Killer Scents (22 page)

With
her entire body rendered useless
,
a
ll she could do
was
look from side to side with her eye
s
. Thankfully Danny left them alone in the room. Her sense of time
had
vanished along with her motor skills. It seemed a lifetime
had
passed, but it could easily have been a matter of minutes.

Danny had positioned her to face Jacob, who
reclined
on the sofa still as a corpse
.
If it wasn’t for the slight rise and fall of his chest
Becca would’ve thought him dead.
Waiting for
Danny
to come back was almost as torturous as not being in control of her body.

Like a slideshow, photos of the seven crime scenes played over and over in
her
mind. Jacob already assumed the position on the sofa. If she had any hope of maintaining even a tendril of sanity, she couldn’t let her mind go there.

Did Randy see my ring on the floor
of the truck
?
Does he
have any idea where we are?

Danny
meandered
into the room freshly showered and
wearing
clean clothes.

What kind of killer does that?

He
rubbed his hands together,
look
ing
from Jacob to her and back to
Jacob. A
devilish smirk
played
on
lips
as he squatted next to her,
his face
a whisper from hers.

“I hope you enjoy the show today
.
None of this would be possible if it weren’t for your meddling. Thank you.” He tilted his head back and laughed.

Her attempt to move away from the garbage spewing from his mouth proved futile. Danny sat back on his heels and
dangled a large needle thre
ad
ed
with fishing line.

Oh my God,
no! Please
,
oh my God, somebody please help us!

Danny took great pleasure in seeing sheer terror in the eyes of Ms
.
Hoity Toity
D
etective. He
swung
the
polished steel instrument
in front of her face
back and forth, back and forth. Big
,
fat tears spilled onto her flushed cheeks
,
and he leaned forward to lick them away, jumping back just in time to miss the puke spewing from her mouth.

He laughed so hard tears came to his eyes
.
Things were moving along even better than he’d hoped. All color drained from her face
, and
yellowish,
green spittle dripped from her chin.

“Aw, I’m sorry darlin’. If that was enough to make you sick just wait ‘til you see what happens next.”

He looked down at
Jacob
.
“It’s time for you to pay the piper. Did you really think I’d just sit back and let you take Jeffery from me? Lord knows what kind of crap you’ve poisoned his mind with about me. I’ll
be
sure to set things straight in due time
,
but first thing
’
s first.”

Danny scooped up the smaller black bag and set it next to the couch. He then straddled Jacob
and sat
on his chest.
Was it
fear or anger
he saw in Jacob’s eyes
? He shrugged.

Once he’d put on his gloves, he took a pack of
baby
wipes from the bag and set them on Jacob’s chest. With two fingers
,
he
pulled
the man’s
lips out and held them together.

“We’ll just see how well you can use your mouth after I’m through with you.”

Danny curled
his
lip in a snarl as he pushed the needle through and out the bottom,
drawing
the long thread out dramatically. “Now that wasn’t so bad, was it?”

Jacob’s pupils were so big he couldn’t see the color of his eyes.

“Perfect.”

Danny set to work, stopping every few stitches to look into Jacob’s frozen features. “Are you going fucking nuts in there? I sure hope so. You’re not such a pretty boy now, are you?” He took a wipe and cleaned the blood from his mouth
.

Becca stared blankly
.
What he wouldn’t give to read her mind. “Are you enjoying the show
, honey
? I need a drink. Can I get you something while I’m up? No? Okay, don’t say I didn’t offer.” He got up from the sofa and stared down at Jacob. “How about you, buddy
. W
ant a drink?” His hand fluttered to his mouth. “Oops, how rude of me
. I guess you can’t.
”

His laughter r
ang
off the walls on
his way
to the picture window
. He
looked out across the lush meadows. The smile froze on his face, and he squinted against the setting sun to see between the trees
.

Flashing lights slowly passed by only to reappear
seconds later. A
SUV
now sat
idling out front. Danny stepped away from the window.

“Fuck!”
He
scrambled for a plan of action. His gaze
zeroed in
on the truck,
and
he blew out a rush of air
as
he watched the SUV carry on down the road. “Phew!”

Chapter Twenty-Five

“Look, over there.” Randy pointed at the
old
Brinkly
homestead
. “I think I saw him.”

“You think you saw who?”
Chief’s
gaze
follow
ed
the direction he pointed.

“Back up to the gap between the trees.”
Adrenaline gushed through his veins as he straightened in his seat
. “He was standing right there in the picture window.”

Chief
rolled his eyes
in obvious disbelief. “I don’t see anything. Besides, those windows haven’t been cleaned in years. How could you see anything through them?”

“I’m not seeing things. I
know
what I saw. At least go along with me on this and check out the place.”

Chief put the truck in drive and eased away from the
side of the road
. “If, and I mean
if
you did see him, there’s a good chance he saw you
, too
. Let’s let him believe we’ve left for good.”

They drove a good distance up the road before pulling over. Chief called in for backup in unmarked cars.

“We don’t want to spook him and give him the opportunity to slip away again.”

“You believe me?” The corner of
Randy’s
mouth lifted. “I’m going to cut through the woods and see if I can get a look inside
.
”

His boss
reached over him and locked the door. “You aren’t going anywhere without backup. How are you going to feel if you act impulsively and
he
gets away?”

Randy
flopped back in his seat. “How are you going to feel if we get to them a few minutes too late?”

His boss rubbed his scruffy jaw
. “Touché.
Let’s get out and stretch our legs. I feel like I’ve been driving for days.”

He
didn’t need to be told twice. “It will be dark soon. I think that
’
ll work in our favor in getting a closer look.”

The unmarked cars arrived casually to
not
draw attention. Things weren’t moving fast enough for
Randy’s
liking, but he knew how important it was for them all to be on the same page
.

If Danny did see me, he’ll be watching for any sign of
us
.

Chief kept Larry with them since he grew up in the area and knew the land better than most. “I want the rest of you to set up on the others side of the property so you have Danny’s vehicle in sight.”

The team quickly followed the chief’s orders and dispersed. Randy ran close behind Larry through the wooded area while his boss lagged behind a few yards until they reached a cluster of bushes in direct line with the car.

His
boss
struggled to catch his breath. “I think I’m getting too old for this shit.”

Randy pat
ted
his back. “Are you going to
be okay
, ol’ man?”

He waved
Randy
off. “It’s been awhile.” He nod
ded
toward the house. “His car is still there.”

“I can get in there and fix it so he can’t make a run for it.” Larry crouched next to them.

“Okay, but any sign of Danny and I want you to take cover
.
I do not want anyone confronting him alone.”

“Copy that.”
Larry set out obscured by the shadows.

Randy looked from the car to the house and noticed an amber glow coming from a room at the front. “I can’t just sit here and do nothing.”

Chief sighed resignedly and drew his gun. “Go check out that light and be careful. I’ve got your back.”

He took the same approach as Larry. He pressed his back against the cool stone wall and gave the chief a thumbs up before crawling under the windows to the front. His heart hammered against his rib cage as he inched his way up to the window ledge.

Atop a stool a lantern
sat bathing the room in an amber hue. His gaze settled on a sofa where someone lay perfectly still, but
he
couldn’t make out whom.
Is it Becca? Am I too late?

He let h
is gaze travel around
the poorly lit room
. A dark shadow filled the doorway
.

The Florist
.

Danny walked into
the room
and over to the side too dark to
see what he was doing
.  There was definitely someone else with him.
Randy
squinted and made out what looked to be
someone sitting in a
chair.

We have to get in there and find out if
Becca and Jacob are
okay.

Randy
retraced his steps
until he met up with Larry, who had just disabled the car.

“There’s someone on the sofa and someone else sitting on a chair while that whack job walks around laughing his sorry ass off.” He balled his hands
in
to fists
.
“I can’t tell if they’re alive
or dead.”

Their superior
joined them behind the car and took out a penlight,
holding it out and
turning it off and on three times. The signal was returned
f
rom the far side
of the property.

“Here’s the plan. The other team is going to go in through the front, and we’ll cover the back. Remember, he’s armed and won’t think twice about shooting any one of us.” He slipped the penlight back in his pocket.

Randy’s phone vibrated in his vest. His breath caught as he looked at the caller I.D. “You aren’t going to believe this, but he’s calling my cell.”

Chief looked at the screen to read the perp’s name. “Answer it, but you have to keep your cool, Randy. Becca and Jacob’s lives depend on it.”