Justice for Mackenzie (17 page)

It wouldn’t bring her back, but it’d make Dax feel better…maybe.

Ten o’clock AM

Quint burst into Dax’s office holding a piece of paper. “Jordan Charles Staal. Age thirty-nine, never been married. Has a high school education. Was married for two years to a second cousin. She disappeared and her information is sitting in the cold-case files. What do you want to bet he killed her? We’re still working on finding out about his childhood, looking for signs of abuse or any kind of juvenile record.”

Dax sat up straight in his chair and drilled Quint with his eyes. “Jobs?” he barked.

Quint sat on the edge of the wooden chair in front of Dax’s desk and continued. “He’s held six different custodian jobs in the last eight years. All like the tipster said, third shift. We’re cross-referencing the victims now, but I recognize at least one of the buildings off the top of my head as where the fourth victim worked.” Quint looked up. “We’ve fucking got him, Dax.”

“It seems too easy.”

“Don’t think that. We’ll get him, and Mackenzie too.”

Two o’clock PM

The Ranger Special Response Team spread out around the ramshackle house in western San Antonio. The neighborhood looked as though it once used to be pretty, but now the houses mostly appeared abandoned and almost all needed some sort of major repair.

Dax didn’t see any of that. He was fixated on the door in front of him. They’d tracked Staal’s address through his employment records and as soon as they’d gathered the SRT, they were on their way.

Dax had agreed not to be at the forefront of the assault; he was too close to the case. He watched as the door was broken in and the team rushed into the house. He followed behind, gun drawn, hoping against hope they’d find Staal cowering in a back room and he’d tell them what he did with Mack.

It was quickly clear that no one had lived in the house in a very long time. It smelled stale and there were cobwebs everywhere. Some kids had obviously broken in and partied in the house at one point, as there were beer cans strewn all over the floor.

The address Staal had given his employers was false. No one was there. Not Staal, and not Mackenzie.

Dax’s stomach churned. Mack wasn’t here and he had no idea where she was. He wasn’t sure he’d ever see Mack alive again. He’d promised he’d keep her safe and he’d let her down.

Four Thirty PM

Dax watched the news correspondent review the facts of the Reaper case dispassionately.

And now an update to the killer the press has dubbed the Lone Star Reaper. It’s being reported that another woman is missing. Mackenzie Morgan, age thirty-seven, disappeared from her workplace yesterday afternoon. The San Antonio Police Department, the Texas Rangers and the FBI are working on a joint operation to follow any leads.

We’ve been told they have a person of interest in the case. Jordan Charles Staal. If you have any information about Mr. Staal’s whereabouts, or if you have information that might lead to finding him so he can be questioned, please call the police department’s tip line at…

Dax clicked off the television, not able to stomach the sight of Staal’s face. The third place the man had worked was able to provide them with his picture from the employee ID computer system. He truly was a creepy-looking man. He had black hair that was too long. His jaw was tight and he wasn’t smiling in the photo. There was a scar running along the right side of his face, from the corner of his mouth all the way up to disappear into his hairline.

Dax closed his eyes. He was so tired, but didn’t know if he could sleep. He knew he couldn’t go back to his apartment. He’d see Mack’s stuff, see the indentation in the pillow where she’d last lain her head, he’d smell her perfume and soap in the bathroom, smell her vanilla scent all over his apartment. Nope, he’d have to see if he could catch a few hours of sleep here at his desk instead.

Even though it wasn’t even five in the afternoon yet, Dax crossed his arms and put them on his desktop. He put his head down and closed his eyes, willing the tears back. If he let them out now, he didn’t know if he’d be able to stop.

Six Thirty PM

Dax jerked up from his awkward position and looked around in confusion. He hadn’t slept well; visions of Mackenzie crying out for him in a dark room haunted him. He couldn’t find her and she needed him. He rubbed his hand over his eyes, trying to orient himself.

The cell phone in his back pocket vibrated again. Dax pulled it out and saw the number was blocked. Normally he’d let the call go to voice mail, but while Mackenzie was missing, he wasn’t taking any chances.

“Chambers.”

“Daxton?”

Dax straightened his spine then stood up suddenly and headed out of his office. He had to get someone…anyone. Holy fucking shit. Mack was on the phone.

“Mack? Where are you, sweetheart? I’m on my way to you right now, just tell me where you are and I’ll come get you.”

Her voice was low and strained and the connection was crap. The air crackled and dropped in and out as she spoke the words Dax somehow knew, from the very fiber of his being, were coming.

“I don’t know. I’m buried alive.”

Dax had been on the move before Mackenzie had spoken, but he halted for a moment, holding himself upright in the hallway of his office building with a hand on the wall. He lowered his head in despair. He then took a deep breath and strode down the hall with purpose. It might be evening, but the building was never empty. He wasn’t hanging up with Mackenzie to try to get ahold of someone; he’d just have to multitask.

“Mack…” Dax stopped. He didn’t really know what to say. What the hell
did
you say to someone who was in her situation? He tried to think. He had to pull his head out of his ass and
think
.

“I love you.” First things first. He had to tell Mack how much he cared about her.

“I love you too, Daxton. I…know how it happened…drink…woke up.”

“You’re cutting in and out, baby. Try again.”

Dax burst into the Major’s office and put his hand over the speaker on his phone. “Mack’s on the phone. She’s underground somewhere. Get Cruz and Quint on the line, now.”

The Major didn’t hesitate. He immediately picked up the phone on his desk and dialed.

Mackenzie’s voice was small and wobbly in Dax’s ear. He’d never heard her sound so unsure. “I know how he got me. I was…work, the janitor…a glass of water, and I woke up…the dark. It’s so dark, Daxton.”

Dax backed away from the Major’s desk and turned toward the window. Not seeing anything but Mackenzie’s face, he tried to reassure her. “It’s not your fault. It’s mine. I shouldn’t have let you keep working. I should’ve been there.”

“No, Daxton. Don’t do that. You couldn’t know, there’s no way…known this would happen.”

“You’re wrong, Mack. He knew about you, I should’ve protected you better.”

“I know you told me never to get in a car with someone who wanted to…but does it count if I didn’t…what was happening?”

The connection was crap, but Dax could get the gist of what Mack was saying. “I think you get a pass, baby. He probably roofied your water.”

“Yeah, I figured that too…seemed so nice. I hadn’t seen him around…but he was getting his own cup of…he offered me one too, I said sure. I’m sorry, Daxton, I’m so fucking sorry.”

“It’s okay. It’s okay. I’m going to find you. We know his name. Do you hear me? We know who he is.”

“Good. You’ll find me?”

Dax heard Mack’s voice crack. He gripped his phone so hard he thought he’d break it. He breathed in through his nose trying to get his composure back. “I’ll find you, baby. No matter what. I’ll find you and bring you home.”

Dax looked over at the Major. He was gesturing to his office door. Dax followed him out and back toward the conference room.

“Look at the phone in your hand, Mack. Take it away from your ear for a second and tell me if you can see a phone number on it. The number was blocked from my end, so I can’t call you back if we lose the connection.”

“Don’t go, Daxton! Oh God, please…don’t—”

“Mackenzie!” Dax’s tone was harsh. He was losing her and he needed her focused on helping him find her. “Listen to me. You there? You listening?”

“I’m here.”

“Take a deep breath, sweetheart. Don’t panic. If you panic, you’ll lose too much air. Do you understand? You have to stay as calm as you can. If we lose the connection, don’t freak. You called me, right? All you have to do is call me back. I’ll be here.”

“Yeah, okay, you’re right. I’m…hang on and let me…if I can see the number.”

There was a pause and Dax figured Mack was looking at the face of the phone; he turned to the Major. “What’s their ETA?”

“They’re on their way, lights and sirens, and I put the SRT on standby. As soon as we get
any
information, we’re ready to roll.”

Mackenzie’s voice came back over the line. “I don’t see the number. I clicked buttons but…light. It’s so dark. I can’t find…I can’t find it.”

“Okay. Don’t worry about it. If we lose the connection, you can just call me back. I’m not going to hang up. You might hear me talking to others in the background, but I’m still here. Okay?”

“Okay.”

“I’m going to get to you, Mack. I need you to tell me everything you can about what you remember, what you see, smell, hear, and what you feel around you. Everything, Mack. No matter how small you think it is. How insignificant. Every single thing will help me get to you.”

Mackenzie’s description of her surroundings was completely heartbreaking and Dax couldn’t hold back the tears that had been at the back of this throat since he’d answered the phone and heard Mack’s voice. She was trying to be so brave and he couldn’t fucking stand it.

“I’m pretty sure…in a coffin. There’s no material, it’s all wood, but…only a couple inches above…head but it seems like…room at my feet. For the first time…glad to be short.”

Dax grabbed a tissue from the box in the middle of the conference table and turned his back to the Major. He held the tissue to his eyes, willing himself to keep silent. Mackenzie didn’t need to hear him losing it.

“It’s crude…I think. There’s no material...I admit I freaked out when…and in places…nails. I found this phone and…when…it…later.”

Dax cleared his throat. “Mack, say again. That last part cut out.” He was proud at how normal his voice sounded.

“The phone was here and two bottles of water. I thought I’d save them for later.”

“Good thinking, Mack. What do you hear?”

Mackenzie’s voice lowered. “Nothing. There’s nothing. It’s so quiet all I can hear is the ringing in my ears.”

“What about smell? What do you smell?” Dax knew even the most insignificant thing could be the difference between finding Staal and thus, Mack…or not finding either of them.

“Dirt. Daxton, I smell dirt. I’m so scared…I thought I’d be brave, but I can’t…”

Dax’s heart felt as if it was being pulled out of his body, it hurt so badly. Hearing Mackenzie break down into sobs was completely heart wrenching.

“Shhhh, baby. Deep breaths. I know you’re scared. I am too. I’m doing everything I can to find you. You hear me? Don’t give up on me.”

As Mackenzie tried to control her sobs, Dax heard the door open. Quint and Cruz stalked in, crazed looks in their eyes.

“That her?” Quint asked.

Dax nodded.

“That your cell? The guys are seeing if they can trace it,” Cruz told Dax matter-of-factly.

Dax nodded again, relieved as fuck his friends were there.

“She give you anything yet?”

Dax held up his finger to tell Quint to wait a second. He spoke into the phone again. “Mack? Quint and Cruz are here; can you give me a moment to talk to them?”

“Yeah. I’m okay. Talk…them.” Mackenzie’s voice was a bit stronger this time.

“I’m so fucking proud of you, sweetheart. I can still hear you, but I’m going to put you on mute a second. I’m not hanging up. Okay? Hang on.”

Dax kept the phone against his ear, not willing to be out of hearing distance from Mackenzie for even a second, just in case she needed him.

“She’s in a homemade wooden box, sounds like the others, two water bottles, cell phone. She can’t hear anything, but can smell dirt. Bastard must’ve drugged her. She saw him in the break room and he got her a glass of water. It’s about the last thing she remembers. I don’t think she’s going to be able to give us anything.” Dax paused, meeting his friends’ eyes. “Help me. For God’s sake, help me.”

“Tips are rolling in from tonight’s news. We’re following up on them now.”

“It needs to be faster, Quint.”

Quint simply nodded, went to the table, pulled out his phone and punched some buttons.

Dax didn’t see what Cruz was doing, but turned his attention back to Mack and clicked the mute button so she could hear him again. “I’m back, sweetheart.”

“Daxton?”

“Yeah, Mack. I’m here.”

“Does my family know…?”

“Yeah, they know.” Dax had fielded a call from her brother Mark before he’d taken the short catnap. He’d been furious, rightly so, and Dax had promised him they were doing everything they could to find his sister. Dax knew his words weren’t comforting in the least to the man, because they weren’t to his own ears.

“Don’t let them see…scene photos. I don’t want them…me looking…this.”

“Fuck, baby.”

“Promise,” she demanded.

“I promise.”

“Do you remember…first kiss?”

“How could I forget?”

“You pushed me up against the wall and were trying…scare me. I told you I wasn’t…and you leaned down…kissed me. I didn’t tell…that if you’d asked, I would’ve…dragged…hall to my…and made love to you right then. You smell fantastic…I ever tell you that before? Well…do. I love the way…smell. Like man and…you should bottle that shit, you’d…a mint on it. But I want to keep it…myself. I’d give anything…smell you…now.”

Dax shut his eyes, loving how Mack could ramble even when she was scared out of her mind and buried underground. “I remember that night. I couldn’t have stopped myself from kissing you if my job depended on it. You were so cute, and not scared of me in the least. And Mack, you might think I smell good, but you…you corner the market on that. Every morning before I get out of bed I lean into you and bury my nose in your hair. It’s vanilla or something. I don’t know exactly what it is, but it’s you. And I love it.”