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CHAPTER EIGHT

W ade felt like a kid called to the principal’s office as he and Jamie sat in their lieutenant’s office. Mac wanted an update, so they gave him one, but their boss wasn’t thrilled with their lack of progress on the case.

When he returned to his desk, Wade saw a report confirming the identification of the last of their victims. Genevieve Adams. He pulled her missing persons file and learned she was a lawyer from Banks.

Remembering the license plate Pete Cunningham gave him, he did a quick search and found out the 1999 F550 was registered to Lester Parsons. It was a name that kept coming up, and he didn’t believe in coincidences.

They needed something concrete on Parsons. He rubbed his eyes as he sorted through evidence boxes looking for anything that would get them the warrants they needed. It felt like the walls were closing in on him.

The box on his desk contained the few items obtained in the missing persons investigation of Mary Van Britton. She’d been reported missing on July 11, 2016. The last person to see her was an evening security guard at the courthouse. She was seen leaving the office at 7:00 p.m. on July 8th. There was home security video showing she made it home and left the house around 8:30 p.m.

What they didn’t know was where she went, or why she’d left home that evening. He needed to talk through the evidence. He found Jamie in the break room. “Want to setup a murder board with me?”

Her eyes lit. He found her obsession with organization strange, but her fastidiousness helped them catch criminals more frequently than he cared to admit. After pouring himself a coffee, he grabbed the files they had for each of the victims and ambled over to the large whiteboard which covered a good portion of the south wall of the station. They taped pictures of Stacy McGuire, Lorraine Moore, Amanda Curtis, Genevieve Adams, and Mary Van Britton up on the board, then listed their known whereabouts on the days leading up to their disappearances.

Jamie stared at the board. “I don’t see an overlap. They all shopped at different stores. McGuire lived a peaceful life as an accountant. Her office was in her home. Moore traveled around visiting farms for her job. Van Britton spent her days in a courthouse. It’s possible the judge and Genevieve Adams have a connection since Adams was a lawyer, but for the most part, these women couldn’t be more different.”

“Except that they are all career women,” he said. “They’re brunettes of similar size and stature. So, the similarities are age, looks, and careers. None of them were housewives or stay-at-home moms.”

“That gives us the killer’s type, but it doesn’t tell us where he’s meeting them.” Jamie pushed her bangs out of her eyes. “Nor does it give us his motive.”

“Do you have notes on the clothing and jewelry the victims were wearing when their bodies were recovered?” he asked.

She rifled through her briefcase and produced a notebook. “All of them were wearing a simple black sheath dress. No frills. He most likely purchased the dresses himself. We’ll have to follow up on brand and see if we can identify where he might have bought them.

“No jewelry was found with Van Britton, a rose gold watch was found with McGuire’s body, and Moore was wearing a diamond-studded cross. From what her stepson said, I doubt she was wearing it when she left home, unless she had a date before her flight.”

“You might be onto something. Let’s look through dating profiles on the popular apps and see if we can find profiles for any of these women.” He gestured to the crime board.

“I’ll print out a list of sites and we can split them down the middle.”

“Works for me.” Wade smiled.

A few hours later they were back at the murder board and Wade added details he’d found on the judge’s dating life. “The judge had profiles on two of the sites I checked.”

“I found her on one, too.” Jamie tapped her pencil eraser on the desk closest to her. “Van Britton didn’t mention her occupation in the profile.”

“Same with the ones I found.”

“That’s strange. Don’t ya think?” Jamie asked.

“Maybe she was afraid her career would intimidate potential suitors?”

“It’s certainly possible.”

“We can try to get a warrant for the records from the dating websites, but it’s a long shot,” Wade said.

“Let’s check her computer. We have it in evidence from her missing person’s case.”

“If she stored her passwords that may work. That’s if we can login to begin with,” he said.

“A big if,” Jamie said.

Wade studied Mary Van Britton’s profile on ForeverTogether.com. He’d been surprised by how easily Jamie had guessed the judge’s computer password.

“Click there so we can see her matches.”

Jamie rolled her eyes. “Do you want to do this yourself?”

“No. You’ve got it.”

“Then back off, buster.” She elbowed him in the ribs, and he took a step back.

“Ouch.”

“You’re a big baby.” The screen loaded three matches from the week before she disappeared. “Isn’t that McGuire’s boyfriend? Lester? The one with the enormous boat and a cooler large enough to store a human body?” Wade asked.

“Yep.” She clicked something and the printer coughed out a page with his profile.

“His name came up on Monday, too. He’s been driving out to Boulder Field and was noticed by one of the rangers on several occasions.”

“I think it’s time we made a return visit to Lester, don’t you?” She grabbed his keys from off his desk. “I’ll return these when we get back. We’re taking my car.” He reached for his keys, but she dropped them into her purse. “Deal with it, Wade.”

He followed her out to the parking lot and climbed into the passenger seat. “It’s unnatural for me to be a passenger.”

“Tough stuff, buddy.” She grinned. “It’s my turn to drive.”

She sped out of the lot, and he held onto the dash for stability while his lead-foot partner drove them to Parsons’ Automotive Repair in record time.

The sign in the front window claimed they were open, but the garage was locked up tight with no sign of Parsons.

Jamie took her keys out of her pocket on the way back to the car, and he snatched them. “I’m driving.”

“It’s my car,” Jamie said.

“You nearly gave me a heart attack with your driving. I’m never getting in a car with you driving again.”

“Whatever. You drive like an old lady, but I suppose I can tolerate your driving until we get back to the station.”

“We’re not going back to the station.”

“Where are we going?”

“Lester’s house.” He grinned. “Would you look up the address? I think we should pay him a visit at home.”

Fourteen minutes later, they pulled up outside his house in Tresckow. Jamie scrunched up her face. “This double-block house is his.” The rundown house looked more like a drug den than a home.

“You know, Jamie, everywhere else in the world they call them twin homes. I’ll never understand why they’re called double-blocks around here.”

She laughed. “We like making up our own names for things around these parts.”

He chuckled.

The two walked side by side, keeping an eye on the overly interested neighbors. Wade knocked on the front door. They waited a minute, but nobody answered. Jamie peered in the front window. “It doesn’t look like anybody is here, but let’s check the back before we go.”

He nodded his agreement.

After knocking on the back door and looking in a few more windows, they returned to the car and headed back to the station. It was doubtful a judge would give them a warrant, but it looked like Parsons skipped town.

As Wade expected, the judge denied their request for an arrest warrant on Lester Parsons, but he granted search warrants for his home and garage. They spent the remainder of the week executing them, hoping to find the cooler Lester was seen with or some clue as to where he was keeping his boat. It was clear from the condition of his house all his profits went into the boat.

The work week came to an end, and Wade found himself slogging through his weekend routine once more. After youth group on Sunday night, he’d spent hours sorting through files, and he repeated the whole process again on Monday. He was certain he was missing some crucial fact but couldn’t put his finger on it.

He spent Tuesday morning taking a second look at the dresses the victims were found in and discovered they were all the same size and style, but the tags had been removed. He assumed it was intended to make his job harder. The killer probably hadn’t expected the first four bodies to be found, but he’d been prepared in case they were.

Jamie had taken Monday off for the final fitting of her wedding gown and hadn’t yet arrived. He figured she had last-minute details for her wedding that needed to be handled. The wedding was on Saturday evening, and he didn’t have a date despite her constant efforts to set him up.

Late Tuesday morning, he was sipping coffee that tasted like dishwater when the connection finally hit him. Teddy bears. Jewelry. Gifts. He needed to make a few calls to be sure, but it looked important.

Jamie showed up after lunch with a silly grin pasted on her face.

“What are you so happy about?”

“I’m getting married.”

“That’s not news.”

“Emily Davis is coming to my wedding.”

“You didn’t!” He jumped to his feet, sending his coffee flying. He picked up the broken pieces of ceramic while Jamie grabbed paper towels.

“I thought you’d be happy.”

“She has a boyfriend.” He scowled and helped sop up the spill. “Why do you insist on interfering?”

“I told her she was welcome to bring Austin or her friend Samantha, but she’s coming alone. Her choice. Not mine.”

He tossed the towels in the waste basket and pushed back in his chair so he could make eye contact with Jamie. “She is?”

“Yep.”

“There’s something strange going on with her and Austin. I’m going to get to the bottom of it.”

“Stay out of it. Allow them to work it out on their own.”

He cleared his throat and grabbed his notebook. “Back to the case. I think I found a pattern.”

“What’s that?”

“Amanda Curtis and Stacy McGuire received gifts before they went missing. Nothing more came of it since there was no card with a store name to follow up with and nobody close to the victims admitted to sending them.”

“You don’t think it’s a coincidence?”

“I’m not comfortable writing it off as one, so I called the next of kin in the three cases that didn’t have anything about a gift in their files.”

“And?”

“Genevieve Adams’ sister, Stacy McGuire’s ex-husband, and Lorraine Moore’s stepson all confirmed they’d received gifts the week before their disappearance.”

“What did our creep deliver? Flowers?”

“Teddy bears and jewelry.”

“Interesting.”

“Amanda Curtis was wearing a heart locket when she went missing. Genevieve Adams received a heart locket and a teddy bear. Her body was found with a heart locket, but she was wearing a rose gold watch when she disappeared. Stacy McGuire received a teddy bear with a rose gold watch like the one found with her body.”

“Wait. Wasn’t Lorraine Moore wearing a diamond-studded cross when she was found?”

“She was.” He closed the open file on his desk and leaned back in his chair. “And it was exactly like the one Stacy McGuire always wore before she went missing.”

“Oh my.” She sucked in a quick breath and covered her mouth with her fist. “You may have found the break we need in the case.”

“It’ll only help if we can get evidence from the teddy bears. It seems all of the women were wearing jewelry when they were found except the judge, but with her grave partially dug up and her skull separated from her body the way it was, it’s possible some evidence may have been lost. If I’m reading the killer’s pattern correctly, the jewelry he sends them is taken from his previous victim.”

“And he buries each one of them with a trinket from the previous one. It’s a trophy in a way, but he doesn’t keep it for himself.”

“That’s right. It’s as if he hoped the bodies would be discovered and was leaving us clues. Toying with us.”

“The women are all from different towns, so it’s unlikely he met them all at the same place. It would make far more sense that he’s finding these victims through dating websites, and if he met them through their dating profiles and sent them gifts, they’d probably wear the jewelry when they were planning to meet him,” Jamie said.

“I mapped it out. They’re all within thirty minutes of the park.”

“He must live or work near his burial grounds.” She frowned.

“That’s my best guess.” He crossed his arms over his chest. “We need to find out if Judge Van Britton received a gift. Her brother didn’t think so, but would she have shared that detail with him?”

“Unlikely. She’d have called her best friend.”

“If she had any friends, I couldn’t find them,” Wade said.

“I think there was a woman in the picture on her dating profile. Let’s see if we can identify that woman. She might be her friend.”

“You expect to identify a random woman in a picture?”

“Scoot over,” she said.

He shuffled out of the way as the overpowering scent of jasmine engulfed the area. She took over his computer, and he backed away to get some fresh air. Two minutes later, Jamie had all three dating profiles open in separate browser tabs.

“The woman I saw is in two different pictures.”

Wade scrunched his eyebrows together. “I don’t know why I didn’t notice her before. I know who the woman is, and I recognize the event. I worked security for extra cash.”

“Care to elaborate?”

“The woman Mary Van Britton is standing beside is Senator Martin at her annual gala. I recall the silver dress the senator was wearing that night. If you look closely, you’ll see the fundraising sign behind them,” Wade said.

“I’ll give the senator a call and see if she knows anything about a gift the judge might’ve received before disappearing.”

“I doubt she’ll remember it. 2016 was a long time ago.”

“You recognized her gown, and you’re not exactly into fashion, so anything’s possible,” Jamie said.

Wade’s cell rang as he pulled up to the Hickory Run State Park visitor center. “Brunner speaking.”

“Hey, Wade. It’s Jamie.”

“What’s up?”

“The senator remembers our victim.”

“Good deal.”

“They weren’t friends.” Jamie said.

“How did she know her?”

“It was more of a professional relationship. Sadly, she says Mary didn’t mention anything about a gift.”

He sighed. “That would’ve been too easy.”

“She did remember thinking the judge had a new boyfriend. She claims she acted like a woman in love in the days leading up to her disappearance.”

“Interesting.” He drummed his fingers on the steering wheel. “Maybe we’ll find the answer if we keep digging into those dating sites.”

“Only if we can find out who she was meeting,” Jamie said.

“Exactly.” He tensed as Emily’s SUV drove into the lot. This was a conversation he’d been dreading, but someone had to make her aware of the danger. “I have to go.”

“Check in after,” Jamie said.

“After what?”

“I know you’re at the park. You don’t think I can figure out what you’re doing there?”

“I want to warn her about the danger she may be in,” Wade said.

“What danger?”

“She’s a perfect fit to the killer’s profile.”

“You’re right. So am I.”

He felt the blood drain from his face. “That’s not good.”

“Brunettes all about the same age, and all with professional careers. It makes sense.”

“Talk to you later.”

“Don’t mess things up with her by being your domineering self.”

“Thanks for the vote of confidence. Do I need to remind you for the hundredth time? She has a boyfriend.”

“I’m not so sure about that.”

“Goodbye, Jamie.”

Wade stepped out of his car and waved Emily over. When she made eye contact, he tilted his head and smiled. “Can we talk?”

“Nothing good ever came from a conversation that started that way.”

“Is your shift over?”

“It is.” She cocked an eyebrow. “But somehow I think you already knew that.”

“We got the schedule for everyone who works at the park as part of our investigation.” He rubbed his neck. “Would you allow me to treat you to a Wawa coffee?”

“Sure. Give me a minute to drop my keys at the office.” She hurried inside and was back at his truck within two minutes. “You ready?”

He nodded. As he opened his passenger door for Emily, Austin pulled in. “Do you need to let your boyfriend know why you’re leaving with me?”

“No.”

His eyebrows scrunched together, and he searched her face. “You sure?” If he were her boyfriend, he would expect some kind of explanation for her getting into the vehicle of another guy.

“He doesn’t keep tabs on me.”

“All right. Let’s go then.” As they drove away, he raised a hand to wave to Austin, who was walking toward the building. “Are you two fighting?”

“You could say that,” she said.

“Trouble in paradise?”

“Stay out of it.” Her tone was more resigned than angry.

When they arrived at Wawa, he opened the door for her, and they went inside for their coffees. Once he’d paid and returned to the car, he parked in a quiet spot catty-corner to the dumpsters. “I thought we would get more privacy here than a table at McDonalds. Besides, I like Wawa coffee better.”

She tapped her fingers on her thigh. “Why is it we need privacy?”

“To talk about the case.”

She tried to sip her coffee before turning to face him. “It’s too hot to drink.”

“I know, right?” He smiled. “I’ll cut to the chase. You fit the killer’s preferred victim type. We came up with a profile, and you’re it.”

“Don’t say things like that.” She removed the lid from her coffee and stared into the dark liquid. “You’re freaking me out.”

“I’m sorry. I don’t like scaring you, but you need to understand what we’re up against. This monster could be anyone: a neighbor, a friend, a co-worker, or someone who attends your church. Worst of all, he probably looks normal. He’s going to be someone nobody would suspect of such heinous crimes. That’s how he’s gotten away with it this long.”

“I figured as much.” A tear slipped from her eye, and she brushed it out of the way with a fierceness that bordered on anger. “When Nora disappeared, the police explained she most likely got in the car with someone she knew and trusted.”

He nodded. “They weren’t wrong. Will you let me know if anything out of the ordinary happens, so I can do my best to protect you?”

“Like what?”

“Anything. The killer could toy with you by sending you a gift, or you might get a creepy feeling of being watched.”

“When I get that feeling, I look up and it’s you.”

“Funny.” He leaned forward and took both of her hands in his. “This is serious.”

“I get that. I’m sorry.” She sighed. “I received a note the day after I found the skull.”

“And you didn’t tell me?” He released her hands.

“Our relationship was strained enough already. Besides, I didn’t want to exaggerate the threat by getting the state police involved. It warned me to stay away from Boulder Field.”

“Do you understand the concept of a serial killer?” His palm slammed the wheel harder than he’d planned. “I care about you. I’m sorry, but there it is.” He couldn’t turn his emotions off.

Emily reached for his hand. “Why did you do that?” She rubbed the spot on his hand that was turning red. The sensations running through him had nothing to do with the pain in his hand. His gaze pierced hers.

The notion that she’d been in danger and hadn’t told him was like a knife to the chest. If something happened to her, he’d be devastated. “Did you throw the note away?”

She released his hand. “No. It’s at home. I kept it in case anything happened to me, so the police would be able to connect the dots.”

“Which means you understood exactly what the threat meant.”

She looked down at her coffee again. “I guess.”

“I’ll drive you back to the park to get your car, and then I’m following you home, so I can collect that evidence.”

She nodded and slowly sipped her coffee. He wanted to scream for her to communicate with him. There was something going on in that pretty head of hers, but she was too stubborn to share her thoughts. Maybe he deserved her animosity after the way he’d left, but Jamie was right, they’d been kids. He’d made a mistake, but it was time for them both to get over it.

When they arrived at her car, she didn’t give him time to open the door for her. She sprung out of his vehicle and hopped into her own.

He followed her to a development in White Haven, parked behind her, and trailed after her as she made her way up the walkway to the front door. It was painted barn red, as was the old-fashioned milk jug sitting beside it. “Would you like to come in?”

He nodded. Her home was neat and clean, but devoid of personal touches. She lived there, but she clearly hadn’t turned it into a home.

“Make yourself comfortable. I’ll go get what you came for.” The reminder was helpful. This wasn’t a social visit, so he shouldn’t be tempted to overstay his welcome or to try to jog her memory of how good they’d been together and show her how great things could be if she’d give him a second chance.

He needed to keep her boyfriend in mind. His relationship with Emily wasn’t simple, and Austin further complicated it. Her boyfriend was a good guy, and he didn’t deserve to have another man make a move on his girl. Under no circumstance would that be the right thing to do.

“Here it is.”

He pulled on the rubber glove he kept in his pocket. She handed him the envelope, and he slipped the letter out and scanned it. “Wow. Creepy.”

“Agreed.”

“Thanks for this. Do you have a plastic bag?” She disappeared into the kitchen and returned a minute later with a food storage bag. “We’ll dust this for fingerprints and forensics will examine the ink and printing to see if they can get any information, but I’m not hopeful they’ll find anything.”

“I appreciate your trying.”

“Do you have an alarm system?”

“No. I guess I should, but until recently I felt safe in my home.”

He nodded. “My friend Gavin is in private security. He’ll know exactly what you need. I’ll call him tonight.”

“If you think it’s necessary, I won’t argue.”

“In the meantime, is there someone you can stay with?”

“I can stay with Sam, but it’ll be a long drive to work, so I’d rather not.”

“Stay with her tonight. I’ll do what I can to get the security set up tomorrow, so you’ll be safe to stay in your own home.”

“I guess I can do that.” She disappeared down the hall, and he listened to her murmured words as she spoke with her friend. A few minutes later, she returned. “She’s happy to have me, so I’ll head over to her place in Benton after you leave.”

“If it’s okay with you, I’d rather we left at the same time. Leaving you here doesn’t sit right with me.” He made eye contact and held it. “Whatever you do, keep a low profile. Don’t do anything to antagonize this guy.”

“I won’t.” She tugged on her ponytail holder. “Give me a few minutes to pack an overnight bag.”

His heartbeat didn’t return to normal until he watched her drive out of her community.

Wade parked his truck outside of Emily’s house and hustled to her door. He hoped to get a few minutes alone with her before his friend arrived to install the security system. He’d spoken to Gavin the night before as he’d promised Emily he would. As expected, Gavin had cleared his schedule to help him out.

After he’d confirmed the details, he’d texted Emily to let her know they’d be at her house first thing. He wasn’t sure what time she’d had to leave Sam’s to get back so early, but her car was parked out front.

A single knock on the door brought Emily to him. “Hi,” he said.

“Come in.” She opened the door for him to enter. As he passed her, his arm brushed hers, and something sizzled between them. Her eyes searched his, making him wish he could turn the clock back and handle things differently. What was done was done, but he wouldn’t make the same mistakes twice. This time he’d be there for her. He might not be able to have her for his own, but he could protect her.

“Gavin will be here soon to install your new system.”

She cleared her throat. “Did he say how much it would cost?”

“Don’t worry about that, Em. Whatever he charges, it’s on me.”

“I can’t allow you to pay for my security.” She tugged on her ponytail. “That’s not something friends do for one another.”

Three raps drew their attention to the front door. He knew it was his friend, since it was his usual knock. “I’ll get it.” He answered the door with a grin. “Hey, man. Long time.”

“Not long enough. You couldn’t stay out of trouble, huh? Needed me again.”

“My friend Emily needs you. I’m just the one who made the call.”

His gaze searched the room until it landed on Emily. “When a beautiful woman needs help, I’m here in a hurry.”

Wade scowled at his friend. “She doesn’t need a boyfriend. She needs a security system.”

“If she wants me to, I’d be happy to provide both services.”

Emily let out a nervous laugh. “That’s kind of you, but the security is all I need right now.”

“She has a boyfriend.”

“Tell me you’re not dating this guy.” He hitched his thumb in Wade’s direction.

“Emily’s dating someone she works with,” Wade said.

“How do you two know each other?” Gavin asked.

“We dated back in high school.”

Gavin’s eyes widened, and he took in the two of them again. “Oh. I see.” He pulled at his collar. “I didn’t realize you were that Emily.” He glanced over his shoulder at Wade. “Sorry, man. My bad. You know, I was kidding around.”

“Don’t sweat it.”

“Shall we get started?” Gavin set a blank sheet of paper on Emily’s kitchen counter and started sketching her space. When he finished there, he wandered from room to room doing the same. Once he’d drawn up the layout, he showed her where he planned to put sensors, then explained how she could avoid accidentally setting them off.

“If the sensors go off, who will be notified?”

“I’m going to have the system notify me personally, but it will also notify the local police, and if you’d like, I can have it notify Wade directly.”

“Why would I want it to do that?”

Wade stood. “Make sure it does. I want to know instantly if she’s in danger.”

“Understood.” He made some notes, and Emily chewed on her bottom lip. “Is that all right with you, Emily?” Gavin asked.

She looked up at Wade, and he noticed the sheen in her eyes. “I suppose.”

“I’m going to have two of our best men get your system set up. They should be here within the hour, and they’ll be gone by four o’clock. Will that work?”

“Sure.” She gave him a tentative smile. “What will I owe you?”

“It’s on the house.”

“I can’t let?—”

“Stop.” Gavin patted Wade on the back. “My buddy here can explain how much I owe him. I’ll see you around, Emily.”

After his friend left, Wade felt Emily’s eyes boring a hole in his back, so he turned around to face her.

“Care to explain what that was all about? Your security guy was flirting with me and having fun until you mentioned high school.”

“He was my battle buddy. We went to basic together, and then we were stationed at the same base. Even did our patrols jointly in Afghanistan.”

“And the two of you talked about me.”

“We did.”

“More than once for him to remember who I am all these years later.”

“Frequently, yes.”

“That’s surprising,” she said.

“Why would you say that?”

“I figured you never looked back after you enlisted.”

“How could you possibly believe that?” he asked.

“I never heard from you again.”

“Your exact words to me were ‘If you leave, don’t bother coming back. I never want to hear from you again.’ I respected your choice.”

“Why? You knew how hurt I was and what I was going through. Why on earth would you have taken anything I said to heart?”

“I figured if you wanted anything to do with me, you would write, but you never did.”

Tears rolled down her cheeks, and he drew her into his arms. “I’m sorry, Em.” He whispered the words into her hair. “I was too young and stupid to realize you hadn’t meant what you said. By the time I recognized the truth, it was far too late to call. You wouldn’t have accepted me back.”

She pushed away from him and paced the length of the living room. “We’ll never know if I would’ve or wouldn’t have, but I loved you with all my heart. You were my whole world.”

“I know. And I never should’ve left you.” He reached for her, but she walked away and grabbed a tissue from the box on the coffee table.

“We can’t change the past.” She sighed. “Why does your friend feel like he owes you?”

“Because I saved his life, but that’s a story for another time. It’s what happens in war. You have each other’s backs.”

“Now I feel like I owe you. You used up your IOU on me,” she said.

“Don’t you worry.” He grinned. “I intend to collect it from you one of these days.” Maybe when she and Austin broke up. It wasn’t a kind thought, but he couldn’t picture her and Austin together forever. They hardly even acknowledged each other when he was around. He’d wait until she was single and use his IOU to convince her to go on a date with him.