Chapter
Twenty-Six

“You didn’t have to do that.” Tony felt his hands clench involuntarily behind him. He looked over at Kate. She hadn’t said a word, but her eyes were wide and unfocused. She was probably in shock.

“I don’t have to do anything,” Gerard said with a smile that didn’t reach his eyes. “But I’m in control now. Not you. There aren’t any prison guards here to order me around. And you certainly won’t.” He gave an odd little laugh. “Even my mentor has given me carte blanche. I’m free from him, and I’m certainly free from you.”

Tony caught the word mentor. “Are you talking about Malcolm Bodine? Was he your mentor?”

Gerard’s expression turned stormy. “Don’t be ridiculous. Bodine was a wimp. Wanted out. I killed him.”

“He wanted out? What are you talking about? Seems like he was the successful one. You messed up your first kill. Ended up in jail.” Tony wanted to keep Gerard talking. Keep him from thinking about Kate. It was the only strategy he could come up with for the moment.

Gerard stood up abruptly from his chair at the table, the legs scraping against the floor. He pointed his gun straight at Tony. Tony saw the barrel shake. Gerard’s eyes were wild. “He lost his nerve. Wanted out. Our mentor decided he had to go. I took care of it, and now I’m taking his place.”

“Wait a minute,” Tony said. “Then why were you caught? What went wrong?”

Anger twisted Gerard’s features. “I don’t want to talk about it.”

“You moved too fast, didn’t you? Didn’t wait for your mentor to approve your first kill. That’s why everything went wrong. You didn’t rely on his expertise. He would have known your target was a twin. That she wouldn’t be alone when you broke in. And he wouldn’t have allowed you to leave the bodies behind. He never does that.”

“It wasn’t my first kill,” Gerard said, his voice growing louder. “I told you, I killed Malcolm.”

“I’m sorry, you’re right. I forgot.”

Gerard seemed a little mollified by Tony’s apology and sat down again. “Actually, you’re correct. He was angry with me for a while. Said that my kill was illegal. But when I went to jail, he said it was a good thing. That I would be famous. Everyone would think I was the Blue-Eyed Killer. He was right, of course. Problem was, after a while, people forgot about me. And I didn’t like prison. It was awful.” He lowered his voice as if he thought only Tony could hear him. “The bathroom facilities are . . . out in the open.” He shook his head. “Barbaric.” He stared up at the ceiling, his eyes wide and unblinking.

At that moment Gerard seemed a million miles away. As if he’d forgotten anyone else was in the room. If Tony could distract him, maybe he could get the gun. The type of plastic ties Gerard had used on him and Kate were easy to remove. Law enforcement had quit using this brand because just the right amount of force could break them. And Tony knew exactly how to do it. If he could get the gun, he could subdue Gerard and save Kate. No matter what, he was determined to keep Gerard away from her.

A low moan from Bobby told Tony he was coming to.

“So how did you get released?” Tony asked softly. “Was that your mentor’s doing?”

Gerard nodded. “I told him that if he didn’t get me out of there, I’d tell everyone about him. Tell the world who he was.” Gerard smiled at no one. “So he told them where to find Ann Barton and proved I didn’t kill her. Now I’m free.”

“Where is this mentor now?”

Gerard gave him a blank look. “Wouldn’t you like to know? Anyway, it doesn’t matter. I’ve graduated. We parted ways.”

Tony watched Gerard lower his gun a little. “I guess he has a lot of experience with . . . killing?”

Gerard laughed. “No, not really. He doesn’t like to get his hands dirty so he recruited Malcolm. Then me. Likes to watch but doesn’t like to do it.” Gerard blinked several times, then his eyes seemed to focus on Tony. He waved his gun around. “That’s enough. I’m not talking about him anymore. You want me to say something bad about him, and I won’t do it. He helped me, and now he’s letting me go. I’m not upset anymore. Everything’s okay. From here on out, I’m on my own. The Blue-Eyed Killer will be famous again. And everyone will know it’s me.”

Gerard’s insanity was in full bloom. Tony realized he was unpredictable and dangerous. Getting him under control was going to be tough. Tougher than he’d imagined.

He glanced over at Bobby, who was now conscious and looking at Gerard. Then he watched as Gerard’s gaze swung toward Kate, who was still staring straight ahead. Her face was pale, and there was a sheen of sweat above her lip. She was in trouble, and Tony had to help her. He needed to get close to Gerard, and he had to do it soon.

Thankfully, Warren was able to follow the tracks in the mud. Even though it was still raining, it was finally coming down a little lighter. The tracks were fading but still clear enough for him to see. He slipped several times, almost washed over the side of an embankment once. It really was dangerous up here. He had to be careful. He couldn’t risk injury or anything that would keep him from what he needed to do. He’d dedicated himself to a cause, and nothing would stop him. His mother had been the first. It was as if he could hear her whispering in his ear. His legs felt like rubber, so he found an old tree stump and sat down. For now he’d rest, but when he was at full strength, he would figure out a way to finally end this.

Once and for all.

U.S. Deputy Marshal Gil Bennett had made the decision to take his team up the mountain to rescue a witness under protection and one of their own, along with an innocent civilian. Although a few other law enforcement officers were going with them, there were others who had made it clear they felt his attempt was ill-advised.

“We’ve lost folks in those mountains,” a local cop had told him. “The roads are more than just a little wet. We’ve got flash flooding up there. Getting yourself killed isn’t going to help your witness or your fellow Marshal.”

Gil was careful to thank him for his advice, but he still felt compelled to try. The people who’d been killed on the mountain were civilians, not law enforcement. He didn’t plan to take any drastic measures. They’d go slowly and carefully, but standing around down here while people were in danger was something he just couldn’t stomach.

He was waiting for the rest of his team to get geared up so they could take off when his phone rang. He was surprised to find himself talking to the Chief of the Eastern District of Missouri’s U.S. Marshals’ Office, Richard Batterson. He’d been in touch with Gil’s boss about this operation, but why was he calling Gil personally?

“What can I do for you, sir?” he asked.

“I have some information I’d like you to pass along to my deputy when you find him,” Batterson said. “So far, I haven’t been able to reach him by phone. You probably know that a local deputy sheriff is missing. Warren Killian may be headed toward our people. I’ve discovered that he’s the son of the so-called Blue-Eyed Killer’s first victim. At the time she was murdered, her son was a person of interest. I’m not sure what this guy wants or why he’s on the mountain, but I think you should all be very careful. I’ve written out everything that might be pertinent to this case. Please read through it as soon as you can.” Batterson took a deep breath. “At this point, we’re not sure who took our witness, but we suspect it is Alan Gerard. Consider him armed and extremely dangerous. Wish I could give you something more helpful, Deputy, but we just don’t have all the facts yet. Just be careful, and watch out for Killian. Thanks for your dedication. It’s appreciated.”

Gil waited until he was certain Batterson had finished talking. He glanced at his phone and saw the message with attachments come through. “I have the information, sir. Thanks. We’ll keep an eye out for Killian, and we’ll deliver those people back safely, trust me. And we’ll bring Gerard down dead or alive. He’ll never hurt anyone else.”

There was silence on the other end of the line for a moment, and Gil wondered if his bravado had offended Batterson.

“I like that, Deputy Bennett. Good man. Godspeed to you and your team.”

“Thank you, sir.”

The other line clicked off, and Gil pulled up the files Batterson had sent. He’d read through everything when he could and show them to Deputy DeLuca when he found him. If he was still alive.

On the way back to the station, Leon stopped by Fred Fisher’s. Hopefully, the old man wouldn’t get upset about another interruption. Especially since his home was going to be invaded in a couple hours by Linda and a few women from their church. It took a while for Fred to get to the door. When he opened it, he frowned when he saw who it was.

“You gonna move in here, Sarge? I can get a room ready for you if it would help.”

Leon chuckled. “I’m sorry, Fred. I really am. My bosses tell me what to do, and I gotta do it. I’m sure you understand how it is.”

“Sure, I guess so.” He peered closely at Leon. “So now what?”

“Do you have a picture of Dorothy? One that I could borrow?”

Fred swung the door open and ushered Leon inside. “Yeah, I keep it hangin’ on the wall in the bedroom. Follow me.”

Fred’s bedroom wasn’t any cleaner than the rest of the house. The smell of urine was even stronger there, and Leon had to hold his breath. Fred walked slowly over to the wall and took down a cheaply framed picture. The glass was cloudy from not being cleaned for a long time, but when he put it in Leon’s hands, a chill went through him. Dorothy Fisher had long brown hair and bright blue eyes.

Just like all the other victims.