Reprisal (14 page)

“Don’t make promises you can’t keep, Gabe.” I tell him again, as he likes to make promises.

“I have no intentions of breaking that promise, Syd. You. Are. Safe. With. Me.” And his mouth rams down on mine, taking my breath away. His tongue licks in my mouth, taking what he wants, leaving me a heaving and panting mess. But he pulls back, brushing the hair out of my eyes.

“Let’s eat.”

Gabe

We sit in silence as we eat and I’m enjoying watching her rolling her fajitas. Her lips wrap around the final product and I wish that was my cock her lips were wrapped around “Later.” I tell myself. But after a bit, Sydney breaks the silence.

“I need to call Leslie. I was supposed to call her this morning and I can only imagine how freaked out she is right now.”

“Chuck has already let her know what’s going on, to an extent. She doesn’t know everything, but she knows you’re with me and that you’re safe. Give it a day or so and you can call her, we just want to make sure no one knows where you are right now.”

“What do you mean? You told me no one followed us, that I was safe here.”

“You are, but the first twenty-four hours are critical. If someone knows you’re here, we’ll be made aware of it fairly quickly. These guys tend to make their move within a certain time frame thinking they’re catching their victim off guard. That won’t happen this time. The house is surrounded by off duty officers and a
vacant home across the street has surveillance equipment installed. A camera is pointed right at the house constantly. No one will go unnoticed, please trust me.”

“I’m trying, Gabe. But you must realize that I have trust issues. I trusted my father and we both know how that ended up.”

“I’m not your father, Syd. I will never hurt you and I will never let anyone hurt you. You’re safe here, I will guarantee that.” I say, knowing there are no guarantees.

I watch her face after that comment, and I know she’s not convinced. Hell, I’m not either for that matter. All I know is that I will do everything in my power to protect her. She’s been let down before and that has happened for the last time in her life. I cringe at my own thoughts, because I can’t be sure. Criminals like this have no regard for anyone else and will do whatever needed to get to the victim they want. If we can figure out who it is, then maybe we can nab him before he gets to Sydney.

“What did Chuck say about my brother? Is he accounted for?”

“Yes, he was working yesterday when the third victim washed up.”

“What was her name?”

“Why?”

“I don’t know, really. Just to put a name with the victim.”

“
Lacey Bennett. She was eighteen.”

“Did she look like me too?”

“What do you mean?”

“Oh Gabe, don’t play stupid with me. Did she look like me? Dark hair, dark eyes....you know?”

I shake my head, “No. This girl was blonde and blue eyed.” And I know the question is coming. I’m not sure how much longer I can keep the biggest secret of them all. Something we have not made Sydney aware of.

“What Gabe? What aren’t you telling me?”

I get up and gather our dishes, taking them to the kitchen. Before I can get there, Sydney grabs my arm and jerks me back, dishes go flying. “Shit, what the........!”

“D
ON’T ‘WHAT THE HELL ME’ GABERIAL TORRES!” Sydney starts screaming. “YOU KNOW MORE THAN YOU’RE LETTING ON, CHUCK TOO! AND DAMN IT, YOU WILL TELL ME! GIVE ME THE FUCKING FILE YOU HAVE ON ME! IF YOU WON’T TELL ME, THEN I’LL PUT THE PUZZLE PIECES TOGETHER MYSELF! IF I’ SUPPOSED TO STAY SAFE, THEN I NEED TO KNOW WHAT I’M DEALING WITH!”

I really don’t want her knowing all that I know. I wish that she could just trust me to keep her safe, but the details will come out soon enough. I pick the dishes up off of the floor while she stands there looking at me.

“If I give you these files.......”

“Gabe?”

“I’ll give you the files, but please....prepare yourself for what you find out.”

And I walk away to my office to get the files and photos. Chuck is going to kill me, but Sydney is right. She deserves to know the truth. I just pray she can survive the truth.

I grab the files from my desk and contemplate removing some of the contents, so that she won’t see them. But then I know, I can’t lose her trust at this point. I want to keep her safe, now and always.

“Fuck.” I say out loud.

“What is it, Gabe?” Sydney asks from behind me.

“Nothing, just thinking out loud.”

She nods at me, but I can see by her reaction she doesn’t believe me. “Those the files?”

“Yeah.” I say as I hand them to her. “Let’s go into the living room and spread them out over the coffee table, I can explain what it all is.”

“No. Do you mind if I sit in here and go over them?” She asks as she sits down at my desk.

“I suppose not.” I reply as I sit down in the chair across from her. She looks up at me and then back down at the folder, before lifting her eyes back to me.

“Umm, can I review these.....alone?”

I think, ‘no way in hell’ before nodding and leaving her alone. I know if I argue with her and try to bend the story any, she’ll back away and I can’t have that. She needs to know the truth, I know this. Though I don’t want her knowing. But right now, it’s not about me and I need to step back and let her do what she needs to do, hard as that might be.

I quietly close the door behind me as I leave my office and head back to the kitchen. I’ll get the dishes done and out of the way. Maybe by that point she will be done reviewing the files and I can start trying to calm her down. Before I can get started, Chuck calls me with more details. I sit and listen to him intently, because I know Syd will want an update.

“The blonde is no relation to other girls. Seems to be just a random girl, but the DNA extracted from her matches the others.” Chuck tells me. “Funny though, she doesn’t appear to have been raped, no damage to the tissues and no bruising, almost
as if it was consensual. She definitely had sex with the guy, but she wasn’t raped. No skin found under her fingernails, no signs of trauma, with the exception of the snapped neck.”

“Wait, he snapped her neck? What the hell, Chuck! Same DNA but different MO? This doesn’t make any sense. Either he knows we’re on to him and he’s changing his signature, or he really knew this girl.”

“We think he knew her, and maybe ran out of victims to kill until he can get his hands on Sydney. We’re following up on that right now, but so far nothing else has come up. Is she all right?”

“I don’t know, she’s in my office going over
the files on her and the others. She wanted to be alone when she went over them. I expect she’ll come out of there pretty pissed off.”

“Shit, I wish you had been with her while she went over them, to explain.”

“I know, I tried. She’s a stubborn woman so I didn’t fight her. I’ll be ready for her when she’s done. Thank for the update.” I say as I press the end button.

I get the dishes done and move to sit down on the sofa with a cold beer when she finally comes out of my office. I glance at my watch and realize she’s been in there over an hour. Her face is white as a ghost and her hands are shaking. “
Syd, are you all right?” I stand up and move towards her.

She glances at me, anger filling her eyes as a tear rolls down her cheek. She hold her hands up to me, keeping me at bay.

“YOU KEPT ALL OF THIS FROM ME! HOW COULD YOU?” She yells as she throws the folder at me. “I trusted you to.....hell, to keep me informed! Why didn’t you tell me! I had a right to know that my father is in fact ALIVE!” And she storms off to the bathroom, slamming the door. The door lock clicking so loud that I think she might have broken it.

“S
YDNEY, PLEASE. LET ME EXPLAIN!” I yell through the door. “Please come out and I can go over additional details.”

The door flies open and she stands there glaring at me, “You mean there’s more?”

“No, just more complete information. Those files were obtained early in the investigation. I talked to Chuck while you were in my office.”

“Gabe, those girls......those girls were my......shit, I can’t even say it.” She says as she turns away from me, almost embarrassed.

“Your sisters, yes. Samantha and Sophia were your half-sisters. Syd, please come sit down and I can explain. I know more than the files show. Please.”

She stalks into the living room, flopping down on the sofa. Her eyes are red and her face is puffy from crying. All I want to do is hold her in my arms and comfort her, but I know she’ll push me away right now. She’s hurt and angry and I hate that, so I refrain from touching her.

She looks at me, waiting and wondering.

“
Syd, your father is dead. I read the coroner’s report. This asshole is not your father, but we do believe he is related to you somehow.”

“Well duh, Gabe. My DNA matches both girls AND the killer. Fuck! Why is this happening?” She cries in to her hands. “If it isn’t my father, then who is it? You said my brother was working, are you sure it wasn’t him?”

“Yes, he has an alibi for all three murders.”

“The third one, is she a sister too?”

I shake my head, “Apparently not, but the same DNA was extracted from her body. We believe she had consensual sex with the unsub, so we feel that he knew her. There was no noticeable trauma on her body except the tattoo and.......”

“And what Gabe?”

“Her neck was broken, but we don’t believe he raped her.”

I sit quietly and watch the expression on Sydney’s face as she comes to the same realization Chuck and I came to earlier on the phone.

“He’s changing his MO, Gabe. But if that’s the case, why the tattoo of the number three on her hip? He knows we’ve linked it together and he’s changing things up. But either way, he’s after me next, I have no doubt. He’s trying to throw us off course. But why kill an innocent girl? If he’s after me, why not just come after me?”

“We aren’t completely sure there are no other sisters. Chuck
is looking into that right now, but I think what you said at dinner holds some truth.” I tell her.

She sits quietly, contemplating her next words. “He needed a third victim before moving on to me, victim number four. Well I have news for you Detective, I will not be a victim again.”

“No way, I’ll make sure that never happens.” And I step towards her, hoping her anger has dissipated and I can touch her, but she steps back from me.

“No, you aren’t getting it Gabe. You need to put me in.”

“What the fuck are you talking about?”

“He wants me, let him have me.” She says, determination in her eyes.

“No fucking way, Syd. You’ve seen what this guy is capable of and I will not allow him to do it to you. No way.” I shake my head and turn my back to her. I feel her small hand on my shoulder and my body tenses up. I will not allow myself to be distracted anymore. If she’s volunteering to go be killed, then I have to distance myself.

“Gabe. I wouldn’t do it unprotected. Geez, I’m not a martyr. I’ll have my gun and you won’t be far away. I just have to figure out how to lure him to me without being obvious. Gabe, I need to go home. Now.”

And she turns to get her jacket.

“Sydney, wait. Let’s talk this through before jumping in.”

“No, no more talking Gabe. Let’s go.”

And she walks out the door, slamming it behind her. I grab my keys and jacket, following her out. I lock up behind me and nod towards the house across the street, silently notifying them to be on the lookout.

But I look towards the car and Sydney’s not there. She’s gone. I hit the sidewalk and start turning in circles, looking up the street. Then down the street as I grasp for my phone. “What the fuck!” I ask the officer on the other end. “Who is this?” I ask.

“This is Detective Reynolds, sir. Are you leaving the house?”

“REALLY? DID YOU NOT JUST SEE US EXIT THE PROPERTY? WHICH WAY DID DOCTOR DECARLO GO?” I scream in to the phone.

“I...I...I’m sorry, Detective. I didn’t see her leave, we thought she was locked up tight inside.”

“Damn it! You had a job to do and you fucked it up! Now she’s gone! Get Chuck Matthews, over here stat! I’m going searching on foot! You keep your God damn eyes on this house and you call me if she comes back, you got that? Can you handle that small task?”

“Yes sir.”

Fuck, she’s gone. FUCK! Why did she have to just barge out of the house like that? Damn, stupid!! She knew he was after her and she.....damn it, I have to get moving. I hike up the street and see one of my neighbors, Old Lady Thomason. I calm down and approach with caution, cause she’s a skittish old bird. “Evening Mrs. Thomason.”

She turns to look up at me, “Oh hi Detective Torres. Lovely evening isn’t it?”

“Yes ma’am. Listen, did you see a young woman walk this way? She’s about five foot five, long brown hair. She’s wearing jeans and a yellow sweatshirt.”

Her eyes glaze over as she thinks, “Well now, let me see. How long ago?”

“About two minutes ago, ma’am. Please, did you see her?”

“Ah now, Detective, running the ladies off already?” She
tsks shaking her crooked finger at me.

“Apparently, ma’am. Did you see her or not?”

“Umm, no. I don’t believe I did. But I will send her over if I see her.”

“Thank you, Mrs. Thomason.”