The Novels of Nora Roberts, Volume 5 (47 page)

“Willy? Yes, I’m all right. Would you arrange for a drive-by? My parents.” She glanced over at Coop as he tapped keys. “Coop’s grandparents. I’d feel better if . . . Thanks. Yes, we will. Okay.”

She hung up, barely stopped herself from twisting her hands together. “He said he’ll trace the e-mail and check it out right away. He’s going to call or come by as soon as he knows something.”

“He knows he made a mistake with Tyler.” Coop muttered it as if speaking to himself. “He knows we’ve identified him. How does he know? He’s got a way to get information. A radio maybe. Or he risks coming into town to hear the local gossip.”

Eyes narrowed, Coop reread the message. “Several places in town you can buy comp time, but . . . That’s a stupid risk. We’d find the source, then find someone who’d seen him, talked to him. That gives us too much more. So a break-in’s more likely. He sent it at nineteen thirty-eight. Waited for dark. Scoped out a house. Maybe one with a kid or a teenager. They tend to leave their computers on.”

“He may have killed someone else. He may have murdered someone, more than one, just to send me that. Oh, God, Coop.”

“We don’t go there until we have to. Put it outside,” he ordered, and coldly. “Focus on what we know, and what we know is he made another mistake. He came out of the shadows because he was compelled to connect with you. He learned we know who he is, so he felt free to make that connection, to communicate with you.”

“But it’s not
me.
It’s his warped idea of me. He’s talking to himself.”

“That’s exactly right. Keep going.”

“He, ah . . .” She pressed a hand to her forehead, shoved it back through her hair. “He’s uneducated, and unfamiliar with computers. It had to take him some time to write that much. He wanted me—his version of me—to know he’s watching. He wanted to brag a little. He said he laughed at what we’ve done here. The new security. At the manhunt. He’s confident neither will stop him from the goal. The game. He said Carolyn gave him a good game.”

“And Tyler was practice. Everything points to his driving Tyler off the trail, way off, pushing him toward the river. Tyler was a healthy man, in good shape. And bigger, heftier than Howe. The conclusion would be Howe had a weapon. A knife doesn’t work, not if Tyler managed to get any distance away. What’s the game if you force-march some guy miles?”

She could see it now, the steps and the layers. And seeing it helped her stay calm. “We know he has a gun, and he knows the hills. He can track. He . . . he hunts.”

“Yeah, you’d’ve held your own on the job. That’s the game—the hunt. Pick the prey, stalk the prey, make the kill.”

“And he’s picked me because he believes I’ve violated sacred ground, sacred trust by building the refuge here. Because we share, in his head, the cougar as spirit guide. It’s crazy.”

“He also picked you because you know the land. You can track and hunt and elude. So you’re a major prize.”

“He might have come here before, for me, but Carolyn distracted him. She was young and pretty and attracted to him. She listened to his theories, certainly slept with him. And when she saw through enough to be afraid, or concerned, to break things off, he went after her instead. She became his prey.”

Shaken, she lowered to the bench.

“It’s not you, Lil. Not your fault.”

“I know that, but she’s still dead. Almost certainly dead. And there may be someone else dead tonight just so he could get his hands on a computer to send that to me. If he goes after anyone else, any of my people, I don’t know what I’ll do. I don’t know.”

“I’m less worried about that than I was.

“He’s put you on notice,” Coop said when she looked up at him. “He doesn’t have to show you any more. Doesn’t have to bait you or taunt you.”

She took a breath. “Tell me. Is Brad staying at your grandparents’ just because he likes Lucy’s cooking, or did you ask him to so he could keep an eye on things there?”

“The cooking’s a bonus.” He got out a bottle of water, twisted the top off, and handed it to her.

She drank. “He’s a good friend.”

“Yeah, he is.”

“I think . . .” She steadied herself with another long breath. “I think you can get an idea about someone by their friends.”

“You need an idea when it comes to me, Lil?”

“I need an idea when it comes to ten years of you.” She glanced toward the phone, wishing she could make it ring, make Willy call and tell her no one was hurt. No more death. “How do you stand waiting like this?”

“Because it’s what comes next. This place is locked down. If he tries to come here, he’ll trip an alarm. You’re safe. You’re with me. So I can wait.”

Trying to keep her calm, she reached out, smoothed a finger over the petals of a daisy. “You brought me more flowers. What’s that about?”

“I figure I owe you about a decade’s worth of flowers. For fights, birthdays, whatever.”

She studied his face, then went with impulse. “Give me your wallet.”

“Why?”

She held out a hand. “You want to get back in my good graces? Hand it over.”

Caught between amusement and puzzlement, he reached back to pull it out of his pocket. And she saw the gun at his hip.

“You’re carrying a gun.”

“I’m licensed.” He passed her his wallet.

“You had clips in my drawer. They’re not there anymore.”

“Because I have a drawer all of my own now. Nice underwear, Lil. How come you never wear it?”

“Another man bought it for me.” She smiled humorlessly when annoyance flickered over his face. “Or some of it. It didn’t seem quite appropriate to use it on you.”

“I’m here. He’s not.”

“And now, if I slipped that little red number on, for instance, it wouldn’t pass through your mind as you’re slipping it off me again, how he’d done the same?”

“Throw it out.”

For very small, smug reasons, his clipped suggestion made her smile and mean it. “If I do, you’ll know I’m ready to take you back—all the way back. What will you toss out for me, Coop?”

“Name it.”

She shook her head and opened the wallet. For a time, for her own satisfaction, she studied his driver’s license, the PI license. “You always took a good picture. Those Viking eyes, and the hints of trouble in them. Do you miss New York?”

“Yankee Stadium. I’ll take you back for a game sometime. Then you’ll see some real baseball.”

With a shrug, she flipped through, and found the picture. She remembered when he’d taken it, the summer they’d become lovers. God, how young, she thought. How open and wildly happy. She sat by the stream, wildflowers spreading around her, the verdant green hills behind her. Her knees drawn up, her arms wrapped around them, and her hair free and tumbled over her shoulders.

“It’s a favorite of mine. A memory of a perfect day, a perfect spot, the perfect girl. I loved you, Lil, with everything I had. I just didn’t have enough.”

“It was enough for her,” she said quietly.

And the phone rang.

24

Willy followed up the phone call with a personal visit. Lil opened the gate for him by remote, and had a moment to think, At least, this is safer and easier. She’d switched from tea to coffee, and poured Willy a cup even as Coop went to the door to let him in.

She carried it to the living room, offered it to him.

“Thanks, Lil. I figured you’d want to hear the details in person. He used Mac Goodwin’s account. You know the Goodwins, Lil, have the farm on 34.”

“Yes, I went to school with Lisa.” Lisa Greenwald then, she thought, a cheerleader, whom she’d disliked intensely because of Lisa’s constant state of “perk.” It made Lil’s stomach twist just to think of how often she’d sneered at Lisa behind her back.

“I got a call from Mac not five minutes after I got yours. Reporting a break-in.”

“Are they—”

“They’re all right,” he said, anticipating her. “They’d gone out for dinner and to their oldest boy’s spring band concert. They got back and found the back door broken in. Did the smart thing, went right back out again and called me from the cell phone. Anyway, it seemed like too much coincidence, so I asked him if they had an e-mail account that matched the one I got from you. Sure enough.”

“They weren’t home. They weren’t hurt.” She sat then as her knees went shaky.

“They’re fine. They’ve got a new pup since their old dog passed a few months back, and he was closed up in the laundry room. He’s fine, too. I went by to talk to them, take a look at things. Left a deputy there to help Mac board up that door. It looks like he busted in, found the computer. Mac didn’t shut it down before they left. Kids carrying on, he said, and just forgot. People do.”

“Yes. People do. They went together all through high school. Mac and Lisa, Lisa and Mac. And got married the spring after graduation. They have two boys and a girl. The girl’s still a baby.”

Wasn’t it funny, Lil thought, dazed, how much she knew about the once-detested Lisa.

“That’s right, and they’re all fine. The best they could tell on first look was he took some food supplies. Bread, canned goods, Pop-Tarts of all things, some beer and juice boxes. Left the kitchen in a state. Got the two hundred in cash Mac kept in his desk, and the money the kids had in their banks, and the hundred Lisa kept in the freezer.”

He watched Lil’s face, glanced at Coop, then just kept talking in that same easy way. “People don’t seem to realize those are the first places any thief worth his salt is going to check. They need to take a second look when they’re not so upset, to see if anything else is missing.”

“Weapons?” Coop asked.

“Mac keeps his guns in a gun safe. Locked up tight. So that’s a blessing. We got prints. We’ll eliminate the Goodwins’, and I’ll go out on what I think’s a damn sturdy limb and say we’ll match the others to Ethan Howe. I’m planning to call the FBI in the morning.”

He cocked his head at the expression that ran over Coop’s face. “I don’t much relish the idea of working with the feds, or having them take this investigation over, either. But the fact is it looks like we’ve got evidence that points to serial murder, and Lil got an e-mail threat. That’s cybercrime. Added to it, it’s a given that this fucker’s—sorry, Lil—that his territory includes the national park. I’m going to fight for my stake in this, but I’m not going to worry about pecking order.”

“When you match the prints, you need to plaster Howe’s photo all over the media,” Coop said. “Anybody coming into the area, using the trails, any of the locals, need to be able to ID him on sight.”

“That’s on the list.”

“If he’s using this aka, this Swift Cat, we might find something on it.”

“Thirty-five miles per hour,” Lil mumbled, then shook her head when Coop turned to her. “That’s the peak for a cougar, and on a sprint. They can’t run at that speed for any real distance. There are swifter cats. Much faster cats than the cougar. What I mean is . . .” She paused, pressed her fingers to her eyes to help line up her thoughts. “He doesn’t really know the animal he claims is his spirit guide. And I think he gave me the name he’s chosen because he believes we share that guide. I doubt he’s used it before, or often.”

“We’ll do a little checking on it anyway.” Willy set his coffee aside. “Lil, I know you’ve got your new alarms here, and the ex-New York City detective, but I can arrange for protection.”

“Where? How? Willy, this guy covers ground fast, and he can and will go to ground and wait it out if I leave. He’s watching this place, and he knows what’s going on. The only chance you have of tracking him down is if he thinks I’m accessible.”

“Lil gets volunteers and interns,” Coop began. “There’s no reason you couldn’t put a couple of officers in soft clothes and have them go to work around here.”

“I could fix that.” Willy nodded. “Work with the state boys, with the park service. I think we could get a couple of men on-site.”

“I’ll take them,” Lil agreed immediately. “I’m not being brave, Willy. I just don’t want to go hide out, then have to face this all over again in six months, a year. Ever. I want it over.”

“There’ll be two men here in the morning. I’m going to start setting up what I can tonight. I’ll check in with you tomorrow.”

Lil caught the glance that passed between the men.

“I’ll walk you out,” Coop said.

“No you won’t.” Lil took his arm, held on. “If the two of you have something else to say about this, I’m entitled to know. Keeping information from me isn’t protecting me. It’s just pissing me off.”

“I’ve placed Howe in Alaska at the time Carolyn Roderick went missing.” Coop glanced at Lil. “It’s just added weight. I tracked down a sporting goods store where the owner remembered him, and ID’d him through the picture I faxed him. He remembers him because Howe bought a Stryker crossbow, the full package with scope, carbon bolts, sling, and ammo for a thirty-two. He spent nearly two thousand, and paid cash. He talked about taking his girl hunting.”

Lil made a little sound, thinking of Carolyn.

“I expanded my like-crime search after Tyler,” Coop continued. “A body found in Montana four months later, male, mid-twenties, was left for the animals, and in bad shape. But the autopsy showed a leg wound—into the bone—the ME there concluded was from a bolt strike. If he still has the bow . . .”

“We could tie him up on the Roderick disappearance and the Montana murder,” Willy concluded. “Odds are he does. That’s a lot of cash.”

“He got over three hundred from tonight’s break-in, and what he took off of Tyler. It wouldn’t take long, the way he works, to build up a cash supply.”

“I’ll add the bow and bolts to the APB. That’s nice work, Coop.”

“If you make enough calls, you can get lucky.”

When they were alone, Lil went over to poke at the fire until the flames kicked up. She saw he’d brought his baseball bat, the one Sam had made him a lifetime ago. It stood propped against the wall.