Seeking Evil (Looking Into The Mind Of A Killer Series) (3 page)

And
Anna
was afraid.
Would there ever come a time when she wouldn't be fearful?

“
Sure. Why don
’
t we pick up
Gemma
first? She
’
ll never forgive us if we walk the beach without her.
”

Gemma
was t
he little
Pug
-nosed
dog
who'd
been Anna's best friend since
before
Aaron's death. Anna and
Gemma
w
ere still finding
their
place in this post-Aaron world.

“
Sure.
Gemma
’
s a doll. I
’
d like to kidnap her along with you and bring both of you home with me.
”

Gemma
’
s enthusiasm was easy to catch. For a time,
Anna and
Bev were happy to laugh as
Gemma
entertained
them
with her antics. Charging the tide as it rushed out then retreating to the safety of
their
legs when it came crashing back against the sandy shoreline, threatening to soak her pristine coat.

Anna
searched for something to keep from discussing
her fears
.
“
How
’
s Ed
’
s work? Is he still planning on retiring at the end of next year?
”

“
Um huh.
”
Bev had grown unusually quiet.

“
I
’
ll just check the mail. I
won't
be a moment.
”

Bev nodded and took
Gemma
up the walk to the front porch while
Anna
walked to mailbox close by,
exactly twenty-six steps from the
house
, all the while checking
her
surroundings. A habit from
her
past
she
couldn
’
t shake.
She
gathered the mail
,
not sparing a
second
to glance through it
, a
nd then
she hurried toward Bev
,
her
pulse reaching its usual frantic pace.

Tonight,
unlike the night before,
there
were no mysterious cars
parked in front of the Miller
’
s house. Just a gorgeous ending to a perfect day.

If Bev noticed the slew of locks decorating both doors, she didn
’
t acknowledge them.
Anna
piled the mail on top of the stack that had been accumulating for days. Something red slipped from the mound to the floor at
her
feet. Bev
reached for it
and
handed
the note
to
Anna
.

Anna
’s
full attention was on the note. Her
maiden name
had been
printed in childlike blocked letters across the front of the folded page.
She’d seen this type of note before. Dear God, it had started again.

She opened the letter and read the familiar words.

Beloved, now that I’ve found you again. I will never let you go. You will be with me soon. And always.

The paper slipped from
her
fingers to the floor. This time Bev didn
’
t bother to retrieve it.
“
Anna? What is it?
”

Words weren
’
t possible.
Anna
couldn
’
t speak of the terror. Couldn
’
t breathe it to life. Slowly, just as the lifeless paper had slipped to
her
feet,
she
slid to the floor and into the open arms of the welcomed darkness waiting to embrace
her
.

Chapter
T
wo

She loved the park.
She'd met her love
here
only a few week
s
earlier. And each day that she returned she
sought
him
out
and longed for a normal life. Today, she'd waited
for
hours but he never
came
. Had he deserted her? Or had the monster found out about the two of them.    

She sat
on th
e
isolated bench, the sun warming her bruised skin, it made the horror of the night before seem not so bad.

He’d been angry with her. In his eyes, the list of her transgressions was endless.

She’d forgotten
to
bake the bread
the way his mother prepared it. No, that wasn’t the truth. She’d lost track of the time, snuggled in her quiet corner, she let her mind drift to happier days while her body healed. She’d lost time. She’d rushed to prepare the evening meal, but there wa
sn’t
enough time for the bread.

She could still see the monster
as it
emerge
d
within him. More and more lately, the monster was in control. She knew soon, the man that she married would disappear forever, leaving only the monster in his place. And then what?

Each time, after he beat her, he’d beg for her forgiveness and she’d give it to him. He’d fallen asleep with her clutched tight against his chest as if fearing she might escape. When he left for work, she’d sli
p
p
ed
away and c
a
me to this little park bench to contemplate the future.

Did she dare follow through with her plan?
She longed for her lover. P
rayed for guidance. What she considered went against everything her parents taught her. Would they forgive her? Would God? The only answer was the rustling trees, the passing day, and the reassurance that time was quickly running out.

* * * * *

As hard as he tried,
John
couldn
’
t imagine
Anna
– his Anna
living here, in this sleepy coastal town.

The small
,
white Cape Cod
cottage
would have been forgettable if it weren
’
t for its pastel
-
yellow shutters, white picket fence
,
and overfed lawn. Of cours
e, the emerald green water
back-
dro
p
ped
behind the house didn
’
t hurt much either.

Rick twisted in his seat to get a better vantage. He
was
about as surprised as
John
.

John acknowledged the look with a grin.
“
Yeah, I know. I wouldn
’
t have put her here
either
.
”

Rick barely accredited his explanation with a grunt. They exited the car at the same time as if choreographed. John took the time, taking in his surroundings he told himself. He was stalling. Putting off that ugly
"
first
scene
"
he knew was coming. That Anna hadn
’
t okayed his coming was just a gut feeling
he’d gotten when he’d received the frantic call
last night
from her sister asking for
his
help
.
But it was
one
he didn
’
t doubt for a second.

Rick picked up on John
’
s qualms.
“
You s
u
re you
’
re up to this? I can take the lead if you
’
d like.
”

Rick had plenty of time to pick up on John’s nervousness during the eight hour trip from D.C. to Pensacola Beach they’d made at breakneck speed.

John was spared the need to answer when both his and Rick
’
s voicemail alarms chirped in unison. John grabbed his phone and checked the call
-
in number. He recognized it right way.

“
You want me to call him back?
”
Rick asked.

“
No, I
’
ll do it. You need to stay out of this as much as possible.
”

“
What about…
”
Rick motioned toward Anna
’
s house.

“
You go ahead. I
’
ll be there as soon as I take care of this.
”
John stepped from the porch and covered enough sidewalk space to keep the nasty conversation he knew would be coming once the AD learned of the latest murder from any curious onlookers.

“
Assistant Director Warren
’
s office.
”

“
Melinda, its John. I
’
m returning the AD
’
s call.
”

Only a moment passed before the AD
’
s executive assistant voiced her relief.
“
Oh thank goodness, John. He
’
s been screaming for you and Rick for hours. Where are you anyway?
”

John cleared his throat.
“
Never mind. You
’
d better let me explain.
”
She didn
’
t answer but the next voice on the line was Mark Warren
’
s.

“
You want to explain to me why I
’
m learning we have a second victim
coming close to
fitting the RCK
’
s MO from the
Post
, Agent Delaney?
”

Dammit. He should have
know
n,
hell he did know
t
he
Post’s
bloodhounds would be all over this. He
hoped
he had
more
time.
“
Mark, I didn
’
t want to bring this to you until we were certain.
”

“
According to
t
he
Post
, there
’
s little doubt. I want you and Garner in here now. I want this thing contained before we have an all
-
out panic on our hands.
”

John wasn
’
t sure how to explain to the AD that he and his partner were hours away from obeying that command.
“
I
’
m afraid we can
’
t do that, Mark—
”

“
Why the hell not?
”
The reputed explosive anger of the AD became clear in each of
his
over-enunciated words.

“
Because we
’
re following up on a lead.
”

“
What sort of lead?
”
While the AD was still furious that he
’
d been shown up in the press, he was also curious.

Until he knew how cooperative Anna would be, John decided the best way to handle the AD
’
s questions was to avoid more of them.
“
I
’
m not sure yet if it
’
s legit, but it
’
s the best we have.
”

The very loud and very annoyed hurrumph on the other end left John with little doubt what the AD
’
s reaction to this piece of information was.
“
You have
twenty-four hours
, Agent Delaney, to bring me something useful, otherwise you
’
re off the case along with your partner. And you
’
ll be lucky not to be facing a review board.
”