Laugh or Death (Lexi Graves Mysteries Book 6) (25 page)

"No. When you're freshened up
, I'll get you something clean to wear." He gave me a little push inside and reached for the door, pulling it shut in front of me. A lock clicked.

"Damn it," I muttered, looking around. I had two minutes of freedom from my bindings to come up with a plan
. So far, all I had was my determination that Leo was never getting me in handcuffs again. Heck, I didn't even let my boyfriend get that kinky.

The bathroom was tiny. A toilet. A shower with a long
, plastic curtain on a track. There were clean towels on a wooden pole attached to the wall. The tiling was plain white, but the grout fresh. It smelled strongly of bleach and I had to concentrate hard not to let my imagination wonder what needed to be cleaned and then covered up with that much bleach. There was a sink with a small cabinet above it. I opened the wash bag first. I found travel-sized bottles of shampoo, conditioner, and shower gel. Nothing the least bit helpful.

"How you doing in there?" called Leo.

"Okay," I said, "just need a couple more minutes." I opened the cabinet. There were a few more bottles, some of them unopened, some partially used. I hated to think about who else was stuck down here. Or that these bottles once belonged to someone else. I hated knowing that Leo could do this again; and keep me prisoner. With the absence of any possible thing to use, I looked around. There were no windows. The door was my only way out. I'd have to fight Leo if I wanted to get out. If only... I had it!

I had my way out. I didn't need anything.

I flipped on the faucet and screamed.

"Lexi?" Leo called to me fr
om the other side of the door. The handle rattled. "Lexi?"

"Help!" I screamed as I wedged my back against the wall. "I fell on the wet tile. I think I broke my arm! Leo, help me!"

The door opened and Leo stuck his head through, looking for me. With every ounce of strength I could muster, I rammed the door on him, smashing his head against the door frame. He dropped to his knees with a grunt. I slammed the door against him one more time and he keeled over to the floor, his slumped body blocking the way. I pulled the door open and jumped over him, turning at the last minute to tug the chain on his belt. If I could only get it free... I found the thick key I wanted and tried to wend it over the metal loop holding it onto the key chain. I almost had it when Leo groaned, and his eyelids flickered. "Lexi?" he moaned.

"Shit!" I dropped the key chain and made for the door. Ten feet... five... three... the handle was in my hand. I pulled it and it opened, the night air rushing to greet me.

"Lexi!" Leo roared. I glanced over my shoulder and saw him getting to his feet, reaching for something in his waistband.

I pulled open the door as a bullet sprayed little chunks of brick from the wall next to me. Then I was outside, taking the stairs two at a time, racing to freedom.

"Lexi!" he yelled again, and I knew he was at the door. I had a split second to choose right, left, or straight ahead. Right and left took me around each side of the cabin. Straight ahead was open space, but it led into the woods, and into cover. Nancy probably died out there. Nancy was in the woods and didn't wander away, I knew now. Leo killed her. I had no choice but to run. If I stayed, he would imprison me. He would never trust me again for another moment. He’d probably kill me too, eventually.

I ran
blindly forward, seeking the cover of the trees.

"Lexi Graves, drop!"
shouted a new voice as I reached the halfway point between the cabin and salvation. "Now!"

Instinctively, I dropped to my knees, then
onto the ground, using my hands to cover my head as bullets whistled past. I didn't know who was firing, or where they were coming from, but I knew that voice. I'd know it anywhere.

Solomon.

Solomon had finally found me.

Chapter Twenty-One

Lily and I leaned our backs against Solomon's SUV, simultaneously raising our coffee cups to our lips. We were watching Peta's family crowd around her and Joelle.

"This is a nice ending," said Lily. "I believe
there’s a lot of good in the world. And fairies. I believe in them too."

"Me too," I agreed. "The tooth fairy left me notes and footprints in glitter."

"Mine left me share certificates. I don't think my fairy was too engaged with childhood fantasies."

We took another sip of the rich liquid
, trying not to sniffle when Peta's mom cried as she hugged her daughter harder.

Lily sighed. "Your mom would be like th
at if you ever went missing and turned up again. The whole of Montgomery would turn out for your reunion."

"I'm related to a large percentage of Montgomery
, and we use any reason to celebrate."

"My mother would send a polite note expressing regret at my missing status and a terse line on how to do better in future."

I reached for her hand and squeezed. "That's why we're your family."

Lily squeezed back. "Thank you."

"I'm glad I'm not dead though."

"Me too. Jord told me about the stalker wall. Creepy stuff."

I turned to her, frowning. "What stalker wall?"

"The one in Leo's cabin. The one with all your photos."

I frowned in disbelief. "Huh?"

"Oh." Lily pulled a face. "You didn't know?"

"No! What stalker wall?" I asked again, appalled.

Now
, I was looking around for Solomon. It sounded like he missed a few crucial details at our debriefing session. However, he did pay me a bonus for the successful completion of the case. It was just a shame that we couldn't charge it to Leo. Currently in maximum security, he was nursing several gunshot wounds, and I doubted he still had access to his checking account.

No, the bonus seemed to be thanks for
the several cases the FBI asked him to consult on as a result of our successful investigation.

"Maddox told Garrett, and Garrett told Jord, and Jord told me..."

"How many people know about this?"

Lily wrinkled her nose and held up her hand, checking off fingers. She got to the end of all ten and shrugged. "Everyone?"

"Everyone!" I drank the last of the coffee and held the empty cardboard cup by my side. I would probably regret asking. "You may as well tell me," I decided, figuring I could regret it over cocktails later.

"Are you sure you want to know?"

"Yeah. No. Yeah."

"Leo had a whole bunch of photos of you. He followed you around town and
took notes about you. Where you went, things you liked, your coffee order. As well as addresses for your mom and dad, and Solomon, and you. There was a receipt for those flowers you got, too, and he followed you in his car a few times. Jord also suspects Leo of setting the fire at Pretty Paws."

"Yuck." I shuddered.

"Yeah. He even framed one of your photos."

"I guess that was for the torture gallery."

"It's nice to be included," said Lily, far too brightly.

"Not really, no."

"I guess not. At least, he didn't kill you. That would have really sucked. Did you keep the pendent?"

"No!"

"But it was so pretty!"

I gave her a disbelieving look. "
It was creepy."

I agreed it would
have sucked pretty badly and pinched myself once more, just to make sure I was still alive. It seemed beyond the realm of good luck that I escaped, but according to Maddox, they had eyes on me the whole time. I was always safe, although I didn't know it.

Maddox
was running late the night he was supposed to meet me at the agency, but he arrived just in time to see Leo's Toyota Corolla parked close by. Recognizing an opportunity when he saw it, he planted a bug under the chassis and went in search of Leo. He guessed correctly that Leo went into the agency since the car was in such close proximity.

How they missed each other inside the building was
still a mystery. When Maddox arrived on the PI floor, he found Fletcher out cold and the overturned chairs in the boardroom indicated that I struggled with Leo. Noticing my purse was still on my desk, he correctly guessed Leo kidnapped me, and immediately contacted Solomon.

Fortunately for them, Leo
was in such a hurry to take me back to his evil lair slash pretty cabin in the woods, he never thought to pat down my pockets. If he had, he would have found my cell phone, with an open line to Delgado. Maddox's bug enabled them to track the vehicle, and the line allowed my rescuers to listen in, so finding me was easy. Solomon, Maddox, and the entourage were only minutes behind us, not wanting to spook Leo on the road in case he crashed, and killed us both. For a long time, Solomon told me later, all they heard was road noise and irregular breathing.

By the time Leo parked at the cabin, my rescuers were
already working their way through the woods, with local PD fanning out and surrounding the place. Although I thought I was wholly alone, eyes followed me from the trunk of Leo's vehicle to the basement room, where the cell phone signal eventually gave out.

While I was inside
, putting my plan of escape together, they were outside, devising a rescue plan. Right before they found an effective way of ensuring no action resulted in a hostage situation, I broke out and our plans of escape and rescue collided.

With my face in the gravel, Solomon shot Leo. At the same time, so did Maddox and several others
. Leo sprang a lot of leaks. How he survived was beyond me and I didn't care. I was just relieved that I survived. Better still, Leo would soon be tried for all the murders. With the FBI taking over the case, and investing hundreds of hours into it, the evidence they managed to amass was watertight. Leo’s last breath would be from prison.

"I'm going to throw a party," Lily said, breaking the silence that
descended over us. "A cops and robbers theme..."

"Should be popular."

"And I'm going to call it 'laugh or death'?"

"You mean life or death?"

"Nope. Laugh or death. Got to see the funny side of all this theft, kidnap and murder crap."

The photos in the basement flashed through my mind. All those lives snuffed out because Leo Chandler wanted the perfect woman
. He only grew tired of them when his stalking and kidnapping failed to make them fall for him. "I'm really not seeing the funny side."

"There will be a funny side at my party."

"Will there be clowns?"

"Absolutely not! This is a serious party. I'm thinking sexy
, bare-chested cops..."

"Male?"

"Duh, yeah!"

"I'm down with that."

"And sexy, bare-chested robbers..."

"Still male?"

"Yep!"

I smiled,
easing the tension slightly. "I'm seeing the fun side to this party now."

"I knew you would. There will also be themed cocktails and burlesque performers in prison guard uniforms. Jord helped me pick out the troupe. He was very enthusiastic."

"I'll bet he was."

"And free
admittance, if you bring a cop."

"Guaranteed to make sure no one gets arrested."

"I don't know about that, but I'm willing to try. Maybe I'll make it an annual thing. No one will ever dare to rob my bar again."

"Pretty dumb to try
it the first time," I reminded her, waving to Solomon as he walked towards us. Maddox was with Peta’s family. He started ushering them into the house, away from the growing collection of photographers and media. Apparently, Peta’s and my escape from a prolific serial killer was big news. Everyone wanted to hear Peta's story. There was even talk of a Lifetime movie.

"Let's get in," I told Lily, nodding to the pack
now starting to look around for other people to pester, since their money shots were fast retreating inside.

"Fine, but it was a waste of eyeliner not to get at least one photo taken for the national press." Lily slid onto the backseat, and I joined her, while Solomon climbed into the front. I wondered how long we'd have to wait for Maddox.

"I got the new coroner's report on Nancy," said Solomon, handing it to me as he took the driver's seat.

"How did you get this?"

"I know a guy."

I looked at the file a little while, then returned it
, unopened. I'd seen enough. "Give me the short version," I told him. "What really happened to Nancy Grant?"

"I can tell you she was
definitely murdered," Solomon said. "The report is thorough and unequivocal in its decision. The head injury Nancy sustained couldn't have happened in a fall. It was simply too severe, and the spiral fractures confirmed it was a blow from above that killed her."

"I still don't get why Leo killed her. Unlike the others, she was his girlfriend. He loved her."

"Humph," said Lily.

"I know, I know. I'm not sure I believe that a serial killer could truly love anyone."

"Leo started relationships with a lot of the women he killed," said Solomon. "But he was such a quiet, reserved guy that often, none of the women’s friends or family met him. He courted his victims, and when they failed to fulfill his expectations, he killed them. Same with Nancy, only it got more complicated. She was everything he wanted, and seemed to be working out for him, but he got to be too much for her. Two things contributed to Nancy's death. One, he caught wind she planned to leave him and his ego couldn't handle that. No woman left Leo Chandler."

"What's
number two?"

"
Two, he became obsessed with her friend, Peta. He saw failings in Nancy that he didn't observe in Peta. He began stalking her, although, according to him, she encouraged his secret courting."

"Pfft," said Lily.

"Exactly. With Nancy out of the way, his access to Peta would have been uninterrupted. Nancy became the only hindrance. She had to go. So he took her out in the woods one day and bludgeoned her with a rock. He intended to bury her out there too, except he couldn't because someone saw him."

"How do you know he planned to bury her there?" I asked, wishing I hadn't.

"We found skeletons," Solomon replied simply and I shuddered. "If you hadn't been kidnapped, and we hadn't tracked you through the woods, we might never have found them. They're still searching that area for more unmarked graves..."

"But not this one!" said Lily a
s she pointed at me. "Not Lexi Graves!"

Solomon nodded, continuing, "I think we'll find
the rest of the missing women there. They'll be adding to the murder charges."

"Part of me is relieved," I told them, "but part of me wishes I didn't know that."

"They'll all be laid to rest now. Their suffering was over long ago, but it might ease the suffering of their families now," said Solomon. "You should be pleased at your part in that. If nothing else, hang on to that."

I thought about all the missing women,
and the years of fading hope. "I will."

"Peta tied Leo directly to Nancy's murder," Solomon continued. "Leo was supposed to be out of town
the day that Peta drove out to get Nancy and help her move out. Except Peta got a flat tire about a mile away. She decided to walk the rest of the way to the cabin, and took a shortcut through the woods. She saw them together and was debating whether or not to call out when she saw Leo striking Nancy. She used her cell phone's video camera to record it."

"Why didn't she intervene?" I asked.

"I've seen the footage. It's horrendous. Leo yelled at Nancy that he was going to make a life with Peta, and he knew she was coming there that day. Nancy would have been dead in seconds. Peta would have been too, or held prisoner. She had to get back to town for help, but when she did, she panicked, knowing Leo could find her at any time. She thought he might have seen her in the woods, so she decided to become a missing person in order to protect herself and her family."

"If she
had just come forward with the video... Why didn't she?"

"The longer she waited, the more terrified
she became and worried wherever she was, and wherever he was, he would get to her somehow. She was right. Leo would not give up looking for her. He knew she wasn't missing and was hiding somewhere; he guessed she might have taken Nancy's identity. So he made up the story of Nancy going missing, attached Peta's photo to it, and started looking for her. By sheer luck from a helpful stranger, he ended up in Montgomery. But he needed someone else to do the hard work. All we had to do was locate the fake Nancy, provide him with an address for her, and he would have taken it from there."