Authors: Lynde Lakes
Not likely
, Jill thought. Once Tess made a decision, she wasn’t one to change her mind.
Mansell’s eyes became guarded. “Yes. It was such a shock—such a tragedy.” He took a long draw on his pipe. “The police and FBI are giving me a bad time about it.”
Dane toyed with a crystal paperweight on Mansell’s desk. “Yeah, well, they gave me a hard time, too. Cops and Feds like to hassle innocent people, don’t they, Jill?”
Jill darted a warning look at Dane, then coolly turned her attention to Mansell. “I see you have matches from the Jester’s Motel.”
Mansell frowned. “What?”
“The matches.” Jill gestured toward them.
The professor studied the cover. “I don’t know where these came from.” He tossed the matchbook on the desk. After a moment, he picked it up again and gestured with them. “You’ve been there, haven’t you, Dane? Maybe you gave these to me. Or perhaps one of my other students.”
The professor’s hands trembled. He was either a nervous man or lying.
Chapter Nineteen
After she and Dane finished at the university they stopped by the Jester’s Motel and discovered that Angelo had quit without giving notice. The owner mentioned that he hadn’t even taken time to clear out the room he sometimes used. She called a lab team to check it out. They arrived within twenty minutes. “You know the drill,” she told them. “And I need a rush on your findings.” Gordy’s sudden flight looked very suspicious.
Back at her office, Jill mulled over their conversation with Mansell. He’d suggested Dane could have given him the matches. But Dane denied it. And he wouldn’t have any reason to lie since he’d already admitted going to the Jester’s Motel himself. If Mansell wasn’t guilty, why had he been so upset when she mentioned the motel?
She scanned the first page. Conley had been accused of using a knife to commit a date rape. “It seems we’re dealing with scum. Did you talk to him?”
She sent Gary a sharp look. “Another of our suspects moved up a notch on the list,” she told him. “Check out everything on Professor Mansell. And put out an APB on Gordy Angelo. He’s disappeared.”
“Clark is still my prime suspect.”
“You are
way
off beat! He has an ironclad alibi. And he doesn’t fit the profile.”
Gary looked skeptical. “Well, he’s mixed up in this some way, believe me.”
“Are you saying that using remote control, he rammed into the side of his own car with that truck, then for good measure he broke into my place and smeared blood on the mirror. Don’t you see how ridiculous that is? Besides, it wasn’t his gloved hand in the video.”
“Admit it, Jill. It’s possible there’s more than one killer. You know about copycats. I’m sure it has occurred to you that Clark could be making his own news.”
Her spine stiffened. “Show me proof.”
“Give me time and I will. If he has even the slightest connection, I’ll find it. That’s a promise.” He turned and left the room.
Jill rested her forehead against her palms. She took a deep breath, then opened the file with all the pictures of the murdered women. Maybe she’d missed something here. She flipped to the picture of Tess, traced the line of her long blonde hair with her forefinger. Her sister was so young, so bright and so beautiful.
Tess, where are you?
Jill felt the sting of tears and blinked them away. She’d tried every place she could think of, every place her sister’s friends had mentioned. She wanted to believe Tess’ disappearance had nothing to do with this case, but she couldn’t. Turning the picture over, she stared at the word
NEXT.
It was a message she had to take seriously. Still, she had to think positively or she’d lose it.
While listening intently, Jill tried to pick up something about the grating whisper. It sounded electronic, slightly echoed, unreal.
“When?” she shouted into the mouthpiece as though to bring him back. “You’ll call me when?” Her heart throbbed loudly in her ears. Her hands were shaking. “If you hurt Tess...” She pounded her fist on the desk. She hated him. And hated herself for being so unprofessional.
Sherry came running into the office. “Jill, what is it?” her secretary asked with alarm in her eyes. “You look as though you just heard the final chords of a death march.”
Gary stuck his head through the doorway. “What’s up?”
“The telephone.” Jill stared at it as if it were the broken lifeline of a bungee cord. “The caller claimed to know where Tess is, then he hung up.”
Gary rewound the recorder.
“That won’t do any good. He made me turn it off.”
Gary played the recorder anyway. “We got some of it. I’ll run tests.” He replaced the tape with a new one from the supply drawer, then dashed out of the room.
Her work was important to her, but at this moment she wished she’d never gotten involved. Maybe then Tess would be safe. “He’s out for revenge.” Jill heart pounded. “I can’t stand to think of what that monster might do to Tess.”
“You have to keep your head, Jill.” Ray’s tone was firm. “It isn’t like you to fall apart. And your work won’t allow it.”
Jill took a deep breath. He was right. This was exactly the reaction the killer wanted, using fear to debilitate and defeat her. “I’m okay now.”
“The lab is running voice prints on the tape,” Gary said. “We’ll have something later this afternoon. Too bad you didn’t get more of him.”
“My bets are split between Professor Craig Mansell and Gordy Angelo. Both have connections to the studio, the motel and the university. And they knew Charmaine.”
Gary’s angular face tightened with determination. “I’ll order round-the-clock tails on both men.”
“You’ll have to find Gordy first. Remember he’s disappeared. We need a comparison test on their shoes. Maybe it’ll turn up a match with the boot prints the police found outside my window.”
“Consider it done,” Gary said, heading out the door.
Jill went to her computer and punched up the information they had on the professor. She couldn’t rule him out as the whisperer on the phone. Before the day was over she had to learn everything about him.
****
Dane tapped his pencil on the desk. The sweat on his body turned icy as he spoke into the phone. “Jill, I have to see you right away. It’s important.”
“What is it?” Her voice rose. “News about Tess?”
“Indirectly. I’ll tell you when I see you. Meet me at Jason’s Broiler in about fifteen minutes.” He didn’t want to tell her over the phone that he’d gotten a call from the killer, a threat on
her
life.
Dane didn’t waste any time after he hung up. He wanted to get to the restaurant ahead of Jill. He jumped into his Porsche and sped across town.
He thought of Jill’s reaction to the crash and to the blood on her mirror. He admired her composure; she was calmer than any man he’d ever met. If he worked for the Bureau, he’d want her to be his partner. But the killer could use Tess to upset Jill’s calm and tear down her defenses. The psycho had the edge. He knew her, but she didn’t know him.
Dane switched on his recorder lying on the seat beside him and began dictating: “Have Sammy research title records for the studio ownership.” Professor Mansell held the underlying lease, but Dane didn’t know who owned the building. “Check underground contacts. Need the names of anyone peddling violent videos. Start with porn-makers. Dig up everything on Professor Craig Mansell and Gordy Angelo.” Dane switched off the recorder. The evil insanity in the whispery voice had chilled his bones. With the tonality altered and echoed to elude detection, he could only be sure of one thing—the psycho meant to follow through on his threat. Dane’s instinct up to this point had been to trust Jill. But now he couldn’t permit any more secrets between them.
Chapter Twenty
Jill grabbed her jacket and purse and headed out of her office door to meet Dane. The telephone rang. She hesitated. What if it was about Tess? She ran back to get it and flipped on the recorder.
“Back off, Jill!” the caller whispered. “Or the next mutilated body you’ll find will be Tess...then Dane.”
An icy needle of fear pierced Jill’s spine. She gripped the telephone cord, as though it were a rope around the killer’s neck, searching for the right words to say to this maniac.
“Are you still there, Jill?” he rasped.
Her response froze in her throat. She nodded idiotically, wanting to scream at him, but that was exactly what he wanted. She needed to pacify, not incite him.
He continued, “Never killed a man on film. But a video with a muscled man struggling in chains just might be a big seller.” His echoed laugh sliced through her like a razor blade.
“You said you could take me to Tess. I want to see her.” But she’d delayed too long—the line was dead.
****
Dane saw Jill the moment she came through the door of Charo’s steak house. Her face was pale, features tense. He hadn’t meant to upset her, only warn her.
He stood and met her halfway. He wanted to put his arms around her, protect her. Instead, he led her to their table and gestured to a waitress. She brought the Cabernet he’d ordered and poured some in each glass. Dane handed one to Jill.
She put it aside. “Why did you ask me to meet you?”
Dane’s throat was dry. “Telephone threat. The caller said he was starring a female FBI agent in his next snuff-flick.” His heart pounded. “You, Jill.”
“He wouldn’t tell me. Wouldn‘t let me speak to her. And it’s not just my sister.” Her voice wavered. “He wants me to back off or he’ll make sliced meat out of
you
as well.”
“I can take care of myself.”
He usually handled his own mortality with a joke, but he couldn’t this time. The threat wasn’t just against him.
Gripping the table, Jill said, “You aren’t going to let go of this thing, are you? Not until you either get your story—or get killed.”
“He kills women, Jill.”
“Don’t you get it? Men aren’t exempt. Remember, he almost took out both of us on the freeway. And once we’re out of the picture, he’ll be free to destroy Tess and a long string of young models like her.”
Dane clenched his fists
. I can’t let that happen. It can’t be like last time.
“That’s why I have to stay on this. The maniac has to be stopped. I owe that much to Charmaine.”
She met his gaze with fiery sparks in her eyes. “I need everything you have, Dane, no more holding out.”
By her take-charge expression he suspected if he told her everything she might try to close him out and put herself in greater danger.
He watched her face, trying to read her thoughts. He’d bet she was fighting any effect his request might have on her. She didn’t want to let her feelings get in the way of her job. They were alike in that respect.