Page 5 of Deception (Deranged Drifters MC #22)

Chapter Five

Griffin’s Beach Colt

“ N othing?” Colt asks.

“No,” Grayson says. “No one has anyone tied to their past named Phillip. I mean, I found a few classmates with that name, but none of them live around here.”

“Or are still alive,” Brock says. “The late nineties weren’t a great time for guys named Phillip. Of the three we found, one was murdered, one was in a car accident, and one took a header off a tall building.”

Nodding, he sighs. He and Brock head into the Chapel where Black Valley sits with the rest of the club while Grayson heads home. As much as he’d like Grayson in the room for another set of eyes to gauge reactions, he knows he can’t have him in here for this.

“What’s going on?” Psycho asks. “Why couldn’t we do this over the phone?”

Rather than sit, Colt stands behind his seat with Brock beside him. Between the two of them, they can hopefully take in the reactions of the room.

When the Drifters patched over Black Valley years ago, they had some of Griffin’s Beach men move out there. They needed men with reputations of kicking ass and not caring when it came to protecting their turf. Including Psycho, one of Lex’s best friends.

“Brock and I got a call to head to the prison to talk with Gerard Buchanan, the De-Identifier. We put in the call to take him out now that all the victims have been identified. He claimed to have information we’d want to hear before we decide to kill him,” Colt says.

“He says he’s not the one who killed all the women. Says he was just the fall guy, and the real killer hired him to hurt Marnie and create a distraction for us. The only thing he knew about the real killer is that he hates a veteran member,” Brock says.

Narrowing his eyes, Psycho shakes his head. “Wait, are you saying the guy knew that Undertaker had a connection to the last victim?”

“Even if he did, how did he know Undertaker would be able to identify her? He got his nickname for a reason,” Shep says. “He de-identified every one of those poor women.”

“The guy apparently had a type. Blonde hair and blue eyes. Sound familiar to anyone?” Brock asks.

Eyes widen, and the air changes. Colt knows they understand exactly what this means.

“All we know is the guy’s name is Phillip.

Now, we went ahead and looked into the Original Ten because that’s where we were told to look, but we’ve expanded it out to all the veterans to see if we could find that name tied to anyone. ”

“We came up empty, which means one of two things. Either, Phillip flies under the radar and can’t be found,” Brock says, “or Gerard is lying to save his own ass.”

“You looked into us without our knowledge?” Jennings asks.

It was a worry Brock had, but Colt knew it was necessary. “Yeah, we did. My decision, and I stand by it. We’ve had too many issues with people trying to hurt Lex, and I wanted to get ahead of it, if possible.”

“Does anyone know someone named Phillip who would hate them enough to want to hurt women who look like… Lex?”

Everyone looks around at each other as they think, and Colt appreciates the lack of upheaval at their pasts being dug into without being told. In fact, they all seem to genuinely think about anyone with that name to help identify someone who might want to hurt Lex.

“My dad’s name was Phillip, but he died before I even graduated high school,” Doc says. “Car accident.”

“Saw that one,” Brock says. “Doubt it’s related.”

Nodding, Colt agrees. “Anyone else?”

“I bullied a kid named Phillip in school,” Chips says. “Guy tried to kill me, but he’s overseas and married to a guy named Artie. Coincidentally, Artie looks like he could be a clone of me, minus the leather. It’s creepy, but I doubt he’d kill blonde women.”

He chuckles. “You’re shitting me.”

“Nah,” he says and pulls out his phone. “He found my email about a year ago and sent me an update. Told me I was the love of his life, and if I ever changed my mind, Artie’s just a stand-in.”

The phone gets passed around, and there was no lie in Chips’ assessment. Whether it’s simply a coincidence or intentional, it’s unsettling.

“I don’t think it’s him, but I’ll look to make sure,” Brock says as he tries to hide his smirk.

“I think he’s probably cleared,” Colt says. “Anyone else?”

A few speak up, and Brock nods to acknowledge they’ve already been looked into. The two of them watch everyone else as they deny knowing anyone by that name. And no one looks suspicious. No one seems to be hiding anything, even though there are potentially two secrets being kept at the moment.

“I think he may just be trying to save his ass,” Brock says. “Sent us on a mission to find a ghost.”

Undertaker raises his hand, and it looks comical for such a large man acting as though he’s in a classroom setting. “I heard a door shutting in the warehouse when we got there.”

“It could have been an accomplice,” VP says. “Doesn’t mean he’s not the mastermind.”

“That’s true. He could have had help, and that guy took off rather than get caught with him,” Brock says.

If only they’d been able to get video footage of the area around the warehouse. It feels as though there’s something big they’re missing, but Colt can’t quite pinpoint it. A way to better identify Gerard as the killer.

“I guess we’re making another visit to the prison.”

“ D id you guys figure out who Phillip hates? It’s been long enough,” Gerard says from the same conference room they last saw him in.

“Yeah, we have a problem, Gerard. We can’t find anyone named Phillip tied to an Original Ten. No one knows anyone by that name, either,” Brock says.

Shaking his head, he slams his hand on the table. “You didn’t do a good enough job, then. How did you ask them? Did you say a serial killer hates one of them enough to target women who look like a woman of the club? Because that’s a rookie mistake.”

“Rookie mistake?” Colt asks.

“What motherfucker is going to admit he’s responsible for fourteen murders? Idiots.”

“If he’s really out there, it’s been over a year. Why hasn’t he killed again?” Colt asks.

Gerard leans forward and looks him dead in the eyes. “Because he knows his next victim will be his last.”

“Why would he do that?” Brock asks.

His eyes never leave Colt. “Because his next victim will be your wife. They’re going out together. That’s what he kept telling me when he talked about her. All the things he planned to do to her. It was actually disgusting, but I didn’t owe you shit. Still don’t, but I want to fuck him.”

The way he says it chills Colt to the bone. The conviction in his words reinforces the belief he has in the prisoner.

“Serial killers don’t take this long of a cooling-off period,” Tony says. “It’s not how they’re wired. The only thing that would cause it would be if they were stopped. Like… being incarcerated.”

Sighing, he leans back and shakes his head.

“He’s not just a serial killer, and there’s nothing typical about him.

He wasn’t killing those women because of some insatiable need to do it.

He was doing it to perfect his methods for the target he wants.

Tested various tactics on them like lab rats. That’s all those women were to him.”

“Or, and here’s the more likely option,” Tony says, “ he doesn’t really exist because the real killer is already in prison. Sitting right here in front of us. That would put a stop to a killing spree.”

“I don’t know you from Adam. Why would I target women who look like your wife, huh?”

“Because you have a type that has nothing to do with his wife,” Brock says. “I bet the blonde hair and blue eyes are your preference, and it was just the perfect coincidence when you learned about Lex. Maybe you even saw her as a potential target.”

He laughs. “I know what your wife looks like because I saw her pictures in his shop. They were plastered along the wall like wallpaper, and he had pictures from her childhood, too. He probably still watches her, adding to his collection.”

Staring at Gerard, Colt tries to determine whether there’s deceit behind the gaze. This could be nothing more than a hoax. A well-thought-out plan to save his own ass.

But what if it’s not? What if there really is someone out there after Lex?

“Why would he hate my wife that much?”

“That’s what you’re supposed to figure out!” he shouts. “He didn’t tell me why he wanted her. All he ever said was that he hated the club and wanted her dead. That it would teach the asshole the consequences of what he’s done. He knows I talked to you, and he hasn’t reached out to me since.”

Tony shakes his head. “I did get copies of the phone conversation she had where he was told the identities of the women, but nothing could be traced. We assume he hired someone to do it to throw off suspicion.”

“Why not target the guy he supposedly hates instead of her?” Brock asks. “No one named Phillip who is still alive would have any reason to kill women and target Lex.”

Slamming his hand on the table, Gerard looks between them. “I’m trying to help you save her, man! The last time we talked, outside of these walls, he said that Alexis Dalton would be his last victim. He just has to bide his time, and they’ll go out together.”

“Dalton?” Colt asks. “That hasn’t been her name for over a decade. And what happened to your guy looking into him? He doesn’t have more for you to save your ass with?”

“That’s what he called her. I assumed she didn’t change her name when you married her.

You know, like a progressive woman or some shit.

My job wasn’t to ask questions. And why he wants to kill her wasn’t considered necessary for me to know.

” Sniffling, he leans back. “My contact’s dead.

Wasn’t able to give me anything more before his death. ”

“Phillip wants her dead, but he never told you why? And you never thought to ask?” Tony asks as he walks around to sit on the corner of the table by Gerard.

Letting out a long breath, Gerard locks his gaze on Colt again. “He doesn’t want her dead. He wants to kill her. There’s a difference. He took notes with every woman he killed to learn what to do and what not to. He’s looking forward to taking her life, not just her being dead. It’s a whole plan.”

“Why would this guy bother to tell you his plan? If you were just the fall guy, this would, in theory, be enough to identify him,” Tony says.

“And what shop are you talking about?” Brock asks. “There were no pictures of anyone in that warehouse we caught you in.”

“You still don’t get it. Phillip likes the game. A challenge. He gets a kick out of knowing that I can only give you bits and pieces. I can promise you that he’s watching. It’s the last thing my contact told me before he was killed. An accident .”

“Or maybe it’s you who gets a kick out of this,” Colt says.

He snorts. “I’ve killed, but I’ve never tortured.

Those women were tormented over the course of days.

If they had curly hair, they’d last over a week.

Maybe two. But the last victim—the dead one, not the one you saved—lasted two weeks.

He said she helped him figure out the perfect execution for Lex. ”

“I don’t believe you.”

“Look, man, if you don’t love your wife enough to keep her safe, that’s on you. I’m trying to help.”

Don’t love my wife enough? “Fuck you. I’m done.”

“Are you sure, Colt?” Tony asks.

“He doesn’t know Lex’s real name. He can’t give us any more to go on than what we had weeks ago. It seems like it’s his game we’re playing into, and I’m not interested in being a game piece.”

“I don’t think the protection detail is necessary anymore,” Brock says, leading the way out of the room.

Gerard screams, “You just killed your wife!”

They step outside, and uncertainty fills Colt. “That was the right decision, wasn’t it?”

“He’s playing with us. If there was anyone named Phillip tied to a member of the club, Grayson and I would have found him. And no one in that room looked guilty of anything when we asked about that name.”

“I know he’s playing us, but there’s this gut feeling that tells me Lex is in trouble. Whether it’s a guy named Phillip or someone else, I don’t know.”

“We can have Tony put the protection detail back on him. I mean, keeping him alive isn’t going to hurt us. I think it’s a waste, personally, but it’s your call. Your club and your wife.”

Shaking his head, he stares at the building he would have never voluntarily stepped inside for any other reason before. “I just wish there was more than his first name. Something should have come up. But I got another problem to deal with, too, so this one will have to be considered done and over.”

Brock stops Colt as they walk to their bikes by grabbing his arm. “What problem?”

“Not yet. Gotta figure out a few things before I bring it to the others. Some looking into I gotta do. I hope I’m wrong, but I don’t think I am.”

“It has to do with the raids, doesn’t it?”

“Yep.”

“Got it. Let me know what you need.”