WATCHING (18 page)

***

The next person he saw was the redhead. She had no experience in the woods, that was obvious from one glance.

God, it hadn
’
t been but seconds since Compton had went down. Had she seen him hit the kid?
If she had, he was screwed. Could kiss his career goodbye.

If they thought the psycho attacked Compton, he
’
d be in the clear. But it was a long way from attacking girls and women to cracking open the skull of a healthy, strong male federal agent.

The redhead turned, almost looking right at him. His years of hunting in the woods of Arkansas served him well. Had him behind her in seconds.

She didn
’
t hear him until he had her. He wrapped one arm around her waist, yanked her hard against his chest, while covering those damned unusual eyes of hers. Color of a good whiskey, but held a touch of innocence that always made him feel guilty. He
’
d be up shit-creek if the girl got a look at him.

She deserved credit
—
she put up one hell of a good fight. But he was a big man
with martial arts training
, so strong compared to her. He
’
d been an agent since this girl was in preschool. That gave him a moment of pause. He tightened his arm
s
around her, over her ribs.

She twisted, tried to get away. He could feel her trembling, shaking, fighting. She was gasping for breath and he loosened his hold some. He didn
’
t want her to pass out before he figured out what to do with her.
“
Damned
interfering kid!
“

She gave a desperate lurch, pulled them both dangerously close to the edge of one of those pits.

He let go. He hadn
’
t meant to. He closed his eyes when he heard the sound of her body tumbling and skidding down the steep incline. Heard the sharp knife of her scream over the sounds of the South Dakota wilderness.

What if he
’
d killed her? He couldn
’
t be found near here. That would be bad. If he put some serious distance between himself and the redhead and Compton, it would look like the psycho had jumped Compton to get his hands on the girl.

It wouldn
’
t seriously hurt her. Hadn
’
t the little mouse M.E. said none of the girls died from the fall?

Just got banged up a bit.

He started into the woods to put that distance in place. He fell in the mud, stumbling on a pile of loose rocks and hit the ground hard. His hand landed on one of the stones and the realization hit him. Stoning was the bastard
’
s signature. It wouldn
’
t change in any of his murders, with any of his victims.

He had to do it, no matter how much he didn
’
t want to.

Chapter
22

****

“
Georgia, I know you half enjoy this outdoor stuff but I need a break
.
”
Jules wiped sweat off her brow—her rain soaked hair plastered to her forehead and pencils sticking out like horns—as she looked at Georgia three yards ahead of her.
“
How much farther
?
”

“
Up the path, about two miles
.
”
Georgia smirked at her friend,
having
turn
ed
to look at the other woman though she didn
’
t stop her trek up the deer path Agent Handers had pointed out. They
’
d met him at the end of the access road, where the Bureau
’
s collection of vehicles were serving as a make-shift command post.
“
Man, you
’
ve gotten out of shape, hiding down in your morgues. You ok? We
’
ve only a little way to go. Handers said they
’
d be near the second borrow pit. And it
’
s over that ridge-
”

A scream colder than the rain interrupted her and both women jerked. Georgia
’
s weapon cleared her holster, and Jules moved to her side. The M.E. wasn
’
t armed.
“
George, that sounded close-
”

“
Come on, it came from over that ridge!
”
Georgia crested the small hill. She kept her eyes on the area surrounding them as she crept further into the small clearing, though the strengthening rain made that difficult. Her eyes caught the edge of what she now recognized as one of those damned borrow pits.

Georgia motioned one-handed for Jules to move in. If the screamer was still alive, Georgia wanted to get there before that changed. No sign of the screamer were present until she got closer to the edge, where indicators of a struggle were visible.

Her hand tightened on her weapon as she moved closer. She had a feeling she was about to find another, extremely fresh, victim.

“
What is it
?
”
Jules asked, though she kept her eyes on the trail behind them.

“
Another pit
.
”
Georgia leaned over.
“
Oh, God!
”

Carrie lay thirty feet below them and unmoving, it wasn
’
t clear to the two women peering down at her whether she was conscious or not. Or even alive.

“
Carrie!
”
Georgia yelled, but the redhead didn
’
t react.
“
Dammit, Carrie, wake up!
”

Jules started down the sharp, near sixty degree incline, fatigue obviously forgotten.

Georgia kept her weapon ready as she followed.

It took Georgia longer than she wanted to get down to the bottom of the old borrow pit, rain and mud combining to slow her.

Carrie still had not moved. Georgia reached the bottom, seconds after Jules, and she rushed to the unconscious woman
’
s side. Jules was feeling for a pulse. At the touch, Carrie
’
s eyes popped open. All three women gasped.

“
God, my head hurts. Hurts. Did I miss the party
?
”

“
Sparkie, I think you are the party today
,
”
Georgia said, eyes trained on the edge of the ridge as Jules ran her hands over the younger woman
’
s arms and legs.
“
Where do you hurt
?
”

Sparks yelled when Jules
’
hand touched her lower left leg.
“
Broken, broken, broken. Other than that, I
’
m ok. I think
.
”

“
What happened
?
”
Georgia kept her eyes and weapon ready. Georgia removed her jacket and handed it to the medical examiner without being asked.

“
Josh and I got separated, somehow
,
”
Carrie said.
“
Then some damned asshole son-of-a-bitch grabbed me and threw me over the cliff before I could even react. Big, too. Big, big, big. As big as Hell. Big, big, big. Like Hell. Like Hell
.
”

“
So where
’
s Josh
?
”
Georgia asked.
“
Shouldn
’
t he have found you by now
?
”

“
I don
’
t know
,
”
Carrie said.
“
How did you two find me? I don
’
t know
.
”

“
Georgie Crockett here followed the trail up the mountain
.
”
Jules waved a hand in Georgia
’
s direction as they moved to help Carrie stand. There was no way the two of them could carry her up the incline. They weren
’
t strong enough or big enough. Carrie would have to make most of the climb herself.
“
We were looking for Hellbrook
.
”

“
Didn
’
t Hell tell you to stay at the station
?
”
Carrie asked. Georgia could see a sheen of panic in her eyes.
Hear it in the way Carrie repeated herself several times. The younger woman usually had better control than that. She rarely repeated words.
“
Hell will be mad that you disobeyed him. You
’
re not supposed to disobey him. He
’
s the superior agent. He
’
ll be mad. Hell will be mad
.
”

“
He
’
ll have to deal with it. And he
’
s not going to be mad at you,
”
Georgia said, both to stop Carrie from getting more upset and because it was a non-issue to her.
“
Who knows how long you
’
d have been down there if we hadn
’
t. And he told me to wait for Jules
’
report. Well, here
’
s Jules. And I have her report
.
”

“
I think, after this, I
’
m staying in the office, and never coming out again, never. Never, never, never. If Hell thinks differently
—
I
’
ll consign
him
to hell,
”
Carrie said.

“
Simple as that, huh
?
”
Georgia wrapped one arm around the younger woman
’
s waist and started toward the easiest path up the hill.

“
Nothing in my life is ever easy,
”
Sparks said.
“
But this time
—
I
’
m gonna insist
.
”

“
Good girl,
”
Georgia said. They managed to get her a little closer to the faint trail.

Jules walked on her other side, taking a bit more of Carrie
’
s weight so that Georgia could keep her gun hand free.
“
Let
’
s get the hell out of here
.
”

Chapter
2
3

****

He was back at that pit a handful of minutes later. He
’
d actually gotten turned around somehow. Odd, he
’
d always had a keen sense of direction.

He must be losing it. Losing his hold on things. Needed a break. After this case, he
’
d put in for some vacation time. Maybe go to Idaho, see his boy for a few days.

He started toward the pit
’
s edge but stopped. Was that voices he heard? Women? He peered over the edge, careful to keep his head below the weed-growth line.

The princess and the mouse were crouched over Hellbrook
’
s redheaded pet. Made it more risky, but he still had to do it. He
’
d just be careful not to do serious damage
to them,
is all. He had to do it. If he didn
’
t and they connected him to Compton his career was done, and he could kiss the chances of his boy transferring to St. Louis goodbye. He had to do it.

Nobody said he had to actually hit the women. Just make it look real.

He let the first stone fly.

Chapter
24

****

The first rock struck Georgia
’
s left hip.

Georgia pulled her weapon while Jules let loose with a creative round of curses and grabbed Carrie to keep her from falling. Jules nabbed the gun holstered at Carrie
’
s left hip and stood in a position that mimicked Georgia
’
s, both brunettes blocking the younger woman
’
s injured body from whomever had lobbied the rocks over the ridge.

Another stone landed near Georgia
’
s foot.
“
Show yourself, you son-of-a-bitch!
”

“
Jules! Get Carrie over there!
”
She motioned to the general area where she knew visibility would be the most limited.
“
Stay up close to the wall. Keep your weapon ready. He can
’
t keep an eye on all three of us, you hear me? And that
’
s the weakest point for his aim. If you get a line on him, take your shot
.
”

“
And what are you going to do
?
”
Jules asked as another flurry of stones rained down upon them.
“
George
?
”

“
I
’
m going to
have a little fun. Remember
—
take
your shot
.
”
Georgia holstered her weapon, knowing it would be useless for her plan.

“
Georgia,
”
Carrie said.
“
Please, please, be careful
.
”

“
Jules, get her out of the damned way,
”
Georgia said.

Her plan must have become clear to Jules; she let out a
second
round of curses that had Georgia
’
s admiration growing again. Where had the other woman learned those words? Jules moved quick, following Georgia
’
s instructions.

Georgia waited until Jules and Carrie had followed her orders before moving to the center of the pit. She picked up the first stone
—
about the size of her palm
—
and tested it
’
s weight, estimated the area the UNSUB was most likely standing in, and let the stone fly. She repeated the same gesture as fast as she could, moving from spot to spot.
“
Come on, you cowardly bastard! Can
’
t you take it when they fight back
?
”

Harder, heavier stones were her only answer. Throws filled with more and more rage.

She ignored the slight burning in her shoulder as she returned the volley. She
’
d not played three years of college fast-pitch for nothing. Her reward was a satisfying grunt-the only hint one of her missiles had hit home.
“
Come on! Bring it on! Can
’
t you hit me
?
”

More rocks landed closer as she darted across the pit from one side to the other. She was glad for the latest assault-her supply of rocks was shrinking. Her arm burned; the stones were twice as heavy as a softball. She saw Jules out of the corner of her eye; the doctor stood ready, waiting for the perfect shot-or any shot.

Georgia ran in her direction for a second, long enough to give one more order.
“
Fire a few shots into the
bank near his feet
. Maybe we can draw attention. Whoever else is on this damned mountain. Somebody has to be nearby
.
”

“
Yes, ma
’
am! You
’
re the boss out here,
”
Jules nodded, resolution in her eyes, her hands steady. Georgia kept throwing the stones over the edge of the ridge-a good thirty-five feet or more. And they
’
d occasionally hear the resulting thuds of stone hitting flesh. She gave as good as she got.