Shades of Temptation (21 page)

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

T
HEY
GOT
THE
CALL
about Darwin’s third victim the very next
day.

Tony Higgs had been twenty-two-years-old, his whole life laid
out ahead of him. Handsome. Popular. Well-liked. His girlfriend, Ashley
Hartford, swore he was a nice guy who’d been willing to help anyone out.
Unfortunately, what he’d gotten in return was a vicious death, one involving a
chain saw. Like the two before him, however, his eyelids had been cut off.

Jase was right in the middle of interviewing Ashley. He hadn’t
been able to get much else from the crying girl, and Jase tried to temper his
impatience with compassion. The girl had just learned her boyfriend had been
brutally murdered. She had a right to grieve. Still, he had a job to do. He
needed to find out as much as possible about Tony Higgs. His friends. His
routine. Especially his school habits.

While Tammy Ryan hadn’t attended Sequoia College, Tony Higgs
had. That meant that next to the horror movies, the college connection was still
the best chance they had of solving the case. Maybe they’d missed something
before. Something that could lead them to Darwin.

“So there was no one who had a grudge against Tony? You’re
sure?”

Ashley looked up, her perfect makeup smeared across her face,
all thought of looking good forgotten in her grief. “No. No one! Everyone loved
Tony.”

Jase doubted that. According to Darwin’s blog, Higgs hadn’t
been the perfect man Ashley thought he’d been. He’d pissed Darwin off. For some
reason or another, imagined or otherwise. And it had definitely had to do with a
girl. Could that girl have been Ashley?

“Could someone have been jealous of him? Has anyone shown an
inordinate amount of interest in you?”

She just started crying again. Shaking her head. Jase bit back
his frustration. Out of his periphery, he saw someone enter the interview room.
He sighed.

Carrie. She walked in, nodded and took a seat next to him.
Ashley glanced up at her but then started crying again. Jase waited a few
minutes until she’d calmed down.

“What about girls? Someone who liked him? Someone who was
jealous of you?”

She nodded her head. “There were all kinds of girls who liked
Tony. I mean, he is…” Her voice cracked. “He was the college quarterback.
Water-polo captain. Gorgeous.”

“But anyone specific you can think of?”

She shook her head. “He never talked to other girls. He was
very respectful of me.”

Jase closed his notepad, ready to leave her to her mother who
was waiting outside.

“Wait.” Ashley reached out and touched his forearm, catching
him off guard. Her grip seemed strong for such a slight person. “There was one
girl. A girl who’s been tutoring him. But she’s a total nerd.”

Jase opened his pad again. “What’s her name?”

“Nora. Nora Lopez.”

“She’s a student, too?”

Ashley nodded. “He was prepping for his chem final on Friday.
She was meeting him every afternoon. At a café across from campus. It’s called
Steam. She must have been the last one to see him.” Ashley dissolved into
hysterical tears again, but Jase barely heard her.

A campus café. They’d have to check it out. Maybe it was a
place that Sorenson and Ryan had frequented. If so, it could be where Darwin was
picking out his victims.

* * *

N
ORA
HAD
GREETED
B
RAD
warmly when she’d arrived at
Steam. Just like always, she took the time to ask him how he was doing and what
he had planned for the day. She found a table in the back and watched the door
eagerly. Five minutes went by. Then ten. After twenty minutes, she looked
annoyed. After forty minutes, sad.

In about another ten minutes, when she realized Tony had stood
her up, Brad would be there to comfort her. He practically rubbed his hands
together with glee.

She got up and headed toward the restrooms. Probably to cry,
Brad thought with annoyance. For a moment, he felt angry. Higgs had been a loser
with nothing going for him but his looks and physical strength. Didn’t she
realize that? He took several deep breaths, trying to calm himself. Telling
himself she’d soon be his.

Eager to talk to her, he rushed to stock the open display shelf
in front of the cash registers. He was almost done when the café’s front entry
doors opened and two people walked in.

Brad recognized the police officers instantly. The badass
detective with the fancy clothes and the redhead from McGill’s Bar. Brad’s heart
almost leaped out of his chest, and panic caused him to clench his fists so that
he mangled the packaged pastries he’d been handling.

Shit. Had they somehow traced the blog to him? But that was
impossible. He’d been so smart. So careful.

He forced himself to remain calm. He put his hands in his
pockets, turned and started to walk toward the back room. Toward the back exit.
He stiffened when he heard a voice call out to him.

“Excuse me.”

It was the woman.

He stopped abruptly, his hand tightening on the blade in his
left pocket. He wondered if he could outrun her.

“You work here?” she asked.

Brad half turned toward her, making sure he remained in
profile. “Yeah. Can you hang on a second?”

“Turn around and face me, please.” The command was spoken
politely, but it was still a command that she clearly expected him to obey. With
no other choice, Brad slowly turned the rest of the way and raised his head.

Would they see it? The scar? The blood on his hands?

She frowned. “Do I know you?”

“I don’t think so.” But she’d seen him before, just as he’d
seen her. She obviously just couldn’t place him. Which was good, really, but it
made him mad. Was he that unimportant to people? How could she help but notice
him with the damn ugliness on his face?

When the man she was with turned and looked at him, there was
no recognition on his face, either. What a hoot. Although the woman’s eyes
flickered to his hands, which were still in his pockets, they found nothing
about him or his appearance surprising.

Which meant…they couldn’t see his scars.

They were finally gone.

After all the years of suffering. After killing not just
Sorenson and Ryan, but Dr. Bowers, too, he’d struck on the winning
combination.

Killing Tony had worked. The terror that had coalesced inside
him just moments before transformed into something else.

Arrogance.

Survival of the fittest.

He was better than the police. Smarter. Stronger.

Brad let out a silent sigh of relief and took his hands out of
his pockets, noticing how each of the detective’s shoulders subtly relaxed when
he did so. The male detective scanned the crowded café, obviously looking for
someone else.

Brad’s nerves skittered as he realized the man must be looking
for Nora. That they’d made the connection between her and Tony. Shit, he didn’t
want the police anywhere near her. Stay in the bathroom, he silently
commanded.

When he brought his gaze back to the female cop, she was
studying him carefully, but not necessarily with suspicion. She really had no
clue who he was. His nerves transformed into delight.

Just as Brad had the thought, Nora exited the restroom, and he
could see the detectives’ eyes light up. Brad’s confidence stuttered like a car
running out of gas.

* * *

“T
HAT
’
S
HER
,”
Jase said. “I’ll talk
to her.”

Carrie turned her eyes back to the good-looking kid in front of
her. She could swear she’d seen him before, but from where? She flashed her
badge and identified herself as a police officer. “What’s your name?”

“Brad. Brad Turner.”

“Brad, were you working yesterday afternoon?”

“What’s this about, officer?”

Carrie smiled, albeit impatiently. It’s what everyone asked,
and she understood that anyone would be nervous when being questioned by the
police.

“We’re investigating a crime. Please just answer the question.
Were you working yesterday afternoon?”

“Yes. I work the night shift. Two to ten. Just like today.”

Higgs had been killed sometime between 11:00 p.m. and 2:00 a.m.
Carrie studied him more carefully. This boy was barely older than the students
he served. And far from being scarred, he was the picture of all-American charm
and good looks. He looked a bit like Lance Reynolds, the bartender from
McGill’s.

“Tony Higgs. Do you know him?”

“Sure, I know Tony. Everyone does. Nice guy.”

“Did you see him in here last night?”

Uncertainty overtook his face, and he furrowed his brow. “Gosh,
I’m not sure. I think so. We were really busy last night. It’s finals, you know.
Lots of kids cramming for exams.”

Carrie looked around. The café was indeed crowded. She saw Jase
talking to the girl, who was now crying and visibly shaking.

“That girl. Do you remember seeing him with her? Nora Lopez?
Someone told me she tutors him here every afternoon.”

The boy looked where Carrie pointed, and seemed upset when he
saw her crying. “Yeah, I know Nora. What’s happened? Why is she crying?”

Instead of answering him, Carrie pulled out several
photographs. “I need you to look at these photos and tell me if you remember
seeing any of these people before.”

He looked at the photos she handed him. Kelly Sorenson. Tammy
Ryan.

He pulled out the one of Sorenson. “I think I remember seeing
her in here before. But I don’t recognize the other.”

A wailing came from the corner. Carrie looked over and saw Jase
motioning her over with a look of panic on his face. Nora Lopez had obviously
been more than Tony’s tutor. The girl was hyperventilating and looked ready to
faint. Carrie pulled out her card and Jase’s card and handed them to Brad
Turner.

“This is my card, as well as my partner’s. If you remember
seeing these people or think of anything suspicious, will you call us,
please?”

“Sure.”

But she was already hurrying toward Jase.

* * *

B
RAD
WATCHED
THE
FEMALE
cop rush over to the table and escort Nora outside. They sat
with her at one of the tables there, the male detective looking impatient at
Nora’s hysterics.

He hated to see Nora upset, but she would’ve found out
sometime. It was better this way. The faster she put Tony Higgs out of her mind,
the sooner they could be together. He finished stocking the pastry case and then
kept an eye on Nora while he wiped down some tables. A few minutes later, he saw
the officers rise and hand Nora their cards before walking away. He straightened
tables and chairs as Nora walked back into the café alone, went back to her
table and started to put her stuff back into her backpack. Midway through the
process, she stopped and simply slumped back in her chair, a dazed look on her
face.

He shook his head again. Poor girl. She just didn’t realize how
she was wasting her time, grieving for such a weakling. But she’d get over him.
He’d make sure of that.

He glanced at his watch. Soon, the police would catch their
killer. He’d made sure that everything was already in place. Pleasure filled him
at the thought of the police breaking into his foster father’s house and putting
the drugged degenerate out of his misery. He was a worthless piece of shit who’d
fostered an abandoned freak of a baby simply because he and his druggie wife had
wanted the cash. He wouldn’t be expecting Brad to take his revenge. Revenge for
years of abuse and neglect. Revenge for years of being made to feel like an ugly
beast that needed to be hidden away.

He thought it was fitting that the foster father he hadn’t seen
in years would be the one to complete his transformation. He shivered with
impatience, liking the fact that the police would be going from him to his next
victim all in less than twenty-four hours.

Anticipation filled Brad, and he struggled to control his
impatience. He knew he should wait until the police thought they’d found their
killer. That was the plan. He’d planted the evidence. All he had to do was call
the station and tell them where to find it. Once they did, he’d be free. Free to
pursue Nora and share his life with her.

It had only been an hour since the police had left, but the
longer he looked at Nora, the more excited he became. He’d waited so long to be
with her, and now that his scars were gone, now that Tony was gone, there was
nothing keeping them apart.

What harm would it do? To talk to her now? To declare his love,
so she wouldn’t feel so alone.

There were only a couple of stray customers left in the café.
Walking up to Nora, he saw the ravages of grief on her face. Her face was
splotchy, her eyes red and glazed with moisture. When he said hello, she stared
at him in confusion, as if she didn’t even recognize him.

Still, he maintained his confidence. He sat down next to her
and took her hands in his. He marveled at the opportunity to finally touch her.
“What happened?” he asked softly.

She said nothing and he leaned closer.

“What is it, Nora?”

“Tony…Tony is dead.” Her mouth quivered at the last word.

Brad feigned shock. “The boy you study with? Oh, my God. How
horrible! What happened?”

She shook her head. “Murdered. They said he was murdered. By
some psychopath.”

Brad held back his snarl of anger. Of course the police would
call him a psychopath. They had to account for their incompetence somehow.

“They gave me their cards…the card of a shrink they work
with....” Nora motioned to the cards that she’d placed on the table. “Said I
should call them if I think of anything…” Her face collapsed again, and she
began crying quietly. “I can’t believe it. I can’t believe he’s gone. He was
so…beautiful. Such a beautiful person.”