Shadows and Light: The Complete Series, page 30
• • •
The sound of the bomb blast pierced through Jared’s sleep and he bolted upright on the sofa. His cry echoed off the walls of his office. He sucked in a deep breath and let it out slowly, but his heart continued to hammer between his ears. Beads of sweat trickled down his spine.
“Easy, Jared. It’s just a dream,” Noah said from the doorway of the office.
Jared shifted his body on the sofa and let out a strained groan. He stretched his arms above his head and dropped them over his eyes to block out the sunlight streaming in through the window. He was one huge cramp from head to toe.
Removing his arm from over his eyes, Jared scanned the room. Everything appeared untouched. His heartbeat slowed. The nightmare had haunted him for months. He could still feel the intense heat of the blast and pressure that tossed his body like a rag doll into oblivion.
The rich scent of fresh brewed coffee pulled Jared from a half-sleep, half-awake daze, and he faced his brother.
“I hope your neck and back hurt like a motherfucker,” Noah said, moving into the office. “Damn, bro, this has got to stop.” He grabbed several files off the floor in front of the desk. “So yesterday, the sadistic bastard attacked another woman. I get that you want this guy, but this is ridiculous. You’re not going to stop him by living in your damn office.”
Jared sat upright on the sofa and brushed his fingers through his hair. “What the hell are you doing here so early anyway? I was sleeping.”
Noah lifted the coffee cup sitting on a stack of folders and took a sniff. Shaking his head, he shot a glare toward his brother before he tightened the cap on the bottle of bourbon and placed it back in the bottom drawer. “It’s not that early. How long did you stay up going through all these? Shit, can’t you give it a rest?”
“No, I can’t. We’re missing something. There was only three weeks between the last victim and the girl we found yesterday morning. The guy’s need is moving up with every attack, which means we have only two weeks before he attacks again.” Jared reached his hand out toward his twin. “Is that for me, or are you just holding it to torture me?”
Noah placed the bag of breakfast sandwiches and two large cups of coffee on the table. He sat next to Jared and reached down to pick up a piece of paper lying partially under the sofa.
Jared grabbed for the check, but Noah reached it first. “Holy shit, what in the hell is this?” He held the check out of Jared’s reach.
“Stay out of it.” Jared stood and grabbed the check out of Noah’s hand. He folded it in half and placed it back inside his coat pocket.
“Like hell I will. Where in the fuck did Jennie McKenzie get that kind of money and why is it made out to you?”
Moving behind the desk, Jared fussed with the mess of files that littered the surface. “Leave it alone. It has nothing to do with you.”
“I can’t. I won’t. You’re not even going to look into where she got her hands on that kind of money?”
“I’m serious, Noah. I want you to leave Jennie alone. I know how you feel about her. In fact, the whole damn squad room knows how you feel about her. You’ve never been so wrong.”
Jennie’s scent still lingered on his clothing, and the ache in the pit of his stomach wouldn’t go away with a breakfast sandwich.
“I know where she got it, and I don’t have to explain anything to you.” He continued, moving around to the front of his desk and leaning against it. “I know you are trying in your pigheaded way to protect me. I don’t need or want to be protected from Jennie McKenzie. You, on the other hand, had better find a good place to hide if you attack her like you did yesterday. Understand that, bro?”
“Jennie attacked me. Her ass should be resting in a holding cell. What I understand is you placed that little bitch in the middle — ”
“I wouldn’t finish if I were you.”
Noah backed out of reach and lifted his hands in front of him.“Okay, that was out of line. But Jennie is going to get you killed.” He strolled over to the window at the squad room. “Something is off with her. She may be scared of Mendoza, but she has some kind of weird connection to him she is keeping from you.”
“Jennie would never lie to me … not about something like that.”
“But I would?”
The office door banged open and the youngest McNeil, Jason, barged into the office. “What’s come in on Hanna Tu’s apartment?” Jason stared between Jared and Noah, but got no response from either of them. “Yo, idiots, pay attention.”
He reached for one of the Styrofoam coffee containers on the table and helped himself to a large gulp of the hot brew. Tearing off a chunk of the breakfast sandwich, he stuffed it into his mouth. “I’m heading back to the hospital. Our serial rapist was there yesterday. He didn’t mean to leave Hanna alive and came back to finish the job.” Jason handed Noah a sheet of paper. “I worked with our forensic sketch artist. I didn’t get a clear look at him, but this facial composite is a place to start and more than we had on the bastard yesterday.” He turned to Jared. “So, has anything come in from the crime scene?”
“Jason, it’s been less than twelve hours,” Jared said, standing. “Are you sure this is our guy? Couldn’t the man you saw leave the trauma unit just be a weary orderly?”
“No.” Jason grabbed the composite out of Noah’s hand and slammed it on Jared’s desk. “This is our guy. I know it here.” Jason hit his abdomen. “Do we at least have an idea how he got into Hanna’s apartment? The damn door was chained from the inside.”
Jason reached for the coffee cup, but Noah grabbed it out of his hand. “I don’t know what ant crawled up your butt this morning, but you damn well better stop implying that all Jared and I have been doing is sitting on our asses twiddling our fucking thumbs.”
“Hanna Tu is a twenty-one-year-old kid. That sick bastard cut her, raped her — ”
Jared placed his hand on Jason’s shoulder. “Hey, we know. What he did to her was … I have no words. But like the other cases,” Jared lifted the composite, “we work with what we know and stop him. You can’t let this get personal.”
Jason shrugged the hand off his shoulder. “Too late. It’s already personal.”
Jared studied his brother. Both his hands were fisted. Knowing Jason, he was about to lose it. And when he blew, the fists would start swinging at anything in reach.
Noah moved so he was nose to nose with Jason. “If you want to take a whack at something, go ahead, little brother. I’ll play.”
Jason took a step back. With an awkward grin, he took in a deep breath, held it for a moment, and then exhaled. “Maybe later. I don’t have time for this shit. Hanna’s roommates should be back in town by now. After I take their statements, I’m heading back to the hospital and get the sister to talk to me until I’ve dissected every minute of Hanna’s life. Someone sure the hell won’t fit. The attacker knew her routine and knew she would be alone.”
“Jason, slow down a minute.” Jared grabbed hold of his youngest brother’s arm. “You can’t just barge into the ICU and start demanding answers from a grieving family member.”
“Believe it or not, this is not the first time I’ve questioned a victim, Lieutenant.” He glared at his brothers. “Hanna is the first victim that bastard has left alive. She can identify him.”
“I get that,” Jared replied. “You don’t want the family to go on the defensive. We need their cooperation. What about the media? Have they been tipped off yet?”
“Those numbskulls have given him a name: The Beltway Murderer. It’s all over the national news. They’re handing the killer his fifteen minutes of fame on a fucking silver platter.”
“Hell, I’m going to be stuck here dealing with the idiots,” Jared murmured. He then faced his twin. “Noah, take one of the team and get the roommates’ statements. Jason, you’re on the sister. Go easy and keep the damn media away from her.”
Jason shook his head as he gave Jared the once-over. “Before you go be nice to anyone, you may want to tidy up first. It looks like you slept in those clothes.” He let out a quick laugh and slapped Jared on the back. “It’s hell to be you these days. Sorry for biting your head off. I just want this guy.” He turned and left as quickly as he entered.
Jared reached into the file cabinet and pulled out a clean shirt and tie. When Noah headed toward the door, Jared called him back. “Hey, wait a second.”
“What?”
“No one can ever come between us.”
“What’s so damn special about Jennie McKenzie?”
“I don’t know, Noah, but she matters, she matters a great deal. There is this connection between us. Jennie’s been through hell and I owe her. For Nick.”
“You don’t owe her a damn thing.” Noah shot back. He dumped his breakfast in the trash canister, and left the office.
Jared dropped into the chair behind his desk and ran his hands over his eyes to clear away the tired strain. Reaching under the stack of files, he pulled out a yellow legal pad and began to write.
Meticulous.
Crime scene completely clean.
Knows forensics. Leaves no evidence behind.
The stab wounds are precisely placed in the same spot on every woman.
Sexually assaulted. No DNA.
Nothing obvious in common between the victims. Different backgrounds, different counties across Maryland.
Who was this guy and how did he pick his victims? How was he able to enter their homes and offices, and leave without anyone noticing? Jared flipped through his notes one more time, but he had more questions than answers.
He shoved the tablet across the desk. His pen rolled to the corner and dropped onto the floor. He was too damn tired to pick it up. Instead, he leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes.
Jared couldn’t shake the kiss. The more he thought about it, the more unsettling it was. Jennie had kissed him back with such desperation. It was as if the moment was her last, and she was going to make the best of it. Why would she react like that?
After he returned to his office last night, he must have dialed her phone twenty times, but never allowed the call go through. The look of rejection, disappointment on her face when he stepped behind the column settled like a lump of coal in his stomach, and it hurt like hell.
There was a cord that bound them together. He didn’t understand it, but Jennie was the first woman he could read completely. And she stood in a church and lied to him.
What was she up to? Fear streamed off of her in waves. Whatever it was, he was going to make damn sure nothing happened to her.
He reached into the inside pocket of his sport coat on the back of his chair and removed her letter. He eased open the seal and re-read the short note. She had worked like a madwoman for years, but he thought she was building a nice nest egg for herself. “Like hell it’s not going back. Every damn penny.”
The newspaper article he tore out of the Baltimore Sun sat on the top of several files. Clearing a space on his desk, he carefully unfolded the clipping, ironing out the corners. Jennie, surrounded by young children, stared back at him.
An instant later, the vivid scene from his nightmare flashed before him. It was a premonition, a warning that something horrible was about to happen. The scene may have dissipated, but the man’s voice lingered.
You were her only chance.
Chapter Six
As Jared strolled to his SUV at the end of another fifteen-hour shift, he hit automatic dial on his cell phone. “Is she safe?”
The demand was rude and uncalled for, but it matched his mood.
“Yo amigo, do you ever sleep? Some of us mere mortals need all the shuteye we can get.”
“I know what time it is.”
“She’s tucked into her bed just like you should be. What has you so uptight, my friend? After your little unplanned visit last night, you should be in a better mood.”
“You were there?”
“I’m always there, Jared. And before you ask, Mendoza knows nothing about it. Next time, a little heads up. So why the midnight visit?”
“Have you noticed anything unusual lately? Has something happened?”
A long pause followed before Raúl answered. “If there was anything you needed to worry about, I would tell you. You have to trust me that I won’t let anything happen to her.”
Feeling like an ass for overreacting, Jared muttered, “Then I guess I better let you get your beauty sleep. I don’t know anyone who needs it more.”
Jared disconnected the call and tossed it on the seat of his SUV.
You’re freaking losing it. Pull it together before you blow it.
• • •
Raúl Ibarra turned over in his bed and tried to go back to sleep. Those precious minutes of contact to his true identity seemed to ground him. He had been undercover so long, it was hard to separate the two different worlds he lived in.
There was no way he could let Jared into what was going on. Raul’s handler for the last several years was Mac McNeil. If Jared knew what Jennie was up too, Mac would have to lock up his own brother after Jared beat the crap out of both them. But Raúl understood Jared’s concern for his target, Jennifer Marie McKenzie. She was playing with fire, damn hot scorching fire.
Repositioning his pillow beneath his head, he reached for his phone and keyed in a code. Jennie’s living room came into focus. At least for now she was safe.
Raúl switched off the phone and turned on his side. His mind went to his beautiful wife. It was the only thing that helped him sleep.
Barely ten minutes passed before the offending cell phone yanked Raúl out of a peaceful, yet erotic sleep.
“Madre de Dios! Does no one sleep this night but me?” Raúl grabbed his cell phone and switched it on. “What?”
“Am I interrupting something, Raúl?”
“No, Jefe. I was sleeping and I — ”
Elías Mendoza mumbled something under his breath. “Never mind, Raúl. I haven’t heard from you in a few days. No news is good news, I assume.”
“Yes, everything is fine here.” Raúl rose from the bed and moved to the window. He looked out over the quiet neighborhood below. A light from a small lamp lit the front window of the Cunningham residence.
“There’s been no contact at all? She delivered McNeil a check for thirty thousand dollars and he does nothing? That’s hard to believe. Are you sure there’s been no contact?”
Raúl was now fully awake. “Yes, Jefe. She teaches at her school all day and spends all evening with the old woman. She goes nowhere else except St. Luke’s. I’ve both apartments bugged for video. There’s been no contact at all.”
“Could she be meeting him at St. Luke’s?”
“We watched her there as well. She directs a group of teenagers on a musical production for Easter. All she does is work.”
Mendoza made Raúl wait several moments before he spoke again. Raúl knew from experience never to interrupt his thoughts.
“Is she still running? Couldn’t they meet on the run? Have you covered that as well?”
“She never runs without one of us following her. We switch off so she never suspects anything. Everything is going as planned.”
“It damn well better be. You have too much at stake to disappoint me.”
“Are you threatening me?” Raúl asked, through clenched teeth. He glanced over at the photo of his wife and son that sat on the desk, and pushed down the anger and revulsion for the man on the other end of the line. “Is there any reason for you to be disappointed in my work?”
“I become somewhat irritated when I don’t hear regularly from you.”
Another long pause followed. Raúl waited.
“Enough business,” Mendoza finally said. “I saw your Anita and young son today. I promised her I would bring you back for a visit. I’ve arranged for you to fly back on the jet today at five. Will that be a problem?”
“Thank you. I was just thinking it was time for a visit home.”
“Of course, I would like to meet with you while you are here. Will your men be able to manage while you’re gone or do I need to send my man in?”
“I don’t think that will be necessary,” Raúl shuddered. Mendoza’s enforcer was one sadistic SOB. If Raúl wanted to keep his men loyal to him, he had better keep Ivan away from them. “I’ll instruct them to feed the data to me while I’m home. I can easily monitor everything while I’m away for a few days. They’re good men. They won’t disappoint me or you.”
“Good. I’ll let you get back to your dreams. Sueno con de Ángeles, Raúl,” and the phone went dead.
Raúl placed his phone back on the end table and rose from his bed. Sleep would be impossible. He pulled on the sweatshirt and headed into his office. Several monitors hung on the wall of the room. He sat down in the chair behind his desk and ran his hands over his face. The assignment wasn’t supposed to last this long. So many lives were on hold because of one man. On the center monitor, he observed the target of everyone’s fixation sound asleep on the futon in her living room. She lay on her side in the fetal position, clutching a pillow tightly to her body. Her head jerked, while a moan escaped her lips. Moments later, she shifted and settled in a deep sleep.
Jennifer Marie. Sleep peacefully with the angels.
• • •
Mendoza twisted in his chair and stared out the window of his study. He ignored the beauty of the lights set in the trees along the boulevard that glistened in the rain, making Mexico City sparkle. In the glass of the dark window, he saw only the face of his father. But not the face of the laughing man, who was always full of life. What stared back at him was the cold, hard, pale face of the dead. The same face he identified lying on a sterile steel table in a brightly lit hospital morgue fourteen years ago.
The grief never ceased. The hatred of those responsible for his father’s death festered and ate away at his very soul. Any love in him was eradicated the moment his father’s heart stopped in a filthy holding cell in downtown Washington, D.C.
He twisted away from the window and glanced around his elegantly decorated study. From the lush, thick carpet to the dark, rich mahogany furnishing, the room was a daily reminder of how far Elías Mendoza had come. It was his sanctuary, the place he could let down his guard. No one ever entered his study without an invitation and few asked for one.
