Feel the Heat (17 page)

“We’ll be ready for him, Lauren,” he promised. “We’ve planned this out well. I hate that you have to go through this but at least we’ll be able to end it once and for all.”

“I hope.”

He urged her up from her chair, pulled her against his body and dipped his head for another kiss. As tender as the previous one had been, this one was hot and demanding. He teased her tongue with his, shifting her head this way and that to give him a better angle. A deeper one. When he ended the kiss they were both breathless.

Troy brushed a stray bit of hair back from her face.

“When this is finished tonight we’ll celebrate. That kiss is only a taste of what’s to come.”

And just like that, everything settled inside her. “I can’t wait.”

“Come on.” He took her hand. “We’ll have to make do with sandwiches or whatever. I don’t want to order anything and have the delivery guy show up at the wrong time. Besides, we have to put our plan into place.”

And then it will be over. Finally.

* * * * *

Nolan Switzer gripped his head with both hands. He was finally going to see her. Finally get all this out of his system. Lay it all out for her, how she ruined lives instead of saving them. How he was actually doing people a service by getting rid of her. Maybe then he’d finally have some peace.

He swallowed four acetaminophen, then rolled the glass against his forehead. Once he rid society of the she-devil, his headaches would disappear. He just knew it. For three years, he’d waged war against her, each time hoping he’d frightened her enough to stop. Now he had to end it.

He was sure she had a security system, but he’d figured out a way around that. His eyes glanced at the small box lying on the kitchen table, a pricey piece of electronics that had been worth every penny. Besides, hadn’t she invited him to come to her house?

There was always the chance that man was still there with her, but he had a remedy for that too. The gun he’d purchased at a pawnshop where no one asked questions would take care of whoever this guy was.

Then it would be just the two of them, and he’d be rid of her at last.

He just needed to wait until it was dark.

* * * * *

Reid was edgy about driving past the house yet again, but he wasn’t sure what else to do. His eyes ached from the strain of skimming all the info he’d pulled up on LexisNexis, but at least he was marginally better off. The information about Lauren Cahill was very sketchy. She obviously worked hard to control her anonymity and protect her privacy. After too many hours of searching, he’d finally managed to find a few tiny news items about some requests she’d turned down. Angry families had written letters to various newspapers condemning her but the story apparently wasn’t hot enough for anyone to give it more than a Letter to the Editor space. He’d finally narrowed the list down to the six most likely candidates, families with a grudge against her because she’d turned them down.

But he wasn’t sure if he’d have time to contact all of them. What would he say anyway? Is someone in your family stalking Lauren Cahill? Shit, what a fucking mess this was turning out to be.

Tomorrow, he’d try sitting down with the Hauser woman again. Getting her to press harder for the healer to come to the hospital. Remind her how steadily her husband was failing and this was his last chance. Maybe he could convince her to go right to the woman’s house and plead with her in person.

Dark came early in the fall, so there was no foot traffic on the sidewalks in Lauren Cahill’s neighborhood. And very few cars on the road. Mostly people getting home late from work, he assumed.

When he turned the corner onto her block he was surprised to see the car that had been parked down the street for the last few days was gone. Of course so were the media so maybe Lauren and her friends had called off the dogs. That would be a big plus. Now all he had to do was make sure the Hauser woman contacted the healer again and Olberman would be happy.

Thank god.

But as he reached the end of the block he saw another car come up behind him, driving as slowly as he was. He sped up slightly to see what the other car would do and when he passed the next cross street, his shadow turned right on it. Reid quickly squared the block and discovered the other car had parked in the shadow of towering oak trees.

What the hell?

Another car was parked farther down the street, but he ignored it as insignificant. Reid coasted to the end of the block, turned off his lights and positioned himself around the corner so he could keep watch. He thought about leaving, but the funny tickle at the back of his neck made him stay where he was. Maybe this was nothing, but what if the stalker was finally making his move?

Reid slid down in his seat, eyes glued to the other car. Watching. Waiting.

* * * * *

Nolan put the car in park and sat quietly, watching the street around him. Another car had driven down the street and he could have sworn it doubled back to check him out. Then it turned the corner and turned out its lights so he dismissed it, chalking it up to paranoia. There was another car parked farther down, but he chalked it up as belonging to one of the homeowners or a guest. Nothing to do with him. Who would be following him anyway? In the three years he’d been calling and sending notes to the Cahill woman, no one had identified him. Why would it be any different now?

He laughed silently at the thought the bitch actually thought he might walk up to her front door and introduce himself. What a joke. Did she really think he was that stupid? He told her he was coming for her, but he’d control the situation.

Still, he waited fifteen minutes before unscrewing the dome light and slipping from the car, carrying the small canvas bag with the tools he’d need tonight. The house directly behind the she-devil’s was a two-story similar to his home. And like his, it was surrounded by high shrubbery that allowed him to sneak past it successfully. He moved in a running crouch until he reached the shrubbery border that ran across the back property line.

Light shone from the upstairs windows of the Cahill house but downstairs it was completely dark. Maybe the witch was waiting for him in the blackness, but he was ready for her.

Eyes flitting everywhere as he checked to see if he’d been spotted, he pulled his expensive electronic device from the bag he carried. The high-end jammer had cost a fortune, but it would be worth it. The description said it would disable almost any sophisticated system for up to two minutes. That was all he needed. By that time, he’d be inside. And even if that guy was still inside with her, his 9mm would take care of him. He hadn’t planned to kill anyone else, but in any mission there was always collateral damage. And that’s what this was. A mission. To rid the world of evil.

The tiny light on the jammer turned green, a sign that the security system was now jammed. Still crouching low, Nolan made his way to the small back porch of the house. A lock pick took care of the locks with little effort. He placed the canvas bag on the porch, removed the 9mm and eased open the door.

* * * * *

In the dark of the living room, Dan disconnected the call on his cell phone.

“That was the guard. He’s here and on his way.”

They heard the high ping when Switzer attempted to jam the security system. They knew what they’d set up was too sophisticated for any jammer on the market, but Dan had reset the system so it would appear to the stalker it had worked. But the cameras still operated and from the monitor in the den Mark called out the man’s progress.

They waited silently, eyes adjusted to the dark as they’d often had to do when they were all still in the military. Troy snapped his fingers and pointed toward the back door. His keen sense of hearing had picked up the faint scratch of metal against the locks and the nearly inaudible creak as the back door was opened. Dan touched Mark’s shoulder and the three moved into position. He’d tried without success to get Lauren to wait upstairs, but that was one damn stubborn woman. The best he’d been able to do was stash her behind the couch, crouched down, waiting for them to tell her she was safe.

He stood motionless as did the other two men, eyes adjusted to the darkness, focused on the entrance from the kitchen to the living room. In seconds they made out the figure of a man moving slowly into the room. When he had nearly reached the center of the room Troy slipped into position behind him and placed the barrel of his gun directly behind Nolan Switzer’s left ear.

“Lights,” he called.

Dan switched on a lamp and he and Mark, also armed, moved forward to box Switzer in.

“Drop your weapon,” Dan ordered in a flat tone. “Now.”

“Better do it,” Troy told him. “Any one of us would be more than happy to put a bullet in you, believe me.”

Switzer didn’t move, just looked wildly around the room.

“Where is she?” he demanded, still clutching his handgun. “Where is the evil she-devil?”

Troy reached around him with his free hand, chopped at the man’s wrist and the gun fell to the floor. Mark scooped it up immediately. Dan moved forward with handcuffs, only now Nolan was losing control, so it took two of them to hold him still and cuff him.

“Where is she?” he screamed again. “I want to see that bitch. Damn it, make her show herself.”

“I’m right here, Nolan,” Lauren told him in a soft voice, rising from her place behind the couch.

“Damn you to hell anyway,” he shouted. “You should be destroyed, practicing your black magic on people. You ruined my family.”

“I healed your sister,” she pointed out in the same even tone. “What happened after that is all on you.”

“My parents turned against me because of you.” He struggled against Dan and Troy, each holding an arm securely. “You ruined my life.” And then the vitriol spewed forth from his mouth, vile curses impelled by uncontrolled anger.

Mark, who had been speaking quietly into his cell phone, disconnected his call and shoved the phone in his pocket. He nudged Troy out of the way and took his place holding Switzer.

“I called the cops,” he told them. “They’ll be here shortly. And I told our sentry he could go home. Get Lauren out of here, Troy. She doesn’t need to be part of this anymore.”

“Come on, sugar.” He gladly gave up his hold on Switzer, not just to be away from him, but before he forgot himself and killed the man with his bare hands. “You don’t need to be involved in this anymore.”

Lauren’s face was pale and she was trembling, leaning into Troy’s protective arm. Just before they made it to the kitchen, she turned back to her tormenter.

“I’m sorry for you, Nolan. I sincerely hope you get help for yourself. But it has nothing to do with me.” She looked up at Troy. “Okay. They can have him now.”

Troy brewed tea for her and put on a pot of coffee. They could hear Switzer still raving in the other room. Then the doorbell rang and the police were there. Sergeant Hurley had come himself, along with his men. In the kitchen he walked directly to Lauren and took both her hands in his.

“I’m glad I was on tonight,” he told her. “I wanted to come and haul this piece of shit away myself. Make sure you can finally have some peace.”

“Thank you.” Troy could see she was still shaken, but had pulled herself together a little. He’d made up his mind to glue himself to her side. If the cops wanted to talk to him they could damn well do it right here.

“I’m eternally sorry I didn’t believe you in the beginning,” Hurley went on, “and that we weren’t able to do better for you in catching him.

“I think we had better resources to smoke him out,” Dan commented. He and Mark had walked back into the kitchen. “The important thing is this is done with. Sergeant, your men have him in the patrol car. He’s all yours now.”

“I’ll need official statements from all of you,” Hurley told them. “Just so everything’s in order and he doesn’t slip through a loophole.”

Mark nodded. “We’ll come down to the station tomorrow. No problem.”

“I’d appreciate it if you could take Lauren’s statement here,” Troy put in. “Any time tomorrow that works for you.”

She looked up at him. “Troy, I’m perfectly capable of going to the police station. Especially if you’re with me.”

But Hurley nodded at Troy. “I’ll call you in the morning to work it out.”

Troy urged Lauren up from the chair. “Let’s get you upstairs. Mark and Dan can show Sergeant Hurley out on their way to the door.”

And just like that it was over.

* * * * *

“I have good news.” Reid spoke into his Bluetooth cell phone.

On the other end of the connection, Olberman grunted. “It’s about time. Did you find her asshole stalker and take him down?”

“Didn’t have to. Her friends did it for me.” He gave his boss the few details he’d observed. “So they hauled him off to the station, and my guess is we’ve seen the last of him.”

“Call the Hauser woman again first thing in the morning. Let’s not wait to see if our girl calls her first.”

“I will. But I want to point one thing out to you, just so we’ll be prepared.”

“Now what?” Olberman’s voice was edged with impatience.

“These friends of hers are no lightweights. If she turns out to be what you want, snatching her isn’t going to be any walk in the park.”

“That’s what you get paid for,” his boss growled. “Figure out what to do and make it happen.”

“I just—”

But the connection was broken. Reid tapped his fingers on the steering wheel, studying Lauren Cahill’s house and those around it. He’d better start preparing now, so when Olberman gave the word he’d be ready to act. But like he’d told his boss, it wasn’t going to be that easy.

* * * * *

Troy locked up the house and reset the security system again. He’d left Lauren upstairs, and suggested she shower and get into bed. Even a blind man could see she was holding herself together by a thread. In the kitchen he poured brandy into a small glass and carried it up to her. He needed to take the edge off those nerves and get her to relax so she could sleep. Put this whole thing behind her.