EDGE OF SUSPENSE: Thrilling Tales of Mystery & Murder (2 page)

Dean stiffened. "Wish I could believe that.
But from where I sit, the system has failed us. Karyn's a basket
case and won't let me anywhere near her. And I'm being kept in the
dark on an investigation that's growing colder by the day."

"Cold doesn't mean frozen. With a serial
rapist still out there, it's only a matter of time till he's
apprehended."

"You think?" Dean gave him a sarcastic
glance. "And how many more women will become victims before that
happens?"

"From what I understand, the cops are
following new leads."

"Yeah? What new leads?" Dean asked.

Phil paused. "Well, there was another rape a
few days ago. Same M.O. There's strong reason to believe your
wife's rapist has struck again. They're testing DNA for a match and
they have a possible witness. My sources tell me it could be a
breakthrough in the case."

Dean considered the news. The truth was, he
had been so consumed lately with his own inadequacies and failing
marriage that he hadn't even heard about this. Could they really be
on the verge of getting this guy? Or would it just turn out to be
another dead end?

"Who's the witness?" Dean asked.

"Victim's neighbor. Apparently she was out
walking her dog when she supposedly saw the suspect running from
the scene."

Dean felt this was something worth checking
out himself.

"Yeah, well let's hope this so-called
witness doesn't suddenly develop a case of amnesia at crunch
time."

"Why don't we just wait and see what
happens," Phil told him.

"Yeah, why don't we," Dean said, though he
was already plotting his strategy for not waiting.

Phil eyed him. "So you and Karyn still
aren't—?"

"No, we're not," Dean said irritably. "She
won't let herself feel anything remotely sexual. Right now she sees
me as a member of the species that betrayed her."

"I'm sorry," Phil said. "I wish I could say
I know what you're going through, but I don't. Stella has her days
when it's hands off, but she's never been through what Karyn
has."

"And I hope to hell she never has to—for her
sake and yours!"

Phil stopped at a light. "Why don't you and
Karyn come over tonight for dinner? I know Stella would love to
spend some time with her. We could all hang out, just like old
times."

The idea was appealing to Dean. Karyn had
hardly gone anywhere since the attack. She had also turned down
most visits, feeling others would unfairly judge her. Or frighten
her.

Maybe it was time she got out of the house.
Even if only for a couple of hours.

"I'll try," he said, not sure Karyn would go
for it.

"Good," Phil said, as if a done deal.

* * *

Dean brought the subject up casually that
afternoon. "By the way, Phil and Stella invited us over for dinner
tonight."

Karyn gave him a dismissive look. "I don't
really feel like socializing right now."

"Neither do I, to be honest about it," he
said. "But I think we should do it anyway, honey. It would be good
for you to spend some quality time with one of your best friends,
while Phil and I talk shop."

Karyn batted her eyes. "Don't push this on
me, Dean. I'm not ready to act as if nothing happened."

"No one's asking you to. But staying holed
up in this house isn't the answer either. You need to make an
effort to be a part of the world again.
My
world
. And
having a nice dinner with friends is a good place to start. Please
say you'll go, for me."

He expected her to lash out at him and run
up to the bedroom crying.

Instead, Karyn said softly, "All right. But
if I fall, you have to catch me."

Dean smiled. "Count on it."

* * *

The witness, Ellen Vine, was in her sixties.
Dean represented himself as a detective on the case. She had no
reason to believe otherwise.

"I thought it was somewhat odd to see the
young man dash out of that apartment like his pants were on fire,"
Ellen said.

"Had you ever seen him before?"

Ellen shook her head. "Not around here."

"But you've seen him elsewhere?" Dean asked
hopefully.

She thought about it. "Maybe."

Dean remained calm, but his gut instinct
told him to press on. "You'll need to do better than that. There's
a rapist on the prowl and the sooner we get him, the sooner you
won't have to worry about him knocking on your door."

Ellen seemed to shudder at the thought. "I
think I might have seen him at the deli on 18th and Grand
Avenue."

"As a customer?" Dean asked.

"No, working behind the counter."

Dean flinched. "Did you happen to mention
this to the other detectives?" he asked innocently.

"No, they never asked," Ellen said.

"That's what follow up questions are for,"
he said. "Thanks, you've been a big help." More than she knew.

"I just hope you get him."

"Yeah, you and me both," Dean told her.

* * *

The Lakeside Deli was crowded. Dean made his
way through the patrons looking for an employee fitting the
description he was given. He found him easily enough.

The man's nametag identified him as Rick. He
was in his early thirties, had straggly blonde hair, and was short
and lean.

He didn't exactly measure up to the tall,
dark-haired, muscular man who attacked Karyn.

It made Dean wonder if he was barking up the
wrong tree. Or maybe it was the right branch. Karyn had admitted
that she was so traumatized she couldn't be certain exactly what
her attacker looked like. Only what he did to her.

Dean needed to find a way to get the man
outside.

"What can I get you?" Rick asked in a voice
that showed no sign of ever being raspy.

Dean looked at him and smiled pleasantly.
"There's some old lady outside, says she knows you, Rick."

He looked surprised. "Yeah?"

Dean nodded. "She said something about you
losing your I.D. She don't walk so well, so she asked me if I'd ask
you to come out and talk to her...get this straightened out."

He hesitated. "Okay, sure. Cover for me," he
said to a co-worker.

Dean led him out the door, trying not to
lose his cool over the thought that this man could be the one who
had raped his wife.

Rick looked around. "So where is she?" he
asked.

"Right over there." Dean pointed.

By the time Rick realized there was no one
there, he turned back to find a gun pressed against his
stomach.

He tensed. "You robbin' me?"

"You wish," Dean said. "We're gonna take a
little drive."

"Drive where?"

"To the scene of the crime," Dean told
him.

"What crime?"

Dean glared at him. "The scene where you
raped my wife."

Rick tensed. "Hey, I didn't rape
anyone!"

"Tell it to the judge. Only problem is you
may never get to see him."

"You've got the wrong guy," Rick said
uneasily.

"I don't think so." Actually Dean wasn't
sure he had the right guy, but he couldn't afford to give him the
benefit of the doubt. "Now let's go. Or I'll kill you right here
and be done with it."

"Okay, okay. I'll go with you," Rick said.
"But you're making a mistake."

"No, asshole, you made the mistake of raping
one woman too many!"

Dean waited till his prisoner was behind the
wheel before getting in on the passenger side. "Start driving," he
ordered. "I'll tell you where to go. And remember, no sudden moves
or this gun will likely go off."

Rick got the message, doing exactly what
Dean wanted. Now it was up to him to deliver the ultimate
payback.

* * *

The car pulled inside the parking garage and
into a space Dean had become well familiar with. It was Karyn's
parking spot and where she'd been assaulted.

"Get out!" Dean ordered, narrowing his
eyes.

When Rick hesitated, Dean pushed the gun
hard into his ribs, making him wince.

"Okay," he stammered.

Dean followed him out of the car. "Does this
place look familiar?"

Rick shook his head. "No."

Dean didn't buy it. "This is where you raped
my wife, you son of a bitch. And where you're going to die for
it!"

"Man, you can't kill me for something I
didn't do," Rick insisted. "I've never been to this garage in my
life."

Dean removed a photograph of Karyn and stuck
it in the man's face. "Remember her? She's my wife. Six months ago
you raped her right here."

Rick was perspiring. "I swear it wasn't me.
Maybe he looked like me, but I never touched your wife."

Dean almost believed the man. But the pieces
seemed to fit, even if Karyn may have been off on her description,
minus the ski mask. The bastard had to pay for what he did to her
and other women. Jail was not good enough in this case.

"Get down on your knees," he ordered the
rapist.

"Please—don't do this." Rick did as he was
told, shaking uncontrollably.

"If you want to get out of this alive, tell
me what I want to know. Admit that you raped a woman in this garage
six months ago."

Rick wavered.

Dean rapped him on the head with the gun.
"Do it!"

Rick groaned. "All right, all right, I raped
a woman here six months ago. I'm sorry if it was your wife."

"Yeah, just like you're sorry about the last
woman you raped," Dean said angrily.

Rick reacted like the guilty man he was.

"How do you think I found you? There was a
witness, dickhead!"

Rick's shoulders slumped. "I'll turn myself
in to the police."

"You should have thought about that before
you made the mistake of raping my wife!"

Rick squeezed his eyes shut and seemed to
say a prayer.

Dean said one of his own. He was about to
kill a man and needed all the help he could get to deal with the
ramifications. All he could think of was that he had to set Karyn
free. Even if it cost him his own freedom.

He placed the barrel of the gun to Rick's
temple. After sucking in a deep breath, Dean counted to three,
knowing there was no going back once he pulled the trigger.

He did so with no regrets, content to know
this asshole would never rape again.

* * *

Dean parked in his usual spot in the garage,
noting the empty spot where Karyn's car used to be. They had sold
it a month after she was attacked. She had quit her job two weeks
earlier and now seemed content doing nothing.

Maybe now things could change.

He entered the house through the side door.
He could hear music coming from the den. Karyn was a big jazz fan,
though not recently, preferring the sounds of silence.

He hoped this was a good sign.

Stepping into the den, Dean envisioned Karyn
sitting on the couch, maybe sipping a glass of wine, enjoying the
Kenny G tune. The room was empty.

He went to look for her in the kitchen. The
kettle was on the stove, a half filled bottle of water sat on the
table, and unwashed dishes lay untouched on the counter and in the
sink.

But no Karyn.

Dean saw nothing to cause him to worry. But
for some reason he was concerned.

"Karyn, where are you?"

No response.

He scaled the stairs. Maybe she fell asleep.
She had been spending a lot of time in bed since the attack.

"Karyn, honey, are you up here?"

Still no answer. Dean considered that she
could have fallen and hit her head and was now lying unconscious
somewhere.

Or maybe she wasn't even in the house. In
fact, he seemed to recall that when they were at Phil and Stella's
house last night, Stella had invited Karyn to go shopping. Karyn
had politely declined, though she had opened up far more than he
expected her to.

Perhaps she'd had a change of heart and
called Stella.

Dean clung to that thought, wondering why
Karyn hadn't phoned him to say she was going out.

The bedroom door was slightly ajar.

"You in there, hon?"

Dean pushed open the door. Karyn was
standing at the side of the bed. Her blouse was ripped, partially
exposing one breast. She looked almost frozen stiff, as if having
come face to face with terror.

"Karyn...?"

She didn't move.

Only now did he look down and notice the gun
at her bare feet. He had gotten it for protection soon after the
sexual assault. She had been resistant to the idea, unsure if she
could use it.

He had insisted she learn how.

Out of the corner of his eye, Dean caught
sight of something on the floor. He turned and saw a brawny person
wearing a bloody ski mask lying there. Three or four bullet holes
had seeped blood onto the hardwood.

He wasn't moving.

Dean took no chances. Walking over to the
man, he bent over cautiously and felt his neck. Nothing.

Again. Same result.

He removed the ski mask. Dark eyes devoid of
life stared back at him from an ashen, puffy face.

Dean went to his wife, picked up the gun,
and tucked it in his pants. He put his hands on her shoulders,
forcing Karyn to look at him.

"What happened?"

She was unresponsive, as if in a trance.

He nudged her. "Tell me, Karyn."

Her chapped lips began to move. "He came
back, just like he promised—"

"Who?" Dean raised a brow. "You're saying
this is the man who raped you?"

Karyn stared blankly at him, nodding. "I
grabbed the gun and when he came at me, I-I shot him… And I just
kept shooting…"

"Are you sure it's him?" Dean studied her,
his world frozen in that moment.

She didn't flinch. "I'd never forget his
smell and voice; the way he laughed and had his hands all over me
before he raped me."

# # #

TARGETED