Ellie inhaled sharply and glanced at the crows, unable to shake off the antsy feeling. “Did Shondra mention anything strange happening to her lately? Did she say anything about someone stalking her or bothering her?”
“No… I mean she was upset with her boss, but that was nothing new. Now tell me what’s going on.”
“I don’t want to panic you, but I think she’s been taken.” Typically, she would hold back information, treat Melissa like a suspect. But this was no ordinary case or an instance of love gone awry––she’d received a message from the killer himself.
And he had her friend.
Thirty
Crooked Creek
Two hours later, Ellie sank onto her couch, still reeling from shock. Her hands were shaking as she dialed her therapist’s emergency number. Kennedy had given it to her the first time they’d met and promised they could do an online health video-call session anytime she needed.
Ellie had balked, thinking she’d never resort to calling it.
But with her best friend’s life in the hands of a serial killer, she had nowhere to turn.
With a pang, she remembered the first time she’d met Shondra. Ellie had tracked a meth dealer to a house in the hills and Shondra had shown up at the scene because of a domestic call at the same address. The meth dealer’s brother was in the main house beating up on his girlfriend, and Shondra had charged in, tough as nails, trussed him up like a pig and dragged the creep out by his hair.
They’d bonded on the spot.
A message told her the therapist was ready, so she phoned the number and seconds later, Kennedy Sledge’s face appeared. “Hello, Ellie. What’s going on?”
Tears flooded Ellie as she pictured the murder scenes with the grave of wildflowers, and she explained about Shondra’s abduction.
“You and Deputy Eastwood are friends?”
Ellie nodded and took a sip of the vodka she had poured for herself, the ice clinking. “Yeah. I guess I don’t make friends easily. Seems like I piss everyone off.”
“What makes you say that?”
“Butting heads with Sheriff Waters just like I did some of the trainees at the police academy. Shondra and the sheriff go at it, too. He thinks he’s superior because he’s a man.”
“But you stand up to him?”
“Hell, yeah,” Ellie muttered. “I’m just as good a cop as him, or better. Except…”
“Except what, Ellie?”
“Except that I was so blind to my father’s secrets that two little girls nearly died before I figured out the truth.” Emotions choked her. “And now what if I’m too late for Shondra?”
Thirty-One
Wednesday
Bluff County Medical Examiner’s Office
An hour of sleep, at a push. That’s all Ellie had gotten.
She’d rest later. After all, what was loss of sleep when god knows what Shondra might be suffering?
Ironically, bright sunshine shimmered across the concrete parking lot of the morgue, and sunflowers poked through the planters flanking the grassy area where benches offered seating and a reprieve for workers to escape the gruesome happenings inside.
Still, even the sun couldn’t alter her mood this morning. Anxiety coiled inside her as she entered the morgue, followed by shock when she found Special Agent Derrick Fox waiting outside Laney’s office.
Seeing him in person again resurrected memories of their one night together, wreaking havoc on her already frayed nerves. His dark hair was combed back from his forehead, his charcoal shirt accentuating his deep brown eyes. He stood ramrod straight, his jaw clenched as if he didn’t want to be here.
Remember, he hates you. And he destroyed your family.
Although really, had he? Her family had done that themselves with their decades-long deceit.
Ellie folded her arms. “What are you doing here?”
A small sardonic smile tilted the corners of his mouth. “Your boss called me,” he said in a gruff voice.
Damn, she hadn’t seen that coming. “You could have sent another agent.”
His brow rose, some emotion she didn’t recognize flickering in his eyes before his professional mask slid back into place. “You didn’t know he asked for me?”
She shook her head. “I’ve been busy.”
He cleared his throat. “He called me early this morning, said he thinks you have another serial killer in Bluff County.”
Ellie gave a clipped nod. Although technically it took three kills to constitute a serial killer, these crimes had the markings of one––and they had to act fast. “It looks that way. He also abducted one of our deputies, Shondra Eastwood.”
“You know that for sure?” Derrick asked.
“I got a phone call from her, asking for help. Then I searched her place and found signs of foul play.” She hesitated as the images of the daffodils floated through her mind. “Signs matching his signature.”
“Which is?”
“I’ll explain all of it later,” Ellie said. “I need to brief the sheriff and Deputy Landrum once we leave here.” She might as well do it all at once.
The door opened, and Laney appeared, a frown crinkling her forehead. She looked exhausted and Ellie realized she must have worked through the night. “I’m ready, Ellie.” A hint of recognition shone in her eyes as she glanced at Derrick. “Agent Fox, I wasn’t expecting you.”
“Captain Hale called him.” Ellie gestured toward the office. “Do you have autopsy results? An ID?”
Laney nodded, her deep chocolate eyes troubled. Ellie and Derrick followed the medical examiner inside the autopsy room. The acrid odor of body waste, decay, blood and formaldehyde assaulted Ellie as they approached the lifeless woman lying on the metal slab. A sheet covered her lower extremities, and Laney had carefully executed the Y incision. Pans holding the woman’s organs sat to the side, and her breasts were exposed, where Laney had removed the remains of the implants. Her skin was blue and marred with black and purple bruising, both on her neck and torso. The young woman couldn’t be more than thirty years old and had her entire life ahead of her.
Just like Shondra did.
Derrick remained rigid, his expression giving nothing away, while Ellie used a handkerchief to cover her mouth and nose. She didn’t know if she’d ever get used to the heinous smells in the morgue, or the sight of a human body dissected.
“What can you tell me from the body?” Ellie asked, gesturing toward the corpse.
“I sent her bloodwork, prints and DNA to the lab.” With gloved hands, Laney lifted one of the implants. “These helped identify her. Her name is Carrie Winters.”
Adjusting her glasses, Laney carefully opened the woman’s mouth with gloved hands. Using a pair of tweezers, she removed a small folded piece of paper, then dropped it into a metal bin.
Derrick made a low sound in his throat as Laney used the tweezers to unfold it.
Tuesday’s child is full of grace.
“You know the nursery rhyme?” Ellie asked Derrick.
Arms crossed in front of him, he nodded. “It goes through all seven days of the week.”