Watcher (11 page)

86

Kate Watterson

“I kind of got that impression myself,” Jake said dryly. “The question is, what’s he going to do next?”

Larkin shrugged. “Who knows, that’s the problem. Guys like this don’t think like we do. The only thing I can come up to do right now is to tell all your neighbors to be aware of any strangers and to have a police officer cruise by now and then. It might scare him off.”

“Surely he expects something like that,” Jake muttered. “Isn’t there a list of registered sex offenders now? Can you check the ones nearby and see if any of them are in some line of work that includes electronics? I mean the camera had to be small for us not to see it, and he has gotten past her house and car alarm.”

“I can take a look,” Larkin said as he glanced at his watch.

There was a weary set to his mouth. “I’ll call you tomorrow if I find anything interesting.”

After they left, Jana still sat there, and Jake sat back down next to her and tentatively took her hand. Her fingers felt delicate and fragile in his grasp. “Maybe we should go to a motel until the alarm system can be checked tomorrow.”

“What if he follows us?”

Being male, he had only an inkling of what she was feeling. He was more pissed off than anything, but he could feel from the tremor in her hand alone she was really frightened. “I’ll drive. You watch for anyone that looks remotely like he’s following us, how’s that? We’re both smart people and we’re aware now of what’s going on. If there’s anything suspicious, we’ll just call it in.”

“Okay, that’s probably not a bad idea.” She stood and

smoothed her skirt, giving him the semblance of a smile. Her incredible long-lashed eyes looked a deeper blue than usual. “I’ve always thought of myself capable of handling anything. Even when Brian first got his diagnosis, I was devastated, but strong enough to deal with it. This, however…”

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“I know,” Jake said grimly. “This is pretty out of the realm of my experience, too.”

“I’m so glad you’re here.” There was a poignant huskiness in her voice.

“Of course, I’m here. I love you.”

He hadn’t really meant to say that way the first time. To just blurt it out in what was really a very unromantic moment, but the words just tumbled from his lips before he could stop them.

Jana stared at him, her soft mouth parted.

Quickly, he added, “You don’t have to say anything. Maybe we can talk about this down the road, whenever you’re ready.

Right now, why don’t you go upstairs and pack an overnight bag.”

He wasn’t sure if he was disappointed or relieved when she nodded and headed for the stairs. A few minutes later she emerged, a small leather case in hand. Jana gave him a wry look as she locked the door, but punched in the security code anyway, and the little red light flashed on.

Jake drove slowly out of the neighborhood, looking for anything that remotely touched off a spark of warning, but the street was deserted, all the houses lit against the cold, blustery October evening, not a blue truck in sight. He headed toward downtown, where it would be nearly impossible for anyone following to be missed, the series of one way streets and stoplights a maze for anyone who didn’t know exactly what they were doing.

He chose a noisy popular steak place, and as soon as they were seated, ordered a beer.

Jana had ordered a martini and raised her perfect ebony brows when he chuckled as the waitress hurried off. “It seems appropriate.”

“By all means,” he agreed, his mouth twitching, glad she didn’t seem quite as tense with all the lights, noise and people around them. “Have three. Maybe I’ll get lucky.”

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“On the contrary, I.Q., I am coming to the gradual conclusion I’m the lucky one.” Her lashes lowered a fraction as she spoke and she looked away for a moment. “This was a good idea.” She changed the subject abruptly. “Usually I’d rather stay home more than anything. I change into something comfortable, maybe have a glass of wine in front of the fire, and as you know, I really do like to cook. It relaxes me. But tonight, this is better.”

Anything was better than to see the apprehension and tension in her face over what was happening, and Jake was still a little knocked off kilter by her initial sentence. Their drinks arrived, saving him from having to form a reply.

He took a few frothy sips of beer and listened as Jana ordered a rib-eye, medium rare, baked potato with sour cream and butter, and a salad with blue cheese dressing. He nodded at the young waitress and said, “Same thing exactly.”

They ate, carefully not discussing the man who had turned their lives into something that resembled a television police drama, and afterwards drove toward the interstate, where they chose a generic motel and registered. He used his parent’s address in Michigan and paid cash, despite the fact he was sure they were not followed.

Once they were in the room, he watched as Jana swiftly bolted the door.

“No one knows where we are,” he assured her gently.

“I know. It isn’t that.” She kicked off her shoes and unfastened her skirt. “I really, really want to make love with you. And by the way, if you want a repeat of Tuesday, I’ll do that too. Get undressed.”

He grinned, his swelling erection automatic. “It isn’t necessary, but if you insist…”

Jana let her skirt fall to the floor and yanked her sweater over her head. Clad only in little black panties and a black lacy bra, she was enough to take his breath away. She snapped open the fastening on the front of her bra and her beautiful breasts spilled
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free, full and pale, the nipples already hard and pointed. The panties went next, and Jake couldn’t get out of his clothes fast enough.

Sometimes in bed she was playful, sometimes she was simply intense, but always she was more than his wildest, most erotic fantasies ever conjured.

He lay down first, her insistent hand on his chest, and she climbed on top of him, straddling his waist. Her pussy was wet already. He could feel the moist heat as she rocked lightly over his erection, rubbing the tip of his cock against her clit.

“Tell me again,” she said a little breathlessly as she rocked, knees spread, her breasts lightly swaying.

“Tell you what?” he asked cautiously, a little wary of her volatile mood.

“What you said earlier.”

Was that what she really wanted? He was afraid he’d gone too far, but Jake didn’t even pretend to misunderstand the request.

His hands spanned her hips. “I love you,” he whispered.

“It’s too soon,” she argued, erotically moving her body, giving them both exquisite, teasing pleasure.

“No, it isn’t, Professor. It’s an accelerated reaction due to just the right chemistry.” He needed to be inside her, and stifled a small groan.

“You love this.” She shifted, her hand going downward to grab his cock and adjust it so she could sink downward, taking his length inside her tight heat.

“Yes,” he agreed, lightly thrusting upward. “I love this. But I also love you. Jana Johnson, the person, not just the woman.”

“It’s the sex.”

Jake moved suddenly, in one lithe roll turning their bodies so he was on top and in control. He kissed her and then said firmly,

“No, it isn’t just that. Come on. I know it, and you know it. That’s what scares you.”

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Her gaze was luminous and her lips trembled as she clutched his upper arms tightly. “I’m afraid you’re right.”

He could barely hear the admission it was made in such a muted whisper.

“Don’t be,” he admonished softly and kissed her again as he began to move.

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They were somewhere, hiding.

He loved it. All the power was his, and it was time they
recognized it.

It gave him a night off…well, sort of.

The Watcher lay back on the couch. It wasn’t comfortable, but
nothing in his cheap ass apartment was comfortable. Sacrifices for
a cause were always necessary, and he was willing to make them;
had the discipline to do it. Right now, however, he was just going
to enjoy himself.

With the flick of his finger, the television screen changed.

He set the remote aside, unzipped his jeans, and took out his
cock. Slowly, he began to stroke it as he watched the performance
with rapt attention.

They were probably doing it now, he thought.

Well, Quinn had better enjoy it while he could. Tomorrow it
would be all over.

* * * *

Jake heard the ring and reached in his pocket, flipping the phone open. He didn’t immediately recognize the number, and usually didn’t answer those calls, but considering what was going on, pushed the button anyway. “Hello?”

“Mr. Quinn? This is Detective Larkin. Okay, we have a small break.” There was a slight pause. “It doesn’t solve all the problems for you and Dr. Johnson, but it gives us something.”

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“What is it?” Aware of the students around him in the lab, Jake walked back toward one of the other rooms, near where the freezers were located. “At this point, I think both Jana and I would like to hear any positive information.”

“You noticing that blue truck made the difference. Campus police called me. Two months ago they did ticket a vehicle in the faculty lot where Dr. Johnson parks her car. A blue pickup with Florida plates. Automatically, the ticket is generated and mailed from the university to whoever has the registration. In this case, it has never been paid, because the owner had reported it stolen.

Luckily, it popped up in the system.”

“I see. Well, that makes the blue pickup more suspicious, but doesn’t really give us any more insight, now does it?”

“Maybe a little.” Detective Larkin sounded ominously grave.

“The owner of the truck is named Lisa Gleason. She claims her brother, John, is the one who stole it, right after the Florida police came to question him about a woman who was raped and murdered in her home, not too far away from Fort Myers. She actually saw him drive off in it.”

All along, he’d felt there was something wrong, something bad out there, but this was not exactly welcome news. “Christ,” he muttered, raking his hand through his hair.

“There’s more. Gleason was a suspect in another stalking type murder, but this one in Atlanta. It was five years ago, but they couldn’t arrest him. They didn’t have enough and he skipped anyway. In that particular case,” Larkin said heavily, “he first killed her boyfriend. It was the same thing, threats first, phone calls, break ins. In the Florida case, the boyfriend went missing, and they’ve never found him. At first he was the lead suspect, but when they honed in on Gleason, they started to think maybe he was just eliminated first.”

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He was infinitely more worried about Jana than himself, but it still wasn’t very comforting. “Mind telling me how he did it in Atlanta?”

Over the line, he heard Larkin give a small mirthless laugh. “I thought you might ask. I know I’d be wondering.”

“Thanks,” Jake said dryly.

“He broke into the house and used some kind of knife or machete. Want to hear more?”

“I’m not sure. I’m not exactly all cheered up by all this, but okay, go ahead.”

“Gleason is an electrical engineer. Graduated from a big college, good GPA, and we know for a short time he worked with a company that designed, among a lot of other things, security systems.”

Oh shit.

When he said nothing, Larking went on. “He’s currently wanted in Florida. All we have to do is find him to be able to arrest him. Yes, he’s smart, but he also has an obsession. I’ve talked to the FBI—been on the phone all morning, actually. At this point, I’m fairly convinced he’s the guy after Dr. Johnson. From the descriptions of the other victims, she fits. Professional women, bright, beautiful, and get this, they both worked at big universities where it was easy for him to blend in.”

The phone felt heavy in his hand. Jake said slowly, “I think he is the man, too. The question is how do we do that? How do we find him?”

“Well, considering he’s a serial murder suspect who skipped out of state, my interest is suddenly a little more focused on this.”

The detective sounded chillingly sincere. “If he’s coming after you and Dr. Johnson, well, we’d really like to be there.”

“Oh well, hell yeah, consider yourself invited.” Jake said it sardonically, wondering how earth he was going to tell Jana about all this. To actually know the guy was some sort of serial killer was 94

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a shock to him, and he was pretty sure she’d be more terrified than ever.

“I’m serious.” Larkin’s voice intruded on his thoughts. “We want to keep an eye on this from close by.”

“You think I’m not serious by saying please do? Some

machete-wielding nutcase is not my idea of a good time. I’m a biologist. This isn’t exactly my area of expertise. What is it you want to do?”

“I’ll put two officers hidden in the house, at least that many in selected positions on the street when you are both at work, but I think he’ll hit the house. That’s what he’s done before and keeping things the same is supposed to be part of the ritual, or so I’m told. I haven’t dealt with something exactly like this before, but we’ll handle it. You and Dr. Johnson just have to act normally and wait.”

“
That
sounds easy.”

“Better than being there alone without us, I’d guess.”

“All right, I’ll give you that one.”

“I’ll be in touch and we’ll set it up.”

After Jake snapped the phone shut, and he thought for a moment before he opened it and pushed a button. His mother answered on the third ring, the familiar voice bringing back a semblance of normality to his morning. “Hi, it’s me.”

After the obligatory update on what was happening in town, his brother’s recent football game victory, and his father’s blood pressure, there was a chance to speak. “Hey, Mom, do me a favor and call my cell if anything unusual happens, okay?”