Harm None: A Rowan Gant Investigation (34 page)

“Go on,” Deckert seemed intrigued.

“Well, if I’m right, and the killer does work
at a bank, then he would have access to information about the
victims, and he would know their marital status.”

“So you figure he used that info to avoid
being interrupted by someone who could kick his ass,” Deckert
submitted.

“Yeah, I guess something like that.”

“While that makes sense,” Ben agreed, “it
still doesn’t wash, ‘cause we just established that Darla Radcliffe
didn’t use the same bank as the other three.”

A fact, at the same time both obvious and
insignificant passed quickly through my mind. Mentally, I stopped
and flipped backwards through the imaginary file. “Darla Radcliffe
had a roommate, didn’t she?”

“Yeah,” Ben answered, absently snapping open
his notebook and paging through it. “Butler. Wendy Butler. They
both worked for the same airline. She wasn’t home though. She was
fillin’ in on a flight for...” His words trailed off as the pieces
started falling into place.

“…Her roommate,” I completed
the sentence. “Wendy Butler has an account at Capitol Bank.
She
was supposed to be
victim number four.” I tossed the last comment out on the table and
waited silently for a reaction.

“She’s stayin’ with her parents,” Ben stated,
as Deckert dialed the phone, glancing over at the proffered
notebook for the number.

No other words had been spoken since my
remark, and in the stillness of the room, I could hear the faint
buzz from the handset as the phone rang at the other end. After a
few brief seconds that pretended to encompass lifetimes, I detected
a click followed by a distant voice.

“Miz Butler, this is Detective Carl Deckert
with the Major Case Squad...” He spoke into the mouthpiece while
Ben and I listened patiently, “...I’m fine, thank you...Listen, I’m
terribly sorry to bother you, but I need to ask you a
question...”

Just as he had done earlier in the call to
Karen Barnes’ husband, Detective Deckert came quickly to the point.
A repeated apology and a “goodbye” later, he settled the handset
back on its base. His gaze had remained on me from the moment he
had asked the woman where she did her banking. It still hadn’t
wavered.

“Bingo,” he affirmed. “Wendy Butler has had
an account with Capitol Bank for about two years.”

“See if you can find out who we need ta’
contact for employee records,” Ben told him hurriedly. “I’ll see
about a warrant just in case we need it.”

Deckert nodded and reached for the phone once
again. His hand stopped midway in the air, and we all turned with a
start as the door to the small conference room swung open and
another detective poked his head in.

“Storm, Deckert,” he spoke urgently, “we just
got a call from the Sherman police chief. They’ve got a
seven-year-old girl that never made it home from school.”

H
ow
the hell did this happen?!” Ben was saying. “Did they have their
heads up their asses or somethin’?!”

We were no longer cloistered away in the
small conference room, and his angry voice pierced through the veil
of noisy activity going on around us. It was a certainty that the
other members of the Major Case Squad heard him, but they continued
about their assigned duties with no perceptible hesitation.

Deckert, somewhat calmer than Ben, pressed
the other detective, “Did anyone actually see the kid get
snatched?”

“No,” he answered. “At least no one that
they’ve talked to. They’re searching the area right now, but it
doesn’t look very promising...They found her book bag, but that’s
about it.”

“Dammit, they shoulda been expecting
somethin’ like this! We told them...” Ben continued his
semi-contained explosion, “What did they give us on the kid? What’s
‘er name?”

“You’re not gonna believe it when I tell
you,” the other officer returned. “It’s kind of a strange
coincidence.”

“Ariel,” I announced flatly from behind them.
“The little girl’s name is Ariel.”

“Yeah, weird isn’t it? He looked past Ben and
Deckert at me. “How’d you know?”

“Lucky guess.”

“Anyway,” he continued, “she’s seven years
old, just started the second grade. Shoulder-length brown hair,
blue eyes, and she was last seen wearing a blue dress. Denim, the
mother said.”

“Just a second.” Ben looked quickly at his
watch. “You said she never made it home from school. When was she
reported missin’?”

“According to the call, she got out of school
at around three-forty and should have been home by four. The mother
went looking and couldn’t find her, so she called it in at a
quarter after.”

“Jeezus!” This time the explosion was a
little less controlled. “It’s after six and they just called! What
the fuck were they waitin’ for? An engraved invitation?”

The other officer took a noticeable step back
from the seething mountain that was Detective Benjamin Storm. Of
the things that could set him off, anything he perceived as
incompetence was the most likely to do it. Combining it with the
fact that a child’s life was now most likely perched perilously
close to the edge of nothingness only served to feed his growing
temper.

“We still have time,” I stated calmly.

“What?!” he turned on me quickly, responding
only to the sound of my voice. His demeanor softened slightly when
he realized whom he was facing.

“I said, we still have time. Not much, but
it’s better than nothing. He’ll keep her alive until the time
arrives for the ritual. He might keep her drugged, but I don’t
think he’ll harm her at this point.”

“Why’s that?” Deckert queried.

“He has to keep her pristine,” I explained.
“No rape, no torture. He’s not going to hurt her... Not yet
anyway.”

“He picked ‘er out, didn’t he?” Ben demanded.
“This wasn’t just some random grab, was it?”

“I’m sure he did. The fact that her name is
Ariel is probably just a coincidence. I doubt that it had anything
to do with his selection.” The little girl in my visions flashed
before my eyes. “I should have recognized it sooner though.”

“Recognize what?”

“The little girl in my visions.” I spelled
out my thoughts for them, “She appeared as a young, childlike
version of Ariel Tanner. I was being told that THIS Ariel had
already been chosen, but I didn’t understand. I just assumed he
would grab any child he could.”

“So, if he had her picked out in advance,
then the bank must still be the connection,” Deckert volunteered.
“She must have a trustee account or something.”

I nodded in assent. “I’d be willing to bet on
it. That’s how he was able to see her and pick her out... For all
the good that does us now.”

“We might not have stopped ‘im from grabbin’
this kid,” Ben declared indignantly, “but we’re on the right track
now... We’re close, and I’ll be damned if he’s gonna get a chance
to hurt ‘er. You got anything else from these dreams of yours we
should know about?”

“No, not off the top of my head,” I answered,
“but I have them written down in my Book of Shadows at home. I
guess I should probably go over them again and see if there’s
something I missed.”

“Why don’t you take Rowan home and do that,
Ben.” Deckert patted him on the shoulder. “I’ll get on that
employee list and warrant.”

“You sure?”

“Yeah. I’ll get Benson and Jonesey here to
give me a hand.” He motioned to the detective that had informed us
about the kidnapping. “You check out anything else Rowan might
have, and with a little luck, we’ll be going over that list by the
time you get back.”

“Yeah, okay,” Ben grudgingly agreed then
added,” I don’t care if he had ‘er picked out already or not, I
still think they had their heads up their asses.”

* * * * *

I hadn’t expected Cally’s van to be in the
driveway when Ben and I arrived at my house. As unexpected as that
was, I was even more surprised to find R.J. seated in my living
room with her and Felicity. Having had some rest and a shower, he
looked much better than the last time we met. The image of him in
the interview room was one I hoped I would soon forget.

R.J. stood as we came through the door. He
shuffled nervously, looking from us to Cally and back. It was
obvious that he hadn’t expected Ben, and his presence brought a
fleeting look of anxiety to his face. The expression quickly melted
away and was replaced by a thin, sheepish smile.

“I hope we’re not bothering you,” he began
uneasily. “Felicity said you were helping Detective Storm.”

“No bother at all.” I extended my hand.
“You’re looking much better than you did a couple of days ago.”

His smile widened slightly at my comment. He
took my hand and shook it firmly. “I just wanted to say thanks to
you and Felicity for sticking up for me. You don’t really know me
that well and all...well, you know...I just really appreciate
it.”

“I was happy to,” I replied. “I just didn’t
believe you were guilty. Problem was, I didn’t have any proof, and
unfortunately, the police had a lot of evidence to the
contrary.”

“You mean me and Ellen,” he submitted.

“That, among other things.”

“I guess you already know that you were
right. We were seeing each other. She and her husband had been
having trouble for a while, and, well, I guess I was just there to
listen when she needed it.”

“That’s pretty much what I thought,” I
nodded. “But the thing that really bothered me was finding your
fingerprint on the candle.”

“I brought some candles over to Ellen’s
place,” he returned. “We were burning one when we got together that
afternoon.”

“Forensics determined that there were two
separate white candles in that pile of wax,” Ben added impatiently.
“One right on top of the other. We missed it at first. I just found
out this afternoon and haven’t had a chance to tell ya’ about
it.”

I nodded thoughtfully at his comment and then
turned back to R.J.

“Anyway,” R.J. continued, “Ellen and I had
this huge fight about...”

“Listen,” Ben interrupted coolly, “no offense
kid, but can you two talk about this a little later? We’re runnin’
against the clock here, and I really need Rowan to stay focused
right now.”

R.J.’s expression hardened at his comment,
and I could see a sarcastic reply forming on his lips. Fortunately,
Felicity sensed something was amiss and broke in before he could
expel the venomous comment.

“What happened?” her voice began strongly
then trailed off in an almost fearful tone, “He didn’t...”

“Yeah,” Ben spat. “Seven years old. She
disappeared on her way home from school.”

“What are you talking about?” Cally spoke up.
“Are you saying he’s killed a child?”

“Not yet.” I motioned for R.J. to have a seat
and then positioned myself on the arm of the nearby loveseat. “But
he abducted one, and it’s only a matter of time before he does kill
her.”

“I don’t get it.” R.J.’s earlier irritated
scowl had been replaced by a look of confusion and concern. “What
does he need a kid for?”

“The sacrifice.”

“I thought he’d already been performing
sacrifices,” Cally expressed.

I looked over at Ben questioningly.
Throughout this investigation, Felicity and I had been privy to
information that no other civilian had. I wanted to be sure I
didn’t betray the confidence that had been placed in us by saying
too much.

“Go ahead,” he told me with a shrug, fully
understanding the look I had given him.

“From what we’ve been able to ascertain, he’s
just been practicing,” I explained after receiving my friend’s
blessing. “He’s never actually performed the ritual.”

“What makes you think that?” Cally
pressed.

“The increased precision displayed at each
murder. He’s getting progressively better at what he’s doing. Also,
the additions he makes each time, like incense and arranging the
body.” I recited the major points. “In addition to all that,
neither Felicity nor I have been able to feel any residual energies
left behind at the scenes. If he had actually performed a ritual,
then something like that should be overwhelming to someone
sensitive to it.”

They both nodded in agreement.

“The fourth victim was the real kicker,” I
continued. “The perfect dress rehearsal, but with two
exceptions.”

“What’re those?” R.J. questioned.

“There wasn’t a full moon.” I paused. “And
the victim most likely wasn’t a virgin.”

“So that’s why he took a kid,” he mused aloud
and then glanced over at Ben. “And the full moon is Friday, so
that’s why you’re running out of time.”

Ben nodded. “Give the man a cigar.”

“Do you have any leads? Any clues at all?”
Cally interjected.

“A few. Not many though.” I stood and moved
across the room as I spoke. Earlier in the day, I had placed my
“Dream Diary” on the bookshelf, and I now retrieved it. “That’s why
we’re here right now, to have a look at this.”

“What is that?” R.J. asked.

“My Book of Shadows. I’ve been having
nightmares ever since I got involved with this case, and I’ve been
recording them here. Apparently, they contain clues about the
killer, or it seems that way so far. They predicted the death of
the fourth victim and the abduction of the little girl…
Unfortunately, I just didn’t interpret the meanings soon enough to
prevent either of those things from happening.”

“Maybe there’s something we can do to help,”
Cally volunteered, focusing her attention on me. “We used to
discuss dreams with Ariel all the time.”

“Yeah,” R.J. agreed with her. “Ariel was real
good at figuring out the weird stuff.”

“That would explain some of the things in
here then.” I waved the notebook. “She’s been appearing in my
nightmares, and the clues have definitely been obscure.”