Killer's Prey (21 page)

Once again feel like a whole woman. Truly whole.

He must have seen something in her face because he suddenly lifted his hand. “Maude? We’ve got to go. Can I get some carryout boxes?”

* * *

Langdon was making great time. The compulsion sat in the driver’s seat now, and while some part of him realized he was taking a risk in driving so fast, he couldn’t prevent himself. He could almost smell his quarry in the open spaces ahead, in the mountains that began to loom over the surrounding plain.

He would get there tonight. Tonight. He could hardly wait now. But he wasn’t a completely stupid man and he knew he had to deal with some things.

Small towns didn’t talk to strangers without good reason. So he was going to have to explain why he needed to know the whereabouts of Nora Loftis.

He had a couple of knives. He preferred knives. Guns were too quick and offered little amusement. But a knife...that could amuse him for hours, inflicting pain the whole time.

He had bigger plans this time. Bigger hungers. He wanted the woman’s pain as much as he wanted to hear her beg, as much as he wanted to see her die. He’d long since forgotten why he’d become obsessed with her. It didn’t matter.

She had to be dealt with before he could move on to the next one.

And there were going to be a lot of them. Nora would be his true practice, his chance to learn the parameters of what he could do to make it all last as long as possible. His lesson in making sure he left no breathing evidence behind when he was done.

The past few weeks had been an advantage in one way: he’d had plenty of time to think about new ways to torture, to draw it out. He had developed some great ideas.

He made one stop at a big-box store in Casper. As he had hoped, they carried plenty of hunting and fishing supplies of the kind he wanted: mainly knives of a few kinds, but also some pretty big fishhooks that gave him some new ideas. And in the toy department, he even found a badge that looked real enough at a glance. He’d put in a cheap leather wallet to make it look more official, and wouldn’t let anyone look hard at it.

But it would probably get him the information he wanted. His mind was already spinning the story, rehearsing it. All he needed was for one rube to fall for it. In a town full of hayseeds, that shouldn’t be too hard as long as he was careful.

Knives tucked under the seat, he gripped the steering wheel until his knuckles whitened.

He’d get there tonight. At most, Nora Loftis had one more day, depending on how difficult it turned out to be to grab her.

Not too difficult, he assured himself. It had been easy the first time. She’d be more on guard now, but she was still a weakling. She wouldn’t be able to fight him for long, and he would enjoy every bit of fight she put up.

Because that would make teaching her a lesson that much sweeter.

Grinning into the graying day, he pressed harder on the accelerator.

* * *

Al had things well in hand, although the weatherman was predicting some more light snow. Nora was glad to change into jeans and help however she could. It felt so good to be outdoors and the wind didn’t feel at all threatening today. In fact, it was nearly silent, tossing her hair a bit but offering no other problems.

She spent a couple of hours in the corral working the horses, who seemed quite content to run in circles and work off energy. Her own spirits rose with the horses’ and banished the last of the disturbing sorrow the diary had given her.

It wasn’t the same now as back then, she thought. Maybe when there was a blizzard, but even so, people weren’t cut off like that anymore. Maybe the diarist had more problems than the distance from her neighbors. Maybe she didn’t have a supportive husband, a man who was also a companion. That could make life out here very hard indeed.

She wondered if she would find out as she read more tomorrow. She had never dreamed that an ordinary diary could grip her as much as a great novel.

But maybe it wasn’t the diary, but the way she identified with the woman. Cut off, alone with the wind.

Maybe that’s all it was.

“Hey, lady,” she heard Jake call.

She turned from Daisy, who was nudging her for pets. “Yes?”

“You’ve been out here too long. I don’t know about you, but I think we could both use a hot drink. Come on inside.”

She turned to pat Daisy’s neck one last time and trotted toward the fence. She was running again. Very cool, she thought, and grinned. Only then did she realize how cold her cheeks had become.

She felt so good just then, in a way she hadn’t felt in forever. Just happy to be alive. Yes, the lovemaking with Jake had helped start the cascade, but the beautiful day was adding to it, enhancing a wonderful sense of life. She needed more of this.

The grin remained, almost painful on her icy cheeks as she trotted through the door Jake held open for her. He smiled back at her, an expression that lit up his whole face. Apparently he, too, had shelved worry for the moment.

And why not? Living every moment on the edge of doom would serve no purpose. Whether she had many minutes left or only a few, no one could say. Regardless, it was a shame to keep wasting them.

She nearly danced as she pulled off her hat, gloves, jacket and scarf. The bootjack took care of her boots, and she giggled as she felt a sock pull halfway off. Bending, she tugged it back on, and felt Jake playfully swat her butt.

“Nice view,” he said.

A laugh escaped her as she straightened. She could see Rosa through the glass panes on the interior door, standing at the stove, so she resisted the urge to turn and kiss Jake.

Amazing that she now felt as if she could do so anytime she wanted. Just amazing. How life could turn around!

Inside, Rosa’s famous hot chocolate awaited them, along with a heap of peanut-butter cookies fresh from the oven. Nora ate with more gusto than she had felt in forever.

“Cold air,” she announced, “is great for the appetite.”

“That and working outside in it.” Jake waved Rosa to join them.

She shook her head, smiling faintly. “Dinner is in the slow cooker. If you don’t mind, I’d like to go home. Some time with Al would be nice. Is he almost done?”

“We finished up. And more snow is on the way, so go, go, go. Thanks for everything.”

When Rosa had disappeared out through the mudroom, Jake’s eyes lit again on Nora. “I think she senses we might like some time alone.”

“Now where would she get that impression?”

“I feel like I’m wearing a sign. Don’t you?”

Nora flushed faintly. “Does it really show?”

Jake shrugged and grinned. “Who cares?”

Moments later they were racing up the stairs and giggling like schoolkids. What followed, though, was very grown-up.

* * *

It was late, snowing lightly and cold by the time Langdon reached the outer edges of Conard City. A mile outside of town he turned onto a quiet county road and found a place to pull over.

The pressure to get at Nora was almost overwhelming now, and he sat stiffly, drumming his fingers on the steering wheel, fighting it down. If he let the compulsion take charge before he found her, he might do something stupid.

On the other hand, he might get very smart. He’d been smart enough to get Nora the first time and smart enough to get his wife. All without being seen or detected.

The world changed as the compulsion took over. Colors brightened, and even the dark snowy world seemed almost to sparkle with the magic of the power that was growing in him. He’d know what to do, and he’d know instinctively. It had worked before.

The power thrummed through him, pulsing in every vein. There was nothing like the control over life and death. He’d failed so far to completely deal death, but he would correct that soon. Then the power would become complete, filling him with strength beyond compare.

He relished the thought, the anticipation, the knowledge that would soon be his. He no longer needed the excuses he’d manufactured to justify his first attack on Nora. Only the weak needed justification, and he was no longer weak.

In the next day or so, he would deal with Nora. Then, filled with refreshed energy, he’d be on his way to collect another life. Yes. He would become so strong that nothing could stop him.

He pulled out the map of Conard City he’d found online before leaving Minneapolis and his old, hampered existence behind. The Loftis address had been easy to locate because the idiot was in the phone book.

So he knew exactly where to start looking. Night would be best, he decided. No one would know if he took out the old man, too, but he wasn’t interested in that unless the guy stood between him and Nora.

The important thing was to learn where Nora was right now. Then he could plan and choose his own time. And using that badge he’d bought would be easier with less light to give him away. It resided now in a leather wallet that would make it look all the more official, and he had no intention of letting anyone look closely.

The Loftis house. If she answered the door, he’d snatch her right now. If her father answered, he’d cover.

It would work. He had no doubt whatsoever. One way or the other. The power filled him.

* * *

Jake stood at the living room window looking out over a world that sparkled with lightly falling snow. Every so often enough thin moonlight would break through to create a magical world that seemed alive somehow.

He felt replete. Complete. Satisfied. Nora had given him a sense of fulfillment beyond any he had ever known. It troubled him, because he was quite sure once they got that creep behind bars for good, she would want to return to the life she had made for herself, to all her friends. She sure as hell wouldn’t want to spend her days in the middle of nowhere, not after living in a nice city with a great job.

So he had opened himself up to loss. Well, he could live with it. What mattered was that Nora had what she wanted and needed. He didn’t want to make her unhappy. Quite the contrary.

Life dealt losses. They were inescapable.

He sighed and thought about making some coffee. At this hour that seemed crazy, but Nora had finally fallen into a deep sleep after hours of repeated lovemaking. He should have done the same, but instead he was wide-awake.

His gaze ceaselessly scanned what he could see of the world outside, and he realized he understood now what Nora had meant when she said she felt as if she were caught in a web and the spider was coming. He felt it, too, crazy as it sounded.

Not even lovemaking could relax him enough now to banish the feeling. Threat existed somewhere out there, threat to Nora, and he could feel it almost as if a tension whispered on the night air and crept inside him with nearly silent warnings.

Langdon was coming. Maybe even close. He could not sleep or rest now. His mind sorted through every possible way of protecting Nora, and he realized no protection could be perfect. How could it? One man. One woman.

Stapling himself to her side sounded good, but it was unrealistic. Sooner or later an opportunity would arise, and if that creep was around he would seize it. If he found Nora.

He had to remind himself that Loftis had been warned not to give away her whereabouts, but anyone in the county could talk loosely, unintentionally. Langdon might already know where she was, and this ranch was a big place. Even three sets of eyes could lose track of Nora just long enough.

Maybe he should never have taken her from her father’s house. Maybe she would be safer in town. But when he thought of how Fred had been treating her, his stomach churned with fury. No one should have to put up with that. No one should be subjected to the scene that man had caused right at Jake’s front door. Accusations of sin in front of other people. What kind of father did that?

God, the woman had suffered enough, and he had the most ridiculous urge to shelter her from everything. Wrap her in bubble wrap or something. Which would only hurt her more, but his protective instincts weren’t exactly rational. They just were.

His fists were clenching and unclenching, and for the first time in a long time he realized patience was about to kill him. He wanted this done with. He wanted Nora free of fear. He wanted that creep behind bars for the rest of his days. He wanted all that right this instant.

Instead, he had to stare out at a snowy night waiting and worrying.

And for the very first time in his life, he wanted to commit murder.

* * *

In the middle of the night, Fred Loftis answered the knocking at his door. It was quiet but persistent, and he figured Nora had finally seen the error of her ways and had come home to be a good girl. About damn time, too. He was envisioning his sermon on Sunday, when he would address how the fallen could be saved, indirectly using her as his example.

He didn’t put on his glasses, which meant everything closer than ten feet was pretty much a blur. Getting worse, too, thanks to cataracts he should have removed soon. Regardless, how much did he need to see at his own door?

It was all a fog, but he could see a man standing there, and despite cataracts and old eyes and dim light, he knew the flash of a badge when he saw one.

“Mr. Loftis, I’m Detective Fielding from the Minneapolis Police Department. I’ve come to speak to Nora Loftis.”

“She ain’t here no more,” Fred grumbled and started to close the door. A hand stopped it.

“Where did she go? I need to let her know that her attacker is back in jail. I also need to remind her of a court appointment.”

Loftis glared at him. “Boy, you go ’round knocking on doors at this hour, you’ll get yourself shot, badge or no badge, especially out at the ranches. You talk to her in the morning, hear?”

“The morning? I have to get back. A ranch, you said?”

“Dang Jake Madison has her out at his place. Like I said, you’ll get yourself shot, you go out there now.”

“I can’t stay. Will you just tell her for me?”

Fred started to close the door again. “I’ll tell her in the morning. The guy’s in jail. What court date?”

“I’m sure she remembers. Ask her to call if she doesn’t.”

Fred slammed the door. In an uncustomary action, he locked it.