Heinous (2 page)

Dan was far more than Birmingham’s highest-ranking cop. He was the man Jess loved and the father of the child she carried. Thankfully, he was released from the hospital yesterday. Cracked ribs, a mild concussion, and stitches where a bullet grazed his forehead weren’t so bad considering he could have been killed during his bold move to stop Amanda. At gunpoint, he’d crashed his SUV, totaling the vehicle, rather than taking her to Jess. Each time she thought about how the encounter between Dan and Amanda might have ended, Jess’s heart squeezed.

Amanda remained hospitalized for the ongoing psychiatric evaluation. How much of her story was truth and how much was fiction continued to be an unknown variable.

The cell chimed again before Jess’s probing fingers curled around it and pulled it from the bottomless pit she badly needed to organize. The name displayed on the screen chilled her blood.
Tormenter
. One swipe and Eric Spears’s words filled the text box, prompting a blast of fury in her hot enough to burn away the chill.

Yet another man who let you down, Jess. Just like your father.

Jess turned all the way around, scouring the tree line for the other reality she had been forced to face in recent weeks. Every minute of every day someone was out there watching her and reporting to Spears.

“Coward.”

Let them watch.

One by one, they were going down.

Shook Hill Road, Mountain Brook

Baron Residence, 5:30 p.m.

Senator Robert Baron’s historic home sat on more than seven acres of prime real estate with breathtaking views on all sides. The house was a sprawling twenty thousand square feet. The backyard, complete with vibrant fountains and lush landscape, would put to shame the gardens surrounding a luxurious resort hotel.

The lavish presentation was a little overwhelming, beautiful, but overwhelming. Jess couldn’t see herself in a home this imposing. Cradling her sparkling water, she glanced up at the man at her side and wondered if this was his notion of the ideal home he wanted one day. His home on Dunbrooke—the one he’d lost to the fire—hadn’t been quite so ostentatious. Jess had spent a great deal of time at Dan’s home before the fire. She’d grown comfortable in that house with him. The truth was she could be comfortable anywhere as long as he was there.

Dan leaned her way and murmured, “I know that look.”

The sound of his voice sent a familiar and sweet little shiver through her. Jess had been in love with Dan Burnett for more than two decades and still his voice, simply looking at him, undid her in a way she’d never been able to restrain.

“I beg your pardon,” she murmured back, opting not to meet his gaze. She’d always had a weak spot for those blue eyes of his, too. The square jaw and those cute dimples were pretty amazing as well.

“You’re thinking,” he went on, somehow seeming closer than before, “how sorry you feel for Sylvia and Nina having grown up in such a formal atmosphere. Trust me, it’s not like that and wasn’t when they were kids. The Barons enjoy their home. They
live
in it, Jess, in every sense of the word.”

Dan would certainly know from experience. Nina, Sylvia’s younger sister, was his second wife. During law school, Nina had been diagnosed with a serious mental illness. Still, she graduated at the top of her class and went on to have a very successful law practice. Shortly after her brief marriage to Dan eleven years ago, she stopped taking her meds and the happily ever after ended. Since her illness had been kept a secret and with his work schedule in the department, he hadn’t recognized the critical symptoms until it was too late. Delusional, paranoid and in an utter state of panic, Nina had tried to shoot Dan with his own weapon. Afterward she retreated inside herself, and that was where she’d stayed since, leaving little hope of ever understanding why she suddenly considered him a threat.

“The lack of hominess might have crossed my mind,” Jess admitted quietly, not wanting to be overheard. There were at least two hundred people mingling about the house and gardens. This was no simple family barbecue. The who’s who of Birmingham was here. “Actually,” she teased, “I was counting all your exes.”

Jess surveyed the crowd looking for the chic cream-colored dress Gina Coleman was wearing. They’d spoken briefly when Jess first arrived. “You could have your own reality show with all these gorgeous women.”

Gina, Birmingham’s award-winning TV news journalist, and Dan had once enjoyed a sort of friends with benefits relationship that ended with Jess’s return. Then there was Annette Denton, Dan’s third and most recent ex-wife. Jess spotted the lovely brunette in her dazzling white dress huddled with a handsome man who was not her current and soon-to-be ex-husband.
Interesting
. The ex Jess really wanted to meet wasn’t in attendance. Meredith Dority, his first wife, had recently aligned with the mayor in his plot to remove Dan as chief of police. The move was completely out of character based on what Dan had told Jess about his first wife—another mystery Jess wanted desperately to solve.

“Trust me, if I had a reality show,” he whispered against her ear, “you would be the star.”

Jess turned her face up to his to see the grin she heard in his voice. The small bandage on his forehead made her heart ache. “What I was really thinking is how beautiful Nina looks and how sad it is that the doctors here don’t seem to be able to help her.”

Nina Baron sat in a comfortable chair. Like Sylvia, Nina was dressed to the nines. An equally well-dressed woman stood beside Nina. The nurse, Jess had learned when Dan had made the introductions. Nina hadn’t so much as blinked at either of them.

The senator would no doubt give all of this and more to have his daughter back. Jess couldn’t imagine the pain of having a child with a debilitating illness. Instinctively, her hand went to her belly. Being pregnant made her more aware than ever of that fear. She hoped she and Dan never had to know that anguish.

“They’re moving Nina to the New York facility next week.” His voice was somber now. “It won’t be easy on the family.”

“Or the patient,” Jess said, thinking aloud. New York was a long way from Alabama. Nina’s father was still looking for the miracle that would bring his little girl back. When did a parent give up on finding a miracle for their child, no matter the age? Never, she surmised. Being a parent was hard work with plenty of difficult decisions.

She thought of Maddie Brownfield, the little girl whose mother was a cold-blooded killer. Jess had dropped by to check on her yesterday. She’d intended to visit her again today, but another murder investigation had gotten in the way. The child’s entire future hung in the balance. The possibility that she would end up in foster care as Jess and Lily had was more than a little troubling, it was unacceptable.

The day Jess and her sister had been told about their parents’ accident was the last day she recalled any sort of childhood normalcy. As soon as Helen and Lee Harris died, Jess and Lil had been thrust into chaos—first with their unreliable aunt and then into foster care.

“Okay, we need to mingle.” Dan placed his hand at the small of her back. “You’re supposed to be relaxing right now.”

The man knew her too well. What she really wanted was to work. Each minute she wasted was another that Spears gained. How could she relax and pretend he wasn’t out there plotting his next move? Selecting his next victim? Lately, her every case revolved around him... and
her
.

“I’m trying.” She gave Dan a hopeful smile. Relaxing was good for the baby. She knew this, she simply needed to find a way to put that knowledge into practice.

“Come with me.” He ushered her forward. “The Senator will not be happy if I don’t introduce the two of you. He’s mentioned more than once that he wanted to meet you.”

“Sure.” Jess kept her smile in place when what she really wanted to do was wince. There had been no time to change after work before coming here. The red skirt with its matching belted jacket was the closest thing to dress up apparel she owned at the moment anyway. She’d spritzed on a hint of her favorite perfume just to make sure the odor of coagulated blood wasn’t lingering, then she’d freshened her mascara and lip gloss and called it good enough.

A number of couples, including Mayor Joseph Pratt and his wife, surrounded Senator Robert Baron. Jess stifled a groan. Pratt’s recent efforts to undermine Dan’s reputation and worse made her furious. Despite the timing, she doubted the mayor’s machinations could be blamed on Spears. Mayor Joseph Pratt had his own malicious agenda.

To her immense relief, Pratt and his wife drifted away from the group as Jess and Dan approached. Apparently, he wasn’t happy to see them either. Senator Baron, on the other hand, seemed delighted. He immediately shifted his attention to the two of them. Baron was an attractive man nearing seventy. Tall and fit, his gray hair made him look distinguished rather than old.

“Dan.” The Senator thrust out his hand. “I was just bragging about the incredible job you continue to do despite the recent pressures we’re all hearing about in the news.”

“Thank you, sir.” Dan shook the older man’s outstretched hand. “I wanted to introduce you to a very special lady.”

Baron grinned. “No need for an introduction. I’ve already heard all about this lady from Sylvia.”

Jess offered her hand. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Senator.”

He gave her hand a firm shake. “The pleasure is mine, Jess. Dan is a very lucky man to have you on his team.”

“I remind him of that every day,” Jess assured him.

Senator Baron’s hearty laughter made her smile. Maybe her old friend Buddy Corlew was wrong. She might have grown up on the other side of the tracks from these wealthy people, but she belonged here, Jess decided, as surely as anyone else in attendance.

Dan’s parents appeared and the conversation shifted to fundraising projects.

“This could go on all night.” Katherine Burnett patted Jess’s arm. “You look very nice, dear. How are you feeling?”

Wow, a compliment that didn’t involve being compared to a hunting dog. Hopefully, Dan’s mother had decided to accept her. “Thank you. I’m feeling well.”

“Have you and Dan had time to look for a new home?”

They really did need to get around to finding one. “Not yet, but house hunting is definitely on our agenda.”

“I keep an eye on all the best properties.” Katherine gave a knowing nod. “I’d love to help.”

Jess almost changed the subject. The words were on the tip of her tongue, then she reminded herself that this woman, despite all the times she had treated Jess badly, would be her child’s grandmother. She was Dan’s mother. Why fight the inevitable? “Any suggestions you have would be appreciated. Finding time in our schedules lately has been impossible.”

For about twenty-five years, Katherine Burnett had not considered Jess good enough for her son, and still the relief that shone in her eyes at hearing a positive response touched Jess.

“I’ll speak to my realtor tomorrow and send you and Dan a list of properties,” Katherine promised.

“Thank you, Katherine. That sounds like a good starting place.”

“Harris!” Sylvia Baron sidled up and took Jess by the arm. “Forgive me,” she announced unrepentantly to the small group, “but I need to steal Harris away for a moment.”

With a chorus of assurances echoing behind them, Sylvia ushered Jess in the direction of the mansion’s grand rear entrance.

“We have to talk, Harris.”

“You have my undivided attention.” Jess plucked an hors d’oeuvre from a passing platter. The bacon wrapped date with a touch of Parmesan was scrumptious.

Sylvia greeted more guests and introduced Jess each time before ushering her into a study where a large desk flanked by comfortable wingbacks sat in front of floor to ceiling bookshelves.

Once the door was closed, Sylvia collapsed against it. “Thank God. This annual event grows bigger each year.”

“Your father has many friends.” Jess sipped her sparkling water, wishing she had grabbed two of those bacon wrapped thingies.

“Along with a few enemies.” The ME quirked an eyebrow. “Daddy taught me long ago to keep my friends close and my enemies closer.”

“He’s a smart man.”

Sylvia frowned, looked Jess up and down. “Weren’t you wearing
that
at the homicide scene this morning?”

Jess decided not to mention that she felt inordinately lucky that it even still fit. “There was no time to change. Besides, I’ve been too busy for any shopping.”

“Too busy to shop?” Sylvia pressed a hand to her chest. “Be still my heart.” She pushed away from the door and headed to the liquor cabinet. “I wasn’t going to tell you about this find until tomorrow morning.”

“What find?” When Sylvia left the chapel, she’d insisted she couldn’t start the autopsy on the reverend before tomorrow. Understandable. Jess’s cases weren’t the only ones that needed the attention of the coroner’s office. After leaving the chapel this morning, Jess and Hayes had checked in at the scene in Scottsboro while Harper, Lori, and Cook worked on tracking down the family and friends of the reverend. Not an easy task with this being a holiday weekend. Most folks were either trying to fit in one final escape before summer ended or were off to a big family gathering not unlike this one.

In the end, they’d learned no earth shattering revelations about the reverend and nothing new on Amanda Brownfield. Not a single member of the Joint Task Force had anything new or otherwise on Spears.

They needed a significant break.
Soon
.

“I couldn’t stand the suspense.” Sylvia had a long drink from her Scotch. “I started the preliminary on Henshaw.”

Her interest overriding all else, Jess set her glass aside and joined the ME at the bar. “You can’t have any tox screen results.” The drug ketamine was a classic Spears choice, and at least one of his followers had used Curare to immobilize victims.

Sylvia shook her head. “No tox results yet.” She shrugged her silk clad shoulders. “I don’t know. Maybe I’ve watched too many movies, but I couldn’t stop wondering. So I worked on dissolving the glue holding his palms together to see if there was anything there, and then I removed the sutures from his lips.”

Having spent more than a decade as a profiler for the Bureau, Jess understood the sutured lips were likely about silence or secrets. “What’d you find?” Clearly, her friend had found something.

“A key. Under his tongue.”

“I need to see that key.” Jess wasn’t sure the senator would like his daughter disappearing on him, but whatever new message Spears was sending, she needed to find it as quickly as possible.

“I expected that reaction.” Sylvia went to the desk and retrieved her cell. “I snapped a pic. I don’t think it’s a safety deposit box key. It’s definitely not a house or car key.”

Jess studied the image of the key. Bow on the end. Shank an inch or so long. The single bit suggested an old key or a reproduction of an old one. Every item she’d inspected at the Brownfield house ticked off in her brain, but there was nothing the key would fit. “This looks more like one you’d find in a vintage desk or trunk.”

“That’s my thinking. I’ll send the photo to you.” Sylvia tapped the screen a few times before setting her phone aside. “Whatever it is,” she said, her gaze shifting to Jess, “it was important enough that Spears murdered a man to deliver it to you. We both know that’s what he’s been doing for the past ten or so bodies. He’s sending you messages.”