There would be no opportunity tonight, unless he shot
her from where he sat, but he’d have to take out Webster first. He hated to do
that. Not that he was averse to killing a cop, of course.
But if Webster
dies now, his death will overshadow my case
. The press would be sympathetic
to a cop killed in the line of duty and all the wonderful outrage he was about
to whip up would be gone before it started.
There wasn’t much choice. To get to Eve tonight, he
had to go through Webster.
Unless he waited. He had her keys. He could return to
her apartment once the guy with the pickup truck left. He frowned. If he left.
Hunter might sleep over. He might be Eve’s boyfriend. So be it. If Hunter
didn’t leave, he’d kill them both. He’d wait until Hunter was asleep. Horizontal.
Once Hunter was out of the way, transporting Eve to his basement would be much
easier.
He liked that idea better. Better to save cop killings
for the end, when the public would think they’d gotten what they deserved. He
slid his laptop into its case, put his SUV in gear, and drove away. He’d be
back later.
Monday, February 22, 10:00 p.m.
Harvey Farmer stopped his car a block behind
Webster’s. The detectives had split up, so he and Dell had as well. Dell was
following Phelps. Harvey wasn’t sure that was always such a good idea. The boy
had a hair-trigger temper. He hoped his surviving son had grown enough sense
not to kill Phelps before they had the information to ruin them.
Harvey wanted Phelps ruined, then dead.
No martyred
cops on my watch
.
He’d followed Webster from the station to the crime
scene and now here, the home of the woman who’d been searching the scene for
her keys, which she had not found. He wondered how she fit. It was the second
time today he’d seen her with Webster.
He hadn’t noticed Webster with any women and he’d been
watching him for a long time. He coached pee-wee basketball on Saturdays and on
Sundays had dinner with his cop cousin. Mondays he went to Sal’s, and Tuesdays
he hit his AA meeting downtown.
That Webster would have a woman made Harvey clench his
teeth. His son had planned to raise a family, but VJ would never get that
chance. Webster and Phelps had stolen one son’s life. Sent Dell into a
depression that had the boy half crazy.
Me, too
. He
hadn’t had decent sleep in a year. But it would be worth it. Webster hadn’t
mistepped, but he would. He had before. It was a matter of time.
He hid his face as a black SUV slid by. He didn’t want
any notice until he was ready.
Monday, February 22, 10:00 p.m.
Noah had listened as she’d talked about the women
she’d known as Gwenivere and Desiree and now he better understood the victims,
and Eve. They weren’t so different, he and Eve. But she wasn’t ready to hear
that. Yet.
“Thank you. Comparing the victims’ attraction to the
virtual world to an addiction puts it in terms I can better understand,” he
said and she sighed, just a little.
“When we can’t meet our needs with what we possess,
some of us look for escape, rather than try to change what’s keeping us from
what we crave. Change is hard.”
“And addiction is a means, or perhaps the consequence
of escape,” he said.
“True. People get sucked in to Shadowland because what
they find there meets their needs. Excitement. Attention. Love. Escape from a
real world they can’t deal with.” She shrugged. “A lot of the same reasons
people drink or do drugs.”
There was so much more he wanted to hear her tell him.
But it was late and she was pulling on her gloves. “How will you get in without
your keys?”
“My friend Callie has a set. I texted her to bring
them over. She should only be a few minutes, so you can go if you want. I’ll be
fine.”
Noah bit back his impatience. “Eve, even if Samantha
Altman wasn’t in your study, you are connected to two dead women. How do you
know you’re not a target?”
“I guess I don’t,” she said, but she clearly didn’t
believe she was.
“That doesn’t seem to worry you as much as it should.”
She drummed her fingers on her knee. “Well, I’ve been
thinking.”
“Why am I not surprised?” he asked and she smiled
wryly.
“Just listen. Let’s assume he met all three victims in
Shadowland. He chats them up. Sometimes people forget they’re playing a role.
They get caught up and become themselves again. Christy did when she came to
Façades. She probably did with him, too. He finds where they live, landmarks
around their house where people hang out. You hear of kids being targeted
online like this, but adults forget they’re vulnerable, too.”
“Okay. He finds out where they live or he lures them
to a meeting place.”
“Exactly. ‘You like sunsets, I like sunsets. You like
long walks on a snowy day, me, too. We have so much in common, let’s meet IRL.’
”
“IRL?”
“In real life. So they meet and the women either take
him home or he follows them. He could be local or he could be hitting women all
over the country.”
“That makes me feel better,” Noah said sarcastically
and her dark eyes flashed.
“I’m not trying to make you feel better. I’m trying to
keep from having another woman’s blood on my hands.”
“So you
do
believe your study is involved.”
“Only because that’s why Christy was in Shadowland to
begin with. Martha was there before I started my study and Samantha wasn’t in
my study at all. The point is, he’s probably making contact with them. I’m not
planning to meet anyone I meet online, so I’m safe. So don’t worry. You worry
too much.”
“So do you, Greer the Guardian,” he said softly and
her cheeks heated prettily.
He wished he could touch, but knew she’d pull away.
Last night he’d been prepared to walk away, for her own good. Now… this was a
sign too bold to ignore.
They were at a crossroads, he and Eve. She meant to
walk on alone. He didn’t. But he wouldn’t push tonight. She’d said no, after
all.
“Touché.” She got out of the car. “Thanks for the ride
home. You can go. I’ll be fine.”
“Don’t be stup—” He caught himself. “Stubborn,” he
amended, then frowned when a shadow moved across a third-floor lighted window.
“Do you have a roommate?”
She looked up at the window, worried. “No. If I did,
I’d have knocked on the door.”
“Then come, but stay downstairs.” He ran up the
stairs, tried the doorknob, hand on his gun, stepping back when the door
opened. A man stood, wearing nothing but faded jeans and a towel around his
neck. Steel-gray eyes flicked to Noah’s gun, then back up.
“Can I help you?” he asked calmly, but his fists
gripped the ends of his towel.
I’m not available
, she’d said. Now Noah saw why. People called Jack handsome. Jack had
nothin’ on this guy, he thought bitterly. “Who are you? How did you get in?”
The man’s perfect jaw clenched. “I’m a friend of the
woman who lives here.”
I’ll just bet you are.
“Do us both a favor and don’t move.” Noah took
another step back, not taking his eyes from the man. “Eve,” he called loudly.
“Come up, please.”
She took the stairs at a fast jog, then paused when
she reached her landing. “Oh my God.
David?
” She flew past Noah,
throwing her arms around Mr. Perfect, who spun her around. When he set her on
her feet, it was like Noah wasn’t there.
“Let me look at you,” David said and tipped her chin
up. “Wow. You look good, kid. Really good. You can barely see…” He trailed off
when her smile dimmed. “I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay. I had a hell of a plastic surgeon.” Her
smile returned. “Why are you here?”
“And how did you get in?” Noah repeated carefully.
Eve frowned up at David. “Yeah. How
did
you get
in?”
David frowned back. “You left your door unlocked.
Again
.”
She shook her head, her face gone pale. “No. I didn’t.
I don’t do that anymore. Ever.”
“It was open when I got here. You have to be more
careful, Evie.”
“You did leave in a hurry,” Noah said quietly.
“But I always lock my door. Oh my God. My computer—”
“Is still here,” David said calmly and Eve drew a deep
breath of relief.
“So what are you doing here?” Noah asked.
David lifted his brows. “Fixing her roof. Who are you
again?”
“This is Detective Webster,” she said, still anxious.
“Detective, this is my old friend from Chicago, David Hunter.”
Noah shook his hand, even though he didn’t want to.
“You came all the way from Chicago to fix her roof?” he asked, annoyed that he
sounded so… annoyed.
“She left me a message asking how she could do it
herself. I had a few days off and didn’t want her climbing the roof. Look, I’m
freezing. Why don’t you come in?”
“It’s okay. I’ve got to get back. Can I talk to Eve
for a minute, privately?” He waited until the door was closed. “Does he come
often to do home repairs?”
“He’s never visited before.” Eve looked at her door
thoughtfully. “I think there’s more to it, but I’ll take a fixed roof for now.
It’s been a long day. Go home. I’m fine here.”
He could see that. “You have my cell. And if you go
back into Shadowland—”
“Greer will not approach the avatar that was talking
to Christy’s Gwenivere last night, and I will call you right away. Nor will I
make any dates with avatars. I got it. I’m fine.”
“All right.” He was halfway to street level when she
called his name. She looked over the rail, her dark eyes now troubled.
“I’m not with David. It changes nothing, but I didn’t
want you to think I’d lied to you.”
He nodded hard. “I’ll be in touch. Lock your door.”
Monday, February 22, 10:20 p.m.
David was on her land line when she got back. “A cop
brought her home.” He gave her a stern look. “It’s Ethan.”
She winced. “Ooh. I forgot to call him back.”
“Yeah. You did.” He handed her the phone. “He wants to
talk to you.”
“Do you know how worried I’ve been?” Ethan’s words
were thundered in a whisper. Which meant he still hadn’t told Dana. At least
there was that.
“I’m sorry. Ethan, I just finished with the police and
I haven’t eaten all day. Can I call you in a little while? I’m going to need
some advice on hacking anyway.”
Ethan’s sigh was weary. “Call my cell, not the house
phone. All the kids are in bed.”
David was buttoning his shirt when she hung up, his
eyes narrowed. “I’ll make you dinner while you tell me what the
hell
is
going on.”
The sight of David in a kitchen brought back memories.
“You used to cook for me.”
He stilled, then resumed his search of her fridge.
“While we waited for Dana to come home from the bus station,” he said quietly.
Eve’s guardian had picked up many a terrified woman
from the bus station in the middle of the night, risking the ire of the abusive
husbands that had driven them to flee. David had worried about Dana all the
time, but that hadn’t stopped him from supporting her efforts. Anything that
needed doing around their shelter, David had attended to.
He’d been in love with Dana. Probably still was. To
Eve’s knowledge he’d never said a word. And then Ethan had come along and Dana
had fallen like a rock. It had to be hard for David, watching Dana’s family
grow.
He set peppers and onions on a cutting board. “Where
are your knives?”
“On that top shelf in the lockbox. Key’s taped to the
bottom of the box.”
He looked over his shoulder, concerned. “You still
dreaming?”
She shrugged, not wanting to talk about that. “Now and
then. How did you know to call Ethan?”
“I was scared shitless. I did a redial on your phone
and who should answer but Ethan, totally frantic. You were sitting in a police
car and some woman was dead.”
“I should have called him.”
“Yeah, you should have. But I guess you were a little
busy.”
Eve watched David dice vegetables faster than a chef.
“Why are you here? Really?”
“Dana used to climb on the roof. I didn’t want you doing
the same and breaking your fool neck. I dumped all the water out of your pots,
by the way. They were overflowing.”
“Thanks. For emptying my pots and for dropping
everything to come out and help me. But a phone call would have sufficed. I
probably wouldn’t have gone on the roof.”
“I had a few days off. Thought I’d get away. I’ll
start patching tomorrow.”
Her eyes fell on the calendar on her fridge, with the
big circle around Thursday. “Dana’s baby shower is Thursday night,” she said
quietly. “At your mom’s house.”
His wide shoulders sagged and she knew she was right.
Dana’s family and David’s were close. Major holidays and special occasions were
spent together. To Eve’s knowledge Dana had no clue how David had felt all
these years. It must have been torture for him.