Serial: Volume Two (6 page)

“Well now you have me and that’s all you’ll need.” He answered quickly, asserting authority over the situation like he always did. Most women would hate being told what to do and how to think, but I didn’t. He was far more successful than me and I’d be a stupid woman to think I knew more about life than he did. The more time I spent with him, the more I realized I was a possession. But I didn’t care. It was obvious that he took great care of everything he owned and it was a relief not to carry the burden of my previous life.

“Okay. That’s fine, Jude. Just don’t be angry with me, please. I couldn’t stand it if you were angry.”

He was silent for a few tense moments, but after considering his next words, he vocalized his thoughts. “Pet, your life is no longer what it was and it will never return to what it was. I wouldn’t have brought you here if I had any intention of allowing you to return back to that
hovel
you called a life. You’re better than that and if you’re not able to support yourself, then I think it’s best you turn yourself over to me completely. I’ll pamper you and ensure you want for nothing. But in return, you must listen to everything I tell you. You must let go of what you were and allow me to transform you into what you are capable of becoming.”

Tears welled in my eyes. Stinging hot, they blurred my vision and I blinked them away as quickly as they’d appeared. I didn’t respond to him because I had nothing left to say. Was it weak for me to accept his authority? Maybe. I was tired, so fucking tired that it was easy to hand over the reins, to allow someone else to make the hard decisions and to provide for all the necessities I needed to survive. Instead of feeling shame for giving in so easily, I felt relieved. Jude was the answer to so many problems and I was thankful that he cared enough to take control.

“Tell me your worst memory, Pet. Let me know that one event that started the downhill slide in your life. Maybe if I can understand what’s happened to you, I’ll know a better way to fix it, to protect you from all the predators that are out there biding their time for you.

Was it possible to choose just one event? I didn’t think so, but I didn’t want to disappoint him by not having something to say. Closing my eyes, I forced myself to look at my past. I was surprised that it didn’t take long to find the answer he was seeking.

“I think I remember something happening when I was four or five, but the memory is faint, almost like it happened in a dream. I would believe it was nothing more than a dream if my world didn’t spiral out of control so soon after it happened.” I was breathless telling him this story. Out of all the years that have passed since it occurred, I wasn’t sure I’d ever told it to anyone else. Perhaps I’d attempted to tell Billy at one time, but he would have never had the patience to listen to the whole thing. I was certain that Jude was the first that would hear it from my lips.

“My mom wasn’t always a drug addict. Not always. I remember a time when she was a normal person. She was sweet and kind, beautiful and strong. She would sing to me at night and help me learn to read. She was such a great mother, in fact, that she watched other people’s children as well. I can’t remember how old I was exactly, but at one time, we lived in a big mansion. My mom was the live in nanny and I was allowed to live with her in the house. It was like living in a castle and most days, I remember playing outside pretending I was a princess waiting for my prince.”

“Did you find him?”

“Hmmm?” I become so lost in my memories of the past, I almost didn’t register his question.

“Your prince. Did you ever find him?”

A chill ran down my spine at his words and I wasn’t sure why. Memories flooded me, images and thoughts that seemed foreign. They were fluid and not quite right, something that I’d long ago forgotten that was once again taking root in my mind’s eye.”

“No.” I closed off suddenly and no longer remained in the present with Jude. A nightmare was taking hold; dark clouds rolling in like a distant storm. I was helpless to it. My body began to shake and Jude held me tighter. He was my only solace at that moment and with him, I remembered.

“No, I found something much worse. The boy my mom watched, he was older than me by a few years. I can’t see his face and I don’t recall his name, but there was something about him that frightened me.” Like a phantom, the boy in my memories escaped me, appearing and then disappearing just before I could grasp his image.

“Something happened, something bad and my mom was fired as a result. We were kicked out in one night and I remember sleeping in shelters with her for a few weeks before she could find someplace to take me. She was never the same after that. After finding a new job cleaning houses, she was able to move us into an apartment. She wasn’t happy anymore and she stopped smiling. It wasn’t until I was older that I discovered she’d attempted to escape her own life through alcohol and drugs.”

“What happened with the boy?” His voice was cautious, on edge because of something I couldn’t quite understand. I hoped he was just feeling protective, that he was angry at the memory more than he was at me.

“I don’t know, Jude. All I know was that whatever he did, it was something that changed my life...and not for the better.

Chapter Seven

Donovan Blake

FBI

“Thank you for your help, Ma’am. If there is anything else, we’ll be in touch.”

The matronly looking manager of the Waffle House smiled at me revealing the fake gold cap inserted over her left front tooth. I cringed at the sight, wondering why any person would choose a metallic color and wear it so proudly.

“I hope what I told you will help. I feel so bad that Noreen went missing. I hope she turns up, although I highly doubt it with that crazy killer running around. Are you all close to catching him? We can’t keep living like this.”

Emily stepped up to field the woman’s panic while I inched away discreetly. Reaching the front, I opened the door and stepped outside. The air was wet with a foggy drizzle, the rain in this town was seemingly endless. I wondered if the planet, itself, was attempting to wash away CK’s evil deeds.

Emily stepped outside a few minutes later, simply nodding at me as she slipped around my body to head in the direction of the car. She was angry, I knew that by the guarded way in which she carried herself when she was near me. She never was good at hiding her emotions from my notice.

Once inside the dry car, she wordlessly clicked her seatbelt into place and focused her attention out towards the street beyond the windshield.

I couldn’t bring myself to start to the car. “How long are you planning on giving me the cold shoulder, Agent Chase?”

She didn’t need to look in my direction for me to know she was rolling her eyes.

“Like you don’t know,
Agent Blake
.”

Laughter escaped my lungs to hear the disgust in her voice; she hated referring to me with my professional name.

“I know several things that I’ve done that should have pissed you off; my question is simply which one angered you the most?”

A scowl crept over her face and I chuckled at the sight of it. “You shouldn’t display your emotions so easily, Agent Chase. A person in your position needs to hide her every thought. I don’t need an agent who’s transparent.

That got her attention. She head swiveled on her shoulders, her eyes locking to mine with all the heat and intensity of a raging fire.

“I didn’t appreciate the way you spoke to me in front of the other agents. Your lack of professionalism and respect…”

Catching her chin between my thumb and forefinger, I held her still and said, “I am nothing if not professional, Agent Chase. You of all people should know that, especially while considering the fact that your biggest problem with me is that I refuse to play Romeo to your pathetic fucking Juliet. I have no time for love, pet names or even fucking first names for that matter. The fact of the matter is that you are confusing my agreement to allow you to ride my cock with the idea that I care for you. What makes matters even worse is the fact that you are attacking my professionalism as a result of your misguided anger.”

They were spiteful words, spit from my lips without even a small hint of compassion or remorse. I needed to hurt her. She was getting too close and developing feelings for the situation between us. To me, it was a fun fuck every once in a while. I’d never intended anything more.

Her brown hair slapped around her face like a whip when she ripped her head to the side breaking my grasp and our eye contact. I’ll admit I expected tears. Most women couldn’t handle open rejection, much less when it was used to prove to the woman that
she’d
done something wrong.

“Just drive the car, Blake. I’m suddenly in the mood to be as far away from you as possible. Drop me off at the hotel and you can go meet Reynolds at Noreen’s house.”

Her voice was solid as a rock. With no hint of emotion, she’d blown me off completely. I’d be a liar to say I wasn’t impressed with the sudden control she had over herself.

Without another word, I started the car and drove the silent distance to the hotel. Dropping her off had been a relief, but before she could close the door, I called out, “Agent Chase.”

She turned to look at me with loathing hatred evident in her eyes. I laughed. Perhaps the control I’d earlier appreciated in her wasn’t as complete as I’d believed. She was still wearing her heart on her sleeve and I considered the fact that I’d made a mistake by including her on my team.

“I’ll be returning to the hotel in approximately two hours. I want the entire team gathered in the conference room when I get back.

“They’re out performing the tasks you assigned them…”

“Don’t give me excuses, Chase. I want the team here in two hours. You make that happen.”

Stepping on the gas, I laughed when the door of the car was ripped from her hand, slamming closed with the force of acceleration. I didn’t have to look in the rearview mirror to know that Emily stood on the curb, her eyes shooting daggers at my back window as I drove away. Two hours would be sufficient time for her to cool down and in that time, I’d focus on the case at hand. If I returned and she was still irate, I would consider replacing her with an agent who didn’t allow her personal feelings to get in the way of our investigation.

***

Two hours passed and in that time I’d managed to discover absolutely nothing about why CK had chosen Noreen as his next victim. Reynolds and two local detectives had gone through everything in her apartment searching for clues as to why two waitresses from the same dumpy restaurant had gone missing. As far as they could tell, Noreen was opposite in every way possible from what we knew about Ronnie.

Whereas Ronnie had come from a pathetic background, only landing herself in an even more pathetic life with Billy, Noreen appeared to have come from a good background, but had chosen to live life on the wild side. With hair color that spanned every shade of the fucking rainbow, she’d cast aside the college and trust funds her parents had diligently squirreled away for her life in favor of a lifestyle living in a small efficiency apartment. When not working, she appeared to frequent local fetish clubs and would travel every so often to attend tattoo conventions and other comic book and horror conventions that were scattered across the country.

Strong-arming the conference room door so that it slammed open and caught the attention of the team, I strolled casually into the room with Reynolds directly behind me. Emily didn’t even bother to look up from where she sat and I smiled to think that, perhaps, the two hours had done her some good. As usual, I didn’t bother with pleasantries, choosing instead to bark out orders as quickly as I expected them to be followed.

“Agent Chase, please get the media on the line. I’ll be briefing them in one hour as to my findings regarding our perpetrator. Agent Ward, I want you to coordinate a team of local agencies to start scouring the Cascades for the bodies of both Veronica Lapierre and Noreen Hamilton. Agent Reynolds, I want you on camera with me in an hour.”

Reynolds took his seat and shot me the photogenic grin I knew would be useful on camera. Whereas I would be perceived as the tight-ass agent who only had a mind for the case, Reynolds would be more acceptable to the community as the friendly face of this investigation. As a result, I’d make him the contact point for the public.

“After contacting the media, Agent Chase, I want a tip hotline established so that we can provide that information to the public. I’m sick and tired of this bastard remaining one step ahead of us. It’s about fucking time we draw him out of whatever rock he’s hiding under. If we can get the public involved, that provides us with thousands more eyes and ears out there watching for CK.”

“And how do you plan on doing that, exactly?” Emily’s question ruffled my feathers a bit more than I would have liked. Following the news briefing, I’d be dealing with her continued displays of emotion.

My eyes locked on to hers and I grinned, noticing that she couldn’t hold my stare for long. “Let me worry about that, Agent Chase. At this point, the only thing you need to be worried about is why it is taking you so long to get up from your chair and follow my orders.”

***

The sound of constant firing camera shutters overpowered the stale night air. The sky was lit up by the flashing lights, every person squeezing in to get closer to the podium where I would soon be standing to advice the public about their resident serial. It was fortunate that the never-ending rain in the city had ceased long enough for us to hold the conference outside because I doubted the hotel lobby would have been able to handle the mass of the crowd that had developed on the sidewalk and had been pushed out onto the street. Roadblocks were quickly established diverting traffic away from the hotel.

“You’re on in one minute, Agent Blake.”

Kathy, our media correspondent, quickly reminded me of the time as she rushed past to interrupt a feud that was developing between the news cameramen vying for a front row position for the conference.