This guy carried his grief like a cloak around him. Time to rip that cloak away. “You didn’t kill her.” She nodded. “So how about we find out who did?”
Chapter Thirteen
The full moon hung heavy in the sky as it shone down on the waves. The roar of the water was so loud, too loud, as it beat against the shore.
Searchers were sweeping the entire city. Deputies, volunteers, anyone and everyone. Jill knew that Hayden had already checked all the vacant and vacation rental properties in the area.
There had been no sign of Vanessa.
But, that morning... It had all started on this beach. Vanessa had been there. Her bike had been removed from the parking lot, taken in as evidence, but...
You were here, Vanessa. This is where everything started for you. Where would it end?
She looked to the left and saw Hayden patrolling. His flashlight swept over the beach. She knew what he feared, just as she knew why he’d wanted them to start beach searches immediately.
Christy Anderson’s body had been left on the beach.
Hayden thought they’d find Vanessa’s body discarded in the same way. Every minute that passed...he thinks it is a minute that brings us closer to her death.
Her grip tightened on the flashlight that she carried. There were no bodies to find, not yet. “He’s still here.” The words pulled from her.
Hayden was so far away, she didn’t think he’d heard her, but he moved closer. He was a big, dark shadow in the night.
“He’s still here,” Jill said again, her voice stronger, harder. “There’s something about this town. I think it’s always pulled him back.”
“Or maybe he just never left.” Hayden’s light pointed at the sand near her feet. “You and I did, but maybe he didn’t. Maybe all of these years, he was right here.”
A killer, hiding in their midst.
“Do you think Vanessa is still alive?” Hayden asked quietly.
She considered that for a moment. Not what she wanted to believe but the truth. Was she still alive? “Yes.” And that was something they could use. “Because he doesn’t have what he wants. Not yet.”
“He wants you.”
“No.” Because that wasn’t exactly the truth. “He wants me dead.”
* * *
“JILLIAN WEST HAS a new theory about the victims,” Samantha said. She stood a few inches away from the bars, her gaze on the man who’d risen to stare at her. “She thinks the perp picked girls who would have initially been labeled as runaways, not abduction victims. A smart move because that would have bought the perp more time to cover his tracks.”
Kurt’s brow furrowed.
“Would your sister have run away?”
“No, no, Christy wouldn’t—”
“Your parents are divorced,” Samantha interrupted. A deliberate tactic. Never start with the question you really want answered. Trick, lead, catch your suspect off guard.
“Yeah. My mom couldn’t take it after—after Christy. My dad was drinking all the time. Hardly the same man...she had to get away.”
“And she took you with her.”
His brows notched up, running toward his forehead. “Yeah, so?”
She just stared.
“You think I abandoned him? Is that it? Look, lady, I didn’t have a choice. I didn’t—”
“I don’t think you abandoned him. But I do wonder, were there any problems between your parents before Christy’s death?”
“My dad...he worked a lot, okay? He traveled all the time. He wasn’t there much, that was my mom’s complaint. That he was always on the road.”
She blinked. “What kind of work did your father do back then?”
“Pharmaceutical sales.”
Samantha didn’t let her expression alter.
“He had a territory to cover. So he wasn’t at home a lot. He was providing for us. Doing the best he could.” He raked a hand through his hair. “He just...he lost it after my sister died. Drinking...drinking so much and yelling all the time. Always blaming—” But he broke off, clamping his lips shut.
“Always blaming you?” Samantha finished. “Your mom?”
He gave a bitter laugh. “No. Always blaming Jill. Always saying it was her fault.” He turned on his heel. “Dad used to rage about her, over and over. Saying if she’d died, Christy would be alive. That it was always Jill’s fault. Even when he got fired from his job—for all the damn drinking—that was still Jill’s fault.”
“But Jill was a victim,” she said carefully. “You understand that, don’t you? Jill didn’t hurt your sister. Someone else did that. Someone else took her. Someone else broke her neck. Someone else put her on that beach. Covered her up...”
His head sagged. “Christy always liked the beach. She’d go out there for hours and just watch the waves. She loved that place.”
Christy was covered. She was taken to a place she loved. Samantha thought of the crime scene photos that she’d glimpsed in the old file.
Christy’s clothes had been perfectly arranged. No sexual assault. She cleared her throat. “Tell me about the last time you saw Christy.”
He glanced back at her, frowning.
She’d deliberately switched her questions because Samantha was about to loop the knot.
So to speak.
“What was your sister doing, the last time you saw her?”
He rubbed his hand over the back of his neck. “She was looking for our dad. She came to my room right after she’d gotten home from her softball practice, asking where he was. She wanted to go out with some of her friends but she wanted money to spend, so she was looking for Dad.” His shoulders rolled back. “I was leaving so I barely even said three words to her as I walked down the hall. I didn’t have time for Christy. Too cool, you know? Too damn cool.”
“What were those three words?”
He blinked at her.
“Do you remember those three words?” Samantha pushed.
He swallowed. “Yeah, yeah, I remember them.”
Samantha waited.
“Dad’s out back.” He gave a grating laugh. “That’s all I said. ‘Dad’s out back.’ Hardly anything earth-shattering, right? Not like that is gonna break her case wide-open.”
Before she could reply, the door to the holding room opened behind her. Deputy Finn Patrick rushed from his position to intercept the redheaded guy in the crisp gray suit who’d just stepped in as if he owned the place.
“Why is my client being interviewed?” The redheaded man pulled a folded white piece of paper from his suit pocket.
Another deputy was behind the lawyer—a woman with short-cropped brown hair. Samantha had met her earlier, Deputy Wendy Hollow. Wendy appeared none too pleased as she shared a fast glance with Finn. “Judge Eisen just called. We’ve got orders to release Anderson.”
“Of course, you do,” the lawyer retorted, voice saccharine sweet. “After all, at least one person in this town—a person in a position of power—realizes that the Anderson family has been through enough hell. My client is a victim here. Some twisted individual—the same individual who killed his sister—is tormenting him the same way that perpetrator is tormenting Special Agent West. A tragedy, all the way around.” He nodded toward Finn. “My client needs to be processed so he can get the hell out of here. It’s late. He needs to get home. After all, he has to take care of his father.”
Samantha glanced back at Kurt. She wasn’t done with him.
“I’m sorry,” the lawyer murmured as he slipped closer to her. “But who are you? And why were you talking alone with my client?”
She turned her head and gave him her own saccharine smile. She was pretty good at that. “I’m not alone. Deputy Patrick was with us.”
His gaze raked over her
and lingered on the badge. “FBI? If my client’s rights were violated—”
“I wanted to talk to her,” Kurt suddenly called out.
His lawyer’s eyes widened in surprise. Samantha made sure not to let her surprise show. Another trick she had—she only let her emotions out when she wanted others to see them. Most days, she knew it was better to not let anyone see her weakness.
Killers enjoyed weakness far too much. When they saw weakness, it was like a shark scenting blood in the water.
“I want to find Christy’s killer. I want to stop him,” Kurt stated flatly. “But I don’t know anything that can help. I let my sister down years ago, and I’m still letting her down now.”
* * *
HAYDEN’S PHONE RANG, a jarring cry in the dark. He swore and pulled the phone from his pocket, glancing at the screen. It was a new phone, one that he’d picked up just a few hours before. Since his last one basically melted. “It’s Finn,” he said. “Better take this.” He turned from her, pacing a few feet away.
Her body stiffened as she watched him. Don’t let Vanessa’s body have been discovered. Don’t—
“Judge Eisen did what?” Hayden exploded. “No, no, that guy is way overstepping his authority. Doesn’t he realize the magnitude of this case? To let Kurt Anderson just walk—”
Her phone rang. She pulled it out, frowning. The screen had been smashed to hell and back at the bomb scene, and she was lucky the thing hadn’t melted on her, like Hayden’s had.
When Jill saw the name on the screen, her heart seemed to stop. Unknown Caller. She swiped her finger over that cracked screen, trying to make sure she didn’t slice her skin and she slipped away from Hayden, hunching her shoulders. “Agent West.”
“Were you afraid, when the fire came for you?”
“No, I was angry.” She kept her voice low. Behind her, she could still hear Hayden blasting at Finn. “I thought we’d agreed to a trade.”
“Um, but you cheated. You had a trace on the phone.” He paused. “Bet you still have one going.”
I bet I do. Uncovering an unknown caller’s telephone number was actually an easy business. A simple reverse phone lookup revealed that information. But actually tracking the mystery caller’s signal, finding that phone...it took more work. And help from the FBI.
“Here I went to all the trouble of getting a new burner phone...” He gave a rough laugh. “And you’re still playing your same game.”
“Sorry to put you out,” she snapped.
His laughter had died away. “If you send all the deputies and your FBI buddies swarming on me, I promise you, Vanessa Gray will die.”
That was the first official confirmation that he’d taken Vanessa. Right from this beach. The same place, the same way. “How do I know she isn’t already dead?”
There was a beat of silence. “H-hello?” A girl’s voice, weak and raspy.
“Vanessa?”
“I—I want my brother,” the girl whispered. “Can I please get—” But her voice was abruptly cut off.
Each breath that Jill took seemed to chill her lungs.
“She’s alive,” the man rasped at her. “But how long she stays that way, well, it depends on you.”
Jill looked over her shoulder. Hayden was pacing as he talked, but he was glancing her way. She started to signal to him—
“Don’t.” One word, growled.
And she knew the caller was close enough to watch her. He’s close and he has Vanessa with him.
“I don’t want Hayden Black getting involved. I don’t want deputies. I don’t want anyone but you.”
She swallowed. “You still offering an exchange? Me for Vanessa?” She kept her voice as low as possible.
“Yes.”
“Like I’m supposed to trust you?” Hell, no. “You just want to lead me into another cabin so that you can blow me to pieces.”
“That is one option.”
Her hold tightened on the phone.
“I could always kill Vanessa right now,” he said. “Since you’re so untrusting of me... I could snap her neck right—”
Vanessa was screaming in the background. Begging.
“Don’t,” Jill said. “Just...don’t.”
Silence.
“Give me the second option,” she ordered.
But he didn’t speak.
“Damn it—”
“It’s your fault she’s dead,” he said, his voice different, aching. “I never meant...you did all this. You ruined everything. Destroyed the life I had. It was all so perfect before you.”
He wasn’t talking about Vanessa. She knew he meant Christy. It’s your fault she’s dead. “Another young girl doesn’t have to die,” Jill said softly. “We can end this. Tell me where to be and I’ll come.” With backup. With guns blazing. With enough strength to take him out and to save Vanessa.
“That’s not how it works.” Just like that, the emotion was gone from his raspy voice as if he’d just flipped a switch inside of himself. “Get rid of Hayden. Go back to your house on the beach. When I’m sure you’re alone, I’ll call you.” A brief pause. “If you use the FBI to track this call, I’ll know. I’ll be watching. I’ll see them come and she’ll be dead before anyone breaches the door.”
The line ended. Jill stared at her phone.
“No, no, Finn, just let the guy go, all right? But I want a tail on him. You make sure that a deputy is watching Anderson 24/7. Right. Yes, yes, I’m on my way.”
She pushed her phone into her pocket and took a bracing breath. She turned to see Hayden end his call.
“Kurt Anderson is walking,” he said, striding toward her. “Looks like we don’t have enough evidence to hold him. All circumstantial. So he’s leaving the station now.”
So...if he was at the station, with eyes on him, then Kurt Anderson wasn’t her twisted caller. His story had been real. Someone had taken his car to try and frame him. Someone who’d been able to get easy access to the Anderson house.
“I heard you talking, too,” Hayden said. “What’s happening? What’s going on?”
Get rid of Hayden. She looked over his shoulder. In the distance, she saw a line of beach houses, with cheery lights glowing from their interiors. Beacons shining to her. The caller had been watching. He was still watching. Jill knew that.
She also knew...if I follow his rules, Vanessa will live.
The perp had made this a very, very personal battle. It wasn’t about abducting victims to him. It was about getting back at Jill. Punishing her.
“I was getting the same news,” she murmured, still looking off in the distance. “But I don’t think Kurt Anderson is our guy. We need to be focusing elsewhere. I mean, he was too young to be the man who took me years ago.”
“Yeah, but that doesn’t mean he isn’t the SOB who broke into your cabin or who set the bomb for you. He and his old man... Jill, they have a lot of fury in them. A lot of hate. And it seems to be directed right at you.”
Just as the caller’s fury was directed at her.
It’s your fault she’s dead.
“Yes,” Jill said softly. “It is. It’s all on me.” Because she’d gotten away. She’d lived, but another had died in her place.
“I need to get back to the station.”
Yes, that was exactly where she needed him to be.
His hand curled under her chin. “I know you want to keep searching, but there isn’t anything out here for us.”
Wrong. He was out there. The perp. The man who’d taken Vanessa. “She’s so scared, Hayden.” The words slipped from her. “She wants to come home. She wants her brother.”
“I know her brother,” he said, his thumb sliding tenderly along her jaw. “I served with him. Porter is a good man. I already put out a call through my contac
ts to get him back here. He’s Black Ops right now, but I’m doing my best to get him home.”
And she didn’t want that man to return home only to bury his sister.
“We’ll resume the search at first light. That’s when the rest of your team is arriving, right?”
Yes, she’d called in the southeastern CARD team for backup.
“More boots on the ground,” Hayden said. “We will find Vanessa.”
She leaned up on her toes and pressed her lips to his. He seemed startled by her fast move, but she’d needed to kiss him once more. To taste him. To just remember what it was like to be safe and loved.
By him.
With him.
The wind blew against her and he was so strong and steady. Her haven.
His tongue slid against her lips, thrust into her mouth. Desire flared hot in her blood. His kiss, his touch...that was all it took. She wanted him. Needed him.
But now wasn’t the time to have him. She savored Hayden just a moment longer. Then she eased away from him. For a moment, she just stared at him in the darkness. Her Hayden. She swallowed and asked, “Take me back to my cabin?”
He gazed down at her, his eyes gleaming.
“My head...it’s hurting a bit. I think I need to rest some so I can be sharp for the search in the morning.”
Hayden nodded. “Of course.” He took a step back but seemed to study her.
She exhaled slowly. “Thank you.” She’d get him to leave her at the cabin and then...
Then the real fight will begin.
* * *
SAMANTHA TAPPED HER fingers on the check-in desk at the sheriff’s office as she watched the lawyer hustle Kurt Anderson out of that place. Kurt looked tired, his shoulders slumped and...
His gaze darted back toward her.
That man looks guilty. Every time he glanced her way, she saw the taint of guilt in his stare.
“Sheriff said for me to send a tail with him,” Finn murmured as he sidled up next to her. “I’m gonna be that tail.”
Her gaze slid toward him.
“I’ll make sure the guy doesn’t hurt anyone. And if he does anything suspicious, if he can lead us to that missing girl, I’ll be calling Sheriff Black right away.”