Chapter 16

Adam and Tabitha sat side by side in two dining room chairs that had been placed in the center of my living room. Their hands were behind their backs, and when I saw their bound feet, I realized their hands must also be bound.

At first, I thought Adam was naked. Then I noticed the black bikini briefs. Tabitha wore a white, lacy Teddy. Even under these bizarre circumstances, I felt a brief flash of envy at how tanned and toned her bare legs were. Her face was pale and splotched with tears. Her blue eyes were wide and bewildered, like someone receiving bad news they hadn’t quite accepted.

A man stood with his back to the door, but he swung around when I came in. We stared at one another, the silence almost palpable, as mutual recognition bloomed between us.

It took a few seconds to really register who he was. Without the tattered watch cap, the grimy, shredded coat, and the wires connecting him to the ever-present CD player, I almost didn’t know him.

Finally, I found my voice. “I don’t understand. What…?”

But I did understand. Headphone was the killer.

“Monroe? What are you doing here?” He sounded angry and confused. It occurred to me it was the first time I’d ever heard him speak. His voice was deep, melodious, not at all what I’d have imagined.

He held a pistol pointed straight at my chest. I thought of the .22 but knew he’d shoot me before I could possibly fumble it out of my pocket. I was dimly aware that the song, “Escape,” had ended… and started again. The professor was right. Headphone really did like this song.

“I’m sorry.” Headphone said, sounding truly sorrowful. “I really liked you. I don’t want to do this.”

Oh, God. He was going to kill me. Tears welled in my throat, but I was so frozen with fear, they didn’t fall.

“Drag a chair in here,” he said.

“Huh?”

He motioned impatiently with the gun. “Get a chair. I’ll have to tie you up, too.”

I was never so relieved at the thought of being bound to a chair and held captive. Damn sure beat the other option that had flitted through my brain.

I headed into the kitchen, aware of the gun pointed at my back, and grabbed one of the two chairs left. Headphone took it from me and placed it a few feet away from Adam’s.

“Sit,” he commanded.

I sat. He took a length of rope from a duffle bag and bound my hands and feet.

“That’s not too tight, is it?”

I shook my head, bewildered by his conciliatory manner, combined with his decidedly non-conciliatory actions. Now wasn’t the time, however, to puzzle out a conundrum such as this. Now was the time to figure out how to get out of this alive. And maybe get Adam and Tabitha out alive, too. The jury was still out on that one.

The bulge in my pocket caught Headphone’s attention and he reached in and took the .22.

“Sorry. Can’t let you keep this.”

“Who are you, really?” I asked once he had me secured to the chair.

He turned to Tabitha. “Tell her.”

She slowly lifted her head, frowning. “What?”

“Tell her who I am.”

Her lips tightened and a fresh wave of tears poured from her eyes. “My ex. He’s my ex-husband.”

Headphone nodded like she’d passed some kind of test. “Yes. I’m Tabitha’s ex-husband. Derek. D.J.”

“But you…” I shook my head. “Why were you outside… homeless?”

“It was the only way to be close to her.” His gaze swung to Tabitha. “I watched you, you know. Every day. You thought you were so smart with your restraining order, thought you could keep me away. But I was closer to you these past few weeks than you would have possibly thought I could be. Of course, had you not been so self-absorbed, I wouldn’t have gotten away with it. But, you never really saw me. Never saw them. As if they’re not worth your notice. Less than human.”

Tabitha frowned again. “You’re doing this because I treated homeless people badly?”

A burst of laughter left him. “Oh, my dear. You are beautiful, but not exactly God’s most intelligent creature. I’m doing this because you betrayed me. Because, you’re mine. Only mine. You know, I kept thinking that you’d come back to me. That you’d see you really loved me. Then, when I found out about your engagement, I knew. You were never coming back.” His eyes narrowed and he shook his head. “But you’re still mine. Always will be. You’ll die mine.”

Tabitha let out a little whimper and a fresh rush of tears fell from her eyes. Headphone—no, Derek—laughed. “You’re scared? Hurt? Now you know how I felt. How I feel.”

The song started again. Tabitha squeezed her eyes shut. “Can you please turn that off?”

“Why, honey,” Derek said, “it’s your favorite song, right?” He started singing along with the song, loudly and out of tune.

Tabitha’s whimpering turned to a high-pitched wail. “Please,” she begged. “Please stop this, let us go. I’m sorry, please, please…”

“Remember?” Derek said, ignoring her pleas. “We listened to it constantly during our honeymoon. The beach, the moon, the umbrella drinks. And, this song. When you left me, I found this CD on the floor of our bedroom. Discarded, cast away just like our marriage.”

“Look, man—” Adam began. Derek pounced on him and cracked him across the jaw with the gun.

I yelped. “No! What are you—”

“Shut up!” Derek screamed at Adam. “You don’t speak, got it?”

Adam stared up at him, a line of blood oozing from his jaw. His eyes were wet and glittered with pain… or rage. Maybe both.

Derek’s gaze swung to me. “They have to pay, Monroe. You know that, right? I won’t kill you… can’t. You’re a victim just like I am. Plus, you have a good heart, unlike this self-centered whore I married. You saw the homeless. Really saw us. You cared. Not them, though. They only cared about themselves. What they wanted, no matter who it hurt. You do see why, right? See why they have to die?”

“No one has to die,” I said. “You can stop this.” I glanced to where Tabitha and Adam sat, their expressions frozen in terror. “Don’t you think they’ve been punished enough?”

His gaze followed mine. He shook his head. “No. I don’t think they’ve been punished enough. Not nearly enough.”

****

“Is Adam Utley here?” Lane asked the receptionist as soon as he and Tony stepped off the elevator. He flipped open his badge, even though they were here a few weeks ago and she probably knew they were cops.

“I’m not sure,” she said, smiling pleasantly and reaching for the phone. “One moment and I’ll check.”

As he waited, the phone on his belt vibrated. He picked it up. “Brody.”

“I’m at Utley’s. No one’s answering the door.” It was Kramer.

“Is his car there?”

“Not in the driveway. Could be in the garage, can’t see through the window. Want us to go in or wait for a warrant?”

“Can’t wait. They’re in danger. Try again. If no one comes to the door, go inside. Call me when you’re in.”

“Lane?” a female voice.

He slipped his phone back in its case and turned to find Asia coming through the glass door. His gaze searched the room behind her, trying to catch a glimpse of Utley. Hoping he might also catch a glimpse of Monroe.

“Asia, hi. Is Utley around?”

She shook her head. “He took off for a few days.”

“Shit,” Lane murmured.

“Is everything okay?” Then she shook her head and laughed, a short, humorless sound. “Well, I know everything’s not okay. I mean, come on. The murders, the obituaries… weird. But, I mean, is everything okay with Adam?”

Lane ignored her question. “What about Tabitha? Do you know where she might be?”

Asia’s brows drew together in a frown. “No. I don’t. What’s going on? Is Monroe okay?”

“Monroe? Why wouldn’t she be? She’s not here?”

Asia shook her head. “She took off for a few days, too.”

Lane tried to ignore the tight feeling in his chest. “With Utley?”

“No. No way. With Josie. They went to the cabin.”

“Cabin?”

Asia nodded. “She and Josie have a cabin at Lake Viking.”

“Do you know where Utley went? Was he planning a trip?”

“Have no idea. You might try the cabin.”

“I thought you said Monroe went there and they didn’t go away together.”

“I did. But that asshole has used her cabin before, without permission. He might be doing it again.”

Lane’s phone rang again.

“We’re inside,” Kramer said. “No one’s around. No sign of a struggle, but the bedding is rumpled.”

“I’m heading that way. What about a car?”

“There’s a pink Ferrari in the garage. It’s a four-car garage and there’s just the one. I’m betting the Ferrari belongs to the girlfriend. You know what Utley drives?”

“No, but I’ll find out.”

“Let’s go,” Lane told Tony when he ended the call. “No one’s at Utley’s place.”

“What’s happening?” Asia asked.

“Not sure,” Lane said, heading for the exit.

“You’d tell me if something was wrong with Monroe, right?”

“This has nothing to do with her. She’s fine,” Lane said, but worry had started to slither in his gut. The killer was using her obituaries, after all. She’d dated Utley. She still worked for him. Could this have something to do with her? Could she be in danger?

“What about Harmon?” Tony’s question interrupted his thoughts. “Should we talk to him?”

Lane nodded as they stepped back onto the elevator. “We’ll call him. Also, we need to call Utley and Carrington’s family members. See if anyone knows where they might be.”

He reached for his phone. First, he was calling Monroe.

****

“Don’t you want him… want them, to pay for what they’ve done to you?” Derek asked.

“No. I’ve moved on. I realized that if we were meant to be together, we would be. I’m better off without someone who would cheat on me,” I said, trying not to think about how bizarre it was to be discussing my emotional journey with a killer.

Between the slats of the plantation blinds on the living room window, I could see the encroaching darkness. Evening had started to fall and I hadn’t been aware of its arrival. How long had I been here? Would someone be looking for me? Would Lane?

Derek paced between the chairs, first behind Adam and Tabitha, then between us, then behind me. All the time, he kept a running litany of all the wrong that had been done to him.

“What about Richard Hebringer?” I asked. “Laurel? What did they do to you?”

He stopped in front of my chair, but his eyes were on Adam and Tabitha. “They were conspirators. They aided in the deception.”

I wasn’t sure exactly what he meant, but figured if I waited, he’d elaborate. Not to have ever heard him speak before, I was certainly getting a large dose of his voice now.

I wasn’t disappointed.

“Hebringer was the desk clerk at the bed and breakfast where the lovebirds liked to sneak off. He knew they weren’t married. He catered to the sleazy clientele who wanted to sneak away and betray the ones who trusted them. Then, Laurel—”

At that moment, my cell phone rang. I jumped. Derek turned and looked at me. “Was that yours?”

I nodded.

“Ignore it.”

I nodded again. I hadn’t really thought he would allow me to answer and chat with whoever was calling. I wondered if it were Josie.

“Laurel,” he continued, “knew the whole time. She pretended to be my friend. She even acted indignant that you would betray me, pretended to feel bad for me after you left me. But, in reality, she helped you. Helped you hide it from me. Helped you sneak away, made excuses for you so I wouldn’t know what you were doing.”

Tabitha didn’t respond. She sat in the chair, trembling, still crying. How many tears could one woman shed? I would have thought she’d dry up by now. Adam had been silent since Derek struck him. His jaw was starting to swell. He looked miserable and terrified. I couldn’t help but feel sorry for him. I even felt sorry for Tabitha.

Were we all going to die? Derek said he couldn’t kill me, but the man didn’t seem very trustworthy. Besides, I didn’t want to watch him kill Adam and Tabitha either. I mean, admittedly, it had been a fantasy I’d entertained from time to time, but I didn’t really mean it. I wanted them to be unhappy, sure. Fat, poor, disease-ridden, yeah. But not murdered.

Because I’d seen a lot of movies, and because stalling seemed to be a popular tactic used by kidnap victims, I kept Derek talking.

“What about the obituaries? Why did you put them in the paper?”

Derek shrugged. “Thought it would be a good way to fuck with our boy here. His paper, after all. Kind of an extra little dig, you know. To announce the murders in his paper.”

“Clever,” I said, and was surprised that I really meant it.

Derek looked at Adam and shook his head. “Do you have any idea what kind of woman she is? You had so much better before. And you threw it all away for her?” He shot Tabitha a disgusted look and shook his head. I didn’t bring up the irony of the great lengths he’d gone because of his love for Tabitha.

“Did she tell you about the baby?”

“What baby?” Adam mumbled, obviously having difficulty speaking through the pain.

“When I met Tabitha, I had a child. A little boy. He was two. I wasn’t married to his mother, but had visiting rights. We were close. I would have made a good dad. Tabitha didn’t want me to see him. Didn’t like that he took part of my time, not to mention money that could have been spent on her. We had several fights about it, but I finally gave in. I signed away my rights to my son. For her.” His eyes misted over. “I loved my son. I really did. But I was so madly in love with Tabitha. And, she promised me we’d have a child of our own. Promised me she’d spend the rest of her life making me happy.” He went silent for a moment, then slowly walked closer to Adam and Tabitha. “Did you tell him, Tabitha?”

She didn’t answer.

He looked down at Adam. “Did she? Did she tell you she was pregnant?”

Adam flinched and I knew she hadn’t.

“Yes,” Derek went on. “She was pregnant with my child. Only, she never told me. Instead, she killed our baby. She had an abortion without telling me.”

I gasped, and Adam’s face paled. He looked at Tabitha with something close to disgust. I thought it a little incongruous that we could be held by a murdering psychopath and still be shocked by Tabitha’s callous act. I knew how much Adam wanted children. His first wife hadn’t given him any. Although he and I never discussed marriage, he said many times he hoped someday to be a father. I guess Tabitha’s betrayal hit close to home. If she could do it to her first husband, she could do it to him, too.

“Adam, he’s lying. I would never—”

“Shut up!” Derek screamed, and I thought he was going to hit Tabitha, too. He didn’t. Instead, he smiled.

“I want to hear the story,” he said, his voice as pleasant as if he were inviting her to afternoon tea.

“Story?” Tabitha said in a trembling rasp.

“The story of how the affair started. Tell us all about it. I never really got the chance to find out. How did it start? We want details, don’t we, Monroe?”

I said nothing.

Tabitha didn’t respond right away, and Derek leaned down, so close to her face it looked like he might kiss her. “Tell us!” he screamed. “Tell us how the fuck it started.”

She shrank back from him, her eyes as big around as softballs. “I don’t… I’m not…”

My phone rang again, and Derek whirled toward me. “Where is it? Where’s your phone?”

“In my jacket pocket,” I said, then, remembering the razor blade and afraid he’d search me and find it, even though I wasn’t sure if or how I’d be able to use it, I said, “The same one where the gun was.”

He came over to me and reached into that pocket, pulling out my phone.

Holding it up, he peered at the display. “Detective Brody?” he said. “Why would a cop be calling you? What have you done? Did you get a message to them somehow?”

I shook my head, feeling my heart soar that it was Lane calling. “No. How would I have? He doesn’t know anything. We’re seeing each other,” I blurted.

Derek’s eyes narrowed suspiciously. “Then why do you have him stored as Detective Brody?”

I rolled my eyes, as if it were obvious. “I programmed him in before we started dating. I just haven’t bothered to change it.” I wasn’t sure if he was buying it or not. Before he had too much time to think, I rushed on, “He doesn’t know anything’s happening, but if I don’t answer, don’t call him back, he’ll start to wonder. He’ll be worried. Might even come out here to check things out. Cops have a way of finding people, you know. He could track my phone.”

He hesitated, then said, “Okay, call. But I’m listening in. Don’t try anything.”

“Will you untie me?”

He shook his head. “I’ll dial.”

He punched the callback button on my phone and stuck it to my ear. He put his head close to mine, so he could hear what was said. Although I would have expected foul odors to emanate from him, instead, I smelled mint and some kind of musky aftershave. Even while posing as a homeless person, he obviously paid attention to hygiene.

In seconds, Lane came on the line. “Monroe?” His voice was so full of relief, so very precious, I almost cried.

“Hey, sweetie,” I said brightly.

There was a pause. “Hi. Is everything okay?”

“Yeah. Fine. I just miss you. We haven’t been apart for this long since we started seeing each other.”

Another pause. “Right. Yeah. I miss you, too.”

“Just thought I’d let you know, I’m on my way to meet Katie.” I hoped he’d get the message that something was wrong, although I wasn’t sure what he’d do about it… what he could do about it. I couldn’t say I was at the cabin. Derek wouldn’t be very happy about that.

“Katie?”

“Yeah. I’ll be there soon.”

“I thought you and Josie were heading to the cabin.”

“No. Josie had to work.”

Between the pretend dating, going to see Katie, and the idea that Josie had a job, surely he’d know all was not well. Even if he did, though, I didn’t think he could find me. Yes, as I told Derek, the police could trace cell phones, but I was pretty sure they had to have a warrant. And, I wasn’t sure how exact the trace would be, even if he could do it immediately, which I doubted.

“You’re going to see Katie,” he said incredulously.

“Yes.” A loud static sounded in my ear and I held my breath, afraid I’d lose the signal and Lane would be gone.

I almost cried with relief when I heard his voice through the distortion. “Where? Where are you going to see Katie?”

I looked up at Derek. I couldn’t think of a way to give Lane a hint without tipping Derek off. My mind wasn’t working properly, although in my defense, it was no wonder under the circumstances. “Her place,” I said, then wished I hadn’t. I might send him on a wild goose chase to Katie’s grave, but I couldn’t think of anything else to say. I’d meant ‘her place’ as in, death, but Lane wouldn’t know that.

“I see,” he said slowly. I sensed his uncertainty, his worry, through the phone. Derek motioned for me to cut it off.

“I have to go. I’ll talk to you later,” I said, feeling tears clog my throat. I didn’t want to break the connection. Didn’t want to lose the sound of his voice.

“Take care of yourself. I’ll see you soon, okay?” he said, as if making me a promise.

“Yeah, okay.” I tried but failed to keep the tremor out of my words.

“Monroe?” Lane said, his voice low, soothing.

“Yeah?”

“I love you.”

I drew in a sharp breath that turned into a sob and briefly closed my eyes, savoring his words. I hadn’t expected that. I knew we were playacting, but the way his declaration affected me was so very real. Too real.

“Yeah, you too,” I said, barely able to squeeze the words past the knot in my throat. “I’ll see you soon.”