The Chilling Spree (38 page)

“I bet you didn’t know that I missed being
born on June first by only a few minutes.”

“Seriously?”

“Does that matter?”

Johnny reached over and grabbed my
hand.  “No wonder I love you both so much.  You and
Crevan were almost born at the exact same time.  He missed
June second by one minute.”

I laughed.  “He’s eleven minutes older
than me?”

“What are the odds, huh?”  Johnny
kissed my knuckles. 

“Crevan told me that he was a twin,” I
said.  “I’m sure you know the story.”

“Yeah,” Johnny sobered.  His thumb
swished back and forth across my hand.  “His father’s a real
son of a bitch, Helen.  What kind of parent tells their son
something like that?”

I thought about Wendell again.  “I
don’t know.  I look at what my dad did to protect me, how he
always nurtured and loved me.  He might be a cold blooded
killer and a criminal of the worst kind, but I’d take him in a
heartbeat over someone like Crevan’s father.”

“I know what you mean, Doc.  This is
gonna sound weird, but I’m glad he loves you as much as he
does.  Even if I suspect that he wanted you as far away from
me as humanly possible.”

Johnny pulled over in front of an old
apartment building.  “We’re here.”

I surmised as much, based on the number of
squad cars parked around us on the street.  I counted
four.  “Something feels wrong.”

“I’m sure it’s just a precaution.”

“Then why are their cars empty?”

We hurried into the building.  I wanted
to take the stairs.  Johnny grabbed my arm and guided me into
the elevator.  “It’s seven stories, Doc.”

By the time we reached the floor, I was
convinced we could’ve hoofed the stairs at twice that speed. 
Two officers stood in the hallway.  The door to Crevan’s
apartment was wide open.

I rushed forward.  “What’s wrong?”

Officer Billings shook his head.  “He’s
fine ma’am.  Physically at least.  We’re having a hell of
a time convincing him that he needs to stay here.”

Relief dripped from my sigh.  “Johnny
and I need to talk to him.  Keep your post.”

The wave of calm quickly dashed back out
into the sea when I saw Crevan inside the apartment.  If looks
could kill, four uniformed officers would be dead.  They
blocked Crevan’s path to the door.

“I’m warning you.  I’ll pull my gun and
start shooting if you don’t get out of my way.  I’m not under
arrest, and you have no right to restrict my –”

I pushed through the blue line. 
“Crevan, we need to talk.”

“Helen?  Johnny?”

“Luke Napier is dead.”

Crevan’s mouth sagged open.  He sat,
missed the chair, and hit the floor.  “Is this related to
Belle?”

I nodded.  “That’s why I’m here.”

“Surely you don’t believe –”

“She thinks you’re the quickest path to
figuring out why two such disparate individuals could end up on the
same hit list as Tippet and Goddard,” Johnny said.  “Since you
knew them both for more than a little while.”

“Right,” Crevan mumbled.

I crouched in front of him and gripped his
hands.  “Hey.  You all right?  I know you were about
to finalize the divorce, but it’s still not so easy, is it?”

Dulled green eyes met mine.  “Of course
you understand this.  Helen, wouldn’t it have made you crazy
if they hadn’t told you about Rick?”

“I had no business being there, in
hindsight.  I wish you’d take my word on this Crevan. 
There are certain things that we shouldn’t see.  It’s as
simple as that.  A dead spouse, even when the love is gone,
definitely falls into that category.”

“Reverend Napier too?”

“How long have you known him, Crevan?” I
asked.

“Most of my life.  He came to Darkwater
Bay when I was a teenager.  Thirteen, fourteen years old
maybe.  Why would someone kill him?  He railed from the
pulpit relentlessly against –” Crevan’s eyes darted toward our
audience.

“Guys, if you could step out into the hall
and give us some privacy,” Johnny said.  “I know I’d
appreciate it.”

While they shuffled out of the room, I gave
Crevan a hand up off the floor and hugged him.  “You’ll get
through this, honey.  I promise.”

For once, Johnny’s reaction was absent the
trademark jealousy that had infected too many interactions this
week.  Instead, he had a curious expression on his face when I
turned around.

“So,” he cleared his throat, “about
Napier.”

“Yeah,” Crevan said.  “The church hired
him when I was still pretty young.  Twenty-five years ago, or
so, I guess.  I can’t imagine why someone who slaughtered two
gay kids would kill him.  In all honesty, I pegged him for the
Hellfire character that Alex Waters cited.”

“Did you show him a photograph of Napier?” I
asked.

“Sure,” Crevan said.  “He didn’t
recognize him.  I started wondering if the protesters were
from Foundations Baptist after all, but then Tony and I took a
closer look at the names on the police report, and I recognized a
bunch of them.”

“So there
is
a link between them and
Bobbi Tippet and Kyle Goddard through that protest back in
October.”  I let go of Crevan and started pacing.  “How
did that altercation play out in the press?”

“It was Belle’s story, if that’s what you’re
getting at,” Crevan said.  “She was really pissed off because
I wasn’t there for her to leverage for information.  As you
recall, we were up to our eyeballs with that meth lab and the
suspects at Uncle Nasty’s Bar and Grill at the time.  Shelly
barely had the manpower to pull it off.  I think that Ned and
his old partner investigated it.”

“There wasn’t much to the investigation,
Helen,” Johnny said.  “Minor charges for the arrests.  I
don’t think what happened to Ned is related to this case.”

“That’s not what I was thinking.”  A
pang of doubt struck my heart.  “Just the same, we are sure
that was really an accident Monday, right?”

“No doubt,” Johnny said.  “The guy that
hit them didn’t hear the sirens because of his stereo.  He was
listening to something called corn.  With a K, I
believe.  By the time he saw the lights, it was too late to
stop.  He was pretty torn up, from the report I got.”

I turned my focus on Crevan.  “Did you
read the article Belle wrote?”

“Sure,” he nodded.  “It was standard
issue.  The Sentinel waffles back and forth on most slants to
their stories.  Belle painted the peaceful patrons of The
Cockpit as victims that time.  You know, minding their
business, not bothering anybody, when suddenly a bunch of hooligans
showed up and started setting fire to cars.”

My eyes met Johnny’s.  “She offered
both sides to the story this time too,” I said.  “Sure, she
gave Napier and Crevan’s father a little more voice in the piece
than she did Waters.”

“But most of her ire was reserved for us in
the top story,” Johnny said.

“And very little of the attention focused on
this guy’s message,” Crevan said.  “Nobody talked about that
much at all.”

“It wasn’t her fault, Crevan,” I said. 
“We weren’t about to release information to the media at that
point.  Let’s shift gears back to Napier for a moment. 
You said the church hired him, that he
came here
twenty-five
years ago.”

“Yeah,” Crevan said.  “Does that
matter?”

I thought about Underwood again, his
longstanding feud with Devlin after the disastrous Marines
relationship.  “Came from where exactly?”

“Some church in Montgomery.  Napier was
a young guy then, not too far out of seminary school if I remember
correctly.  Dad could really give you a lot more information,
Helen.”

“So he was an associate pastor, and
Foundations was his first church as the spiritual leader?” I
asked.

“I think so.  How does this
matter?”

“Trust me, I’m getting there,” I said. 
“Do you remember what his duties were when he was the associate
pastor?”

“Sure,” Crevan said.  “We only had the
one guy, you see, so Reverend Napier had to do it all at
Foundations.  His comfort zone was working with the youth
group.”

I chewed my lower lip.  “How old was
Napier when he took over your church?”

“Old to my very young eyes.  I think
he’s in his late fifties now.  I guess he couldn’t have been
straight out of seminary school then, could he?”

“Crevan, this is important.  Was Belle
a native of Darkwater Bay?”

He blinked slowly.  “No.”

“Was Belle from Montgomery too?”

“Yeah, she was.  It’s a big place,
Helen.”

“The world seems to be growing smaller by
the second.  Tell me about her relationship with your
parents,” I said.  “Were they close?  I know your dad was
upset about the divorce.  Was it on principal alone, or –”

“They loved Belle like the daughter they
never had,” Crevan said.

I turned to Johnny.  “What if she went
to Napier and Aidan Conall because they were incendiary sources she
knew well from the other side?”

“Hold on, Helen.  I haven’t been a
regular at Foundations since I got out from under Dad’s thumb,”
Crevan said.  “Why would she approach Napier when we didn’t go
to church there?”

“I think Doc is suggesting that Belle
might’ve known him from Montgomery, just like this killer
does.”

“I suppose her maiden name was Underwood,” I
muttered.

“Halloran,” Crevan said.  “But her
mother was married to somebody else before Belle was born.  I
don’t know why it never occurred to me before now.  I’m not
sure, but I think name was Underwood.”

“Shit,” Johnny muttered.

“No wonder there was no sign of forced entry
at her house,” I said.  “Belle knew her attacker.”

“Kylie.  I’ll bet that was one of the
names of the girls Underwood was meeting Sunday afternoon,
Johnny.  We should’ve listened to Devlin and Chris.  They
were right about this guy all along.”

“Let’s not rush to judgment.  I’ve got
a team tracking down information on Napier’s time in Montgomery and
Belle’s family as well.  If Underwood is related to her, we’ll
have confirmation before we pick him up.”

“He had to have gone from Belle’s house
straight to see Napier,” I said.  “Has Briscoe gotten the
phone records for that church yet?”

“He’s working on the warrant right now.”

“Underwood is what, forty-four, forty-five
years old?”

“Yeah.”

“And Belle was thirty-six?”

“Uh-huh.”

“So she was eleven or twelve when Napier
left Montgomery.”

“Right.”

“Perhaps old enough for this youth
group.”

“Doc, where are you going with this?”

“We’re not gonna find him. 
Dammit!  Why didn’t I listen to them?  I’ll tell you
why.  Because I thought the military was right about him, that
it was truly a personality disorder that got him kicked out. 
Even Madden saw the truth!”

“Hold on a second,” Johnny said.  “Just
because he’s a creep who killed a bunch of people that pissed him
off doesn’t mean he can’t have this personality disorder thing,
Helen.”

I waved it aside.  “I pegged him as a
major narcissist.  They’re annoying, but generally
harmless.  All talk, no action if you know what I mean.”

“So you figured that his exploits with
women, what little I overheard, were just exaggerations?”

I nodded.  “I mean look at who he set
up as his major competition in that department.  Fulk
Underwood versus Scott Madden.  Where’s the contest?  Not
that I find Madden particularly attractive, but Underwood? 
He’s a troll by comparison.  Not only has he set his sights on
a more attractive guy, he’s competing against someone with
incredible charisma and a larger than life presence that comes from
being adored by millions of people that go to those shows
specifically to see Madden.  He’s the only guy left in that
band that hasn’t come and gone or come back again.”

“Not to mention the fame, the wealth, all
the stuff that goes along with that.  Underwood is a step
removed from the limelight.”

“Everything that Madden told me was true,” I
said.  “Underwood put himself in a position to compete, and he
knew it.  Scott said something to me the other night, that it
didn’t matter because they weren’t even attracted to the same kinds
of women.”

“That never stopped Underwood from hitting
on you.”

I nodded.  “Sure, but that was after he
saw Madden’s reaction to me.  Maybe this thing with Kyle
Goddard was a symptom of Underwood’s frustration.  He felt the
need to step up his game.  He fancies himself smarter and
better than Madden in every way.  Hell, he isn’t even doing
his job unless he’s got a crowd to show off for.”

“How is that?” Johnny asked.  “I mean,
isn’t the sound check done long before people show up for the
show?”

It was part of the VIP package that Devlin
and I skipped.  “We could’ve been there Sunday, Johnny. 
Sometimes it’s part of the program for fans who have special access
privileges.  They get a whole backstage experience. 
Something about Kyle made Underwood think he was Scott Madden’s
type.”

“So… we should be talking to Scott Madden
about what type of woman he’s attracted to?”

“Not just yet,” I said.  “The first
thing we’ve got to do is get Underwood in police custody.  He
can sit in a cell until I’m ready to talk to him.”

“You mean until
we’re
ready to talk
to him.”

It was a bad plan.  Even Madden picked
up on the vibe between Johnny and me, knew enough from that damned
picture in the Sentinel to realize that Belle intruded on a very
private moment.  “Johnny, I think you should take a run at him
first.  With Crevan maybe, somebody that can push Underwood’s
bias buttons.  I’ll need to talk to him alone.”

“I think I see where you’re going with this,
Helen.  Not sure I like it, but –”