Scene of the Crime: Deadman's Bluff (12 page)

“I should go home,” Tamara whispered faintly, although she had the feeling that somebody or something bad awaited her there, as well.

“That’s not the answer. Amarillo is the last place you need to be,” Seth replied gruffly. “At least here you have me and the sheriff working on things. In Amarillo you’d be all alone until you get your memories back.”

He looked back at Linda. “You can make all this happen tomorrow?”

She nodded with a certain resolve. “Without any problems at all.”

“I just want you and Samantha someplace safe and Tamara and I will stay at the house. He knows she’s here and I have a feeling he’ll come back for her. I’d rather that happened where we can have some control and we can do that here.”

Linda nodded and got up from the table. “I’ll make the arrangements and Samantha and I will be out of here by noon tomorrow. And now that the excitement is all over, I’m going back to bed.” With a tired wave of her hand, she headed out of the kitchen.

Tamara watched her go. Things were spinning out of control and she didn’t know what to do about it. She hated the fact that she was forcing two people out of their home because she’d somehow had a run-in with a crazy killer.

“Maybe it was just a normal attempt at a home burglary,” she said hopefully. “I mean, under normal circumstances that guest bedroom would be empty. Maybe some robber assumed it was empty and just decided to break in tonight.”

Seth shook his head. “No, it was definitely him.”

“How can you be sure?”

Seth hesitated a long moment, long enough for a knot of anxiety to twist tighter and tighter in her chest. “I can be sure because next to the window on the ground he left a miniature sand dune.” He raked a hand through his hair. “If he’d been successful and I’d awakened tomorrow morning and found you gone, he wanted everyone to know for sure what had happened to you, who had taken you.”

“The Sandman,” she whispered. A new shiver of horror fluttered through her as she considered the fact that the next time he tried to get to her, he might succeed.

* * *

H
E WANTED TO WEEP
. He’d been close...so achingly close to her. Just a few more steps, a quick stab of a needle that would almost instantly render her helpless and then all he’d had to do was carry her out the window and get away.

He’d been so proud of the whole plan, so certain that they would never assume he’d be bold enough to attack there, right beneath an FBI agent’s nose.

And he’d almost succeeded. If the bitch had just stayed asleep another two minutes he would have had her incapacitated and carried her away to the dunes...where she belonged.

It wasn’t over, not by a long shot. So far he’d had two false starts, but he knew the old saying...third time was a charm.

Chapter Seven

The remainder of the night passed with Seth on high alert. He insisted Tamara move into Samantha’s bedroom for the rest of the night and then he had half dozed in a chair in the living room, unable to completely relinquish himself to sleep as he thought about the days to come.

The mound of sand he’d found outside the window told him two things...that the killer had embraced the name the newspaper had given him, and that he was getting bolder. That could either work for them or against them in capturing him.

By the time morning came Seth made a pot of coffee to go along with his exhaustion. He definitely needed a major caffeine boost in order to do his interviews that day. And whatever he did, wherever he went, Tamara would go with him. There was no other option.

The coffee had just finished dripping into the carafe when Linda came into the kitchen and sat at the table. With her hair bed-messed, without makeup and clad in a pair of hot pink pajamas she looked ten years younger.

“You know, you don’t have to do this,” he said as he placed a cup of coffee in front of her. “I can pack up Tamara and take her to the local motel until the investigation is finished.”

Linda shook her head. “She’s been through enough. I don’t think it would be good for her to be moved someplace else at this time in her recovery. Besides, I’ve just wanted somebody to give me a reason to take some time off and visit Helen, and Samantha bunking in at her dad’s place is no big deal. I think they have a camping trip planned in the next week or so. She and Scooter will be fine and so will I.”

A wealth of affection rose up inside Seth for his sister. “You’re the best, sis.” He grabbed his coffee and joined her at the table.

She took a sip and eyed him over the rim of the cup. “I see the way she looks at you, Seth,” she said as she set the cup back down on the table. “And I see the way you look at her.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” He looked into his cup, unable to meet her gaze.

“Yeah, right,” she replied drily. “You know how much I’d love for you to find a woman and fall in love and build a family, but you need to take care in this case. She doesn’t know where she belongs, and for all we know there is a special somebody waiting for her return. I don’t want to see her get hurt, but more important I don’t want to see you get hurt.”

“Don’t worry about me. I just want to catch this freak, get him under arrest and then return to my life in Kansas City,” Seth said.

Linda raised an eyebrow. “What life?”

Seth laughed humorlessly, knowing his sister believed he had no life except his work, which, of course, was true.

“I’m just telling you to tread softly. The attraction between the two of you is palpable, but you need to remember the circumstances of why she’s here now and she’ll be gone soon.”

“Duly noted,” he replied. Despite the kiss from the night before, a kiss that had rocked his world, he had no intention of taking things any further with Tamara.

By nine o’clock, Linda had taken off to drive to Oklahoma City to visit with her friend, Samantha had come by and packed two enormous suitcases for her time with her father and Seth had boarded up the window in the guest room with plywood he’d found in Linda’s garage. Then he and Tamara were on their way to the sheriff’s office.

“There’s a break room in the back and you can hang out in there while I conduct my interviews,” Seth explained. “We’ll get somebody to run out and get you some magazines to read and there’s a television in there, so you shouldn’t be too bored.”

“I’ll be fine,” she replied. “Although I probably would have been fine staying at home. If this creep lives up to his name, then the nighttime will be his playtime. The Sandman doesn’t visit people during the daylight hours.”

“I thought the Sandman was only supposed to sprinkle good dreams into the heads of sleeping children.” Seth pulled up in front of the office, shut off the engine and turned to look at her.

“Apparently not this Sandman,” she replied. Despite the short night she looked lovely with her long hair pulled back and clasped at the nape of her neck. She wore a pair of jeans and a white blouse with blue trim that complemented the color of her eyes.

“Apparently not,” he agreed. “And whether we like it or not, he is focused on you, so there’s no way I want you alone anywhere for now.”

They both got out of his truck. The late-June heat was already hot on his shoulders and Seth had a feeling things were going to get even hotter for the people he intended to interview.

He needed to get this job done and the sooner the better because Linda was right, Tamara was getting to him, and the end result of anything that might happen between them was that somebody was going to wind up being hurt.

After seeing Tamara settled in the small lounge in the back of the building, Seth sat in the interrogation room with Tom. The short night showed on the sheriff’s features. Tired lines raced down the sides of his face and Seth had a feeling he had the same kind of stress lines on his own.

“Henry Todd will be here in just a few minutes to talk to you and this afternoon I’ve got Casey Minter coming in. She was friendly with Vicki and although she wouldn’t tell me much, I’m hoping she’ll be more open with you.”

“Why didn’t she open up to you?” Seth asked curiously.

“Probably because I’ve arrested her father a dozen times for public intoxication. I’m not exactly a favorite around the Minter household.”

“I met Henry Todd last night. Tamara and I ate at the Golden Daffodil and he came out and introduced himself to us,” Seth said.

“Quite the Dapper Dan, isn’t he?”

Seth smiled. “I believe Tamara mentioned the word
smarmy
after meeting him.”

Tom’s grin lasted only a moment. “After last night have you made alternate plans for where Tamara is going to stay?”

“No, she and I are remaining at the house, but I sent Linda and Samantha away for the next week or so.”

Tom studied him for long moment. “You’re hoping he’ll attempt to take her from the house again?”

“Heck, I’m hoping I’ll have the bastard’s name by the end of the day,” Seth retorted.

Tom stood. “I’ll see to it that Tamara has whatever she needs so that you can focus on these interviews. I don’t need to tell you how badly I want this guy in my jail.”

“Trust me, I want him there just as badly,” Seth replied.

As Tom left the room, Seth opened the file he’d brought in with him for the day of interviewing. Inside were not only copies of the original interviews, but notes that Seth had made as to what new questions he wanted answered.

As he waited for Henry to arrive, he couldn’t help but think about Tamara and the kiss they had shared the night before. He’d wanted to take things further. He’d wanted to scoop her up in his arms and carry her to the bedroom and make love to her.

Thank God he hadn’t followed through on his desire. His conversation with Linda that morning had confirmed his own beliefs, that getting that close to Tamara would be a big mistake for both of them.

He shoved thoughts of her away as Henry Todd was led by Raymond Michaels into the interrogation room. Seth stood and gestured the handsome man into the chair opposite him at the table. Coffee was offered and declined, small talk made to break the ice and then Seth got down to business.

“From the notes I’ve read I understand that you and Vicki Smith were something of an item before her murder,” Seth said.

Henry smiled with a touch of condescension. “Vicki wanted us to be an item, but I just dated her a couple of times and that was it. Our relationship was only a big deal in her mind. There was no real relationship. Besides, I made it clear to her that we were done almost a month before she died.”

“I’m guessing she wasn’t happy to hear that?” Seth asked.

“To be honest, she was a real pain after that. She still worked at the restaurant, but she bad-mouthed me to all my staff and I think she keyed my car, although I never had any way to prove it. I’m telling you all this because you’re probably going to hear it anyway, but I didn’t have anything to do with her murder.” He gave Seth a charming grin. “Besides, you know what sand would do to a pair of expensive Italian loafers?”

Seth wasn’t amused. The conversation lasted another thirty minutes, with Seth leaning on him hard, trying to break a weak alibi and fluster Henry enough to make a mistake and say something telling. But the restaurateur remained calm and collected and firm in his answers.

Seth finally told him he could go. Henry got to the doorway and then turned to look back at Seth. “Have you talked to your brother-in-law?” he asked.

“My brother-in-law?” Seth stared at him blankly.

“Mark Willoughby. I heard it through the grapevine that he and Vicki were dating in the days before her murder. They even came in for dinner at the Golden Daffodil right before Vicki’s death.”

Seth felt as if he’d been sucker-punched. Nowhere in the notes had Mark been tied to Vicki Smith. Mark hadn’t even been interviewed in either of the previous investigations.

Once Henry left the room, Seth reared back in his chair, his stomach churning with a new anxiety and troubling thoughts.

There was no question that Mark hated his ex-wife, and Linda had dark hair just like all the victims. Seth had always believed his ex-brother-in-law to be many things, but he never would have suspected him capable of murder...until now.

He couldn’t discount Mark because he’d been married to his sister for ten years, and yet he couldn’t allow his personal distaste for the man to color the investigation in any way.

He directed Tom to make arrangements for Mark to come in that afternoon for an interview and then the rest of the morning was taken up by talking to teenagers who had been at the party on the dunes the night that Rebecca Cook had been killed.

Casey Minter had confessed to him that Rebecca had worked at the Golden Daffodil for two days, then had quit because she felt uncomfortable with her touchy-feely boss. According to Casey, Rebecca had thought Henry Todd was an old pervert who couldn’t keep his hands off his young help.

As far as Seth was concerned the information was just another strike against Henry Todd. Did that make him the killer? Hard to tell. Did it make him a smarmy creep? Definitely.

It was just after noon when he went to the break room and discovered Tamara gone. A gossip magazine was open on the table and the television was tuned to the Lifetime channel.

He glanced toward the restroom. The door was open, indicating it was empty. So, where was Tamara? He’d told her not to leave this room until he returned for her.

His heart skipped a beat even as he told himself not to panic. But it was sheer panic that torched through him. Where in the hell was she?

Was it possible a deputy was involved with the killings? Had he missed something...had he unintentionally placed Tamara at risk by simply bringing her here where she should have been safe?

* * *

T
AMARA STOOD IN LINE
at the fast-food restaurant next to Deputy Raymond Michaels. He’d come into the break room a few minutes earlier and asked if she’d wanted to stretch her legs and walk with him to grab some lunch at the place next door to the sheriff’s office.

Assuming Seth had sent him and eager to do anything to break the monotony of the long morning, she readily agreed. For the most part she’d been alone in the break room for the past couple of hours with nothing to occupy her except the television and a few magazines a deputy had brought in earlier in the day.