Killer Christmas Evidence, page 6
Several turns later, he released his death grip on the steering wheel. He stretched his neck from side to side, relieving the tension that had built in his muscles.
“You think we lost him?”
A glance at Cassidy revealed her alarm over the situation. She’d squeezed her hands together tight enough that her fingers turned white. Her coworkers called her the ice queen. The woman had more courage than her entire team. He’d never seen anything rattle her like this before.
He tucked away the information to ponder later and double-checked his mirrors. “Doug will work the problem, and I’ll get you hidden away at his place.”
She nodded, then leaned over the back of the seat and searched through the side pocket of her suitcase. When she settled back in, he noticed a Glock in her hand.
He looked at her and raised a brow.
“My backup piece since the sheriff has my duty weapon.” She shrugged. “Just want to be prepared.”
“Good thinking.” Unless she decided to turn it on him for how he’d treated her. A smile tugged at his lips. The old Cassidy would threaten and tease him. But those days had passed. And he knew who to blame—himself. Another mistake in a long list of blunders.
Kyle wove through the residential streets of town. When confident that no one followed, he headed to Doug’s. Ten minutes later, he pulled into the driveway and parked at the side of the house, out of sight from the street. He glanced at Cassidy, who sat motionless in the passenger seat, staring out at the backyard with unseeing eyes.
He gently jostled her shoulder. “We’re here.”
She blinked. “Sorry, I zoned out there for a bit.”
“You’ve had a long day.” His heart tugged at him for the woman who’d once been his friend.
“That’s an understatement.”
He chuckled and opened his door. “I’ll grab your things. Let’s get you inside.”
She unbuckled and tucked her weapon in the waistband of her jeans. “Sounds good to me.”
He rounded the truck and waited for her to join him.
They stepped to the front door, and Kyle unlocked it.
“You have your partner’s key? I thought we’d have to wait for Doug to get here.”
“He gave me an extra so we’d have the ability to come and go as needed. But I’ve taken care of things for him before when he goes on vacation. Plus, we hang out, so I know his place as well as I do my own.”
“I hope I’m not putting him out by staying here.”
Kyle opened the door, punched in the security code and motioned her inside. “Doug’s okay with it. His security is the best, so his house is perfect for our needs.”
“What’s up with his security system?” Cassidy stepped in and froze. “Wow.”
He almost laughed at her expression. “Not what you expected?”
“This is not a bachelor pad.” Her gaze roamed the living room. “It’s homey.” She stepped farther into the house. “And that Christmas tree.”
Kyle had helped Doug with the fir a couple of weeks ago. The monstrous thing took up the entire corner of the room. Once he and Doug secured the tree, Kyle had left the decorating to his partner and escaped the holiday cheer.
The next time he came over, the Christmas tree looked like something out of a romance movie. Twinkling lights, gold ribbon and glass ornaments. If Kyle remembered correctly, the star on top had been a wedding gift from Doug’s grandparents.
How did Doug do it? The holidays made Kyle’s heart ache. He’d lost so much, but so had Doug. And the man never complained.
Kyle shut the door, flipped the lock and reengaged the alarm. “There’s a reason for the interior design touch. I want to respect his privacy. There’s more to the story, but I’ll give you the basics.”
“You don’t have to. I don’t want to pry.”
Kyle considered for a moment whether or not to say anything. Better she know than not. “It’ll keep you from touching an area you shouldn’t.”
Her gaze met his. “If you’re sure.”
“Doug is ex-army. He’s a bit of a security specialist. Hence the state-of-the-art system.” Kyle headed for the extra bedroom and motioned for her to follow. “He was married during his army days.”
Cassidy’s steps faltered. “Was?”
Kyle nodded. “Yes. While he was on deployment, Cara witnessed a drug deal that ended with two men dead. She agreed to give her eyewitness account and testify if needed. The next day someone broke into their home and killed her.”
“That’s horrible.”
“It was. The police know who ordered the hit but don’t have enough evidence to arrest the person or persons responsible. Doug shipped home the next day. He requested a discharge from the army, and they granted it. Soon after, he came to work for the ACSD.” Kyle entered the bedroom and stepped aside, giving Cassidy room to join him.
She paused. Her eyes darted around the room. “This can’t be the same house.”
“It’s not. When he moved to Valley Springs, he decorated it to match the house they shared. From what he tells me, it’s not exactly the same. He’s put his own personal touches on it over the years, but it’s similar.”
“That is both sad and sweet.”
Kyle placed her suitcase next to the dresser. “This will be your room. Doug’s is across the hall, and mine is the one we passed next to yours.”
Cassidy tilted her head. “So, I’m sandwiched between the two of you.”
“Something like that.” The coziness between them in the tight space made Kyle uncomfortable. The ease of their conversation surprised him, and he didn’t like it. The idea of falling back into their friendship after the way he’d lost Amber sent his blood pressure rising.
He itched to go for a jog to relieve the stress building inside. Or maybe just go home and leave Cassidy’s care to Doug. Anything to get away from her. But he refused to let her or Dennis down. No matter how painful her presence was. “You look as though you need a long nap. Go ahead and rest. Once you feel up to it, come on out, and we’ll take a look at your files.”
She closed her eyes and stood there.
After a minute without a response, he thought she’d fallen asleep standing up.
She inhaled. Her eyes opened, and she glanced around the room. “I’m good.”
“Are you sure about that? You’ve had a rough day.”
“If I lie down, I won’t get up until tomorrow. It’s better if I keep going.”
Kyle wasn’t so sure, but he wouldn’t argue. “Then let’s get to it.”
They walked to the living room. Only the hum of the heater and the tick of the clock on the wall broke the silence.
He sat on the couch, leaving the recliner for her. “Want to tell me what all this is about?”
Cassidy collapsed onto the easy chair. Her shoulders drooped, and she stared at her hands. A few moments later, she turned her focus on him. “I’m not sure where to start.”
“At the beginning.” He raised a brow.
She tugged on the sleeves of her shirt, hiding her scars from him. “Are you sure you want me to go there?”
Did he? Not really, but what choice did he have? Hiding from the past hadn’t worked so far. “Might as well.”
An engine rumbled outside.
Kyle held up a hand and pulled the weapon from his holster. He hurried to the door and peered through the blinds.
“Who is it?” Cassidy’s voice quivered.
A familiar black SUV parked behind his truck.
He let out a long breath and reholstered his Glock. “Doug’s here.” Kyle let his partner in. “I take it you lost him.”
Doug entered, took care of the alarm and hung his coat on the hook. “Of course.” He turned to Cassidy. “Welcome.”
“Thank you for letting me stay.”
Doug waved her off. “I’ll go make some coffee.”
Kyle watched him leave the room. “He’s not much for conversation, but he’s a great partner.”
“I trust you.”
Kyle halted. She did? After the way he’d treated her? “Well...thank you.”
Her smile told him she’d known her response had thrown him for a loop.
Kyle resumed his position on the couch and cleared his throat. “Let’s get down to business.”
Disappointment flashed across her face. “Right.” Cassidy tucked her legs under her. “I’ll give you an overview. After that, if you believe me, we can dig deeper.”
Doug brought them each a cup of coffee and deposited a sugar-and-cream set on the table in front of them. He sat on the other side of the couch opposite Kyle and rested his ankle on his knee.
Cassidy narrowed her gaze, studied Doug for a moment, then refocused on Kyle. “You know that my cousin Laura died in a drunk driving accident.” She used air quotes on the phrase drunk driving. “Which is impossible, but we’ll get to that later.”
A year ago, Kyle would’ve agreed with her and helped her investigate. He had no reason to believe that Laura had changed. And the thought startled him. He’d made assumptions based on his perception of Cassidy. Which had nothing to do with Laura. He made a mental note to pull the copy of the accident and autopsy report he’d procured from VSPD and take another look.
“The information I collected from Valley Springs PD about Laura didn’t help. I couldn’t argue the blood alcohol level. I didn’t understand it, but I had nothing to prove it was wrong, so I went a different path. Between my access to records due to my position with Brentwood PD and persuading the different police departments across the region to share what they had, I started looking into unsolved homicides and accidents where the families disagreed with the results of the investigation.” She shrugged. “At that point, I was grasping for answers. But what I found had me taking a closer look.”
“What did you find?” Kyle held his sarcasm at bay and decided to give her an opportunity to explain.
“Accidents without solid explanations. Homicides that had no evidence, or evidence that went against common sense. And all the families disagreed with the findings.”
“But—”
She held up a hand. “I know people don’t want to believe the worst about a family member. But their arguments had a ring of truth to them. Similar to my cousin Laura’s death. The more I investigated, the more certain I became that a serial killer was involved.”
“How many did you find?” Doug rubbed his thumb along the rim of his coffee mug.
“After expanding my search to include multiple counties, I found twenty-one that interested me, but thirteen fit together in a way I’d never seen before.”
Kyle leaned forward, placed his cup on the table and clasped his hands between his knees. “And how was that?”
She lifted her gaze to him. “I don’t remember exactly.”
“I understand your foggy memory, but we need more than an impression to start investigating a serial killer.” Kyle wasn’t sure what to think at this point. But he required more than her gut reaction.
Cassidy straightened and pinched her lips. “Then I guess I better convince you before the guy makes me one of his victims.”
Kyle stared at her defiant posture.
The woman wasn’t wrong on the account that someone had her in his sights. More than likely, someone from an old case who held a grudge had targeted her for putting him behind bars. But a serial killer—he doubted it.
However, they had to find her attacker before he finished what he started.
FOUR
Cassidy’s head ached. Not only from the lump on her head but from the hot/cold vibes she got from Kyle. He’d stayed civil. But one minute, he appeared to accept her judgment, the next, he looked at her like she’d grown horns and a tail.
When would he listen to her and accept that she hadn’t done anything wrong the day Amber died? Kyle’s accusations after the raid had hurt. She’d had meticulous plans for the operation and followed protocol to the letter. The explosion had shocked everyone. The team had no way of knowing the suspect had rigged the door with C4.
She sighed and turned to Doug. “Do you have a printer?”
With an eyebrow raised, he peered over the coffee mug at his lips. “Sure do.”
“May I print pictures and documents?” Cassidy withdrew a flash drive from her pocket and waved it.
“I’ll get my laptop.” Doug placed his cup on the coffee table and disappeared down the hall.
Kyle pointed to the device in her hand. “Is that the drive from your office?”
She nodded. “I have everything on here.” She was grateful, now more than ever, for renting the little office and hiding the flash drive. If she’d kept it in her apartment, the killer would most likely have found and destroyed it. As it was, he’d stolen the copies of her documents.
Doug returned, typed in his password and handed her the laptop.
“Thanks.” She inserted the flash drive and opened her files. One by one, she sent them to the printer. All the documents that were now printing had papered her office wall, but this was easier than taking them down and rehanging. In fact, the process might help her remember. Plus, she’d snapped several pictures of her murder board.
Kyle retrieved the reports and photos and laid them on the coffee table. “Where do you want to start?”
She organized the papers by law enforcement departments where she’d downloaded them from, taking extra care to make the stacks neat and tidy. “Since my brain is a little mushy, I’d like to look them over and see if it’ll trigger my memory.”
“Sounds like a plan.” Kyle took his seat and waited patiently for her to study the documents and pass them on to him and Doug to review.
Half an hour later, Kyle stood and stretched. “I don’t know about these cases. They’re all different. Even if the accidents and suicides were homicides, there’s no connection. Different MOs and different victim types.”
“I have to agree with my partner.” Doug perused a file. “There’s nothing to hint at a serial killer.”
She couldn’t argue their position, but she knew something had caused her to latch on to the idea. She excelled at her job. Her father had made sure of that. The possibility of making a mistake that huge—no way.
“And these are all over the place. Few are in the same areas. There’s no common hunting ground, so to speak.” Kyle strode to the kitchen. When he returned, he filled their coffee mugs and placed the carafe on the table.
Cassidy thanked him, then lifted a document and scanned it, looking for something—anything—to trigger her memory. The cases were all over the place, as Kyle had said. She snapped her fingers. “That’s it.” She spun to face Doug. “Do you have a map of the region—a paper one?”
He pursed his lips and scratched his jaw. “You know, I think I do.” He left the room and came back a few minutes later with the map, corkboard and a box of multicolored pushpins.
“That’s perfect.” She stood and helped him prop the corkboard on a couple of chairs. “Hand me the map. I’ll hold it while you pin it to the board.”
Once the map was on display, she grabbed the summaries of each crime and placed a pin at each location.
After the thirteenth pin, she glanced at Kyle, wondering what was rattling around in his mind. Was he humoring her, or was he listening and considering her theory?
He squinted at the map. “You’re color coding.”
She nodded. “Blue for homicides, red for suicides, green for accidents, and yellow for the cases that I don’t believe belong, but I didn’t want to exclude them without a solid reason.” She finished and stood back, arms folded. The groupings. That’s what her brain had latched on to.
Doug joined Kyle and gestured to the different clusters of pushpins. “I don’t know, partner. Something does feel off.” Doug crossed his arms and leaned in for a better look.
A jolt of satisfaction zipped through Cassidy. “That’s what I’m talking about. The groupings are too unusual to dismiss.” She pointed to the pattern. Sets of three or four deaths scattered across the map, covering the region. The groups became visible when she used a paper map and push pins.
“I agree it’s uncommon, but I can’t make the leap to serial killer.” Kyle exhaled. “Did you interview the families and friends noted in the case files?”
“I hadn’t gotten very far when my boss told me to stop investigating and put me on leave. That’s when I decided to come to Valley Springs and examine Laura’s death.” Cassidy tapped where her cousin’s accident happened. “The location of her crash isn’t within one of the clusters but right outside. Just like this one and this one.” She pointed to the other outliers on the map.
“I might be able to swallow the pockets of cases as connecting somehow, but those not in the clusters...” Kyle shook his head. “I can’t go there. At least not yet.”
Doug stepped closer to the map and squinted at it. “Maybe.” He exhaled. “The sheriff wants our recommendation on whether or not to help you investigate. At the moment, I’m not inclined to give him a yes. But I’m intrigued by your analysis. So, keep talking, Cassidy. Convince me.”
It all came down to her words. But they were listening. She examined the pushpins dotting the map. “I’ll start with my cousin Laura. I know...knew...her. She didn’t drink. Not to say she judged people who do, but when we lost our high school friend to a drunk driver, we made a pact to never touch the stuff.” She twirled a piece of hair between her fingers. “I can’t say it’s always been easy, especially in college, but all we had to do was remember our friend and the awful way she died.”
Cassidy closed her eyes, reliving the horrors of that night. She and Laura had witnessed the whole thing. Her friend Kate left Cassidy’s house and stopped at the four-way stop at the end of the street. She’d given them a quick wave out the window and drove into the intersection. A drunk driver ran the stop sign going three times the speed limit, and plowed into Kate’s car. Cassidy and Laura called 911 and ran to help. She’d crawled through the passenger side. Blood poured from Kate’s head. She’d held Kate in her arms, praying for the paramedics to hurry. Moments later, her friend was gone.
