Authors: Marion Faith Carol J.; Laird Lenora; Post Worth
Tags: #Fluffer Nutter, #dpgroup.org
Her gaze fell on the picture but didn't stay there long. A nanosecond later she jerked away, lips turned out in revulsion. For several moments she stood, indecision set in her features.
Finally she cast a glance at her coworker. “Cover for me.”
After she came out from around the counter, she led them to a table in the corner, farthest from the massive speakers pumping their racket onto the dance floor. Not that it helped. There was probably no peace and quiet to be had within a three-block radius.
Lysandra slid into a chair, her expression somber. “Amber, Tiffany and Jeanieâwe were all in the same sorority at Florida State.”
Lexi nodded. “Anyone you can think of who might have had a bone to pick with you ladies?”
Lysandra gave a dry laugh. “Yeah, a whole bunch of guys. Where do you want to start?”
“How about the why? Then we'll get to the who.”
“It was all part of joining.”
“What was?” Alan asked.
“Using our feminine wiles to lure a guy into a really embarrassing situation.”
He nodded. Hazing was illegal. But that didn't stop it from happening. Not by a long shot. “Do you remember the names of any of these guys?”
Lysandra thought for a moment. “Frank. I remember him, because he's the one I set up.”
“What was Frank's last name?”
“Thompson or Thomas, maybe Tomlin. I'm not good with names.”
Lexi made some notes on a blank sheet of paper in her folder. “Any others you can remember?”
“No, that's it.”
Lexi continued, “So one of the requirements of getting into the sorority was to lure some unsuspecting guy into a compromising position. Then what?”
“Then we took pictures and plastered them all over campus. So the guys got a lot of ribbing.”
Alan's pulse picked up and he cast Lexi a meaningful glance. The killer's photos weren't trophies. They already knew that. But they weren't for the purpose of publicity, either. They were for revenge. His tormenters had photographed him at his worst, so he photographed his victims at theirs.
He shifted his gaze back to Lysandra. “Any of those guys seem especially upset over your pranks?”
Lysandra shrugged. “Most of them took it in stride.”
“Most, but not all?”
For several moments Lysandra stared down at her hands clasped on the table. When her gaze again met his, it was intense, as if she had suddenly realized the import of what she had participated in.
She nodded slowly. “There was one. He didn't laugh it off like the others.”
“How so?” Lexi asked.
“He was really angry, not like an explosive, blow-up-and-get-violent anger. More like a seething, beneath-the-surface anger that would simmer and stew until it would one day come out, cold and lethal. I avoided him as much as I could, because after that, he scared me. Any time we would pass each other on campus, he would stare me down.” An involuntary shudder shook her shoulders. “That was the last time I had any part in the hazing pranks.”
Lexi took a swig of her Coke. “Do you remember his name?”
Lysandra closed her eyes, her brows pulled together in concentration. “Gary, maybe? I don't remember for sure, but I think it was Gary.” She shook her head. “I can't believe he's killing people over this.”
She once again lowered her gaze to her hands. “A few months after this, I was gang raped. I figured it was retribution for all the bad stuff I had done over my life. You know, karma.” Her gaze fluttered back up to meet Lexi's. “I thought I had paid my dues, but apparently not.”
Lexi reached across the table and put her hand over Lysandra's. “Don't blame yourself. These deaths are the responsibility of the killer and no one else. But we're asking you to help us catch him, before he kills again.”
“Tell me what I can do.”
“Give us the names of all your sisters who had any involvement in Gary's prank.”
“There were about ten of us. I can give you the names, but I've lost touch with all of them. I only went to Florida State for a year.”
Yeah, they knew that. And they knew why. But there was no sense bringing it up now.
Lexi continued, “Do you have any photos?”
“Not of Gary. I think I still have some of my friends.”
“Can we see them?”
Lysandra nodded. “I live only two blocks from here. Let me get Josie to cover a few more minutes. Then I've got to get back to work.”
Alan followed Lysandra and Lexi out the door. This had been their most productive day yet. Not only did they have a motive, but they also had a first name.
And maybe somewhere in all that college memorabilia, there would be a photo that Lysandra had forgotten about.
A photo of Gary.
NINE
L
exi followed Lysandra down the sidewalk, thankful for Alan's presence next to her. The neighborhood seemed a little on the rough side, with trash on the edges of the street and bars on most of the windows.
But Lysandra didn't seem to mind. She walked along at a good clip, chatting as she went.
“I stuck everything from my college days in a box and have lugged it with me everywhere I've gone.”
Lexi smiled. That box had probably gone through a lot of lugging. Hopefully its contents would prove valuable.
“It's tucked away in the top of the closet. I haven't been through it in forever. I'm not even sure why I keep all that old stuff.”
She veered off the sidewalk and headed toward a narrow wrought iron stairway that hugged the side of a chipped stucco building. At the top, she put the key into the lock and swung the door wide.
“Well, this is home. It's not great, but it's all I could afford when I left Jake. I've come to the conclusion that sometimes it's better to be alone.”
She led them into the apartment and closed the door behind them. Fresh paint covered sections of missing plaster that had never been repaired, but the place was neat and tidy.
“So are you guys together?” Lysandra flung the question over her shoulder as she headed toward the bedroom.
Lexi followed but stopped in the doorway. “Yes and no. We work for separate departments, but we're working together on this case.”
“No, I meant, are you a couple?” She turned to face them, her gaze shifting from Lexi to Alan and back to Lexi again. “You look like you belong together. There's good energy between you.”
Lexi opened her mouth to respond, but Lysandra was already wrestling a box down from the shelf in the closet. She plopped it on the bed and pulled back the flaps. A Seminoles pennant lay across the top. Beneath it were a couple of shoe boxes, along with a mug, a blanket and some other FSU memorabilia.
“All the pictures are in these two boxes.” She took the lid off one and pulled out a thick stack of photos. After thumbing through several of them, she handed one to Lexi. “This is Amber.”
Lexi showed the photo to Alan. “Stephanie.”
Lysandra looked up from the pictures she held. “Who?”
“Stephanie Wilson, the third victim. Amber resembles her. Or I should say, Stephanie resembled Amber.”
Lexi held on to the photo, and Lysandra flipped through several more pictures.
“Here's one of Amber and Tiffany together.”
“Do you have a close-up of Tiffany?”
“Probably.” She sat on the bed and continued going through the photos until she had sorted all of them from the first box. After stuffing several handfuls back into the box, she handed the remaining pictures to Lexi.
“These are the ones you'd be interested in.” Lysandra moved to stand next to her. “That's Tiffany, more close up.”
Lexi showed the picture to Alan.
“Donna Jackson?”
She nodded. Tiffany's face was a little more rounded than Donna's, but the resemblance was definitely there. Similar build, same wavy, shoulder-length hair, deep brunette.
By the time Lysandra finished taking them through the stack of photos, they had linked five of her friends to the five victims. A sixth, Jeanie, could have passed for Denise's sister.
Lysandra sat back on the bed and removed the lid from the other box. “I'll check the others.”
Midway through, she suddenly stopped. “Gary. I didn't know I still had this. All the others went up around campus.”
Lexi's pulse jumped to double time and she moved to see what Lysandra held. Her eyes widened. “How in the world...?”
“Bridgett did it.”
Bridgett, represented by Meagan Bowers, victim number one. She must have been incredibly persuasive, because she had somehow convinced Gary to dress in nothing but a T-shirt and a pink tutu.
The problem was, he was running away from the camera. So all they had to go on was some longish brown hair, a white T-shirt thinly concealing a bony back, and a tulle-covered rear end.
Lysandra sighed. “It was quite a feat. The hard part was sneaking him past our house mom. The rest was easy. Bridgett promised him a great party, lots of booze and wild, beautiful women. But she told him that to be initiated in as one of our fun party guys, he had to let go of all his inhibitions. And putting on that pink tutu was what he had to do to prove it. When he came out of the bathroom and Bridgett led him into the rec room, we were waiting for him...with cameras and lots of laughter.”
But Lysandra wasn't laughing now. In fact, she looked as though she was going to be sick. And Lexi couldn't blame her. Their silly pranks had created a killer. He had started with Bridgett, the orchestrator of his humiliation, and was methodically working his way through each of her friends.
Except the women paying the price were innocent, their only crime being unfortunate enough to resemble his tormenters.
Lysandra shook her head. “I had no idea.”
Lexi placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. “I know you didn't. None of you had any way of knowing something like this would happen.”
“I wish I could take it back. I'd do anything to go back and relive that year.”
Lexi let her hand fall from Lysandra's shoulder. “Can we take these? We'll make copies and send them back, if you give us a mailing address.”
Lysandra nodded and began to repack the unneeded photos.
Alan held up a hand. “Before you put all those back, do you have any pictures of yourself?”
“Yeah, I think I do.” She began fishing through the boxes, talking while she searched. “I actually looked a lot different then. This isn't my natural hair color.” She gave a short laugh. “Obviously the purple isn't natural. But the black isn't, either. My true hair color is a mousy brown, sort of like that dresser over there.” She tilted her head toward the other side of the room. “In college, though, I was a platinum blonde. Ah, here's one.”
She handed the photo to Alan, and his complexion seemed to grow several shades paler. He lifted his gaze to Lexi's, and the fear she saw there sent tiny shards of apprehension spiking through her. She really didn't want to know, but she moved closer anyway, eyes seeking what he held.
Apprehension morphed to dread. As expected, the girl in the photo was blond, hair straight and silky, just past shoulder length. Much like Lexi's own.
Lysandra's voice cut across her thoughts.
“I hadn't noticed before, but you and I could almost be sisters.” She gave a nervous laugh. “You wouldn't happen to be adopted, would you? I am.”
Lexi shook her head. “No, I'm not. But maybe we're distant cousins.”
By the time Lysandra walked them to the front door, they had a good handful of photos, with the subjects identified on the backs by first and last names.
“We can walk back together.” Lysandra pulled a key from her pocket and opened the door. “If I don't get back soon, Josie is going to string me up.”
When they got back to Club Dynamo, Lexi stopped at the door. There was no reason to endure the assault to her eardrums or her lungs.
“Thanks for talking to us.” She gave Lysandra an encouraging smile. “You were a big help.”
“No problem. I'm happy to help in any way I can. If there's anything else I can do, anything at all, let me know. I'm afraid I won't live long enough to atone for my part in this.”
“And you don't have to.” It was Alan who spoke. “You're carrying an awful lot of guilt. God's forgiveness is there for the asking. But you'll also have to learn to forgive yourself.”
Lysandra gave a brief dip of her head and disappeared inside. As Lexi walked with Alan to his car, an unexpected warmth filled her chest. Alan's compassion and tenderness were two of the reasons she had fallen in love with him. That, along with his integrity and sense of justice. Those boyish good looks hadn't hurt him any, either.
Now, at thirty-two, his looks were no longer boyish. Fine lines, visible only when he smiled, fanned out from the corner of each eye, and his dark hair, which had previously been a little on the long side, was cut in a close, layered style that tamed the natural curl.
But the good looks were definitely still there. Enough to turn female heads. Lysandra's included.
Lexi slid into the passenger seat of the Mustang and waited for Alan to get in. “She ended up being a whole lot more helpful than I anticipated.”
“Yeah. I was pleasantly surprised.”
“I wasn't sure how things were going to go at first. Sitting at the bar there, I was beginning to think you had acquired a new girlfriend. She acted like she could hardly keep her hands off you.”
He grinned over at her. “You jealous?”
Lexi rolled her eyes. “Not hardly.” She reached for her seat belt and clicked it into place. “But our conversation last night did get me thinking.”
His brows shot up and a cautious hope crept into his eyes. “Oh?”
She laid her head back against the seat and stared through the windshield. “We let her win. She doesn't deserve that.”
Alan didn't respond. He would know who she was talking about. She didn't have to explain.
“For six years, we've played right into her hands. But she's still not happy, because I'm not married to a disgustingly wealthy corporate executive or touring the world, wowing millions with my musical brilliance. But as long as I'm single, I don't think she'll ever give up trying.”
Alan started the car but made no move to back from the parking space. “So what do you have in mind?”
Actually, she didn't know. She certainly wasn't ready to accept that ring she'd rejected so many years ago.
“Do you still care for me?” His voice was soft.
Lexi could feel his eyes on her, his inquisitive gaze boring into her. “It's not that simple.”
He leaned back against the seat with a sigh. “Because of Lauren.”
“Lauren is just part of the problem.”
“Lauren was the biggest mistake of my life. She came to me in trouble, pregnant and alone. And I let my kindhearted nature get in the way of good sense. Besides, at the time, I didn't feel I had anything to lose.” He reached across to cover her hand resting in her lap. “I thought I had already lost what was dearest to meâyour love.”
His palm was warm against the back of her hand, his touch comforting. But inside, her mind was whirling. Had she heard him right?
She turned to look at him. “Lauren was pregnant when she came to you?”
“Yes. Otherwise we would have waited and that ill-fated wedding would never have taken place.”
“So the baby wasn't yours.”
He pulled his hand back suddenly. “Of course not! She was almost two months along when we started seeing each other. I took her out several times, more as a friend offering encouragement and support. But when I told her about your mom's visit, that was when she really ramped up her pursuit. Next thing I knew, we were shopping for a ring. She instigated it, but I went along with it. And I've regretted it ever since. Even more so since working with you.”
“So what happened?”
“A month after marrying, she had a miscarriage. She didn't need me anymore and took off. As much as I hate to admit it, I was almost relieved when she left. We never loved each other. She was using me, and I still loved you.”
Lexi shook her head, trying to wrap her mind around what she had just learned. Lauren was already pregnant. Alan wasn't sleeping around while she was at school.
His eyes were still on her. “So where do we go from here?”
She took a deep breath and turned to look at him. “How about we start over and take it slow?” She cared for him. Maybe even still loved him. But she had a lot more thinking to do before she was ready to cast aside her independence.
A warm smile crept up his cheeks and her stomach did a little flip.
“All right. I won't push. We'll take it slow.” He leaned across the console and pressed his lips to her forehead.
She closed her eyes, relishing the sensation of his warm breath against her face.
Slow was going to be difficult. Because at the moment she wanted nothing more than for him to wrap her in his arms and kiss her fully and deeply.
The way he used to.
* * *
Alan strolled along the winding walks of Harmony Grove Park, Lexi's hand in his. Curved beds hugged the edges of the wide concrete path that circled the fountain up ahead. Sometime in the distant past, the ladies of the Harmony Grove Garden Club had taken over responsibility of those beds. Now it seemed their goal each spring was to outdo what they had accomplished the prior year. Lush greenery formed a dramatic backdrop for blooms in every color of the palette, not leaving a single square inch of any bed bare.
He led Lexi around the fountain and toward the lake at the west end of the park. He couldn't get her to accompany him to church, but she had agreed to meet him for a picnic in the park afterward. And the weather couldn't have been better if it had been custom ordered. A balmy seventy-eight degrees under a sunny blue sky with just a spattering of fluffy white clouds. Now, with a belly full of chicken and potato salad and a heart overflowing with contentment, life seemed exceptionally sweet.
After walking only one-third of the two-mile perimeter of the lake, Lexi stopped in front of a bench shaded by a huge oak. She smiled up at him, lips touched with some pinkish-colored gloss, reapplied after lunch. Lexi never was one for heavy makeup. She didn't need it. With her soft features, she possessed a clean, natural beauty.
“Do you know where we are right now?”
He raised his brows. “We're at the park.”
She sat on the bench, pulling him down with her. “I know, but do you know what's significant about this exact spot?”
He looked out toward the lake, where a pair of mallard ducks were gliding on the surface a short distance away, and tried to jog his memory. It wasn't where he'd asked her to marry him. That had happened on the front porch of her house, with the two of them sitting on the swing.