Shadow of Vengeance (50 page)

“What about Holly’s real dad?” Leon asked. “Vivian, you said Holly found out the truth…that Art was her adoptive father.” He shook his head. “Could be she blames him for what Art did to her, too.”

Damn, his partner was good. “That makes complete sense,” Nick said, loving the new direction they were taking. “Holly finds out her real dad gave her up, only to stick her with a pedophile. If she’s making people pay for what Art did, I’d say her real dad might be next in line.”

“But that was eighteen months ago,” Bunny countered. “She could have already…killed him and moved on to who knows where.”

True, damn it
. “We won’t know until we find him.” He turned to Vivian. “One last thing and we’ll let you rest. Who’s Holly’s real father?”

Chapter 21

Rachel chomped on a pencil and glanced at the clock. Four-fifteen. She’d spoken with Wexman’s head of security, Adam Lynch, two hours ago. How hard was it for the man to email the security footage from last Saturday?
 

Her patience at its limit, she picked up her cell phone to call Lynch. The phone rang before she had a chance to dial. Marty O’Reilly’s number popped on the screen. Anxious to hear what the inspector had to say and hopeful they might finally have some solid evidence, she answered.
 

“Jake asked me to call you directly,” Marty said.

Hello to you too
. “Great. What’d you find out?”

“The photo was printed off a standard photo printer. The techs were able to tell what type of printer was used, as well as the brand of photo paper. Unfortunately, both are common and can be bought at just about any office supply store. Even if we find the printer, it doesn’t mean the owner was the one who used it.”

“Did they analyze the actual photo?”

“Yeah. They gave me a ninety-five percent confirmation that the male hanging from the wall is Josh Conway.”

She’d met Josh several times and could give a one hundred percent confirmation, but kept her mouth shut. No need to be snarky to Marty, not when she wanted and needed his help.

“They couldn’t tell the location,” Marty continued, “but based on the rock walls and floor, one of the techs suggested a root cellar, which are common in older homes in this area.” He paused and shuffled papers. “Okay, the rope used on Bill Baker is standard and can be found in any hardware store. Baker’s shirt had the same mineral powder on the shoulder and collar as your lab found on your brother’s clothes. So we have an obvious link there.”

A chill swept through her. Her brother had come close to being a victim of more than just a brutal beating.
 

“The rest of Baker’s clothes had traces of dog hair, which matches the hair also found on your brother’s clothes. Other than that, nothing.”

Damn it. “And the note left on Baker?”

“This is interesting. Jake gave our lab every Hell Week note, dating back to the first disappearance, along with the ones left on your brother and Baker. The handwriting analyst said the writing on the Baker note was a good match to the others, but she concluded that a different person wrote it.”

“The accomplice.”

Marty released a sigh. “Yeah, I’m starting to buy into your theory. Only, I’m wondering why the accomplice wrote it. This killer has been doing this for a long time, without any slipups. Why let the accomplice write the note?”

“Maybe he didn’t know she did.”

“Or maybe Baker’s death isn’t related to Hell Week at all,” Marty suggested. “If Baker’s tox screen came back positive for Rohypnol—”

“But mineral powder—the same exact cosmetic mineral powder—was found on both Sean’s and Bill’s clothes,” she argued. “That’s not a coincidence.”

He blew out another breath. “True. But without the drug connection, as it stands, Baker looks like he could have also been an accomplice and the killer wanted to get rid of him.”

While she knew how Bill’s death, and how the circumstances surrounding the boy’s initial kidnapping looked on paper, she firmly believed Bill was an innocent victim. She didn’t see the point in arguing with Marty, though. She was going with her gut instinct, and he was basing his assessment on forensic evidence.

A message showed up in her inbox. Finally, Lynch pulled through and sent her the security footage from last Saturday. After thanking Marty for the information, she hung up the phone and opened the file.
 

She quickly cued the footage to three o’clock. Joy had said that Bill called her around four and told her about Kaylie making plans for lunch the next day. Bill’s shift had started at three, meaning Kaylie had entered Stanley Residence Hall at some point within the hour.
 

As she fast-forwarded the footage, her stomach twisted with anticipation, then suddenly dropped. She slowed the footage as Kaylie swung open the door and entered the foyer. Bill wore a big grin as Kaylie approached the desk. At this point, she wished the footage contained sound. She’d love to hear the exchange. Based on Bill’s body language, the way he smiled and puffed his chest, it was obvious he liked Kaylie. Oddly, she was all smiles, too, as she leaned over the desk and talked. She touched him…a pat on the arm, then another on the hand. She said something else, and Bill’s smile grew enormous.
 

“Must’ve just asked him to lunch,” Rachel murmured.

Kaylie pushed away from the desk and turned. Bill looked up, his smile falling slightly. Melissa approached the desk and gave Kaylie a half hug. They exchanged a few words, then Melissa waved to Bill and she and Kaylie walked away. Before Kaylie was out of camera range, she glanced over her shoulder. Wearing, what Rachel considered, a shy smile, Kaylie said something, waved, then disappeared from the screen.

Rachel leaned back in the chair and watched as Bill picked up the phone a few minutes later. She looked at the time on the screen. Four o’clock. “So he calls Joy here,” she said, then rewound the footage. After a few minutes, she realized Kaylie had never signed the guest roster. “Strike one, Kaylie. Let’s see if there’s any more against you.”

She fast-forwarded, watched students passing in and out of the foyer, then came to the familiar part when Sean and Josh’s pizza was delivered. Checking the time stamp, she slowed the footage. Josh and Sean were now in the foyer, talking with Bill. As soon as they left, Bill covered his mouth and ran out of camera range. Even though she’d already watched all of this and knew what was coming, her skin prickled with dread and unease, just as the camera was slowly moved.

After rubbing her arms, she paused the video. “Kaylie never left.” She quickly reached for her cell phone and called Owen. As his phone rang, she stood, then grabbed her boots. When the call rolled into his voice mail, she left a message, then ended the call. After lacing her boots, she tried Jake’s phone, which also went into voice mail. She swore, grabbed her coat, then headed downstairs.

“I was just going to see if you wanted something to eat,” Joy said as Rachel hit the bottom step.

“No time.” Rachel zipped her coat, then rushed down the hall. When she reached the foyer, she paused. “What the…?”

“The funeral director’s son picked up all those frickin’ flowers. It’s nice to be able to breathe again.”

“It’s not that. I just realized I don’t have a car.”

 
Joy’s eyes grew large as alarm crossed her face. “Where are you racing off to?”

“I need to get to Owen and Jake. Neither one of them are answering their cell phones.”

“What’s the point of having one if you don’t frickin’ answer?” She shook her head. “What’s going on?”

She quickly told Joy her suspicions.
 

Joy’s cheeks grew red as she narrowed her eyes. “That little bitch. I’m coming with you.”

“No. No way. I could be dead wrong and don’t need you kicking Kaylie’s ass. Please. Can I borrow your car?”

With a huff, Joy left the foyer. Seconds later she came back holding a set of keys. “It’s in the garage.” As she handed over the keys, she gripped Rachel’s hand. “Don’t do anything stupid. Find Owen or Jake. Hell, even Walter. If this girl is capable of kidnapping young men and killing Bill, who knows what she’ll do to you?”

*

As Owen stood next to Jake and watched the crowd, he wished—for the millionth time—he were back at Joy’s. Although he’d love to warm up next to an extremely naked Rachel, he knew that wasn’t going to happen anytime soon, if at all. But he’d take Rachel’s icy attitude over the frigid temperatures he was exposed to now.

“When Stronach proposed the Bigfoot festival, didn’t anyone suggest he do it in the summer?” Owen asked, and pulled his knit cap over his ears.
 

“He insisted on doing it now,” Jake said, then sipped from a thermos. “Dumbass said he wanted his students to experience the festivities.”
 

“Dumbass is right.” He nodded to the thermos. “What do you have in there?”

“Coffee, but I wish it was whiskey.” Jake greeted an older couple as they walked past them. “I was really hoping the state police lab had more for us. Hell Week has been hanging over Bola for twenty years. It needs to stop.”

Owen eyed the sheriff. “You said you were in the Marines.”

“Yep.”

“And from Pittsburgh.”

Jake nodded and took another sip. With a sigh, he looked at Owen. “Something you want to know?”

“Just killing time.”

“Ever serve in the military?” Jake asked. “Or are you a former cop turned PI?”

“U.S. Secret Service.”

Jake whistled, then chuckled. “Didn’t see that coming. How do you go from being a Secret Service agent to private investigating?”

“Long story.”

“I thought we were killing time,” Jake said with a grin. “Okay, I’ll bite, ‘cause now you’ve got me curious. I was with Marine Division Recon—1
^st
Reconnaissance Battalion.”

Familiar with the different branches of the U.S. military, Owen knew that meant Jake was part of the Marine Air Ground Task Force of the U.S. Marine Corps Reconnaissance Battalions. In other words, he was a badass.
 

“Got out in ’06 right when we were in the middle of Operation Iraqi Freedom.” Jake’s smile fell as he looked to the crowd. “We were patrolling in a Humvee. It hit an IED, killed the driver, and injured the rest of my team. One guy lost an arm. The other sustained burns over sixty percent of his body…I got lucky. Took shrapnel to my back and leg. Missed my spine by that much.” He held his fingers less than an inch a part. “I only had to spend two months in the hospital, but by that time, my tour was up and I chose not to reenlist. I saw enough fighting to last me a million lifetimes.”

After a moment, Jake released a sigh. “I had a fiancée, Naomi, waiting for me. We were both from Pittsburgh, but while I was overseas, she moved to Bola. She wanted out of the city so bad, she plopped herself right in the middle of nowhere.” He smiled. “She worked as a nurse at Dixon Medical Center. And when I moved here, Bola was looking for a sheriff.” He took another sip from the thermos. “I think the only reason I got elected was because the other guy running against me was a Townie—and not a popular one.”

“Being a veteran probably helped.”

“That and Naomi ran a hell of a campaign. She was popular with the Townies. Hell, if she ran for sheriff, I’d bet anything she would’ve been elected.” Jake clenched his jaw as he narrowed his eyes. “She left me about a year later when she realized she couldn’t do the small town thing, after all.” He sighed. “Okay, your turn.”

Owen gave Jake a shortened version of what he’d told Rachel about his time with the U.S. Secret Service. After he explained how he’d ended up with CORE, Jake frowned.

“So, your boss waited until you were down, then recruited you?”

“That’s Ian’s MO with every one of CORE’s agents.”

“Even Rachel?”

“No.” Owen chuckled. “She’s the exception. After she got out of the Army, she entered the Chicago Police Academy, but couldn’t pass their psychology tests.” He grinned. “Rachel doesn’t know how to obey the rules and has issues with authority.”

Jake half-laughed. “I can see that. I thought she was going to rip Marty’s head off the day he told her he was taking lead on the investigation.”

“No shit,” he said, while thinking about the way she’d basically ripped his head off over the email to Ian. “Anyway, Rachel hears about CORE, and applies for a job. Ian doesn’t even bother with an interview and sends her a ‘thanks but no thanks’ letter. Instead of taking the rejection, she hacks into CORE’s computer system. After she disengaged every firewall, she sends Ian an email telling him his system blows ass—and those were her exact words—and if he wanted, she’d be willing to fix it.”

“That’s balls. He could have gone to the police. He
should
have gone to the police.”

“Not Ian,” Owen said with a grin. “He reviewed her resume again, saw what she did when she was with Army Intelligence, then must’ve realized it’s better to have Rachel working for him than someone else. He went to her apartment and hired her on the spot. I’ll never forget the day she walked…there’s Walt.” He changed the subject before he said too much. Jake didn’t need to know how he’d been intrigued by Rachel’s big green eyes, red hair, lush lips and curvy body the moment she’d walked through the door.