Common Enemy (19 page)

“Long enough.”

“You heard everything too then?”

“Yep.”

“I’m sorry you had to hear that. I guess it brought back some unwanted memories for you.”

“I’m sorry you had to hear it too,” John replied. “If anyone knows how bad it hurts when someone you love has been treated that way, it’s me. Beth would have been twenty years old this year. It’s hard to believe she’s been gone four years now. I think, if she’d survived her attacker, I’d just concentrate on making sure she was happy and letting her know how much I loved her. Nothing else matters as much as that.”

“I know you’re right John, but I have one other thing to do first. I have to make her safe. That won’t happen until Butler is history. We’ve got a lot of people looking now, and enough evidence to put him on death row. I think it’s about time for you to get back home. You have a family waiting for you.”

“I was hoping you’d be coming back too, after all this was over. Now I see that you’ve made a home here. I’m happy for you, Connor. If anybody deserves it, it’s you. I hope you’ll both be as content as Laura and I have been.

“Even Josh is starting to straighten up. He took Beth’s death harder than we’d expected, but I think he’s finally coming to terms with it. He’s given up the black lipstick and eyeliner. Maybe some of that jewelry in his face will be gone by the time I get back.”

“Well, good luck with that, John, seriously. I sure appreciate all you’ve done for us. If you need anything, you just call. We’ll send a wedding invitation as soon as we can.”

“I’ll look forward to it.” John stood to shake Connor’s hand.

John walked to his car and drove away. He had been employed by the firm for twenty years, but more than that, he’d become a member of the family. They’d been through an awful lot in all that time. The only time Connor had come close to Tampa since the attack was to visit with John and his family. It was the day after their daughter had been buried near their home in Brandon. He remembered how it felt to see the whole family so devastated. He couldn’t let that happen here.

He watched Lizzy walk toward the house, holding Detective Shannon’s hand. He was glad the police had thought to send someone who could relate to a child in an unthreatening manner.

Lizzy’s little freckled face looked up at him smiling, auburn braids over each shoulder. He pictured Jordan, twenty-five years ago, looking exactly that way. The tension eased from his shoulders. “Why don’t you go upstairs and color a picture for your new friend, while the grown-ups talk for a while,” he suggested.

“Okay! I’ll make a picture of my room, and I’ll put you in it, too.”

“Did you find out anything?” Tucker asked, as soon as Lizzy’s bedroom door closed.

“Mostly what we expected,” Detective Shannon informed him. “His beard and hair are a little longer now. He pretended to work at the carnival. No clue as to his whereabouts, though.

“The kid was pretty specific. She has a great memory. She even told me what color his shoelaces were. There was only one thing that stood out. He was wearing an old Miami Dolphins baseball cap.”

“That’s not good,” Tucker replied.

“Why?” Connor asked. “You can pick up a Dolphins cap in a million places down here.”

“This one was old and frayed, like the one our missing camper was wearing when he was last seen,” Shannon said. “We’d better put out an APB on the missing truck. I’ve got a bad feeling it’s more than a coincidence Butler’s car was found in that area.”

Caleb arrived an hour later in a cab to prevent inconveniencing anyone. His head was wrapped in a large bandage. He went straight to his room with Connor close behind. “Help me get this thing off, Con. My head is sweating and it makes the stitches burn like hell. I need a shower.”

“You’re in a good mood. I don’t suppose they sent you home with any drugs. I’d kind of hate to have to knock you out again.”

“They didn’t let me sleep at all last night. Then, I had to get through a pile of paperwork to come home. In the meantime, the cops showed up and told me about what happened to Lizzy. The doctor gave me a prescription for Percocet. Those things make me nauseous. I can’t believe I was so stupid last night. She could have been taken right out from under my nose. I’m so sorry, Connor. It was my fault.” Caleb sat on the end of his bed and dropped his face into his hands.

“It wasn’t your fault, Cal.” Connor put his hand on his brother’s shoulder. “You’re going to find this hard to believe, but I was told last night that we aren’t super heroes.”

“Who says so?” Cal grinned.

“Jordan.”

“Then Jordan doesn’t hate my guts?” Caleb groaned.

“Not yet. She really hasn’t gotten to know you well, though. If you don’t get some sleep, we’re all going to hate you.” Connor turned around to leave.

“Hey Connor. I just have one question. When Jordan told you that you weren’t a super hero, you weren’t doing anything intimate, were you?”

“No, but when you hear her screaming,
take me Captain Amazing
, you should stand as far away from the door as possible. The sonic percussions may hurt your head.” He ducked as a pillow flew over his head.

Connor was still laughing when he turned to find Jordan standing a few feet away, arms crossed over her chest and toe tapping.

“It’s time to take out the garbage, Captain Amazing.”

Chapter Twenty-Two

In the wee hours of Saturday morning Connor was snuggled against Jordan’s warm, naked body. It took a few rings for the phone to wake him. “Hello,” he growled sleepily.

“Boss? It’s Ted. I’m sorry to wake you.”

“What’s up, man? Is Jenny in labor? Has the baby come? Did you get home in time?” Connor sat up and rubbed the sleep from his eyes.

“No, I’m still at the hotel. The baby isn’t due for six more weeks.”

“Why haven’t you gone home yet? I thought you were leaving yesterday.”

“So did I, but John talked me into waiting another day. Last night, at about eight, he had an idea. He took the rental car and said he’d be back in two hours. I’ve been trying his cell phone since eleven. It’s three o’clock now. I’m stranded in this stupid hotel room. I was really hoping you knew where he is.”

“He didn’t say where he was going?” Connor was more awake now.

“No, but he was wearing jeans and carrying his handgun. He’s been all wound up since he left your house yesterday.”

“Pack up and leave a message for him at the front desk. I have to get dressed before I pick you up. We’ll put on a pot of coffee and try to figure this out.”

Jordan was stirring as he hung up the phone. He heard an urgent tapping on the door. “Connor, open up,” Caleb insisted in a loud whisper.

Connor was off the bed and to the door in a few long strides.

Jordan grabbed the sheet higher as Caleb came in wearing only boxer shorts. He didn’t seem fazed at all that Connor stood before him totally naked. He walked right past him to grab Jordan’s robe and tossed it to her. “Get this on and go to Lizzy. Keep her in there. I don’t want either of you to leave her room until we come back to get you.”

Jordan pulled on the robe. Caleb’s face was tear-stained and he held his hand against the large bandage on the side of his head. Something terrible had happened. Connor pulled on a pair of shorts.

“What’s going on, Cal?”

Before Jordan could finish tying the belt on her robe, Caleb grabbed her by the arm and pulled her out of the bed.

“Get your hands off of her,” Connor growled.

“I’m sorry. We have to hurry. He might still be alive.” Caleb ran from the room and down the stairs.

Connor followed pushing the panic button on the alarm pad as he passed it. The police would be there within minutes. He didn’t bother taking the steps out the back door, but jumped over them. He stopped short seeing Caleb under the oak tree. His arms were wrapped around John’s legs in an attempt to hold him up.

“Help me get him down!” Caleb cried.

“Look at his face, Cal. He’s already gone,” Connor moaned as his own eyes filled with tears.

Ted arrived in a patrol car twenty minutes later. He answered Detective Tucker’s questions and was finally able to reach Connor and Caleb where they sat at the kitchen table with Jordan. Over a white speaker before them, he heard Lizzy’s soft breathing.

“You’re sharper than any cop out here,” Connor blurted. “Tell me what you saw out there.”

“You two don’t need to go running around like Rambo and Rocky. You need to let the cops handle this.”

“Cut the crap, Ted. What do you see?” Caleb insisted.

“Okay,” he said with a sigh. “You know when I got here the ground was still wet after a light rain from last night. The police cars were where they are now, no other tire tracks. No one has driven in from the front since yesterday. No one can get in from the back. Therefore, no vehicle was used. The heels of John’s shoes caught a lot of grass. He was dragged. He was unconscious or dead already. He’s too heavy to have been dragged far. While the grass was still wet, there was a path beaten down from that direction.” He pointed toward the northeast corner just yards from the oak tree. “The bushes are broken there. Butler’s not good at covering his tracks. He’s not used to this kind of terrain. If he’s still out there, he can be found. Now, who among these cops do I talk to? I’m playing this one by the book. It’s too important to do otherwise.”

“Okay, go get Detective Tucker,” Connor told him. “He’s the guy you were just talking to. He seems to be in charge.”

“You’re really going to turn this all over and sit back?” Caleb asked Connor.

“We’re lawyers. We’re not trained for this. But, we do know what happens if it’s not handled correctly.” Connors eyes panned the tree line through the window. “Besides that, we know he’s close. He could be watching us now. If we leave Jordan and Lizzy here alone, it would be a perfect opportunity for him to come after them.”

“How can you be so cool about this? When I got here I thought this guy was just a thug who robbed stores and beat women. He went way past that the day he got out of prison and killed the Pritchett woman.” Anger had replaced the look of grief on Caleb’s face.

“He was way past that, for me, before he even got out,” Connor whispered.

“Why do you say that?”

“He was one of the men in the parking garage that night. He was the one with the knife.”

Caleb sat in stunned silence for a moment. “How could you have kept something like that from me all this time?”

“I guess we all have our secrets, don’t we, brother?”

“He only found out when he saw a picture I have of Bobby Ray.” Jordan got up to refill their coffee mugs,

“It still would have been nice to know everything about who we’re dealing with,” Caleb groused.

Connor and Caleb were still glaring at each other when Ted returned with Detective Tucker.

“I had to call the old man,” Ted announced. “I wanted him to be the one to tell Laura. He’s on his way over there now. I imagine you’ll hear from him soon.”

“That’s just what I need right now,” Connor mumbled. “I’m already on his shit list.”

“We’ll all be expected to go back with John,” Caleb said. “It’s only right. He was here for us.”

“Your man is being taken in to the medical examiner,” Detective Tucker interrupted. “It shouldn’t take long. You’ll need to arrange transportation for him to be sent back to his family.” He looked toward the trees as he continued. “I’m waiting for the trackers to arrive. They should be here any minute. These two guys are the best in south Florida. I’ll keep everyone else back to follow them in. This will not be screwed up.”

“We’ll have to be out of town for a while,” Connor said. “John was a close family friend. We’ll have to pay our respects to his wife and son. Is that going to be a problem?”

“Actually, it will be a relief,” Tucker replied. “Maybe the rest of us can get a little sleep while you’re gone.”

It was seven o’clock when the last police car left. Only a chosen few had stayed behind to search the woods. Connor and Caleb stood on the front porch watching them go. Both men were barefoot and only wore jeans.

“How am I going to explain the yellow tape in the back yard to Lizzy?” Connor asked. “I’ll figure something out.” Jordan offered. “I’m more concerned about facing your family.”

“Wait until they get a look at your head.” Connor pointed to Caleb’s bandage.

“Oh, they’ve seen worse,” Caleb reminded him.

A few hours later, Jordan stood in the middle of the kitchen with her hands on her hips.

“What do you mean we have to stay with your parents? I’ll rent a hotel room.”

“Sure, the security in those places is always great. Why not just sleep on a park bench? And, you can be the one to explain to my mother that we don’t want to visit the family home.”

“But I don’t. Your father will eat me alive. Why can’t we stay with Caleb?”

“I guess he sold his house a while back. He’s living with our parents now.”

“That settles it then, they don’t have the room,” Jordan smiled.

“Are you kidding? After six years away, I’ll probably get lost in that place. It’s huge.”

Jordan narrowed her eyes at him. “I won’t do it.”

“Jordan, just listen to me for a minute. Can we really send John back without a word of comfort to his family after all he did for us?”

“No, of course not. We should be at the funeral.”

“Am I supposed to just wave to my mother from across the room, after six years of being away? I’ve missed her, Jordan.”

“No, you should see your mother. It’s your father I’m afraid of.” Jordan wrapped her arms around herself and shuddered.

Connor almost laughed at her dramatic gesture. “I know you’re not going to like this idea, but I’ve been thinking about having you and Lizzy spend some time there. It would be the safest place she could be and leave me free to help search this monster out. Not to mention, they’ll be your family soon too.”

“I have to come back. If I’m not here, Bobby Ray won’t have any reason to stick around. Then, there’s no telling where he’ll go. Besides that, what if your parents don’t like me? Your dad already has a good start on that.”

“If anybody can soften him up, you can. Look at what you’ve done for me. They’ll just be grateful you got me out of that van.” He gave her a little kiss on the forehead.