Читать книгу Operation Xoxo - Elle James - Страница 11

Elise spent two hours lying in bed that night willing herself to sleep with very little luck. Shortly after midnight, due to sheer exhaustion, she dozed off.

The dream started with her as a teenager during the first flood when her family had evacuated Riverton. Her father, mother and sister were all there, alive and well. The dream transitioned into the flood of two years ago, when the Riverton Police Department and the FBI were hot on the case of a serial killer.

They didn’t know who it was, but she did. She was lying in bed next to her husband in her house in North Dakota. Her husband was the killer, but he didn’t know she knew. Terrified, she lay there, afraid to look at him lest he see in her eyes that she knew. When she worked up the courage and looked at Stan, he was gone.

Afraid for her boys, she leaped out of bed and ran down the longest hallway of her life. She didn’t remember the hall being that long, but the more she ran, the longer it became. When she finally reached the boys’ room and peered in, their beds were empty and floodwaters had seeped through the walls.

She searched through the house, the water rising from her ankles to her knees, dragging at her nightgown, pulling her down. With water up to her waist, she couldn’t find the front door to the house. Where were the boys? They weren’t good swimmers. Had Stan taken them? Would he murder his own sons like he’d murdered those women?

When she finally found the front door, she grabbed the handle beneath the surface of the water and pulled, but the door wouldn’t open. The water kept it from moving and had risen to just below her chin.

“Help!” she cried. “Help me!” No one heard her, no one came. When the water covered her face, the door opened and she poured out into the cold, dark street. The flood had only been in her house. The streets were dry and everyone was gone.

She was completely alone.

Elise knew in her heart it was all a dream, but when the fear and emptiness threatened to choke off her air, she forced herself awake. She was the only one who could stop the nightmare from sucking her into a black abyss of despair. She was the only one who could make the evil go away.

At two o’clock, she woke, her body shaking. The covers had slid to the floor and the air conditioner had done an excellent job of keeping the house cool. Too cool.

A subtle creaking sound reached her from the living room. Was someone in the house or was she going to start imagining that every noise was Stan trying to break into her home?

She slid her feet over the edge of the bed and stepped onto the floor, glad it was dry and not flooding like the house in her dream. Padding quietly down the hallway, she confirmed both boys were still in the house. As if they sensed their mother’s restlessness, they’d tossed off the covers from their matching twin beds. She tucked them in, kissed their foreheads and trudged back to her room.

By four o’clock, Elise gave up her pretense at sleeping, afraid she’d go right back to the same nightmare. Instead, she paced, working through every possible scenario. If the note wasn’t from Stan, who would be sick enough to send it to her? Since it hadn’t gone through the postal system, someone who had access to the school had to have left it there. How many people could she have angered in the past few months? Angry enough to send her threatening notes? One of her students? A parent? The garbage man? Her next-door neighbor? Who? Her head ached and she still hadn’t come up with one viable suspect.

INSTEAD OF LETTING THE BOYS ride the bus that morning, she dropped them off at school. If Stan were alive, he’d want his boys. How could she keep them safe? She couldn’t stay home and lock the doors forever, could she?

Before the boys got out of the car, she warned them that she was the only person allowed to pick them up and they were not to talk to strangers. Ever.

Brandon nodded, his face somber.

Luke bounced out of the car, shouting, “Okay, Mom.”

On her drive to work, she almost wrecked when she saw a man who vaguely resembled Stan. She circled the street, looking for him, but he’d disappeared. By the time she arrived at the school, she swore she’d seen at least a dozen Stan Klaus look-alikes.

This is crazy! How could she live like this, scared of every man with brown hair and brown eyes?

Afraid someone would stop her in the hallway and ask her what was wrong, she ducked into her classroom and hid behind her computer, hoping no one would talk to her before class started. What could she say? I’m not sleeping well because my demented, serial-killer husband is not dead like I thought.

Ten minutes before the bell rang for second period and Elise’s first class, Gerri Finch flounced into the room, a sullen Ashley in tow. “Ms. Johnson, what do you mean by giving my Ashley three tardies in your class?”

At barely eight in the morning, after a sleepless night of worry, Elise was in no mood to put up with Gerri. “Did you ask Ashley?”

“Don’t get flippant with me. I pay your salary out of the god-awful amount of taxes I pay each year. Don’t think I can’t pull the plug on your little vendetta against my little girl.”

Elise would bet Gerri Finch hadn’t worked a day in her life and if she had, she hadn’t paid a dime of taxes. As the general manager of one of the larger auto dealerships in San Antonio, her husband raked in a six-figure salary plus bonuses, enabling him to keep his wife and daughter in the manner to which they’d become accustomed.

“Oh, Mom.” Ashley tugged against her mother’s clawlike grip. “Just leave it.”

“I will not. She’s been out to get you since the first day of school and I won’t have it.” Gerri’s voice rose with each word she said until she was yelling.

“Ms. Finch, my class starts in five minutes. Unless you plan to stay and keep quiet, I suggest you take your complaint to the principal’s office.” To Ashley, she said, “You’ve been late to class five times. The rule says three tardies and you’re in Saturday school. I gave you two freebies.” Elise raised her brows at the girl. “Didn’t I, Ashley?”

Ashley shrugged instead of answering.

Gerri stepped between Ashley and Elise. “If she goes to Saturday school, she’ll miss the cheer competition. She’s captain of the cheerleading squad, for chrissake.”

“Then maybe she should set the example for her peers and get to class on time.” Elise stood and herded the mother and daughter toward the door where students waited to get in. “I’m following the rules, Ms. Finch. Now, if you’ll excuse me, the bell is about—”

As Elise opened the classroom door, the earsplitting school bell blared in the hallway.

Teenagers filed in looking no more rested than she felt, but probably possessing a lot more energy.

Elise braced herself for the day ahead, wondering if she’d get a moment to call Paul and Melissa for an update.

Gerri glared at her over the heads of the teens. “I’ll take this matter to the principal. Just you wait. We’re not through yet.”

Oh, goody. One more thing to worry about. As if she didn’t have enough on her mind with a death threat. She stared after Gerri Finch. Could the pushy mother be the one who’d sent her the letter? She certainly had access to the school. She volunteered on occasion and knew every teacher by name.

Elise made a mental note to talk to Paul about Gerri. In the meantime, she had a full day of teaching to get through before she could meet up with the FBI agents later that afternoon.

The day passed much like the others in her teaching job. With the added stress of the note, she fought to be patient with the teens. Every minor thing was a major problem to them. Drama, always drama. The “me” mentality wouldn’t let them see past their own little worlds to the bigger, harsher world outside Breuer, Texas.

On good days, Elise put herself in their shoes and tried to empathize, but today…not a chance. What to wear to the football game on Friday was the last thing she considered important.

How to survive a serial killer ranked just a bit higher on her list.

If the constant chatter wasn’t bad enough, Caesar Valdez was up to his usual tricks, as well, in her last class of the day. Her challenging class, as the seasoned teachers called it. The young man couldn’t sit still to save his life. After Elise had told him to return to his seat for the fourth time, she snapped.

“Caesar, I can’t teach when you’re interrupting the class constantly. Go to the principal’s office. You can spend the rest of the week in the Student Alternative Center.”

Caesar stood, puffed out his chest and said, “No.”

Elise blinked, surprised by his blatant refusal to do as he was told. “What do you mean by no?”

He shrugged, his lip curling into a sneer. “No.”

The bell chose that moment to ring, indicating the end of the longest day of Elise’s life.

While most of the students grabbed their books and raced for the door, Caesar stood his ground.

“That’s fine, Caesar. I’ll inform the principal of your behavior. She can deal with it.”

“Why don’t you deal with it?” He stepped forward until he was only two feet away from her.

Her personal space threatened, Elise refused to back down. “Just because you’re bigger than me, doesn’t mean you can push me around, Caesar. Back off.”

“You heard her, Caesar. Back off.” Kendall dropped her backpack on her desk and stepped up beside Elise.

“That’s right. We’re tired of you pushing people around.” Alex moved to stand on Elise’s other side.

Caesar’s brows rose at the united front. After a quick glance around at the room still full of his peers, Caesar’s glare returned. “You three don’t scare me. You can’t do anything to me.”

“Maybe they can’t, but I can.” Paul Fletcher stepped through the doorway and stood a good six inches taller than Caesar. His muscular chest was developed and solid. Not to mention, Paul was a trained federal agent and he looked like it, from the way he stood to the cold look he directed toward Caesar.

Elise let the breath out that she’d been holding. Glad for the interference, she knew she’d ultimately pay for not dealing with the problem herself. Now that Paul had stepped in, Caesar would find another time to test her and possibly Kendall and Alex. Not good.

Caesar stared at Paul as if weighing his options and then he shrugged. “I got better things to do.” He pushed past Paul and left the room.

“You okay?” Paul looked at her with a concerned frown.

With a half-dozen students still gawking, she squared her shoulders and nodded. “Yes. I’m fine. Just another day in the classroom.” She shot a glance at the teens still standing around, her eyebrows rising. “Don’t you have homes to go to?”

They ducked their heads and scurried out the door, except for Alex and Kendall.

“I can’t believe what Caesar tried to pull. Someone needs to take him down.” Kendall threw back her shoulders as if she’d like to be the one to do it—all five foot two of girl with attitude. “We’ve got enough going on around here without him playing the class jerk.”

Elise grabbed Kendall’s arm. “You be careful around him. He’s got a lot more bulk to him than you, and apparently he’s not afraid to throw it around.”

“He doesn’t scare us,” Alex said, standing as tall as his five-foot-four-inch frame would go. “I’m a black belt in tae kwon do.”

“Yeah, but he has eighty pounds on you,” Elise reminded him.

The teen’s eyes narrowed. “Doesn’t matter how big you are. What matters is how you use what you have.”

“Yeah,” Kendall added. “I took self-defense, too.” When Alex shot her a surprised look, she blushed. “My dad insisted.” Kendall’s brows rose. “It could happen to anybody. Look at that woman who disappeared last night. She was taken from her home right here in Breuer.”

The blood in Elise’s head rushed to her stomach and she swayed. “A woman disappeared?” She frowned at Kendall. “How did you know?”

“My dad works for the sheriff’s department.” Kendall laughed. “I guess the cop thing runs in the family.”

Elise’s gaze connected with Paul’s. “Did you know about this?”

Paul nodded, wishing he’d taken Melissa’s advice last night and called Elise as soon as he’d heard. “I got word about it last night.”

Elise’s face went from white to red. Instead of blasting him, she turned calmly toward the teens. “Kendall, Alex, did you need me for anything?”

“No, ma’am,” Kendall responded.

Kendall and Alex left Paul and Elise alone in the classroom with the door half-closed.

Paul braced himself.

As soon as the kids were out of earshot, Elise launched her attack. “Why didn’t you call me?”

“We don’t know whether or not the woman’s disappearance had anything to do with the note.” Paul knew his answer wouldn’t be good enough for her. She wanted to be in on every little detail, to stay on top of the threat to herself and her children.

“Still, I want to know what’s going on.” She paced across the classroom and back, only to stop directly in front of him. “I can’t believe you didn’t tell me. How could you? You know what it means to me. You know I’m scared.”

“Exactly. If I’d told you about the woman, you wouldn’t have slept a wink.”

“You think I slept last night?” She dropped her voice to just above a whisper. “I had nightmares about him all night. This morning, I swear I saw Stan in every face on the street. Is he or is he not dead?”

Paul sighed. “We don’t know with absolute certainty.”

“That’s not good enough, damn it.” Her eyes glazed with moisture and she stepped closer. “You don’t know what it’s like to look over your shoulder every second of the day. Or the hell you go through when you let your children out of your sight to go to school. To school, for heaven’s sake.” Her voice cracked and tears spilled over the edges of her eyelids and down her face. “Why didn’t you make sure he was dead then? If he is alive, what have I done to this town? What have I brought with me by moving here?”

“You haven’t brought anything. We don’t know if it’s your husband or someone playing a prank on you. You have to give us time.” He clasped her arms and stared down into her tear-streaked face.

“Time?” She looked up at him through hazy blue eyes. “Does that missing woman have time?”

A noise at the door drew Paul’s attention, saving him from answering truthfully.

Kendall stood there, her eyes wide, her hand hovering, as if to knock. “I—I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to interrupt.” Her glance darted to Elise and then to the desk where her backpack lay. “I forgot something.”

“Get it,” Elise said through her teeth, turning her back to the girl.

Kendall dove for the backpack and almost made it out the door when Elise swung back.

“Kendall, wait.” She scrubbed her hand over her cheeks and frowned at the teen. “How much of our conversation did you overhear?”

The girl eased around. “Not much.” She didn’t look Elise in the eye when she responded. “I have to go.” She spun toward the door.

“Kendall.” Paul stepped in front of her. “How much did you hear?”

“Nothing I’ll repeat. I swear.” Kendall looked around Paul to Elise. “Alex and I like you, Ms. Johnson. You’re our favorite teacher. We’d never do or say anything that would hurt you.”

Elise stared at her for a long moment. “It’s very important that whatever you think you might have heard doesn’t go outside this room.”

The girl nodded, her eyes wide, scared. “I promise, it won’t.”

“Go home, Kendall.” Elise gave her a crooked smile, but the smile faded and she added, “And lock your doors.”

When the young lady had gone, Elise glanced up at Paul, a worried frown drawing her brows together. “If word gets out about my problem, I’ll be kicked out of this school so fast, I won’t know what hit my backside.”

“I don’t think the kid will rat on you.” Paul stared into her tearstained face. “Are you ready to leave?”

“Yes.” She glanced around the room one last time as if checking for stray students. “My boys will be home soon.”

But she didn’t move yet. “Maybe I should turn in my resignation now and save the school the worry.”

“Don’t borrow trouble, Elise. You’re a good teacher. You have a right to a life.”

“Yeah, so do the rest of the people of Breuer.” She looked up into his eyes, her face pale and pinched. “So did the woman who disappeared.”

What could he say to that? Paul fought the urge to pull Elise into his arms and shield her from all the ugliness the world had to offer.

After Elise slung her handbag over her shoulder, Paul hurried her out of the classroom and off campus.

“We’ll take my truck.” He waved toward a big, dark gray pickup parked in the visitors’ parking area.

“No, I’ll need my car.” When she tried to step around him and go to her car, he snagged her arm.

“That’s what I came here to talk to you about.” He held the passenger door open. “Before the boys get home, I have something to tell you and I don’t want you driving while I tell you.”

“You mean there’s more?” She closed her eyes, her face going dangerously pale.

“Yeah. Get in.” He all but lifted her into the seat and closed the door. When he’d climbed in beside her and had the door safely shut, he turned in his seat. “They found Lauren Pendley this afternoon. She was the missing woman.”

“Oh, God.” Elise pressed her fist to her lips, her blue eyes wide and shining with unshed tears. “Where?”

Paul wished he didn’t have to tell her. This woman had gone through so much already. He hesitated.

Elise laid her fist in her lap and her chin rose. “Just tell me.”

“They found her in the Guadalupe River bound with Ethernet cable.”

“Oh, God, oh, God.” Elise wrapped her arms around herself and rocked back and forth in her seat.

The woman had been strangled, tied with Ethernet cable and dumped, just like the women in the Dakota Strangler case.

“One other disturbing item to note…She went by Lauren, but her first name was Alice.”