura’s ears. “Didn’t name names. Just said that there was one of the Colony living outside the gates who Justice was targeting, and just being outside is why you’re a target. Not because of pregnancy.”

She wanted to die inside. Did he know about her throwing up just this morning? Oh, Lord, what a mess.

“Dumbest thing I ever heard,” Harrison went on, “and it doesn’t bode well for the doc that he seems to give comments like that some credence. What do you think?”

“I . . . really . . . don’t know. . . .” Laura could barely swallow. Nervous sweat was collecting in her palms.

“You all right?” He glanced her way, his gaze searching.

With an effort, she managed to fight back her panic and lie all too easily. “Uh . . . yeah . . .”
I’ll never be all right. Oh, God, Harrison, if you only knew. I’m pregnant. Justice knows! He senses!
Tears of fear for her unborn child and for a love unrequited burned behind her eyes. With that thought she froze.
Love? You’re “in love” with Harrison? No damned way.
But she couldn’t find her voice.

“It’s going to be fine. Really.” But he appeared concerned, and she had to fight to appear normal, hoping color would return to a face she was sure had been leeched of all blood. “Okay. We’re here,” he said, glancing ahead to the county offices in the center of the city of Tillamook. He wheeled into a back parking lot full of potholes, slowing down and moving the vehicle gingerly around huge craters filled with water. “Our tax dollars hard at work,” he muttered.

Laura dreaded this meeting more than she could say. She didn’t want the sheriff’s department involved. She didn’t want to talk to officers with blank faces who were trying to appear to listen when she knew they would consider her a crackpot of the first order as soon as they heard the way she communicated with Justice.

Still, he had chased her last night. Had touched her. Nearly caught her.

They entered through the back door and up a few stairs. To the left was a hallway that led behind the counter, which blocked access to the main body of the building. Harrison and Laura walked along the counter, which ran the length of the room, toward the front door. On the opposite side, an officer sat at a reception desk. Her name tag said
JOHNSON
, and though she clearly was the gateway to the inner sanctum, her expression was anything but welcoming.

“May I help you?” she asked, the dark eyes settling on Harrison full of unspoken questions.

“We’d like to speak to the sheriff about the Justice Turnbull case,” he said.

“Sheriff O’Halloran has left for the day,” was the terse response.

“Is there someone else?” Harrison asked.

She hesitated. “What’s your name?”

“Harrison Frost.”

Johnson reacted with a nod. “Ah, the reporter. Mr. Frost, when the sheriff has something to reveal about the case, he’ll announce it.”

“We have an appointment.” Harrison met her gaze firmly.

“With Detective Stone,” Laura interjected. “I heard he’s handling the case.”

“The sheriff is a very busy man,” the receptionist said. Her face became a glower, but outmaneuvered, she picked up the phone and pressed a button. When it was answered on the other end, she said, “Harrison Frost, the reporter, is here with information about the Turnbull investigation,” in a tone that suggested she didn’t really believe he knew anything of worth.

She listened, then said curtly, gesturing back the way they’d come, “You may go around the counter and down the hall. Apparently Detective Stone is expecting you.”

“Thanks,” Harrison said.

Under her breath Johnson muttered, “Last to know again.”

Harrison cupped Laura’s elbow, and she felt a moment of electricity, a kind of awareness that she rarely, if ever, felt.

They had just turned the corner at the end of the counter and were heading down the hall to the rooms beyond when a man in cowboy boots, jeans, and a shirt with the sleeves rolled up came their way. He had dark hair and blue eyes that seemed to see a lot more than they gave away.

“Detective Stone,” he introduced himself. “Mr. Frost?” He shook Harrison’s hand, and the two men sized each other up; then he glanced to Laura and nearly did a double take.

“Laura Adderley,” she introduced herself, sticking out her hand as well.

The detective seemed to think that over as they shook hands. “Come on down to my office.”

They followed after him and learned his office was a large squad room with a number of desks arranged front to front in twos. An attractive woman officer with auburn hair and blue eyes acknowledged them with a quick smile as she brought another two chairs to Stone’s desk. Laura and Harrison sat down as the officer seated herself at the desk that butted up to Stone’s.

“Detective Dunbar.” Stone indicated the female officer, who gave them an interested look. “This is Harrison Frost and Laura Adderley. Frost is a reporter with the
Seaside Breeze
and Ms. Adderley is—”

“A nurse at Ocean Park Hospital,” Laura finished for him.

Stone swung around to face Laura directly. “You remind me of someone, Ms. Adderley.”

Her mouth formed the word
who
but she didn’t utter it. She almost already knew.

“Do you know the group of women who live in the lodge called Siren Song up the road? People around here refer to them as the Colony,” said Stone.

Harrison’s brows lifted. “Where are you going with this?”

Laura said, “He thinks I look like them.”

Stone gave them a small smile of acknowledgment. “You do. Your hair’s darker, but there’s a similarity. I’ve met their gatekeeper, Catherine. And I’ve seen pictures of some of the younger women.”

“Pictures,” Harrison said. “How?”

“Justice’s first victims. And others . . .” He frowned, as if deciding how much to tell, how far to go.

“My hair’s dyed,” Laura admitted in a soft voice. “You’ve met Catherine?”