Have you picked up Mike yet? Luke asked.
No, not yet. His thirteen-year-old son, Mike, had spent the last couple of weeks with his grandparents, right after his graduation from eighth grade. Brendas parents had come up to Chickasaw County to see their only grandsons graduation and ended up taking Mike back with them to spend a few weeks.
J.D. had used Mike as an excuse to head south to Terrebonne, but Mike wasnt due to come back home until just before Aarons wedding. J.D. hadnt wanted his family to know his real reason for coming here until he found out more about Carrie Grays murder. Theyd worry about him, and J.D. was tired of being the object of everyones concern.
Hows Stevie? he asked aloud to change the subject.
Hes great! Luke answered. Abbys been teaching him to speak Spanish, and hes starting to get better at it than I am.
J.D. laughed. Well, tell him hola from his Tio J.D. Im going to hang down here a little longer. Tell Dad he can get Jasper Noble to take care of any boat maintenance issues that come up while Im gone. Jasper loves being useful since he retired
How much longer? Luke couldnt hide the surprise in his voice. Though Luke had been away from the family for ten years before his recent return to the fold, hed apparently heard enough family gossip to know J.D. rarely visited Terrebonne anymore.
A few days. No more than a week. He hoped.
Okay. Ill tell everyone.
Thanks. Hey, is Gabe anywhere around?
Hes out unloading his boat. Just came in from a guiding job. You want me to have him call you?
Yeah, do that. J.D. might not want the rest of his family to worry about him, but he wanted Gabe to know what he was really up to. After all, Gabe had put his life on the line to solve Brendas murder just a few weeks earlier, taking on a psychopath whod been holding Alicia hostage.
A psychopath J.D. intended to visit in the Okaloosa County Jail up in Millbridge as soon as the visit could be arranged. Because Marlon Dyson wasnt just a crazy stalker. Hed been partners with the man J.D. believed had killed his wife.
Gabe called a few minutes later, and J.D. gave him a quick rundown on his reason for heading south to Terrebonne in the first place. I wanted to get the local view of things, just to be sure, he told his younger brother.
And what did you find out?
Its our guy. Im almost positive.
Gabe was silent for a long moment. Do you think hes picked up a new partner?
Thats a question for your girl, I guess. Gabes new girlfriend, Alicia, was close to getting her doctorate in criminal psychology, and shed been the one whod figured out there were two killers at work in the series of murders J.D. and his family had been trying to solve. Over the course of those years, the alpha killer, as Alicia termed him, had worked with at least two partners that they knew ofVictor Logan, whod died in a mysterious house explosion a couple of months earlier, and Marlon Dyson. And while youre at it, I want you to have her call up her friend in the Millbridge Police Department and get me in to see Dyson.
J.D., are you sure thats a good idea?
I think its a damned good idea, J.D. answered firmly, ignoring the wriggling sensation in his gut that belied the confidence in his voice. Dyson helped that son of a bitch kill three women in the past year. Maybe more.
Even the FBI cant get him to talk. What makes you think you can?
Im motivated, J.D. answered flatly.
Yeah, Im a little worried about just how motivated you are, Gabe responded.
Dont try to stop me. Youre already on my bad side for keeping this information from me as long as you did. His little brother had a bad habit of trying to protect J.D. when it came to this murder investigation. Some sort of misplaced guilt for having screwed up and gotten to Brendas place of work later than hed agreed, J.D. knew. Gabe blamed himself, as if he could have stopped what happened to Brenda if hed just been on time.
But he couldnt know that. Nobody could. The cold air that November night had slowed decomposition, making it hard to be sure when shed died. Could have been a few minutes before Gabe arrived. Could have been as much as an hour. He could have been on time and still been too late.
On the other hand, if J.D. had left the Navy when shed wanted him to, she probably wouldnt have been working at the trucking company in the first place
Maybe I should meet you in Millbridge, Gabe suggested. I could go in with you to see him
J.D. snorted. Like you could stop me if I went after him.
I figure the guards would take care of that, Gabe shot back flatly. Id be there to pay the bail.
J.D. grinned at the phone. Ill be fine, Gabe. I promise. His grin faded. Im this close to finding the son of a bitch who killed Brenda. Im not going to screw it up by losing my head.
Gabes answering silence was an unwanted reminder of just how close to the edge J.D. had gone over the past twelve years. Wild-goose chases, con artists trying to earn a buck off his grief, the emotional roller-coaster ride of chasing leads that never panned outtheyd all worked together to crush his fading hope and lead him to some very dark places over the past few years.
His family had worked overtime to keep him from falling apart. At times, theyd been all that kept him sane.
He broke the silence. Will you see if Alicia can set it up? And call me back with when and where?
Of course, Gabe agreed. J.D., Luke said you havent even seen Mike yet. You left town two days ago. Whats the holdup?
J.D. looked down at the files in front of him. I dont like him to see me this way.
Obsessed?
Focused, J.D. corrected. Im looking at files I dont want him to see.
Youve been doing that for a lot of years now. Looking at things you dont want him to see. Gabes voice held no censure, only a bleak sadness that resonated in J.D.s own heart.
J.D. knew hed let his grief and rage steal too much time from his kids, not seeing until too late that he was throwing away moments, hours and experiences he could never get back. Thank God for his parents, whod given his children the time, attention and unconditional love hed been too broken to offer.
He was trying to repair the damage, one step at a time. But Cissy was nearly grown up now, heading into her junior year of college, and Mike would be entering high school this fall, taking giant steps toward an independent life of his own.
J.D. was running out of time to fix things with his kids.
Alicias down in Millbridge this week, tying up some loose ends, Gabe said when J.D. didnt answer. Ill get her to talk to her friend Tony about arranging for you to visit Dyson.
Thats the cop ex-boyfriend?
Yeah, Gabe said wryly. Hes not happy about her leaving Millbridge to be with me, but hes a decent guy. Hell help you out if he can.
Thanks, Gabe. I owe you.
Not in a million years. Emotion tinted Gabes voice, and J.D. knew he was thinking about how hed let Brenda down. J.D. didnt bother trying to talk him out of his guilt. Hed told his brother that he didnt blame him. Hed said what needed saying. Now it was up to Gabe to work through his own guilt whatever way he needed to.
Not in a million years. Emotion tinted Gabes voice, and J.D. knew he was thinking about how hed let Brenda down. J.D. didnt bother trying to talk him out of his guilt. Hed told his brother that he didnt blame him. Hed said what needed saying. Now it was up to Gabe to work through his own guilt whatever way he needed to.
J.D. knew a lot about dealing with guilt.
He said goodbye to Gabe and hung up, his mind already fast-forwarding to what hed say when he finally saw Marlon Dyson face-to-face. Hed wanted to visit Dyson in jail as soon as Gabe had told him the whole story behind the mans involvement with the alpha killer.
Dyson had slipped up once and called him Alex to Alicias face before clamming up. J.D. wanted to see if he could use that small chink in the armor to get Dyson to open up some more. But to this point, the Millbridge Police had been stingy with Dyson, refusing to let J.D. visit the man in jail.
Dyson had been the alphas partner, apparently tasked with hunting and culling victims for the man he called Alex to stalk and kill. Hed been caught last month, attempting to go rogue by stalking and killing his own choice of victimAlicia, with whom Dyson had worked as lab instructors at Mill Valley University.
So far, he hadnt admitted to anything but the attempt on Alicias life, although police and prosecutors were gathering circumstantial evidence to build a case against him for the three coed murders committed in Millbridge over the last six months.
But J.D. hadnt had a crack at him yet.
For now, however, it was dinnertime and he was starving. Hed seen a little hole-in-the-wall diner down the road that had looked like a good bet for some home cooking.
At the diner, he ordered a barbecue-pork sandwich and beer-battered onion rings from a woman he quickly learned was the diners owner, Margo, a bottle-blonde in her late forties. Shed pegged J.D. as new to town immediately and, like a lot of Southerners when strangers came to their small towns, Margo was friendly but waryuntil she heard J.D.s slow, Southern drawl and realized he was Alabama born-and-bred. She quickly warmed to him, sitting with him at his solitary table while he ate and telling him everything she knew about everyone in the diner.
By the time he polished off a bowl of peach cobbler and vanilla ice cream, he felt as if he knew the business of everyone in town.
He turned the discussion to Carrie Grays murder, certain Margo probably knew more about what was going on in Terrebonne, Alabama, than even the cops knew. I ran into her sisterNatalie, I think her name is.
Margos eyes lit up at the mention of the name. Oh, lord, that girl sure knows how to stir up a mess. When she decided not to go into the family business, you could hear old Darden Becker whoopin and hollerin all the way to Mobile.
He didnt think she should be a deputy sheriff?
Good grief, no. The girl went to Yale, for pitys sake. Can you imagine sending your girl to a place like that for four years, only to see her up and join the sheriffs department after all that schooling? Im surprised he didnt ask for his money back! Margo laughed with delight. Oh, Natalies a fine enough deputy. She was promoted to investigator just this past spring. Dont reckon old Roy Tatum wouldve done so if she wasnt pulling her weight around there.
Is she married? J.D. asked, though he wasnt sure why. It didnt really matter, did it? He hadnt even thought to ask about her marital status earlier, when hed been asking people in Millies Pub about her.
But that was before you got an up-close look at those big green eyes, Cooper.
Margos gaze fell to the wedding band on his left hand, then snapped up to look him in the eyes. Why do you ask? Her voice was suddenly wary.
He felt a flush warm his face, as if shed caught him at something he wasnt supposed to be doing. He forced himself not to cover the ring with his other hand. He wasnt pumping Margo for information about Natalie Becker so he could ask her out on a date, after all. He had nothing to feel guilty about. No reason, really. Just wondered if her daddy disapproved of her choice in men, too.
Suppose it would depend on the man.
What did they think of Carries husband?
That she was lucky to catch him. Hamilton Grays slipped the noose more than once since he was a boy, though God knows every girl in towns been after him at some point.
Even Natalie?
No, not Natalie. She never has liked him much. Margo lowered her voice. I hear she thinks he had something to do with her sisters murder.
What do you think? J.D. asked.
I cant see the motive. He wouldnt get her moneyold Darden Becker made sure there was an airtight prenup. And I dont reckon hed have tired of a pretty little thing like Carrie so soon after the wedding. Besides, I heard he had an alibi.
Alibis could be deceiving. Say, do you know anyone around town named Alex?
Margos forehead bunched with thought. I think Ruby Stiller over on Beacon Road has a grandson named Alex. Why?
He couldnt tell her the truth, so he improvised. I ran into a guy at the gas station yesterday. Said his name was Alex. We got to talking about fishing and he said he could show me some good spots, but I forgot to get his phone number.
Thats definitely not Rubys grandsonthat kids in kindergarten.
Maybe Im remembering the name wrong.
Well, if its fishing youre after, you should hunt down Rudy Lawler. He lives up the road a waysjust out past Annabelles, in fact, maybe a mile or so.
Annabellesthats the place where Carrie Gray was murdered? he asked, even though he knew very well it was.
Thats right. Carrie bought the restaurant a few months ago and was trying to get it ready to reopen. Margo pointed right, toward the west. Its about a half mile up the road.
J.D. gently pushed his plate away. Its been a real pleasure meeting you, Margo. Ill be back, Im sure.
Margo smiled brightly at him. You just tell your friends about Margos, okay?
She walked him out, waiting in the door while he slid behind the steering wheel. J.D. waved goodbye, then pulled out on the highway. But he didnt head back to the motel.
He headed up the road to Annabelles.
AT 6:00 P.M., THE SUN was only just reaching the horizon, still hot enough to make Natalie wish shed left her jacket in the Lexus. But shed stopped off at her house to get her spare weapon, and she didnt like walking around with her holster showing, not even at a place as secluded as Annabelles.
The restaurant had once been a favorite among Terrebonne locals, one of the few nice restaurants in the sleepy little bayside town. Then Annabelle Saveau and her husband, Marcel, had moved back to New Orleans to take care of Marcels aging parents after Hurricane Katrina, selling the property to a real estate speculator whod thought the restaurant and surrounding acres of scenic woods would be an easy sell.
Years later, it was still for sale when Carrie decided she was tired of running the Human Resources Department at Bayside Oil and wanted a different career. Natalies sister had bought the place a couple of months ago.
It had become the place of her death.
Oh, Carrie, why were you so fearless? she murmured, walking around the low-slung building until she could see the back door. Carries body had been found in the kitchen, laid out supine, as if she were merely asleep. Of course, the slashing stab wounds in her abdomen, and the blood pooling around her body gave the real story away.