Kidnapping cold case, p.12
Kidnapping Cold Case, page 12
“What if he already thinks he’s lost us?” She glanced at Cash. “He may never head down this road.”
“He might not,” Cash agreed. “Especially if the cops patrolling the area find him.”
She wanted to ask how long they’d have to sit in the cold but held her tongue. Cash couldn’t predict the future. They’d just have to wait and see what happened.
The minutes ticked by slowly. She’d enjoyed the heated seats, but now the warmth was fading and a deep chill was settling in her bones. The weather might be mild for January, but it was still freezing.
Gritting her teeth, she told herself not to complain. Cash was doing his best to keep them safe.
“Can you hold out a little longer?” The way he seemed to know exactly what she was thinking unnerved her.
“Yes.” She softly gasped. “Cash! Is that the truck?”
As if on cue, a large black truck with tinted windows rolled past. It wasn’t going nearly as fast now.
“Yep, that’s it.” Cash’s gaze tracked the vehicle until it was out of sight. “The good news is that he didn’t notice us here.”
“What’s the bad news?”
He grinned wryly. “We need to stay put for a while longer in case he doubles back this way.”
“That’s fine.” She tried not to shiver.
He reached over to take her hand. “I can start the car for a few minutes.”
Tempting, but she shook her head. “No need. I wouldn’t want to give away our location.”
“Me, either. But I think he’ll follow this road for a while yet.”
Clinging to Cash’s hand, she found strength in his touch. On some level, she knew Cash wasn’t anything like Greg Archer, the Appleton cop she’d once dated. But at the same time, she knew this was a temporary interlude. Nothing that would last forever.
She liked her life the way it was. Uncomplicated and unencumbered. Greg had gotten annoyed when she’d been called out to do sketches at odd hours, or on the weekends he had off.
Glancing at Cash, she couldn’t imagine him being annoyed at her being called out to sketch a suspect. Too bad he lived and worked in Madison.
And she had no desire to go back to the city where she’d been a victim. Madison was part of her past. Appleton, and the surrounding police departments she worked with, were her future. A future she couldn’t enjoy until this assailant was caught and placed behind bars.
“You need to set me up as bait to draw this guy out.”
“No. We had this discussion, remember?” Cash sounded annoyed.
“Yet here we are, hiding in the woods because he keeps finding us,” she shot back.
“He must have followed Abrams, or learned she’d come to the motel where we were staying,” Cash said grimly. “I don’t know how, maybe someone used the radio to ask about meeting with her, only to be told she was at our motel. It’s the only thing that makes sense.”
“Could be that he has connections within the Madison Police Department. Which will work in our favor to set a trap for him.”
“Then who am I going to trust to act as backup?” Cash asked harshly. “Not anyone within the Madison PD.”
“Detective Vargas, for one.” She thought for a moment. “Although, I have to admit, the two missing girls in Appleton could mean this guy is now working locally.”
“As a cop?” Cash twisted in his seat. Their breathing was causing the windows to fog up, so he turned on the engine long enough to defog them. “How would that even be possible?”
“I don’t know.” She shook her head. “I figured he’d been arrested at some point, otherwise I feel like he’d have left a trail of missing blonde girls in his wake.”
“I had the same thought.” Cash hesitated for a moment. “I don’t see this perp as a cop. The recent assaults don’t come across as being done by a professional. I’m leaning toward the substitute teacher angle.”
“Maybe, but I don’t remember a substitute teacher at the high school.” She wished she did; it would be easy enough to follow up to see if that same teacher had worked elsewhere.
“What about a long-term substitute?” Cash asked.
“I don’t remember one.” Then she frowned. “To be honest, if one of my teachers was a long-term sub, I’m not sure we as students would know. Especially if the teacher started at the beginning of the school year. The other students and I went from class to class without really knowing much about a teacher’s background.”
“Keep thinking on it,” Cash said. “Maybe something will come to you.”
“Don’t hold your breath,” she muttered. It burned to know her attempt to be hypnotized had failed. “My mind has done nothing but let me down.”
“Or it’s protecting you, Jacy. Try not to think the worst, okay?”
She wanted to go back to setting a trap, but at that moment the sound of an engine reached their ears. She could hear the truck before it rolled by.
The same black truck, with the same tinted windows. Jacy held her breath, as this time, the Ford was moving more slowly, as if sensing they were hiding in the woods, watching.
Cash’s fingers tightened on hers. She understood he was signaling her to remain silent. Not a problem, as she couldn’t have spoken if she’d wanted to.
After the truck disappeared down the street, they continued waiting for several long minutes.
Finally, she broke the silence. “Don’t you see, Cash? He’s never going to stop looking for us. Setting a trap for him is the only option.”
“I can agree that he’ll keep looking.” Cash didn’t move, his contemplation still on the windshield. “I just wish I knew who to trust.”
“Call Detective Vargas,” she urged. “He’ll help us set a trap for this guy. Heading back to Appleton is probably the best idea, anyway.” She couldn’t deny a deep desire to get far away from Madison.
Enough was enough. Trying to spur her blocked memories had only resulted in several attempts to kill them.
And she was very much afraid if they didn’t try something different, the man in the black truck would succeed in his mission.
* * *
Cash ground his molars together. If Jacy mentioned setting herself up as bait one more time, he was going to lose it.
What part of not an option didn’t she understand? He was beyond annoyed at the way she kept bringing the subject up. As if her stubborn persistence was going to change his mind.
When she began to shiver, he started the engine again. He wasn’t ready to leave the sanctuary of the woods yet but didn’t want to see her suffer, either.
On the heels of that realization came another. If Jacy was anyone else, would he agree to set her up as bait?
No, of course not. The police did not use innocent victims like that.
Except, of course, they sometimes did. Especially when there was no alternative.
Fine, then he’d have to find a different approach. Because he couldn’t bring himself to use Jacy in that way.
Not even to save another innocent teenage girl? He winced at the question that flashed in the back of his mind. And knew the answer was a resounding no. Not even then.
“Thanks, I’m warmer now,” Jacy said, breaking the strained silence.
“I don’t want to leave until we know for sure the truck won’t return.” They’d been sitting there for thirty minutes already. The truck had returned after twenty minutes, so he wanted to wait at least that much longer.
Maybe more.
Over the next few minutes, he ran the engine until the seats had warmed up. Then he shut down again, unwilling to disclose their location.
“Can I grab my sketchbook?” Jacy asked.
“Sure, I’ll get it for you.” He was glad for an excuse to get out of the vehicle. After he pulled her sketchbook and pencils from her bag and handed them to her, he decided to walk along the tree line. “I’ll be back in a few minutes.”
“Okay.” Jacy was already starting to sketch their surroundings.
He thought again about how good she was at her job, and wondered why this perp had decided to come after her all these years later.
On some level, it didn’t make sense. Since Jacy hadn’t sketched his likeness and put it out there for law enforcement officers to use.
Unless, of course, this guy was obsessed with her as the one who’d gotten away.
He moved along the woods, keeping a keen eye on the highway. Another vehicle appeared on the horizon, but it was a small, bright blue, two-door sedan that whizzed past.
Not the perp.
He stood for a moment, scanning the landscape. He was tempted to get out of there, but knew it would be better to wait.
Making his way back to the SUV, he tried to come up with a plan to use a female police officer who resembled Jacy enough that they might be able to draw this guy out of hiding. Because Jacy was right about one thing.
This running and hiding from the assailant was getting old.
He slid behind the wheel, glancing over at Jacy’s sketch, somewhat disappointed it wasn’t his likeness. Pushing the ridiculous thought away, he said, “I didn’t realize you drew landscapes.”
“I draw everything,” she said with a grin. “But getting details from witnesses to draw suspects is my best skill.”
He couldn’t deny that. Gesturing to the portfolio, he asked, “Can I see them?”
“Sure.” She continued drawing as if she wasn’t paying him much attention.
As he reached for the portfolio, his phone rang. Startled, he dropped the portfolio and grabbed the device. It took a moment for him to recognize Detective Vargas’s number.
“Detective Rawson,” he answered.
“It’s Vargas. Is Jacy with you?”
“Yes. Do you want me to place the call on speaker?”
“No, hearing this news might upset her. A dog found the remains of a young teenage girl half buried beneath rocks under a railroad bridge. I’m heading there now to see if the body might be one of our missing girls, either Claire or Suzanna.”
He winced, knowing Vargas was right. The news that the missing girl might be dead would be devastating. “Where are you? I’d like to see the area.”
Jacy sucked in a harsh breath. “Which girl is it?”
“We don’t know yet,” he said to Jacy. Then into the phone, added, “Vargas? I know we’re a couple of hours away, but we’re heading north now.” He started the engine on the SUV.
“Actually, the body was found halfway between Appleton and Madison,” Vargas said. “Outside a small town called Bakersville.”
“Bakersville?” Cash repeated, pulling out from their hiding spot. The branches fell away as he led the SUV over the rocky terrain. “Do you think that location is significant?”
“Not sure,” Vargas said. “The place is barely a dot on the map. I’m heading there now.”
“See you soon then.” Cash set the phone aside. Once they reached the road, he keyed up the map on the dashboard screen. Following the directions, they’d get to Bakersville in an hour and fifteen minutes.
Faster, if he pushed the speed limit, which he fully intended to do.
“They’re dead, aren’t they?” Jacy whispered. She’d set her sketchbook aside. “All of the missing girls are dead.”
“We don’t know that. Let’s not jump to conclusions.” He tried to sound confident, but deep down, he’d always suspected the missing girls had been killed.
And if Bakersville was the dump site? The town had to have some sort of significance for their perp.
“I should have died that night,” Jacy said. “Maybe if I hadn’t escaped, this guy wouldn’t have grabbed the other innocent girls.”
“Jacy, please don’t torture yourself over this.” He wanted to reach over to take her hand, but he was pushing the speed limit and needed both hands on the wheel. “There’s only one man who is responsible for this. Not you.”
She didn’t answer, but stared out the windshield. Between making sure they didn’t run across the black truck, and getting to Bakersville as quickly as possible, he had to concentrate on the road.
Even though he’d rather offer Jacy some comfort.
“Help me watch for the black Ford truck,” he finally said. “Let me know if you see it.”
“I will.”
They didn’t talk much as he navigated the traffic around Madison. Once he’d passed the big city, he was able to push the speed limit further.
In the end, they made good time in reaching Bakersville. Vargas was right about the town being barely a blip on the map. It was so small, Cash thought he’d have missed it completely if he hadn’t been looking for it.
Finding the cluster of police vehicles off to the side of the road wasn’t difficult since there was hardly any traffic at all in the area. There weren’t any houses in the immediate vicinity that he could see. Almost fifty yards from the road, there was a creek, with a railroad bridge reaching from one side to the other with high iron arches. It was hard to tell if the tracks were still in use.
Strange for their perp to have hidden the body here.
Maybe the dead girl was someone else. Obviously, a dead girl was always terrible, no matter who she was, but he found himself hoping the young teenage girl wasn’t Suzanna Perry or Claire Simmons.
As he and Jacy got out of the SUV, he saw Detective Vargas standing down at the creek bank, near the base of the bridge. He and several officers had circled around a pile of rocks.
“Jacy, stay here. You don’t need to see this.”
“Yes, I do.” She looked pale but determined. “I’m coming with you.”
He held out his hand and she took it. Together they went down the embankment to approach the scene. The ground was hard and icy beneath their feet, and the water in the creek was frozen. The temp was a little colder here than in Madison.
“He used the rocks to try to bury the body,” Vargas said by way of greeting. “I’m sure the killer figured no one would search here, but thankfully a marathon runner was going past and his dog found it.”
Cash braced himself. This wouldn’t be the first dead body he’d seen, but he knew it was likely Jacy’s. He wished she’d have stayed back, but she stood stoically beside him, gazing down at the girl who was still partially covered with rocks.
“She looks like Suzanna Perry,” Jacy whispered.
Cash silently agreed. He met Vargas’s gaze, arching a brow. The detective nodded.
“She’s wearing the same clothing that Suzanna had on the day she disappeared,” Vargas said. “We’ll need her parents to make a firm ID, but I believe it’s her.”
“Where’s her necklace?” Jacy stepped closer, a crease furrowing her brow. “I thought the picture showed her wearing a moon-shaped necklace.”
“No sign of it. And no sign of her winter coat, either.” Vargas grimaced and Cash knew exactly what he was thinking.
The killer had kept the necklace and maybe even the coat as souvenirs.
It made him realize this guy was a serial killer, one who likely wouldn’t stop.
Until they caught him.
TWELVE
It took all of Jacy’s willpower not to throw up on the crime scene. Or to fall apart, crumpling to the ground in a heap. Cash wouldn’t appreciate that, especially as she had insisted on coming along.
Yet she turned away, pulling from his grasp. This was worse than she’d imagined, and it gave her some inkling as to what he and the other detectives dealt with every day.
Taking a few steps back, she drew in a few shallow breaths. The news of Suzanna Perry’s death wasn’t that surprising. Deep down, she’d always suspected the two missing girls wouldn’t be found alive.
But seeing the results of this killer’s despicable work was devastating. No young girl should end up in a shallow grave, covered with loose rocks near a frozen creek and mostly hidden beneath a railroad bridge. She doubted the killer had expected the body to be uncovered by a marathon runner and his dog.
Even from her stance at the edge of the gravesite, she could see the dark bruises that had encircled Suzanna’s neck. Jacy was no expert but had to believe Suzanna had been strangled to death.
She lifted her hand to her throat, unable to imagine how the poor girl had suffered.
Behind her, she could hear Vargas and Cash speaking in low tones. She continued walking back up the embankment toward the SUV parked along the side of the road. Soon, the voices faded, leaving only silence in her wake.
Suzanna’s missing necklace niggled at the back of her mind, making her reach up to touch the crystal around her neck.
Would the killer have taken her necklace, too, if he’d succeeded in holding her hostage ten years ago? She tried to think back to the picture she’d seen of Claire Simmons. There wasn’t a necklace in the photo that she remembered. But the young girl had been wearing blue earrings, and possibly rings on her fingers, too.
She told herself the jewelry didn’t matter, at least not at this point. Maybe it was something that would help down the road.
But first, they had to find him.
Walking a few feet, she stood gazing out at the sleepy landscape. The lack of activity in the area must have been a factor in the killer’s deciding to bury Suzanna’s body here. Had he known this area? That the creek would have rocks to use to cover Suzanna’s body? Both girls had disappeared in winter, which would have made disposing of their bodies difficult.
Had he left Claire’s body nearby, too?
Hunching her shoulders against the cool breeze, she took in another shaky breath. If both Suzanna and Claire were dead, she felt certain the three girls—Emily, Beth and Kim—had likely suffered the same fate.
Five young women were dead. Dead! All because of her? No, she couldn’t handle that. Cash seemed to think this guy would have kept killing, regardless of her escape, but what if he was wrong? She never wanted to believe this was personal, but the connection of every missing girl being in high school made her think it was.
