A Killer's Watch (2 page)

“It would have looked very much like this, four nights ago.
It was another cold, clear night when he dumped her.” Jeri stood for a moment
beside Ethan, gazing up at the stars.

“The moon would have been a little brighter, depending on
the time of night,” Ethan observed, turning to look at the crescent sliver of
white, hanging over the trees.

“I doubt that mattered to him. He could have parked, removed
the body, placed it off the road, and been on his way in less than five
minutes.” Jeri pulled her eyes from the sparkling sky to look down at the brown
grass, where the body was found. “There are a few farms along this road, but no
businesses. It leads to Parker, a town smaller than Clevestone, but locals are
the only ones who use it, since the interstate moved in.”

“So he knows the area,” Ethan followed Jeri’s footsteps.

“Yes, it’s likely.” Jeri circled the yellow perimeter,
searching for anything out of place.

“According to the report, the killer left no clues,
whatsoever. No footprints, no tire tracks, no fibers on the body.” Ethan knelt
down for a better look at the grass.

“Anson taught him well.” The contempt in Jeri’s voice was
unmistakable.

“I expected nothing less,” Ethan looked at her as he rose.
“Even though these are his first kills that we know of, this guy learned from
the best. He won’t make the same rookie mistakes that other new serials make.”

“I know, but he’s already made the mistake of letting us
know he has emotional ties to Clevestone,” Jeri suddenly seemed confident.

“Do we know that? It could just be that it’s more practical
for him to leave the bodies here. Emotion may have nothing to do with it.”

“Think about it. Let’s say he makes a date with both women
in Topeka. He kills them, somewhere between here and there, then drives to this
tiny town to dump the bodies. Granted, it’s only twenty minutes away, but
anything could happen during the drive out here. He could get a flat, get
rear-ended, get pulled over, anything. The killer takes a huge risk, coming
here with a dead woman in his trunk, not once, but twice.” Warming to her
topic, Jeri began to pace.

“You’ve got a point, but he could be killing them nearby, so
the drive is less risky.”

“True, but that just proves the point that he has ties to
Clevestone. He either lives here, or he wants the town’s attention.”

“I’d say he’s got it,” Ethan pointed out. “The most
notorious crime on the books in Clevestone, before these murders, is a break-in
at the local high school.”

“He may have their attention, but I doubt he touched their
hearts. People around here may think that these women got what they deserved,”
Jeri frowned. “Folks with small town values can be severely judgmental. If he
didn’t get the reaction he hoped for with these women, he may try something
different, next time.”

“What do you mean?” Ethan took her arm as they walked to the
car.

“I mean if he’s looking for shock value, then two dead prostitutes
from the city won’t do it, not for long, anyway. If he wants to make a serious
impact on Clevestone, then he’ll be more selective next time.”

“I suppose it also depends on whether or not he thinks he’s
had enough practice.  If your first theory holds, then the prostitutes were
trial runs.”

“I still think that, but time will tell.” Jeri closed her
eyes, waiting for Ethan to join her in the car. “Heaven help his true victims,”
she whispered, knowing that the worst was yet to come.

“We need to leave, Allison, or I’ll never make it home
before curfew,” Sandy spoke loudly so Allison could hear her over the music.

“Just a few more minutes, please,” Allison begged. “Trey
said that he was coming tonight, but I still haven’t seen him.”

“No, I have to go. If I’m not home by eleven, mom will
ground me for a month. Then I’ll miss prom. Come on, you can see Trey at school
tomorrow.”

“I don’t look like this at school,” Allison swept her hand
over her body. “I wanted him to see me here, tonight. You go ahead, I’ll stay a
while longer.”

“Are you sure? We should really walk out together, don’t you
think?” Sandy grabbed her purse, searching for her cell phone.

“We’ll be fine, the lot’s very well lit. But we can talk on
the phone, until you’re safe in your car, if you’re worried.”

“Who will you talk to, when you leave?” Sandy’s brow
wrinkled with concern.

“I’ll ask Trey to walk me to my car, so no worries. Go on,
you don’t want to be late,” Allison gave Sandy a quick hug, before picking up
her phone. “Call me.”

“Okay, don’t stay too late. Your mom will flip, just as much
as mine will.”

“My mom won’t know, Ashley’s got me covered. Seriously, go.”

“Okay, stay on the phone.” Sandy dialed Allison as she made
her way to the door.

An hour later, Allison felt deflated as she finally headed
out of the club. Trey had not shown up, after all, and no one else even
bothered to ask her to dance.

Bracing for the cold, she glanced at her phone as the door
closed behind her. Nearly eleven-thirty, she knew that she would make it home
by midnight. Even if her mom was home, she wouldn’t be too mad, especially
since Allison had remembered to bring a change of clothes. There was no reason
for her mother to know that she hadn’t been studying with Sandy.

A few smokers milled around the entrance, but no one hung
out in the parking lot. It was too cold to be outside. Noise from the club
receded as Allison walked the distance to her car.

Soon, the distinct click of heels on pavement was the only
sound Allison heard. Parking so far away from the building didn’t seem like a
problem, when she’d arrived. But now, walking it all alone, in the middle of
the night, the distance felt almost ominous.

“Stop that,” Allison chided herself, aloud. “You’re
perfectly safe, just keep walking.”

Hearing her own voice made Allison feel better, but only for
a moment. As she turned down the aisle where her car waited, she felt the hairs
on the back of her neck stand up, and a prickling sensation shoot along her
spine.

Darting her eyes all around, she saw nothing to account for
her body’s warning. Still, the sensation persisted, growing stronger as she
neared her vehicle.

“Get your keys,” she told herself, not stopping to dig
through her purse. Reaching her hand inside, she felt lipstick, tissues, her
wallet, everything but her keys.

Almost frantic now, for reasons she did not understand,
Allison stopped to look inside the bag, searching for the one thing that would
get her to safety.

“Thank God,” she breathed a sigh of relief as her hand
closed over the silver keychain. Looking up, she registered the man coming
toward her, as if out of nowhere, one hand raised, holding something white.

She couldn’t scream, couldn’t run. Terror choked her into
immobile silence for the few seconds it took him to reach her.

The last thing she knew was the pungent, sweet odor of
chloroform, covering her open mouth.

“Have you spoken with Jackson?” Monique asked Jeri over
breakfast. “Do you know how Jen is doing?”

“Yes, I called him this morning,” Jeri told her, drowning
waffles in syrup. “Jen is about the same, still in the hospital, of course. He
said that she had a good night.”

“That’s good to hear,” Chloe chimed in, bringing her cereal
bowl to the table. “Did you guys find anything last night?”

“No, nothing. But we didn’t expect to. Both sites looked the
same. Two-lane roads, leading from town to even more rural areas. No homes,
businesses, or lights around.”

“So, chances are good that he wasn’t seen dropping the
bodies,” Monique sipped coffee and toyed with a bagel.

“No one’s come forward yet,” Jeri told her, diving into the
sweet, buttery mess.

“Do you think he lives in Clevestone?” Chloe kept her voice
low, so nearby diners would not overhear.

“Hard to say at this point. His reasons for choosing
Clevestone as his dumping ground are up in the air, at the moment. The only
thing I’m sure about is that he has some kind of connection to the town.”

“What’s on the agenda for today?” Monique asked, eyeing
Jeri’s waffles.

“We pay a visit to the escort services where the two victims
were employed. Any information they can offer on the client, the transaction,
anything, will help.” Jeri looked up just as Ethan entered the hotel’s
breakfast room. “Beyond that, I can’t say, unless Dylan’s turned up something
else.”

“Morning, ladies,” Ethan greeted them, coffee in hand. “I
trust that you rested well.”

“Great, thanks,” Chloe and Monique answered in unison.

Dropping into the chair beside Jeri, Ethan reached for a
piece of toast Jeri had yet to eat.

“I just spoke with Dylan, there’s been a possible new
development. A teenager in Iowa went missing yesterday. It may have nothing to
do with our killer, but we should check into it, just the same.”

Confused, Chloe asked the question before anyone else could.

“What makes you think the two events are connected?
Teenagers go missing all the time, right? Is she a prostitute? What made you
connect the dots?”

“On the surface, nothing connects the two. But the town
where she lives, Appleton, is just over the border, less than an hour from
here, well within our killer’s comfort zone.”

“We believe that the prostitute murders were basically this
killer’s training ground. He’ll move on to his real targets soon, so we have to
be vigilant about any missing person in his target area,” Jeri explained.

“Jeri and I will take a ride to Iowa, you two find out what
you can from the escort services.” Ethan opened a small packet of jam, began
spreading it on the toast. “We’ll meet back here this afternoon, see what’s
what.”

~~~

Allison came to in a small, dank room. The smell of mildew
hit her nostrils before she came fully awake. Head pounding, she instinctively
tried to reach up with one hand, only to find that she couldn’t move.

Awareness dawned more clearly as her eyes flew open, only to
see the labyrinth of metal pipes, high above her head. The sound of water
dripping, somewhere behind her, echoed in the small, concrete space.

Panic set in as she tried to jerk her hands free, then her
feet, to no avail. She could feel the duct tape pull against her skin, each
time she tugged at the bonds.

The draft hit her then, cool air caressing her body, head to
toe.

I’m not wearing clothes
,
she realized, feeling the panic turn to stark fear. But something covered her
skin, something silky. Raising her head a little, she spotted some of the sheer
fabric draped over her.

Turning her head to one side, she searched the room for
anything familiar, for anything that would help her understand what was
happening.

She saw the camera then, its red light blinking in the
opposite corner, its lens trained on her.

Someone was watching, someone knew that she was awake.

Struggling frantically once again, she felt the metal bed
rails rub against the bones in her wrists and ankles. But the duct tape didn’t
move.

Forcing herself to be calm, she tried to remember what had
happened, how she’d gotten here.

She remembered walking to her car, at the club, remembered
searching for her car keys. Suddenly, she recalled the man coming toward her,
smelled the thick, sweet scent that invaded her very breath.

Then nothing.

Now, she was here, lying on what felt like a too-thin
mattress, in a room that reeked of mildew, stale water and something else,
something she couldn’t identify, but the smell stood out from the rest.

Perfume. Cheap perfume that got into your nose and wouldn’t
go away.

The more she turned her head to the side, the stronger the
smell became. It was on the mattress, cloyingly pungent, yet somehow
comforting. It meant that she wasn’t alone in this. Another woman, girl, had
been here before her. Maybe, was still here now.

The muffled scream that suddenly bled through the walls
confirmed her guess. Someone else
was
here, a female, from the sound of
the high-pitched cry.

Another scream, not as loud this time, filtered into the
confines of Allison’s chamber. This one ended with a strange gurgling noise, distinctive
enough to send chills along Allison’s spine.

Someone close by is dying
,
she thought with certainty.

Terror, cold and fierce, gripped her stomach like an iron
fist. With no thought for the consequences, Allison found her voice, sending
the shrill, piercing scream into the rancid air.

~~~

The man’s head jerked up in surprise at the sound of
Allison’s scream.

“How fortuitous,” he told the warm corpse of the girl on the
table. “You, my dear Shelby, were very disappointing, over all. Perhaps the
lovely Allison will have more stamina.”

Looking into the camera, filming his every move, he directed
his thoughts to his audience, both present and future.

“There you have it, gentlemen. A perfect example of why it’s
good to have one waiting in the wings, so to speak. Our Shelby did not perform
as hoped, but at least we learned something from her. And we did enjoy our time
together, short though it was.” Glancing down at the ravaged, bloody body of
the young woman who had dreamed of a life in film, Graham sighed, theatrically.
Leaning down to kiss her lips, one last time, before stepping back, he picked
up the remote, covered in plastic.

“Refer to the previous episode on clean-up, and removal. For
those of you watching live, we’ll reconvene tomorrow morning at ten, for our
date with the ever-enticing, Allison.” With a nod, he clicked off the camera.