Chapter 5
Scott had gotten the okay from his lieutenant to finish out the day with Kristie, but tomorrow would be another matter. He was going to have to go back to work and he wasn’t certain she was going to be able to stay alone. Whether she knew it or not, she was still in shock. There was a wide-eyed, almost-blank stare in her eyes and a muscle jerking at the side of her mouth that had yet to stop. He was a little uneasy about taking her out of the apartment in full view, but he figured that even if she’d been seen leaving with him, no one would ever imagine that he’d taken her home. It was his ace in the hole to keeping her alive until the stalker was caught.
He’d put her bags in his bedroom and decided he would be sleeping in the extra bedroom, which he used as an office/workout room. There was a twin bed in the corner of the room, though he knew from experience that his feet would hang off the end. However, discomfort didn’t matter as long as he knew Kristie Ann would be safe.
Now here he was, sitting in the living room in a chair opposite the sofa where she was sleeping, studying the shadows on her face and remembering when they were teenagers and the way she’d come undone in his arms when they’d made love.
When her lower lip suddenly trembled, his gut knotted. Damn the sick bastard to hell and back for scaring her this way. He didn’t want to think about what he would do when he caught him. For now, making sure she was safe was enough.
And then in the middle of his reverie, he realized that Kristie was awake and staring at him. He jerked, surprised that he’d missed the moment of her awakening and wondering what she’d seen on his face in the unguarded moments. It was when she sat up from the sofa and came toward him that he knew she’d seen all the way to his heart. She held out her hand without speaking and then pulled him to his feet.
“What is it, honey?”
“If I asked you a favor, would you grant it?”
“Anything for you.”
“Make love to me, Scotty. Today I thought I would die. Now I need to remember what it feels like to be alive.”
The shock of her request ricocheted through his mind as he opened his arms and pulled her into his embrace. There was no thought of refusing her or himself. It wasn’t as if he hadn’t dreamed of doing this very thing since the moment she’d walked back into this life, but he hadn’t planned it quite this way.
He didn’t talk, and neither did she as he took her by the hand and led her to his bedroom. She paused just inside the door long enough to see the king-size four-poster with the plain blue spread, before she started removing her clothes.
At that point time stopped and then began to rewind. It was as if they’d both stepped backward to the innocence of their youth when loving each other came easy and the future extended no further than tomorrow.
Scott undressed right beside her, stopping often just to touch her or to help her off with a particularly stubborn bit of clothing. She accepted his help as if they’d done it countless times before, but when she started toward the bed, he turned and scooped her off her feet, then carried her the rest of the way.
Scott laid her down and then stood for a moment, staring at the lushness of her body, admiring what maturity had done for her.
Kristie was oblivious to the breadth of Scott’s shoulders or the hard, flat planes of his belly. She didn’t see anything but his face and the hungry look in his eyes. It was a need that mirrored her own. She reached for him then and he came to her, stretching out beside her. Almost frantic, they reached for each other and then suddenly, they paused. For a few silent moments their gazes were locked as they lay face-to-face, without moving, barely breathing. Then Scott touched her hair, letting his hand trail through the soft auburn curls.
“You were always pretty, honey girl…but the years have been good to you. You are so, so beautiful.”
The chill that Kristie had lived with for so long began to melt under Scott’s tender gaze. She took his hand into hers and pulled it to her lips, gently kissing his palm, then the tips of each finger.
Scott inhaled sharply as he rose up on one elbow.
“I’m so sorry that this is happening to you, but I will be forever grateful that you came back into my life. Once we had something really special. I’d like to think that there’re enough feelings left between us to build on.”
“You want that?” Kristie asked.
Scott sighed. Admitting it left him wide open to hurt, but he didn’t have it in him to lie. Not to her. Not ever.
“Yes, sweetheart, I want that very much.”
Kristie curled her fingers around his neck and pulled him close—so close that he could feel the warmth of her breath against his cheek.
“So do I, Scotty, but you have to keep me alive to make that happen.”
Scott’s expression darkened. “Count on it.”
“I am,” Kristie said. “And I’m counting on you.”
The weight of his promise rode heavy on Scott’s heart as he took her into his embrace. At first their touches were tentative, as if testing to see if their memories of each other were still the same, but within minutes of the first kiss, their embraces reached fever pitch.
Kristie felt as if her skin was on fire. Every touch of Scott’s hand on her body was almost painful, but not nearly as painful as the ever-tightening coil of heat between her legs. She’d forgotten how swiftly he could make her come undone.
She wanted him. Now. Hard and fast. All she had to do was catch her breath long enough to tell him.
“Scott… Scotty…”
The desire in her voice was but a shadow of the need in him and he’d almost waited too long to maintain control. Hurriedly, he raised up and then lowered himself between her legs. Before he could think past the next breath, she had wrapped her legs around him.
“Please, Scotty…in me…now.”
He made one tentative move at the apex of her thighs and then slid inside.
Kristie inhaled slowly and closed her eyes, knowing that what she’d been feeling was nothing to what was about to come next. She wanted it—and him—and when he began to move, she knew joy and a wonderful, settling peace.
For Scott, thought ceased. He was operating on instinct, lost in the heat and the motion. Time passed in excruciating sweetness as they made new memories from an old love.
One minute they were locked in a rhythm and the next it was as if they’d come to an impenetrable wall that they couldn’t go past. They both hit it at once, shattering every ounce of cognizance they’d had in the blinding heat of climax. A few moments later they lay still and mindless within the warmth of each other’s arms, waiting for their breathing to steady and their heartbeats to settle into a normal rhythm.
But as perfect as it was to savor the aftermath of their lovemaking, Scott knew he couldn’t stay here forever. Finally, he rolled off of her with a groan, then took her with him. When she would have gotten out of bed, he pulled her against him instead, spooning her against his body and then closing his eyes.
“Don’t move,” he begged, then pulled covers up over them both. “I just want to hold you.”
Kristie sighed, then pulled his arm around her as if it were a blanket and settled. It had been so long and it still felt so right.
Within minutes they’d both fallen asleep. When they woke it was evening. To be exact, it was ten minutes after five on December twenty-seventh.
Kristie opened her eyes, felt the weight of Scott’s arm across her belly and smiled as she turned to face him.
“Hey, you,” she said softly.
Scott’s eyelids fluttered and then opened. He lay for a moment, savoring the sight of this woman in his bed and knew he would be a lucky man if he could wake up like this for the rest of his life.
“You all right?” he asked softly.
She nodded, then smiled.
“We’ve still got it going on, don’t we, honey?”
She sighed and then nodded again.
“Don’t you have anything to say?” Scott asked.
“You didn’t just get older, you got better?”
He laughed and then raised up and kissed her soundly before rolling out of bed.
“Where are you going?” Kristie asked.
“To shower and then get dressed. I don’t know about you, but I’m starving.”
Kristie sat up in bed, unmindful of her nudity, and watched him disappear into the bathroom.
“Scott?”
“Yeah?” he yelled back.
“Are we having pizza?”
He stuck his head out of the bathroom and grinned. He knew that some people had a good smoke after sex. They’d always had pizza.
“Don’t we always?”
“Thin crust supreme?”
“Is there any other kind?”
“Hurry,” Kristie said. “You’re making me hungry.”
“You want to call it in?” he asked.
She nodded, smiling to herself as he winked at her and then disappeared. Moments later she heard the water running and knew he was taking that shower. She smiled to herself as she got out of bed, then caught herself choking back tears. This had been too sweet—too perfect—and maybe too late. She couldn’t quit thinking about all the years she’d spent alone, wondering why she had never been satisfied with the men that she’d met. Now she knew. All this time and it had been Scott who’d still had the claim to her heart. Only a relationship with him wouldn’t be as simple this time. A stranger stood between them and happiness and until they found him, her life was in limbo.
But for now, she wouldn’t let herself dwell on the hopelessness she was feeling. By some strange twist of fate Scott was back in her life, and she was going to do everything in her power to keep him there.
She found a phone book in the bedside table, looked up the number to her favorite pizza parlor and called in their order. Delivery would take about forty-five minutes. That was just long enough for her to clean up and get dressed. Tonight was going to be all about them. Tomorrow would have to take care of itself.
* * *
It was three o’clock in the morning when McMartin reached Kristie’s apartment. His pulse was pounding as adrenaline shot throughout his system. The high he was on was not chemically induced. It came from the power he had over her life. He knew she was afraid. Her screams in the elevator had been a big turn-on as had the fear in her voice when he’d talked to her on the phone. Now the only thing separating them was this door and he was about to make quick work of that.
Glancing up and down the hallway to make certain he was still unobserved, he took a lock pick from his pocket. In seconds, it was open. Thinking he would have to cut the chain that she always put on the door, he took a small pair of bolt cutters from his pocket. However when he turned the knob and pushed, the door swung inward. Startled, he paused on the threshold and stared into the darkness of the foyer. When he was satisfied that he was still undetected, he slipped inside the apartment and shut the door behind him.
The thrill of the hunt was upon him. He knew the layout of the rooms from being in here before, so he started forth with cool assurance. His thoughts were racing, picturing Kristie in her bed, imagining the fear on her face when she saw him standing in her room.
Kristie…my Kristie.
Giving the living room and kitchen only a cursory glance, he continued down the hall to her room. The door was ajar. The room, as the rest of the apartment, was dark. His heart skipped a beat as he put the flat of his hand on the door and then pushed. The door swung inward, revealing the interior of the room. Her bed was against the wall to his left and there was a faint glow from a night-light in the adjoining bathroom. Enough light to let him know the bed was empty.
She was gone.
The knowledge hit him hard, like a fist to the gut. This was to have been the night—his night—but once again she’d messed up his plans.
He turned on the light and quickly searched through her closet, then moved on to the bathroom. From what he could see, a few things were missing that indicated she was somewhere overnight, but he didn’t think she’d be gone for long. Her toothbrush and toothpaste were gone, as was a hair dryer and hairbrush. He knew because they’d been here before when he’d left her the little message on the refrigerator. He had no way of knowing what clothes she had taken, but it didn’t appear to be many. Also, the full-length blue coat that she usually wore to work was nowhere to be found.
Rage borne of frustration made him want to destroy everything in sight, but that would be counterproductive to what he intended. All it would prove to the police was that he’d been thwarted; he wasn’t going to give them the satisfaction.
Instead he took a deep breath, slammed his fist into the palm of his other hand and headed for the door. Just as he stepped into the hallway, he heard footsteps coming down the stairwell. He stepped back into the apartment and closed the door, listening carefully until he was certain that whoever it was, was gone.
Now that the plan had changed, he was anxious to get away. He needed to find out where she’d gone and how long she was going to be gone. There were decisions to be made and places to go. Once this was over, he was ready to move on. He didn’t like this cold weather and was thinking about moving to a warmer climate. There were available women everywhere. It was just a matter of picking the right one.
He opened the door again, listening carefully to make sure he was alone, then slipped into the hall, taking care to lock the door behind him as he left. A few seconds later he was gone.
* * *
Scott woke up to the smell of coffee and bacon and then looked at his alarm clock. It was ten minutes after six. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d awakened before the alarm. But, he reminded himself, he hadn’t had anyone to wake up for except himself. He grabbed a pair of sweats and put them on as he headed for the bathroom. A few minutes later he came out smelling of aftershave and toothpaste, his hair still damp but neatly combed.
“Wow…this place has never smelled this good,” Scott said, and then kissed Kristie on the back of the neck.
Kristie leaned against him, savoring the feeling of being held.
“Still like your eggs well done?” she asked.
“Yes, ma’am, that I do.” Then he leaned down and whispered in her ear, “I could get used to waking up like this.”
She smiled to herself. “Yeah, I know what you mean,” she said just as a timer went off.
“What’s that for?” Scott asked.
“Biscuits.”
He rolled his eyes and then groaned as she took them out of the oven.
“Have mercy, Kristie Ann. This isn’t playing fair, and you know it. I’m already putty in your hands.”
Kristie set the pan of biscuits on a hot pad and turned around.
“I’m not playing, Scotty. I’m serious. You may think this is too soon, but I’m going to say it, anyway. I’m falling in love with you all over again. If you don’t want that, just say so now and I’ll back off. We’ll call last night one for old time’s sake and when this is over, part as friends. But know this…it’s not what I want.”
The teasing smile on his face disappeared. He took her into his arms and laid his cheek against the softness of her hair.
“It’s not what I want, either, baby.”
Kristie leaned back and looked up. “What do you want, Scotty?”
“You.” His mouth brushed the surface of her lips. When she sighed, he swallowed the sound as well as her breath. “I’m falling in love with you, too, honey girl.”
“This is good,” Kristie said.
He grinned and then reached over her shoulder and snagged a hot biscuit from the pan.
“And so is this,” he said, taking a big bite.
She smiled. “Okay, okay, I get the message. You’re hungry.”
“Starving.”
“So pour us some coffee and I’ll fix the eggs. Everything else is done.”
He did as he’d been told, and by the time she had the food on the table, he knew something dramatic was beginning to happen. His apartment—the place he’d been paying rent on for a good number of years-was starting to feel like a home.
They ate the meal together with the ease of people who’d known each other for years. It was as if the time they’d been apart had never happened. It wasn’t until Scott was finishing his second cup of coffee that the phone rang. He glanced at Kristie and then shrugged an excuse as he went to answer the call.
“Wade,” he said.
“Hey, Scott, it’s me, Leslie. I thought you’d be interested to know we got a hit on that partial.”
Scott’s pulse kicked. It was the criminologist from forensics and she’d just given him a new lease on life.
“Tell me,” he said.
“His name is Andrew McMartin, last known address, Los Angeles, California.”
“Has he got a sheet?”
“Yes, but this is the biggie. There’s an open warrant for his arrest out of L.A.”
“What for?”
“Wanted for questioning in the death of a twenty-seven-year-old woman named Lucy McKee. It seems he’d been stalking her for almost six months, but they couldn’t make anything stick. Then she turns up dead and he’s missing.”
“When was this?”
“About six months ago.”
Scott turned to Kristie. “Honey, when did you tell me the first letters started arriving?”
“About four or five months ago.”
Scott’s focus heightened. The time line fit.
“Thanks, Leslie, I owe you.”
“I know. I won’t let you forget.”
He hung up and turned to Kristie. “Do you know a man named Andrew McMartin?”
“No.”
“You’re sure?”
“Positive.”
“Okay…he’s probably using another name anyway. I’ll get a mug shot and bring it home with me this evening. Maybe you’ll recognize him.”
“Oh, Scott! Could it be this easy?”
He grinned. “Sometimes we get lucky.”
“Do you know where he lives? What he does?”
“I don’t know anything yet, but I’ll start the ball rolling the minute I get to work.”
Then he frowned. “I don’t want to leave you alone.”
“I’ll be fine. I promise not to leave or to answer the door to anyone.”
“Yes…okay.” Then he reached for her, needing to hold her, if for no other reason than his own reassurance. “I don’t think anyone could possibly know that you’re here, but you know we can’t be sure.”
“I’m sure, Scott.”
He hesitated still. “Do you remember when you used to go rabbit hunting with me?”
She nodded.
“How long has it been since you fired a gun?”
Kristie’s eyes widened. “Since I last went with you.”
He frowned. “Okay…here’s the deal. I’m leaving you here alone, but not without protection.”
“You have a rifle in the apartment?”
He laughed. “No, it’s a pistol. Come with me. I’ll show you how to take off the safety. After that, just aim and fire.”
Kristie’s stomach lurched at the thought of shooting at someone, never mind killing them. And then she remembered the elevator and that horrible voice taunting her in the dark and knew that she’d do whatever it took to stay safe.
A few minutes later Kristie was on her own—except, of course, for the black, semiautomatic weapon that Scott had laid on the sideboard. She glanced at it several times as she finished cleaning up the kitchen. When she moved to the bedroom to make up the bed, she took it with her. Within a short time, she’d done all the chores and settled herself in the biggest overstuffed chair in the living room. She could tell from the imprint in the cushion that this must be Scott’s favorite chair. It was also in direct line to a big-screen television and a most amazing entertainment center.
Men and their toys, she thought as she turned on the TV. After settling on a program on the food network, she leaned back and put her feet up on the ottoman, then took a sip of the coffee she’d brought with her from the kitchen. Everything seemed ordinary—even normal—except, of course, for the gun she’d laid beside the remote.
* * *
By noon Scott felt as if he was caught in a whirlpool. They had all kinds of information on Andrew McMartin, including a four-year-old mug shot, a rap sheet that had started when he was a teen, his last known address and the phone number and address of his only living relative, a woman named Frannie Howell who’s last known address was a Chicago suburb.
The only problem was that McMartin hadn’t been seen since he’d disappeared from L.A. They had no proof that he’d ever been in Chicago except for the fingerprint on the stamp and the Chicago postmark. It didn’t prove conclusively that he was here, but it was a good start toward building the case. In Scott’s opinion, he had to be near, or how else would he have fixated on Kristie?
He’d read the file on Lucy McKee’s murder, and it made him sick to his stomach all over again. He couldn’t help but transpose Kristie’s face onto the pictures taken from the crime scene. The brutality of the poor woman’s death was extreme, which only enforced the urgency of the department to find McMartin before he got to Kristie.
Lieutenant Fisk was on a mission to catch the stalker and had already put more detectives on the case. They were out now, trying to locate a woman named Frannie Howell, who had the distinction of being the only sister of McMartin’s deceased mother.
It was almost noon and Tucker had gone out to get himself and Scott some sandwiches from a nearby deli. While Scott was waiting, he picked up the phone and dialed the number to his own home. The answering machine picked up and he immediately began talking so that Kristie would know to pick up.
“Kristie…it’s me. Pick up, honey. I’ve got some more news.”
He waited, expecting to hear her voice, and was a little disconcerted when he didn’t. He knew there were any number of reasons why she hadn’t answered. Maybe she was in the bathroom or had the washing machine running. She’d teased him this morning about the pile of towels needing to be washed. That had to be it. He told himself he’d wait a bit and then call again. But the longer he waited, the more nervous he got.
Again he made the second call and again there was no answer. Frowning, he hung up and tried not to worry. She’d promised not to leave. He was certain she wouldn’t go out and take a chance on a repeat of yesterday’s event in the elevator. But if that was the case, then where the hell was she?
He stood abruptly and was reaching for his topcoat when Tucker came back with their food.
“Hey, Wade…I just heard a call on the radio. There’s a fire in the building next to your apartment. They’ve evacuated everyone in the buildings on either side.”
“Hell,” Scott said, and headed for the door, with Tucker right behind him.