Dead Ringer (36 page)

There was no evidence that linked the guy to any of the killings. "The
killer we're looking for is very organized and neat."

"Like this guy."

"Yeah."

Jacob moved around the room trying to disturb as little as possible. "So
where did he take them?"

"Let's talk to the detective who investigated the Turner murders."

"Yeah."

Tuesday, January 22, 8:00
P.M.

A contraction hit Nicole and she winced as she leaned forward on the bed
to ride it out. Kendall laid her hand on Nicole's shoulder. Kendall's own worry
doubled. She knew nothing about babies, let alone bringing one into the world.
"I think you're supposed to breathe deeply."

Nicole glanced up at her. "Your guess is as good as mine. I skipped the
birthing classes."

Kendall shoved her hair out of her eyes, annoyed she didn't have a
rubber band to tie it back. "Didn't your doctor tell you what to do?

"She did. But I didn't pay attention."

Her panic rose.
"For God's sake, why not?"

Wincing again, Nicole blew out a breath as the contraction passed. "If
you haven't noticed, I've been in denial about the baby."

"I know the adoption has been an issue but I thought you were handling
all the medical stuff okay."

"I made checkups, but frankly, once I got the thumbs-up from the doc
each month, I tuned the rest out. I have no idea what I'm doing."

Kendall glanced at the locked door. Her head had cleared and she was
coherent enough to think and plan. "Why would he come after us? It makes no sense."

The dream Kendall had had over and over again flashed in her mind.
The child in the closet.
The screams.
The soft, soothing voice beckoning her to come out.
It
was all connected to this place. "I've got to get you out of here."

"How?
He's locked every door."

"Todd has got to come back sometime. When he does, he'll be expecting to
find me unconscious and you in labor. We're not as helpless as we might seem."
As Kendall rose from the bed to look around the room, a wave of nausea passed
over her. She stomped it down, straightened, and concentrated on the room. It
was so familiar.

Tears filled Nicole's eyes. "God, I'm scared."

Kendall managed a brave tone. "It's going to be fine."

Where had she seen this room before? The place was garishly pink. The
smell of the house triggered deep emotions long since buried. This room had
never been in her dreams, yet there was a familiarity.

She moved around staring at the posters on the wall. All from the
eighties, all considered vintage now. She ran her finger along the edge of a
white desk as her gaze drifted to a closet door.

Kendall's heart pounded in her chest.

"What is it?" Nicole said.

"I've been here before." Kendall moved toward the closet. With a
trembling hand she twisted the knob.

Hinges squeaked as she opened the door and peered into the blackness.
Stay
in here. Stay quiet. Protect your sister.

Kendall went to the main door of the room and rattled the handle.
Locked.
She crossed to the window.
Nailed
shut.
And a glance out the icy pane revealed they were in a room three
stories up. A jump to the ground would at best break her leg and at worse kill
her.

She took a wooden chair from behind a small desk and returned to the
main door. She started to beat the doorknob with the chair. Each impact stung
her hands.

Nicole rolled to her side and got off the bed. She moved to the window.
"If he comes back he's going to hear."

She kept hitting the door. Some of the wood around the lock chipped but
the lock held strong. The exertion made her heart race and combined with the
drugs in her system left her light-headed. She stopped and brushed the sweat
from her head. "This bastard has built a fort."

Nicole cupped her hand under her belly and grimaced as her gaze skimmed
the room. "What is it with this room? It's like he's expecting little girls."

A memory danced at the edge of Kendall's consciousness, just out of her
reach. "I think I'm one of those little girls."

Nicole glanced toward the window as headlights shone in the driveway
below.
"Headlights."

Kendall rushed to the window and glanced out. "It's a truck."

"Do you think
it's
help?"

Her fingertips touched the icy windowpane. "We're in the middle of
nowhere. The chances of someone finding us are slim. I don't think this is
good." She glanced at the door and the battered chair. "Get back in bed and lie
on your side. And make it sound like the baby is coming."

"That won't be hard." Nicole lay back down. A sigh escaped her lips as
she rolled on her left side and curled up in a ball.

Kendall picked up the chair and moved behind the door. "When he comes
in, I'm going to hit him with everything I have."

Nicole nodded. "Put all your weight into it."

Kendall nodded. Her heart hammered.

Downstairs, the front door opened and slammed shut. Kendall winced at the
sound. She tightened her grip on the chair. She'd only have the element of
surprise once. The steady thud of footsteps sounded on the stairs. They grew
louder.
Closer.

Kendall's palms grew slick with sweat. "Be ready to run," she whispered.

"Got it."

"Showtime."

Nicole closed her eyes and started to moan loudly.

The dead bolt on the door turned, followed by the knob. Kendall raised
the chair. Her bangs fell in her eyes and made her nose twitch but she ignored
it.

Hinges creaked. Nicole moaned as the door opened.

A dark, masked head appeared. Todd was holding a fast-food bag. Kendall
didn't give herself time to think. She brought the chair crashing down. Wood
contacted with the side of his head and Todd dropped to his knees and forward
onto the floor.

"Hit him again!" Nicole shouted. Wincing, she scrambled off the bed as
Kendall stood guard over Todd, the chair still held high over her head.

Adrenaline pumped through her veins. Kendall hit him between the
shoulder blades.

"Get out, Nicole," Kendall said. "I'm right behind you."

Tears ran down Nicole's face but she kept moving forward. Carefully she
stepped around Todd as if she expected his hand to shoot up and grab her ankle.

Only when Nicole had started down the stairs did Kendall step over Todd,
who still gripped his keys in his hands.
Keys.
She
thought about the truck. Her heart racing, she reached down and tugged the keys
free from his grip. He groaned and tried to lift his head but couldn't manage
it.

Kendall jerked back and dropped the chair. Keys clutched in her hands,
she sprinted across the landing toward the stairs. She caught up to Nicole
halfway down the stairs. Wrapping her arm around Nicole's waist, she hurried
her the
rest of the way.

Nicole's breathing sounded ragged when they reached the front door.

Kendall turned the knob and discovered it was locked.
"Oh,
God."

"Damn him!" Nicole gripped her belly and doubled over.

Hands trembling, Kendall searched all the keys on the chain trying to
find one that looked like a door key. She picked one that looked right and
shoved it in the lock. It didn't work. She tried another and then another.

An angry wail emanated from the room upstairs. "Eve!"

Kendall dropped the keys. Panic exploded as she reached down and picked
them up. She'd lost track of which keys she'd tried. Upstairs, Todd sounded as
if he'd stumbled to his feet.

Nicole gripped her belly again. She bit her lip and sucked in a deep
breath.

Kendall pushed another key in the lock just as Todd appeared at the top
of the stairs. He staggered and gripped the banister. "Eve! No! You can't
leave!"

This time the dead bolt turned. She opened the front door as he started
down the stairs. Wrapping her arm around Nicole, she helped her outside. Cold
air hit them hard in the face but Kendall barely cared. Her only goal was to
get Nicole to the truck.

Nicole stumbled. "My water has
broke
." And in a
rush her water splashed over Kendall's and Nicole's shoes.

"Keep moving," Kendall ordered. "Your baby isn't going to be born in
this house."

Nicole gritted her teeth, gripped Kendall's hand and the two hurried
down the house's front steps toward the truck. Kendall opened the passenger
door and helped Nicole inside.

She'd just started around the front of the cab when a shot rang out. An
unmasked Todd appeared on the top step. He shouted, "Eve!"

Kendall ran to the driver's side door and slid behind the wheel. She
shoved the key in the lock. "Please start."

Todd fired. The back wheel deflated.

"You're not leaving me, Eve!" His voice sounded ragged with anger.

Kendall clenched the keys in her hand. "I'm not Eve! I'm Kendall!" She'd
drive the truck on its rims if that's what it took. She cranked the engine.

Running, he fired again and hit the front tire as the engine ignited.
"You won't make it far! I'll find you!"

Kendall put the truck in drive. "Just try!"

He pointed the gun at Kendall's window and fired. Glass shattered as the
bullet whizzed by their heads. Nicole ducked and screamed.

The explosion of noise stunned Kendall and confused her. She slammed on
the breaks. She jerked forward and hit the steering wheel with her head.
Stunned, she hesitated just long enough for Todd to yank open the driver's door
and point the gun into the cab. "I don't want to kill Nicole but I will."

Kendall's head pounded as she glanced at Nicole's ashen face. "The baby
is coming. She needs a hospital. Let her go. I'll stay."

"No," Nicole said. "I'm not leaving you."

"You have no choice," Kendall said. She didn't want to imagine what his
sick and twisted mind was planning. "Let Nicole go and I'll stay."

"I can't do that." His voice was deadly calm.

Kendall tensed. "Let her go."

"I need you and the baby to complete the Family, Eve."

Cold and fear made her teeth start to chatter. "What family?"

"Our family, Eve."

"My name is Kendall Shaw."

"Your name is Eve Turner."

She'd only just learned of it today. "How do you know that name?"

"I know all about you. Where you came from and who your real parents
are." He smiled. "And soon you'll join the Family, just like the others."

Kendall remembered the monogrammed
E
on the silver mirror he had
given her. "You didn't find that mirror in my kitchen."

"No. I gave it to you when you turned three. You loved it. You loved
me
."

Maybe she had at one time.
But not now.

Nicole opened her door. Pain constricted her face. "Kendall, the baby is
coming."

Kendall searched Todd's eyes. The million questions that had plagued her
for a lifetime didn't matter now. All that mattered was Nicole and the baby.
"Please let her go."

"No." He waved the gun. "Now help her up the stairs. Our baby is about
to be born."

It was nearly nine when Jacob and Zack drove to the house of the retired
detective who had investigated the Turner murders. It was a small brick
rancher. A low-wattage bulb shone down on a small front porch. Snow covered the
front lawn and the trees dipped low under the weight of the snow.

The detectives got out and moved to the front door. Jacob rang the bell.
Seconds later the door jerked open. Standing in the doorway was a short burly
man with thick graying hair. He wore a red sweater that stretched tightly over
his round belly.
"Warwick and Kier?"

Jacob nodded.
"Detective Houseman?"

He nodded and pushed open the screened door. "Come in."

They wiped their feet on the mat outside and moved into the warmth of the
house. The living room was furnished with formal-looking furniture covered in
clear protective plastic. Sitting on top of the polished coffee table was a
dusty file box. It was open, as was one of its files.

Houseman closed the front door. "Have a seat. After you called I pulled
my files.
Didn't take me a minute to refresh my memory on
that case."

Jacob felt antsy and didn't want to sit but he and Kier dutifully took
seats across from the couch. Houseman picked up reading glasses from the table
and put them on. "I won't waste your time with small talk."

"Thanks," Jacob said.

"I remember what it's like to be under the gun." He dropped his gaze to
the file. "Elijah and Delia Turner married in the late seventies. It was her
first marriage, his second. He was a religion professor at the college and she
stayed home with the kids. They had five daughters in a decade. There was also
a son."

"A son?"
Jacob prompted.

"Yes.
From Turner's first marriage.
Turner's
first wife had gotten pregnant while they were in high school and he wanted to
do right by her. But the marriage never worked. His first wife had never been
very balanced and after four years of marriage he moved out. He paid his child
support but he didn't visit the boy much." He sipped his coffee. "The boy was
about six when Turner married the second wife. From what neighbors say, wife
number two encouraged her husband to include the boy in their lives, so he did.
The boy was quiet, but he seemed to enjoy his visits with the new family. Allen
seemed to adore his sisters.
Especially the second to the
youngest, Eve."