Shelby's Secret (Once a Marine, Always a Marine Book 4) Page 13

  He loved the feel of her hands on him.

  “Will I see you tonight?”

  Mike nodded. If he didn’t need to be at work, he wouldn’t be leaving now, but his people had been busy over his days off, and he wanted to look at the case. But he’d be with her every night until this was over. For however long it lasted, she was his to protect. “I’ll be here.” Her smile made his heart catch.

  “I love sleepovers.”

  “This doesn’t involve manicures or itching powder in my shorts, does it?”

  “Only if you fall asleep before I do.”

  He leaned down and kissed her, long and hard. “I better make sure I wear you out then.”

  Her breath caught and she went all liquid in his arms, and he had to fight the urge to take her into the house and start wearing her out now. But they both had business to attend, even if his body wasn’t happy with moving away from her tempting self. “See that you do.”

  Shelby turned away as he got into his truck. He loved to watch that woman walk—either toward him or away, the view was spectacular. She turned and blew him a kiss. She used to do that in the old days, and it made his heart ache. When this ended . . .

  He didn’t want to think about that yet. Better to focus on the case.

  Just then his cell rang.

  ***

  Crouching behind the A/C unit on the roof of the huge house next door, he was frozen with rage. His earlier happiness with finding a camouflaged vantage point that let him see the courtyard and pool of Shelby’s house faded.

  She hadn’t even been home.

  All this time, she hadn’t even been fucking home. She’d been off with that man. Kissing him and probably more. Who the hell was he?

  Whore, just like all the others. Spreading their legs for any dick. The voice slithered through him, and this time he let it. Because the shadow was always right.

  And you thought she was special, the voice mocked.

  He felt the hot shame wash over him at the derisive tone. He had thought she was different, with her soft voice and pretty songs. She’d seen all his work, and she hadn’t understood.

  And maybe that was it. She just didn’t understand they were meant for each other.

  She doesn’t want you, maggot. And she never will.

  He gave himself a half-hearted slap to the side of his head. He was trying so hard not to listen, but the voice inside him was so strong. Too powerful to resist anymore. “She just needs to understand. Tomorrow,” he whined. “When we’re together, I’ll make her see she means everything to me.”

  And the shadow laughed.

  After he had Shelby, he would demand the name of the man she’d been with. No other man had the right to come between Shelby and him. Only one other man had even tried, and he’d made sure to erase that threat.

  He’d erase this one as well.

  ***

  “Wolfe.”

  “The big, bad?”

  “That one’s been done before,” he muttered. Hearing Casey’s amused laugh made Daniel smile. He was waiting for Mike to get to the office so they could go over everything new in the case. Since he was basically twiddling his thumbs, her call was a welcome distraction.

  “I’ll work harder next time, but I’ve been up most of the night putting together the file on vic number two.”

  “Did you find out who she was?” Not that a name helped find the missing woman, but any information was good in a case like this.

  “Yes, and at great personal danger to myself, I might add.”

  “How’s that?”

  “Have you ever had to deal with grumpy dentists? Well, let me tell you, they’re not a fun lot. This one better be glad he’s a state away, because I have half a mind to drive over to New Mexico and kick his ass.”

  Daniel sat forward in his chair. New Mexico? So maybe their theory about the killer was correct. “She’s actually from New Mexico?”

  “Born and raised. Name is Amy Young, and she liked her meth, which is why I was up to my ass in grumpy dentists. She had a couple of crowns with designs on them.”

  “I didn’t even know that was a thing.”

  Casey snorted. “Welcome to the twenty-first century. It’s basically a tooth tattoo, and only a handful of places will even do designs on crowns. This girl clearly had folks with money, because these things aren’t cheap.”

  “One more clue to this whole thing. Thanks, Casey.”

  “Is Mike back yet?”

  “He’s due in any minute.”

  “Good. I’m sending you an email with the info and the name of the detective in Las Cruces who is anxiously awaiting contact for this girl. This is his missing person’s case.”

  “You normally go above and beyond on this kind of thing?” Daniel was curious because making contact with another jurisdiction wasn’t the norm. Doing so wasn’t part of her job description, but the medical examiners he’d heard about weren’t usually willing to go beyond the dead body and crime scene details.

  “This guy is pissing me off. Besides, I owe Mike a couple of favors. A little extra leg work for him is a small return on a big debt. But now I’m headed home to get sleep and maybe a slice of cold pizza.”

  “I’ll let Mike know as soon as I see him. Enjoy the cold pizza.”

  “Yep.” And then she was gone.

  Mike was one of those guys. He inspired the people around him. The fact he’d done a couple of big favors for a friend made him exceptional. Daniel was proud to be working in a department under him. He was learning so much, mostly by example. And he had his own news. He’d tracked down those damn rodents. The information had come in about ten minutes prior to Casey’s call. Daniel wanted to run it by Mike before he called over to Nashville PD and had them check it out.

  This was the piece of evidence that could tie the killer to the scene of at least one of the murders. The only clue they had, and it would be important, he could just feel it.

  His cell chirped, and the number belonged to dispatch. “Wolfe,” he said.

  “This is Kris in dispatch, we have a homicide,” she said. “The street sergeant asked for Mike specifically, but I have you listed as the callout detective until noon.”

  He dropped his head on the desk. They didn’t have time for another homicide, but if patrol asked for Mike, then maybe it was connected. He’d keep his fingers crossed. The dispatch supervisor was thorough as she gave him the details she had. “What’s the address?”

  She rattled it off. Another warehouse in central Phoenix.

  “I’m on my way, and I’ll call Mike.”

  “Thanks,” she said, and the relief in her voice was clear. “The sergeant said it’s really bad, just so you know.”

  “Copy that.”

  Daniel had a sick feeling that this was their missing woman, Tara. The call was sooner than they expected, and everyone had been holding out some kind of hope that she’d be found alive. It was a false hope, but they’d all had it. Even while systematically checking the hundreds of abandoned warehouses that littered Phoenix.

  “Damn.” He grabbed his notebook, a pen, and checked his phone. He’d call Mike from the car and hopefully catch him driving, that way they could just meet up at the scene. He dialed the number he didn’t realize he’d memorized.

  “Just couldn’t stay away, huh?” Casey said. But her tone was grim.

  “You heard?”

  “Just now. Looks like I’m booking in more OT, because there’s no way in hell you and Mike are going to this scene without me.”

  “I thought you might feel that way. You have the address?”

  “Yes. And if I get you off my phone, I’ll be out there with a tech before you’ve even had the chance to miss the sound of my voice.”

  “Fine.” He hung up—a little game they seemed to be playing. Who got the last word.

  He was in the car when he called Mike, only to find out Mike was almost there already. That man was seriously plugged in to the street units. Someone must have
called him directly, and now Daniel had to haul ass to catch up.

  Again.

  The drive took about ten minutes to get there, but when he did, he was happy to see he’d at least beaten Casey. Mike’s truck was parked off to the side, as were half a dozen police cars. Crime scene tape was already up, and the morose expressions of the officers let him know more than anything that this would be worse than anything he’d seen yet. Cops had the ability to maintain a sense of humor over most everything. They all called it ’gallows humor,” but the levity was noticeably absent.

  One younger officer sat half in and half out of his patrol car with his head in his hands. His partner talked to him, squatted down with a reassuring hand on the young man’s shoulder.

  Daniel passed them on his way and the haunted look both their eyes made him pause. “Just how bad is it?” he asked.

  They both looked up and shook their heads. “Worst I’ve ever seen,” the older one said.

  What the hell happened between the last murder and this one to make the scene so much worse? Curious about the minds of psychopaths, Daniel had been reading journals on the subject in his spare time. There must have been some kind of new trigger.

  Mike stepped out of the warehouse as Daniel approached the door. He stopped dead in his tracks at the expression on his boss’s face. He’d never seen such a look before. Even the rage he’d glimpsed at the last scene hadn’t been as feral, as determined, or as sickened as the one on Mike’s face in that moment. “What the hell happened?”

  Mike took a deep breath. “He realized Shelby was gone.”

  Daniel frowned. “How could he know that? You were careful to get them both out of the house without anyone seeing anything.”

  “He must have been watching somehow. It’s the only thing that makes sense, considering the carnage inside. I’d be willing to guess Casey will put the time of death sometime after we left for Flagstaff.”

  Daniel didn’t question the hypothesis. Mike was eerily accurate about these things. “Is it like one of her videos?”

  “No.” Then the big man let out a breath. “This is a very different scene from the previous two. This one is the sickest fucker I’ve ever seen.”

  “Jesus,” Daniel muttered. Now he really didn’t want to go inside. But viewing evidence was part of his job and if he advanced the way he wanted to, then he’d be the homicide sergeant one day. He couldn’t let a scene destroy him. “I’ll take a quick look, and then come back out and wait for the medical examiner.”

  Mike nodded and turned his body slightly to the side, giving his tacit permission.

  As Daniel moved to pass, he was stopped by Mike’s hand.

  “Don’t step too far into the room, the blood is everywhere.”

  Daniel nodded. “Got it. Anything else?”

  “The shock value is high. Try and keep it together when you come back outside.” Mike nodded toward the cops all watching them from a distance. “They need to know we’ll take care of this.”

  Taking a deep breath of the fresh air, Daniel said, “I won’t let you down.”

  “I know.”

  Mike moved around him and headed toward the young officer still sitting in the patrol car.

  Daniel figured he must have been the first unit on scene, since he looked worse than anyone else. Peer support would get called out, and they’d all be in for a de-brief once the scene was thoroughly secured and the officers released.

  As with the other scenes, the smell is what hit him first. Maybe he was psyching himself out due to what Mike said, but the odor of death seemed so much stronger. And when he stepped inside the main portion of the warehouse, he could see why. He almost went to his knees.

  Instead, he braced a hand on the door and closed his eyes. Sick bastard. He took a moment before he could talk himself into opening them again. Carnage wasn’t even the right word to describe the scene because what had been done to that poor woman was nothing less than butchery. “Dear God,” he whispered.

  She was in pieces. Everywhere.

  This was no body dump and stage set. The murder had happened right there in the center of the room. Blood spatter lined the walls and the floor, and body parts were flung in every direction, as if dismembering her hadn’t been enough.

  Daniel forced himself to stand there and take it all in. The violence—the terror that stained the air. The abject horror of mangled flesh and entrails twisted in a mass that didn’t resemble anything human. And when he was sure his expression was under control, he walked outside.

  But the world didn’t look the same as when he went inside. The vicious murders of the first two women hadn’t affected him the way this one did. Mike had been right. They had to keep it together for their brothers in blue, because this was their job. To find and capture the animal that went beyond the normal scope of reasoning.

  Casey and her tech arrived at that moment and not even her newly spiked red hair could bring a smile to Daniel’s face. He stayed to the side as Mike talked to her. Her mobile face was set in a grimace.

  She nodded once and then followed Mike toward the door of the warehouse. The tech stayed behind gathering supplies. Casey had only her camera in her hands. She was fastidious about making sure the crime scene was carefully preserved in photos before they started mucking around gathering evidence, as she called it.

  He didn’t go with them. Not yet. And he’d made the right decision. The subtle shake of Mike’s head as he passed told Daniel to stay where he was for the moment. The instant relief he felt was both appalling and necessary. He needed a couple of minutes to make sure he didn’t throw up. The bile was at the back of his throat, and he held it at bay by sheer strength of will.

  He’d never felt like taking justice in his own hands before. Daniel was all about the legal system and making it work, but in this moment, he had the grisly realization he could kill another man in cold blood. The animal doing this didn’t deserve to rot away in a cage.

  This monster needed to die.

  Chapter 15

  “They’re calling him “The Surgeon” in the newspaper,” Madge said.

  The disgust in her voice was thick. Shelby looked up from the schedule she’d been making changes to. “Who makes up these things?”

  “I guess they can’t call every killer “The Sadistic Butcher.” That wouldn’t sell any papers, or have folks tuned into the news stations. Every new one gets a catchy name.”

  Shaking her head, Shelby glanced across the stage to check on Rebecca. But the little girl was surrounded by her dolls and a couple of new toy horses. She’d retreated back into her quiet self, but the silence wasn’t like before. She was still talking, thank God. Even if all she talked about were horses and when she’d get to ride Cinnamon again.

  “That murder is a form of entertainment for the news people is just sick.”

  “I’m sure they’re all high-fiving when a poor person gets mutilated, because then their ratings all go up.”

  “When are we done here?” Shelby asked, ready to change the subject. She was tired and had worked hard with her band and the sound technicians most of the morning. Her hairdresser/make-up artist was a pro and didn’t need anything more than approval on a new lipstick color she wanted to use for the Friday performance. The wardrobe was ready and waiting, having already been fitted before she left with Mike during the week.

  “I have to check a couple more items off my list, but I think we’re good to go.” Madge had her clipboard out and was making notes here and there in the ten pages located there.

  “Good. It’s getting late, and I want to get Rebecca home and serve her a hot meal.”

  “Will the hot detective be there?”

  Shelby shot a look around, but no one was close within ear shot. A couple of the sound guys were in deep conversation with her guitarist, and someone with the lighting crew was setting up a ladder on the stage at the other end. “Don’t say that too loudly,” she whispered.

  “I didn’t, but your reactio
n is interesting. I’ll go ahead and call the Chef and let her know to set another place at the table.”

  Shelby felt her ears get hot. Madge wouldn’t judge if she decided to come out on stage stark naked in front of a hundred thousand fans, but having her know Mike would be spending the night felt naughty somehow. Especially since Madge was more like her mother than just her manager. And who knew when Mike would even be there? He was back and focused on the job.

  “I guess.” Shelby stood to go get Rebecca. Madge’s amused chuckle followed her.

  She reached the little girl, and Rebecca looked up and smiled. “Time to go?”

  Shelby nodded. “Did you have fun today?”

  Rebecca shrugged and started putting away her toys in the bag she had.

  A gray-and-white sock monkey caught Shelby’s attention. “Where did that come from?” She didn’t remember that particular toy.

  Rebecca shrugged again.

  Chills ran the length of Shelby’s body. There was no reason to be worried about a stupid toy, but for some reason it bothered her. “When did you find it exactly?” She tried to keep her voice neutral.

  “After lunch.” Rebecca stood and slung the strap of the bag across her little body. “Okay, ready.”

  Shelby couldn’t stop from glancing around or the feeling of being watched, but she ignored it. Being back in town was making her jumpy, but the security team hadn’t left her side all day. She didn’t want to cause a scene over a toy, especially since they were about to leave, but the stuffed animal gave her a bad feeling. She’d ask Madge about it when they were home.

  Two men who were part of the security team approached her on the stage. “Ready to go, ma’am?”

  “Yes, thank you for being here with us.”

  “Our pleasure,” the older one said.

  His name was Hank, and he was the leader of her security team. Shelby liked all the guys, and they never let on that this was a pain for them in any way. Of course, Madge was paying them quite a bit of money not to mind, but they seemed genuine enough.