“Okay, I think we’re ready.” Paul walked around the conference desk and looked at the recorder in the middle of the oblong table. “Next time you want to record something, though, let me know. I can hook you up with much better equipment than this.”
“It was a consensual recording. I wasn’t worried about trying to determine back-down noise, or anything like that.” Kylie rubbed her left temple, where a dull throbbing headache had been nagging her since she woke up this morning. It hadn’t surprised her that Peter was a no-show the night before. She hadn’t talked to him or seen him on-line since he’d suggested they meet Thursday night. The media had spooked him, putting her back to square one. At least she had Dani’s testimony to offer.
“Let’s hear what it says,” John said, sitting across from her. “As long as it picked up what the two of you said to each other, we’re fine.”
He scowled at the handheld recorder Kylie had owned for a couple years now. She used it any time she wanted to record an interview and never had problems with it. But with her headache, not enough sleep, and feeling grouchier no matter how much coffee she downed, she didn’t feel like arguing with them.
Reaching for the recorder, she pushed “play,” turned up the volume, and reclined in her chair. Static popped for a moment but then stopped. Kylie relaxed her elbows against the armrests and held her cup with both hands, watching the steam twist and evaporate above her fresh cup.
The recording began, Kylie’s voice sounding tinny but audible.
“This is a recorded interview conducted by Kylie Dover,” she said through the small speaker, using her undercover name and the front that she was recording this in an effort to show the reaction of a teenager to a traumatic, terrifying, event.
Dani stated her full name and age; then Kylie announced the date and time. After the usual formality of asking Dani if she would willingly participate in the interview and consent to it being recorded, the questions began.
Kylie had listened to the tape several times already but knew her presence was advantageous while playing it back for John. Paul was present for two reasons. One, he was very good at deductive reasoning and two, because Kylie knew if she was left alone for too long with John, she’d kick his ass. The man just rubbed her wrong every time she was around him.
And this morning wasn’t a good time to be around anyone. After showing up at the crime scene last night, keeping her distance, and observing, she immediately wished she’d stayed home and in bed. More than once she had stopped herself from marching across the parking lot and throwing that little runt of a cop as far away from Perry as she could.
It had been impossible to fall asleep after that. She’d even gotten dressed and gone over to his house, hell-bent and determined to give him more than a piece of her mind. Driving across town to his house didn’t calm her down, but she did manage to stop herself from barging into his home when it was mere hours before dawn. It would be better to take him on after a good night’s sleep. Except she didn’t get one.
It was bad enough that she tossed and turned once she finally crawled back into her bed, but she woke up with a headache. And it appeared to have no intention of going away.
“After walking out of your house, you text-messaged Petrie, your online boyfriend whom you hadn’t met yet, and told him you’d fought with your mother and left home?”
“You make it sound really bad,” Dani said, but then cleared her voice. She mumbled something inaudible. Kylie ignored John’s and Paul’s inquiring looks. Dani had mumbled under her breath, begging Kylie not to make her out to look like a fool. Kylie remembered Dani later admitting she felt like an ass for committing the most stupid stunt of her life, and hugging Kylie and thanking her for saving her life. That wasn’t information John, or Paul, needed to know, though. Dani continued, “But yes, I texted Petrie. He told me it wasn’t safe walking around alone at night and that he would pick me up. He offered to take me to get a pizza.”
“Where did he tell you he would meet you?”
“At the bowling alley.”
“Do you know why he suggested the bowling alley?”
There was silence for a moment. “Probably because he knows I hang out there with my friends a lot. He wanted a place where I would be comfortable.” Dani’s voice cracked and she coughed, trying to cover up emotions over a boy who had turned out to not be who she thought he was. “Or at least that is what I thought.”
“Okay, so you go to the bowling alley. Did he tell you what car he would be in, or how to find him?”
“He said he would meet me there. I figured he meant inside.”
“What happened when you got to the bowling alley?”
“I never made it inside. I was walking across the parking lot when this big black car showed up. He pulled up so quickly behind me I thought he would hit me, but then his driver’s-side door opened and he tried grabbing me.”
There were shuffling sounds and murmurs that Kylie remembered being Dani crying. Kylie slouched in her chair, stroking her coffee cup with her finger, while the tape continued playing. Dani had endured so much, and Kylie worried for her life, especially now that she had successfully escaped the grip of a killer. After the murder last night, it possibly being the fifth life Peter had taken, his craving for blood, for death, would grow. It was stereotypical of a serial killer. Kylie’s thoughts went also to the other girl whose father had followed her and prevented her from meeting the boy online. Sally Wright’s father had reported there was no boy at the meeting site but a man. Would Peter go after Sally and Dani again?
“Did he ever talk to you?”
“He said, ‘Dani, get in the car.’ But it wasn’t Petrie. It was a man. He wore a baseball cap, but I would know him again in a second if I saw him. He had really blue eyes and dark hair and he was white.”
“Arrange a lineup for her,” John suggested. “I’m skeptical that her memory is as strong as she suggests, but we can do a lineup of the police officers downtown.”
“Do you really think that would work?” Kylie raised her gaze to him lazily. She needed to get out of here, although if she did, the first thing she would do was track down Perry, and that wouldn’t be pretty. “Dani knows most of the officers who work with her uncle.”
“How do you know that?” John challenged. “Has she told you that? Or has Flynn informed you his niece is well acquainted with everyone he works with?”
“No to both,” Kylie snapped, the throbbing in her temple intensifying. She slid her chair back, deciding maybe a search for aspirin would help. “Her uncle has been on the force for seven years. It goes without saying, since he is so involved in her life, that she would know at least a handful of police officers in this town. Not to mention she is a sixteen-year-old who was born and raised here. That alone would make many of the faces familiar to her.”
“I have to agree with Kylie on that one,” Paul interjected. “I also think this kid needs some serious protection, possibly more than her uncle can provide, just being a cop.”
Kylie leaned forward and paused the tape. “We know Peter drives a black Suburban, late model.”
“With forged tags that can’t be traced,” John interrupted. “Honestly, Kylie, you don’t have shit to nail this guy.”
She stared at him, her head pulsing all over. If it didn’t hurt so badly, she would give John a piece of her mind. Bringing up Perry, arguing that the two of them could nail this guy if just given a little more time, would start a full-fledged fight that any other time she would welcome. In spite of no sleep, she still felt like she had energy to burn.
“I’m a hell of a lot closer than I was a week ago,” she said, biting her lip to prevent from saying more.
She would save her energy, and her head from exploding, for a battle she actually wanted to fight. When she found Perry, there would be words. Maybe they hadn’t voiced out loud where their relationship stood, but he’d made it damn clear he wanted something between them. For him to say that and then flirt with another woman, and at a crime scene no less, was beyond unacceptable. Kylie couldn’t wait to kick his ass to kingdom come. Attack first and listen to explanations later. That is if she decided to hang around to hear any lame excuse he might have. She knew what she saw. She might look young, but she wasn’t born yesterday.
John slapped the table, standing when Kylie did. “There’s only one solution.” He leaned forward and popped the tape out of the cassette player, then fingered it as he walked toward the door. “You’re going to set up another meeting with this Peter guy. But this time, you’re going to go with him. The only way we’re going to nail this guy is to catch him in the act. Even if all we bring him in for is assaulting you, we’ll get the confession out of him for the others.”
John walked out the door and Kylie slumped back into her chair.
“Nothing better than finding out you get to be assaulted first thing in the morning.” Paul tried to make light of it, but there was compassion in his eyes when he looked down at her.
“I’ve endured worse.” She sipped her coffee, willing herself to get back up out of the chair. “I didn’t get a lot of sleep last night. I had a second meeting with Peter. He no-showed and hasn’t been online. If I could have made him meet me last night instead of Elaine Swanson, I would have.” Maybe I’ll go home and crash for a few hours and then see if I can connect with him.”
“Sounds as if last night was pretty nasty,” Paul said, grabbing the tape recorder and unplugging it from the wall. “That picture they tagged as evidence has got to have your cop friend pretty pissed off.”
“Picture?” She frowned, realizing she hadn’t taken time to read the reports Paul would have prepared for her. “What picture?”
Paul finished winding the cord around the recorder and stared at her. “You doing okay?”
“Yup. Just tired. I haven’t read the report on last night yet. What is this picture you’re talking about?”
Paul shook his head. “There was a picture in the victim’s hand when she was found. It was printed on typing paper. The picture was of one of Lieutenant Flynn’s nieces that had a message written across it in marker. It said: ‘Guess who is next?’ ”
Kylie was out of her chair before she realized it. “I’ve got to go,” she said, waving her hand over her shoulder and bolting for the door. She had to find Perry.
It was worse than she thought. Kylie wasn’t even sure which way she drove. Perry wouldn’t be home. She couldn’t go to the station, although she had half a mind to do so. She wanted to see that picture, and by all rights she could demand to see it. She had the proper credentials. No one would deny her access once she flashed her badge. But agreeing to work undercover meant just that. Kylie couldn’t just go and blow her cover because she was pissed, and because it would be convenient to do so at the moment. Paul would arrange for her to see it, or at least a copy.
As she turned at the next light it dawned on her that she was headed to Perry’s sister’s house. It wasn’t even lunch-time. There wouldn’t be anyone there, unless they kept Dani home from school again today. If so, someone would be with her. Kylie couldn’t imagine Perry’s Chief allowing him to become her personal bodyguard. Although she could see him telling his Chief where to stick it if Perry felt protecting his niece was of paramount importance. And of course he would think that.
“God. You need to quit being a chickenshit and just call him.” Kylie had vowed repeatedly over the years if she was anything, she wasn’t a procrastinator. If something needed to be done, she jumped in and dealt with it. “Well, something needs to be done about us, mister,” she grumbled, fishing through her purse next to her and pulling out her cell phone.
The moment she held it in her hand, it buzzed, kicking her heart into overdrive. Taking a gulp of air, she glanced at the number.
“Well, hell,” she said, recognizing the Dallas area code. It was her supervisor, and she would probably get her ass chewed for not checking in sooner. Although she could just imagine John had touched base with Susie Parker, and what he might have said.
“Donovan here,” she said, switching lanes and signaling to turn into the nearest parking lot. Her brain was too sore to take this call while driving. And it was high time to check in and run everything she knew past Susie. In the past, oftentimes when the two of them brainstormed, Susie offered good input.
“It’s about time I reached you. I was getting worried.” Susie’s soft-spoken voice misled many people. A good-looking lady, in her thirties, Susie had used her appearance, as well as her intelligence, to climb the ladder to where she was today, and she had no regrets for doing so. Kylie both admired and despised the woman for her efforts. She wouldn’t take advantage of a man’s weakness for a pretty lady to get what she wanted in life. Although more than once, other than arguing it was scruples, she wondered why she wouldn’t. “Where have you been?” There was concern in Susie’s voice.
Kylie pulled into a stall outside a Mexican restaurant, where the lot was starting to fill up with the early lunch crowd. Leaving her car in drive, she cranked the AC and reclined in her seat.
“You’ve been trying to reach me? I haven’t had any missed calls from you.”
“I tried calling your cell a week or so ago and then tried the field office there in Mission Hills. They told me there you weren’t getting a good signal with your service there in that town. I was promised a new number for you, but no one got back to me.”
“That doesn’t make any sense. I haven’t had any problems with my cell.” Kylie frowned, watching a young couple enter the large restaurant while her stomach growled. It hadn’t dawned on her until now that she hadn’t eaten since yesterday afternoon. “Someone must have gotten their wires crossed.”
“Well, I have you now. How are things going?”
“I’m on the verge of discovery.”
Susie’s laugh was melodic, relaxed, and reminded Kylie that before long her stress would be directed toward a different case, in a different world, and the problems in Mission Hills, Kansas, would once again be resolved and those living here would get on with their lives. Would she ever see any of them again? The thought left her feeling empty and she sighed, her gaze drifting to a car that parked near her and several ladies who were all laughing and talking, got out and headed to the restaurant.
“That’s my line, and you’re reminding me why you’re one of my top agents. Fill me in on the details.”
Kylie put a neutral tone in her voice, offering the facts and fighting to keep her emotions and feelings for the people involved in this case at bay.
“Perry. Now who is Perry?”
Kylie smiled, although she felt anything but happy, and looked down at her lap as she realized how much she had just failed in keeping her emotions out of this case.
“Lieutenant Perry Flynn is with the police department here in Mission Hills. He is also working on this case.”
“Total hunk, huh?”
“He’s not bad.” Not bad in bed. Not bad at stealing her heart. “John Athey hasn’t contacted you?” she asked, changing the subject from Perry. Although talking about John, and what he might have told Susie, wasn’t a conversation Kylie wanted to have, either. Best to get it out of the way.
“I haven’t talked to him,” Susie said. “I’ve left messages, but he hasn’t returned them.”
“Really.” That didn’t strike Kylie as quite right. Usually supervisors kept in touch, especially when a field agent was sent from one location to another. “I’m sure there’ve been reports, though, right?”
“Nothing.” Susie didn’t hesitate. “Why? What’s wrong?”
There wasn’t any point hedging around the situation. “We don’t exactly get along.”
“Although that’s odd for you,” Susie said, sounding serious, “I’ve had agents before who clash with local FBI. You do what you’re there to do and move on. You know how to do your job.”
“I know.” She hated the emptiness that seemed to spread inside her.
“You know, oftentimes an agent gets involved with the community, especially when doing undercover work. It isn’t a bad thing,” Susie offered.
“I know where you’re going with this,” Kylie said, breaking off the inevitable pep talk about how this, too, would pass. “And you’re right. I think it’s just the timing with your call,” she lied. “I just left the field office after having it pointed out to me very clearly that I have absolutely nothing to nail this guy with. I have a clue who he is,” she admitted, and felt even worse as failure wrapped around the emptiness inside her. “But I really don’t have any proof.”
“Let’s break it down. What do you have?” It sounded as though Susie was typing in the background, her nicely painted nails she was able to grow sitting in an office these days instead of working out in the field tapping over the keys while she talked on the phone. “You have a description and a common location.”
“Yes. It appears he agrees to meet the girls at the bowling alley or at shops nearby. The bowling alley is a local hangout for a lot of the teenagers here. He met one girl at a grocery store she went to on a regular basis.”
“He meets the girls at locations they’re comfortable going to,” Susie suggested.
“Yes. The grocery store was closed when Elaine agreed to meet Peter. Later in the evening, there is hardly any traffic around the bowling alley. The parking lot isn’t well lit other than the marquee from the local businesses’ lights. There are some streetlights in the parking lot but not enough to cover the dark patches where it’s easy for cars to park without being noticed. Dani met Peter there after dark.”
“So a secluded location where each girl wouldn’t hesitate going.”
“Exactly.”
“And the description?”
“One of the girls who agreed to meet Peter, the name we’ve given our killer since that is the name he is using online, or variations of it,” Kylie reminded her, “saw him and drew us a picture. It’s not a lot to go on but we know he’s got dark hair and blue eyes.”
“I’ve pulled up the local newspaper there. Sounds as if you’re battling the press and concerned parents as well.”
“It’s become too high profile for it to be otherwise. Fortunately, working undercover, I haven’t had to deal with either myself.”
“Which is how it should be. Leaves you open to focus only on your killer. What is your current objective?”
“I’m going to set up another meet and let Peter take me with him.”
“Should I send in backup?” Susie sounded concerned. “I think I’ll get in touch with the local chief of police there. I’ll try calling John Athey again, too.”
Kylie didn’t understand why John hadn’t talked to Susie. Unless he was one of those agents who believed their city was their own domain and didn’t care for outsiders intruding on their space. She’d run across other agents like that when traveling from city to city, those who tackled crime in their town and balked at outsiders, even when their intentions were good. She could see John being the one who would want credit for taking Peter down. Suddenly John’s behavior made more sense. He didn’t like her because she posed a threat at stealing his glory if she and not John received credit for nailing Peter. By sending her in, informing her she would go with the perp, John would get glory for rescuing her.
Kylie blew out a loud sigh, resting her head on the back of her seat and staring at her visor. It wasn’t the first time she was the bait, entering the line of fire, only to be rescued and the bad guy taken out. For some reason, allowing John that credit rubbed her wrong. It would be so much better, so much easier, to part ways when the painful moment arrived, if Perry was the one who made the arrest.
“Stay focused,” Susie said, her tone serious again, as if she were reading Kylie’s thoughts. “There’s nothing wrong with caring about the people you’re working with as long as you keep it business, and make sure those who need to know understand why you’re there.”
Kylie didn’t say anything. Susie was right. Kylie had botched it up big-time, and as she searched her memory, replaying events since she arrived here, she tried focusing on the moment when she’d fucked up. Had it been the first time she met Perry? The first time she made love to him? A physical, almost animalistic passion had hummed around them, charged in the air, from the moment they met. Although she was coming to believe he didn’t act this way around all women, what she had witnessed last night at the crime scene made her wonder. Why would she be the only woman so strongly attracted to him? And wouldn’t he be better off finding a nice, local girl, who wasn’t going to leave the moment the case was solved?
That acknowledgment weighed so heavily inside Kylie it burned her eyes as well as made her heart hurt so badly she could barely breathe. Adjusting the key in the ignition, she rolled down her window, suddenly needing air.
“That’s what I’m doing,” she lied again, unwilling to let Susie see how badly she was handling this particular case.
“Good. And just so you know, the situation in Nicaragua is about ready to explode. You’ve always wanted one of the seriously high-profile cases, and I haven’t forgotten that. Wrap this up and I’ll get you on a plane down there. After that, I promise I’ll get you some downtime.”
Susie’s words hit Kylie hard. As focused as she was on this case, she had just been reminded of the big picture. Less than a month ago she was in Washington, doing everything in her power to nail a sexual predator who’d already raped, tortured, and mutilated several women by the time she arrived on that scene. Nonetheless, she’d jumped in, made the case her own, and solved it. Once this case was done, she’d been on a plane leaving Kansas City. Where would her thoughts be a few months from now?
“Thanks, Susie. That means a lot to me,” she said, meaning it, although she couldn’t get the excitement into her voice.
“I’ll be in touch.” Susie said her good-byes and hung up, probably to make another call to another agent somewhere else in the United States and to hear their personal situation.
It was the job Kylie had signed up for. The life she had craved and the dream she was seeing fulfilled. Solve this case and move on. Probably within a month she’d be trekking around in a jungle, dealing with people she would call friends whom she didn’t even know right now.
And Perry would go on with his life.