Conduit (27 page)

Lionel swallowed a mouthful of his
favorite beer. It seemed like years since he last had a cold beer, and he
wanted to savor every drop. During a big case, he typically stayed away from
alcohol, since a call could come in at any moment. Tonight, however, it was
well-deserved.

“Any day now,” Shawn said. He lifted a beer bottle to his lips.
“I know we don’t have him yet, but we’re so close. Have you called the feds yet
to tell them to stay home?”

Lionel laughed. “Not yet. We need to have him locked up
before I can make that call. But you’re right. With his picture all over the
television, it won’t be long. Someone knows him and they’ll turn him in.”

“I just wish we had gotten to Stephanie Price in time,”
Shawn said.

Images of the crime scene from that morning ran through
Lionel’s head. She had been tortured the same as the others, with a new letter
carved into her thigh before she died. The new letter nixed the idea that the
killer was communicating with Lionel by spelling his last name. “Hear me em,”
stumped all of the detectives working on the case.

Stephanie had a few knife wounds to her face, but not nearly
as bad as what Jillian Waters went through. The change in the mutilation reinforced
their theory that he was taking residual anger out on Jillian from when she hit
him with her car and ran away from the scene.

“At least there shouldn’t be any other women,” Shawn said, “not
with his picture circulating the media outlets. I bet the tip line is ringing
off the hook tonight. I’m just glad we can take an evening off, because you
know tomorrow is going to be busy.”

“Don’t say that,” Lionel said. “You’ll curse us into working
tonight.”

“Not before I eat dinner. It smells delicious.”

“It better be. I think it’s been cooking all day.” He got up
from his recliner and ambled into the kitchen.

Barbara paced between the refrigerator and the oven. As soon
as she saw him, she paused in front of the oven and grabbed an oven mitt.

“When can two hard-working men expect to get a hearty meal
tonight?” he asked.

She opened the oven door and peered inside. “You know I can’t
take the brisket out too early,” she said. “It needs to fall apart and melt in
your mouth to be any good.” She closed the oven door and tugged off the oven
mitt.

Lionel regarded the curves that her flowered dress
accentuated. They had spent so much time away from each other because of the
murders, and Lionel wanted some time alone with his wife. “Maybe we should send
Shawn home hungry and forget about the brisket.”

She picked up a dishtowel and snapped it at his arm. “Detective
Edwards,” she said. “We have company. I think you’ve had one too many beers
already.”

“I’ve not even finished my first one.” He wrapped his arms
around her waist. “But I don’t need any to know how beautiful you are.”

She gave him a quick kiss. “Dinner should be ready soon.”
She pushed him aside and went back to the oven. She looked through the small window
and said, “At least I hope so.”

Barbara seemed overly obsessed with dinner, but Lionel
allowed her to shoo him out of the kitchen. Rejoining Shawn in the living room,
he asked, “What are your thoughts on Rogers?”

“That one’s going to be awesome in Homicide,” Shawn said. “You
were really hard on her yesterday, but she ran with it.”

“I was hard on her?” Lionel asked. “How about you? You
practically unloaded your whole divorce on her.”

“Yeah, I suppose that was a little over-the-top for me,”
Shawn said. He took a long drink from his beer bottle. “But she came back to
work today, so that says a lot about her tenacity.”

“We’ll recruit her directly into Homicide as soon as she
passes her detective exam. We just need to keep her grounded. That kind of
promotion can go to someone’s head really quick.”

“Speaking of keeping people grounded, exactly how long are
you going to let her suffer with calling you ‘sir’ all the time? It’s bad
enough Aurelio still does it. Your ego is going to pop all over the office one
day.”

Lionel leaned forward with peals of laughter. “I wondered
when you were going to call me out on that. I thought I’d give it another few
days, and then I’ll cut her a break.”

Shawn laughed and shook his head. “You’re sadistic, Edwards.”

Barbara wandered into the living room and went to the bay window.
She pulled back the curtains and peered out into the driveway and street.

Lionel exchanged a curious glance with Shawn. “Barbara, what
are you looking at?”

“Nothing, dear,” she said without turning around.

“Why is she so dressed up tonight?” Shawn asked in a hushed
tone.

“I was just wondering the same thing.” He looked back at
Barbara, who impatiently tapped her foot and held back the curtain. “Barbara,
what’s going on?”

She released the curtain and rotated to face them. “Well, I’m
a little concerned.” Her fingers retreated to her mouth and she gnawed on her
fingernails, an old habit that resurfaced whenever she was particularly
stressed.

“Are we not having brisket tonight?” Shawn asked.

“Not exactly,” she said. “The brisket has been done for
about a half hour. I’ve just kept it on a low temperature to keep it warm.”

“Then why are we waiting around while you pretend to cook
it?” Lionel asked.

“I don’t want you to be mad at me,” she said. “I sort of
invited Cassie to dinner tonight.”

“Why would I be mad at you for that? And why didn’t you tell
me you invited Cassie to dinner?”

“I may have had an ulterior motive for dinner tonight. I was
sort of trying to play matchmaker between Cassie and Shawn. Neither of them
knew the other would be here.”

Lionel’s face scrunched up. “Matchmaker? With Shawn and
Cassie? I don’t understand.”

Shawn’s face reddened, and he remained silent.

Barbara pointed at Shawn. “See? He has a crush on her, and
she has one on him.”

Lionel laughed. “That’s ridiculous. Cassie’s my niece and
Shawn’s my partner.”

Barbara swung her finger around and pointed at Lionel. “And
that’s exactly why no one was ever going to say anything about it. Because of
you.”

Lionel’s mood sobered and his mind numbed. “I don’t
understand,” he repeated. Even though he knew his niece dated on occasion, he never
thought of her as being a woman who had actual relationships with men,
especially not with his partner.

“Barbara,” Shawn said, “while I appreciate you stepping in
and trying to set us up, why are you concerned and why do you keep looking out
the window?”

“She was supposed to be here over an hour ago. I keep
calling her cell phone, but it just goes straight to voicemail. I even tried
Emily, but after a few rings, hers went to voicemail as well.”

Lionel forgot all about Shawn and Cassie’s potential interest
in each other. “Are you sure she’s not answering? You’re dialing the right
number?”

“It’s her voicemail that picks up.”

Lionel rushed to the front closet and grabbed the jacket he
wore to work. He had left his cell phone in the pocket, as he did many nights
after coming home. The phone’s screen listed one missed call and one voicemail
from Cassie. “She called my phone, so maybe she just couldn’t reach you to let
you know she’s running late.”

Back in the living room, he put the phone on speaker and
played the voicemail. “Hi, Uncle Leo! I’ll be there in a couple hours for
dinner, but I didn’t want to forget to talk to you about something. Em and I
wanted to ask you to come by the office first thing in the morning to discuss
the case. We can talk about it more when I get to your house. I’ll see you
soon!”

Shawn stood up. “When did she make that call?”

Lionel flipped to his missed calls. “Just over three hours
ago.”

“If you’ll excuse me,” Shawn said to Barbara. He pulled his
own cell phone out of his front pocket and walked out the front door.

Barbara’s concerned face turned to panic. “What’s wrong,
Leo? Is Cassie okay?”

Lionel placed a reassuring hand on her arm. “I’m sure she’s
fine. She probably fell asleep and either had her phone off from work or the
battery died, but we’re going to go to her house to check on her.”

His words failed to comfort her and a mass of tears spilled from
her eyes. “What can I do?” she asked.

“Just stay here and be calm. Keep trying both her and Emily.
I’ll call you as soon as we get to her house and yank her butt out of bed.”

Barbara nodded, and Lionel kissed her damp cheek. “I love
you,” he said.

“I love you, too.”

Shawn ended his call as soon as Lionel stepped onto the
front porch. “I have back up meeting us at her house. Timmons is checking
police reports and Aurelio is calling area hospitals in case she was in an
accident.”

The situation suddenly became real for Lionel and his gut
churned. “If that bastard took my little girl—”

“Let’s not jump to conclusions, Leo,” Shawn said, as he
started toward his car. “We may be overreacting, and she may very well be at
home, safe and sound.”

“We make such a good team,” Emily
said.

“Those lettuce wraps were pretty amazing,” Jake said. He put
the last plate into the dishwasher. “I don’t know how you concocted that sauce,
but I’ve never tasted anything like it. I could have eaten just that and been
happy.”

“The wraps were nothing without your shrimp, though,” Emily
said. “I always overcook shrimp and it’s so chewy that it’s not good, but you
cooked them perfect.”

“Like you said, we’re quite the team.”

“Well, this half of the team is exhausted,” Emily said,
flipping off the kitchen light. She laughed when they walked into the living
room. Bob slept on top of the recliner, one leg dangling over the side. “Looks
like someone has found a favorite sleeping spot.”

Jake chuckled with her. “He’s already moved in. I’m going to
check the locks before we turn in.”

“I’ll get ready for bed.” She planted a kiss on Jake’s cheek
and wandered back to his bedroom. Jake had set her overnight bag on the end of
his bed, and she carried it into the master bathroom. She changed into a pair
of light cotton pajama bottoms and a camisole. After she scrubbed her face and
brushed her teeth, she packed her belongings back into the bag and left it on
the bathroom floor next to the counter.

Jake wasn’t in the bedroom when she was done, so she took
the liberty of pulling down the covers and selecting a side of the bed. She
climbed under the plush comforter. Taking in a deep breath, she encouraged her
limbs to relax so she could get a restful sleep. Tomorrow would be a long day,
starting with an early morning confession with Uncle Leo.

The bedroom door swung open and Jake came through, shivering
and rubbing his arms. He shut the door and walked toward the bed. “It’s
freezing out there. I can’t wait until we get some warmer nights.”

She rose up on her elbows. “What were you doing outside?”

“After I locked the doors, I realized the Jeep was out front,
so I moved that into the garage next to your car. Then I started worrying about
the windows and made sure those were locked.”

“You’re going to a lot of trouble.”

“Nothing is too much trouble where your safety is concerned.”
He sat on the edge of the bed and took off his shoes.

She stared at him as he pulled off his jeans and tugged his
shirt over his head. He threw his clothes in the laundry hamper and went into
the bathroom, going through the motions of preparing for bed without thought
that she was in his room watching him. A warm flush crawled into her cheeks when
he came out of the bathroom, but she couldn’t tear her eyes away from him.

Jake stopped walking when he saw her expression. “I, uh...”
He rushed over to the bedroom door and flipped off the light. “I wasn’t
thinking that you’re right here,” he said.

Emily cleared her throat and sunk into the billowy mattress.
“It’s okay,” she said. “I just didn’t expect you to strip down to your shorts
right in front of me.”

His nervousness came out in his chuckle. “Neither did I, and
I’m sorry. I guess I’m getting a little too comfortable around you.”

“Oh, don’t apologize,” Emily said. Her teeth came down on
her bottom lip. “I didn’t mind one bit.”

She rolled on her side, and Jake climbed into bed. He lifted
his hand to her face and caressed her cheek with his thumb. After her eyes
adjusted to the dark, Emily took a moment to look at him, memorize the contours
of his face, examine his soul through his eyes, and he did the same to her.

They exchanged timid, childlike smiles. They both wanted the
same thing, but neither of them spoke. Her heart beat so hard against her ribs
she thought it might break out. With the killer in her mind, she suddenly felt
that their time together was limited, as if at any moment Jake would be ripped
away from her. She didn’t want to waste one more second.

“You know,” Jake said, “you’re on my side of the bed.”

“I’m sorry about that,” Emily said. A mischievous grin took
over her face. “Or maybe I’m not. This side is big enough for the both of us.”

“Oh really?”

Emily pressed her smiling mouth onto his. Light, sweet
kisses evolved into sensual, greedy ones. Jake reached for the bottom of her camisole
and lifted the edge just high enough for his fingertips to grab onto her bare
skin. He rolled her onto her back and hovered over her. His eyes studied her
face and he brushed stray hairs away from her cheek. He lowered his head and
met her lips.

Her hands journeyed over the contours of his chest and arms while
they kissed. His mouth moved to her chin and down the front of her neck. He
lowered the strap of her camisole off her shoulder and consumed the freckles
between her neck and shoulder. The end-of-day stubble on his face tickled her
skin and forced a moan to escape from her lips.

Jake kissed across her skin just below her collarbone and
his fingers probed the top of her cami. Her hands wrapped around the back of
his head and her teeth clamped down on her bottom lip. His mouth moved back up
to her neck, his fingers playing with the top of her cami instead of taking it
off. She arched her head back into the pillow and desire took control of her
breathing. Part of her wanted him to hurry up and rip off her clothes, but the
other part wanted him to continue taking his time exploring her body so she
could savor every moment with him.

Without warning, the darkness stretched out in her mind and
she pushed Jake away. She didn’t know what triggered the darkness, but it came
so fast that she had no time to analyze what happened or why.

Jake moved to her side, his face filled with worry. “Emily,
what’s wrong?”

His distant voice entered her mind, but she couldn’t seem to
answer. Her body trembled, and her arms and legs went limp. Nausea took control
of her stomach, and the fog in her mind impeded her thoughts. She lifted her
hand to her forehead in response to a severe hot flash.

“Emily?”

“The darkness,” she said, rolling on her side to face him. “I
can feel him, and it’s much stronger than before.” Her hand flew to her mouth
with another wave of nausea. “I think I’m going to be sick.”

“What can I do?”

She remembered Marta’s words. “You already know...” She caught
her breath to get the words out. “You know what to do.”

His eyes scanned her face. “You’re right, I do know,” he
said. “Come here.” He moved closer to her until his body was snug against hers.
“The night we met, something happened between us and before I knew it, I was in
your mind. We’re going to try that again. If I’m in there, I can help you push
him out.”

As soon as Emily heard his words, she knew it was the right
thing to do.

“Give me your hands,” he said. She lifted her hands to him and
he laced his fingers between hers. He pulled their hands up between their
torsos and he squeezed her hands tight. “Close your eyes, Em. Listen to the
sound of my voice.”

She closed her eyes, and in the midst of the darkness, a
warm light appeared.

He lowered his head until their foreheads touched. “Follow
the sound of my voice. I don’t want you to think of anything else but me. I’m
right here, Emily, and I’m not leaving you. We will get through this.”

She relaxed against him, and his familiar presence entered
her mind. The feeling of him reminded her of the first night they met, when he
was in her mind without explanation. That night she had been frightened, but now
she trusted him and his presence comforted her.

Just when the darkness retreated into the corners of her
mind where it normally lived, it pushed back. Every muscle in her body tensed
and her breathing quickened, as the entity within the darkness shoved its way
back into her mind. It thundered through her, and the pain Marta warned her
about earlier came as a flash of lightning and intensified throughout her body.

“You’re breathing too fast,” he said. “Focus on my voice and
steady your breathing.”

Emily did as he said, but could not get her breathing under
control. Her searing lungs seemed to operate under the will of the darkness,
which continued expanding in her mind.

He let go of her hands and cupped her face. “Emily, slow
your breathing or you’ll hyperventilate. Concentrate only on my voice and let
me back in so I can help you fight him.”

Her head spun in a vortex created by the darkness. She knew
it was a combination of hyperventilating and the killer trying to take her mind,
but knowing what was happening didn’t help her regain control.

“Emily, it’s just you and me here, so concentrate on us.
Feel me here with you.” Jake’s voice rushed over her like a calm wave, and his
lips brushed against hers as he spoke. “Breathe with me,” he whispered.

His breath warmed her lips and chin, and she no longer
struggled to slow her breaths. She matched his steady pace of breathing, and
the darkness retreated again, giving way to Jake. She continued listening to
his soothing tone and her body calmed. Within minutes, his presence radiated as
the only thing left in her mind and a smile formed on her lips. She didn’t want
him to ever leave her mind.

Several minutes passed before Jake said, “I think it’s safe
for me to let go now. I don’t think he’s coming back tonight.”

She waited to open her eyes until he had retreated from her
mind. “How did you do that?”

“I don’t know,” he said. “But now we know how to stop him
from hurting you.”

“It’s strange, but I think our connection is stronger than
before you did that.”

“It started the night we met. That first time, it happened
naturally, and even though I didn’t know your name, it was as if we’d known each
other forever. It wasn’t as difficult then, since no one else was in your mind
fighting for control.”

“There’s still a feeling from you being in there,” she said.
“It’s almost like a tickle, but it’s also warm and calm. What did it feel like to
you?”

“I couldn’t read your thoughts, but I felt every part of you
and experienced all of your emotions. It was like touching your soul. Knowing
you like that...I can’t imagine anything more intimate.”

She let her lips touch his in a light kiss. As much as she
wanted to be with him in that moment, the kiss remained gentle and innocent,
feeding her emotions rather than her physical needs. She was content just to
love him.

After a moment, they broke the kiss, but their bodies stayed
close together. He settled down onto his back, and Emily lowered her head onto
his chest. He wrapped his arms around her, and her eyes shut, seeking the
sanctuary of peaceful sleep.

The darkness took hold of her in the middle of a dream and
Emily’s eyes flew open. She popped out of bed and raced for the bathroom. She
took a second to slam the door shut and lock it. She didn’t want Jake seeing
her like this. One hand clutched the toilet seat lid and the other held back
her hair. What was left of her dinner came up in violent heaves.

“Emily!” Jake pounded on the door. “Are you okay?”

She couldn’t respond, and she continued vomiting. Jake
called her name and pleaded for her to open the door. The banging on the door fueled
the angry headache that gripped her mind. Once her stomach was empty and the
cramping subsided, she flushed the toilet and sat against the wall.

“I need a minute,” she said through the door. She gathered
her strength and used the bathtub wall for balance as she got to her feet. At
the sink, she rinsed her mouth and brushed her teeth.

When she exited the bathroom, Jake jumped up from the edge
of the bed. He ran to her and took her in his arms. “Are you okay? Is he already
back?”

“He’s back,” she said. When he released her, she looked at
the clock. They had only been asleep for a few hours. “Why is he back so soon?”

“I don’t know. That should have worked at least for tonight.”

Her stomach cramped again and a jackhammer went to work on
her brain. She fell to the ground and grabbed her head, which felt like a book
being torn apart by strong hands. Tears sprung to her eyes.

Jake crouched in front of her and put his hands on her
shoulders. “What is it?”

“I think my brain is splitting in two,” she said.

He touched the back of his hand to her forehead, and then placed
his wrist on the back of her neck. “You’re burning up,” he said. “We need to
get you in a cool bath.”

Emily shook her head. “It’s not real. It feels like it is,
but it’s not. The last time the fever came, my temperature was normal.”

“Nothing about this is normal.”

“Help me to the bed.”

Jake helped her get to her feet and let her lean on him for
support. He propped pillows up against the headboard and eased her into the bed.

“Something’s wrong,” she said. “This feels different than
the rest of the times.” She heard a woman’s voice in the back of her mind, but she
wasn’t calling to Emily like the others. “What time is it again?”

He looked over at the alarm clock on his bedside table. “It’s
just after midnight.”

“Can you get my purse? It’s in the living room.”

As soon as Jake left the room, the pain in her head
increased. She closed her eyes and fought against him. Usually an unseen mass
of energy, the entity that lived inside the darkness pulsated and filled up her
mind. The woman’s voice spoke to the entity in a conversational tone, one that she
recognized.

Jake returned with her purse and handed it to her. Emily dug
out her cell phone and confirmed her suspicions. Cassie hadn’t called after
dinner like she promised, but she had missed more than twenty calls from Aunt
Barbara and several from Uncle Leo as well.

“Emily, what is it?”

“He has her,” she said. Her chest exploded with pain and she
looked up at Jake. “He has Cassie.”