Shades of Temptation (25 page)

CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

A
FTER
THE
TELEVISION
SPOT
and a full day
at work, Carrie didn’t return to Jase’s home. He’d made it plain as day when he
hadn’t shown up for the filming that he wanted nothing to do with her any
longer. She went back to her house, where she belonged, with no lover to
distract her. Yet the whole time, she missed Jase. Her body and heart yearned
for him. And that was only further proof of what a mistake it had been to get so
close to him.

The following day, Carrie worked from home, then headed into
the office at about 3:00 p.m. DeMarco was on the phone, but motioned for her to
take a seat. “Okay, thank you very much. We’ll check it out.” He hung up and
held up a handful of memo sheets. “We’ve been getting calls from everyone and
their mother, either claiming they’ve seen The Embalmer or confessing to the
crimes themselves. It’s a toss up as to which one of you has gotten the most
marriage proposals. Lana’s pulled in front, but you’re not too close
behind.”

She snorted. “Any promising leads?”

Shaking his head, he sighed and she felt his frustration. “No.
None. But we’re not taking any chances. We’re following up on every single one.
We’ve got patrol cars checking out the most promising of the bunch.”

An hour later, Carrie slammed the phone down in frustration,
cursing the fact that she couldn’t find one solid lead in the stack of messages
she’d received. So far, two men had confessed to killing women and cutting out
their eyeballs. Several other people had called saying they had information
about someone who was digging up corpses and having sex with them. Almost all of
them had asked about a reward. And none of them had provided any useful
information.

What, had she thought Darwin would call her and set up a
meeting as if it was a playdate? Carrie rubbed the back of her neck, but
straightened when Simon walked up to her desk.

“Any luck?”

She shook her head. “No. You?”

“No. None.” Simon looked at her closely, and she wondered if
her eyes were as red and fatigued as his own. “It doesn’t mean anything. It’s
probably too soon to tell. Something could still come up.”

Carrie didn’t answer, appreciating Simon’s optimism but not
really believing it. “Do you think he’s going to do it again?”

He shrugged. “I don’t know. We haven’t picked up anything yet.
But we can’t just hang around waiting for it to happen. Why don’t you get out of
here?”

“No. I’ll stay.” When her phone rang, she picked it up. Simon
walked away. “Carrie Ward.”

“I…uh…I know about Tony Higgs,” said an unfamiliar voice. “His
car. Did you ever find his car?”

Carrie frowned. No, they hadn’t. His girlfriend, Ashley, had
said he drove a black Corvette. There was an APB out for it at this very
moment.

“Who is this?” Carrie asked.

“I saw his car. It’s outside a house in Daly City. 532 North
Avenue. Watch out. The guy’s dangerous.”

Carrie frowned as the caller hung up. She pulled out a map and
checked the address. It was only a few blocks from where the body of Darwin’s
first victim had been found. Carrie reached for the phone and dialed SFPD
dispatch. Given the brevity of the call, she had no hope of tracing the location
of her anonymous caller, but…

“SFPD. How may I help you?”

“This is Special Agent Carrie Ward with SIG. I need to do a
title search. The address is 532 North Avenue, Daly City. I need it stat.”

Five minutes later, she got a call back, which necessitated her
making several other calls. One of those was a call to Jase, but she couldn’t
reach him at home or on his cell phone. She called Commander Stevens and told
him the situation. “I just got a call from an anonymous tipster who says he saw
Tony Higgs’s car outside a house in Daly City. Property’s owned by a James
Fishburn, an ex-marine trained in chemical and impact munitions. He had a clean
record until about five years ago, when he was convicted of several crimes
ranging from drug use to assault.”

“What are you thinking?”

“I checked and the SWAT team is handling service of a warrant
at a crash pad known to house guns. I’d like to go in with a team from SFPD, one
trained in munitions and entry. We can be there within the hour.”

“Where’s Jase?”

“I haven’t been able to reach him.”

“Any other SIG members available?”

“Simon. And me.” She couldn’t keep the challenge out of her
voice, which was something Stevens didn’t miss.

“That’s enough for me, Agent Ward. Be careful.”

“Thank you, sir.”

Simon and Carrie arrived at Fishburn’s house with several
officers. She spotted the black Corvette and confirmed that it was registered to
Tony Higgs. The other officers set up ballistic protection and evacuated
neighboring houses. Carrie then attempted to make contact with Fishburn via a
bullhorn.

“James Fishburn. This is the police. Come out with your hands
in the air.”

After several minutes with no response, Carrie ordered the
officer to her right to begin entry. The officer shot several 12-gauge beanbag
rounds at the upper corners of the windows to break the glass. He then shot
several rounds of chemical munitions into the house. The chemicals would
contaminate the interior and hopefully force anyone hiding inside out into the
open.

Sure enough, within several minutes, the front door slammed
open and a huge man wearing a stained shirt and boxer shorts stumbled outside.
Carrie noted the pockmarks on the man’s face.

“Stop. Get down on the ground.”

“Fuck you!” the man replied, stumbling down the porch
steps.

“Down. Get down.”

The man kept moving, coming at Carrie. “Fire baton rounds.” The
officer next to her complied, shooting off five KO1 baton rounds that hit him in
the legs and torso. It should have been enough to knock him off his feet. With
almost superhuman strength, he flailed back momentarily, but didn’t fall. He
screamed in pain and rushed even faster toward Carrie. Carrie Tased him. He fell
to the ground as the two prongs hit him in the chest, his muscles contracting
from the ongoing activation of the Taser.

Carrie signaled the arrest team to approach him with caution.
The two officers neared Fishburn, covered by two other officers with their
pistols ready. As they leaned over him, he heaved his body up and ripped the
prongs from his chest. With one hand, he grabbed at one of the officer’s guns
and tried to wrestle it away from him.

The officers withdrew their batons, hitting Fishburn’s arms and
back in an attempt to force him down. Carrie ran to assist but heard the gun
explode before she could get there. Fishburn’s body flopped backward as a red
stain spread across his chest.

* * *

L
ANA
DRAGGED
HERSELF
out of her office and toward the front lobby. Because of her
confrontation with Simon yesterday, she’d been feeling decades older than she
actually was. Guilt and desire weighed her down. Desire for him and guilt
because of it.

On her way out, she waved at the receptionist, who was talking
to an irate woman holding a screaming toddler. Stepping into the cool night air,
she’d walked only a few steps when she heard someone crying. She stopped and
looked around. Saw a man sitting on a low retaining wall, his shoulders visibly
shaking. She approached him hesitantly.

“Excuse me. Do you need help?”

He looked up, and recognition seemed to flare briefly in his
eyes. So quickly she thought she must have imagined it. But he did look familiar
to her. Did she know him? For a moment, she struggled to remember. Then it
struck her. He reminded her of Johnny. He had the same type of angelic baby face
not in keeping with his tall, muscular body. Unlike Simon, whose face seemed
carved out of granite. Thinking of both Simon and Johnny within the span of
seconds made her feel dizzy with renewed confusion and guilt. She still missed
Johnny. He’d been her friend since grade school, her lover since high school.
When they’d married, she’d thought it would be forever. But she’d been so young
and naive then. Lana paused for a moment, twisting her wedding ring back and
forth.

Doubt twisted in her gut. Maybe she was doing the wrong thing
by walking away from Simon. But what other choice did she have? She couldn’t
live in constant fear that one day he’d kiss her and never come back. She’d had
enough of that when she’d waited for Johnny to come home from battle. Even when
he had, he wasn’t the same. Death had claimed him long before he’d shot himself.
She couldn’t become involved with another man whose life revolved around death.
She just couldn’t.

She turned her attention back to the young man in front of her.
He tried to compose himself. “I…I came to see Special Agent Tyler. Do you know
where he is? He said I could talk to him about my friend…Tony…he’s dead.” The
boy broke down again, sobbing.

Yet another victim. And he was here to see Jase. “I’m sorry.
He’s not here.”

He held out two cards to her. “He gave me his card. And the
card of a doctor if I wanted to talk to her. Someone named Lana.”

Feeling more comfortable knowing that Jase had given this boy
her card, Lana walked closer. She saw her card in his hand next to Jase’s. With
a sigh, she sat next him, wanting to help him. Hoping to spare Jase grief. “My
name is Dr. Lana Hudson. I’m sorry about your friend. I’m a psychiatrist. I’d be
happy to talk with you for a while. Would you like that?”

The boy looked at her, grief plainly etched onto his angelic
features. “Yes. Please.”

Lana nodded tiredly. She wanted nothing more than to go home.
But something about this grieving boy called out to her. What harm would it do
to have a cup of coffee with him and let him talk about his friend?

“There’s a place across the street. Why don’t we go there?”

He nodded and stood. For a moment, he loomed over her, and she
instinctively stepped back. He simply looked at her. “Is something wrong?”

She shook her head, shaking off her unease. He was a grieving
boy. And they were in public. She’d talk with him for a while. Send him home. It
was the least she could do.

They walked the short distance to a café and talked for about
an hour. Eventually their conversation shifted from Tony to his own
dysfunctional relationships. He talked about his foster father, a drug addict
and an ex-felon who, he said, was probably at this very moment getting what he
deserved. He talked about how his mother had abandoned him when he was young.
And how he’d never felt love or acceptance from anyone. Except Tony.

When they’d finished their drinks, she made him promise to call
her if he needed to. But as she walked toward her car, she put the young man out
of her mind. Her thoughts returned to Johnny. And Simon.

When she got to her car, she unlocked the door and opened it.
She put her purse inside. A force shoved her forward on the seat, the gearshift
jabbing her in the neck. She felt the cold press of a knife against her
throat.

“What’s up, doc?” a familiar male voice said, chilling her to
her bones.

* * *

C
ARRIE
WALKED
OUT
of Fishburn’s house and watched
as the medics loaded his dead body into the back of their cab. Jase ran up to
her. Although he didn’t hug her, his gaze quickly ran over her body, assuring
himself that she was okay.

“Jesus, I got your voice mail. I was at the gym working out and
I must have had spotty cell service. I didn’t even realize you had called until
I was on my way to Steam to talk to Brad Turner.”

She looked just past his shoulder, trying to maintain some of
the emotional distance she’d managed to attain in the last few hours.

“We searched the house,” she said. “Fishburn’s a druggie. We
found dippers, more than a thousand in cash, crack and marijuana. He even owns
an AK-47 assault rifle, something he was probably trained to use when he was in
the Marines.” She pointed to Tony’s Corvette. “That’s Tony Higgs’s car. We found
other evidence inside. Pictures of Kelly Sorenson. Before and after. A
collection of bloody knives. It looks like Fishburn’s our guy.”

“But?”

Now she looked at him. How could he read her so easily? How
could he know, based on what she’d said, that she was feeling any reservations?
“But I don’t think it is. It was too easy. It reeks of a setup.”

“Wasn’t that the whole point of the television spot? It was a
setup to lure the killer to you. And that’s exactly what happened. Or at least,
someone else saw the spot and gave you the information you needed, right?”

“Yes, that’s what we were hoping for. But I don’t know. This
seems more like a diversion than a victory for us. I just—I just don’t want to
wait until we have another victim to find out if I’m wrong or not.”

Carrie’s cell phone rang, and she checked the caller ID. “It’s
Commander Stevens. Let me get this.”

“Is Jase with you?” Stevens asked.

She glanced at Jase. Dread pulsed through her. The last time
Stevens had called looking for the two of them, Tammy Ryan’s body had just been
discovered. “Yes, sir.”

“You both need to come in. He’s got Lana.”

Dread morphed into shock. Then horror. Then desperation. She
couldn’t have heard Stevens correctly. “Excuse me,” she forced out. “Who has
Lana?”

But she hadn’t misheard. The anonymous tip. Fishburn. It had
all been a diversion.

“Darwin,” Stevens said. “I’m sorry, Carrie, but Darwin has
Lana.”

Her mind began to spin and she felt herself fumble her phone.
Distantly, she heard Jase curse and take the phone from her. “This is Tyler.
Yes. We’ll be right in.”

He ended the connection and gently gripped her arms. “Carrie,
are you okay?”

“He has Lana,” she said.