Redeeming the Night (18 page)

He grasped her arm to stop her. “Will you be able to control yourself if he answers the door?”

She looked him in the eye, and for a second he could see doubt. Then her eyebrow arched. “You’ll be there, Daddy. I promise to behave.”

He rolled his eyes. “Don’t call me Daddy.”

“Dad?”

He grunted.

“Pop?”

“Cut it out.”

They climbed out of the car and slowly walked up the street. When they got to Pilcher’s house Ashley went up to the front door. Playing the father, Eric needed to hang back a bit. He measured the distance to the door. He could reach her in five bounds.

The front door opened to reveal a woman in her mid-to-late fifties. “Can I help you?”

“Good afternoon. My name is Michelle. I’m with the Desert Scouts. I’m selling cookies for my troop. Number 492.” She saluted and then lifted her clipboard to show the woman a fake order form they’d downloaded that morning with several sales already listed. “As you can see there are several new cookies this year.”

“Oh, how lovely. Come in.”

Ashley feigned worry. “I’m not supposed to.” She glanced back at Eric.

“Your father can come, too.” The woman pitched her voice to carry so Eric could hear. “Come on in for a minute while I get my purse.”

Eric reached Ashley, and they followed the woman.

Ashley whispered, “All I get from her is innocence with an undertone of mischief.”

Eric leaned close to Ashley’s ear. “She’s not nervous, and he’s not home.”

“Have a seat, I’ll be right back.” The woman waved at the living room before continuing on her way. “Can I offer you some lemonade?” she offered.

Eric coughed. The last time a woman had offered him lemonade the perp he was tracking had killed her before she could hand him the glass. “No, thank you.”

The sitting room at the front of the house was connected to a dining area by an opening in a half wall. On the other side of the dining room another half wall revealed the woman puttering around in the kitchen.

Over the mantle of the fireplace hung a group picture of Pilcher, his wife—the woman singing to herself in the kitchen—and a teenage girl, similar in appearance to the other victims. Nearly identical to Victoria Gunderson. On the back of the antique couch sat a row of rag dolls. Each dressed in a different outfit.

“I never have guests.” Mrs. Pilcher reentered the room carrying a tray of butter cookies shaped like little flowers with a hole in the middle, which she placed on the coffee table. “These are so much fun.” She placed a cookie on her finger and nibbled the edge.

Ashley passed her the order form. “I like your dolls.”

“Oh, me too,” Mrs. Pilcher agreed. “My husband used to make them for my daughter. They were so close, the two of them. Sometimes she’d have problems with her stomach, and he’d sit up with her all night.” Tears welled, and the woman sniffled. “She died years ago, but he still makes them sometimes. He gives them away to little girls that remind him of her. A special little doll for a special little girl, he’d say.”

Using her disguise to its advantage Ashley widened her eyes and asked, “Oh, how did she die?”

Eric scolded, “Sweetie, that’s not polite to ask.”

Mrs. Pilcher smiled gently. “Children are curious.” She patted Ashley’s head. “That’s a good quality in children. We were in a car accident. I was in a coma for a month. When I woke up Irving told me that she’d passed. My poor darling. They were so close; he was devastated.”

Absently, she finished the cookie she’d worn on her finger, then she slipped on another, and nibbled off that one as well. “I just love cookies, don’t you?” she asked as she checked several boxes on the order form.

• • •

Once on the street, on the way back to their car, Eric said, “She had brain trauma. She’s functional. So much so that she’s probably fooling herself. I really don’t think she even notices what Pilcher’s doing.”

Ashley nodded. “What I could see in her aura was almost childlike. She has an overwhelming innocence about her. I don’t think she would be able to notice complex threats.”

“How do you mean?”

“She wouldn’t fear a growling dog.”

“I’ll try not to be offended.”

“She’s innocent. In every possible way. Her husband, though … ”

“Isn’t,” he finished for her. “Yeah, I smelled him. I couldn’t catch the scent of any of the girls, though. Looks like we’ll have to follow him.”

“Should we report the doll collection to Aaron?”

“He’d only be able to put a tail on him, if that. He might not be able to get approval for a tail based solely on a tip. He’d have to knock on her door, too. Ask some questions. Too much activity could spook Pilcher if he isn’t spooked already.”

They got into the car and waited. Before long, a sedan pulled into the driveway of the Pilchers’ house.

“That’s him.” Eric twisted the rearview so he could watch the house but still face forward.

Pilcher glanced up and down the street before entering his house. After a moment, the porch light went out. Luckily, she was far enough away from the house that she didn’t want to devour Pilcher’s soul.

“Are we going to sit here all night?” Ashley asked, before shifting back to herself. Given the way they’d spent their day, she had a difficult time keeping her hands to herself.

“It’s a stakeout.” Eric patted her hand, which seemed to snake its way up his thigh. “The whole point is to pay attention to the subject.”

“Right.” She pulled her hand away. “Pay attention. But it doesn’t have to be rapt attention. Does it?” She leaned over and kissed his throat, peppering it until she reached his far earlobe, and in doing so, she’d climbed into his lap.

“That feels wonderful, but—”

“And if we’re like this I can keep an eye on them, can’t I?” It was serious, she knew that. But the scent of Eric, and the memory of that morning, had her longing for a repeat performance. She’d never felt so close to anyone in her long lifetime. So connected and still so free.

For once, she felt nothing but love coming from a man. No lies. No agenda. It was invigorating. She wanted to make him feel as euphoric as he made her.

Eric smiled as he slowly stroked her arms. “Yes, but as soon as he begins to move we’ll have to stop, and I
know
I won’t want to do that.”

“True.” She shifted her hips in a slow circle and ran her fingers into his hair. “The upstairs window just lit up. It seems as though they are settling in for the evening.”

Eric glanced into the rearview mirror. “So you’re saying we have time to do a little of this?” He gripped her bottom and pulled her tighter to him. His hands slid under her shirt. They caressed her back and sides, then eased around front to cup her breasts. His warm thumbs circled over her nipples, hardening them.

“Oh.” She leaned into his touch and bent to kiss him again. It would have been so easy to allow herself to forget the outside world as pleasure and fog clouded her mind. She opened her eyes for a moment to check Pilcher’s house, only to see the lights on his car glow. “Shit. He’s moving.” She climbed off Eric’s lap and watched as the dark sedan pulled away down the street. “Shit,” she repeated.

“Keep an eye on him.” Eric started the car and backed onto the street.

“He just turned right.”

“Okay.” They turned as well and pulled up behind Pilcher at a light to exit the neighborhood. Eric glanced at Ashley as she smoothed her hair and tried to get comfortable in her seat. “Told you so.”

She grunted. “We didn’t miss him.” She gave his leg a squeeze. “I regret nothing.”

“Neither do I.” The depth of his voice told her he meant more than just playing around in the car while on a stakeout.

They followed Pilcher’s sedan onto the highway. After a while, Eric said, “He’d want to keep his victim as far away from his home as possible.”

“Makes sense.” She nodded. “The wife is fragile. It seems he still values her, regardless of his extracurricular activities.”

Their course took them away from the city. Twilight had them turning on the headlights. Luckily, they weren’t the only ones on the road. For now.

She read a traffic sign. “He’s heading toward Pahrump.”

“That doesn’t make sense. The problems there would be the same ones he’d have in Vegas. He couldn’t hide the girls in a city, or even a suburban neighborhood. Not if he wanted to keep them alive.”

As he spoke, the car they followed slowed and switched on his blinker. They followed suit. The exit had a gas station and a couple of fast food restaurants. He drove past everything. Then, after about five minutes, he pulled into a motel parking lot.

Eric didn’t slow. As they passed, they could see Pilcher drive behind the building. Eric pulled into the first driveway after the motel and turned around.

Ashley reached out with her senses. She could feel the evil that was Pilcher. But also there were three other people. All innocent. All terrified. Something rose in her. Her ring grew hot. She could feel the power flow from that point and radiate throughout her body. “We’ve found them.”

“We have to be sure,” he said.

She remembered the pull she’d felt in the Gundersons’ house and shivered. Eric was afraid of his own powers, of being a monster. What would his reaction to hers be? They had just found happiness. How would he react if she attacked Pilcher? “I don’t think … I shouldn’t.”

“Just wait in the car. I’ll scent out the girls.” Eric cut the lights as soon as he pulled into the far side of the lot.

The closer they got, the stronger the pull. She closed her eyes but reopened them when he touched her arm. “Seriously, just wait here. I have to be sure the girls are here before we call in Aaron and the cavalry.”

“Right.”

He leaned over and brushed his lips against hers. “I’ll be right back.”

She watched him until he disappeared behind the back of the motel. The building had once been maroon, but years of bleaching in the sun-drenched desert left it a pale and somewhat sickly salmon.

The tugging had become painful. If she gave in, there was no telling what she’d do. In all her time in Vegas, she’d never thirsted so deeply for a man’s soul. Before she realized it, she was out of the car and crossing the parking lot.

• • •

Eric didn’t draw his gun, though his hand itched to have it ready. He couldn’t confront Pilcher.
I only need to be sure I have the right place.
The sedan had been parked halfway down the length of the building. That was most likely where Pilcher was keeping the girls.

As he passed the doors to what seemed to be empty rooms, he sniffed and listened. No telling how many girls the man had taken. The first three rooms were empty, but Pilcher’s scent was all over them. It was possible he’d once stored his captives there.

As he neared the middle, he did draw his weapon. The fourth room was occupied. Only one girl from what he could tell. He wanted to save her. To take her to safety before calling Aaron. But that could tip off Pilcher and put the other girls at risk.

A yelp split the air ahead. He moved quick and silent to the large window. A sliver of light peeked through the drapes. Behind the door a female screamed and begged. Even through the door Eric heard the punch that quieted her. He couldn’t leave her. He couldn’t call backup. He had to help these girls now.

He leaned back and kicked the door open. The wood of the door frame splintered. The door itself slammed against the wall. Pilcher sat on the edge of the bed still fully dressed. A shape shivered under the flower comforter beside him.

“Can I help you?” He was calm, as if the man who’d just kicked in his motel room door didn’t faze him, and neither did his gun.

“Stand up and put your hands behind your back.” Even after so long, his cop training took over. Eric couldn’t kill the man in cold blood. He might not come quietly, but his evil would end.

Pilcher laughed. “I’ll do no such thing.” He stood and held his arms wide. “I’m unarmed. I own this property.”

“You don’t own these girls.”

“No one wanted them. Living on the street. Even in their mansions, they weren’t wanted. No one paid attention to them. Loved them like they needed to be loved. Until me.

“You know, I had a girl once. My wife and I. She was smart, but the smart ones always think they know what’s best. She needed me to look out for her. Teach her.

“When my daughter died, I knew I had to replace her. All of these men with daughters they barely acknowledge. Those girls were to be looked at, like dolls. Then, I realized, they can have the doll. I want the girl.”

While he was talking, the comforter moved down a bit. Eric could see the rope that tied the girl to the headboard. If he transformed, he’d frighten the girl worse. So Eric moved closer, stepping close to a small table near the door. He tried to angle his gun away from the girl.

“Put the gun away,” Pilcher continued in his smooth tone. “You’re not a monster. Leave me with my family.”

“Turn around and place your hands behind your back.”

“No.”

• • •

Ashley turned the corner in time to see Eric enter the room. She approached the open door with as much speed and with as much restraint as she could muster. She couldn’t let him go in alone, but she didn’t want to startle the poor child who cowered under the covers.

When Pilcher refused to follow Eric’s direction, Ashley’s thin thread of control snapped. Rage she’d never known before took over. She hurled herself through the motel room door. She pushed Eric aside. She saw only Pilcher and his fetid soul.

Eric fell against the small table next to the door. His gun clattered to the stained linoleum floor and slid under the tattered fabric that skirted the box spring. He measured the distance in a glance, but before he could move to retrieve it, Ashley, the woman he loved, caught his attention with a scream.

She was shifting but not shifting. As she changed, so did her scent. From where he sat, transfixed, her skin rippled and then seemed to tear in millions of different places. Scales slipped through and into place covering her body from head to toe. Her body also changed. Her hands sported four-inch claws, and a delicate tail whipped from behind her. But the worst, and most terrifying, was her face. No trace of humanity remained. Her snout sported rows of fangs, just as black as her claws. Her eyes were like pools of tar, deep and endless.