Obsessed (6 page)

Chapter Ten

“Tom, they believe Lisa may have been connected to Trevor Marshall!” Jess cried, shaken, as she ran into his arms.

Tom held her tightly. His arms had always been her comfort zone.

She remembered the night she’d tracked Trevor Marshall to the potential fourth victim’s house. Jess and the team had been working to solve three murders of teenage girls in Presario Heights. Her gut instinct and the fact that she never followed protocol took her to the potential victim’s house. She’d taken the law into her own hands that night and threw herself into the hands of a serial killer who knew her and called her by name. His identity and his obsession with Jess revealed itself as the case unraveled. She barely escaped a close call with death. Tom had been her boss back then. She had strong feelings for him, but hadn’t admitted them to him, let alone herself. Jess sensed Tom had feelings for her too yet he remained as quiet as her. Tom ordered her to go to her safe point, which only the two of them knew was her beach house. She went to the beach house only to discover hidden secrets of the past and finally deal with her parents’ murders ten years before. Everything led to Trevor Marshall, the man responsible for the death of three teenage girls, his first wife who could have passed as Jess’s twin, and the murders of her parents. Jess also discovered he’d been her stalker the summer her parents were killed. A stalker she hadn’t known existed.

“How the hell is she connected to Marshall? We did a more than thorough check on her.” Tom looked at Mike. .

“This is my first clue.” Mike held a postcard, “I found this in Lisa’s backpack.

“Mike, this is the same postcard dropped at the house the other night, but it’s blank.”

Tom flipped the card back and forth.

Mike nodded.

“Look at the pictures on the card, Tom. It says memories of San Francisco. One is the old Mercy hospital. Marshall dropped you there after he stabbed you. One picture is of the waterfront warehouses where Jess and Tiffany were held hostage. Another picture is of the private school the three murdered teens attended. The other is what we’re searching now. It’s the old orphanage downtown. I thought perhaps it had something to do with leaving Jess and Tiff as orphans, but now we’re wondering if it has something to do with Lisa.”

“It does,” Mark interrupted, “I found Lisa’s name in the orphanage records.”

Jess watched Mike pick up the vile and spray. He turned and apologized, “I’m sorry Jess but Lisa must have used this in attempt to induce your labor. Mark told me he heard of the studies of its relationship to help newborns and mothers bond. I think she believes Thomas is her baby. We’re dealing with a psychosis break here.” Jess nodded. She hated the fact that she’d trusted this woman.

Mike’s cell rang. “It’s Nikki. I hope she found something that could help us figure out where Lisa is headed.” Mike’s words calmed Jess enough to focus on what needed to be done. She needed to find her baby.

“Nikki is sending the surveillance shot we discovered the other night from the prison. There’s a female visitor on the logs while Marshall was there.” Mark brought up the pictures on his screen. Jess and Tom moved closer to Mark to have a better look.

“Is that Lisa?” Mike asked Jess and Tom.

Jess brought her hand up to her mouth and gasped. She turned to Tom. “Oh my God, she visited Trevor in prison. Is this revenge on his death? Is that why she took our baby? Mike, can I talk to Nikki?” Jess held out her hand for his phone.

Mike passed it to her without question.

“Nikki, its Jess. Is there anything in Lisa’s apartment that will tell us where she’d go? Does she have friends on the east coast? Does she own properties anywhere?” One question after another rambled from Jess as she desperately hoped for some sort of clue. She needed to find her baby and now. She listened as Nikki quickly answered each question. Nikki told her there were no findings of pictures that would tell anyone she had friends. No ownership papers were found either.

“Wait a sec, I’ve just run a check on her passport. She only used it once last year, the day after you shot Trevor. She travelled to Ontario, Canada. I’m searching further to see if I can find exactly where she went. I’ll get back to you as soon as I have something.”

“Thanks Nikki, please hurry,” Jess pleaded.

“And Jess,” Nikki said before Jess disconnected their call.

“Yes?” Jess asked.

“We’ll find him.”

Jess ended the call and closed her eyes. She silently prayed Nikki’s words would come true and sooner than later. She needed to find her baby before Lisa took him out of the country.

“Lisa used her passport to visit someone in Ontario, Canada last year; the day after I shot Trevor. Nikki is searching to find out where exactly.” Jess turned to Tom. Her chest felt as though a ton of bricks rested on it. She took short quick breaths. Pain struck her and she felt dizzy.

Tom took her hand and led her to the sofa. “Jess, you should lie down before you have a panic attack.” He placed a cushion behind her head and one under her feet.

She smiled and uttered, “We have to find Thomas.”

Tom leaned down and kissed her on the top of her head. “We will Jess.”

She hoped his promise happened soon.

“I’m heading over to the Roberts’ residence. The girls mentioned they’d been here and went home to gather more food. They haven’t been back?” Gina asked as she entered the study.

“Why the hell didn’t we check there first? We’re sending APBs out for airports and surrounding areas but she didn’t take our car.” Jess walked past everyone and started down the stairs.

Tom followed her. “Mike stay here with Mark. Gina, come with me. You know we can’t stop her.”

Jess walked out of the house and ordered one of the police officers to take her up the road to the Roberts’ residence. Tom and Gina got in the police car with her.

Tom held Jess’s hand as they drove up the shore road. Within minutes, they arrived at the Roberts’ house. The car wasn’t anywhere in sight. Jess ran to the door. It wasn’t locked. The officer asked her to wait while he checked the premises. He drew his gun and entered the home. Minutes later, Jess heard him call out, “It’s clear.”

Jess ran inside. The house was empty. She walked toward the patio when she noticed Thomas’s baby blanket on a chair. She picked up the wet blanket. “She was here with Thomas.”

The officer asked Tom for the make and model of Henry Roberts’ vehicle and called it in.

“They couldn’t have gone too far by car and in this weather. We’ll find them.” Tom held her tightly.

Jess placed her head against his shoulder as she cried into the baby blanket. Tom walked her out of the house and back to the officer’s car then called Mike.

“Lisa was here. We found the baby’s blanket. No one is here now and the Roberts’ car is gone.” He gave him the make and model and told him they were on their way back.

Chapter Eleven

“Do we have anything else on Lisa?” Jess drilled Mike as soon as she returned.

“We’ve confirmed her visits to the prison. We also discovered she was pregnant and miscarried shortly after Marshall died. If the baby was Marshall’s, then we have motive.”

Jess closed her eyes as she listened to Mike’s findings. Tom’s hand massaged her neck. “She couldn’t have done all of this on her own. She’s a nurse for Christ sake!” Jess told Mike.

“She’s more than a nurse. She’s a hacker.” Mike added, “And a damn good one.” Mike informed Jess and Tom that Lisa had been orphaned and spent a year at the orphanage downtown—the one on the postcard. She’d been adopted by the Hendersons and seemed to live a normal life. There were no misdemeanors or juvenile records found. Mike told them their search had been thorough and her record clean. “She’s street smart but also a computer genius. From what we’ve gathered, she met Marshall online before he was arrested and continued the relationship while he was in prison. She was the missing link we never discovered with the Kyle Davidson case. We knew it was Kyle’s funding and use of the warehouse but we were never able to find a connection to who helped Marshall with the technological side. Who knows how many connections he’s made in the hacker world?”

Jess sighed. “Great. How long am I supposed to look over my shoulder? The man is dead and now I have to worry about his followers? I should have never trusted her. For once my gut instinct failed me.”

“No one is to blame here, but Lisa,” Mike reassured her.

Mark waved his hand in the air, his eyes focused on the screen before him. “Nikki just messaged that she found Henry’s car through his GPS tracker.”

“Where are they?” Jess leaned over Mark’s shoulder. She turned to Mike and Tom. “Oak Bluffs.”

Mike asked Mark to send the location to their phones. He knew Jess would come along and didn’t even try to stop her.

Tom asked Mark to keep an eye on the girls and keep them posted with any developing news.

Mike found Ron Devlin downstairs. He couldn’t believe the airport security guy had stayed. He’d given them a ride into Vineyard Haven, lent Mike his phone and stuck around to help.

“Ron, are you up for a drive to Oak Bluffs?” Mike filled him in that the neighbor’s vehicle had been tracked there.

“Anything to help,” Ron replied. He led the way to his car. Tom and Jess followed Mike. Gina joined the police escort. Mike checked his phone for the coordinates and plugged it into Ron’s GPS. Ron laughed. “No need for that around here, my friend. Oak Bluffs is small and we’re only ten minutes away. Do we know exactly where in Oak Bluffs?”

Mike told him the vehicle was parked at the docks.

Ron nodded and turned on the sirens. The storm appeared to break and the rains slowed. Mike turned to Jess in the backseat. “She must have a connection to help her get away by boat. She’s smart enough not to go to the airport and wait. Don’t worry, Jess, we’ll get to her first.”

Jess nodded and turned to look out the window. Mike tried to reassure her, but he knew until she had Thomas in her arms, nothing could comfort her.

Mike asked Ron to turn off the sirens as they entered Oak Bluffs. He didn’t want Lisa to hear them coming. As they slowly pulled into the harbor front, “There’s Henry’s car!” Jess shrieked from the back seat.

“Are you armed, Jess?” Mike turned and asked her.

“Of course not, I just had a baby.”

“Then you have to stay in the car,” he demanded and looked to Tom for reassurance.

“He’s right, Jess. We’re not armed. We need Thomas out of harm’s way but he needs his mother.” Tom held Jess’s hand. “I’ll be here with you.”

Mike asked Ron to park about fifty yards from the warehouse and Henry’s car. He’d called Gina to make sure the officer turned off his lights and followed them. Mike got out of the car and met Gina. From the distance he saw Lisa run with the baby into the warehouse.

“Shit! She spotted us.” Mike drew his gun from its holster. He told Gina to take the side entrance and for the officer to go around the back. He ran for the front entrance Lisa had run into.

     ****

“Jess!” Tom reached for her arm but she was out of the car before he could grab her. She ran for the warehouse and went in through the same entrance as Mike. Jess stopped in her tracks inside the door and listened for a noise—something that would tell her to go right or left. Thomas answered for her. She went in the direction of her baby’s muffled cry. She prayed he was okay. Jess saw Lisa and pleaded with her.

“Lisa, please don’t hurt Thomas.”

Lisa turned and smiled. “I’d never hurt my baby. You can’t take him from me. He’s all I have left. You took Trevor from me.”

Jess felt somewhat relieved. She knew Lisa believed Thomas to be hers and she’d never hurt him. She knew she’d have to be gentle with her to get Thomas out of harm’s way.

“I don’t want to hurt your baby, Lisa. I’m sorry about Trevor. He was going to harm my babies. Mothers will do anything to protect their babies.” Jess stood still with her arms in the air to show Lisa she wasn’t armed. She hoped she could gain her trust.

“Mothers will. I have to protect my baby. You’re wrong. Trevor wouldn’t hurt anyone. He loved you and you betrayed him. He only wanted to make amends and start over with me and our baby.” Lisa’s voice sounded shaky and scared.

Jess believed she could gain trust by agreeing with her.

“Maybe you’re right. Maybe I was wrong about Trevor and I’m sorry. I was just being a protective mom like you are. Please let me help you,” Jess pleaded and moved closer to her. She noticed Mike a few feet behind Lisa, his gun pointed in Lisa’s direction. Her eyes connected with Mike’s. Jess kept her hands high in the air to show Lisa she wasn’t armed. She made sure Mike’s eyes travelled to her extended hand as she closed it. She began to count to three, extending one finger at a time. When she extended her third finger, she ran toward Lisa and grabbed Thomas from her arms. The sound of the bullet that hit Lisa was deafening. Jess held Thomas in her arms and turned to see Lisa hit the floor. She walked away with her baby in her arms and kissed his forehead.

“Why did I think you’d listen and stay in the car with me?” Tom stood a foot away from her.

Jess smiled. “Have I ever listened?”

Tom shook his head, then leaned in and kissed her and Thomas.

Jess felt Tom’s arm around her back and walked out of the warehouse to meet Henry and Marilyn.

“Oh thank God you are okay, Jess. She told us you were dead. I tried to take the baby from her but she had a gun.” Marilyn wrapped her arms around Jess and Thomas. When she released them, Jess introduced her to Thomas for the first time.

“Mrs. Roberts, I’d like you to meet Thomas.” Tears filled the woman’s eyes as Jess placed him in her arms. Jess was relieved to find the Roberts’ unharmed.

Mr. Roberts took the cigar out of his pocket and congratulated Tom. “I didn’t lose the cigar in all this mess.”

They all laughed. Tom thanked him for the cigar and offered to drive Henry’s car back home. Tom took the baby from Jess when Mike came out of the warehouse. “I’ll meet you in the car.” Tom nodded, “Knew we could count on you Mike.”

Jess hugged Mike and thanked him. “I can always count on you Mike and I know your godson will as well.”

“Godson?” Mike smiled.

“The job is yours if you want it.”

“Absolutely.” Mike placed his hands on Jess’s face. He tilted her head toward him and kissed it. “I will train him to be the next computer genius of the world.”

“Just keep him out of the FBI,” Jess suggested and they both laughed.