Bait, page 10
“I talked to Captain Stenton’s secretary. He’s in a meeting and would like regular updates. Basically, he’ll send someone when we find a body but he isn’t too fussed about a runaway teenager. They’re sure you can handle it.”
“Thank you, Big Al.”
Good to know she could count on the state police. Caisey sighed.
The dull murmur of a migraine teased the edges of her senses. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. There was no way she was going to get sucked into this. She and Liam could end up here for weeks looking for a girl who probably jumped at the chance to get away from an overbearing family—at best. The only problem was the worst case scenario. Caisey had seen the aftermath of that one way too many times to be comfortable letting things just play out.
She looked at Gabe, whose eyes were wide. Across the room Babs was filing her nails with her head cocked, one ear trained on their conversation. Caisey sighed and rubbed her leg.
“Did you get hurt?”
“It’s not a big deal.” Not next to the fact that her back felt like there was a huge bruise where she’d fallen on the rock behind the cabin. She eyed Gabe’s paper. “Are you done?”
He set his pen down. “I’m not sure there’s much to say. She left my shop and I didn’t see her after that.”
“Who was she close to?”
“I have no idea.”
“Babs?”
She snapped up the phone. “I’ll find out.”
Caisey looked back at Gabe. It was kind of nice, sitting with him. She could almost pretend they were across the table from each other having coffee, or eating dinner. Except she sucked at small talk and quiet made her antsy.
“So…an FBI agent?”
“And you run a bookstore.”
He nodded and her eyes fixed on the square line of his jaw and the short dark stubble. “Among other things.”
“You like it here?” Living in my cabin. Now might not be the time to have that conversation.
His lips curled up at the corners. “Sure, Buckshot’s grown on me. I like your dad’s place, and the people are nice. The church isn’t so big you get lost in the crowd and Tim’s a great pastor. It took a while, but it’s home now. You?”
Caisey shrugged. “It seems nice enough here. I just never figured Dad’s cabin was good for anything more than a weekend.”
He shook his head. “That’s not what I meant, but you’re right. It wasn’t. I had to get a new stove and put in a composting toilet. I’m many things, but a guy who uses an outhouse is not one of them.”
Caisey saw the gleam in his eyes and chuckled. “It did seem like you made it into a home. And you’ve heard nothing from your uncle all these years?”
“Not a word.”
“Good. Let’s pray it stays that way.”
Because a serial killer at large and a possibly crazy sheriff she could handle. But Gabe’s uncle on a rampage too?
No thanks.
**
Liam’s phone vibrated. He covered the pocket with his hand, eyes on the sheriff’s house. He didn’t like missing calls from Andrea. Tax season was her busiest time of year, which meant she was only calling because she had a minute to talk. By the time he called her back, she’d be busy again.
The air held a chill even though it was the warmest part of the day. He’d lived in Denver for going on five years and he still wasn’t used to how different the air was compared to the east coast.
The sheriff’s house was a farm on the south side of town that looked rundown, like a foreclosure that had been neglected once the owners gave up on their dream of a forever house. It would give the sheriff a fifteen minute drive into work, maybe less. But it still felt like the middle of nowhere. Especially since Liam had parked a mile away and traversed through mud and brush to this spot.
A car door slammed. From his cover of dense trees, Liam watched the sheriff dart into the house. The old man’s focus never wavered. Liam understood that level of dedication, the only problem being that he had the sneaking suspicion it was directed against him and Caisey. What was the guy up to?
The sheriff seemed to be not the least bit concerned that his teenage niece had disappeared. But was it because he already knew exactly what happened to her, or was he about to try and solve it himself? The alternative was he didn’t care at all. But his actions said he cared a lot…about something.
A career lawman wasn’t going to let it be known that he’d done harm to his niece, if that’s what happened. But since Liam and Caisey had shown up, he was either content that nothing would come to light or not hiding anything.
While Caisey loved the pure rush of justice, the take-down, Liam lived for the puzzle of people and why they did the things they did. His obsessive need for answers could be considered unhealthy, but he was channeling it. Was it a vice when you had to do it for work?
He could walk away if he wanted to. Okay, maybe not, but it wasn’t like he was drinking again. This was different. Transferring to Colorado had been the best thing for him. The move set him up to get right with God, which turned out to be the most “right” thing in the world next to meeting Andrea. He never would have believed that if it hadn’t happened to him.
The sheriff came back out of the house, one hand pulling the front door shut behind him. But he was evidently so focused he didn’t realize the door didn’t quite closed. The look in his eyes said he was about to commit murder.
Liam shifted to get his muscles moving, ready in case he needed to run to his car and pursue the sheriff…although the open front door looked mighty tempting. What would he find in there? If the sheriff did kill his niece, he would likely not be stupid enough to leave the body in his house.
The cruiser’s engine revved and gravel sprayed out the back as he sped away. Liam selected the last number Caisey called from and listened to it ring.
First the Chloroform Killer, and now a sheriff up to something, too?
What a mess they’d walked into. God, don’t let this get worse. The Chloroform Killer needed to be locked up, not who-knew-where. Everything they knew about serial killers, everything that was understood about who they were and how they operated had gone out the window on this one. Not that a person couldn’t defy what was known, but it made it harder to predict their next move.
Harder to catch.
Chapter 14
“SO YOU THINK Emma took off with this new guy of hers?”
Gabe turned away from the passenger window. “That would be my guess. I mean, she said he wasn’t so hot on her dad, but that just makes me wonder if he didn’t manage to convince her to leave with him.”
Her brown eyes were focused on the road. “Makes sense, kids in love thinking its forever and running away together.” She pulled her phone out of the cup holder and glanced at the display.
Everything she did was precise. Like she was supremely confident in who she was and what she was capable of. One hand on the wheel and the other in her lap, Caisey kept everything about her easy and natural.
All he had to do was show her the call history from Mitch and he’d be able to prove he was occupied when Emma disappeared. It grated that he had to verify his innocence at all, like some kind of criminal who needed to justify himself. But now he’d seen Caisey, it was worth it. He didn’t know what brought her to Buckshot in the first place, and since he got to see the woman she had become he didn’t much care.
All those years ago she’d been beautiful. Now she was even more so with the mantle of confidence she wore. The years had grown her from fresh beauty to adult gorgeous. And though some people might see her self-confidence as off-putting, or overbearing, Gabe thought it made her look capable—like she was fully prepared to take on the world for you.
There had to be someone in her life. There was no way she was single. Not that it affected him any, since he probably wouldn’t see her again after she dropped him home and checked his computer. He would go on his date with Becka, back to his quiet life of pretending he wasn’t much of anything.
When they got there he saw the front door of the cabin had been completely knocked off its hinges. Although the person responsible had been kind enough to prop it against the frame. It didn’t look too much like you could just walk in.
He glanced at Caisey, who walked up the porch steps beside him. “You know who did this?”
“Liam will either fix it, or he’ll pay for the damages.”
Gabe’s eyes widened. “You’re not even going to try and defend him?”
“Like mention how you could have been dead inside, or any of the other hundred scenarios I’ve seen?” She swallowed. “I don’t think he meant to break the whole door.”
Charming. Gabe moved the door to the side, pleased to see not too many leaves had blown in from outside. He waved in the direction of the computer. “I’ll fire it up and you can check the call history.”
He remembered her Grams was British. There wasn’t much she’d told him that night that he didn’t remember, or that he hadn’t played over and over in his head. “Do you want to put on the kettle? You kind of look wiped.”
“Sure.” She strode to the kitchen, her boot heels clicking on the linoleum floor. She banged cupboard doors and two mugs slammed on the counter.
Gabe winced, hoping she wasn’t going to break something. It would be a pain to drive all the way to Rifle to replace his kettle. He pressed the power button on his computer’s tower.
More cupboard doors slammed. “You don’t have a coffee maker, or even instant.” She sounded aghast. Gabe looked over and sure enough, it was like she couldn’t even fathom the concept. “What is this?”
He looked at the box of teabags she held up. “Green tea.”
“Is it any good?” She tossed it on the counter. “Never mind. I’ll grab the stash of PG Tips teabags from my car.”
She stomped out, and he glanced around. Everything in his cabin looked like someone had rummaged through it. Books were askew, though the furniture seemed to be unscathed. Had she and her partner been searching for something? He walked down the hall to the bedroom and muttered when he saw what it looked like. In his defense, the Sheriff and Deputy Paulson had hauled him out of bed.
Gabe closed the door and changed out of his pajamas into jeans and a clean shirt. He would’ve liked to take a shower, but that could wait until Special Agent Lyons left.
The name reminded him of her dad. Samuel Lyons had been a friend and mentor to Gabe when he needed a good man in his life. Gabe had even reached the point he considered Samuel a father-figure. Between his dad and his uncle, Gabe grew up with plenty of men in his life. Too bad they were all mob-connected, gun-running, drug-dealing criminals who wouldn’t think twice before they put one between your eyes.
He’d never quite figured out how a bookworm fit in with them. His mom was sweet, but not that smart, and his sister married her made-man husband at eighteen. That union had connected them all with a powerful Italian family, much to the delight of everyone.
Six months later Andre, his nephew, had been born. Who knew how many children Marianne had now? And the only person he missed more than a blond girl whose dad he respected, was his cousin Nic. Gabe prayed every day of his life that Nic hadn’t been pulled into that life, and every day he had to force himself not to pick up the phone and dial his cousin’s number.
Missing them was hard, but being dead wouldn’t be fun either.
“Gabe!”
He opened the door to his bedroom. “What?”
“Your computer is ringing.”
He trotted out and saw Mitch’s profile picture. He clicked to answer the call. “Hey, bud.”
“Dude, you will not believe what we just found.”
The picture flickered and Mitch’s face filled the screen.
The smile on his friend’s face was infectious. “That’s great, but—”
“Seriously you’re going to freak out and I’m not even kidding. We were on the south side of the dig and Elanya was working on the wall I was telling you about—”
Caisey put her hand on Gabe’s shoulder and leaned down so the camera could see her face too. “Hi.”
Mitch’s mouth hung open.
“This is Caisey.”
She pulled something from her back pocket and stuck it in front of the camera. “Special Agent Caisey Lyons, FBI. Can you tell me if you were talking with Gabe Carlen yesterday at approximately four-thirty here?”
Mitch just stared.
Caisey frowned. “Wouldn’t that be middle of the night for you?”
“He had—”
She put her palm in Gabe’s face, cutting off what he’d been about to say. “I need him to answer the question.” She tipped her head toward the kitchen. “In fact, why don’t you go make the tea? I take milk, but no sugar.”
Mitch started laughing. Gabe shot him a glare and pushed the chair back. “He’s all yours.”
**
Caisey watched him stride away to the kitchen and then looked back at the man on screen. Mitch’s grin was wide, making her lips twitch. She swiped up some headphones from the desk drawer and plugged them straight into the speakers.
“Like I said, I’m a special agent with the FBI. This isn’t official, you’ll need to do this again with someone from the sheriff’s office most likely, but Gabe was brought in for questioning here in—”
The guy slapped his hands over his ears. “No no no no…”
“What?”
“Don’t tell me where he is.” He let his hands drop. “I’m Mitch Landers. Gabe and I work together, but it’s important you don’t tell me where he lives so I don’t inadvertently put him in danger.”
Caisey gave herself a second to compute that. Good friends were hard to come by and she was glad Gabe hadn’t been totally alone all this time. “Very well. A local girl went missing. Gabe was questioned regarding her disappearance, which was around the time he says you two were talking yesterday.”
“I called late because I was too excited to wait until today. I emailed him a picture too, so the time should be on the call history and in his email.”
“Should be easy enough to verify. Thank you, Mr. Landers.”
Mitch nodded. “You can’t really think he had anything to do with a missing girl, though. That’s crazy.”
“It’s just procedure.”
“Gabe isn’t like that.”
She knew that, she just couldn’t say it. “You’ve known him long?”
Mitch smiled. “Since Mr. Peterson’s history class in seventh grade. I moved to Denver after my dad got stationed there. We moved again when I was in high school, but Gabe and I never lost touch and we met up again in college. I actually haven’t seen him since then, though we’ve been working together for years.”
Caisey settled back in the chair. “Doing what?” This was about the investigation, not finding out what kind of man Gabe was. Keep telling yourself that.
Mitch hesitated. “You don’t know about Gabe?”
“Are you going to tell me, or do I have to guess?”
“Are you familiar with Carl Gabriel?”
“The author?”
Mitch nodded; a gleam in his eyes.
“Huh.” Caisey glanced back to where Gabe was layering cheese and what looked like ham into two sandwiches. “You don’t say.”
Evidently, aside from running a bookstore Gabe also wrote historical adventure novels. She’d liked the movie they made of The Seventh Kingdom and Jake had raved about Carl Gabriel’s website and how it had a lot of cool stuff on it, but she’d never checked it out.
“Thanks, Mitch. I appreciate your time.”
“Yeah, no worries.” He gave her a small smile. “Tell Gabe I’ll email him.”
Caisey ended the call and turned the chair so she could watch Gabe. He made sandwiches like it was a delicate scientific experiment, and he wasn’t skimping on the meat.
He looked up. “You like soy turkey, right?”
She swallowed, but the bad taste didn’t go away.
“Everything copacetic?”
“The sheriff will need to see the time stamps, but I’m pretty satisfied at this point.” She glanced around. “Do you have a land line?” They had to deliver pizza out here, though she might die of hunger before she got cell signal. Not to mention she needed to eat so she could take more painkillers.
“I only have the internet connection that goes through the satellite dish. Can’t get much more than that up here.” He walked over and handed her a plate.
“Thanks.”
He studied her. “You really do look tired.”
“It’s been a long couple of weeks.”
Gabe perched on the arm of the recliner.
Caisey turned back to the computer, opened his browser and searched for anything about the Chloroform Killer. The top link was a news story. When the page loaded, she saw the headline. The sandwich got stuck and she tried to breathe, not choke and not spit it out.
Gabe rushed over with a glass of water. “Are you okay?”
Caisey scrolled down the news article. Still at large.
“Is that you?”
She set her sandwich on the plate and took two steps away from the computer.
“This says you’re the agent who got abducted.” Gabe scrolled down the article. “It says he’s still at large and probably looking for you. For revenge, Caisey.”
She was going to kill whoever leaked this. Wring their scrawny neck and leave an impression of her boot in their face.
“Caisey.”
She spun around, hands fisted by her sides. “What!”
“You were abducted by the Chloroform Killer?”
She didn’t confirm, or deny.
“On purpose?” His voice rose. “Are you crazy?”
She gritted her teeth. “Why are you mad at me? I don’t have to justify myself and I don’t have to explain anything to you.” One date didn’t give him the right to get mad when she put her life in danger. Admittedly that was nearly every day in her job, but she wasn’t stupid and they were calculated risks.
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