Night Stalker Page 15

  “That is not what I wanted to hear,” Charlotte murmured.

  “Don’t get too panicked yet,” Honor responded. “We’ve established that he travels a lot.”

  “If he’s traveling, his girlfriend isn’t aware of it.” Wren tapped a pen against her pages. “I called her directly and asked. She said she hadn’t seen him since yesterday.”

  “He’s slipped the net,” Sam muttered.

  “I don’t think so,” Wren replied. “He’s gone to ground, but he’s staying close. I checked Bethany’s list of possible suspects, and he was at the top.”

  “Did you ask her why?” Adam asked.

  “Usually I’m pretty good at doing my job,” she said drily. “According to Bethany, he substituted in her calculus class during her junior year. He offered free tutoring to anyone who thought they needed help, so she went, but she felt uncomfortable from the very beginning. He stood too close when he was helping. Gave her a few too many compliments. In her words, he was creepy. She went a few times and then stopped going.”

  “That was quite a few years ago,” Sam pointed out. “She still has issues with him about it?”

  “Not at all. She said that if that had been all that had happened, she’d have chalked her feelings up to being a teenager. After all, Liam is well respected in the community. He’s a youth pastor. People like him.”

  “She doesn’t,” Adam said.

  “No. She doesn’t. She says he shows up at the grocery store when she’s shopping, comes into the hospital while she’s working and makes a point of saying hello. One night, she left work, and her tire was flat. She called her fiancé and was on the phone with him when Liam appeared. Out of nowhere was how she said it. Fortunately, she was in the car when he approached. She didn’t open the door or roll down the window. She just told him she was fine and went back to her conversation.”

  “That must not have sat well with him,” River commented.

  “I doubt the engagement did, either. And now, of course, we’ve removed his obsession. We’ve made him turn his attention to something else.” She glanced at Charlotte, and Adam’s blood ran cold.

  “What do you need me to do?” Charlotte asked.

  “I’m glad you asked. Look at page three of the packet. I’ve got everything outlined for you.”

  Charlotte did as she suggested, flipping to the page and reading it silently.

  Adam did the same.

  He didn’t enjoy the experience, and he didn’t want Charlotte to have any part of the plan that Wren had outlined. He hoped she’d feel the same. He prayed she would. He wanted justice handed to the Night Stalker the same way he wanted to take his next breath. Desperately.

  But he wanted Charlotte’s safety more.

  That was the truth, and he wasn’t going to deny it. He also wasn’t going to sit and listen while Wren talked her into doing something that could cost her her life.

  He eyed the third page of the document one more time, then flipped to the fourth, pulling a pen from his jacket pocket and scribbling notes for a plan that didn’t include Charlotte allowing herself to be bait for a killer.

  TEN

  Charlotte read the plan through twice. She listened to Adam argue a case for her going into witness protection while the FBI tracked down the Night Stalker. She listened while Wren explained why that wasn’t a good idea.

  Even without listening, she would have known the facts.

  If Liam escaped, she’d never feel safe. Even if she were safe, she’d always know that he was out there, hunting other victims, looking for opportunities to kill again.

  She couldn’t stomach the thought of that.

  She knew what it was like to lose a loved one. She knew how deep the grief was, how easy it was to be consumed by it. She didn’t want anyone to experience that because she’d been too afraid to do her part to stop a killer.

  The choice she’d been presented with had been no choice at all. It had been a challenge. One she’d accepted.

  Once she had, Wren had been all business. She’d supervised the phone call that Charlotte made to Anna. She’d put together a timeline and drilled Charlotte on what she could and could not do while she was at the center.

  No walks outside.

  No entering rooms alone.

  She had to stay with Adam and River at all times. If, for some reason, they disappeared, she was to stay in a public area, chatting with residents until one of them returned for her.

  Sam, Wren and Honor would be outside the building, waiting for Liam to arrive. Sam had left the hospital and gone straight to the center. On the off chance that Liam arrived early, they wanted to know about it. Wren had seemed confident that he would show up eventually. When he did, he’d be stalked the same way he’d stalked his victims, followed as he attempted to kidnap Charlotte.

  The goal wasn’t to trick him into getting her into his vehicle. The goal was to catch him with some of the tools of his trade. He’d used chloroform on all his victims. Rags soaked in the chemical had been found in four out of nine victims’ cars. As a medical supply salesman, he’d probably found an easy and anonymous way to access it. He’d also apparently made himself very familiar with how long it took for chloroform to knock out its victims without killing them.

  He’d made a mistake with Bethany, but he’d been rushing.

  His other victims had been taken with an efficiency and ease that terrified Charlotte.

  Who was she kidding?

  The entire situation scared her. She didn’t want to walk into the lion’s den and trust God to keep her from harm. She wanted to huddle in her room and let the FBI find another way to bring the Night Stalker in.

  She’d been pacing her bedroom for an hour thinking about that, praying for insight or intervention. Some miraculous occurrence that caused Liam to be arrested before she arrived at the center would be nice. Barring that, a mild heart attack wouldn’t be a bad thing. At least she’d have an excuse to back out.

  She glanced at the clock on her bedside table, her pulse jumping when she realized how soon they’d be leaving. Twenty minutes, and she hadn’t even begun to get ready.

  She dressed quickly, pulling on long yoga pants and a loose long-sleeved T-shirt that could easily hide a wire. Wren planned to have her wear one. Just in case. Unlike a traditional wired microphone, the one Charlotte would be wearing would collect audio and transmit locational signals.

  It was a mini-GPS on a string.

  That was what Wren had said when she’d explained it.

  Charlotte was certain that was supposed to make her feel better.

  It didn’t.

  She knew what the Night Stalker was capable of. She was walking into his territory. She was doing it unarmed, and she was trusting a team of people that she’d known for less than two weeks to keep her safe.

  “What could possibly go wrong?” she muttered, grabbing Clover’s therapy vest from her closet.

  He pranced over, excited to be going to work.

  Thanks to her gunshot and hospital stay, it had been too long since they’d gone on any visits. She wanted to be happy that they were finally getting a chance, but all she felt was dread.

  “It’s going to be okay,” she said, strapping Clover into his vest and attaching a bow tie to his collar.

  He grinned, his tongue lolling out of his mouth, his eyes sparkling.

  Daniel would have loved him.

  It was a thought she had several times every week. One that she had had daily when she’d first gotten the puppy. Daniel had had trouble connecting with people, but he’d loved animals. Cats, birds, horses. Dogs. Especially dogs.

  “You would have been his Christmas present,” she whispered to Clover, and he licked her face.

  She straightened and lifted the photo from her dresser. She touched Daniel’s face, reminded herself that she’
d see him again one day. Knowing that had gotten her through a lot of dark and difficult days. She didn’t cling to the thought as much as she used to, but it still brought her comfort.

  Someone knocked on the door, and it swung open before she could respond.

  She wasn’t surprised to see Adam. She was surprised at how her heart seemed to reach for him, how her body yearned to move closer. She was surprised at how easily she remembered the feel of his lips against hers, the gentleness of his hands on her face. One kiss, and it had felt like everything she’d ever wished for. Everything she’d longed for in those lonely days after he’d left.

  She set the picture down, her hands shaking with the force of her emotions.

  “You kept this,” he said, crossing the room and picking it up. “He was such a cute kid.”

  “He looked like you,” she responded, and he met her eyes, his expression somber.

  “I don’t want you to do this, Charlotte,” he said.

  She didn’t ask what he meant.

  She knew.

  “I have to.”

  “No. You don’t. We can find another way to bring him in.”

  “What if you don’t? What if he goes free? What if he disappears from the area, shows up somewhere else and starts his killing spree again?”

  “Then we’ll track him there, and we’ll try again,” he said, his tone sharp.

  “And maybe you’ll be successful, but not before someone else dies.”

  “That’s not your responsibility. You don’t have to sacrifice yourself to save someone else.”

  “I’d have done it for Daniel,” she said, surprised when the words emerged, when her voice broke saying them.

  “He was our son. Either one of us would have given our lives for him,” Adam responded, his eyes flashing, his tone hard. “But he’s gone. You’re not saving him by putting your life at risk.”

  “You’re not getting my point,” she replied, angry that they were having this conversation, that she had to justify and explain herself when all she really wanted to do was walk away and forget she’d ever heard Bethany scream.

  She couldn’t because right was right. And doing the right thing didn’t include walking away and hoping that her actions didn’t cause the death of someone else.

  “Then how about you tell me what it is? Make it clear, Charlotte, because I’m not accepting silence this time around.”

  “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  “Exactly what I said. After Daniel died, we buried our relationship in a mountain of unspoken words. I think we’re both mature enough to speak our truths now. If we aren’t, we have no business sitting in stairwells sharing our hearts.”

  “Sharing kisses, you mean,” she said and regretted it immediately. What they’d shared had been too beautiful to be dismissed so easily as a physical thing. It had been a connection to the past, a bridge to the future. It had been a reminder of all they’d been and a glimpse of what they could be.

  And she’d dragged it down to a base level, to a thing that could be as easily dismissed as a snowflake on a mountaintop.

  “Is that your truth? Is it what you really believe?” he asked, setting the photo down, his eyes blazing. “Because if it is, you’re more of a coward than I thought.”

  “I’m not the one who walked out when things got tough,” she said, stung by the accusation.

  “I’m going to say this one more time, and then I’m walking away.” He bit the words out. “I don’t want you to do this. Since you’re going to, Wren will be here in five minutes to run the wire. She, Honor, Sam, River and I will be wearing earpieces. We’ll be able to hear your conversations. If anything goes wrong, and you need help, all you need to do is ask.”

  He turned and walked away.

  Just like he had before.

  She could have stopped him, but she was frozen in place, afraid to call him back and afraid to let him go.

  He’d been right.

  She was a coward.

  And she was losing a second chance at love because of it.

  * * *

  Pine Valley Residential and Memory Care Center was nestled in the shadow of the mountains, its redbrick facade and white picket fence designed to feel homey and inviting.

  Adam would have appreciated that more if the building hadn’t been so big. A four-story-high H-shaped manor house, it eclipsed several small outbuildings that stood on the property.

  A place as big as the center would be easy to get lost in.

  Or to lose someone in.

  He frowned, glancing at his phone and the map he’d pulled up. A small dot pulsed in the center of it. The signal on Charlotte’s wire was working. If something happened, if somehow Liam got to her, they’d be able to find her.

  Hopefully in time.

  He frowned, shoving his hand into his pocket to keep from tapping his fingers against his thigh. His nervous energy wasn’t doing anyone any good. It sure wasn’t making the trip any easier.

  Something bumped his ear, and he turned his head, found himself looking into Clover’s dark brown eyes.

  “Hello,” he said, and he was certain the dog smiled.

  “We should have put a wire on him,” Charlotte muttered to no one in particular. She certainly wasn’t speaking to Adam. She’d barely looked at him since he’d walked out of her room.

  He’d looked at her.

  He’d seen the tension in her face, the fear in her eyes. He knew she was terrified, but the silence was there again, consuming them both.

  He could let it or he could fight it.

  If he did the first, he’d lose her again for sure.

  If he did the second, he risked hurting and being hurt. He risked offering something and having it rebuffed. He risked his heart, but he thought that he’d rather risk it than bury it again.

  River pulled into the nearly full parking lot and squeezed into a space between an old Pontiac and a shiny Toyota.

  “Looks like they have a full house today,” River said, opening his door and getting out.

  Charlotte did the same, calling for Clover to heel, and nearly jumping from the vehicle in her rush to be away from Adam.

  He let her go.

  They were safe enough here. Out in the open, surrounded by people who were entering and exiting vehicles, Charlotte was a less easy target than she’d be once they entered the building. Inside, walls and doors and side entrances and exits would make it much less difficult for someone to grab her.

  Someone?

  The Night Stalker.

  Just the thought of it filled Adam with fear and rage.

  He climbed out of the Cadillac and opened the trunk, rifling through the equipment Wren kept there. He found what he wanted at the bottom of a duffel bag—a tiny wireless tracking device that could be used to follow someone or to find them. He checked the device and the tracker, making sure both were functional before he shoved them in his coat pocket and headed across the parking lot.

  River, Charlotte and Clover had already reached the front door—a massive structure that seemed made for giants rather than normal-size human beings. The place was ostentatious. That was for sure. It was made for people with money, the glossy marble foyer screaming elegance and wealth. Adam walked through it, following a few steps behind the rest of the group.

  According to Sam, Liam hadn’t made an appearance. At least, not while he’d been patrolling the area.

  Adam didn’t doubt Sam’s account, but he also wasn’t willing to underestimate Liam’s cunning. The Night Stalker had been practicing his game for a long time. He hadn’t stayed a step ahead of the law by taking foolish chances. He’d strike when he thought no one was looking. He’d step out of shadows no one had noticed. He’d move quickly and with confidence, and if the team wasn’t on the top of its game, he’d have Charlotte in his car bef
ore anyone even realized she was gone.

  He frowned, stepping up beside Charlotte as she checked in at the reception desk.

  Clover sat beside her, his tail thumping rhythmically, that comical smile on his face.

  “Hey, boy. Ready for some fun?” Adam said, crouching in front of him and pulling the tiny tracking device from his pocket. One side of it was strongly magnetic, and he attached it to the underside of the dog’s metal name tag as he scratched Clover under the chin. It would stay put until someone removed it.

  “All right,” Charlotte said. “We’re all set. You have to wear these while you’re in the building.”

  She held out lanyards with visitor badges attached, still avoiding Adam’s eyes as he took one and pulled it over his head.

  “You can’t avoid looking at me forever,” he said as she put on her badge and started walking toward a bank of elevators on the far wall.

  “I won’t need to,” she responded. “I just have to keep it up until we’re done here and you go back to Boston.”

  River laughed.

  Adam wasn’t amused.

  “Who said I planned to go back?”

  “You have a job there, a home and a life. You’ve got nothing here.”

  “Except you,” he responded.

  She blushed, jabbing at the elevator button and still avoiding his eyes. “We’re going to the fourth floor. East Wing. The Alzheimer’s and dementia unit is there. Liam’s grandmother is in room 410. Should we stop there first?”

  “Is that what you normally do?” Adam asked.

  She shook her head. “We usually go to the activities room first. Clover loves to play fetch with the residents.”

  “Let’s do that, then. Stick to the routine. Just in case he’s watching.”

  She finally looked at him, her eyes wide with surprise and fear. “Do you think he’s here?” she whispered.

  “Sam didn’t see him or his vehicle when he arrived. He asked the receptionist if Liam had been in. She said he hadn’t.”

  “There are lots of ways into the building,” River pointed out as they stepped off the elevator. “The side doors might be locked from the outside, but they’re easy enough to unlock if you’re inside. Do we know if Liam’s girlfriend is working today?”