Deadly Obsession (14 page)

“I don’t know what to say, Lil.”

“Tell me I’m not crazy.”

His lips pulled up slightly as he leaned against the counter next to her. “You’re definitely not crazy.”

“Are you going to tell anyone?”

“Why would I?”

“I don’t know.”

“I’m not going to cut you out of the loop now if that’s what you’re worried about. If it starts to affect the case, we’ll figure something else out. Until then, no one needs to know.”

“Thank you.” Her chest loosened a little. It was embarrassing enough that he knew about her problems, she didn’t want the rest of the world to know too.

He cleared his throat. “You ready?”

She nodded and put the milk back in the fridge. In exchange she grabbed a small water bottle to take with her and kept the apple. They’d practically force fed her half a dozen sugar cookies at the hospital to help her calm down, but she wanted something more substantial. “What did Hailey want? You never said.”

“Said she wanted to go over your aunt’s autopsy and she might have found a break in the case.”

“Why didn’t she have us come down there right away?”

Braden held open the door leading to the garage. “She wanted us to, but I knew you needed some time.”

“Damn it, Braden, you can’t make those decisions for me.” Lilly fisted the apple tightly as she passed by him.

“Looks like I already did.” Without waiting for her response, he slid into the front seat.

She gritted her teeth as she got in the truck. “Whatever happened with Mabel’s Florist?”

“I talked to her while the doctor was in with you and I’ve already got a guy down there fixing her door. She didn’t even care about the damage. Said she heard you were in town and wanted to know how long you’d be here. She also said to tell you she’d see you tomorrow at the wake.” He glanced over his shoulder and backed out of the garage.

Even though the circumstances sucked, she was looking forward to visiting with people she hadn’t seen in a decade. Mabel had been her aunt’s friend so it wasn’t as if Lilly knew her that well but she’d always been so nice. “Are you staying over tonight or uh…” With half the town coming tomorrow she wasn’t sure if it was such a good idea.

“The neighbors have no doubt seen my truck out front the past two nights. Besides, I don’t give a damn what people say.”

She shrugged and took a bite of her apple. As long as it didn’t bother him, she didn’t care if people gossiped.

The rest of the drive to the coroner’s office was quiet. When they pulled into the parking lot she was surprised to see half a dozen cars there. “Who’s here?”

“Probably students.”

They found Hailey alone in her office.

“What have you got for us?” Braden asked as they took a seat across from Hailey’s desk.

Hailey opened up a file on her desk. “I can’t rule it a murder, but I’m not signing off on Debra’s death as accidental either.”

“So what are you doing?” This time Lilly spoke.

“I’m going to hold her for another week until I can make a decision.”

“I don’t understand.” Lilly shifted in her seat.

“I’ve never seen such a traumatic head wound from simply falling down the stairs. There’s too much internal bleeding. It’s like…” Hailey’s voice trailed off as she glanced at Braden.

“What is it? Just say it,” Lilly demanded.

“It’s like she was hit with a two by four or a baseball bat at forty miles per hour. I also found splinters of wood in…” She cleared her throat. “I found splinters of wood that don’t match the banister. I’ve got one of the students running trace evidence on it as we speak.”

Acid filled Lilly’s stomach at the other woman’s words. “What exactly does this mean?”

Hailey glanced at Braden again, then back at Lilly. “I won’t say for certain until I have more evidence, but I think this was a homicide.”

“But why would anyone kill her? Nothing was taken, was it?” She looked at Braden for confirmation.

He shook his head. “No sign of forced entry and nothing was disturbed.”

“She had a key outside and I know she didn’t always keep her alarm on. It was more or less an afterthought for her. That might explain why there was no forced entry.” Bile bubbled up as Lilly said the words. It was entirely possible someone had broken in and killed her, then simply locked up. It still didn’t explain why someone would want to hurt her Aunt Debra though. Everyone loved her.

Braden rubbed a hand over his face and muttered a string of curses. “What if she was killed to get you back to Hudson Bay?”

“Wait, what?” Lilly frowned at him.

“Think about it. For the past few years, you’ve been in and out of the country, almost impossible to track. Am I right?”

She nodded so he continued. “From what we know, whoever this guy is, he has a grudge against both of us. Maybe he wanted us both in the same place at the same time.”

Her muscles tensed as she digested his words.

Braden turned toward Hailey. “Did you say Debra might have been struck with a bat?”

“Yeah.”

He pulled his cell phone out and punched in a number. Lilly glanced at Hailey who shrugged.

“Vanessa? You at the station?…Good. Take the bat we got from Abby Murphy and bring it down to Hailey for testing. Don’t let anyone else touch it. I want you to personally handle this.”

As soon as he disconnected, Lilly pounced. “You think Abby had something to do with this?”

“No, but I think her husband did.”

If someone had killed her aunt just to get to her, Lilly didn’t know that she could ever live down that kind of guilt. A painful vise tightened around her chest. Debra had been the kindest woman Lilly had ever known. Tears burned her eyes but she blinked them away.

“I might have some more good news,” Hailey’s voice interrupted Lilly’s thoughts.

“What?” Braden asked.

“I haven’t gotten a hit on the hair strands yet, but with each victim we’ve found an unusual type of fiber on their bodies. Chiengora.”

“What’s that?” Lilly asked.

“After analyzing it I discovered it’s a type of wool made from dog hair. I added this to the MO we ran with NLETS and about four years ago there were two killings with similar MOs in Vegas. The killer was sloppier and there were no burn marks like the ones on our victims, but there were traces of chiengora fibers on both victims.” She flipped open another file and slid it across the desk for them to view. “Both women were prostitutes. Do either of you know them?”

Lilly and Braden both shook their heads.

“Didn’t think so. I’ve petitioned the Vegas P.D. to send over their files. I should have everything by tomorrow.”

As they both scanned the report, Braden’s phone buzzed. The muted noise was over pronounced in the quiet room.

“Yeah?…What? I can’t hear you…Damn it, hold on.” Braden glanced back and forth between Hailey and Lilly. “It’s Detective Bolinger. I’m going to take this outside.”

Lilly lifted the file off the desk. “May I?” she asked Hailey. When the other woman nodded, she flipped to the next page and scanned the brief report listing wounds and other details.

“Don’t break his heart.” Hailey’s strong words forced Lilly to look up.

“Excuse me?”

“I know it’s not my business, but don’t hurt Braden again.”

“We’re not—”

Hailey held up a hand. “Whatever. I see the way you two look at each other and it’s nauseating. I love him like a brother and I don’t want to see him get hurt.
Again.
”

Lilly had never been particularly close to Hailey growing up, but they’d had a lot of the same classes and she’d genuinely liked her. Hailey had always been a lot closer to Braden. Hell, everyone in school had wanted to be his friend. She supposed she could get annoyed with the other woman’s brashness, but the fact that the woman was looking out for Braden pushed Hailey up a few notches in Lilly’s esteem.

Getting tangled up with Braden again would be the dumbest move she could make especially considering that leaving him had been the hardest thing she’d ever done. Going to college and years of travelling the world should have erased or at least dulled her attraction to him.

No such luck. And those intense kisses had only whetted her appetite for more. Ignoring Hailey’s stare, she averted her gaze back to the file and tried to focus on what was in front of her.

Yeah, she was in trouble. If she wasn’t forced to be with him 24/7, things might be a little easier. Unfortunately each second she was around him, she wanted a repeat performance of that kiss and despite Braden’s statement that it was a mistake, the heated look in his eyes told her something very different.

“So what did Perry want?” Lilly asked as she strapped in her seatbelt.

Braden didn’t glance over as he started the ignition. “To let me know that there’s
still
no sign of Lloyd Redford. His boat’s at the marina, but no one actually remembers seeing him for the past couple days.”

“I don’t understand how he factors into any of this. I don’t even know the man. Have you ever arrested him or something?”

“No. He’s never gotten into any trouble.” Redford was a Vietnam vet who fished and lived off his boat. He attended church occasionally, but he mostly kept to himself. As far as Braden knew, they’d never crossed paths except socially, and that was an occasional thing at best. Technically they hadn’t seen him, just his boat, but they still needed to question him.

Braden wished he knew what was going on inside that head of hers. Lilly had been thrown feet first into a shark pit since returning to Hudson Bay. It was hard to believe that she’d only been in town a couple days and so much had already happened.

From what he could tell, the man they were hunting had been waiting for her to return home to start playing mind games. That was a scary thing. It meant the killer had patience and he didn’t want to get caught.

Lilly’s phone rang, cutting through the silence of the vehicle. She frowned at the caller ID. “It’s private.”

“Answer it.”

Nodding, she flipped it open and pressed it to her ear. “Hello?” Her eyes widened as she spoke. “What do you want?”

“Speaker,” Braden whispered.

Nodding, she held the phone out in front of her and pressed the button.

The mechanical, monotone voice came over the line. “…want to talk to you.”

Braden had missed the first few words, but it was obvious what the guy had said.

“Why are you calling me?” she asked, her voice quavering.

“Tell me about your dreams, Lilly.”

She sucked in a harsh breath. Her mouth opened, as if to respond, but her jaw worked soundlessly.

Braden steered into the nearest parking lot of a coffee shop and took the phone from her hand.

“I know you’re still there. I can hear you breathing.” The mechanical voice sent chills snaking over Braden’s skin.

He could only imagine how much it affected Lilly. “What the hell do you want?” Braden growled.

“Ah, I should have known you’d be listening. I want this slut to suffer. Has she told you about her dreams, Sheriff? Her therapist took very detailed notes. I can tell you anything you want to know about this whore.”

Next to Braden, Lilly wrapped her arms tightly around herself. “If this is the only reason you called—”

The monster continued. “Why didn’t you save Emily, Lilly? She screamed and screamed for you. Do you still smell her burning flesh—”

When Lilly’s face turned ghostly white, Braden snapped the phone shut. It rang again immediately so he answered, not wanting Lilly to hear any more of this.

“If you have anything to say, you can say it to me.” He kept his voice level even though he wanted to reach through the phone line and strangle this guy.

“Put me on speaker,” he demanded.

Braden ignored the statement. “Why are you doing this?” If the only thing this guy wanted to do was torture Lilly he’d have to go through Braden first. Starting now he was taking back some control.

“Because she deserves it. Now put me on speaker. I want to hear the whore’s voice.”

“Why does she deserve this?” He still ignored his demand.

“I know what you’re trying to do and it’s not going to work. I promise you,
golden boy,
you won’t be able to save your slut from me. I’m going to do everything to her I did to those women you found. And I’m going to keep her alive a lot longer.” The phone went dead.

And Braden’s body turned ice cold. He knew Lilly was sitting right next to him and was completely fine—physically at least—but hearing that monster talk like he was so sure of the outcome made Braden sick.

He shifted in his seat to face Lilly and reached out a hand to comfort her. “Don’t let what he said affect you.”

She stared at him, but her bright green eyes were glassy. “The woman
he
mentioned, Emily, was someone I worked with but she was also my friend. When we were captured, we shared a cell. Everything they did to one of us, they did to the other. It was—” Her voice broke.

“You don’t have to do this.” He reached out a hand to comfort her but she jerked away.

She continued as if he hadn’t spoken. “They killed her hours before we were rescued.
Hours.
Hacked her up right in front of me then…set her on fire. The whole time they laughed at her screams. My leg and most of my ribs were broken, and I could barely see. She was screaming my name but I couldn’t even go to her.” Lilly pressed a hand to her stomach, but kept going. “When my cell door opened the next time, I just knew I was next, but it was the SEAL team coming to rescue me.”

“They’re never going to hurt you again.” This time he didn’t care if she pulled away. He unstrapped his seatbelt and shifted to the middle of the bench seat.

“That’s not it. I was…relieved to be alive. How messed up is that? Emily had two little boys at home. I don’t understand why they didn’t kill me instead.” She stared at a spot just over his shoulder, refusing to meet his gaze.

Understanding suddenly swept through him. Not only was she suffering from PTSD, but she had a healthy dose of survivor’s guilt. He’d seen it too many times when he’d been in Iraq. It never made sense when one of his friends died instead of him. One of his buddies had been killed by a roadside bomb the afternoon he learned he was a new father. Another died with two weeks left to go home. “Lilly, what happened was completely out of your control. No matter what you’d done, the outcome would have been the same.”

“Then why do I feel so guilty all the time?” Her voice cracked.

“Because you’re alive and they’re not.” It had taken him a couple years to come to grips with the fact that war was just that. War. It was violent and gory, and that was simply the way things were. No matter what he did, the deaths of his friends would never make sense. It was something a person learned to live with.

“Did you lose any friends when you were overseas?” Her question was quiet.

Damn, the woman was a mind reader. “Yeah.”

“How do you live with it?”

“One day at a time.”

“Did you ever talk to anyone about it?”

“My grandfather.” The thought of talking to a therapist had been laughable back then.

He’d just gotten out of the Marines and half his friends hadn’t come home. He was alive so what the hell did he have to complain about? Nothing. But his grandfather had seen right through him. A few weeks after he’d been discharged, his grandfather took him out, got him good and drunk and simply let him talk. He’d never spoken about his time over there since then, but that night had been therapeutic.

Lilly’s shoulders loosened a little as she shifted against the seat. A stray tear fell down her cheek. Instinctively, he brushed it away. He swiped a thumb over her soft cheek, savoring the feel of her delicate skin.

Her breath hitched as he cupped her face. Touching her like this was a mistake. But he couldn’t seem to help himself. If he was going to walk away from her, now would be the time.

“Braden.” His name was a whisper on her lips.

Despite the urgency humming through his body, he slowly leaned down until their lips barely touched. He wanted to give her plenty of time to stop him.

As soon as they made contact, he heard the sound of her seatbelt unsnapping, then her arms looped around his neck.

With a low groan, he grabbed her hips and pulled her across his lap so that she was straddling him. Her familiar scent enveloped him as she grinded against him. He knew he should stop. They were acting like randy teenagers—in the middle of a parking lot no less—but when he slid his hand up under her sweater and touched bare skin, all coherent thought fled. In the back of his mind he knew he’d pay for this later. Late at night when she’d gone back to D.C. and he had to live without her once again, but he couldn’t stop himself now if someone held a gun to his head.

With his free hand, he tugged at her scarf so he could get better access to all of her. Their lips and tongues danced in a hungry frenzy as their bodies pressed against each other. Once he’d freed her scarf, he started a trail of kisses down her jaw until he reached her earlobe.

She’d always been sensitive there. Things still hadn’t changed. When he tugged on the tender flesh, she nearly vaulted out of his lap.

And that was the only sign he needed. He tugged at the bottom of her sweater and lifted it over her head. She slightly shivered but he knew it wasn’t from being cold. The heated look in her green eyes told him everything he needed.

He couldn’t tear his gaze away from her barely covered breasts. She’d filled out since he’d seen her last. Not much but her curves were more defined and he desperately wanted to see all of her.

The sound of her harsh, erratic breathing matched his own. It sounded over pronounced in the small enclosure. Without asking, he reached around her back to unhook her bra. As he slid the straps down her arm, she arched her back into him.

He didn’t waste time taking what he wanted. Leaning forward, he gently flicked his tongue over one of her nipples. The pink bud hardened even more under his touch. When he sucked her breast deeper in his mouth, she moaned and writhed against him. His cock pushed painfully against the zipper of his pants.

She threaded her fingers through his short hair and gripped his head, forcing his head upward. Without having to say a word, he knew what she wanted. He didn’t hold back the moan as he crushed his mouth to hers.

This was going to happen. Right here. Right now. It would be fast and frenzied the first time but the next time would be gentler. His cock ached painfully between his legs, begging to be unleashed. The desire to be inside her overruled
everything
right now. He needed this like he needed to fucking breathe.

As she started to grapple with his belt, his cell phone buzzed in his pocket.

They both froze. For a moment neither of them moved until the buzzing started again. Disappointment filled Lilly’s expression as she slightly sat back, giving him room to move.

Cursing, he fished it out. It was Vanessa. “I’ve got to take this…Yeah?” he practically barked.

“Where are you? Hailey said you left a while ago.” Impatience laced Vanessa’s voice.

“We stopped to grab coffee.”

“Well get down here. There’s a woman who was friends with the fourth victim waiting to talk to you. She drove straight from Charlotte when she got the news about Macy Turner’s death and she won’t speak to anyone but you.”

He bit back a sigh. “I’m on my way.”

Lilly slid off his lap and started getting dressed as he snapped the phone shut. He just barely stopped himself from groaning in disappointment as she put her bra on.

“We might have another lead,” he said as he averted his gaze. He needed to get rid of his hard-on and staring at her as she got dressed wouldn’t help him any.

“I should probably be more excited,” she murmured as she adjusted her clothes.

“This isn’t over.” He started the ignition, refusing to look at her. If he did, he’d throw common sense out the window and finish what they’d started.

“So you don’t think what just happened is a mistake?”

“Hell no.”

“Good.”

He glanced at her to find a small smile playing across her face. Gunning the engine, he sped out of the parking lot. Tonight couldn’t come soon enough.

Lilly sipped her coffee as she looked through the two-way mirror into the interview room at the sheriff’s office. Braden was talking to a woman named Emily Lopez and Vanessa was recording the conversation. The Lopez woman wasn’t a suspect, but they weren’t taking any chances.

The pretty brunette was simply crying over her friend’s death instead of giving any actual information—and Lilly couldn’t blame her. Losing someone to violence was always hard. The woman obviously just wanted answers.

“So you knew Braden in high school?” Vanessa asked. She sat at the small desk in front of the recording device.

“Yeah.”

“A lot of women would kill to be in your position,” she continued.

She swiveled around. “A lot of women would kill to be stalked and tormented by a maniac?”

The woman’s cheeks turned pink. “Sorry, I…I didn’t mean it like that. I just meant, you know, the fact that Braden is interested.”

Lilly bit back a retort and turned toward the window. She didn’t know what this detective thought she knew about them. Maybe she was fishing for information.

“Do you plan to stay in town long?” Vanessa continued.

“I haven’t decided.”

“How long have you worked with the NSA?”

Was Vanessa interrogating her? Lilly gritted her teeth. “About six years.”

“Is that why Braden’s letting you watch all this?”

Lilly set her coffee on the table and leaned against the window so she could face the detective. “Are you worried about my credentials? I have a Master’s in criminology and I’ve teamed with the FBI, DEA and CIA on various cases across the globe.”

“Uh, I actually knew all that. Braden told us when you got involved with the case. Sorry, I wasn’t trying to be rude…My cousin has a thing for Braden and I was just wondering if you were planning to stay in town long.”

Lilly inwardly cursed herself. Since when did making normal conversation become such a hard thing for her? “I didn’t mean to get defensive. I actually don’t know how long I’ll be here, but…you can tell your cousin he’s taken.” The second the words were out of her mouth, she wanted to take them back, but it was too late.

Surprise flickered across her face, but Vanessa nodded. “I’ll make sure she knows.”

Gossip in this town spread like man-eating locusts, but hearing that someone else was interested in Braden made Lilly’s claws come out. She’d never been a jealous person, but she’d also never felt about anyone the way she did about Braden.