Lisa Jackson's Bentz And Montoya Bundle Part 27

The baby began to wail loudly, and Ty released Prissy's hand. "If you ever want to talk about this, give me a call." He slipped a card from his wallet and tried to hand it to her, but she wouldn't take it.

"I won't," she insisted. "Look, Annie was my friend, okay? I liked her a lot, even though she ticked me off about Ryan. But as far as I'm concerned, she got real messed up, couldn't face her parents or Ryan about the baby and committed suicide. I won't call you. Ever. Billy Ray wouldn't like it."

She slipped inside, and Ty left his business card tucked in the frame of the screen door. There was a chance that she'd change her mind, though he thought it was mighty slim.

"But you haven't actually spoken to Peter or seen him," Sam's father said.

He'd returned her call, but his voice sounded defeated and tired.

Inwardly she cringed as she cradled the receiver between her head and shoulder, then opened a can of cat food and scooped out the tuna/chicken feast for Charon, who was crying loudly and swarming around her bare feet. "No, I haven't personally talked to him yet, Dad, but the fact that Pete sat down and had a conversation with Corky is encouraging."

"I would love to have a word with him," William Matheson said wistfully.

You and me both, Sam thought, but bit back her anger. "Let's think of this as kind of a breakthrough," Sam said, accentuating the positive. "No one that I know of has seen or heard from him in years, and he actually approached Corky in the bar." That was stretching the truth a little. Corky hadn't said that Peter initiated the conversation, but her dad needed encouragement. "Now, listen, if I hear anything else, I'll let you know." She rinsed the empty can in the sink, then tossed it into the trash. Sam thought, but bit back her anger. "Let's think of this as kind of a breakthrough," Sam said, accentuating the positive. "No one that I know of has seen or heard from him in years, and he actually approached Corky in the bar." That was stretching the truth a little. Corky hadn't said that Peter initiated the conversation, but her dad needed encouragement. "Now, listen, if I hear anything else, I'll let you know." She rinsed the empty can in the sink, then tossed it into the trash.

"I suppose I could check with Information in Atlanta. They might have his number."

"They might." She didn't think so.

"But it's probably unlisted. It was when he was living in Houston."

Sam froze. She'd been pulling the trash from beneath the sink, but now she slowly straightened. "Wait a minute. When was he in Texas?"

"Years ago. I had that private investigator looking for him and he found him down not far from where you were living at the time."

"Are you telling me that Pete was in Houston and you knew about it but you never told me?"

"I'm not sure it was him, it could have been another Peter Matheson. I never got through, and you...well, you were going through so much with the divorce and that Annie Seger mess."

Which is happening again.

"I didn't think you needed the added stress of knowing that he was in the same town and never called. Besides, as I said, I'm not even sure it was Pete. The pictures I saw of him weren't that good, and he was always looking away or wearing a hat or sungla.s.ses or something."

"He was there when I was? And you didn't tell me...Jesus, Dad, even if it wasn't the right Peter Matheson, don't you think you should have let me know?" She couldn't believe her father's duplicity. This was just so unlike him. "In all these years, whenever you and I talked you always asked about Peter and never once mentioned that he could have been in Houston."

"What would have been the point?" her father asked, his voice bristling defensively. "Whether he was fifty miles from you or five hundred or five, what difference did it make?"

"Dad," she said firmly, "I wasn't even sure he was alive."

"Neither was I. As I said, I'm not even sure it was our Pete."

Our Pete. He hasn't been our Pete in years. But there was no reason to argue. Sam quieted her hammering heart and finished the phone call. Her father was right. So what if Pete had been in Houston? He didn't know Annie Seger...couldn't have. She was just a high-school kid, and Houston was a huge metropolis that stretched for miles and was filled with hundreds of thousands of people. But there was no reason to argue. Sam quieted her hammering heart and finished the phone call. Her father was right. So what if Pete had been in Houston? He didn't know Annie Seger...couldn't have. She was just a high-school kid, and Houston was a huge metropolis that stretched for miles and was filled with hundreds of thousands of people.

But, if Pete had been in town, why hadn't he contacted her? With all the publicity about the Annie Seger suicide and the phone calls to the station, he certainly would have known Sam was not only living there but in the middle of the controversy and tragedy of Annie's death. Where was Peter when the press was hounding her, when the police were questioning her, when Annie's family was accusing her of everything from making a public mockery of their young daughter's problems to greed to malpractice?

It might not have been him, she told herself, as Charon hopped onto the kitchen table and began washing his face. she told herself, as Charon hopped onto the kitchen table and began washing his face. But there was a chance Peter had been there, just as he's surfaced once again, nine years later, when Annie Seger's name had come up again. But there was a chance Peter had been there, just as he's surfaced once again, nine years later, when Annie Seger's name had come up again.

There was just no point in thinking of what-ifs and what-might-have-beens. She was replacing the handset into the recharger when it jangled in her hands, startling her.

"Probably Dad apologizing," she told the cat. "Now,get down!" She pushed a b.u.t.ton on the handset and brought it to her ear. "h.e.l.lo."

"Samantha."

"John's" cold voice caused her blood to congeal.

Stay calm. Find out more about him. "Yes," she said, and glanced through the kitchen window. Across the street Edie Killingsworth was digging in her yard and Hannibal was romping through the gra.s.s, as if nothing evil, nothing sinister were happening. "Why are you calling me at home?" "Yes," she said, and glanced through the kitchen window. Across the street Edie Killingsworth was digging in her yard and Hannibal was romping through the gra.s.s, as if nothing evil, nothing sinister were happening. "Why are you calling me at home?"

"There's something you should know." Oh, G.o.d. "What's that, John?" she asked as she saw a police cruiser roll into her drive. If she could just keep the stalker on the line.

"I just want you to know that I kept my promise."

"Your promise?" she said and her heart squeezed in fear. The threat. He kept his threat. The threat. He kept his threat. "You mean the cake. I got it." "You mean the cake. I got it."

"No, there's something else."

"What?" she asked, dread filling her heart.

"I made a sacrifice. For you."

"A sacrifice. What sacrifice?"

Click.

The phone went dead.

"What sacrifice?" she screamed again, fear shooting through her. "What the h.e.l.l are you talking about, you b.a.s.t.a.r.d?"

But he was gone.

"d.a.m.n!" She slammed the receiver into its cradle. Through the window she watched Detective Bentz and his partner Montoya climb out of their cruiser. Their faces were set and hard as they walked toward the front door. She flew into the foyer, threw the bolt, and stared at the two men as they climbed onto her porch.

"What's happened?" she demanded, looking from one sober face to the other.

"I'm afraid we've got some bad news," Bentz said, and she could barely hear him over the hammering of her heart. "It's about one of your clients, a girl by the name of Leanne Jaquillard."

"No," she whispered, her knees starting to fail her, her lungs squeezing tight. She propped herself against the doorframe, and the noises she heard, Bentz's voice, Hannibal's yapping and a mockingbird singing seemed far away, from a distant place, hardly audible over the buzz of denial echoing through her brain.

"She's dead," Bentz said. "Murdered last night."

"No!" she said, destroyed inside. "Not Leanne. He wouldn't. He couldn't." Tears flooded her eyes and her fists clenched in impotence.

"We think she was killed by the same man who's killed two other women, the man who phones you at the station and calls himself John. Ms. Leeds? Samantha...are you all right."

"No," she forced out again. "He just called. That murdering son of a b.i.t.c.h just called and told me he'd made a sacrifice, that it was my fault for not atoning...oh, G.o.d, no, no, no!" she said, fighting the urge to break down altogether, sobs building within.

"There's more," Bentz said kindly, touching her arm, gently guiding her back into the cool foyer.

"No...no..." Leanne had tried to contact her, had even called. "It can't be. She called here, she was looking for me...I can't believe, I mean, there must be some mistake."

"No mistake," Bentz said, as Montoya closed the door behind him, shutting out the blistering sun and sultry heat.

"You said there was more," Sam said, wrapping her arms around her middle.

"Yes. She was pregnant."

Just like Annie. "Oh, G.o.d, no...not again..." Bentz drew in a deep breath as Sam sank onto the bottom step of the stairs. "She was wearing a red teddy when she was murdered. You said you were missing one, that it could have been taken, so I'd like you to come down to the station and see if it's the same." "Oh, G.o.d, no...not again..." Bentz drew in a deep breath as Sam sank onto the bottom step of the stairs. "She was wearing a red teddy when she was murdered. You said you were missing one, that it could have been taken, so I'd like you to come down to the station and see if it's the same."

Sam dropped her head in her hands and let the tears drizzle down her cheeks. Leanne was dead. And she hadn't been able to reach her, hadn't been able to help. "John" had murdered the girl, as well as others.

Bentz sat on the step next to her. "Are you all right? I know this is a shock, but I'm sure your life is in danger, and I wanted to warn you. Samantha, do you understand, this man is dangerous. He's killed three women, possibly more, and we think that you might be his ultimate target.

" At that moment the phone began to ring.

Chapter Twenty-nine.

"Answer it," Bentz said, and Sam forced herself to her feet. The policemen followed her into the kitchen as she picked up the receiver.

"h.e.l.lo?

"Sam?"

"Ty." She nearly dissolved into a puddle on the floor and sank against the kitchen counter.

"Something's wrong, isn't it? Sam?"

"It's Leanne...one of the girls I work with. He killed her, Ty, and he called me and told me he'd made a sacrifice and the police are here...and I have to go down to the station and..." She took a deep breath, tried to pull herself together.

"Stay put," Ty said. "I'm still in Houston, but I'm on my way to the airport. I'll be back in a few hours. The police are there? Stay with them, don't go out. Jesus Christ, I should never have left. He killed the girl?"

"And some others, I...I haven't talked to the detectives yet, they just got here," she said, regaining a modic.u.m of her equilibrium. "But Leanne...oh, G.o.d...and she was pregnant...just like Annie."

"Son of a b.i.t.c.h," he muttered, and then swore again. "Hang on, Sam, I'm comin' home. Just hang on."

"I will," she said before hanging up and turning to find both police officers looking uncomfortable and out of place in her kitchen. "Now...could you please...just tell me what's going on?" She swiped the tears from her eyes, but still felt numb inside. Leanne...oh, G.o.d, how could he have killed Leanne?

They sat around the small kitchen table and Bentz explained his theory that John was a serial killer, that somehow he was linked to Annie Seger, that Sam was his ultimate target. "We're not here to scare you, just tell you what's going on. I'll talk to the Cambrai police about extra patrols, we'll have someone watch the house and the station and we'll put tracers on all the phones, here and at the office." Guilt crossed his dark eyes. "We should have done it earlier, but we hadn't connected him to the murders. We have two eyewitnesses, one a hotel clerk, the other a girl we think he tried to a.s.sault who got away. They came up with a description." He reached into his pocket, unfolded a piece of paper, and slid it across the table. "Do you know this man?"

Staring at the sketch, Sam felt cold as death. The drawing was clear, but the features weren't defined. "What's that?" she asked, pointing to marks on the drawing of the suspect's left cheek. "A scar?"

"Scratch marks. The potential victim who got away clawed at him."

"Good," Sam said as she stared at the composite. "I-I don't think I know this man," she said, slowly shaking her head. "This guy could be anyone."

"With Type A positive blood. We're double-checking." Charon, eyeing the detectives warily, had hopped onto Sam's lap and she petted him absently as they talked. They questioned her about phone calls, had she seen anyone lurking around? Had she been approached? Was her alarm system working? Did it scare intruders off, or was it connected with a service? All the while the sketch was on the table, staring at her through dark gla.s.ses. He seemed familiar and yet not.

Once the preliminary questions were over, the detectives offered to drive her into New Orleans, to the station to view and possibly identify the red teddy, the single garment Leanne was wearing when she was killed. It made Sam sick to think of it, to imagine that she had anything to do with Leanne's death. She imagined the girl's terror, her fear, her pain.

If only she could have interceded, taken Leanne's calls for help, she thought again as she sat in the back of the cruiser. Montoya drove. Bentz, one arm over the backrest, twisted so that he could see Sam. The air conditioner roared, and the police radio crackled.

"We think he dresses them up to look like you," Bentz said, as Montoya drove around the edge of Lake Pontchar-train. Through the window, Sam glanced at the darkening water. A few sailboats were visible, the first stars were winking high overhead and the calm water seemed somehow foreboding and dark. Sinister. Like the evil that lurked in all the shadows, the evil that was somehow linked to her.

"We're confiding in the media, handing out composites and descriptions, hoping someone will recognize him. "We won't mention you or the calls to the station, nor will we bring up anything about Annie Seger or Houston, but we hope to flush him out."

"Or drive him to kill again."

Bentz didn't say a word.

"He will anyway," Montoya offered as he switched lanes. "We have to stop him before he does," she said, as the lights of New Orleans glittered ever more closely. Montoya was a lead-foot; the cruiser sped past other vehicles driving into the city. Sam hardly noticed. "We have to do anything we can to end this."

"That's the idea," Bentz said, and stuffed a stick of gum into his mouth. "The department's doing everything in its power-"

"Screw the 'department,'" she bit out. "How many women are dead? Three, you said, maybe more? Because of me and my show and G.o.d only knows what else? The 'department' hasn't saved any lives so far, right?" She was thinking hard. "And I'm the connection to him? Then we should use that. Try to reach him through my program."

"This is a police matter."

"Like h.e.l.l, Detective. This is personal. To me. 'John's' made it personal. He's called me, sent me threats, broken into my house and now he's killed someone I care about. It's personal to me." By the time Montoya had parked on the street and Bentz had shepherded her into the building and up a set of back stairs to his office, she was furious. At the killer, at the police, at herself and at Leanne for going with the creep. Why had she decided to hook again? Turn a trick?

She tried to reach out to you, Sam, but you weren't there for her, were you? Just like you weren't there for Annie, and now she and her baby are dead. Dead! Dead! Because you weren't there. Because you weren't there.

She marched into Bentz's airless office and waited while he unlocked a cabinet and retrieved a plastic bag. Inside was her red teddy. There was no doubt. She recognized the pattern of lace that covered the b.r.e.a.s.t.s, saw the remainder of the tag that she'd cut off when she'd first purchased the flimsy garment, and felt as if someone had punched her in the stomach.

Leanne had been wearing it when she'd died. Why? Oh, poor confused baby. Leanne had only been a teenager.

But someone had stolen the teddy from Sam's house. Probably on the night she'd been with Ty on the boat. Who had walked in and taken something so personal? Leanne? Or "John"? Or an accomplice?

She sank into one of the visitor's chairs in the hot little office and felt as if the blood had been drained from her body. "It's mine," she whispered, dry-eyed, but screaming inside. No, no, no! Leanne, please...Dear G.o.d, let this be a nightmare. Let me wake up! No, no, no! Leanne, please...Dear G.o.d, let this be a nightmare. Let me wake up!

"He's getting closer to you," Bentz said, and she shuddered inside. "But we're going to get him."

"I believe you." She met the detective's determined gaze with her own. "Let's find that son of a b.i.t.c.h, toss him into jail and throw away the key."

"That's too good for him." Bentz walked to the fan behind his desk and switched it to its highest setting. "In this case I'd like to see him drawn and quartered."

"But first we have to catch him," Montoya pointed out. He rested a hip on the edge of Bentz's desk and leaned closer to Sam. "For that, we're gonna need your help."

"You've got it," Sam said, her jaw setting. "I'll do whatever I have to."

The b.i.t.c.h had scratched him.

He stared at his reflection in the mirror he'd nailed over a basin on a stand. Sure enough, despite two days' growth of beard, the wound was visible, three distinct gouges from the c.u.n.t's claws. He shouldn't have let her escape. That had been a mistake, one his instructor would never have made.

Don't think about him. You're in control now. You. Father John.