Killer Scents (29 page)

“You have nothing to worry about. He’s in the Langford Asylum for the Criminally Insane. That place is locked up tighter than Alcatraz. He’ll never be a free man.”

“Have you seen him? How do you know for sure?” Her cheeks stained pink and she narrowed her gaze on him. “Didn’t you think I had a right to know long before now?”

Randy noted the fire building in her eyes. “At first they didn’t even tell me. They were sure he’d die
d
. It wasn’t until he was being transferred to the Asylum...
.
I’m sorry Becca
. M
aybe I should’ve told you, but you were in so much pain. I just couldn’t bring myself to add to it.”

“Are you telling me he was in th
e same
hospital
with
me and not one person let me in on it?” She used the tree as leverage to try and
stand
.

Randy jumped to her aid, taking hold of one arm to help her
up
. “Aw, come on
,
Becca. We were only thinking of
the
shape
you were in
. We didn’t want to add to your trauma. Please don’t be angry with me.”

“I’m not sure who I’m angry with. All I know is that the maniac
,
who almost killed Jacob and me, the same maniac who sewed eight mouths shut, one of which I was forced to watch
,
was just down the fucking hall from me and nobody breathed a word of it.”

Randy tried to pull her into his arms but she wanted no part of it and shrugged his hand away. “Just take me back to the hospital
.
All of a sudden I don’t feel very well.”

Chapter Thirty-Three

Becca hated asking Randy for some space, but she needed time to digest his news. Now, for the third night in a row
,
she woke drenched in sweat, an image of Danny at the end of her bed with sewing needle in hand all too real. His face
was
disfigured from the fire like the gnarled bark of a hundred
-
year
-
old tree, but there was no denying the same madness danced in his eyes.

The first sounds of life came from outside her door. She needed to see Jacob today and find out if he’d been told
yet
. Like her, he deserved to know. The more she thought about it, the more certain she became of what she wanted to do.

“
Good
morning, Love. You’re up early again. Did you have another bad dream?”

Becca nodded and pulled herself up to sitting position. She told Debbie all about the news Randy broke to her. She’d been in the hospital over two months now and they’d created
a solid
bond.

Nurse Debbie gave her
the usual
pills and
a
cup of water
. She
wait
ed
for her to take them before turning to leave.

“Try not to worry so much. I’m sure once you’re home in your own bed things will get back to normal.”

“Yah, like when is that going to happen?”

The n
urse paused at the door and turned to face her. “
Well
,
if all goes well, maybe sooner than you think.”

Becca looked down her nose at her. “What do you know that I don’t?”

“A little bird told me your doc is coming in this morning to check how you’re healing. If he’s happy, you might just get your walking papers.”

“
H
allelujah
.
F
inally some good news!”

She had mixed feelings about
leaving the hospital
. Of course she’d be happy to go
home
, but that meant leaving the hospital where she felt safe and not alone. Becca straightened her back and swallowed the fear rising in her.

No, I will not let him have any power over me
.
He’s no longer
a threat, o
r is he?

A knock on the door stole her attention and she looked up to find Jacob roll
ing
his wheelchair
in
for a visit
.

“
Well
,
isn’t this a nice surprise. I almost didn’t recognize you without Jeffery.”

Jacob grinned sheepishly
.
The
puncture
scars
around his lips had lightened considerably. “He
’
ll be here any time now.”

Becca moved to a chair at her bedside and clasped his hands. “How are you? You’re looking much better.”

“I’m fine.” He diverted his gaze
,
feigning interest in something out the window.

“Jacob
,
how are you, really? You can tell me.”

He sighed wearily. “I thought I was well on my way to recovery when all of sudden I start having disturbing dreams.” He leaned towards her and spoke behind his open hand. “I keep seeing Danny. When I wake up
,
I swear the guy had been standing at the end of my bed.”

Becca’s breath hitched
,
feeling very spooked. A
shiver ran through her
. Is he having the same dreams as
I am
?

“You
’
re not alone, Jacob. I
’m having them too
.” Her
heartbeat
thrummed against her chest. “I guess there’s no easy
way
to go about this.” She squeezed his hand. “He’s not dead.”

Jacob pulled his hand away as if
bitten
and wheeled back from her. “Who?”

“You know who
.
I
see it in your eyes
.”

“That’s not possible
.
He can’t be alive. Are you sure?
”

“Aside from
actually being in the same room with him
, yes
,
I’m sure. They got him locked up in
an
asylum for the criminally insane.”

The color drained from his face and he sat there shaking his head in disbelief. Slowly he raised his head and looked directly into her
eyes
. “You know what we have to do, don’t you?”

Becca didn’t have to question him or guess. She nodded.

“
I’ll talk
to Jeffery and
make
plans for us all to go.”

“
I’m sure t
he chief
can
get the necessary clearance we’ll
need
to get inside.”

Jacob spun around and wheeled to the door. He turned enough to
see
her. “Here we thought the fucking nightmare was over. We should kill the s.o.b. and be done with him once and for all.”

Randy should have known she’d want to see
Danny
for herself. The fact
the lunatic
survived the fire still baffled
everyone
at the scene. Supposedly
,
when they
first
discovered he had a pulse amongst the charred ruins
,
there was no way in hell they expected him to make it through the night. In hindsight
,
he was kind of glad he
hadn’t
know
n
then. He
ha
d enough dealing with Becca’s brush with death.

He hadn’t expected Jacob wanting to see him
either
, and that made him very nervous. How
will the two of them react to seeing
Danny after everything the bastard put
the
m through?

Randy knocked on the open office door.

Chief turned in his chair and held a finger up. “Yes, that’s right. Thank you for your help.” He set the phone back in its cradle.

“I just wanted to let you know I’m leaving shortly to pick up Becca. I trust you cleared the way for the four of us?”

His boss took off his glasses and squeezed the bridge of his nose. “Yes, they will be expecting you.” He pushed
away
from his desk and leaned
back
in his chair. “I’m still not convinced this is such a great idea.”

Randy shrugged. “You and I both, but you know Becca once she sets
her
sight
on doing something.”

Chief Thomson chuckled. “Yes
,
I do. Keep a close eye on her, especially Jacob. God only knows how the
y’
re going to handle seeing
Danny
again.”

“Will do.” He glanced at his watch. “I better get over there. If I keep her waiting too long she’ll probably leave without me.”

“Good luck, buddy. Better you than me.”

“Gee
,
thanks.”

Randy stepped outside and took a deep breath. All around him t
he first signs of fall added a splash of colo
r
. Too bad they weren’t taking the bikes. Nothing compared to riding under a canopy of fall colors.

He opened the door and slipped in behind the wheel.
At least the SUV was nice and roomy for Becca and Jacob. Randy put down all of the windows and took a deep
,
cleansing breath before turning the key in the ignition.

Lord, give me strength. 

Chapter Thirty-Four

The silence was
deafening. Jacob and Jeffery sat side by side in the back seat. Jeffery kept Jacob tucked protectively to his side with an arm draped across his shoulders.

Randy sat behind the wheel nibbling at the inside of his bottom lip. Becca knew he wasn’t crazy about any of this, but he drove them in spite of his reservations. He drove them because he loved her.

“How much further is it?”

“Um, maybe a half hour or so.” He gave her a fleeting glance before
shifting
his attention back
to
the road.

Becca winced
,
turn
ing
in her seat enough to look back at Jacob and Jeffery.

“How are you holding up?”

“To be quite honest, I feel like I could puke
at
any second.”

“Oh
,
no
.
Do you want Randy to pull over?”

Jacob
put up a hand. “No, I’ve been feeling this way since the day I left your hospital room.”

Jeffery rubbed up and down his partner’s arm. “You don’t have to go through with this. I can go in myself to prove he’s in there.”

Jacob smiled and gazed
into his partner’s eyes
. “I know you’d do that for me and I
love
you for that.” He patted his hand and looked back at Becca. “No, this is something we need to
do for ourselves
.”

“So, you’ll both be happy just to
see
him from a distance, right? No good can come of having a face
-
to
-
face confrontation with the guy.”

Becca looked from Jacob back to him. “I don’t know.”

“Don’t do it
,
Becca
.
F
or me, please.”

His sincerity
tugged
at her heartstrings but she couldn’t lie to him. “I’m sorry
,
Randy
.
I can’t make any promises.”