THE MISSING (L.A.P.D. Special Investigations Book 4) (22 page)

JULIANNA sat between Luke and Abe at breakfast. Neither had said a word. In fact they hardly looked at each other. What the hell…

Luke got up to put his plate in the dishwasher.

“Everyone sleep well?” she asked.

She hadn’t. She’d barely slept a wink after Luke left her room. She couldn’t stop thinking about what he’d said. But she couldn’t think about that. She had a job to do and that was that.

“Not very well,” Abe finally answered. “But then that’s nothing new when your body’s old and everything aches.”

“You could take some medication. The doctor gave you a prescription.”

“Makes no difference.”

“Well, if it helps you move faster, that’s kind of important considering what we’re doing here,” Luke said.

Abe frowned. “Okay, okay. You made your point. I’ll get the damned pills.”

“Jules, I need you to look at something on the laptop. Rico sent it to me last night.”

“And you’re just telling me now?”

“That’s right.” The hard set of his jaw meant he wasn’t going to discuss why he’d waited. She’d seen that look before.

“Okay. Let’s go.” They went into the den and Abe followed.

“Turn it on and go to the attachment Rico sent.”

She did as he asked, then noticed there was more than one message and all had been opened. “Did you read my e-mail?”

“Yes. You went to bed and I didn’t want to wait until morning to see if our psycho had sent another message.”

She clenched her teeth. “You couldn’t tell by the subject line or the names on the messages?” Her words came out sharp.

“No,” he answered, seemingly unaffected by her irritation. As usual.

As angry as she was, she had to admit if she were in his position, she’d probably have done the same. She clicked on Rico’s message then opened the attachment. A chart came up and she could see instantly what it was. “Wow. That’s amazing. It’s a star pattern.” She looked at Luke. “What does it mean?”

“Don’t know. I thought maybe you’d have some idea since you’ve researched some of the cases.”

She sat in the chair and studied the screen. “Southern Cal is dead center. That’s where Mark went to school.”

“Mark?”

“Yes. My editor.”

Luke gave her a strange look.

“He’s a pussycat. Don’t even think about it.”

“Okay, but I guess he’s the
M
in the other message.”

She glanced at the e-mail. “Uh-huh. That’s him.”

She leaned back in the chair. “Does the star have to mean something?”

Luke rubbed the bridge of his nose. “Not necessarily, but in this case I can’t believe it’s just a coincidence. It’s too perfect. What are all the things a star could indicate?”

“A Hollywood star. A celebrity,” Julianna ventured.

“A constellation,” Abe added. “Or a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.”

“Maybe it’s not the star that’s important,” Julianna said. “But the university in the middle. Maybe his next victim will be someone from there?”

“This guy likes children, not adults,” Luke said.

“Maybe there’s a day-care center at the university?”

Luke pondered the idea. Finally, he said, “Rico and Jordan are going to the university this morning. I’ll call and tell them to check it out.”

Abe pushed through to look closer at the screen. “Maybe you should check to see if any of the other victims or their families are connected to the university in some way?”

Luke turned to Abe. “Good thinking, Pops.”

Abe beamed like he’d just won an award. Then, noticing that both Luke and Jules were looking at him, he sobered. “I better go feed the horses.”

“And I better make a phone call.” Luke pulled his cell from his pocket and then left the room.

Julianna glanced at the screen again, searching her mind for possible meanings. She and Luke had no connection to the university that she could think of. So that theory didn’t hold up. The only luck she had was Mark. He’d gone to school there. But she hadn’t known him when Michael…

Dammit. She couldn’t go there. Taking Luke’s cue, she told herself this was an intellectual problem, one where emotions only got in the way. She had to distance herself as Luke did. Think logically, not with her heart.

As her thoughts settled, she realized Luke’s way of dealing with what he had to every day was pure self-protection. He had to be dispassionate or he couldn’t do his job. How many times had he told her that? And how many times had she accused him of being cold? Uncaring?

Staring at the screen, a message popped up. You’ve got mail. Her pulse raced. She closed Rico’s attachment and clicked to retrieve her e-mail. As it popped up, a chill of fear jagged down her spine.

[
In the cicada’s cry

No sign can foretell

How soon it must die.

No one travels

Along this way but I,

This winter evening.

In all the rains of day

there is one thing not hidden—

the ranch at Santa Fe.
]

~~~

“LET ME KNOW what you hear,” Luke said, then hung up. He glanced at his watch. Just as he was thinking the guy who was coming to interview for the job should be here by now, there was a knock at the front door.

He strode to the entry, wondering where Jules had gone. She wasn’t supposed to leave his sight except to go to the bathroom. “Hold on,” he called out, casting about for a sign of Jules. Then he saw the door to the den was closed. She was writing again…or reading an e-mail from the guy who missed her and wanted her to come back. Probably some
GQ
executive type. The kind of guy she’d always wanted him to be.

He checked his thoughts, went to the door and pulled it open. A tall man dressed in a black hat and dark jeans stood there.

“I take it you’re Mike Ryan,” Luke said.

“And you’d be right,” the man said and stuck out his hand.

He looked familiar, and then Luke realized it was the guy who’d asked Jules for directions at the gas station. “I think we’ve met before,” he said, shaking hands.

Ryan frowned. “Have we? I haven’t been in New Mexico for too long and don’t know many people.”

Luke craned his neck to see the man’s car. Same car. “At the gas station outside Santa Fe about a week ago.”

The man smiled, his expression searching, as if he might remember but wasn’t sure. “Oh, yeah.”

“C’mon in.”

As the man walked inside, Luke took note that he was older than Luke, but not as old as Abe. He looked to be in okay physical condition. But something struck Luke as odd. He couldn’t put his finger on it. Maybe it was the eyes. Flat gray eyes that scanned the room, examining, studying. Not unlike himself, Luke realized. But he was never as obvious. Maybe the guy had been in law enforcement in another life.

Ryan took off his hat revealing a full head of dark hair. Hair almost too dark to be natural, unless he was a Native American. But he’d said he wasn’t from here and his name was definitely not native.

“Please sit down,” Luke said, indicating the couch. He took the leather chair across from the man.

“What is it about this job that interests you?” Luke asked.

“To be honest—” the man scratched his chin “—I liked that the job included room and board. Since I’m new here, it would save me from renting an apartment.”

Not exactly what Luke wanted to hear. Minus one.

“I also like working on a ranch. It’s what I’ve done all my life.”

Luke gave him a mental point for a good answer, glancing at the man’s hands. Rough, callused. Ranch hands. “And if you find the people you work for are sometimes hard to get along with? How would you handle that?”

“I’ve worked with a lot of bosses and ranch hands in my time, and found the best thing is to let them simmer. I never take it personal and I let most problems work out on their own.”

Not proactive, but not reactive either. Luke neither added or subtracted points. “Did you bring a list of past employers?”

“Right here. It’s my résumé.”

Plus two. A spurt of hope shot through Luke. He hadn’t had much of that when he’d set out to find someone to help Abe because many ranch hands were drifters. Maybe he’d lucked out this time.

After more questions, Luke asked Ryan if he wanted to ask anything.

“I think you explained it all pretty well,” he said. “But I thought you said there were no women here.”

Luke’s attention piqued. “I did. Why do you ask?”

The man pointed behind Luke. Jules’s purse was on the counter top. “Oh, she’s just visiting.”

He nodded.

When they finished, Luke suggested they go out to the barn. “My dad went out to feed the horses and it’s taking him longer than it should. You’d have to keep an eye on him, but without his knowing it.”

“I did the same with my own dad before he passed away.”

Experience with old codgers. A plus.

“Pops,” Luke called from the door as they entered the barn. “I have someone I want you to meet.”

Abe poked his head up from Balboa’s stall. “I’m busy, can’t you see?”

“Take a break. I want you to meet Mike Ryan. He might be interested in the job. That’s if he can stand being around a cranky old man.”

Abe practically flew out of the stall. “The only cranky one around here is you.” He held out his hand. “Nice to meet you, Mr. Ryan.”

Luke held back a smile. All he had to do was make his dad think they were on opposite sides and Abe was all over it.

Just then Luke noticed that Abe’s wire was sitting on top of one of the hay bales. He quickly pointed Mike to the stalls, urging him forward with a hand on his shoulder. “This is Balboa, and the Appaloosa over here is Cheyenne.”

“Nice stock.”

Though he was looking at the horses, Ryan’s eyes never stilled, making Luke’s skin itch. But anyone he didn’t know would make him uncomfortable right now. It wasn’t as if hiring a ranch hand was all they had to think about.

“When would I start?” the man asked. He glanced at Luke. “If you decide to hire me.”

The question took Luke off guard. He hadn’t thought about a start date because he was so preoccupied with just finding someone. But obviously this was not a good time to bring anyone else onto the scene. “Two weeks,” Luke said. “We have some things to tie up first.”

“When will I know whether you’re interested or not?”

It was a valid question. But Luke hadn’t made up his mind yet. And he still had references to check out.

“You can start right now,” Abe said.

Luke was both surprised and encouraged that his dad suddenly seemed agreeable to having someone working on the ranch. But he wasn’t going to hire anyone without checking him out first. “It would be two weeks, Pops. If you recall, we have some other things to deal with right now.”

Awareness dawned in Abe’s expression. His gaze shot to his wire on the hay bale. Luke led Mike toward the door. “Let’s say I give you a call by the end of the week to let you know.”

They walked back to the house together and just as Ryan started for his car, Jules appeared in the doorway. Her expression stilled when she saw the man.

“Howdy, ma’am,” he said and continued on to his vehicle.

After Ryan left, Luke walked over to Jules. “What’s wrong? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

“That man. What was he doing here? I’ve seen him somewhere before.”

“You’re right. He was at the gas station when we stopped on the way to see Abe at the hospital. And he was here interviewing for the job.”

She seemed relieved, but not totally. “I don’t know. He gave me the willies.”

“Well, fortunately, you won’t have to be working with him. Abe will.” Luke went inside.

Jules followed him into the kitchen.

“Is Abe okay with that?”

“Yeah. He seemed to be. Maybe he’s resigned to it. He knows he can’t fight it forever.”

“He’s been in the barn for a long time. How come?”

“Don’t know. We had a pretty heavy discussion last night. Maybe he’s hiding until I’m gone.”

She shifted her weight from one foot to the other. Rubbed her hands together.

“Something bothering you?” Luke asked. “Besides the fact that I looked at your messages.”

He’d have been upset, too. But given their
plan,
he considered it all part of the job.

“It’s not that. Come with me. I want you to see something.”

CHAPTER FORTY-ONE

ABE STUCK THE WIRE back in his ear. He’d seen doubt in Luke’s eyes when he saw it on the hay bale. A look that said Luke thought he was losing it. Yeah. That happened, but he didn’t have to like it. So what if his son considered him an old man, too sick and addled to manage the ranch by himself.

It wasn’t true. Not all of it anyway. Maybe his body wasn’t working as well as before, but his brain was still as sharp as ever. If he had to have someone help with the physical work, that might be okay. But no one was going to tell him he couldn’t think for himself.

The mirror might say one thing but, dammit, he didn’t feel any different inside than when he was twenty. He just knew more about life and its consequences now than he did then.

He hoped someday Luke would realize that giving up love for pride was a huge mistake. Abe knew only too well his son would forever pay the price if he didn’t make the right choice.

He’d wanted to explain, tell his son the whole story, but Luke wasn’t interested. Maybe someday, when all this stuff with Julianna was over.

Abe clenched his hands. Bastard wanted to hurt his daughter-in-law. Ex-daughter-in-law, he reminded himself. Fact was, he was glad Luke was there. If there was one thing Luke was good at, it was protecting people. He’d done it all his adult life, sometimes to his own detriment.

What his son wasn’t good at was figuring people out. Shoot. Luke was making the same mistakes he had, and seeing it broke Abe’s heart. If only Luke realized before it was too late. His own biggest regret was that he’d taken so long to realize the mistakes he’d made. And now he had to live with the mess he’d made.

A vision of Stella’s face formed in Abe’s mind. She was a beautiful woman. Even now. If years ago he hadn’t been such an idiot… He sighed, suddenly feeling very old.

All those wasted years.

And now it was too late.

~~~

“IT DOESN’T MAKE SENSE,” Luke said.

“It does to the person who wrote it. I looked up the original haiku and he’s changed some of the words in this last part. I think he’s giving me notice that he’s going to strike, but I won’t know when. A scare tactic.”

“He could be bluffing.”

“He mentioned the ranch in Santa Fe. I think he knows where I am, Luke.”

“But isn’t that the idea? Are you having second thoughts?”

Julianna paced the room while Luke wrote something on a pad of paper.

“I have to let Rico know.”

“Has he gotten anything on the e-mail trace he was doing before?”

Luke shook his head. “He said it would take a while, and even then he may not get anything.”

“So, that leaves us where?”

“With the same plan as before. We all continue doing what we’re doing. One of us might get lucky.”

“Any news about the grid?” she asked.

“Rico is getting a faculty list from the university for the time periods surrounding each crime. Jordan has some thoughts about narrowing in on staff involved in the writing programs. That haiku stuff only appeals to a certain kind of person.”

Julianna stopped pacing and dropped into the chair next to Luke. It was so hard to hold onto a hope that seemed more elusive by the moment.

She leaned over the table, resting her head on her arms. A second later, Luke’s warm hand landed on her back. Her stomach clenched.

“Do you have any thoughts?” she mumbled.

He didn’t say anything for a long time, just kept gently massaging her back and shoulders, and then finally he said, “I have lots of thoughts. And they all have to do with you. With us.”

With us.
Lord, she wanted nothing more than to lean into him, to feel his warmth and strength wrapped around her. She wanted him to hold her and make her feel safe again.

The dull ache of loneliness she’d fought for so long began to take over, threating to overwhelm her. Could they ever…was there even a thread of hope that they could maybe find each other again? Find the love they once had.

No matter how much she’d pushed those thoughts from her mind, no matter how many years she’d refused to acknowledge it, she was still in love with Luke.

She bolted upright. “Luke…we have to focus on what we need to do.”

Her cell phone rang. Her heart leaped to her throat. She’d forgotten to shut the phone off after calling Mark. Luke glared at her, but nodded for her to answer anyway. Picking it up, she checked the number. Mark. It was only Mark. Thank God. She stood, answering at the same time. “Mark. I’m so glad to hear from you.”

Luke got up and left the room.

“What’s up?” she asked, hitching her hip on the corner of the desk.

“I need you here,” he said. “This place isn’t the same without you.”

“I can’t come back yet.”

“Why not? We haven’t heard anything more, so why not come home?”

Julianna couldn’t tell him why she couldn’t. She couldn’t tell him anything. But…she had a thought. “Mark, when you were at SCU, did you know any professors interested in haiku?”

“Haiku? You mean the poetry?”

“Yes.”

The line was silent for a while. “I’m not sure about haiku, but there was one prof who was big in the English and poetry department. Received all kinds of awards.”

“What was his name?”

“Man, you’re testing my memory here. That was ten years ago, and he probably isn’t there anymore.”

“It’s important.”

“Uh, let me think. And I’ve got another call. I’ll get back to you in a few. Okay?”

“Sure.”

As she hung up, Julianna walked to the window. What was she going to do about Luke? What
could
she do about Luke? She hadn’t a clue what he wanted to talk about.
Us,
he’d said. He wanted to quit their plan. That had to be it. He didn’t trust her because she’d walked out on him.

But hadn’t he done the same by drowning himself in booze? And what good did it do to think about any of that now? They were done.

Pushing the thoughts away, she sat at the desk and pulled out her briefcase. She had research to do on the next story. Anything to forget the ridiculous thoughts that seemed to crowd her brain.
Us,
he’d said. She pulled up FindLaw.com and set to work on the Darnell case.

Before she knew it, it was dusk and time for her to feed the horses. Luke hadn’t come back all afternoon, and she had to find him before she could go out to the barn.

She didn’t have to look far. He’d already come looking for her.

“You ready?” he said as they stood in the hallway. He seemed distant.

“Where were you? I thought I wasn’t supposed to be out of your sight?”

“I knew exactly where you were.” He pointed to a corner of her room, but she couldn’t see anything. “You’ve bugged my room?”

“Clever, aren’t I? You can’t even see the camera it’s so small.”

“You…you creep.” She punched him in the arm, whirled around and started for the door, clicking on her wire as she hurried outside and toward the barn. The sun was dropping rapidly behind the mountains and a quick wind whipped her hair into her face. God, she could barely put one foot in front of the other, she was weary and mentally tired and had to admit, she didn’t know how much longer she could do this.

It had to end soon, she decided, as she opened the barn door. Luke and his team were reinvestigating the case. Wasn’t that her goal in the beginning?

The pitchfork lay to the side of one of the hay bales, not where she’d left it. Was Abe getting forgetful again? One of the horses whinnied. A thrashing fluttering sounded at her side. She jerked around, heard a shrill squawk, wings flapped violently in her face. She jumped back, her heart banging through her chest. She gasped for air. Geez. A freaking chicken. How the hell had it gotten in here?

She scanned all around, turning as she looked. Nothing out of place. Just the stupid bird that was now shrieking and acting like she’d scared it instead of the other way around. She calmed herself, grabbed the pitchfork handle and went to soothe Balboa. “It’s okay, boy. It’s okay.” Her words were as much for herself as the horse.

As rattled as she was, she knew Luke was watching her every move. With cameras inside and out, he could see everything….and he was going to razz her like crazy about this later. She stuck her tongue out at the camera. Still, knowing he was there gave her a sense of comfort and security. She’d missed that. She hadn’t realized how much.

After feeding both horses, she tapped the microphone, the signal that she was coming out. “I’m leaving now,” she said.

Balboa whinnied.

She turned. “What’s up, big guy?” She reached to brush his face, but he jerked away, skittish. She heard rustling behind her. Sensed she wasn’t alone.

Oh, God
! A scream formed in her throat, but a hand clamped over her mouth from behind. Then an arm came around her neck like a tourniquet, pinching her windpipe…crushing her against a man’s body.

She wrestled from one side to the other, but the viselike grip at her neck tightened. Her blood roared in her ears. She flailed at the mic. “Luke!” she screamed, a muffled groan in her throat. She felt the mic rip off. Oh, God. Luke couldn’t hear her…not even her scuffling.

But Luke would know. He was watching. She glanced at the camera. Oh, no. They were under the camera, not in front of it. Luke thought she was coming out. He was waiting for her. He’d know when she didn’t come out. But that would be too late.

“Hi sweetheart,” a gravelly voice hissed in her ear. “You still think I’m a crank?”

In a split-second decision, she went limp, remembering from somewhere that it would take an assailant off guard. But as she slid downward, he yanked her up by the neck, compressing her windpipe even more.

She stomped at his foot but got only air.

“You want to fight, sweetheart?” he growled. “I like women who fight.”

True horror set in. She’d set a trap…for herself. He squeezed harder. Stars flared in her eyes. But Luke would come. He had to. Unless…someone got to him first.

“You should have listened to me. Left things alone. It’s your fault that I have to kill you.”

Her head spun. The world blurred. His words muffled in her ears and now he was dragging her, dragging her. Where was he taking her? Balboa flashed in her peripheral vision. The gun. She’d hidden the gun behind a barrel two feet away. Only she couldn’t get it. Light and dark strobed before her eyes. Just as blackness overtook her, the grip loosened.

He thought she was unconscious. Or maybe that he’d strangled her. Somewhere in the foggy recesses of her brain, she knew not to move. He let her fall to the floor, thudding like a sack of flour. Hay matted against her face. The scent cleared her brain. She saw a glint of metal. The gun. If he thought she was passed out or dead she might have a chance. But if she failed, he could get away and kill again. She couldn’t let that happen, no matter what.

Mustering her strength, she readied her legs and then giving it her all, she leaped forward like a frog, grabbed the cold handle of the .38, rolled over and pointed it in the face of the man hovering over her.

For one fraction of a second she saw fear in his hard eyes. “Move and you’re dead,” she growled, no question in her mind that she meant it. It was only when he grabbed for the gun that she recognized him.