The American Soldier Collection 3: Amazing Grace (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) (32 page)

Now here she lay on a mattress on a cold, damp basement floor and no one was looking for her. Her boss would be pissed off and just assume she was a no-show and her boyfriend would eventually answer his voice mail and assume she was mad at him again. It was inevitable. Today would be the day she died.

“Grace, my love, are you ready to play?” he asked Michelle as she stared at him wide-eyed, scared, and trembling. She had nowhere to run. The noose around her neck was tight and with each small turn of her head, she hit the concrete wall. The killer began to touch her and cut her clothes off. She screamed, begging him to stop. She began to kick and punch him, fighting like an animal, choking and gasping for air with each thrust forward. She was scratching his arms and hitting his face but it wasn’t enough and he immediately retaliated with much more force and momentum as his fists collided with her face, her body sending her into darkness then light, darkness then light. She was losing it as she tried to fight him off. He was pounding on her, out of control, his eyes bulging. He was a madman, an absolute madman.

Her vision blurred. She was losing strength, struggling to hold on. Right before she passed out, he kissed her softly, gently, so easily he turned his anger to tenderness like turning a switch on then off. “Grace, sweet, beautiful Grace, let us begin, my love,” he whispered to her as darkness fell upon her.

* * * *

“Grace, the answer is no. It’s absolutely out of the question so just don’t ask again,” Sandman stated firmly, and when she looked toward Jay and Duke, she knew the question was nonnegotiable.

Sandman stared at the bags. They were packed as if she were about to go home.

“You can’t force me to stay here. I want to go home and I want you to call the bureau and have them formulate a plan to capture the real killer. I don’t mind being bait. Really, Sandman,” Grace said as she stood by the bed.

He grabbed her by her arms. “I’m not going to do it and you are not going anywhere. What the hell are you thinking, Grace? I can’t protect you at home like I can protect you here. My brothers and I will not hand you over to the lions,” he told her as she stood in front of him angry and frustrated.

“What if I don’t want your protection, Sandman? I can ask to be left alone.”

“Then you’ll die at the hands of that madman. Is that what you want?”

“You saw some of those crime scene pictures, is that how you want to die?” Duke asked as he took position beside her. “Being tortured, raped, beaten to a pulp? He wants you. He has sick sexual plans for you, the unthinkable, Grace.”

“Is that how you want to die?” Sandman yelled, squeezing her arms and she began to cry.

Grace was frustrated, angry, and she felt so out of control. All she wanted to do was stop this killer and she’d thought about it all night. She would go back home and that was final, she was saying to herself as Sandman pulled her close to him.

“I love you, Grace, and I won’t let you do this because I love you.” Her heart leaped and then ached again, having a tug-of-war between happiness and safety with Sandman, Duke, and Jay or sacrificing herself for the slightest possibility of catching the killer.

“Guys, why are you stopping me from leaving when I can help? Is your plan to make me choose? It would be so easy to just stay here, safe with you, making love to you, feeling protected by you, but at home my family is suffering, the public is outraged, your fellow agents are questioning Donald. There’s so much chaos and I feel I can stop it all or at least try. Can’t you understand that?” She looked at Sandman, Duke, then Jay, hoping that maybe one of them would agree.

“You can’t do it, Grace. There’s more to this than just being bait. You can’t handle it,” he told her straight out which made her feel weak and defeated but only for a moment as she allowed her will, her determination, and the hidden strength to emerge.

“I can handle it! Maybe you need to put your personal feelings aside and start focusing on the true objective here. We need to catch this killer and sitting here on our asses is not working. Whether you’re with me or not, Sandman, I’m walking out that door and there’s not one damn thing you can do about it.” She stood there ready to defeat his challenge.

“Donald never showed up for questioning, Grace, and he’s still nowhere to be found. Lancaster has pretty solid evidence against him and he’s now the main suspect in this case,” Big Jay told her and she knew he was trying to get her to stay. But she was still shocked. There was no way Donald was the killer. She felt it in her heart and she was still determined to leave.

“Well then if that’s the case, then your agents know who they’re after. I’m leaving, and that’s final.”

She headed up the stairs.

* * * *

“We have to do something. We won’t be able to hold her here for much longer,” Big Jay stated toward Sandman.

“She’s stubborn and she’s upset. Rightfully so, but heading home in the middle of this is not feasible at all,” Duke stated.

“I’m going to call Frank. Maybe he’ll be able to get through to her or figure out a plan,” Sandman said.

“Why don’t we make a few calls and see if we can find a safe house, closer to home just in case?” Duke added.

“Okay, let’s do this. No matter what, we have to protect Grace,” Sandman said then headed to his office while his brothers went downstairs.

* * * *

Grace grabbed her backpack, some money, and her cell phone then snuck out Sandman’s bedroom window that he left opened. She knew the sensor on the alarm system only sounded when a door or window was opened. She prayed that she would figure out who the real killer was and that she made the right decision to sneak out and go alone.

Grace had planned on taking a bus back, but first she needed a disguise and some makeup to ensure she stayed undetected and unidentified.

As she headed across the field, she prayed that the men would forgive her. She knew that they loved her and wanted to protect her from this madman, but enough was enough. This guy had to be stopped before something happened to another member of her family. She hoped that she truly had the strength and capability to complete her plan successfully.

* * * *

Sandman got off the phone with Frank then received a phone call from Jim.

“Yes, Sandman, it looks like you might have caught something when you found the partial telephone number and short letter in the file. I’ve downloaded the information and have sent it through your secure e-mail,” Jim said. He was good at his job as a detective but also had a knack for the high-tech stuff. Jim was a whiz at computers, satellite imaging, and every special tool the department had access to.

Sandman opened his e-mail and began reading the information.

“I figured out the telephone number by tracking down the victim’s personal phone book which was included in one of many evidence boxes. I don’t know why the detectives at the time hadn’t checked there first. The number belonged to a Charlie Vasco,” Jim said and Sandman listened as he wrote the name down on a notepad.

“So who is this guy?” he asked, wondering if he could be the killer.

“Well what struck me as strange, Sandman, is that it seems that this Charlie Vasco just fell off the face of the earth right after that first murder ten years ago. There are no records of him thus far, but I’m still looking over death certificates or any signs of name change.”

“That’s great work, Jim. Do you have fingerprints on this guy? Or maybe even a photograph?” Sandman asked.

“Yes, I do have fingerprints but no photograph yet. Hopefully I’ll have his current name for you as well real soon,” Jim stated and Sandman hoped he would as well.

“Okay, now onto something that Frank found out. It appears that those other three victims, the ones you felt may be connected to the Thompson murder, are linked by one main fact.”

“That being?”

“They were all involved with a fundraising organization that applied for affordable housing in suburban developments.”

“Shit, wasn’t Donald involved with that?”

“Yes, but apparently Donald and these other victims were receiving threatening phone calls and e-mails from people for years. Those three men were heavily involved in the fundraising board. Once they were killed, the programs either were shut down or lost funding. Donald has been the only one able to help complete a development and right here in Houston.”

“Are you thinking that this killer started killing these people so they wouldn’t build affordable housing in the area?”

“Frank thinks that the killer was so used to killing for his pleasure, that perhaps he started killing to get his point across. Maybe some of the threats were from this same guy we’re after.”

“Jim, you have Frank there with you?”

“Yes. He’s right here. He’s trying to find copies of any threatening letters. His mom was involved with that board along with Donald. The affordable housing complex s just a mile or so from their house.”

“See if you can find any of those letters. See if we can make a connection to the words in those letters and maybe the ones in the poems left with the bodies.”

“Okay, we’ll keep you updated.”

He hung up the phone and explained to Duke and Big Jay what Jim and Frank found out.

“So Grace was onto something after all in finding that note and phone number in the file?” Big Jay asked then smiled.

“She sure was and maybe we can use this to get her to stay a little while longer. First I want to look at the files from the first few cases again. The first victim may have known the killer. Perhaps even had a relationship with him. We’re looking at that particular case as his first killing but maybe something else triggered it. It may have been what led him to change his identity, fall off the face of the earth as Jim put it. Come on guys, grab a chair and start reading,” Sandman said as he gathered up the files.

* * * *

“What do you mean she wants to come home? Today?” John asked all surprised.

“Yeah, that’s what Sandman said and he wasn’t very happy about it. We need to move fast, brother. Grace is stubborn and determined, and Sandman didn’t sound too confident about changing her mind,” added Frank as John leaned against the black unmarked police car.

“Well let’s try to find Donald. I know Mom said that Eric had seen him at the town board meeting the other day. Maybe we can ask Eric if Donald seemed preoccupied or maybe acting differently,” said John.

“That’s a good idea. We’ll try to speak with Eric before he leaves for that small business trip to Dallas he mentioned. We’ll head over there after we go talk to Mayor Donovan. Donald and him are good friends,” added Frank. John walked around the unmarked police car to get in on the passenger side.

Ten minutes later they were at the municipal building and headed to the mayor’s office.

“Hey what brings you two around here? I thought you hated this place,” said Peter as he bumped into his brothers as they approached the mayor’s office.

“Hey, Peter, what’s going on?” asked Frank as he shook his brother’s hand. Then John did the same.

“I’m running around between the courts and the office. What are you two doing here?”

They filled him in on the case as well as Grace wanting to come back home.

“Well Sandman and his brothers can’t allow her to. She’s in way too much danger and now the FBI is looking for Donald? They don’t have a fucking clue,” said Peter and both John and Frank laughed.

“Is that your professional opinion?” John asked with a smile.

“They don’t have shit, guys. Every bit of so-called evidence they have against Donald is filled with holes. None of it would stand up in court,” Peter added.

“Well hopefully it won’t go that far. I don’t believe Donald’s the killer. I’m beginning to get worried about him. When we spoke last, he was actually looking forward to Agent Lancaster’s questioning and even willing to take a lie detector test. Something’s not right,” said Frank

“Do you think he’s in some kind of danger?” Peter asked.

“He may be in danger. That’s why we’re here. We wanted to see how Donald was acting at the meeting the other night. There’s nowhere else for us to start looking,” said Frank.

“Well Mayor Donovan is good friends with Donald and that’s as good a start as any,” said Peter as the men continued to talk.

* * * *

“Grace…Grace, Goddamn it, this isn’t funny. Where are you? Answer me right now!” Big Jay yelled as he frantically searched the house.

“She’s gone.” Duke pointed toward Sandman’s bedroom.

Sandman headed toward the door and saw that his bedroom window was opened. There was a note on his desk from Grace.

Sandman, Duke, and Jay,

Please understand why I snuck out and decided to do this on my own. My family is suffering. The community is suffering because of me. I don’t want to put any of you or anyone else in danger. I’ll contact the FBI as soon as I get to Houston. I know of a safe place to stay, and when I get there I’ll contact you. I can’t just sit around safe, happy, and out of control. I need to stop this guy and you’re only willing to do this your way. I understand that you love me but I can’t sit here in your house, miles away while innocent women are being killed. He nearly killed Jamie, and all he wants is me. You said you wouldn’t help me or let the FBI use me as bait. Well that decision wasn’t for you to make. I’ve made the decision and that’s what I’ll be…Bait…Anything to stop this madman. Please don’t be angry. I love you all so much.