Part 9 (1/2)
”She's right, you know.” Dallas inclined his head toward Genny, but didn't look at her. ”I can help you.”
”How's that?”
”I can tell you that there will be three more victims, that they'll all be women who live in and around this area, that they'll be chosen at random, and that there's something special about the fifth victim.”
”And that would be?” Jacob asked.
”He'll cut out her heart and take it with him.”
Genny gasped.
”You've lost me,” Jacob admitted. ”You're basing this theory on a series of five murders that took place last year in Mobile, the fourth victim your niece. What makes you so sure that, even given the similarities, the killer's the same man who murdered Susie and Cindy? And what makes you think there will be a total of five victims here in my county?”
”Because since my niece's death eight months ago, I've gotten some unofficial help from friends at the Bureau, and we know that during the past eight years there have been four almost identical cases-twenty murders in all. In Mobile, Alabama; Hilton Head, South Carolina; Lafayette, Louisiana; and Breckenridge, Texas. And in each case there were exactly five victims. And in each case the killer removed the fifth victim's heart.”
”And there is no connection between the five victims? Nothing that linked them together in any other way?” Jacob asked.
”Nothing the local law enforcement agencies could figure out.” Dallas wondered just how honest he should be with Jacob Butler. ”These four sets of murders I mentioned...I'm the one who figured out that they were identical and that there's only one killer-a serial killer who moves around on a fairly regular basis.”
”Could be you're grasping at straws,” Jacob said. ”You want to find your niece's killer so you've built a case on the evidence you've unearthed. You can't be certain that we're dealing with the same man who killed your niece.”
”And you can't be certain that we aren't,” Dallas told him. ”If we are, there are three more women out there-in your county-who are going to die a really gruesome death. Unless we work together to stop him.”
Chapter 8.
Brian MacKinnon slapped the newspaper down on top of his desk and smiled. Today's issue of the Cherokee Pointe Herald, owned and operated by his family for four generations, would hit the stands in a couple of hours. The article he had personally written about the two brutal murders in the area, yesterday morning and this morning, made both Chief Watson and Sheriff Butler look like b.u.mbling fools. He'd known for years that Watson was a joke, remaining in office only because Big Jim Upton's power and influence kept him there. Everybody knew that Big Jim had Watson in his hip pocket. Butler was a different matter altogether. The sheriff was an elected official, put in office by the people of the county. It galled Brian that his own father was such a staunch Butler supporter, which certainly hadn't hurt the guy during last year's election. Despite his mixed heritage, Jacob Butler was well liked by just about everyone who knew him. His background in the navy had made him a local hero. Rumors abounded about his exploits as a navy SEAL.
Brian had tried hard to make Butler like him. For Genny's sake. But for some reason the man had taken an instant dislike to him, which certainly didn't help his cause to woo and win the fair Genevieve. He wasn't quite sure when he realized he was in love with the beautiful young woman. It had happened so gradually that it had taken him by surprise. She wasn't the type he usually found attractive; nothing like his ex-wife Phyllis, who'd been worldly and sophisticated. Genny mesmerized him with her beauty, her gentleness, her kind heart. He'd never known anyone like her. Of course he'd heard the rumors-that she was like her Granny Butler, whom the town had called a witch. But how could anyone who knew Genny believe there was anything evil about such an angelic creature?
He had worked longer and harder to win Genny's friends.h.i.+p than he ever had to finagle any other woman into his bed. She had never encouraged him, never given him the slightest hope that their relations.h.i.+p could evolve into a romantic relations.h.i.+p, but he felt certain that sooner or later he would wear her down. All he needed was patience. Several months ago, just when he'd decided he would soon be able to ask Genny to marry him, another man had come between them: Royce Pierpont, the effeminate jacka.s.s. The man had driven into town in his s.h.i.+ny silver Lexus, opened an antique shop on Main Street, and zeroed in on Genny almost immediately. She had succ.u.mbed to his good looks and charm, as had several other ladies in town.
The very thought of Pierpont or any other man touching Genny enraged Brian to the point of near madness. She'd allowed him to kiss her, but nothing more. He suspected that Pierpont had gotten no further. His Genny was pure. A true innocent when it came to men. There was no doubt in his mind that she was a virgin. He wanted her to remain unsullied, to come to him undefiled on their wedding night.
A repet.i.tive knock on the outer door snapped Brian away from the delicious thoughts of Genny.
He stayed seated, conveniently concealing his state of arousal. Whenever he thought about making love to Genny, he got hard.
”Yes?”
The door opened and his secretary, Glenda, poked her head in and said, ”Your Uncle Wallace is here.”
h.e.l.l! What was that fruitcake doing coming to see him at the office? His father's younger brother was the family disgrace, a mentally r.e.t.a.r.ded old fart who should have been s.h.i.+pped off to an asylum years ago. But, like his parents before him, Brian's father refused to even consider the possibility of locking Wallace away. Instead, they pampered him, humored him, and let him roam around town as if he were normal. As luck would have it, Genny had a soft spot in her heart for Wallace. Her grandmother had hired Wallace to come to work for her when he was twenty. And after the old woman's death, Genny had kept his now seventy-year-old uncle on at full salary, although he wasn't worth half what she paid him.
Brian had realized early on in his relations.h.i.+p with Genny that he could use her fondness for Wallace to his advantage.
”Tell Uncle Wallace to come on in. And, Glenda, bring us a couple of Dr. Peppers. Uncle Wallace especially likes them.”
Glenda lifted her eyebrows in a gesture of surprise, but wisely kept any comments to herself. Brian knew he had a reputation for being a real a.s.shole. But he'd found that if you were too lenient with employees, they took advantage of you. And n.o.body took advantage of Brian MacKinnon.
Like a clumsy grizzly bear, Wallace lumbered into the office. His uncle stood six-three, possessed a rounded potbelly, and wore overalls and a baseball cap. A shock of thick gray hair stuck out on either side of the cap. He kept his face clean-shaven, thanks to daily grooming at a local barbershop, paid for by the MacKinnon family. Wallace squandered away his own meager salary with donations to the county's animal shelter and by giving handouts to every Tom, d.i.c.k, and Harry with a sob story.
”What can I do for you?” Brian remained sitting.
”Have you heard from Genny today?” Wallace asked as he removed his baseball cap and scratched his head.
”I've tried contacting her, but her phone's out of order,” Brian replied. ”The ice from last night's storm downed power and telephone lines out that way.”
”I been up there. Got a ride with Bill Davis. I been all the way up to Genny's house to make sure she was doing okay. And she wasn't there,” Wallace said breathlessly, the words tumbling from him in a rush.
”She wasn't at home? Did you check everywhere?”
”Her truck was gone, too.”
”Then maybe she's in town. I'll call-”
”Yeah, that's it. Why didn't I think of that? Genny's come into town.” Wallace reached out, grabbed Brian's arm, and shook his hand, pumping it repeatedly. ”I've been so worried about Genny. You know there's a bad person out there killing people. I don't want any bad person hurting Genny.”
Brian managed to jerk his hand free from his uncle's tenacious grip. ”If you'd like, I'll call Jazzy. I'm sure if Genny's in town, Jazzy will know where she is.” He would prefer not to speak to Jasmine Talbot, but if necessary he would. Like Jacob, Genny's best friend, Jazzy, didn't seem to care for him at all. No doubt she, too, had tried to convince Genny not to date him.
”That's all right,” Wallace said. ”I can just go over to Miss Jazzy's place and ask her myself.”
”All right. You do that.” Brian stood, finally free from his embarra.s.sing erection. ”And when you find Genny, ask her to give me a call. Tell her I've been concerned...worried about her.”
”You like Genny, too, don't you?” Wallace grinned, which made him look even more simpleminded than he was.
”Yes, I'm very fond of Genny.”
Glenda stopped at the open door, two frosty bottles of Dr. Pepper in her hands. ”Want these now?”
Brian motioned to her. ”Sure we do. Come on in.”
Glenda handed a bottle to Brian, then to Wallace. She smiled at Wallace and said, ”How are you today, Mr. MacKinnon?”
Wallace chuckled. ”I'm not Mr. MacKinnon. That's my brother, Farlan. I'm just Wallace.”
”Well, how are you, Wallace?” Glenda rephrased her question.
”I'm just fine, thank you, ma'am.”
Brian cleared his throat. Glenda fled the office.
”People say you're not a very nice man, but they're wrong.” Wallace lifted the bottle to his mouth and downed half the cola in one long swig. He grinned at Brian. ”You've changed from the way you used to be. It's because of Genny, isn't it?”
Brian hated being given the third degree by his crazy uncle, but he could hardly admit the only reason he bothered giving Wallace the time of day was to impress Genny.
”Yeah, it's because of Genny. She's a very special lady.”