Obsession (22 page)

Charlie turned to face her, his shoulders tense and surprise evident on his face. He seemed to debate how much to tell her before he let out a sigh and nodded. “A couple of agents picked him up last night in Flagstaff.”

“Why?”

“Because he was in California at the time of several of the murders.”

Her eyes widened. “You think Jed could be the Malibu Stalker?”

“We had to at least check it out.”

“That’s crazy. I mean, he’s a little weird, but I don’t think he’d ever hurt anyone.”

“Serial killers often look completely normal while living their everyday lives,” Charlie told her. “It’s my job to consider all possibilities in order to find the man behind these murders.”

“I thought your job was to protect me.”

“That too.” Charlie nodded. “But it certainly won’t hurt for me to stay in the loop and do a little research over the next few weeks.”

“You don’t really think it’s Jed, do you?”

“He was in the right place at the right time to be our guy, but my boss doesn’t think it’s him.” Charlie shrugged, cautiously shifting behind the desk, as though trying to keep a barrier between them. “I should be getting the report within the next hour or two.”

She nodded absently and sighed. “Exactly what are we supposed to do here for the next month?” She waved a hand at the front window, looking out at the long driveway that led to the main road. The closest house was at least a half-mile away and was one of only a few scattered in this part of the foothills outside Cave Creek.

“I’ll do my research. You’ll write your songs.” Charlie offered her a little smile. “You can beat up on me in backgammon and pretend to lose to me in gin rummy.”

Her eyebrows lifted. “And tomorrow?”

“The same.”

“Look, I understand you have your work to keep you busy, but as much as I love writing music, I’m starting to get cabin fever. I really need something to break up the monotony.”

“Like what?”

“Going for a run, watching a movie.” She shrugged. “Something.”

“Kendra, this isn’t like the Witness Protection Program, where they set you up with a new identity somewhere and you start a new life,” Charlie said gently. “The whole idea is to keep you out of sight. Most people know who you are. Just going to the grocery store is a security risk.”

“I understand that, and I’m not trying to be difficult. Really, I’m not,” she said. “But I’ve already gone almost two weeks without being able to go anywhere or even work out. I’m going to go stir crazy if I just sit around here all day.”

“I don’t know what to tell you,” he told her. “I thought all of this was explained to you when you agreed to protection.”

She let out a little sigh and nodded. Then she switched gears. “What about a treadmill or an exercise bike? I’ll pay for one.”

Charlie seemed to consider her idea. “Actually, that’s not a bad idea. I’ve got a decent treadmill at my apartment. Let me see if Ray might be willing to pick it up on his way over here tonight.” His lips curved up into the beginnings of a smile. “It might help keep both of us sane.”

“Thanks, Charlie,” Kendra said. Then she asked, “By the way, where is Ray?”

“He left about an hour ago. He’s only going to be staying over here at night so I can get some sleep.”

Her eyebrows lifted. “So he’s basically our night guard?”

“Pretty much. Unless we need him over here sooner, he’s planning on spending his evenings with his family, and then he’ll come over after his kids go to bed.” He gave her a reluctant smile and then asked, “Since I made dinner last night, does that mean you’re making breakfast?”

Humor danced in her eyes, and she wondered how such a simple question was able to put her more at ease than all his explanations had from the night before. “I guess I could do that.” She paused and then added, “As long as you promise to help with the dishes.”

“Deal.”

Charlie looked out the office window, surprised to see Ray pulling into the driveway even though it was only four o’clock in the afternoon. He also felt an unexpected wave of relief. Keeping tabs on Kendra was easy enough. Security equipment was set up outside of the safe house, and Angie had already called in to let him know that her surveillance hadn’t shown anything unusual.

The challenge was trying to maintain a professional distance from Kendra. He wasn’t sure what he had expected of her this morning, especially after he’d kissed her and then retreated so quickly, but he certainly hadn’t expected her to act like nothing had happened between them.

The tension he’d been expecting had quickly dissipated, but every time he looked at her, he felt edgy. And he knew it was his own fault.

Charlie opened the door and walked outside to see that his treadmill was in the back of Ray’s truck. “Hey, Ray. I didn’t expect you to make a special trip to bring this over.”

“Neal offered to help me load it up at your place, and I didn’t want to pass up on his offer. I wanted to give you an update anyway.” He jerked a thumb at the treadmill. “Do you want to get this unloaded first?”

“Sure.” Charlie moved with him to the back of the truck, and together they muscled the bulky machine up onto the front porch. They were able to utilize the two wheels on the bottom to push it into the house. Kendra appeared as Charlie maneuvered the treadmill through the front hall. He glanced up at her and asked, “Where do you want it?”

She motioned to the living room. “How about in there, facing the TV.”

Charlie nodded and rolled it into place as Ray and Kendra exchanged greetings.

“How’s Sarah doing?” Kendra asked Ray about his daughter, concern evident in her voice.

Ray immediately grinned. “She’s doing great. According to her last scans, she’s cancer free.”

“I’m so glad.” She laid a hand on his arm and gave it a friendly squeeze. “She’s so darling.”

Ray’s grin widened. “We think so.”

Kendra glanced over at Charlie. “Have you met Ray’s family yet?”

Charlie nodded, touched by her obvious concern for Ray’s little girl. Before he could answer, Ray spoke for him.

“We had Charlie over for dinner about a month ago, and Sarah announced after he left that we needed to adopt him.”

A giggle escaped Kendra. “Adopt him?”

Charlie rolled his eyes, oddly embarrassed. “She just wants me around because I give her piggyback rides.”

“You are pretty good at those.” Kendra smiled, and Charlie’s mind immediately flashed back to the first time he’d met her and insisted on carrying her over the snow. She stared at him for a moment and then nodded at the hall. “I think I’ll go change into some workout clothes and put your efforts to good use.”

Charlie watched her disappear down the hall and then turned to face Ray. “You said you had an update for me?”

Ray nodded. “Jed Burgess’s story checks out as far as we can tell. He did attend award shows repeatedly over the past five years.”

“And the award shows correspond with the murders?”

“Five of them, but the O’Riley murder was committed in December, and there weren’t any events of significance around that one, at least nothing we could identify,” he told Charlie. “I guess it would have been too easy to finally figure out what events were triggering the murders.”

“I think we still have to consider that as a possible trigger though,” Charlie said. “When were the five murders committed in relation to the award shows?”

“The time of death is a little sketchy on the first two murders because the bodies weren’t found right away, but from the coroner reports, all of them looked like they happened within a day or two of the shows. For three of them, the time of death was within twenty-four hours after the award shows ended,” Ray said. “Including Joslyn Korden. We were able to verify that she did attend the Grammys.”

“That’s too big a coincidence to ignore,” Charlie insisted, considering. “You know, maybe it isn’t the award shows that are the trigger. It could be that they are just a way for our guy to find women who are easy prey, at least for those first four.”

“What do you mean?”

“Think about it,” Charlie said, his mind whirring. “All the victims were dressed in formal attire. He might be preying on women who attended the award shows because they gave him easy access to the kind of woman he has built his fantasies around.”

“Besides Joslyn, there was one other victim who was an attendee of the Grammys right before she disappeared, but nothing like that popped up in the other women’s files.”

“But the others could have been seat fillers just like Jed Burgess. It’s possible that that information was overlooked or wasn’t considered important when the local police did the initial investigations,” Charlie said, realizing that he was making a stretch, especially when he added, “The one that doesn’t fit could be a case of a woman being dressed up for another event but was unlucky enough to catch our killer’s attention.”

“The timing doesn’t work for Kendra either. There aren’t any shows coming up anytime soon,” Ray told him. “The next one is still a couple of months away.”

“I wonder if that explosion backstage at Kendra’s concert really was related to all of this,” Charlie said. “Could someone else have been the target?”

“The LA office said they’re still considering all possibilities, but the MO is the same as the one that occurred before Joslyn Korden’s murder.”

“What’s the status on DeFoe?”

“Nothing yet, but the LA office does have him under surveillance now.” Ray thought for a moment. “You know, if your theory is right, we might be looking for a limo or taxi driver. They would have easy access to these women.”

“But how would he get into their houses unchallenged?”

“I don’t know. Maybe show up claiming that they left something in his limo or cab?”

“It’s possible.”

Ray glanced down at his watch. “I’d better get going. I have a few things to take care of before I come back tonight.”

Charlie nodded. “Thanks again.”

“I’ll keep you posted.”

Charlie walked him out and then locked the door before heading back into the office. He sat down as Kendra’s footsteps sounded in the front hall. He could hear her turn on the television, and a few seconds later, he heard the distinctive hum of the treadmill. Satisfied that Kendra was safely occupied, he logged onto the internet and debated where to start researching next.

There were so many possibilities, both for potential victims and possible suspects. Considering the reality that Kendra might be the primary target of the Malibu Stalker, he pulled a notepad out of his briefcase and sectioned off three columns: one with the dates of the murders, one for the dates of the awards shows, and the other for where Kendra was at each of those times.

The first two columns filled in quickly. Charlie then went to Google and typed in Kendra’s name. His eyes widened when the results popped up over one hundred seventy million hits. “That’s insane,” Charlie muttered to himself as he narrowed the search.

He checked out her official website, noting the photos of Kendra at the most recent country music awards. She looked stunning in a streamlined pale blue gown, the scoop neckline and cap sleeves setting her apart from the few other women in the background with their more worldly formal attire.

A sense of unease pricked at him when he noted the date of the photo and realized that it was taken at the awards show just before Joslyn Korden’s murder. He then opened up another tab and began searching various magazine and celebrity websites that showed the red carpet photos.

Photos of Kendra were easy to locate since she was always included in the various sites’ slideshows. He read one of the captions, smiling to himself when Kendra’s blue gown was described as elegant and timeless. At another site, she was called classically modest in her Cinderella-style dress.

“What are you doing?” Kendra asked when she walked into the room an hour later.

“Research,” Charlie said as he glanced up. He noted that she must have just gotten out of the shower since her hair was a little damp. She had also changed into a pair of jeans and a long-sleeved T-shirt.

“You’re researching me?” she asked flatly, skirting around the desk so she could look over his shoulder at the computer screen.

Charlie nodded absently as he clicked on the next image. “Do you always wear blue?”

“Yeah.” Kendra’s shoulders lifted. “My mother picked ice blue as my signature color, and I just never cared about that kind of stuff enough to argue with her about it. Personally, I’m about ready for a change.”

His blood ran cold, and his eyes lifted to meet hers. The sudden clarity of thought pulsed through him. As much as he didn’t want to believe it, Kendra wasn’t an image, an illusion of the stalker’s obsession. She really
was
the obsession. He also realized that the formal wear could be the key rather than the events the women might have attended.

“What’s your favorite kind of flower?”

“My favorite flower?” She looked at him quizzically. “Officially or unofficially?”

“Is there a difference?”

“Actually, yes. According to the public image my parents helped create, I like red roses, but I actually prefer lilies.”

Charlie’s lips pressed into a hard line, and his mind raced with possibilities. After a moment of silence he asked, “Do you have your dresses custom made?”

“Yeah.” She nodded her head. “Henrico Aldaves has been designing dresses for me and my family for as long as I can remember.”

“Tell me about him.”

She shifted so she was standing beside him instead of looking over his shoulder. Confusion was evident on her face, but she answered him without question. “He’s been married a few times, a couple of kids, one from each of his first two marriages.” Her shoulders lifted slightly. “My mom was friends with his third wife, Brandi, but when that marriage ended, my mom decided she liked Henrico’s designs more than she needed Brandi’s friendship, so she kept his phone number on speed dial instead of hers.”

“How old is he?”

“Mid to late forties.” She shrugged. “Of course, in Hollywood you can never really be sure.”

Charlie jotted down the dates of the six murders and then shoved the pad of paper and a pen toward her. “I need you to write down where you were on all of these dates. If you can tell me what you were doing in the few days or even weeks before them, too, that would be great.”