Chapter Five

His thoughts on Lynn, Jake settled behind the table he was using for a desk. She had pretended viewing an autopsy was routine, but it was easy to see her discomfort. He knew before they went in there how sensitive she was. That couldn’t have changed. He’d been right. Not many could hold up to one, much less three autopsies in one day. It had affected her though. Her face had gone as white as the bodies on the table, and sheʼd had a hard time standing upright. Any minute, heʼd expected her to hit the floor. He admired the gutsy way she’d hung in there.

Tough lady. He hadn’t seen this side of her when they were young and in love. He should have known. Her dad had been one of the toughest sheriffs in the state. Her mom was no slouch in that department either. He remembered one Saturday when the gang was at the house. Some were playing pool inside, others swimming. He’d come inside to get a drink. Stopped when he saw Lynn’s mom pull up in her station wagon, haul herself out and head straight for the front door where she demanded to known what was going on. You could tell she was angry enough to lay them all flat. His mom had welcomed her inside where her anger eventually turned to laughter. Jake had kept himself well hidden.

His mother was tall, thin, and always carried a smile. Lynn’s was shorter, carried more weight, and was frowning as if ready for a fight.

He’d never forget that conversation. “I came to see what the heck brings my daughter here every chance she gets. Just checking, you see, to make sure no drugs or alcohol are involved.”

Mom had been at the counter making tuna sandwiches and tall pitchers of tea. “This is as strong as the drinks get. And I guarantee there are no drugs.”

“Are you sure? Teens can be sneaky, you know.”

Mom took Mrs. Lawton by the arm, led her to the window. “I think you can tell by looking.”

There were at least a dozen kids splashing, swimming, diving. Laughter drifted through the open window.

“Not always. Even in Lobster Cove there are drug pushers. Kids are their best customers.”

“I understand your concern. But look, see that guy in swim trunks down at the deep end? That’s my husband. Either he or I are with these kids all the time.”

Ms. Lawton went limp with relief. Jake snickered and got the hell out. He wasn’t about to tell Lynn her mom was checking up on her. On them.

Lynn had that same toughness. It was in her genes.

Sighing, he opened his laptop and went to work. He had to make his first report. Even this early in the investigation, he knew they’d have to pull in more help. Lynn had spent two years investigating the victims’ disappearances and come away with nothing. From what he’d seen, read, and studied about serial killers, they were never easy to solve.

He finished his preliminary report and hit send. In seconds his boss responded. He had anticipated the need. They could expect more agents within the hour.

He picked up the three folders, sat back and re-read the follow-up investigation on the senator’s daughter. There! He squinted at what had stuck in his mind when he read it the first time. A month before she disappeared, Kacie Underwood had been at Murphy’s Bar with friends. All were drunk, or close to it. There was a fight and someone called 911. Deputy Roy Webb answered the call, broke up the fight, and arrested half a dozen guys. When the last one had been put in a police car and been driven off, Kacie approached him, told him he had taken away all the fun, so he’d have to substitute.

Jake looked up, remembered that Roy had been good-looking even as a kid. From the little Jake had seen of him as an adult he still wasn’t bad in the looks department. He was tall, had blond hair, deep brown eyes and a muscular build. In Jake’s mind’s eye, he could see how man-crazy Kacie would come on to him.

He continued to read.

According to the report, Roy had brushed her off. Kacie kept pulling on him, rubbing herself against him, kissing his neck. Lipstick had gotten on his collar. The report said he took some razzing from the other deputies over it.

Was there more to this?

Could Kacie have continued her pursuit? Roy got angry and put an end to it? Permanently? Jake shook his head. Hard to fathom, but weirder things had happened.

Even with that scenario, how did he explain the other two murders?

Could Roy have a connection with them as well?

He grabbed another folder, Sherry, the first victim, young and pretty.

As if as an afterthought, at the bottom of the report, Lynn had typed in how a week before disappearing, Roy had seen her truck on the side of the road with a flat. He’d fixed it, told her to watch where she drove, as it looked as if she’d run over a nail.

A couple of days later, she’d brought him a homemade cake to thank him. They were sitting on the porch with a cup of coffee, sampling the cake, when Beth came home.

Nothing more.

But what if there was? Roy was practically the last person to see both Kacie and Sherry alive.

Lynn’s thoroughness impressed him.

Quickly, he grabbed the last folder.

Jo Nelson, her husband, and little girl were neighbors of Roy and his wife. But according to the report, they’d been friendly.

Roy’s ten-year-old son, Buddy, liked little kids and was often seen rolling a ball to her, or throwing a Frisbee to see if she could catch it.

Roy had a son? Lynn hadn’t mentioned it. What did it matter?

What did matter was that Roy saw the victim often. Did he see her before she was murdered? Could he have had something to do with it?

The thought sent chills down his spine.

Then he saw it. Roy had arrested Jo’s husband Joel two weeks before her disappearance on a DUI. Jo had come to the station and reamed Roy out for treating a neighbor in such a way.

Jake sat up straighter, his heart pounding unevenly in his chest.

Lynn had made the comment at the bottom of the report of the conversation she’d evidently overheard. “How could you do this? We’re neighbors. Doesn’t that mean anything?” Lynn had intervened, told Jo how Roy could have saved Joel’s life, or someone else’s.

Jake put the report down.

Roy had means, opportunity, and motive, the trifecta in a murder investigation.

Lynn liked Roy, trusted him——worked with him every day. How in the world could Jake present her with the theory that the man she’d known all her life——one who carried a gun, and a badge, could possibly be the villain?

For now, he’d watch the deputy closely and keep his mouth shut.

But not for long.

He got up, headed for Lynn’s office to see if she’d gotten back. Even without his suspicions about Roy, they had to discuss the case.

He knocked on the door and was pleased to hear her call out for him to come in. Not so pleased to see who was sitting across from her.

“You remember Roy Webb, don’t you?”

“Of course. Jake Mackenzie, in case you’ve forgotten.” They shook hands.

Jake gave the man a careful look. His face was open——his eyes clear. He didn’t look or act like a killer. Then Jake remembered all those who went before and hid their evil behind a smile, including John Wayne Gacy and Jeffrey Dahmer.

Taking the only other chair, he asked, “Have you come up with anything since I saw you?”

“I have,” Roy said, his voice low and troubled.

“Before he tells you his theory, I want you to know that I think he’s about as far off-base as one can get.”

“Let’s hear it.”

“I noticed the victims’ haircuts at the scene. I didn’t know until now, though I should have realized it, their hair had been colored as well.”

“And?” Jake asked, wondering where this was going.

Roy looked over at Lynn. “Remember when you had your hair cut the same as the victims? If I recall correctly you got it cut shorter just before the first victim, Sherry Miles, went missing.”

“What are you getting at?” Jake asked. “Whatever it is, spit it out.”

“Okay. Here goes. I know it sounds far-fetched, but it’s something. All of the victims were young. All pretty. Just like Lynn. Their hair and eyes weren’t the same color, but the killer didn’t let that stop him. He chopped off their hair to match Lynn’s, then dyed it for the same reason.”

“Are you suggesting the unsub is really after Lynn?” Jake froze at the thought.

Roy sat back, deflated. “I know it sounds crazy. But can you explain the similarities any other way?”

Jake was so stunned he couldn’t speak. When he’d first entered the office and seen Deputy Roy Webb, he was telling himself he’d found a viable suspect. Now that same deputy was putting out a scenario that sounded plausible. He hadn’t thought of the haircuts as being styled after Lynn’s. But it had been a long time since he’d seen her. Then, her hair was long, past her shoulders, and a pretty light brown. Now it was just as pretty, but curled at her neck.

He looked over at Lynn. Saw the denial on her face and in her eyes. “Why do you want to brush this off?”

“Because, as far as I know, I haven’t teed off anyone enough to make them want to kill me. I don’t see why we should waste time on something this far-fetched. We have a killer to catch; one who has been evading us for two years. We don’t have time for anything else.”

“Roy could be right, Lynn. Maybe the hair and hair color isn’t a coincidence. I don’t think we should ignore this.”

She dropped her head in her hands, shook it back and forth. “It’s simply not possible.”

“You don’t know that for a fact,” Jake told her. “Until we do, we’ll work under the assumption that the unsub is watching you. Maybe waiting for the right time to strike.”

She raised her head, looked at him. “We don’t even know how he’s killing his victims.”

“After what we saw today, what do you think?’

“Poison,” she said in resignation. “But what kind? Where did he buy it? How will we find him?”

“That’s why we’re here,” Roy put in. “We’ll keep you safe. And we’ll find this unsub, as the agent calls him.”

Jake shot a glance at the man sitting next to him. Roy had a gleam in his eyes. He was ready to get to the job at hand. Maybe he wanted to be the hero who found the killer. Or maybe he was the killer and determined to keep his identity hidden. Who would know which he was?

What Jake did know was that instead of thinking Roy Webb was guilty of wrongdoing, he was beginning to think the man was just as Lynn described him. Good at his job and gung-ho to make his mark.

He’d better be.

Jake’s brain was capable of holding more than one line of thinking.

He tucked Roy to the side of his head where he kept information he could pull to the forefront in an instant.

As Roy strode out of the office, Jake warned him, “No one other than the three of us is to know that Lynn could be the real target. Got it? No one.”

“Got it, Special Agent Mackenzie. Loud and clear.”

“I don’t think your deputy likes me,” Jake said when the door closed. “Actually, I don’t think he liked me when we were kids.”

“You were everything he wasn’t. It was a jealousy thing. You had it all. Good parents, money, a terrific house. He lived in a trailer with two drunken parents and had to scrabble his way out.” Her face turned stubborn. “I admire him for that.”

“I don’t think he knew back then that he had a lot going for him.”

Her brow wrinkled. “What do you mean?”

“Good looks, a bright mind, and a determination to better himself would put him right where he is. And who knows, he might make mayor yet.”

Lynn chuckled.

“Now, let’s get down to business.” Jake pulled his chair closer. “How the hell do you propose we keep you safe?”