Find Me If You Dare (The Chronicles of Elizabeth Marshall Book 2) (24 page)

                        Chapter Sixty
-Three

Las Cruces
International Airport was a small airport by most standards. It didn’t have commercial flights and I image we were only able to land there because of FBI clearance. This area had been in the news the last several years for the Spaceport America they were building here. It was an area full of fascinating sights and history.

Director Phillips and a local field agent were waiting for us as soon as we landed.
The director introduced us to Agent Ludlow. He was built like a line-backer with sandy-blonde hair and dark sunglasses. I immediately noticed a tight, guarded expression on the director’s face. My stomach clenched in anxiety.

“What is it?” I must have noticed it before the others. “What’s happened?”

His jaw tightened as he turned to walk towards the rented SUV waiting for us. He didn’t speak for several moments as we walked. I exchanged silent, worried looks with Madeline and Logan.

It wasn’t until we were in the vehicle and leaving the airport that Phillips took a deep breath and turned around from his position in the front passenger seat and spoke.

“When we received the call this morning from the local police department here that a Robert Marshall had called in on the tip line, we asked them immediately to do a welfare check and follow up.” He looked away for a moment, as though trying to get his anger under check.

He glanced out the window, probably not even seeing the scenery as it passed us by. Las Cruces was a sprawling desert town with homes and businesses patterned in adobe-style architecture, spreading out across the dry landscape with the backdrop of the majestic Organ Mountains in the distance. Palm trees lined the streets in some sections. It was picture-perfect Southwest America.

It took a moment before he could speak again.

“No one was home at his residence. They thought it was just a crank call and didn’t follow up.” He paused again. I noticed that we were already on the outskirts of the city. We were heading east on I-10 across the flat terrain. In the distance you could see the downtown area. From here, we could already see the flashing red and blue lights. A feeling of despair started to envelope me.

“Just an hour ago a call came into the 911 dispatch. A local couple had an appointment to see their tax accountant. When they reached his office, the door was locked and they could see blood inside so they called it in.”

The rest of the drive was a blur to me. The only thing I could focus on were those flashing lights up ahead as they drew closer. I felt a distinct sense of déjà vu. We pulled into a parking lot of a small strip mall. We could barely get in with all the police cars, ambulances and county vehicles blocking the way.

“What do we know so far?” Logan was in his detective mode. He gave my hand a quick squeeze as we stepped out of the SUV and into the chaos.

“The victim’s name of course is Robert Marshall. Married, two teenage daughters. His wife is an elementary school teacher locally. He had his own business, a small accounting office. We’re still researching, but from what we can tell, he had no
criminal record. He lived a quiet, normal life from what we can gather.”

There were several businesses along the strip mall. There was a sandwich shop, a dentist’s office
, a real estate office and a coffee franchise. The crime had happened so recently the local news stations were only just now arriving.

“We’re interviewing the people in the other businesses here it see if anyone saw anything.” We followed Phillips as he nodded to a local county sheriff’s deputy and ducked under the crime scene tape that was already draped across the area.

The director paused for a minute before we went any further. A haunted expression came over his face.

“We were so close.” In the relatively short amount of time I had known Director Phillips, I had accepted the fact that he rarely showed emotion. He was having a hard time controlling it now. He was furious. “If they had just followed through. If they had
thought to check Robert Marshall’s place of employment, not just stop when they didn’t find him at home, they might have got here in time. They might have saved him.”

He clamped his jaw tight in an effort to control his anger. It took a moment for him to calm down and continue towards the crime scene.

The front of the office was a wall almost entirely of glass. The title “Speedy Tax Service” was painted on the glass door with the name Robert Marshall in smaller print and a phone number underneath. Looking through the window you could see a small receptionist’s desk with palm planters on each side of it. The entranceway floor was covered in a sand-colored tile. Small splotches of red could be seen across the floor, leading back to a bigger office area.

For some reason, my feet felt planted to the sidewalk outside the office. I couldn’t move. Logan and Madeline were already accepting latex gloves and shoe protectors before entering the crime scene when they noticed I wasn’t budging.

“Caitlyn,” Logan’s face was a mask of concern. I must have looked pale and drawn. That was how I felt anyway. “Maybe you shouldn’t come inside. This is a fresh crime scene. I don’t know what we’ll see inside.”

“He’s right.” Madeline came to my defense too. “Let us go in and check first.”

Logan gave me a reassuring look then walked into the office. Madeline had just finished covering her feet and was straightening up when I grabbed onto her arm. She looked up at me in surprise. I held tightly to her arm as though it was a lifeline. She gave me a strange look but didn’t say anything.

I turned and looked behind us at the parking lot and the SUV we had just driven here in.  People from the other businesses were peeking out their windows or standing along the sidewalk in curiosity. One n
ews van followed by another was pulling up, reporters were jumping out, looking for the best place to shoot a news story.

The strip mall was along one of the major roads in the city. People driving by were slowing down to look at what all the emergency vehicles were here for. Small crowds were even gathering in front of the other businesses across the street.

I looked around at all the curious people, average, everyday people that had just had a violent crime thrust into their lives unexpectedly.

Suddenly, a chill went down my spine and I could have sworn I felt the temperature drop in the dry desert heat.  It almost felt as though a ghost had walked past me. 

I still had Madeline in a vice-like grip. My connection with her kept me on my feet, kept my knees from buckling. My voice came out in a low, breathy whisper.

“Madeline, I think she’s still here. I can feel it. She’s here somewhere, watching us.”

      
               Chapter Sixty-Four

She was here somewhere. I could feel it to my very bones. There was a tangible presence. I couldn’t ignore it.

“Are you certain?” Madeline asked in a low voice.

“She’s stayed at other crime scenes. She was there the day I found the letters her mother left, telling us what she was. She was there after she killed Lewis.” My eyes searched the area around us, looking for anything out of the ordinary. “I think she enjoys seeing my reaction to what she’s done. One of the family members, maybe Sophie, likes to stick around and see people’s reactions.”

Madeline was scanning the crowd too, hoping to see any sign of Elizabeth.

“Get Logan and the director,” I quietly requested. “Be careful. Keep it subtle. We don’t want her to know we think she’s here. We don’t want to spook her.”

She gave a brief nod of her head and disappeared inside the office.

I scanned the face of every law enforcement official, every paramedic, every member of the forensic team, looking for any familiar feature. I looked at the businesses along the strip mall, trying not to be too obvious that I was searching for a certain face in their windows and doorways.

I felt the presence of Phillips and Logan before I saw them. They were good, well trained. They approached me very casually, showing no indication that we might be so close to the suspect we were pursuing. Their stance and posture were as laid-back as if they were asking me about the weather.

“Have you seen her yet?” Phillips asked me as he, too, subtly examined the faces of those curiously watching the scene.

“No,” I replied, trying not to seem too interested in the crowd, “but I know she’s here.”

“We’ll alert all the local authorities, spread out. We’ll stop and interview everyone within a mile radius of this place.” The determination in his voice was strong.

“No,” I tried not to let the panic show in my voice. “You might scare her away.”

I took a deep, calming breath. I knew what I had to do.

“Use me as bait.”

“What?!” Logan was now struggling to remain casual. I gave him a brief glance to see his blue-gray eyes flaring at me.

“Use me as bait to draw her out.” My voice was set now, determined. “This has been between the two of us all along. I think that’s why she’s stayed at some of the scenes. She wants to see my reaction. Well, let’s give it to her.”

“We can’t…” Logan started to immediately object but Phillips put a restraining hand on his arm.

“We’re all armed,” his voice was low, steely, “Caitlyn is surrounded by law enforcement officials. She’ll be safe. We’ll keep her safe.” His faith and trust in me was daunting.

Logan wasn’t going to easily agree to this.

“This is insane.” He objected. “Don’t you remember, Elizabeth hit you on the head and kn
ocked you out up in Washington?”

“I was alone. We didn’t know she was there.” He wasn’t going to change my mind at this point. “We’re wasting time. She could leave the area at any moment. The three of you just go inside and act like you’re examining a crime scene. I’m walking across the parking lot to hear what those news reporters are saying.”

“We’ll be watching from inside,” Madeline was agreeing to the plan, but I could tell she was reluctant.

“We have a few local bureau agents here. I’ll send them out to help keep the area secure and tell them to keep an eye on you. I’ll have a few of the local officials do the same too.” The director must have been feeling the pressure of capturing Elizabeth and getting her into custody for him to agree to my idea so quickly.

He gave me a direct look, a glint of respect in his eyes, then nodded
his head towards the other two to go back into the small office and the fresh crime scene.

It took a moment to make sure my knees weren’t shaking and to have the confidence to walk on sure feet. 

I looked around the parking lot and outside the yellow police tape, trying to take it all in. There were three news crews here now. Throughout the crowd of curious observers I saw a wave of cell phones and even a few cameras and tablets. Everyone had a camera of some sort these days.

Well, at least if anything happened, it would be well documented.

I spotted the nearest news crew and headed in their direction. I was certainly out in the open now. I felt totally exposed, naked and unarmed.

As I walked across the hot, baked pavement, one crazy thought ran through my head: This had to be the all-time most stupid idea I’ve had in my entire life.