Читать книгу The Chosen - BEVERLY BARTON, Beverly Barton - Страница 12

Chapter 6

Sonya Todd had been born and raised in Tupelo, Mississippi, so it was only natural that once she received a degree from the University of Mississippi, she would return home. It was what everyone had expected, including Sonya. But what should have been a quick and easy route from college graduation to a teaching position at her old alma mater, Tupelo High School, had instead been a long, disappointing ten-year struggle to achieve an impossible dream. She often wondered how different her life might have turned out if she hadn’t won the title of Miss Magnolia. Would she have forsaken her dream of becoming a teacher to pursue a career as a concert violinist?

What was that old saying about hindsight being twenty-twenty? All the “if onlys” in the world wouldn’t change a damn thing. She would never be twenty-two again. Never know that feeling of being on top of the world. But at this stage of her life, she felt lucky to have been given a second chance and she appreciated what she had now.

Being the band director at Tupelo High for the past two years, Sonya went to work each day with a positive attitude and a grateful heart. She was finally back home where she belonged, living only a couple of miles from her parents and in the same county as her two older brothers, their wives, and children. And for the first time since her divorce from Tom Harding, she was seriously dating.

Sonya glanced over at Tupelo High’s baseball coach, Paul Dryer, and smiled. Like she, Paul was divorced, no children and at thirty-nine, he was ready to settle down. Sonya, too, was ready for a long-term commitment, even remarriage one of these days. She wanted kids, too, and it wasn’t as if being thirty-five meant she had to rush into motherhood. Women past forty were giving birth to first babies every day, weren’t they?

“The jazz band is fantastic,” Paul said as he turned his vintage Mustang into Sonya’s driveway. “They sounded downright professional at tonight’s concert.”

“I’ve got a bunch of really talented kids in that band. I expect each of my seniors to win scholarships.”

“They all love you, you know. They want you to be proud of them.”

When Paul killed the engine, he turned to Sonya, a hopeful look in his soulful hazel eyes. As she gazed at him there in the semidarkness, with light from the nearby streetlight casting shadows across his smooth-shaven face, she thought what a nice face he had. Not handsome. Not really good-looking at all. Nothing to remind her of Tom Harding, who’d been far too handsome. No, Paul was nothing like her ex-husband.

Paul was a giant-size teddy bear, with thinning brown hair, hound-dog cheeks, and a pair of big, broad shoulders she could always lean on. He was, without a doubt, one of the good guys. Like her dad. Like her brothers, Charlie and Brady.

“Want to come in for some decaf coffee or herbal tea?” Sonya knew that Paul understood she was inviting him in for more than drinks and conversation. They had been dating since the beginning of the school year, but they hadn’t taken their relationship into the bedroom, not once in six months. Her choice. She appreciated the fact that he had been patient and understanding, but how long could she expect him to wait?

“Are you sure?” Paul asked.

Smiling, she nodded. “I’m sure.”

Grinning like an idiot, albeit a sweet idiot, Paul jumped out of the car, raced around the hood and opened the passenger door. Before she knew what was happening, he yanked her out and onto her feet, then planted a wet, sloppy kiss on her mouth.

Laughing, she pulled away and looked up at the big galoot. “If you don’t want coffee or tea, I have beer. Your favorite brand.”

“Let’s save the beer for later.” He winked at her, then draped his arm around her shoulders and rushed her toward the porch.

“Slow down. I can’t keep up with you. Your legs are much longer than mine.”

Chuckling, Paul stopped, swept her up into his arms and carried her straight to her front door.

This felt so right. Being with Paul. Loving Paul. Planning a future with Paul.

He supposed he could wait a little longer, a few more days, even a few more weeks. But time was running out. Less than two months and the game would end. The points were adding up, the last kill worth twenty points.

A redhead. Damn, what luck!

Thirty women. All former beauty queens. All still attractive. Blondes, brunettes, and redheads.

He sighed as memories of his most recent kill replayed in his mind, like a technicolor movie. Red blood. Creamy, soft skin. Rich, royal blue carpet.

What an utterly delicious game. A brilliant plan from the very beginning. A part of him would hate to see it end. But no game was meant to be played indefinitely. Sooner or later someone had to win. And someone had to lose.

He had no intention of losing.

You can’t rest on your laurels. Being overconfident can result in defeat. We can’t have that, can we?

Time to choose another victim. If he could find another redhead … A blonde would do. Fifteen points would be enough. For now.

Turning around in the oxblood leather swivel chair at his Jacobean desk, he faced the computer screen and typed in the password that would open a very secret file.

With a sense of anticipation, he watched as the file opened and the list of twenty names, addresses, and personal information appeared on the nineteen-inch screen. Ten names in all. It had taken endless hours of research to find ten perfect candidates. Such a pity that there wouldn’t be time to kill all of them.

Pick and choose. Pick and choose.

Which pretty flower shall I pick today?

There was only one redhead on the list.

Save her for later, just in case you need twenty points closer to the end of the game.

Five brunettes and four blondes.

A blonde this time. Definitely a blonde.

Shelly Hall. Ashley Gray. Sonya Todd. Heather Johnson.

Tapping his index finger against his chin, an amused tilt to his lips, he studied the profiles of each of the four blondes. Then he lifted his finger to the screen and counted off, eeney-meeny-miney-mo.

Griffin’s plane landed shortly before eleven that evening. As instructed, Sanders had brought the limo and was waiting for them. Griff relied on Sanders in a way he relied on no other human being. He trusted Damar Sanders with his life. He could say that of no other man. Not even his old UT teammate, Jim Norton, or his former friend, Judd Walker. A stint in the belly of hell could unite two men in a way nothing else could.

“Good evening, ma’am,” Sanders spoke respectfully to Barbara Jean Hughes as Griff stopped her wheelchair at the right rear door.

“Hello.” Barbara Jean openly stared at Sanders, not an uncommon reaction upon first meeting the extraordinary man.

“I’m Sanders, ma’am,” he said.

“Pleased to meet you, Mr. Sanders.”

“This, of course, is Ms. Hughes,” Griff said.

“Please, call me Barbara Jean,” she told Sanders.

He simply nodded.

“I’ll lift you up and into the car,” Griff said. “And don’t be alarmed. One of my agents, Angie Sterling, is inside the limo. Angie will be one of your private bodyguards while you’re our guest.”

Barbara Jean’s eyes widened in surprise. She gulped softly, then nodded. “Thank you. I—I appreciate everything. I really do. It’s just I never imagined I’d ever be in this position and need a bodyguard. I may be a paraplegic, but I’m not helpless. I have great upper body strength, you know. I manage to live alone and can get in and out of my wheelchair with out assistance. I hold down a job and can take a taxi wherever I need to go.”

“We hope you won’t need a bodyguard for very long and can return home soon,” Griff said. “But while you do, we’ll keep you so busy that you just might forget you have a guardian angel keeping watch over you.”

Sanders opened the door. Griff lifted Barbara Jean into his arms and placed her inside the limousine. Griff closed the door; then Sanders folded the wheelchair and put it in the trunk.

“Are we ready to go?” Sanders asked.

Griff nodded. “Yes, and when we get inside, lift the privacy window. I have some phone calls to make and I’d rather Ms. Hughes not be bothered.”

Thirty minutes later, they arrived at what many called the Powell Compound. Actually, the estate, with part of the acreage on Douglas Lake, had a name: Griffin’s Rest.

Two massive stone arches flanked the locked gates, which Sanders opened electronically from within the limo. Bronze griffins, the mythological beast with the head, forepart, and wings of an eagle and the body, hind legs, and tail of a lion, had been imbedded into the stonework of both arches. The winding paved road from the highway to the house passed through a thickly wooded area before opening up to a lake-front vista. Griffin’s home itself was not enormous, merely ten-thousand square feet and two stories high, but there were other buildings on the property, including a barn, stables, and three guest cottages. He supposed his estate was a compound, of sorts. Without a doubt, it was a secure area, monitored around the clock, both with surveillance equipment and manpower.

Tonight the gray snow clouds obscured the half-moon, leaving only the limo’s headlights to illuminate the road. Griffin had checked in with Rick Carson and his “friend” in D.C., getting all his ducks in a row before arriving home.

Home.

He supposed Griffin’s Rest was as much of a home as a man such as he would ever have. These sprawling acres in northeast Tennessee provided him with privacy, giving him a sanctuary from the world when he chose to leave business and the social scene behind him. As for family—Sanders was his brother, in spirit if not in blood. And during the past few years, he had come to think of Lindsay as his kid sister, although she did not—and never could—know the man he truly was.

As Sanders pulled the limousine up in front of the two-story portico, Griffin glanced into the back and saw that Barbara Jean Hughes had fallen asleep. He made eye contact with Angie, who nodded in understanding. Griffin had instructed Sanders to provide a mild sedative for Angie to place in a thermos of hot tea that she would provide for Ms. Hughes. He wanted his special visitor to rest, to get the first full night’s sleep she’d had in more than forty-eight hours.

Sanders turned to Griffin. “Ms. Hughes’s room is ready. Do you want me to take her in and put her to bed?”

“Yes, please,” Griff replied, knowing that Sanders would see to it that one of the staff members took care of the limo. “And make sure Angie understands that she is to keep watch over our guest until she is relieved by another agent in the morning.”

Griff emerged from the limo and went directly to the front door. He punched in the code, which was changed periodically for security reasons. After opening the double doors, he walked into the foyer, leaving the doors open behind him. Instead of going upstairs and directly to bed, he entered the room on the left, a two-story den, with a rock fireplace large enough that, if he so chose, he could walk right inside it. He went straight to the liquor cabinet, retrieved a crystal tumbler, and a bottle of The Macallan, a vintage single malt whiskey. Taking bottle and glass with him, he went over and placed both on the silver tray that topped the old tea table in front of the forest green leather sofa. He removed his coat, gloves, and scarf, then sat on the sofa and took off his shoes.

Sighing heavily, he gazed into the blaze glowing in the massive fireplace. His orders were that, in winter, a fire be kept burning in this fireplace day and night. He often slept here on this sofa. That’s one reason, when he had special-ordered it, he had requested a seven-foot length. He had a perfectly fine bed upstairs in his suite. King-size. Egyptian cotton sheets that felt like silk to the touch. But more often than not, he found it impossible to rest in his own bed.

After pouring himself half a tumbler of the fine old Highland Scotch whiskey, he leaned back, burying his shoulders into the sofa, and took a hefty swig from the glass.

Life was never what it seemed to be. People were never who you thought they were. He would give every penny of his immense fortune if he could erase ten years of his life. Ten years when he had faced death and lived, been sent to hell and survived, played the devil’s game and won.

Lindsay’s cell phone rang. She rushed out of the bathroom, where she was brushing her teeth, and hurried into the bedroom to pick up the phone off the dresser. After checking the caller ID, she blew out a what-do-I-tell-him? breath and flipped open the phone.

“Good morning, Griff.”

“I didn’t wake you, did I?”

“No, I’ve been up about thirty minutes.”

“Where’s Judd?”

“In the room next to mine,” she replied. “Or at least that’s where I left him last night around nine-thirty, after we had a late supper.”

“How was he when you left him?”

“Sober.”

“I guess that’s something.”

“I want to bring him to Griffin’s Rest later today,” she said. “Are you okay with that?”

“I’m not sure. Do you think it’s a good idea?”

“I think Judd needs to be part of the investigation again. No matter how low he’s sunk—and I admit he’s just about hit rock bottom—he still wants to find his wife’s killer. Finding Jenny Walker’s murderer is the only thing he has to live for. We can’t take that away from him.”

“Nobody took anything away from him,” Griff said. “What’s happened to Judd, he did to himself.”

“Yeah. I know. Judd is his own worst enemy.”

“If the guy had a lick of sense, he’d wake up and realize he has a lot more to live for than revenge against Jenny’s killer.”

“Don’t go there, Griff. There’s no point.”

Silence.

“Will you let me bring him to Griffin’s Rest?” she asked.

“There’s something you need to know, something I want you to tell Judd and see how he reacts, then you decide if you should bring him here.”

“And if he reacts badly?”

“I guess you know that Carson has been assigned to watch your back.”

Lindsay smiled to herself as she crossed the room, pulled back the edge of the drapes, and looked outside. Rick Carson’s car was parked next to her Trailblazer. He was inside behind the wheel and appeared to be asleep. It was so like Griff to worry about her. To protect her.

Maybe she shouldn’t have told him what happened between Judd and her last year.

“I know when I’m being tailed.” She let the drapes fall back into place. “Rick’s parked outside. He didn’t have to sleep in his car last night.”

Griff chuckled.

“So, what do I need to know? What do you want me to tell Judd?”

“Barbara Jean says she can’t ID the man she saw coming out of her sister’s apartment building just as she was going in, only moments before she discovered Gale Ann bleeding to death. She claims she didn’t get an up-close-and-personal look, but I think, if we’re patient and understanding with her, she’ll eventually be able to give a halfway decent description to a sketch artist.”

Lindsay let out a long, low whistle.

“How do you think Judd will react to this news?” Griff asked.

How would Judd react? Would the news give him hope? Would it whet his appetite for revenge? Could he wait and give Barbara Jean Hughes the time she needed to admit to herself that she could indeed ID her sister’s killer?

“I honestly don’t know how he will react,” Lindsay said. “I don’t know Judd anymore. I’m not sure I ever really knew him.”

“There are other men out there, you know. Someone who would appreciate you for the wonderful woman you are.”

Griff’s words created a tight knot in her belly, the one that formed whenever she thought about her feelings for Judd Walker. “Look, I don’t have any false hopes where Judd’s concerned. I know that he’ll never love anyone except Jenny.”

“He doesn’t even love her anymore. Judd isn’t capable of human emotions, other than hatred and revenge.”

“I know.”

“I shouldn’t have sent you out on this case, but I thought … Hell, I don’t know what I thought, maybe that you needed to confront your demons, conquer them, and walk away a stronger person.”

“Watch out, Griffin Powell. You’re on the verge of exposing your soft underbelly, and you don’t want to do that, do you?”

“You know me too well.”

“Not really. I don’t think anyone knows the real you.”

“If you change your mind, hand Judd over to Carson, and come on home alone.”

“Is there anything else I need to know, anything else I should tell Judd?”

When Griff didn’t respond immediately, she realized that there was more. “Griff?”

“Killing is a game to him.” Griff paused. “Redheads are worth twenty points. Gale Ann was able to tell us that much before she died.”

“Son of a bitch.” Information swirled through Lindsay’s mind. She discarded some facts and categorized others. “The roses! A yellow rose for each redhead. A pink rose for each blonde and a red rose for each brunette. We figured that out about a dozen murders ago. Now we know he’s using a point system. Twenty for redheads. How much for a blonde? For a brunette? Oh, God, Griff, how many points was Jennifer Walker worth?”

Judd ordered a large breakfast—three scrambled eggs, a stack of pancakes, hash browns, and both bacon and sausage. He ate ravenously as if he were starving to death. Lindsay picked at her French toast while she watched in fascination as her companion devoured his meal. The local Waffle House had been the closest restaurant that served break fast and since the place suited Judd, it suited her. She mostly wanted some strong black coffee. She hadn’t slept more than three hours last night, so it was either prop toothpicks under her eyelids to keep them open or get a wake-up boost from caffeine. “You’re not eating.” Judd eyed her plate.

“I need to ask you something.”

Judd sliced off a hunk from his stack of pancakes, put it in his mouth and chewed, then washed the food down with a big gulp of coffee. He looked right at Lindsay. “So ask.”

“How badly do you want to be part of the Powell Agency’s investigation into the Beauty Queen Killer murders?”

Judd shrugged.

“I’m serious. If you want to go to Griffin’s Rest with me, you have to convince me that we can trust you not to come unraveled.”

Judd chuckled.

The cold, unemotional sound chilled Lindsay.

“Griffin believes, if given enough time, once she feels completely safe, Barbara Jean Hughes can work with a sketch artist to identify the man she saw coming out of her sister’s apartment.” Judd gripped his fork so fiercely that he actually bent it half in two. As if suddenly realizing what he’d done, he dropped the fork. It fell from his hand onto the floor, clanging against the tiled surface.

“She cannot be pushed,” Lindsay told him. “She can’t be bullied. Do you understand?”

His dark eyes glazed, his mind only God knew where, Judd nodded.

“There’s more,” Lindsay said.

“Tell me.”

“Before she died, Gale Ann was able to tell Griff that killing is a game to this man.” She checked Judd’s face for a reaction. Deadly calm.

“Go on.”

“Gale Ann said that killing her was worth twenty points to him because she had red hair.”

Silence.

Judd stared at her—not really at her but through her—his jungle cat yellow gaze transfixed on something he could see only in his mind’s eye.

“Judd?”

He didn’t respond.

She reached out to touch him at the same moment the waitress came over to refill their coffee cups.

“Either of you need a refill?” the middle-age woman asked.

The waitress’s question apparently snapped Judd out of his mental fog. He pulled away from Lindsay’s approaching touch, as if he couldn’t bear the thought of her hand on his.

“Yeah, thanks,” Judd told the waitress. “Fill ’er up.”

As soon as the waitress finished refilling their cups and moved on to the customers in the next booth, Lindsay asked, “Are you all right?”

“Yeah, sure. Why wouldn’t I be?”

He wasn’t all right, and they both knew it.

“Do you want to go to Griffin’s Rest with me and become an active member of the team again?” Lindsay asked. “If you do, then you have to promise me you can act like a civilized human being.”

“Did Griff leave the decision up to you about whether to take me at my word or not?”

“Yes.”

“And if I swear to you that I can behave myself, that I won’t run around like a madman and scare the bejesus out of Ms. Hughes, will you believe me?”

“Yes. If you’ll be completely honest with me about something else, too.”

“What?”

“Tell me where your mind went, what you were thinking there a few minutes ago when I told you that killing was a game to this guy and that he was using some sort of insane points system.”

“You know what I was thinking.”

“Say it out loud.”

“How many points was my Jenny worth to him?” Judd glared at her. “Is that what you wanted to hear?”

“Yes.”

Judd wiped his mouth with his napkin, crumbled it in his fist, and tossed it atop his empty plate. “Can we go now?”

“Sure.” She picked up the tab, left a generous tip, and headed for the cash register.