Spoilt (14 page)

The big question was
why these girls
? Did they have a link to Chelsea? Why
choose girls of similar appearance? These were questions that were
on each of the detectives’ minds. Lucas grew increasingly concerned
as the meeting went on.

What puzzled them the most was the relevance of
SPOILT BITCH
and the perp’s
motive. None of the girls came from any kind of moneyed or ‘spoilt’
lifestyle. Lucas mentioned perhaps this could be linked to Chelsea
too in that, from what she’d told him, her family might be
wealthy.

They surmised that the victims could be merely practice runs
for the perp’s intended goal, his grand finale. Was it Chelsea he
wanted? If not, why did the victims resemble her and why kill Elle
and change his MO? Lucas volunteered to look into this further as
well as investigating possible suspects and who may want to harm
Chelsea. It was a long shot but worth following up.

The team also decided not to rule out Adrian Matthews until
they obtained a DNA sample, confirming things either way. Peterson
and Stewart were assigned canvassing areas and people to interview
over the weekend.

After the meeting, while Lucas and Maggie were checking over
their notes once more before heading home, Lucas’ phone rang. He
glanced at Maggie before answering.

“
Hudson.”

“
Hi, Lucas, it’s Chelsea.” His heart did a little
flutter.

“
Hey there, how’re you doing?”

“
Better now my family is here,” she replied. “Um, I called to
... talk to you about something.”

“
What’s up?” He saw Maggie packing up to leave.

“
Um, I’ve been receiving some phone calls.”

“
What kind of calls?” he said abruptly, stopping Maggie in her
tracks.

“
Well threatening ones but I’m not sure how seriously to take
them. Probably just someone playing a joke but my family insisted I
let the police know, so I’m calling you.”

“
What was the content of the calls?”

“
I have written them all down and when they occurred. Would
you like me to read them out to you?”

“
No, I’ll come over. I have to talk to you anyway.”

“
Ok, sounds ominous,” she said half joking.

“
I’ll be there in an hour,” he said and hung up.

“
Was that Chelsea?” asked Maggie.

“
Yeah, she’s been receiving calls.”

“
Hmm, maybe we are on the mark with her being a
target.”

“
Unfortunately it’s looking that way,” he said grimly. “Have a
good one, see you Monday,” he called over his shoulder as he raced
out.

Chapter 14

Stalker

Friday

Almost an hour later, Lucas arrived at Chelsea’s. He’d gone
home to shower and change first, and had deliberated over what to
wear for far too long. As he stood at her door, he realised how
nervous he was about seeing her again. He took a deep breath and
rang the bell. He heard a voice call out that wasn’t Chelsea’s,
“I’ll get it.”

The door opened to reveal a stunning leggy strawberry blonde,
giving him the once over. If his mind hadn’t been so preoccupied
with Chelsea, he would have welcomed her in a shot.

“
Well, hello there, handsome,” she said in a deep flirty tone.
“You must be Detective Hudson.”

“
And you must be Charlotte.”

“
That I am. Aren’t you just good enough to eat?”

“
Charlotte,” Sarah scolded as she came up behind her. “Stop
flirting with the man and let him in.”

“
Of course, silly me, come in, Detective.”

“
Lucas, please.”

“
Well you’ve obviously met Charlotte. I’m Sarah
Summerville.”.

A beautiful short petite woman with striking green eyes and
strawberry blonde hair extended her hand.

“
Nice to meet you, Ma’am.”

“
Please, call me Sarah, Lucas.” She smiled. “Chelsea is just
upstairs. She’ll be down in a moment.”

As she spoke, he noticed Chelsea descending the stairs. Her
jeans hugged her petite curves and her legs were covered to her
calf with brown boots. Her deep green flowing shirt brought out the
rose in her cheeks and lips. Her long hair was loose and shone
under the overhead lights and he felt a compelling need to touch
it. Her pure sexiness erased all rational thought from his mind.
Desire overcame him as her scent filled the air. As she approached,
his eyes locked on hers and he couldn’t pull them away.

Chelsea saw Charlotte mouth ‘wow’ behind Lucas’s shoulder as
she walked towards them. She kept her face even as she looked at
him and instantaneously her eyes became glued to his. They all just
stood there for a moment as the electricity passed between Chelsea
and Lucas.

“
Chelsea,” said Sarah breaking the silence, “do you have your
list there for Lucas?”

She nodded and handed him the list. He scanned down the page
reading her small neat writing and then locked eyes with her
again.

“
I wasn’t sure how seriously to take them but by the look on
your face, I’m now assuming I should be.”

He nodded.

“
Is this because I resemble the other girls?”

He nodded again, not breaking eye contact.

“
Why would someone want to hurt Chelsea?” said
Charlotte.

He cleared his throat and dragged his eyes from Chelsea’s and
put on his Detective face.

“
That’s what I’m here to find out.”

“
Charlotte,” said Sarah turning to her daughter, “we should
get going if we don’t want to miss the start of the movie.” She
dragged Charlotte towards the door.

“
Ok, ok,” Charlotte replied before giving Chelsea a wink over
Lucas’ shoulder. “I guess you’re not coming then,
Chelsea?”

“
No, I guess not, Charlotte,” she replied glaring at her
sister before returning her eyes to Lucas.

“
We’ll be back in a few hours, Chelsea. Can we get anything
for you while we’re out?” Sarah asked.

“
No thanks, Mum,” she said. “I don’t think we need
anything.”

“
We’ll see you later then. Say goodbye, Charlotte.”

“
Good bye Charlotte,” she said with a smirk and followed Sarah
out to the car.

“
Can I get you anything?” Chelsea asked him.

“
No thanks. Can we sit down so I can ask you some
questions?”

“
Sure,” she said leading him to the couch. It was as
comfortable as he imagined it would be.

“
Do you have any ex-boyfriends who might want to hurt you?”
Lucas asked getting straight into it, even though he did not want
to hear about her relationships with other men.

“
I’ve only ever had one serious boyfriend - well fiancé
actually - but I can’t imagine why he would want to hurt me,” she
told him. “Wesley left me about a year ago and I haven’t seen or
heard from him since.”

He noticed the hurt in her eyes and felt a stab of jealousy.
“What happened?”

“
I don’t know. I thought we were happy, but he simply
disappeared and I never saw him again.”

“
Were you living together?” he asked.

“
Yes, we were living here and then, after he left, Elle moved
in,” she said.

“
Did you go to the police?”

“
Yes, but they didn’t seem very interested in finding him.
They said his father was dead and that his mother had left her
husband many years ago. They didn’t think anything had happened to
him, just that he must have just taken off. They seemed to think I
was better off without him.”

“
And his friends?”

“
I didn’t know any of his friends. I don’t think he had many,
he was pretty shy.” This piqued Lucas interest but he had to be
thorough.

“
Have you had any other boyfriends or high school
sweethearts?”

“
No, I don’t really date much,” she said, blushing. “At school
I wasn’t very popular.”

“
Why’s that?”

“
In Tidwell, about a quarter of the families are what some
people would call well off and ours is one of them. As I told you
last night, my family worked very hard to get where they are. We
were the minority, so we were singled out.”

“
So you’re rich then?”

“
Um, if you want to call it that, my family has money,” she
said. Her face became guarded and Lucas knew he’d hit a
nerve.

“
Would you say you’re spoilt?”

“
No!” she said indignantly. Her eyes became cool and a flush
filled her cheeks. “I have never taken anything for granted. Sure I
didn’t want for anything but I am not the spoilt brat I was often
referred to as. I have made my own way and bought my own business
and do not in any way accept anything from my parents. They own
this house but I pay half the rent, well now the full rent. My
parents don’t want me to but I do, I would never rely on them for
money.”

“
Was Wesley – what’s his surname?”

“
Robinson.”

“
Was he envious of you or your family, or did he ever give you
any indication he thought you were spoilt?’

“
Not that I was ever aware of. He did seem a little awestruck
by our family’s house but he never indicated he was jealous. Why
are you asking me about this? How is it relevant?”

“
Hey, I’m not having a dig at you. I didn’t really want to
have to tell you this but—“

“
What? I can handle it,” she cut in and set her
chin.

“
The words ‘spoilt bitch’ were cut into the chests of all
three girls before their throats were slit.”

An expression of horror emerged on her beautiful face and her
eyes dropped to her shaking hands. He mentally kicked himself. What
made him tell her that?

“
I’m sorry, I didn’t want to tell you but there is a reason
I’m asking you about this,” he said softly as he took her small
hands in his.

“
These murders,” she said with a catch in her voice, “you
think they could be because of me? Elle is dead because of
me?”

“
This is not your fault. It’s this sick bastard’s fault,
whoever he is.”

“
I hope I don’t know anyone that would do this,” she said in a
small voice.

“
Me too, I don’t want anything to happen to you,” he assured
her, a lump rising in his throat. “We have to be realistic and look
at the connections, try to work out who it could be. You only knew
Elle and you don’t seem connected in any other way to the others
besides your resemblance to them, except via the café. Now that you
are getting calls we have to work out why you may be a
target.”

She looked up at him. “I really don’t know, Lucas.”

The forlorn expression in her amazing green eyes was too much.
He lifted a hand from hers and lightly ran it over her hair and
down to stroke her face. Pink rose in her cheeks as he leant
forward to kiss her gently on the lips.

His tenderness surprised her and the intensity in his eyes
caused her to blush. The touch of his lips sent an instant fire
through her body. Wanting more, she threw her arms around his neck
and brought his mouth back to hers.

He groaned and intensified the kiss, pulling her up with him
as he stood. He hoped she would wrap her legs around him again and
she didn’t disappoint. His groin tightened and he knew tonight he
was not going to be able to stop.

Chapter 15

Passion

Friday

Chelsea ran her hands across his hard chest and shoulders
longing to touch the skin underneath his t-shirt. She groped at it
and was rewarded with a smooth taut body beneath. She lifted her
hands to bury them in his hair and they became lost in the thick
waves. She urged her tongue against his, craving more. She couldn’t
get close enough to him.

He could feel her nipples harden against his chest as he
carried her towards the stairs. She teased his bottom lip with her
lips and tongue as he navigated her upstairs. When they entered her
room, he swiftly removed her shirt and explored her soft milky skin
with urgent, tender hands. He went with her as he placed her gently
on the bed and sought her lips again. Her delicious scent
surrounded him and he craved to taste all of her.

Chelsea’s hands roamed his chest and back before slipping off
his t-shirt. She lost control of her hands as she explored his
honey coloured skin. She craved to touch every part of
him.

His hands roamed her body as he kissed her hungrily. He
trailed kisses slowly across her jaw and down her neck, inhaling
her scent. He took one rosy nipple then the other into his
mouth.

She arched her back in response, squeezed his shoulders and
sighed out a moan. Her hands roamed to his hair again, gripping it
with ardour.

He continued his trail of kisses down her body and removed her
pants before removing his own. His mouth teased and kissed her
inner thigh. She moaned again as her breathing
intensified.