Deadly Obsession (16 page)

He shut his eyes and massaged his temple. A low buzzing started in his ears and he knew another headache was coming. Pushing up from the sand, he tried to shove away thoughts of the two of them in bed together.

It didn’t work though. No matter how hard he tried to control his thoughts, pictures of Lilly naked and writhing assaulted his mind. She was the only woman who’d ever gotten away from him. Well, almost the only one.

He glanced at his watch and a new idea set in. Apart from Lilly, there was one woman left on his list in Hudson Bay. If he hurried, he could make it to her right as she left work. Instead of jogging back to the pier where his most recently stolen vehicle was parked, he stole a sedan a few houses down from Lilly’s. If he wanted to keep off the radar, he needed to trade vehicles as often as he could.

As expected, the drive into town was short. It was Thursday after all. Not much going on in this beachy shit hole except on the weekends. Once he finished what he should have a decade ago, he was heading back to Vegas. Or maybe Los Angeles. He’d only lived there briefly, but the concrete jungle was perfect for someone like him. Losing himself in either city would be so easy.

Yes, he’d go to L.A. first. There were so many immigrants moving there every day. No one gave a shit about them. He could kill without worry of being constantly pursued.

His heart rate sped up as he neared the drycleaners on Main Street. When he drove past, he saw the lights click off. Normally he preferred to stake out a place longer, but it appeared he was right on time. He quickly turned onto the next street, then doubled back and parked in the alley behind the line of stores. Everyone else had closed an hour ago.

Except Allbright’s Dry Cleaning.

After popping the trunk so that it was open a few inches, he hurried to where Barbara—or Barbie as her friends called her—was parked.

He’d been watching the residents of Hudson Bay for the past year. Most people stuck to the same schedules. Day in and day out. It was surprising how unaware most people were. Especially women. Even when they were scared of someone, they’d smile and act polite for fear of being rude.

Made what he did a lot easier.

He peered over the hood when he heard the metal door of the drycleaners slam shut. A few days ago he’d blown out the only street light that illuminated the alley. So far, no one had replaced it.

Barbie’s shoes clicked over the concrete as she neared her car.

She was so close he could taste her.

His heart pounded erratically. Just a little closer. When the beep of the car unlocking sounded, he made his move.

Jumping from his position, he rushed at her.

“Hey—” She started to swing her oversized purse at him, but he was fast.

Moving swiftly, he punched her in the stomach.

The move had the intended effect. By using the shock tactic, he had her frightened and confused.

“Ah.” Her gasp was barely audible.

Before she could move, he fisted her ponytail and forced her face up with a sharp jerk. Then he struck her across the jaw.

Instead of collapsing, like he expected, she struggled against him. She struck out at him with her leg. He deflected the blow, but then she kneed him in the groin. It wasn’t as hard as she intended, he was sure, but it still hurt like hell.

He was so pumped up on adrenaline, he didn’t double-over. Yanking her ponytail back even harder, he forced her to her knees. “You’re going to pay for that, bitch,” he snarled before kicking her in the stomach.

That blow knocked the wind out of her. She moaned as he shoved her face to the ground. Once he had her down, securing her was easy enough. After tightening flex-cuffs around her wrists and ankles, then hogtying them together, he hauled her to the car and dumped her in the trunk.

She was still trying to struggle and thrash around, but she wasn’t going to get far. He was surprised by how pleased he felt that she’d fought. It had been a while since he had a woman with any spirit. They usually panicked when they saw his knife. Then they practically offered to sell their souls when he started cutting them. Offered to do all sorts of dirty things.

By the time he got around to the cattle prod, they’d usually passed out from the pain or they were in such a state of shock, they couldn’t speak. It wouldn’t matter with Barbie of course. He was taking her where no one could hear her screams.

His erection pressed against his zipper as he imagined her stretched out on his table. He’d planned to bring Lilly to his cabin first, but he couldn’t wait another day without release.

When he finally caught Lilly, he’d keep her around a lot longer than the others. She was special. If it was the last thing he did, he’d make her pay for being such a tease. He’d make her scream until she begged him to kill her.

The walls were closing in on her. The stifling cell grew smaller with each second that ticked by. A second closer to death. Screams and moans echoed around her. All day and all night they screamed. Their captors never took a break.

Her entire body tensed as her cell door groaned open. Now it was her turn to scream. She shifted against the dirty floor to get a look at her tormenter—

Lilly’s eyes flew open. She stared at the ceiling of her room. Everything was quiet and safe. The steady sound of Braden’s breathing filled the air. Her heart thumped wildly, but she wasn’t sweating buckets and that sick feeling of dread she always awoke with wasn’t hanging over her head. Frowning, she placed a hand over her stomach. Despite the short nightmare, she couldn’t remember the last time she’d slept so soundly.

She glanced at the clock. It was almost seven. Time to get up and make sure the house was in order before the masses of people arrived. Quietly, she sat up and swung her legs over the side of the bed.

Before she could move any further, Braden snaked a hand around her waist and tugged her so that she was flat on her back. “Where do you think you’re going?” he growled in her ear.

She grinned at him. “Apparently nowhere.”

“Good answer,” he murmured before nipping her bottom lip.

As his hand strayed between her legs, the sound of his phone vibrating across the nightstand caused them both to groan.

Braden rolled over and grabbed it. “What?” he growled. “Oh, sorry Hailey. Hold on. Let me put you on speaker. Okay, you’re on with Lilly and me.”

“Oh, right…I got a hit on the strands of hair we found. I don’t know if this will be good or bad news.”

Lilly’s chest squeezed.
How could it not be good news?

“What did you find?” Braden asked.

“The DNA is connected to a sealed juvenile file.”

“Damn it. Send the information to the office. I’ll file a petition with the judge right away.”

“Can you email me the information also?” Lilly held a finger to her mouth when Braden frowned at her.

“Uh, boss?” Hailey asked.

He paused for a moment, but conceded. “Go ahead and send it.”

As soon as they disconnected, she answered his unspoken question. “Do you forget who I work for? It’ll take a little time, but I can get the name on those records. It won’t hold up in court so you’ll still need to file a petition, but it’ll give us a head start on tracking this guy. Do you know if Greg Murphy has a juvenile record?”

Braden nodded, his expression grim. “He does.”

His phone buzzed again. “It’s the station,” he sighed. “Yeah…when did she disappear…no, file a missing person’s report…I’ll be down there as soon as I can.”

“What’s going on?” Lilly asked the second he hung up.

“Barbara Allbright, a young woman who works at her family’s drycleaners has gone missing. She never came home last night and her parents are worried.”

“What do you think?”

“I know her and she wouldn’t just not come home without calling her parents. She dropped out of college when her mom got sick. Family is important to this girl.”

“Then go. People will be showing up soon. I’ll be fine here.”

“Not until I get someone down here. I don’t want to leave you alone.”

“Braden, I…” She wanted to tell him what she really did for a living, but she just couldn’t. Before she could think of a way to finish her sentence, her phone rang. After yesterday she’d taken her phone off vibrate and turned the ringer on loud. Rolling over, she grabbed it from the nightstand. “It’s private,” she said as it rang again.

“Answer it.” He started punching numbers into his phone.

She knew Braden was going to call the station to see if they could trace the call, but her hand shook as she answered. “Hello?”

“Did you have fun last night?” The mechanical voice grated against her ear.

She could feel the color drain from her face. Instinctively she pulled the sheet higher up around her body. There was no way he could know that she and Braden had slept together.
Unless he was watching them.
“What are you talking about?” Out of the corner of her eye, she watched Braden speaking into his phone.

“I don’t think you need me to spell it out for you. You were always such a tease with everyone except the good sheriff. I see some things never change.”

Lilly tried to think this time instead of letting her fear overtake her good sense. “Did I used to tease you?”

For a moment there was silence and she wasn’t sure he would respond. “You teased everyone.”

She frowned, trying to figure out who this could be. If this was Greg Murphy, she’d never teased him. Hell, she’d never teased
anyone.
“Oh really?”

“Always flaunting yourself around school. No one else was ever good enough for you, were they?”

“I had a boyfriend.” She doubted any sort of reasoning would work, but she wanted to understand where this psycho was coming from.

“That’s right, the hotshot sheriff. Did you enjoy screwing him last night?”

She flinched at his words. “You don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Ask him about Abby.
Braden mouthed the words next to her.

Before the man on the other end could respond, she continued. “Why did you kill Abby?”

“That bitch had it coming.” It was impossible, but it sounded like the mechanical voice almost snarled.

“Didn’t she mean anything to you?” Lilly bit out.

“She was pathetic. She’s lucky I didn’t kill her sooner.”

Braden motioned with his hand for her to keep him on the line so she blurted the next thing that came to mind. “What about Barbara Allbright? Why’d you take her?” She wasn’t sure he had, but she hoped he wouldn’t call her bluff.

“You already know about her. Impressive.”

“Where is she?” Lilly pressed.

“No games this time. I’m keeping her for myself.”

“Is she still alive?”

The terrifying laugh rang in her ears. “Yes, but not for long.”

“Is there a point to this call?”

“You better watch your tone with me. I called to give my condolences about your aunt. She was another one who had it coming. She’s the easiest one I’ve killed so far.” The voice laughed maniacally, the harsh sound intensified over the phone.

It took a second for his words to sink in. “What did you just say?”

“One crack to the head and down she crumpled.”

Lilly dropped the phone and clutched the sheet against her body. A lead weight settled inside her. He’d killed her aunt. To get to her.

Braden frowned and picked up her fallen cell. “Hello…hello…damn it, he hung up.” He shifted against the bed to face her. “What did he say?”

“He killed Aunt Debra.” Somehow she managed to whisper the words, though they tasted foul and bitter.

“What? You’re sure?”

“He admitted it.” She wrapped her arms around herself to fight off a chill. Even though Hailey had told her it was a homicide, hearing him admit to killing her aunt made Lilly sick. “Are they tracking the number?”

“Yeah. Perry and Vanessa are ready to trail him, but if I have to go, you’ve got a weapon and people will be showing up for the wake in a few hours. You’ll be safe.”

Safe. The word was a joke. Pushing off the bed, she let the sheet drop. “I’m going to take a shower.”

Lilly fought nausea as she turned the shower on. Her aunt was dead because some maniac had set his sights on her. And Braden was out there right now trying to find this guy. She knew he had backup but the thought of anything happening to him…she couldn’t fight the terror that splintered through her. After last night she knew she pretty much still loved him. Things might have ended between them but her feelings had only dulled. And that was only because of time. Even if they didn’t have a future together, her chest ached even thinking about him hurt or worse.

Grabbing his clothes from the floor, Braden tugged on his boxers and went back to the guest room. He raked a hand over his hair. Where the hell was Greg Murphy? He obviously wasn’t interested in running. That meant he had to be staying somewhere nearby. He wasn’t at his house and he wasn’t in any of the local hotels, motels or even bed and breakfasts. And if he was, he must have a damn good disguise because everyone had been notified to be on the lookout.

As he tossed his dirty clothes into a pile, his phone buzzed in his hand. It was the station.

“Tell me you have good news.”

“We managed to track the call to the marina, right down to Lloyd Redford’s boat slip. I’m on my way over there with Perry right now,” Vanessa said.

Braden hated to leave Lilly alone but if their guy had just called from the marina, then he couldn’t be in two places at once. “I’ll be there in ten minutes. Wait for me. We don’t want him getting away.”

As soon as they disconnected, he grabbed a clean change of clothes from his overnight bag and strode back to Lilly’s room. He knocked once on the bathroom door before entering.

The shower curtain jingled as she pulled it back. Her thick black hair was covered in soapy suds. “Any news?”

“They tracked the call to the marina. I’ll have my phone on me if you need me.”

She wiped a trail of soap from her face, but remained expressionless. “I’ll be fine, Braden, I promise. I’ve got a gun and I’ll be careful.”

He stared at her for a long second. “I’ve got my phone—”

“You already said that. I’ll be fine.” With that, she pulled the curtain back into place.

Braden knew he was being crazy, but the thought of leaving her burned an acid hole in the middle of his chest. Unfortunately he didn’t have a choice.

The drive to the marina seemed to take forever but only because of his anticipation. As soon as he pulled into the gravelly parking lot, he spotted Perry and Vanessa. When he pulled his truck up next to Vanessa’s car, both detectives got out.

Weapons drawn, they stood in between the vehicles and surveyed the marina. Everything was eerily quiet this early in the morning. There wasn’t a ripple slicing through the glassy water and it looked like all of the regular boats were docked at their respective slips.

“It’s quiet,” Perry murmured.

“I’m going to take the right side and come up from behind Lloyd’s boat. I want both of you to announce yourselves, but don’t put your weapons down no matter what. We don’t know if Lloyd’s involved, but…” He didn’t bother to finish his thought. It didn’t seem possible that the older fisherman was capable of killing all these women but they couldn’t take any chances.

Both Vanessa and Perry nodded.

Braden headed across the parking lot until he reached one of the far docks. Some of the wooden planks creaked beneath him as he hurried. A few seagulls sounded in the distance, but it was otherwise quiet.

He crouched low behind one of the poles near the front of Lloyd’s troller. From his vantage point he could see Vanessa and Perry on the other side.

“Lloyd Redford! It’s the Hudson Bay Sheriff’s Office. We need to speak with you right now!” Perry’s booming voice carried across the water.

There was no doubt that whoever was inside had heard him. Out of the corner of his eye Braden saw a flash of movement. He turned his head and saw Mitch Byrne open his sliding glass door and step out onto the back deck of his cabin cruiser. Braden frowned when he saw the doctor. Mitch lived at home with his wife. As far as Braden knew, they only used their boat for recreation. Brandishing his weapon, he motioned for him to get back inside.

The doctor nodded and immediately shut the door behind him. Braden briefly wondered if the man was on the outs with his wife, but brushed the thought away.

“Lloyd! Come out or we’re coming in!” Perry shouted again.

Braden’s heart skipped a beat when one of the front windows creaked open and a masked man slipped out and onto the bow. He glanced around, as if he might jump into the water. He was obviously trying to figure out an escape route.

From their position at the back of the boat, his detectives wouldn’t be able to see this guy.

His heart racing, Braden stepped from behind the pole and pointed his gun at the guy. “Hands where I can see them.”

The masked head jerked up and made eye contact with him. He was about twenty yards away, but Braden could see the surprise in every movement of the guy’s body. The man glanced toward the water, then toward the dock where Vanessa now stood with her gun drawn.

Braden slowly walked in Vanessa’s direction and kept his gun trained on their guy. “You’ve got nowhere to run.”

Wordlessly the man smiled and shook his head before jumping off the side of the boat.

“Fan out!” Braden ordered.

He watched the bubbles fade, but a minute later, no one had emerged from the water. Unless this guy was going to make a break for the intracoastal—and that would guarantee death in this weather—he had to emerge somewhere in the marina. Braden cursed his lack of manpower as he raced down the planks and kept his gaze and gun trained on the water.

While they searched, he called in two of his guys to head over with dive gear and requested three more deputies to help with the search. If he had more men free, he’d have called them too. Twenty minutes later they showed up and began searching. While the two men hunted below the water, Braden and the five others combed the docks.

As the minutes turned into an hour and a half, his frustration increased. With hundreds of slips and too many rows of those slips to count, there were too many places to hide undetected. If the killer had managed to hide and escape before backup had shown up, they’d never find him. When they turned up nothing, he and his detectives met back by Redford’s boat.

“How did this happen?” Vanessa muttered.

Perry shook his head, mirroring her frustration.

Braden’s hands fisted into tight balls. They’d been so close. So close he could practically taste it. There was still a chance his two divers might find him but Braden’s hopes plummeted with each second that passed. Relaxing his hands, he pulled out a pair of latex gloves from his jacket.

“Come on. Maybe we’ll find something useful inside. Vanessa, you stay out here.” He refused to believe this guy hadn’t left some sort of clue behind. He hadn’t been prepared for them so maybe he’d gotten sloppy.