Chapter Four
“Now what do we do?” Jesse asked. “We were so close to nabbing him.”
“I’ll tell you what we can’t do. We can’t give up.” Sebastian fumed. “If we got that close once, next time he won’t get away. He can’t have gone very far, there hasn’t been enough time.”
“What happens if there is no next time?” Rob asked. “What happens if this was the only chance we had?”
“Well, I for one am not giving up so easily. That bastard turned my life upside down when he murdered my wife and I want him to pay for that. He left my son without the most important person in his life. I’ll be there for him because I love him but he doesn’t have a mother anymore,” Sebastian grumbled. “Besides, he’s already made one mistake. His latest victim got away and through her, we at least know what he looks like and how he gets around. I can’t see this killer letting her live too much longer. We have to find her before he does.”
“That’s true, but that same victim is now missing and we don’t know for sure if he’s got her or if she left on her own.” Ian pointed out. He tried to overlook Sebastian’s last statement, but in all conscience couldn’t. “I’ve been told you would do your best to bring this killer in to stand trial, but it doesn’t sound like you can do that. It sounds more like you are going after him for revenge.”
Sebastian nodded. “It might sound like it and I don’t blame you for thinking that, but I know I can’t get my life back. My wife is gone and nothing I do is going to bring her back, so all I have left is making sure the man responsible spends the rest of his miserable life in jail.”
Ian stared at him for a long moment and nodded. Before he could comment, the phone rang again. Ian reached out and answered the call. He listened for a moment then hung up. His face was grim. “That was the hospital. Someone found Sable Willows a little while ago.”
“Where was she?” Jesse asked.
“A city park patrolman found her hiding in a playhouse not too far from the hospital. She had passed out again from loss of blood. She ripped open the stitches on her side.”
“Did she say anything about why she left the hospital?” Sebastian asked.
Ian shook his head. “The doctor told me that she was babbling incoherently about the fact that she couldn’t get away from him, and that he told her he would always be able to find her. He didn’t know what that meant but I think we do.”
Everyone turned and looked at Jesse. Whether they liked it or not the evidence was pointing right to him.
Jesse just stared back at them with a cold look on his face.
Sebastian headed for the door, but Ian called him back, “The doctor in charge lists her condition as critical. They’ve put her on life support and have her sedated. No one can talk to her right now.”
Everyone was quiet for a moment, and then Rob told his boss, “I’m going over to the hospital. We made a critical error before by not giving her protection, and the killer got to her. That won’t happen again, not on my watch,” he vowed.
Ian nodded. “Take a uniformed officer with you. I don’t want anyone getting to her.” Ian reached for the phone. “I’ll call the boat patrol and tell them to search every avenue and backwater branch they can find. I’m not giving up; the boat has to be somewhere.”
Sebastian went out to the desk he’d been using and reached for the phone. He was going to call Alec. Maybe if the killer left this area he went back to New Orleans. Alec could be looking down there.
“Hunter.”
“Alec, we have a problem.”
“I was just going to call you. You have a problem on this end too,” Alec told him. “Tell me what’s happening up there.”
“I told you earlier that the killer has been getting around by boat, actually it’s a houseboat. Anyway, the boat patrol up here found it then temporary lost sight of it, so we think the killer is tipped off that we know his mode of transportation. Captain Nevell has them looking up and down the river and in all the backwater areas right now, but I wanted you to be looking for the boat down there as well.”
“That makes sense. He might just have come back down here, especially if he wants you to follow him.”
“What are you talking about?” Sebastian wanted to know.
“Before we get into that little surprise, I need to let you know what I found out when I paid Paul Moran a visit. I didn’t find Mr. Moran, but I did find a trashed house and blood everywhere. He hasn’t been at work and no one knows where he could be. His family is worried and filed a missing person’s report last week.”
“Why didn’t that show up in his background check?” Sebastian wondered out loud.
“I don’t know, but I’m betting that when I get down to Myrtle Grove, I don’t find Nick Granger either,” Alec surmised.
“Yeah, well let me know how that goes. What did you mean when you said the killer wants me to follow him?” Sebastian asked.
“A letter came for you at the station this morning. The words were cut out of several magazines and pasted on paper—” Alec started to tell him but was interrupted by Sebastian.
“If it was addressed to me why did you open it?”
Alec hesitated a moment, wondering just how much he should tell him. “It had a dark stain on the front.”
“What kind of dark stain?” Sebastian asked already knowing the answer.
“It turned out to be a blood stain.”
“Whose blood was it?” Sebastian asked quietly.
“It matched Carolyn’s blood type,” Alec replied quietly.
Sebastian felt a devastating blow to his heart. For a moment, he couldn’t speak. Finally he asked, “What did the letter say?”
“He wants to see if you can find him before he kills again.”
Sebastian was silent for a minute. “What were his exact words?”
“The entire letter reads, ‘Can you come out to play a little game of Hide and Seek? The rules are you have to find me before I find another Carolyn. That’s the only rule.’ Pretty sick if you ask me.”
Sebastian knew his partner, and he knew when his partner was holding something back. “What else was in the envelope?” He heard Alec take a deep breath.
Alec hesitated. “There was a lock of Carolyn’s hair and a picture of her.” He paused and then had to ask, “How did you know there would be something else in the envelope?”
Sebastian didn’t speak for a minute. “I knew because I’m beginning to know this creep. He would want make it worth my while to keep coming after him.”
“And did he? I mean did he offer you just enough for you to go after him?” Alec asked his partner.
“He did that when he murdered my wife. Alec, I want you to look after Wyatt and Janet. This killer won’t hesitate to go after them if I don’t play his little game and I don’t want them anywhere near him.”
“Have you found your witness yet?”
“Yeah, somebody found her and she’s back in the hospital under guard. She may not make it this time, though.”
“That’s too bad; I was hoping she would make it. I’ll move Janet and Wyatt to a safe house and run down Nick Granger. If I find anything out, I’ll let you know. If you need anything, call me.” Alec ended the call.
Sebastian stared at the phone for a minute, and then got up to inform Ian of the exchange.
Ian wasn’t happy with the news. “Damn, he’s making this personal isn’t he?” Ian stared at Sebastian. “And he’s aiming his sights right on you. Why is that do you suppose?”
“I think he wanted it this way for the beginning. The real question is why? What did I do to deserve this honor?”
“I think because you were very close to discovering who he really is,” came Jesse’s voice from the doorway.
Sebastian turned to look at Jesse. “What do you mean?”
“You were getting too close to him and he had to find a way to stop you before you could stop him. I think that’s why he killed your wife.” Jesse looked somber.
“And just what are you basing your conclusion on?” Sebastian asked.
“In the four years I’ve been working this case, I’ve followed hundreds of leads that didn’t turn out. They led nowhere. This killer is very clever that way. But you found out something he doesn’t want anyone to know. Something he feels will lead the police right to him. He sees you as a threat. So he killed your wife in an attempt to get you as far away from the case as possible.”
“He doesn’t really know me that well then does he?” Sebastian stated. “What he did when he killed Carolyn was make sure that I would follow him. This won’t be over until I see him in prison or he kills me too.”
Jesse nodded. “He miscalculated the strength of your resolve, but he also knows that your jurisdiction is limited. If he takes himself out of Louisiana what are you going to do then?”
Sebastian thought about that question for a moment. He hadn’t really thought that far ahead. The rage he’d felt at the cemetery was still inside him. He felt it every waking moment. “If he wants to play hide and seek with me, he better have picked a good hiding spot. The game is about to get very rough.”
“At what cost?” Jesse asked.
“What do you mean?” Sebastian raised a brow as he sensed a threat in the veiled question.
“How far are you willing to go to get this guy off the street?”
“Do you mean am I willing to kill him before he can kill someone else? Yes, without even hesitating and I wouldn’t lose a wink of sleep over it either,” Sebastian stated.
“What are you going to do if he goes after what’s left of your family?” Jesse asked still playing the devil’s advocate. He knew he was pushing but he had to know just how far Sebastian would go.
“My family is protected,” Sebastian assured him. He didn’t tell the FBI agent any more than that. He still wasn’t one hundred per cent sure about Jesse, and he decided to be safe rather than risk his son’s life.
“I hope so, because if he’s cornered, he may lash out at the one person he feels is responsible and that would be you,” Jesse warned.
Ian could feel the tension escalating between the two men. “I don’t mean to put a damper on your emotions guys, but we still have to find this bastard. I suggest you save the speculation until we do.”
Jesse looked over at Ian and nodded.
Sebastian didn’t say a word, he just left the room. On his way out, he picked up the tape Callie had dropped off this morning and decided to watch it again. He was still sure there was something on the tape they had missed.
Two hours later, he sat up in his chair and grabbed the remote. He rewound the tape and began watching it again. This time he was looking for something specific. As he neared the spot he thought he saw it before, he leaned closer to the screen.
He sat back and smiled as he froze the frame. They had missed it earlier. Pointing his finger at the screen like a gun, he pulled an invisible trigger at the screen. “Got ya, sucker.”
Sebastian grinned as he used the equipment to print a photo from the tape. He had his first real piece of evidence that showed what the killer looked like. When the picture came out of the printer, Sebastian took it and the tape; he wasn’t going to let the tape out of his possession. He didn’t want anyone misplacing it.
He’d been so busy that he had lost all track of time. When he left the office he’d been in, the station house was almost empty. He looked toward the window and found that it was dark outside. He found a note Jesse had left saying he was going back to the motel, so Sebastian decided to call the hospital and check on Sable.
A few minutes later, he was on his way to the motel. Kelly, the night nurse at the hospital had told him that Sable was doing as well as could be expected. The doctors were keeping her sedated. She told him that the guard was still in place and that Rob had gone home already.
Sebastian realized that he too, was tired. The emotional roller coaster he was on had just about worn him out. He felt good about the picture though; at least they had some idea what the killer looked like. But that too brought a problem. What would Jesse say when he saw it?
When he pulled into the motel’s parking lot, he parked next to Jesse’s sedan. His old blue Pontiac looked rather shabby next to the dark sedan but Sebastian didn’t mind. Carolyn had loved his old blue car. Sebastian smiled as the memories trickled into his brain.
He stopped them before the pain of her loss could filter in and he made his way to the room he was staying in.
As he opened the door, he saw a letter lying on the floor just inside the door. Putting his stuff down on the table, he picked the letter up off the floor and snapped on the light. He didn’t recognize the handwriting, but the letter bore his name. Sitting down on the edge of the bed, he opened it.
After reading the letter, Sebastian swore and got up. Marching over to the door between his and Jesse’s room, he banged on the door.
When a sleepy Jesse opened the door, Sebastian glared at him. “Did you see anyone outside my room tonight?”
Jesse frowned. “No I didn’t, but I’ve been asleep for a while. Why? Has something else happened?”
“You could say that. The killer left me a note.” Sebastian watched for his reaction.
Jesse’s eyes widened. “What?” He looked stunned.
Sebastian cleared his throat in disappointment and turned to go into his room, he grabbed the phone in his room. He was dialing Rob’s number when Jesse came into his room. Jesse was putting on a shirt when Sebastian handed him the letter to read.
When Rob picked up the phone, Sebastian didn’t even bother to say hello. “Rob, the killer left us a little surprise tonight. When I got to my motel room, I found a letter shoved under the door.”
“Damn, what does it say?”
“Oh, just that he’s very upset with us. It seems he thinks we’ve somehow, ruined his plans and now he tells me that because of us, he has had to leave town before he was finished.”
“Oh, well isn’t that too bad,” Rob commented sarcastically.
“Yeah well I’m a little worried about where this guy is going.” Sebastian told him. “Or if this is just a ruse to make us think he’s gone.” Sebastian’s mind was contemplating all the scenarios he could think of.
“How is it that he seems to know everything about what we’re doing?” Sebastian speculated out loud. His suspicions about Jesse’s involvement were coming back to the surface.
“What are you suggesting? That he has someone on the inside telling him what we’re doing?”
“I didn’t say that, but as long as you brought it up; is that possible?” Sebastian inquired.
“Anything is possible, but the probability is slim.” Rob sounded troubled.
Sebastian was looking at Jesse and wondering just how he fit into all of this. “I have something to show you in the morning.”
“Do you want me to come over now?”
“No, one of us needs to get some sleep. I’ll meet you at the station in the morning.”
When he hung up the phone, Jesse turned and handed him back the letter.
“I’ve been here since seven.” They both looked at the clock on the wall. It read eleven p.m. “I didn’t notice anything and I didn’t hear anything. I haven’t been sleeping very well, so I took a sleeping aid tonight and it put me right out. I’m sorry.” He knew even to his mind that his alibi sounded weak but it was the truth.
Sebastian didn’t know if he should believe him or not. Was it just another coincidence that the killer came here with Jesse right next door or was there more to it than that? And why did Jesse take a sleeping aid tonight of all nights? “I think for my own safety, I should get a room somewhere else for as long as I’m here. I don’t want to wake up one morning with my throat cut.”
Jesse nodded. “I’ll see you in the morning then.”
He walked back through the connecting door closed it behind him then turned the lock on his side of the door. He wasn’t taking any chances.
Sebastian sat down on the bed again. All thought of getting any sleep tonight were gone. He knew his body was running on empty but his mind wouldn’t let him rest. He picked up the letter again and reread it.
It was like the letter Alec said came for him in New Orleans. The words were cut from magazines and pasted on the paper. Sebastian frowned as he read the letter a third time. There was something odd about some of the letters. He grabbed a pen and spelled out the words that were capitalized that shouldn’t have been. When he finished and read what he’d written down, he didn’t like the message. SABLE WILL DIE TONIGHT.