Plain Jane (16 page)

“Nic.”

His former lover turned back. Still sad, but a glint of hope. “Yes?”

“Have we discussed the skewed gender modeling of Veronica and Brutus?”

“No.” A look passed across Nicole’s face that he hadn’t seen in four years. “No, we haven’t.”

So much had happened between them, some of it painful, yet somehow Nicole’s expression had exactly the same amount of embarrassment and excitement as she did the first time he asked if she wanted help. Equally surprising was how good it felt to see that look on her face and have her sit back down next to him.

Letting that warmth reach his voice, Kent said, “Well, you obviously need some tutoring, then.”

Kent pointed out several subtle social cues on the cover and was rewarded by Nicole leaning her shoulder against his. The gesture didn’t wash away years of problems, but the profiler no longer felt cold.

CHAPTER 59

Ruben looked down the empty street, then at his watch, then at his cell phone, then back down the street. Nicole had been gone over an hour and a half. No one had heard from her.

If this were a few months ago, he would have been worried and called. No, that wasn’t true. A few months ago, he wouldn’t have needed to call because his partner never would have gotten out of the car.

Each and every time he thought Nicole had finally, finally, finally caught a glimpse of what an asshole Harbinger was, some invisible bell would ring and like Pavlov’s dogs, she would go running back to him.

What kind of hold did the profiler have over her? How much better in bed
could
Kent be?

Frustrated, Ruben rubbed his eyes. It was getting late, and so far this intensive surveillance had come up with squat. After hours of twisting Glick’s arm to throw his support and manpower behind his plan, it looked like they were going to leave empty-handed. Most of the attacks had taken place between eleven p.m. and two a.m. They were an hour outside that window.

The grand sum of their accomplishments this evening was having pulled over a guy in a Malibu and finding out he had an outstanding warrant for unpaid child support.

So while Ruben had gotten a deadbeat dad off the street, there was no sign of Plain Jane.

“Did you see that guy?” the squad’s resident techno-geek, Cody, asked into Ruben’s earpiece.

Startled, he sat up straight. He’d nearly forgotten the radio in his ear. “No. Where?”

“Ten o’clock. In a trench coat, if you can believe it.”

Ruben scanned the street quickly. Cody was right. A man, trying awfully hard to look casual, despite wearing a floor-length trench coat and baseball cap, walked down the street toward Nancy’s house.

Using the binoculars, Torres confirmed it was an Orioles cap. Quickly he looked down at the store video stills. Baltimore it was.

Adrenaline flowed through his veins. This was it. This was he. As he grabbed the radio, his finger shook just the slightest bit. Besides catching a serial killer, for a single night Ruben might actually be able to eclipse Kent.

“Blue and yellow teams be ready to move.”

CHAPTER 60

Nicole’s body felt nice next to him as Kent carefully used a latex glove to turn the comic’s page. It was already absolutely hedonistic to open the Mylar bag in a car without humidity control, but Kent wasn’t about to add skin oil residue to the damaging mix.

They had been analyzing Archie and his friends for an hour. Long ago they had watched Rebecca go to bed. He was rapidly running out of ways to keep Nicole close. Plain Jane had never struck so late, let alone inside someone’s home. He was more of a snatch-and-grab kind of guy.

Kent made sure to do his ten-point check of the perimeter before pointing to Archie’s shoe. “Now tell me that isn’t a metaphor for male impotence.”

Nicole nudged him in the ribs. Even that contact felt good, then she leaned away from him and looked around the car. “So why are we in the neighbor’s car?”

“Look at this angle. You could not buy better positioning.” Kent continued, happy to have another topic to keep her near. “The rear entrance to her house has a motion detector flood light. The yard to the right has a Jack Russell that doesn’t like men. The yard behind hers has a hot wire up for a Labrador, which means the only access left is the frontal portal into the house. Hence the car.”

“Did you get permission before you—” Nicole interrupted herself. She must have already known the answer. “Never mind.”

They sat in silence. A silence that stretched on. A silence that needed to be filled before it became awkward. He went to speak, but Nicole was already there. “Kent, I think we need to…I want to…”

How Kent wished her could hear all of her needs and wants, but off to the left there had been the slightest movement.

“Did you see that?”

Nicole’s head spun to look out the window. “What?”

“Don’t look over there,” he chided. “
Feel
over there. Use your peripheral vision. Bring that subconscious into play.”

“Is there movement down that alley?”

“Yes.” A knot formed in his stomach.

“Maybe it’s just a tarp caught in the wind.”

Shaking his head, Kent opened his door. “No. I’ve checked it out already. That was definitely
someone
moving.”

He had to give Nicole credit. She didn’t miss a beat. Pulling her gun, she got out as well.

“You take the front,” Kent instructed as he made his way to the alley.

CHAPTER 61

Ruben caught up with the blue team, his backup squad, at the staging area behind Nancy’s garage.

Stikle, the squad leader, looked behind Ruben. “Where’s Usher?”

“Called away.” Ruben tried to be brusque enough to halt any inquiry, but one of the squad, a younger guy, snorted.

“Yeah, right.”

“Excuse me?” Ruben turned. His ego wasn’t in the mood for a ribbing, especially from the Harbinger fan club.

The younger cop shrugged. “Nothing.”

Ruben turned back to the Stikle. “All right. We have to let him break in, but we are not, and I repeat, not going to let him hurt her. Understood?”

“Just give the word.”

He took the proffered night vision goggles. The trench coat was approaching from the west, the opposite side of the house from Nancy’s bedroom.

From this angle, he looked just like the man in the video footage, or was that wishful thinking on his part?

Glancing back, Ruben wasn’t surprised that Nicole was nowhere to be seen. She might have set out to get coffee, but Ruben knew his partner had found something else.

***

Gun drawn, Nicole cautiously made her way to the front door. She lightly tapped on the glass. “Rebecca?”

No answer. She knocked again.

Then peered into the windows. The house was dark.

***

Kent kept low to the ground as he made his way down the alley. It was clear. No sign of a break-in.

Keeping to the shrubs, the profiler made his way to the back door. A loud clunk from inside the house caused Kent to drop to a knee. He waited. Silence.

The profiler studied the lock. It didn’t look like anyone had tried to pick it, and he had seen Rebecca double-check it before she went to bed.

Still, Kent reached out and tried to the door.

Unlocked.

“Shit.”

***

Nicole knocked again. No answer. She knew Rebecca had locked the door, but still she tried it.

Unlocked.

“Shit,” she whispered to herself as she whipped out her cell phone. Nicole hit the number one speed dial. Ruben. Her call went to voice mail. No backup.

She opened the door and stepped inside. “Rebecca?”

***

Ruben watched as the hooded man jimmied the window. This was too perfect. They had him dead to rights. You would be able to eat off this bust, the arrest was going to be just that clean.

The man pried the window open and slipped in.

“Move!” Ruben announced and his squad fanned out, covering the exits, storming the house.

***

Kent checked a closet. Clear. He continued down the hallway toward the bathroom. Was that a sound?

Was there a struggle? The profiler’s pace quickened as the noise got louder. “No!”

***

Nicole heard Kent’s cry and the sound of a muted shout. Without looking, she dialed the number to the station as she ran forward. She didn’t even wait for the person on the line to identify himself. “Usher at 1503 Windham Road, I need backup, and I need it
now
!”

***

Glass shattered inside the bathroom, but the door was locked. Kent pounded on the door. “Rebecca!”

Backing up, he kicked the door with full force, splintering it off its hinges. In the dim light, all the profiler could see was a smashed mirror and blood streaking the walls.

“Rebecca!”

Throwing back the shower curtain, he found nothing.

A sound from his left brought him swinging around, aiming at the new threat. But it was only Nicole.

“Damn it.”

***

Nicole spotted the blood and pushed past Kent into the master bedroom. They were too late.
Again
too late.

“Rebecca!”

A whimper from the closet caught their attention. She and Kent shared a look. The profiler backed up a step and to the side, aiming at the door.

Lowering her weapon, Nicole jerked the door open. She found the brunette crumpled on the floor.

“Oh, Rebecca,” Nicole nearly choked on her tears.

***

Kent couldn’t move as he looked over Nicole’s shoulder at the downed woman. That was five. Five women he had failed.

How in the name of all that’s holy had he failed again?

The meter maid’s frame rattled. Had Nicole moved her? Then the brunette began sobbing. If she could cry, she could breathe.

Rebecca was alive.

***

Nicole pulled Rebecca up to check for injury. Except for a slash on the hand and a nasty scrape across the neck, the brunette was unharmed.

All that blood, yet she was still alive.

Bawling, but alive.

Behind her, Kent checked the room for Plain Jane as Nicole rocked Rebecca back and forth.

“It’s okay. You’re safe.”

***

Kent tossed the bed. He pulled the dresser away from the wall. No perp. A breeze moved the curtains away from an open window. He ran over as sirens sounded in the distance. Sticking his head out, Kent scanned the backyard. Nothing. No one. Plain Jane had gotten away, yet again.

“Bastard!” The profiler slammed his fist against the windowsill as he shouted at the empty night.

***

Ruben ran full tilt as a scream echoed from the bedroom. Bursting in, he found it wasn’t Nancy’s cries of distress, but the perp’s.

Glick slammed the suspect against the wall again. “Did you really think we’d leave her here for your sick game?”

Hands quivering, Ruben got out his cuffs. The ruse had worked perfectly. Hours ago they had snuck Nancy out of the house and left Glick here as their inside man. They had him.

They had Plain Jane.

With a snap of his wrist, Ruben cuffed the sicko.

“Good work,” Glick commented.

Ruben shook his head. “No, sir. It’s your bust.”

“We’ll split it,” the captain said as he patted him on the shoulder, then looked around. “Where’s Usher?”

CHAPTER 62

Nicole rocked the brunette back and forth, murmuring reassuringly, as the sirens got closer and closer.

“It’s okay, Rebecca.”

Kent had disappeared into the bathroom.

“You’re safe, I promise,” Nicole continued.

Rebecca finally lifted her chin. Her face streaked with tears. “Nicole?” The brunette swallowed. “What are you…?”

She smoothed back Rebecca’s damp hair. “I should have told you. I’m not a writer. I’m a detective.” Nicole met her eyes. “Rebecca, I need you to tell me what happened.”

“I don’t…” she stammered. “What?”

“We think it was Plain Jane who attacked you tonight.”

For the first time Rebecca seemed to focus, pulling her nightgown tighter around her shoulders. “He… He grabbed me from behind. Tried to cut my neck.” She showed her the large, red hand-sized splotches and shallow cut. “But I… I lashed out…” As if she had not noticed the wound before, Rebecca looked down at her cut hand. “I missed him but hit the mirror. Shattered it. There was glass everywhere, then…” Groaning, the woman doubled over, rocking again. “Oh, God. Oh, God. Oh, God…”

Nicole held her tight. “You’re safe, I promise.” She waited until Rebecca’s sobs abated.

“I need to know, though, did you injure him?”
“No. He just ran off.”

“Ran off?” Nicole looked up to find Kent standing just behind her. “Did we interrupt him?”

The profiler shook his head. “Nope. He’s desperate. He would have tried, just like last night.”

“Then why did he leave?”

Kent tossed an item to Nicole. She caught it in midair, then turned it over. It was a pregnancy test.

“It’s positive,” she realized, catching up.

“I don’t understand,” the brunette said, half-dazed.

Nicole hugged Rebecca. “You’re pregnant.”

“I know. I mean. That’s what I was doing—”

The brunette melted into tears, clutching Nicole as if her very life depended on it.

“He couldn’t take a womb that was already in use.”

Nicole’s phone rang, startling her. The caller ID showed it was her partner.

Brusquely, she answered. “I need you over here.”

She couldn’t believe her partner’s answer.

CHAPTER 63

By Nicole’s tone of voice, it could only be Ruben on the other end of the line. “What? No, but we—”

Harbinger knew it wasn’t good news by the blotches appearing on Nicole’s cheeks. She nodded several times, then obviously interrupted Torres.

“We’ll be there as soon as we’re—” Nicole listened, teeth clenched, then finally, “Okay, okay. Be there in ten.”

“More drama?” Kent asked as EMTs rushed into the room and quickly extracted Rebecca from Nicole.

The detective pulled him aside as the medics tended to Rebecca’s wounds. “They caught him.”

“Who?”

There was a gulp before she answered, “Plain Jane.”

“Where?”