Chapter Twenty-Two

Tuesday, January 22, 3:00 P.M.

Adrianna’s laughter held no mirth. ‘This is some kind of sick joke, isn’t it? I’m not adopted.’

Tears filled her mother’s eyes as she stared at her. The immediate lack of denial from her mother scared Adrianna. Chest tightening, she stared at her mother’s face, now so tight with worry. This was insane.

‘Adrianna.’

‘Mom, what is this about? You need to say that I’m not adopted.’

Tears streamed down Margaret’s face, ruining the makeup that had taken a half hour to apply. ‘I want you to understand that I love you more than anything in the world.’

Adrianna swallowed, had the sense that the earth shifted under her feet. She was aware that the detectives were staring at them and absorbing every detail of the conversation. At this moment, she resented their presence. Whatever her mother had to say was private and between the two of them. ‘Can you gentlemen give us some privacy?’

They didn’t budge.

‘We can’t do that,’ Jacob said. ‘For your own safety we need to hear what your mother has to say.’

Dread hardened in Adrianna’s stomach. She could barely speak. ‘Please, just give us a minute.’

Margaret shook her head. ‘Let them stay. If what they say is true about these murders, I want them here. You might need them.’

Somewhere deep inside Adrianna the whispers of old doubts grew louder. She’d never felt like she fit in with her family. At family reunions, she was the fair-haired one, not dark, like her cousins. The one who loved art and hated math.

‘Why would I need police protection?’ Adrianna clung to logic even as she stared at the growing panic in her mother’s eyes. ‘I didn’t know these women. I have nothing in common with them.’

Margaret drew in a breath. ‘You might.’

Her mother had always had a flare for the dramatic. She could turn a hangnail into a major event. But the directness in her gaze set off alarm bells. ‘What do you mean? How am I connected to these murders?’ Adrianna could hear the slight hysteria in her voice. ‘I’m not adopted.’ The last statement came out of desperation. God, she needed her mother to say the words.

Margaret shook her head no. ‘You are adopted.’

This was like a bad dream. She fully expected to wake up any moment. Or better, a celebrity would burst into the room and announce she’d been punked. Neither happened. ‘But I’ve seen the pictures of when you were pregnant with me. You told me I was a long delivery.’

‘I wasn’t pregnant with you.’ She dragged in a shuddering sigh.

Adrianna’s head was spinning. ‘I don’t understand.’

‘I need to sit down,’ Margaret said.

Adrianna helped her mother to a chair and took the one across from her. The detectives still stared, still hovered. ‘Tell me.’

‘I love you.’

‘Tell me.’

Tears ran down her face as she started to recount the old nightmare. ‘A month before you were born, I gave birth to a little girl. She was so pretty and so perfect. She was everything to me. My sweet Adrianna.’

Adrianna stiffened. ‘I’m Adrianna.’

Margaret sighed. ‘That was her name too.’

Adrianna couldn’t speak. Her mother hadn’t given birth to her. She’d been given the name of a dead child? Her voice hardened with shock and anger. ‘Tell me.’

‘I came in to check on her one morning. She would have been just four weeks old. Normally, she woke early and was kicking and trying to roll over. Only that morning she was very still. I touched her and she was cold.’ She raised a shaking hand to her temple as if the recollection made her head hurt. ‘I remember screaming and calling your father. When he came in and saw our little girl that way, he called our family doctor. The doctor lived next door and came right over. He told us we’d lost our daughter to crib death.’

Adrianna’s heart beat faster and sweat beaded on her forehead. She thought she’d throw up.

‘I was so lost during those days. I wanted to die. Your father panicked. He was terrified I’d try to kill myself.’ Margaret smiled. ‘Your dad had all kinds of connections in the legal community. He heard about a baby who had just been seized from a bad home situation.’

‘Me?’

‘Yes. He pulled a lot of strings. Money changed hands, but he was careful that all the paperwork was above board. Within a day, he laid you in my arms. In that moment, I felt as if I’d been given my life back. I felt whole again. I never looked back.’

Adrianna’s face flushed. In one moment, the life she’d known had been changed forever. Everything she’d known as truth shattered.

Margaret laid her hand on Adrianna’s. ‘I love you.’

Adrianna pulled her hand away. ‘Do you?’ The primal urge to lash out was so strong. It wasn’t logical. And she didn’t care. ‘Or am I just a replacement?’

Jacbo cleared his throat. ‘Mrs Barrington, do you know anything about Adrianna’s birth family?’

Her shoulders had crumpled, but her gaze remained on Adrianna. ‘I never asked questions. But my husband kept records.’ She knitted her fingers together. ‘I have them at my house, locked in the safe.’

Zack, silent until now, spoke up. ‘I know this is a tough time, but those papers could help us figure out who’s behind the killings. Perhaps even link back to an unsolved double homicide twenty-five years ago.’

Adrianna’s life was crumbling. She couldn’t think clearly.

Margaret lifted her chin. ‘I’ll contact you when my daughter is ready to speak to you. She has the right to see these papers before anyone else.’

The word daughter held an extra emphasis. And Adrianna found she resented it. ‘I’ll give you the papers as soon as I find them.’

Jacob nodded. ‘I’m going to order a patrolman watch over you, Ms Barrington. Right now I believe you’re not safe. I’d like for you to take a DNA test.’

She glanced up at him. ‘Why?’

‘If your DNA is a match to the murder victims, then you need to be very careful. You could be next on the killer’s list.’

The cold outside the shop was a welcome relief for Jacob. He had come on a hunch and unearthed a mess. He felt for Adrianna Barrington. She had just taken a right hook to the chin and had had her feet knocked out from under her.

He glanced at Zack. ‘That was something.’

Zack nodded. ‘Yeah.’

A marked patrol car pulled up in front of the design shop. Jacob nodded to the officer and held up his hand as a signal to wait. He flipped open his phone and called Vega. He requested a forensics tech to do a DNA swab on Adrianna. And soon as he called Kendall he was going to ask the same of her.

‘I’ve got news for you as well,’ Vega said. His voice sounded tense. ‘Dana Miller’s body was found near Carytown.’

Jacob hesitated. ‘Strangled?’

‘Neck broken.’

‘She doesn’t fit the profile of our last three victims.’

‘Her body was found in the trunk of Nicole Piper’s car. Nicole’s purse was also in the trunk.’

‘Kendall’s roommate.’

‘Yeah, I know. Ayden is on the warpath. Kendall called about an hour ago and reported her missing.’ Worry coated each word. ‘Nicole’s not answering her cell phone and now neither is Kendall.’

The muscles on the back of Jacob’s neck tensed. ‘Is Kendall at work?’

‘No. Supposedly, she ran home to check to see if Nicole had returned. No one has heard from her and she’s not answering her cell.’

‘Shit.’ He glanced back at the shop.

‘And remember that guy you asked Mundey to check out? The guy who lives behind Kendall? Cole Markham?’

‘Yeah.’

‘Mundey just called and said Markham’s story doesn’t check out. He doesn’t sell insurance. No one’s heard of him. And he’s not renting the place behind Kendall’s. He’s squatting.’

‘Get a warrant and meet us at the house.’

Allen lifted an unconscious Kendall from the cab of his truck and carried her toward the old home. In the setting sun’s soft glow, the house’s imperfections weren’t so visible. If he squinted, the house almost looked like it had twenty-five years ago, when it had been so full of life and laughter.

He’d hated the house then because it had been a stark reminder of what he didn’t have. Its lush gardens, flower boxes, and welcome mat seemed to taunt and remind him that he didn’t belong. In those days he’d felt so adrift. The outsider.

God, but he’d wanted to belong then and to feel like he was loved and wanted.

Only years later during his exile did he come to miss this place. Here he’d at least had a connection to the people who lived in this house. Here he’d at least had his sisters.

He’d tried to re-create that connection with other women so many times but each attempt had failed.

Allen glanced down at Kendall’s face. So beautiful. He leaned forward burying his face in her hair. It smelled soft with a touch of spice. God, but she was so perfect.

A gentle nudge to her cheek only coaxed a soft moan from her. ‘Honey, we’re home.’

She didn’t speak. Not that he expected her to. After he stunned her with the Taser, he’d injected her with a knockout drug. She’d sleep for another hour or two.

He carried her up the stairs and through the front door. Inside, the house’s warmth wrapped around him. Smiling, he climbed the stairs with Kendall, easily managing her weight. She’d gained a couple of pounds since last summer. Then, her features had been too sharp and angular. But the last year had mellowed her. He liked to think that God had been preparing her for his arrival.

On the second floor he heard Nicole’s moans. They were deep, labored. Good. It was all coming together. Soon the Family would be complete.

He laid Kendall by the door, propping her back against the wall. He reached into his pocket, pulled out his mask, and put it on. He wasn’t ready to reveal himself. Not yet. The moment wasn’t perfect. He unlocked the door, pulled Kendall’s limp body up and pushed the door open. Nicole lay on the bed, curled on her left side. She’d drawn her legs up close into a fetal position. Sweat covered her body.

She raised her head and pushed herself into a sitting position. It took her a moment to focus and to absorb the scene. ‘Kendall?’

‘I brought her to you. She’s going to deliver our baby.’

Sweat had plastered her hair against her head. ‘Our baby?’

He smiled. She’d understand soon. ‘Yes. Ours. Did you find the water and crackers in the little refrigerator? There are ice chips too. That’s supposed to be good for women in labor.’

Nicole ignored him. ‘Is Kendall all right?’

‘She’s fine.’ He laid Kendall on the floor in front of the bed, all the while keeping his gaze on Nicole. He didn’t fully trust that she really was in labor.

Both women would fight the journey home, just as the others did. So he had to be careful. ‘I’ll be back soon. There’s still one more sister I need to bring to the fold.’

Nicole’s stomach contracted painfully as she tried to stand. ‘Don’t leave us here.’

He backed away from her. ‘I’ll be back.’

Nicole climbed off the bed and walked doubled over to Kendall. She dropped to her knees and pressed her fingertips to her throat searching for a pulse. ‘She’s barely breathing.’

‘I might have given her a bit too much, but she’ll be fine.’

Disapproval burned in Nicole’s blue eyes. He took a step back, remembering that his mother had always looked at him that way. No matter what he’d done, she’d hated him for it. She’d resented his presence every minute of every day.

Anger surged in him. ‘Stop it.’

She cupped her hand to her belly. ‘Stop what?’

‘Looking at me like that. I’m doing what is right.’

Nicole held her gaze, seemingly taking pleasure in his discomfort. ‘You’re a monster. And what you’re doing is evil.’

For an instant, his heart froze. He remembered when others had called him a monster and a freak. He remembered scorn. He clenched and unclenched his fingers. ‘If not for the baby, I would kill you right now.’

She didn’t flinch. Instead, she boldly stared at him. ‘You come near me and I’ll fight you until one of us dies.’

His heart raced. ‘The kitten has grown claws.’

With trembling hands, he backed out of the room and slammed the door. He had to get the last sister. He needed Sarah to complete the Family.

It took almost an hour for Jacob to get a search warrant for the house where Cole Markham was staying. When he and Zack arrived at the house it was six in the evening. They’d brought Vega and Ayden and two detectives from the city as backup.

Before Jacob rang the front bell, Zack drew his gun and ducked down the alley behind the house. He returned and reported Cole’s car was in the driveway. Jacob rang the bell. Seconds passed and they heard nothing. Jacob rang the bell again. Finally, footsteps sounded in the house. The door opened.

The man standing before them was tall, lean and possessed an intensity in his eyes that caught Jacob by surprise. This guy was no insurance agent.

‘Cole Markham?’ Jacob asked.

Markham’s eyes narrowed. ‘Yeah. Can I help you?’

Jacob pulled out his badge. ‘We’re with the police. We have a warrant to search this house.’

Markham stiffened. ‘On what grounds?’

‘We have reason to believe you might have knowledge about a recent murder.’

Markham didn’t blink. He wasn’t intimidated or surprised. ‘That’s ridiculous.’

‘We don’t think so.’ In fact, he was more certain than ever that this guy was into something up to his neck.

Blue eyes narrowed. ‘Let me see your warrant.’

Jacob handed it to him, carefully watching him as he surveyed the document. ‘It’s all very legitimate.’

Markham shoved out a breath. ‘I want my attorney to look at this first.’

Lawyering up so quickly. ‘Feel free to call him. In the meantime we’re going to be searching the house.’ Jacob raised his hand signaling Ayden, Vega, Zack, and the city detectives to advance toward the front steps. ‘We’re coming in now.’

‘This is my house!’ Markham shouted. ‘I want you the hell out of here!’

‘Save it,’ Jacob said. He pushed past Markham. Zack moved in right behind him and blocked Markham so he couldn’t stop Jacob.

Jacob’s gaze roamed the room. It was furnished with only a lawn chair and a TV set up on crates. Tinfoil dangled from the set’s rabbit ears. His footsteps echoed as he moved through the main room and looked in the vacant sitting and dining rooms. The kitchen had a refrigerator, but it was empty save for a couple of beers.

‘This is bullshit!’ Markham’s voice echoed through the house.

Jacob had hit a nerve with the guy. Good. He started to climb the stairs to the second floor. He glanced back and saw that Markham looked visibly upset now.

‘I’m going to sue your ass for everything you’re worth!’ Markham shouted.

Jacob winked at him. ‘Go for it, sport.’

He moved down the center hallway. To the master bedroom. He pushed the door open and stopped dead in his tracks.

The room was papered with pictures of ten women. All dark haired. All young. He didn’t recognize the faces of all the women, but he did recognize newspaper pictures of Jackie and Vicky. There were also several pictures of Kendall.

Anger roiled inside Jacob as he stared at the pictures.

‘Zack! Get up here!’

Kendall woke in phases to the sound of Nicole’s frantic voice. She struggled to clear her mind and to shake off the fog that seemed to surround her. Her limbs felt so heavy and her side ached. She wanted to roll over and let the sleep take her.

‘Kendall!’ Nicole’s voice was so sharp and angry. What was her problem? Nicole was such an easygoing person.

She felt the sharp sting of a slap on her face. The pain made her angry. ‘Stop.’

‘Wake up!’ Nicole shook her shoulders.

Kendall’s eyes fluttered open. The image above her was a blur. She blinked a second time and shook her head. ‘Nicole? What’s going on?’

‘Wake up! You’ve been drugged.’ Nicole pulled Kendall into a sitting position.

Her head spun. She felt nauseous. As her vision cleared a fraction she looked around the room. Pink. It was filled with the color pink. ‘Where the hell are we?’

Nicole shoved out a sigh. ‘I don’t know. He brought me here in the middle of last night.’

Kendall shoved long fingers through her hair. She couldn’t concentrate. Couldn’t remember how she got here. ‘Who is he?’

‘I don’t know. His face was covered and he keeps talking about us joining some family.’

God, think. Her brain felt as if it were wrapped in cotton. ‘Family?’

Nicole rose gingerly, cupping her hand to her belly. She picked up a photo album from the nightstand and handed it to Kendall. ‘He killed those three women. And others, I think.’

She glanced down at the pictures secured in the album’s clear plastic pockets. They were of the women who’d been killed. Only the pictures had been taken when they were alive. Snapshots taken while they walked down the street, talked to their grocery store clerk, came out of a shoe store.

Someone had been following them and taking pictures. ‘My God.’

Nicole flipped through several pages. ‘Look at the last page.’

Kendall saw a picture of herself and Nicole. They were having lunch. She remembered that lunch. It had been taken just before Christmas. ‘He’s been following us.’

‘He considers us family.’

Kendall clawed through the fog in her brain until she remembered the face of the man who’d taken her. ‘I know who he is.’

Zack, with four uniformed officers behind him, brought Markham upstairs to the room dedicated to the dead women and Kendall. Markham wasn’t cuffed but was surrounded by tense cops waiting for an excuse.

Jacob turned from the wall of photos and stared at him. ‘Mind explaining this?’

Markham folded his arms. ‘It’s not a crime to collect pictures.’

Jacob flexed the fingers of his right hand. ‘No. But it’s mighty suspicious when those women show up dead. Where’s Kendall?’

Markham frowned. ‘I don’t know. Is she missing?’

Jacob’s eyes narrowed. Rage pumped in his veins. ‘Like you don’t know.’

Markham met his gaze. ‘I don’t know. I’ve been gone most of the day.’

‘That’s crap. You know where she is. It’s clear you’ve been watching her for days, weeks even.’

‘Yeah, I’ve been watching her for about a week. But I don’t know where she is. Like I said, I’ve been out most of the day.’

‘Where the hell were you?’

Markham set his jaw as if mentally digging in his heels. Clearly, he didn’t like cops. ‘Across the river.’

‘Killing another woman?’

Markham shook his head. ‘So like the cops to take the easy way out.’

‘Believe me, pal,’ Jacob said, ‘none of this is going to be easy.’ He shifted tactics. ‘Who are these women on the wall?’

‘I want my lawyer.’

Jacob moved so that his face was within inches of Markham’s. ‘I’ve got two missing women. I swear to God if anything happens to them because you didn’t talk …’ He let the sentence trail.

Markham’s brow knitted and he let out a sigh. ‘They’re women who’ve been murdered. Most were strangled. A couple were beaten to death. It’s easy enough for you to check. I’ve got all their names.’

Jacob cursed. ‘Checking takes time, but you’ve already figured that part out. And I think you know Kendall doesn’t have much time.’

‘If he has her, she has time,’ Markham said. There was no joy in his statement.

‘If he’s got Nicole,’ Ayden ground out, ‘she doesn’t have time. She’s about to give birth.’

‘Who the hell is he?’ Jacob demanded.

‘I don’t know his real name,’ Markham answered.

Jacob shook his head. ‘Where would he be holding them?’

‘That’s what I was trying to figure out today.’ Markham fisted his hands. ‘I don’t think he’ll hurt either of them right away.’

‘How the hell can you be so sure?!’ Jacob shouted.

‘Because he likes to hold his victims,’ Markham said. ‘He held some for months.’

‘His last three victims weren’t held for months,’ Jacob countered. ‘He killed them within forty-eight hours.’

Ayden checked his watch. ‘Nicole has been missing for almost twenty-four hours. And I spoke to her doctor. The baby could come any day now.’

Markham shook his head. ‘I don’t know why he’d want Nicole. She doesn’t fit the profile.’

‘Well, she’s missing,’ Ayden said.

Jacob folded his arms over his chest. He was afraid he’d pummel the smug bastard if he wasn’t careful. ‘Start talking, Markham. Fast.’

Markham’s jaw tightened and released. His distaste and defiance were clear. ‘I’m from Denver. I owned a computer software business that was doing real well until eighteen months ago when my girlfriend, Diane, vanished. The police thought I had something to do with the disappearance. They hounded me for months. They took all my computer equipment. When they found out I had a record, they called clients and told them I was under investigation. Within weeks, my life was destroyed. Then Diane’s sister, Courtney, vanished. The cops really started to squeeze me then. My income stopped and I lost my house.’

Jacob shook his head. ‘Save the sad story.’

Markham glared at him. ‘January of last year, Diane and Courtney’s bodies were found. Diane had been strangled just days before. Her sister had been beaten to death the same day.’ He seemed to struggle with the memories. ‘I had an alibi for the time of their deaths.’

‘Really?’ Jacob said.

‘Yeah. I had been arrested – broken taillight. The cops were always looking for an excuse to hold me. Anyway, I was in jail when Diane and her sister were murdered. All that time the cops had been hounding me and some sicko had them. They were alive and could have been saved.’

Jacob stared at him. He was either one hell of a liar or one talented actor. ‘Keep talking.’

‘When the cops realized I hadn’t killed the women, they quickly lost interest in me and the case. Since early October the case has languished. I needed to find out who had killed Diane and her sister.’ Contempt dripped from his words.

‘So how the hell do you land on the East Coast two thousand miles away from home squatting in a vacant house?’ Jacob itched to grab this guy by the collar and rattle the truth out of him.

‘Like I said, I owned a computer company. I can hack into any system and I don’t need a warrant to collect data. I checked ViCap. There was an old killing in Alaska.’

Jacob narrowed his eyes. ‘Keep talking.’

‘I started watching ViCap. Nothing for months. And then you filed a report on the thirteenth. It was the first lead I’d had in months. So I drove to Richmond from Denver.’

‘That’s bullshit.’

Markham sighed. ‘Have you talked to the trooper in Alaska?’

The guy’s knowledge of the Alaska killings added credibility to his story.

‘When I saw Kendall on the news shortly after I arrived, I noticed the similarity to Diane immediately,’ Markham said. ‘I decided to keep an eye on her.’

‘Why not come to us?’ Ayden challenged.

Markham glared at Ayden. ‘I don’t trust cops. The cops out West made my life hell. And let’s face it – I show up after two women are killed. It would be easy to assume that after what happened in Denver I was behind these killings.’

‘If you know so much, then who the hell is behind this?’ Jacob asked.

‘I spoke with all of Diane’s friends and family many times. It wasn’t until the fourth interview with her neighbor that the woman remembered a man. This guy had done a little carpentry work for Diane a few days before she vanished. The neighbor only saw him the one time so she’d forgotten all about him.’

Jacob thought about Kendall’s newly renovated kitchen.

‘By the time I figured out who Kendall’s carpenter was and where he lived, the third victim had been found. The carpenter didn’t show up for work yesterday. I’ve been watching his house but he hasn’t been home either.’

‘What’s the guy’s name?’

Markham shoved out a breath. ‘Todd Franklin.’

‘You got an address?’

Markham gave him the address of a motel on the south side of town. ‘He hasn’t been at his motel room since yesterday.’ He folded his arms over his chest.

Jacob stared at Markham and flipped open his phone. He quickly verified Franklin’s address. ‘Ayden, hold this guy while Zack and I check out his story.’

‘Be glad to.’

An hour later, Jacob and Zack arrived at the address Markham had given them. Todd was living in a seedy motel on Route 60. A search warrant in hand, they got a key from the manager and with guns drawn opened the door.

It was dimly lit and smelled of mold. The bed was made neatly and everything on the cheap bureau was laid out in precise lines. ‘This guy has a thing for organization and detail.’

There was no evidence that linked the guy to any of the killings. ‘The killer we’re looking for is very organized and neat.’

‘Like this guy.’

‘Yeah.’

Jacob moved around the room trying to disturb as little as possible. ‘So where did he take them?’

‘Let’s talk to the detective who investigated the Turner murders.’

‘Yeah.’