Lethal Affair (38 page)

Will snorted. “He didn't give her a
choice.”

“
If Miss Lambert would have
asked the officers on duty for help, she could have spared herself
this ordeal.”

“
And my kid might be dead
right now instead of on his way back to the mainland with his
mother!”

“
It could have gone any
number of ways. It's never a good idea to be cavalier when it comes
to...”

Kylie cut him off. “You think I was
being cavalier? I happen to care for Max. A lot. Even if it had
been a stranger I'd have done what I could to stop Drew. I know
what he did to Lillian and Gina, and I don't even want to know what
he did to those poor people who owned the cabin. He's got to be
stopped, so let's focus on that, shall we?”

Crane took a different tack.
“We've had a profiler look at Hammond. I hesitate to use the
term
serial killer
but it takes three kills to become one, and Hammond has
already passed the mark. Five victims to date that we know of, six
if you include your unborn fetus, as well as the attack on Rosemary
Meesler.”

He paused, letting them soak that
in.

“
The profiler feels that
Hammond's use of your pregnancy as a justification of his deeds is
a self-delusion. What he really wants is to succumb to his inner
calling. He has abandoned a conventional lifestyle and gone off the
grid.”

“
How will he survive?” asked
Will. “Is he going to keep killing other innocent people, just
taking what he needs to get by?”

“
He has funds, a sizable
amount from his bank accounts. It's enough to live on for quite
some time, especially if he supplements his finances with stolen
goods.”

“
Like boats, cars and
cabins?”

“
To mention a few. We
recovered the knife that was used on Rosemary Meesler at the cabin.
He seems to favor sharp weapons as other, more lethal instruments
were found. Torture devices. It's apparent that he likes to make
his victims suffer.”

Kylie blanched, overwhelmed by how
close she and Max had come to experiencing just that.

“
I want you to avoid the
press,” Crane instructed. “This is huge fodder for them. They'll
hound you, but let us decide what we want them to know and put into
print. If confronted just say, no comment.”

“
Believe me, I have no
desire to have my name or business linked to a killer,” supplied
Will. “Anything else we should know?” He looked at his watch. “The
diner's opening soon.”

“
Other than the fact that
this is a highly volatile case and that all and every precaution
must be taken, we're good for now. We have Miss Lambert's
statement. I'll keep you up to date.”

*

Olivia Hammond took a deep breath, then
determinedly knocked on the apartment door. The peephole darkened,
then the door was slung open with a flourish.

“
Mrs. Hammond! What a
surprise,” Kylie sputtered. It was nothing less than monumental
that she was here on her doorstep.

“
It's Olivia. Please don't
tell me you've reverted back to formalities. Of course I'd
understand, given the circumstances.”

“
Please, come in.” Kylie
ushered her into the living room, offered her tea, which she
accepted.

The apartment was small enough to
carry on a conversation without having to shout around corners.
While Kylie put the kettle on, Olivia commented, “This is nice. You
share with another woman? I did that back in my college days. Some
of the best days of my life as I recall.”

Kylie brought in a loaded tray.
“Sorry, no goodies. Have to go shopping soon.”

“
I imagine you've been
staying in, recuperating.” She watched as Kylie poured lemongrass
tea into her cup. And yearned for a supplement of brandy for one
quick, hard moment. The urge passed.

“
Why have you come?” asked
Kylie.

“
Detective Crane filled me
in. Kylie, I know the baby you were expecting was an accident, but
a woman grows attached to a child well before it's born. I won't
pretend to know how you're feeling about the loss, but I do want to
say how very sorry I am for... for Drew. For all the pain he has
caused you.”

Kylie went still. Olivia's sincerity
touched her. She couldn't begin to imagine what horrendous
emotional pain she must be feeling, knowing what her son had done,
had become.

“
You risked your own life
for that little boy,” Olivia went on. “Drew has become a monster,
and yet I still love him. I know now that he has needed help for
some time. Probably his whole life.”

“
What does Stanley
think?”

She sighed deeply. “He's seeing a
counselor. He tried to cover up for him you know, tried to lead the
police astray. Since this last debauchery Stanley has found new
meaning in the word humility. I know you went through hell in that
cabin. It must have been so frightening for you.”

“
Felt like a horror flick
with me in the starring role. Olivia, how are you handling
this?”

Olivia laughed dryly. “With a good
stiff drink, I'm afraid. Only I'm finding out that liquor doesn't
always soothe and it takes a whole lot of it to black out the
things I don't want to think about.”

“
There's AA.”

“
Yes, it may have come to
that. When I'm ready I'll look up a group, get a sponsor. But until
they find my son...”

“
It's a crutch that doesn't
keep you from falling.”

“
I didn't come here to talk
about my drinking,” she snapped defensively. “I only wanted to
say... to say...” Tears brimmed and fell. Olivia dug in her purse
and pulled out one of her monogrammed hankies. “I know I have a
problem. I'm just not ready to stop yet.” Quietly Olivia wept into
her hankie while Kylie looked on helplessly.

Dabbing at her eyes, Olivia was spent.
“Oh gosh. I seem to be doing a lot of that lately. I'm not even
sure who I'm crying for!”

“
Maybe for yourself, for all
that you've lost over the years. There's still time to change that,
Olivia. You just need to take the first step.”

“
Go to AA?”

“
Come and work at Valley
Farms.”

Olivia stared at her, then shook her
head. “I can't think about anything but Drew right now. I hope they
find him, put him where he belongs. An institution of some sort.
One with bars on the windows and good psychiatric
staff.”

“
Work can be a salve. It
takes you outside of yourself, forces you to cope, makes you
stronger. My boss has already cleared the way for you and it sounds
like Stanley might be more agreeable now.”

“
Yes, he just might be. On
that note, I'm off. I have to pick up Stanley at his counselor's
office.”

After Olivia had gone Kylie sat for a
long while staring at the hankie she'd left on the couch. She was
Drew's mother. How would she herself feel if her own child was a
stone cold killer?

Like the worst parent in the world,
that's how, riddled with guilt. It was eating away at Olivia, but
had she really done anything wrong? It was a question with no real
answer. Whether by way of avoidance or on purpose, Olivia had left
out the very real possibility that when the police found Drew, he
might not come back alive.

It was a very sobering
thought.

*

Taking her own advice, Kylie returned
to work. Margie got it. She knew that work would keep Kylie's mind
occupied.

A two manned police cruiser followed
her everywhere, her own personal body guards.

Superficially everyone kept their
cool, going about their business while surreptitiously looking over
their shoulders. Even Dino barked at his own shadow.

Days went by. Then two
weeks.

Kylie's visit with Dr. Barrymore gave
her a gold star in recovery. They discussed different birth control
methods and settled on an I.U.D., an intrauterine device that
required nothing of Kylie.

Already pretty stellar, Kylie and
Will's sex life became a haven into which they could both crawl and
forget about the outside world. Will had demonstrated his caliber
as a man, one who would go to the ends of the earth for the ones he
loved.

On Kylie's day off he took her to the
Esquimalt Lagoon in front of the Royal Roads University on the
Hatley Park Estate, located in the community of Colwood. A long
stretch of log strewn beach separated the lagoon from the ocean.
They hunkered down between two logs to get out of the late summer
breeze that swept across the Pacific waters. Soon autumn would be
upon them; too chilly for picnics.

Will had brought along a
Lyle-prepared-and-packed basket that included a bottle of chilled
Chardonnay to accompany the spiced lobster bisque poured from a
thermos, and calamari salad with pecans and sweet chili lime
dressing.

Draining her wine glass, Kylie let out
a long sigh. She put her feet up on a log and lay back on the
blanket, staring up at the horsetail clouds in the pale blue
sky.

“
How is Max coping?” she
asked Will.

He lay back with her, enjoying the
feel of the late August sun on his face. “Julia took him to a child
psychologist, some guy who specializes in emotional trauma. Told
her Max is a bright little man with the ability to understand adult
situations with uncanny insight. That last bit is a direct
quote.”

“
Sounds like he's doing
better than me. My own insight is a little clouded.”

“
We all want this to be
over,” Will told her, “but it might not ever be over. It's not hard
to disappear if you really want to. Hell, I think a good portion of
Mexico is populated by the most wanted. Not to mention South
America.”

“
People go to Mexico to get
plastic surgery. Knowing how vain he is, Drew's probably there
right now getting his face fixed.”

“
Yeah, or he could be the
next log over, spying on us. God, this is frustrating, this waiting
game. Why hasn't Crane found him yet?”

Kylie's expression was bemused. “Never
thought you'd see the day you'd be dating the object of a serial
killer's desire, did you?”

“
When this whole thing went
down with you and Max, I had an epiphany. I would have lifted
heaven and earth to find you because you've been part of me from
the moment I saw you standing on my patio looking like a forlorn
waif.”

She huffed. “Say what?”

“
You looked lost and
preoccupied. And gorgeous while you were doing it.” He lifted a
white gold strand of her hair. “The way you look is a definite turn
on and it was enough to fuel my wildest fantasies. Now as I've
gotten to know you, I see a woman with tremendous depth, someone I
know I can trust with two of my most precious assets, namely my
son, and my heart.”

Anticipation took hold. “You have no
idea how good it feels to hear those words.”

“
I have more. Words, that
is.”

“
I'm listening.”

He gazed out to sea, formulating his
thoughts. When he looked back at her he was ready to unburden
himself of something he'd been holding in check.

“
Kylie, I'm madly,
hopelessly, in love with you. I'm never going to let you go.” He
laughed suddenly as it struck him. “But only if you're okay with
that. I'm not going to stalk you if you tell me to fuck
off.”

Heart melting, she reached over and
stroked his face. “I asked Jolene, how do you know when you're in
love? She said you just know. Now I know what she meant. I love you
too, Will. It hit me hard when I was in the worst physical agony of
my life, forcing my legs to keep peddling that damn ten speed even
if it meant tearing every ligament in my knees. I knew what Max
meant to you, and in turn what you meant to me, and all I could
think of was seeing you again and bringing you back your greatest
treasure.” She paused, taking in his cache of emotions as they
played out over his face. “So, we're officially a
couple.”

He kissed her lightly, but then she
pulled him down between the logs into a full body embrace. She felt
his reaction immediately.

“
Are we going to get cited
for having sex in a public place?” he mumbled between kisses.
“Because if you keep this up, I'm going to have to have my way with
you right here, right now.”

Contentment rolled off of her in
droves. He loved her, a pure, clean love that had nothing to do
with control and everything to do with giving, receiving, being
there with a healthy respect for each other.

In the end they packed things up and
made it as far as Will's Jeep where it was parked in a deserted
copse of trees at the end of the beach. Anyone walking by might
have witnessed how the vehicle rocked and the windows steamed
up.

*

A week passed and Drew Hammond was no
longer the first thing on everyone's mind. Day to day life with its
routines and chores nudged aside the worry.

Crane kept vigil. He had his feelers
out both in the city and coordinating with R.C.M.P. field offices
up-island, while maintaining Kylie's police protection.