The Chosen

Barbara Jean didn’t say anything for several minutes, her mind obviously absorbing all the information and mulling over her choices. “I don’t think I could identify him if I saw him again.”

Nic groaned inwardly. She had been afraid of that. Either Barbara Jean really couldn’t ID the guy or she was so scared that she had convinced herself she couldn’t ID him.

“Could you describe him to us?” Griff asked.

“I already told Special Agent Baxter—”

“Call me Nic, please.” Two could play the “let’s be friends” game.

“I told Nic—” she offered Nic a fragile smile— “that as I was going in the front door of the apartment building—I always use the elevator since Gale Ann’s apartment is on the second floor—that I saw a man in a tan trench coat coming down the stairs. He had on a hat and wore sunglasses. I didn’t see his eyes. I think his hair was brown, but I can’t be sure. He was walking pretty fast, as if he was in a hurry.”

“Did he see you?” Griff asked.

“I don’t know. I—I don’t think so. He never looked my way. And I was already inside the elevator by the time he reached the sidewalk.”

Nic’s cell phone rang. Her gut tightened. She knew before she heard Special Agent Randall’s voice that he was calling with news about Gale Ann Cain’s condition.

“Baxter here,” she said.

“Get the sister up here pronto,” Jeff Randall said. “Gale Ann Cain has regained consciousness.”

Lindsay’s gaze traveled up the stairs and caught sight of the man’s jean-clad legs. Long, lean legs. Faded, dirty jeans. Inch-by-inch, the rest of his body came into view as he trudged down the steps like a slug crawling along the ground. He wore a tattered, plaid flannel shirt over a dingy thermal undershirt. When she saw his face, she gasped. At first glance, she barely recognized Judd, and wouldn’t have known who he was except for his pale amber eyes, eyes as lifeless as the world outside. Winter dead. His tawny brown hair hung almost to his shoulders, and a heavy beard obscured his handsome face.

“You look like hell.” She said the first thing that came to her mind.

He stopped when he reached the foot of the stairs. “Did I hear you right—the latest victim didn’t die, she’s still alive?”

“That’s right.”

“What did he do to her?”

Lindsay hesitated. “He chopped off her feet.”

Judd didn’t flinch.

“Where is she?”

“A county hospital in Williamstown, Kentucky.”

“Is Griff—?”

“He flew up there immediately.”

“And he sent you to tell me the good news.” Judd walked past her and straight to the coffeemaker. After lifting the pot, he asked, “Want some?”

“Yeah, sure.” She turned and faced him.

He removed another cup from the overhead cabinet, poured both cups full, and held one out to her. She went over, took the cup from him, and lifted it to her lips. The brew was strong and bitter. She suspected it had been sitting on the warmer for quite some time. Possibly since early morning.

“Can she identify her attacker?” Judd asked.

“I don’t know. We were told that she lapsed into a semicoma in Recovery, shortly after regaining consciousness for a few minutes following her surgery.”

“She probably won’t come out of the coma.”

“She might.”

“Wishful thinking isn’t worth a damn.” Judd pulled out a chair from the table, set down his coffee cup, and slumped into the chair.

Standing behind him, Lindsay watched as he sipped the black-tar coffee. Judd Walker, multimillionaire, former playboy, former distinguished and respected lawyer, looked like a homeless bum. God in heaven, his long hair was dirty, greasy, and matted, as if it hadn’t been washed or combed in weeks.

Lindsay walked over to the other side of the table so that she stood directly in front of him. “If you want to go to Kentucky—”

His vicious laughter chilled her to the bone. “Is that why Griff sent you this time? He thought you could persuade me to give a damn?”

“He sent me because he thought you’d want to know that this could be our first real break. He actually thought you might still want to see your wife’s murderer brought to justice.”

Judd’s mocking smile vanished. “What I want is to have five minutes alone with him. Just five minutes.”

“I doubt you’ll ever get that chance,” Lindsay said. “But if he’s captured and then convicted, I’m sure it can be arranged for you to be there when he’s executed.”

“It won’t be quite the same if I can’t do the job myself.” Judd downed the remainder of the liquid sludge he called coffee. “Do you have any idea how many times I’ve pictured this monster in my mind? I never see a face, only his hands holding a meat cleaver and chopping, chopping … chopping. And then suddenly he’s not the one with the cleaver. I am. And I’m the one doing the chopping. I’m chopping him into a hundred little pieces.”

Judd repeatedly pounded the table with his big fist. Over and over again. The table shook. Judd’s heavy strikes grew harder and harder. His breathing became deeper and louder. His eyes glazed over as if he were in a trance.

Lindsay placed her cup on the counter behind her, then turned back to Judd, and grabbed his wrist. He flung her off him so forcefully that she toppled backward and landed against the refrigerator. Her back hit the fridge with a resounding thud. Judd shot up out of the chair and glared at her.

She stood there, straightening herself to her full five-four height, her gaze riveted to his as he came toward her. When he reached her, he spread his palms out flat against the refrigerator, on either side of her head, and brought his face down to hers so that their noses almost touched.

“I know why Griff sent you here,” he said. “What I don’t know is why you came.”

Chapter 4

Lindsay hunched down just enough to slip under Judd’s outstretched left arm, managing to escape his searing glare and his big, hovering body. Sucking in several deep breaths and mentally warning herself not to participate in Judd’s manipulative game-playing, Lindsay psyched herself up for the inevitable battle of wills. Chuckling as if he found her actions amusing, Judd turned around to face her. She hated that cold, insincere grin he had perfected over the past few years. There was something disturbing about a smile that projected misery instead of mirth.

“What’s wrong, Lindsay—afraid you can’t resist me?”

She clenched her teeth, a scathing comment on the tip of her tongue. He’s baiting you. He wants an outraged reaction. Don’t give it to him.

“If you plan to go with me to Kentucky, you’ll have to take a shower and—”

“I’m not going.”

He’s still playing his little game, she reminded herself.

“Fine by me,” she said. “I’m just Griffin Powell’s messenger.” She reached for the cell phone clipped to her belt. “I’ll call him and tell him—”

“Why did you come here? Really?”

“My boss sent me to share some information with a client we couldn’t reach any other way.” That’s it, Lindsay, you tell him.

Judd studied her, his gaze raking over her insultingly. “Are you sure you didn’t come back for a repeat performance?”

She felt the heat as it rose up her neck and flushed her cheeks. An involuntary reaction that she could not control. Pink-cheeked embarrassment. The curse of blondes with fair skin.

Don’t tell him what you think of him. Do not give him the satisfaction of knowing what happened between the two of you the last time you saw each other devastated you. You’ve worked through it, have come to terms with the humiliation, convinced yourself that you never actually loved Judd.

“I’m heading back to Knoxville. I’ll call Griff and tell him you no longer have any interest in the Beauty Queen Killer.” Lindsay turned and headed out of the kitchen.

“Wait!”

Keeping her back to him, she paused.

“If she doesn’t die … if she can give Griff a description … let me know. Okay?”

“I’ll pass along the message.”

“You hate me now, don’t you?”

He’s still playing you. Never forget that you cannot trust Judd. “That’s what you want, isn’t it, for me to hate you?” She glanced over her shoulder. “Sorry, but no, I don’t hate you. I feel sorry for you.”

She walked straight down the hall and to the side door leading to the porch.

“Lindsay!”

She opened the door and went outside, increasing her pace, wanting nothing more than to get away, to escape from this place and the man who still had the power to rip out her heart. A part of her did hate Judd, hated him as much as she loved him.

After sitting down on the soft, gray leather seat inside her Trailblazer, she closed her eyes and willed herself under control. No tears. Not one. She had cried her last tear over Judd Walker. As far as she was concerned, he could rot in hell.

She made a quick call to Sanders for an update on the situation in Kentucky and was told she needed to contact Griff before bringing Judd to Williamstown. No point now. She inserted the key into the ignition and started the engine, then made the mistake of glancing through the side window at the lodge.

Judd stood on the front porch. Watching her.

Crap!

She hit the button to lower the window and called out to him. “Gale Ann Cain’s sister discovered her in time to keep her alive until the paramedics arrived. The sister caught a glimpse of a man in a trench coat and sunglasses leaving the apartment building just as she arrived. He could have been our Beauty Queen Killer.”

When Judd came down the steps, Lindsay’s pulse raced. He walked over to the car and leaned down so that they were eye to eye.

He didn’t say anything for several minutes, just stared right at her. As she reached for the electronic button to roll up the window, Judd said, “If you’ll give me thirty minutes, I’ll clean up before we head out for Kentucky.”

Lindsay realized that somewhere buried deep inside him, Judd still felt something. Even if it were nothing more than an undying thirst for revenge, that was an emotion, wasn’t it?

“All right. You go ahead. I’ll phone Griff, get an update, and tell him we’re on our way.”

Ruddy was beginning to worry. He had neither read nor heard anything new about the murder in Williamstown, Kentucky— not in local or national press coverage. A few hours after the paramedics arrived on the scene, a spokesman for the Williamstown Police Department had issued a statement that a young woman, a former Miss USA named Gale Ann Cain, had been brutally attacked and her body discovered by her sister, who had immediately called 911. That had been over forty-eight hours ago. Why hadn’t the local law enforcement called in the FBI? Surely they knew that Gale Ann’s death could be attributed to the Beauty Queen Killer. Wasn’t his signature all over the murder scene? The victim had once won a beauty contest. Her talent in the contest had been lyrical dance, so he had cut off her feet. She was a redhead, so he had left behind a yellow rose. He had used the same nylon rope to bind her hands as he always used. Were the local yokels too stupid to recognize the work of a genius?

Many criminals returned to the scene of their crime. Not Ruddy. He was far too smart to do something so stupid. But unless he could somehow find out what was going on in the Gale Ann Cain murder case, he might have no choice but to make a trip back to Williamstown. He could always come up with some legitimate reason to visit. To purchase a horse. To visit an antique mall where he would buy something outrageously expensive. Or he could simply be driving through on his way to somewhere else. Or he could simply wear a disguise and use a fake ID.

He had tried his best to dismiss a disturbing thought, one that had plagued him since the evening he had killed Gale Ann. Just as he was leaving the apartment building using the stairs, he had noticed that a woman in a wheelchair was entering through the front door. Had she seen him? Probably not. After all, she’d been concentrating on maneuvering her wheelchair so that she could hold the door open long enough to move inside.

But what if she did see me?

So, what if she had seen him? What exactly had she seen? A man in a trench coat, hat, and sunglasses. It wasn’t as if she’d seen his face and could identify him. And the clothing he wore that night had been properly disposed of, burned in the old furnace in the basement. The items he wore when he executed a game plan were inexpensive, off-the-rack items that he picked up at various chain stores. He wasn’t fool enough actually to wear many of his personal tailor-made clothing or specialty items.

If only he knew what was going on, exactly how the Williams town police were handling Gale Ann’s case, he would sleep better tonight.

Ruddy removed a key from his pocket, bent over, and unlocked the bottom desk drawer where he kept a supply of disposable paid-in-advance phones. He slipped one of the phones into his jacket, locked the drawer, and pocketed the key.

He would take the Bentley out this afternoon and go for a nice long drive. Maybe a few counties over. He’d contact the Williamstown police, the newspaper, and TV station and inquire about Gale Ann’s murder. If he couldn’t find out anything, he’d have no choice but to rent a car, using an assumed name and fake ID and drive to Williamstown to personally check on the situation.

“I’m a distant cousin and haven’t been able to reach anyone in the family.” That’s what he’d say. Now, what was Gale Ann’s maiden name? He always did research on his victims, learning as much as possible about them before he made his meticulous plans.

Hughes! That was it. Her parents were dead. She had one sister—never married—named Barbara Jean. She had no children, and she’d been divorced for over six years.

Ruddy had learned at an early age—when he was enduring his father’s cruel temper tantrums—to listen to his gut instincts. Those unerring instincts had saved him from more than one beating by the old man, and had allowed him to rack up a whopping score of two hundred and fifteen points in the marvelously macabre game he referred to as “Picking the Pretty Flowers.”

He should listen to his instincts now.

Something was off about this latest kill. There was a problem. He didn’t know what it was, but he intended to find out.

When Griff, Nic, and Barbara Jean arrived back at the ICU waiting area, they were whisked into the inner sanctum. A nurse whose name badge read Huff stopped Nic and Griff, while another wheeled Barbara Jean down a row of cubicles and directly to the one in which her sister lay fighting for her life.

“What’s going on?” Nic asked.

“Excuse me, are you a relative?” Nurse Huff asked.

“Neither of us are relatives,” Nic replied as she whipped out her FBI badge and ID. “I’m Special Agent Nicole Baxter with the Federal Bureau of Investigation. I’m working with the local police department on this case. I need to question Ms. Cain as soon as possible. I spoke to your supervisor, Ms. Canton, less than an hour ago and—”

Frowning, Nurse Huff nodded. “Ms. Canton is involved in an emergency with another patient, but I’ll speak to Dr. Clark. However, I don’t think it will matter.”

“What do you mean?” Griff asked. “Why won’t it matter?”

Nurse Huff cleared her throat. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said anything.” She nodded toward the closed door leading to the waiting area. “You two need to go back outside, please. We’ve been instructed to contact Police Chief Mahoney. If you have any further questions, please direct them to him.”

Griff sensed Nic’s heels digging in, and suspected she didn’t appreciate the local law not instructing the hospital staff that the bureau—meaning Special Agent Baxter—was in charge of this case.

Griff grasped Nic’s arm gently and urged her into movement, effectively leading her back through the waiting room and into the hallway. When they were out of earshot of the ICU families, she yanked free and faced him.

“What do you think you’re doing?” Nic glowered at him.

“Saving you from throwing a very unbecoming hissy fit,” Griff said. “You know you really should work on trying to control that hair-trigger temper of yours. It’s a bad habit, especially in a federal agent.”

Nic huffed. Her nostrils flared. For a minute there, Griff halfway expected her to snort and bellow and for steam to shoot out of her ears. Instead, she breathed deeply, swallowed hard, and blew out an aggravated breath.

“First of all, you are not my keeper,” she told him. “And secondly, I was not about to throw a hissy fit.”

“Are you saying you’re not upset that the local police chief didn’t inform the hospital staff that you’re in charge?”

“I’m working with the local police department. This is their case as well as mine. You’re acting as if I’m some rookie agent who doesn’t know how to—”

“Special Agent Baxter,” a female voice called.

Nic and Griff glanced at the doorway to the ICU waiting room. Nurse Huff walked toward them, a concerned expression on her face.

“Ms. Hughes is asking for both of you, and Dr. Clark has given permission for the two of you to join her in Ms. Cain’s room.”

“Has something happened?” Nic asked.

“I believe Ms. Cain is trying to communicate with her sister and is becoming highly agitated.” Nurse Huff shook her head. “I’m afraid that if she doesn’t calm down, we’ll have to restrain her.”

Anxious for them to see Gale Ann Cain before it was too late, Griff barely managed to stop himself from grasping Nic’s arm again and rushing her into the intensive care unit. But as it turned out, he didn’t need to. Nic all but ran through the waiting area, urging Nurse Huff to keep up with her.

In less than an hour, it would be dark. The days were getting a bit longer in mid-February, but with an overcast sky, night would fall early today. Lindsay was thankful that it wasn’t raining or snowing, although either was a possibility before morning. They had driven straight from the Walker hunting lodge, not stopping for lunch, and were now almost to the Kentucky state line. Highway 127 would take them straight through Monticello and with only one turn onto a county road, they’d be in Williamstown no later than six o’clock this evening.

“I’ll have to stop soon and get gas,” Lindsay said to the somber man sitting rigidly in the passenger seat. “I’m going to pick up a burger and a Coke after I use the restroom.”

“Stop at a mini-mart,” Judd said. “I’ll pump the gas. You go in and get the food. We can eat on the way.”

“Sure. That suits me.”

“Griff will call if the woman dies, won’t he?”

Lindsay gripped the steering wheel tightly. “He’ll call if he has any news—good or bad.”

“Hmm …”

In the three hours they had been on the road, neither had spoken more than a few words now and then, maintaining a palpable silence, as tangible as the heavy fog that lay ahead. Damn! That’s all they needed, a thick fog slowing their progress.

“By the way, how is Griffin these days?” Judd asked.

Totally surprised by the question, Lindsay snapped her head around and stared at Judd.

“Keep your eyes on the road,” he told her.

She refocused on the highway. “Why are you asking about Griff? You don’t really care, do you?”

“Griff’s an old friend. Why shouldn’t I ask about him?”

“Griff’s Griff,” she said. “He’s fine.”

“You two having sex yet?”

Lindsay clenched her teeth. So that’s what it’s all about— Judd just wanted to needle her.

“That’s none of your business,” she said.

“I could give him a few pointers, if you want me to. I could tell him what you like, what turns you on, what—”

“You can shut the hell up!”

Judd chuckled. A mirthless, cold chills-up-the-spine laugh.

“You’re a real bastard, you know that, don’t you.”

“What’s the matter, darlin’? Haven’t you told Griff about us?”

“There is no us.”

“There almost was. You were willing.”

She’d been willing all right. God help her, she’d been more than willing. She’d been eager. She had fallen in love with Judd in those first few months after his wife’s murder when she and her CPD partner Dan Blake had seen Judd on a regular basis. Dan had tried to warn her not to become personally involved. If only she had been able to take his advice. But ever since she’d been a kid, she had been the one who brought home stray dogs and cats, nursed wounded birds, and stood up to bullies in defense of those they harassed.

Her father had told her that she had a tender heart, just like her mother. She couldn’t bear to see anyone—human or animal—in pain.

And Judd Walker had been in torment. Day by day she had watched him as he mourned his wife, as he became more and more withdrawn, as the anger—the pure rage—inside him had devoured him.

Her heart had ached for him. Her stupid bleeding heart.

“You’re awfully quiet,” Judd said. “Thinking about that night?”

“No,” she replied truthfully. “I was actually thinking about those first few months after Jennifer was murdered, and Dan and I worked so hard to try to find her killer.”

“And here we are nearly four years and numerous beauty queen murders later, and Jenny’s killer is still out there chopping off hands and feet, arms and legs, slitting throats… destroying lives.”

“He’ll be caught and punished,” Lindsay said. “Griff and I made you a promise that we intend to keep. And Nic Baxter isn’t going to give up until she catches this guy. She’s as determined as Griff and I and—”

“And me?”

“Are you still determined, Judd? Do you still actually care?”

“I don’t care about anything. You of all people should know that.”

“But you want to see Jennifer’s killer punished, don’t you?”

“Yeah. It’s the only thing I do want. My one thought, my single reason for living is the hope that one day I can kill him myself.”

“And if that actually happened, if you could kill him yourself … hack off his hands, his feet, his arms and legs, chop him into little pieces—what then?”

“Are you asking me if I’d be at peace then?”

“No. I’m asking what then, when your single reason for living is gone?”

“I don’t know,” he said. “And I really don’t care.”

But I care. Damn you, Judd, I care.

Dr. Clark met them at the entrance to Gale Ann Cain’s cubicle and motioned them to step back a few feet. Once he had them alone, he glanced from one to the other.

“Ms. Cain remains in critical condition,” the doctor said. “Her chances of survival are not good. She’s trying to talk, trying to tell her sister something, and has indicated she wants to speak. We’ve explained to her that we cannot take her off the ventilator at this point. She’s highly agitated and if she doesn’t calm down soon, we’ll have no choice but to restrain her and sedate her. Her sister, Ms. Hughes, asked that you two be allowed to see Ms. Cain, while she’s conscious. She hopes one of you might be able to help her decipher her sister’s sign language.”

“Sign language?” Griff asked.

“Since Ms. Cain can’t speak, she’s using her hands and facial expressions to try to convey a message of some sort.”

“How long will it be before you can take her off the ventilator?” Nic asked.

Dr. Clark shook his head. “It’s too soon to say. Maybe days or weeks. Maybe never.”

“Are you saying—?”

“She has a living will,” Dr. Clark said. “If she isn’t able to breathe on her own after a period of time and if we see no hope for her …”

“We understand.” Nic glanced at Griff.

“I will allow the two of you five minutes with Ms. Cain,” Dr. Clark told them. “But if she becomes upset or even more agitated, I’ll ask you to leave.”

Nic nodded.

Griff said, “Okay.”

When they entered Gale Ann’s cubicle, Barbara Jean, who was holding her sister’s hand, glanced up and offered them a pitiful smile. Then she leaned over and whispered, “Gale Ann, they’re here. Special Agent Baxter and Mr. Powell. Tell them what you’ve been trying to tell me.”