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He paused in front of the refrigerator unit, and Sean gauged him in comparison as being five foot eight. He chatted with the owner, pointed to the vase of roses—which Sean presumed were red—and walked over to the counter.
It was at the counter that they had the clearest shot. He wrote out a card and handed it to the woman.
Sean clipped the image, sharpened it in a photo-editing program, and sent it directly to both Noah Armstrong and Jayne Morgan at RCK West.
I need a name and address for this person ASAP. Noah, this is Lucy’s stalker. Kate and I are going to the church now.
Sean slammed his laptop shut and tossed it on the backseat. He itched to take over the driving; Kate was moving too slow.
“Come on, Kate!”
“It’s snowing, if you haven’t noticed,” she snapped. Her fingers were wrapped tight around the steering wheel.
“Just—” He bit off his verbal criticism. It wouldn’t help the situation. He tried calling Lucy again. No answer. He stared out the window and watched the snow falling harder. He feared they were too late.
Sean was about to call Noah to make sure he’d got the image and message, when Kate’s phone rang. He heard only her end of the conversation, but his heart froze.
“Are you sure? Did you check the bathrooms? Other rooms?…We’re two, three minutes away. I’ll call Noah.”
Sean swerved. “What happened?”
“Dillon is at the church. Lucy isn’t there.” Kate bit her lower lip.
“And?”
“Her coat is. She stepped outside to get air twenty minutes ago and no one has seen her since.”
I am pleased.
Lucy Kincaid sleeps in the back. I laugh out loud. Lucy Kincaid is unconscious on the backseat. Her wrists and ankles are bound with duct tape. She wasn’t unconscious when I tied her up. She almost knew what was happening. But the GHB-isopropanol combination I hand-crafted did the job it is supposed to do. By the time she exited the church, she was already disoriented. When she fell in the snow, I knew she would put up little fight.
I may have given her too much, but I was unsure how quickly skin absorption would work. This was the only time I’d found her alone or in a place where I could grab her. She has wasted so much of my time with her games, I couldn’t allow her to waste another minute. In case her boyfriend had been at the church, I had an alternate plan.
I’m glad I didn’t have to resort to killing another man, pussy-whipped though he is. But if necessary, I would do it, just like out of necessity, I had to kill that cop.
Lucy Kincaid must be trained. I must break her. She is the problem. I am the solution.
I do not believe she’ll be a good student. But she cannot be allowed to get away with her pathetic attempt to send me back to prison.
I have great plans for her. I already have her first lesson ready. The lesson that will teach her that I am in charge, that her life is mine and I can take it when I want. The lesson will show her that she has no power, no hope. It’s the first step but always my favorite. Endings, and beginnings.
As I drive, I keep looking in my mirror at her. Her eyes are open, but glassy. I hope she is not dead.
I worry a bit. Dead girls are no fun—and I have not had my time with Lucy. I pull over to the side of the road and turn halfway around in my seat. I pick up the whip next to me and lash out at the female.
She convulses, a cry coming from her gagged mouth. I smile. She’s alive. Of course she is. I am too good to make a mistake with dosage, even when trying something new.
I merge back into traffic. Normally, I do not like driving so slowly, even in such weather, but tonight?
Tonight, I am very pleased.
THIRTY-EIGHT
When Kate parked illegally in front of Holy Trinity Church, Sean saw a lot of police activity but few police cars. Three dozen officers, some in uniform and some in street clothes, filled the vestibule. More were outside looking for signs of Lucy and what might have happened to her. They had all been in the church when Lucy went missing.
Dillon spotted them as they trudged up the stairs. A section had been cordoned off and Sean frowned. “We may have a witness,” Dillon told Sean and Kate as soon as they were within earshot.
“What happened?” Sean demanded. He hadn’t let himself think that Lucy had been abducted. But Mallory hadn’t sent Lucy the roses. He hadn’t killed Cody Lorenzo. And he hadn’t taken Lucy.
