Killer Moves (28 page)

The news hit the airways early the following morning. Public outcry demanded another investigation be launched immediately as to why the Bureau had not been able to find out the true identity of one of its own. There would be hell to pay by many, including Ed.

But Kara couldn’t find justice in any of this.

Agent Griffin escorted Kara, Maggie and Ava from Maine to DC where they met Davis’s father at the airport.

This was the first time Kara had actually seen the man, but she recognized him right away. He was an older version of Davis.

As they drove to the funeral home where an intimate memorial service had been organized to honor Davis, Kara was almost grateful she hadn’t been the one to prepare the service. Saying goodbye to someone she still felt connected to was all but impossible.

“How are you holding up?” she asked Davis’s father.

He shook his head. “Not good. I still can’t believe he’s gone.”

Kara understood all too well. She still refused to believe he was gone. She’d go through the sham of a memorial service without making a fuss, but she’d move heaven and earth to find out the truth. “I know. I still feel him. I shouldn’t feel him like this, should I?”

To that, Davis’s father had no answer. “What will you and Ava do now?”

Considering a future seemed impossible. She wanted to confront Ed. Demand answers. She couldn’t. Not yet. “Go back to El Paso, I guess. You’ll come see us?”

He smiled and clasped her hand. “I’d like that. Now that I know I have a granddaughter, I don’t want to let her go. I see so much of Davis in this little girl.”

Kara did as well. “You can come see us anytime you want. We’d both like to get to know you better.”

The ceremony, though brief, was still next to impossible to get through. Dozens of coworkers and friends were there to pay their respects to a man who had touched so many people. Kara wondered if he knew how many lives he’d touched.

When the service was over, and Kara and Davis’s father made plans for an upcoming visit, she just wanted to put the whole thing behind her once and for all and return to her sanctuary in El Paso.

Once more, Agent Griffin escorted them on their flight from DC to El Paso where Maggie would be staying with them for a while.

They’d picked up Buster on the way to the house. Agent Griffin dropped their bags on the front porch of Kara’s house. Kara could tell there were many things he wanted to say to her. She couldn’t listen to them yet.

“Kara, jeez, I don’t even know how to begin to say I’m sorry.”

This was the first time he’d referred to her by her given name. She gave Sean a weak smile then turned to Maggie. “Gran, why don’t you take Ava inside? I’ll be there in a minute.”

She waited until they were out of sight before answering. “It’s okay.”

“I should have seen something out of place. I mean, I was with the guy for months…”

“You couldn’t have seen it, Sean, because he didn’t want you to see it. There was nothing you could have done.”

He laughed bitterly before adding, “That doesn’t help though, does it. And it sure as hell doesn’t change anything.”

“No, I guess you’re right. But you can’t blame yourself for this. There was nothing you could do to change what happened.”

“Yeah? Then why do you blame yourself?”

Kara couldn’t answer him. Couldn’t tell him that she was the closest to the Angel of any of them. She should have uncovered his identity before anyone. From around the corner of the house, Buster had finished his exploration and had come to see what they were doing.

When he spotted Sean he stopped in midbound and let out a low growl.

“That dog hates me. I thought he was going to take my hand off on the ride over,” Sean said in an attempt to make light of Buster’s reaction. But Kara could tell he wasn’t nearly as brave as he wanted her to believe.

“He’s just protective of us.” Kara turned to Buster. “Buster…friend. Sean is our friend.”

Buster crept slowly over and sniffed Sean’s hand, finally accepting his presence.

“You won’t have to worry about him anymore. He’ll remember you,” she told Sean. “What will you do now?” She’d sensed that Sean was at a crossroads in his life.

“I don’t know. Maybe I’ll go back to law school. I always wanted to be a lawyer.”

“You’d make a great director someday. Don’t make any rash decisions. Give yourself time.”

He studied her thoughtfully for a moment. “I will. If it’s okay with you, I’d like to stop by from time to time to check on you and Ava.”

Kara nodded after a moment. Sean was a good man. “We’d like that.” She leaned close and kissed his cheek. “Take care of yourself, Sean.”

She waited until he was out of sight before going inside the house that had once been her refuge. The place looked the same as when she’d left it and yet she could see Davis there everywhere. She wasn’t sure what she was supposed to feel.

Once Ava was sleeping peacefully in her mother’s bed, Kara asked her grandmother to take Ava back to Austin for a few days.

“It will do her good to be on the ranch with you, Gran. And I need to get over this. I’m no good to Ava this way.”

“Kara, come with us. You don’t need to be here by yourself.”

“I can’t. I know you’re worried about me but don’t be. I just need to get myself together. I can’t seem to let him go. I know they tell me he’s dead and yet I still feel him with me.”

“Kara, don’t do this to yourself. You’re only getting your hopes up. He’s gone, honey.” Of course, Maggie would know what her granddaughter had planned.

For someone with the gift, trying to reach out to the dead could have dangerous results. You never knew who might be out there reaching out to you. Would she find Davis or someone far worse than the Death Angel?

“Gran, I know—at least, in my head I understand, but in my heart, I can’t let him go. I have to do this.”

“All right. You must do what you feel is right in your heart. But you’ll call me? The second it’s over, you’ll call?”

“Of course,” she promised.

Ava didn’t want to leave her mother but she did. Kara assured her daughter she would join her at the ranch in a little while and they would go somewhere fun for a few days. They both could use a little fun in their lives. While Ava was afraid of losing her mother again, Kara believed she understood what she was doing.

After they were gone, the place grew quiet with just her and Buster. They went for their usual run, but that day Kara pushed further. She stopped by the boutique for a little while to talk to Justine, who seemed happy to have life almost back to its normal boring pace for once.

“I still can’t believe all those things that happened were real. God, Kara, I had no idea you had such a gift.”

“I’m sorry I got you involved in this thing. I wouldn’t wish that type of nightmare on anyone.”

“Are you sure you’re going to be all right out there by yourself?” she asked when she spotted the sadness that seemed to cling to Kara lately. “I could stay with you for a while?”

“No. No, I’ll be okay. I probably won’t come into the shop for a while, so you’re still in charge. Call me if you need anything, okay?”

By the time Kara returned home, the desert surrounding her had grown dark. She and Buster went outside to the porch. Kara sat in her favorite chair, rocking. In the distance, the coyotes howled.

She wasn’t sure how long she’d sat with her eyes closed before the world around her grew unearthly quiet and Buster began to freak at the silence. He sensed something close as he crouched nearby and growled in a low, throaty tone that warned her something was near that Buster didn’t understand.

And then she heard it—the sound of footsteps against the creaky boards of her porch. It sent Buster rushing out into the night in fear. But Kara remained calm.

“Kara.” Davis stepped from the shadows into the single light from the stark yellow bulb.

“What took you so damn long?” she asked quietly and heard him laugh. The sound of it fulfilled all of her longings.

“I couldn’t come sooner. I had something to take care of first. I needed to fulfill a promise I made to a young girl to clear her brother’s name. I couldn’t let the Bureau leave those murders at Frankie’s door. And I had to see my father. Let him know how much I appreciated him not giving away the truth about my assumed death. It had to be hard for him. He’s grown fond of Ava and of you. Keeping the truth from you both was almost impossible.”

“He knew? I would never have guessed. He didn’t give anything away,” she told him quietly, and understood his commitment.

“Yeah, he said it was the hardest thing he’s ever had to do. Where are Ava and Maggie?”

“In Austin. I sent Ava home with Gran today. She needed…I needed… Well I’m not sure what I needed. I just couldn’t accept that you were gone. I still felt you close.”

“I know, love. We’ll go get her tomorrow. Tonight should be for us. I’m sorry. I know you were hurting. But I couldn’t risk Ryan realizing he’d been set up. He was so close to you, Kara, reading your thoughts at all times. I couldn’t risk him finding out I was still alive until I found him. Even though I should have realized you wouldn’t accept it. In the end, Ryan chose the coward’s way out. He proved to be weak. Nothing more than a killer.”

“Yes, I know that now. I saw his death.”

“You did? I guess I should have known.”

Kara nodded. “Is it over?” she asked quietly, not yet looking at him. Buster came reluctantly back to the porch, tail tucked between his legs. He sniffed Davis’s hand once then settled back into his spot next to Kara’s feet, apparently satisfied Davis was not the enemy. “Is it really over this time, Davis?”

“Yes. It’s over and finished. I’ve finished it. It will never come back to haunt us again. And I’m finished. I’ve left the Bureau. We can be together now, Kara.”

“You promise? I won’t get Ava’s hopes up, Davis. She can’t lose you again. I can’t lose you to the job again.”

“There isn’t any job anymore. I’m done with it.”

“And the investigation?”

“I’m not part of that. But there will be lots of people looking for new jobs soon, including Ed.”

“Good. The Bureau needs to do some housecleaning. You won’t go back, will you? You know they’ll come after you for Ed’s position. They’d be crazy not to.”

“They already offered it to me. I turned them down. I told them no way. I’m finished with it.”

“So what are you going to do to fill your days?” she asked, finally believing him. Kara got slowly to her feet and went into his open arms. He answered her with a kiss.

“I’m going to be the father Ava needs me to be. I’m going to be the husband you deserve. I’m just going to be there for the people I should have been there for years ago.”

“You’re not going to miss the excitement?” She smiled against his chest. “The thrill of the game?” Kara understood how powerful and exciting the chase could be.

“The only excitement I need is what I find here with you,” he added, and then lifted her into his arms and carried her to bed.

“What went wrong, Davis? Why didn’t we know Ryan was the Angel all along?” she asked him quietly after he’d loved her and convinced her throughout the long night that he meant all those things he’d promised her about the future.

“God, I wish I knew.” He kissed her temple then held her closer. The thought of Ryan still held the power to unnerve him. The enemy had been so close and yet he hadn’t seen the warning signs that were clearly there, looking back at them now.

“I did some checking on his background before coming here. I had to know. Turns out the people I believed were Ryan’s parents were actually his adopted family. He was a juvenile so his records were sealed, but there were the usual signs of violence from the beginning. Pets mutilated. Acts of cruelty toward other children. And get this. His adopted parents told me Ryan’s biological father murdered his mother. I saw the photos of the crime scene. It was identical to the Angel MO right down to the use of Hermès scarves and lilacs. And the Bible quote. I guess Ryan wasn’t the original Angel after all. The police suspected his father might be responsible for more deaths, although he took his own life after he killed Ryan’s mother, so they’ll never know. Ryan was copying his father’s work. And another thing. Ryan had an IQ off the charts. Far greater than what we thought Frankie Shepard possessed. And there’s more.” He waited while she sat up in bed and wrapped the sheet around her body. “Turns out he framed Alec Harrison.”

“He wasn’t involved in any of this, was he?” Kara had guessed the truth.

“No. He taught at the academy recently but he wasn’t there during the time Frankie attended. And the missing instructor—James Young—well, Ryan lied about him as well. We were able to track him down easily enough. He still lives in the DC area. He wasn’t involved. As it turns out, Ryan filled in for one of the instructors at the academy around the time Frankie was there. Rocky would have remembered that. I think that’s one of the reasons Ryan killed him. Ryan was probably the one who forged Frankie’s IQ test as well. Unfortunately, we may never know what exactly triggered the killer in him or why he did these things. We found out the scarves were never accounted for when Ryan took them to the evidence storage facility last year. We managed to track where he purchased the lilacs online for each of murders. Get this, he used his father’s name.”