Betrayed Read online

“Torres,” he answered in his usual clipped tone.

  “You are not going to believe this. I have a sketch of our serial killer.”

  “From who? I didn’t know we had a witness.”

  Jaxson continued to walk down the sidewalk. “I’ll explain when I see you. Where are you?”

  “Where we were supposed to meet for lunch thirty minutes ago.”

  “Shit! I was so excited when Brittany called I forgot. I’m half a block away. I’ll be there in two minutes.”

  Of course, Jaxson knew his partner hadn’t been waiting thirty minutes. He was never on time for anything in his life. Plus, his meeting with Brittany couldn’t have taken more than fifteen to twenty minutes. Jaxson decided to let it go because his news would blow him away. He hadn’t told Jon anything about the idea or Connie Pemberton. He knew he would bash the idea. He couldn’t bash the idea now.

  Jaxson pulled the deli door open. The bell rang, announcing his arrival. Jon glanced up from his foot-long sub and nodded his head once, acknowledging Jaxson’s arrival. He stopped beside the booth his partner occupied.

  “I’m going to order my lunch and I’ll be right back.” He headed to the counter and ordered the turkey and provolone toasted sub with lettuce, onions, hot peppers, and mayo. He ordered a root beer and chips to go with his lunch. The young lady, with pink hair and a pierced nose, handed him a cone with the number eleven on top.

  “We’ll bring your order to the table when it’s done. Here’s your cup. Soda machine is against the back wall.” She pointed to the rear of the building.

  After he filled his cup, he sat across from Jon.

  With his mouth filled with a half-chewed bite of his sandwich, Jon asked, “Are you making me wait for this great news on purpose?”

  “Yes.” Jaxson took a sip of the root beer and the assault on his taste buds rushed excess saliva to his mouth. “Piper told me about this woman who helps with cold cases.”

  “Our case isn’t a cold case.”

  “I know that, Einstein. Let me finish.”

  Jon took a massive bite of his sub and chomped deliberately.

  “As I was saying, her name is Connie Pemberton.”

  After swallowing, Jon interrupted. “I’ve heard of her. She’s the DNA Whisperer or some nonsense.”

  “Yes. Do you think you can let me get through this without another interruption? I could be done by now.”

  “Whatever.”

  “Brittany Walker found that bit of tissue from the woman we think was his first. At least, she is the oldest skeleton among the remains that we found. She put a rush on the DNA analysis and then asked Ms. Pemberton to help us. Because of the circumstances of the case, she agreed to move us to the top of the heap of requests. I was late because Brittany received the results less than an hour ago.”

  “Remind me what she does with the DNA? Tries to find family members with similar DNA?”

  “Yes, that is one part of her specialty. But she also does what is known as phenotyping. With the information she receives, she can prepare a potential drawing of the alleged suspect.”

  “Get out of here. That’s not possible.”

  “Oh, but it is.” Jaxson pulled out the sketch. He noticed the server moving near their table with his lunch, so before he showed the picture to Jon, he turned it face down on the seat next to him.

  “Turkey sub with provolone cheese?”

  “Yes, that’s mine. Thank you.”

  The server placed the basket and his bag of chips on the table. “You’re welcome.”

  After she walked away, Jaxson showed Jon the depiction of their suspect. “Look like anyone we know?”

  “Maldita sea.”

  “Ditto. I’m going to follow him until I can get a DNA sample so we can compare it to the results Brittany has from our victim.”

  “We’ll take turns. This is unbelievable.”

  “We have him.”

  Chapter 58

  She needed to stop calling him or they were both going to get caught. He sat in the car with the windows down. He’d had to ditch the Toyota and pick up this old, cheap piece of Korean crap. His phone beeped and he hit Answer.

  “We have to meet.”

  The voice rushed out before he could say a word. The caller didn’t have to identify herself. She was the only one who called him on this number.

  “It would be suicide if we met now. I think I’m being followed,” he snapped back to his baby buyer. Just like a woman—they crack when the heat gets a little close. If he had to, he could disappear again. That’s why it was serendipitous that he drove a Peterbilt semi-truck. He kept his truck nondescript and had more license plates and registration slips to match than he had toothpicks. He didn’t even need a hotel with the home-away-from-home sleeper. Refrigerator, storage, and a television: he had all the comforts he needed.

  The black-market baby business paid very well.

  “I really don’t care. Lose them. I have a plan and we need to discuss it in person. Meet me at our usual place in an hour.”

  He heard an audible disconnection and jammed the phone back into his pocket. Did his contact need to be his next victim? He should cover his tracks and disappear. He couldn’t leave anyone alive who knew who he really was, so she would have to go.

  An hour later, he took a long drag on his cigarette and inhaled deeply. Turning the cancer stick around and around in his fingers, he studied the bright-red ember. He had to find a way to get her alone so he could get her to the woods and leave them another body. He would change his MO again to throw law enforcement off his scent and head to the northeast part of the country. There, he could purchase a new identity, get a passport, and leave the country.

  He waited outside for his contact to show. He didn’t want to be seen inside with her. A few minutes later, he dropped the cigarette to the ground and glanced at his watch.

  A horn honked for a quick second. He spun toward the noise. A vehicle flashed the headlights. He hustled toward the light, but then slowed. This was a different car from last time. His hackles stood on end and all his senses rushed, engaged.

  As he neared the car, he stared into it, trying to verify she was the driver.

  Chapter 59

  Jaxson watched the unsub smoke the cigarette and held his breath as he waited to see what he did with it. He really wanted to get his DNA. He wouldn’t be sure he was the serial killer until there was a DNA match to the tissue the ME and forensic anthropologist found between the teeth of the female skeletal remains. They all presumed she was his first because DNA wasn’t found on any of the others, but he wasn’t as sure. For all law enforcement knew, there were other burial sites—maybe even in other states.

  His mind drifted to Piper and he imagined a future with her. What if they didn’t have a chance of sharing a life together? When he considered how Keri went to all that trouble to break them up… What the hell…how could she do that? How would he ever be able to have a sister-in-law relationship with her when he and Piper married? And they would marry—he would see to that. Now that he had her back, he would never let her go.

  Movement in his peripheral vision brought him back to the present. The unsub was dropping his cigarette to the ground. If he stepped on it and squished it into the sidewalk, he could kiss the chance at collecting DNA from it good-bye. A car honked. Then headlights flashed really quick, off to the left, in the area filled with cars. He didn’t see which vehicle it came from.

  His target began to walk away...no stomping on the cigarette. He clenched his fist and said, “Yes.”

  He headed to the spot and searched the ground for the prize. The scents of hamburgers and fries and barbeque chicken filtered from the café and caused Jaxson’s stomach to growl. He hadn’t eaten since lunch. Finding it, he picked up the cigarette with gloved hands and bagged it into an evidence bag. He jogged back to his car, ignoring the pleadings of his body to feed it.

  He didn’t want the suspect to see him. Once at the car, he tried to get a vi
sual on his suspect. The area in which he headed was void of people. No car lights flashed any longer. And, he didn’t have a visual. He sat in the car and waited. He must have slipped inside a vehicle to speak with someone. He should be out soon.

  Of course, it wasn’t that he needed to follow him; his goal for tonight was only to obtain a DNA sample. That was done. But it would be nice to know what happened to the unsub.

  Chapter 60

  His hand touched the door handle and he heard the lock click. He pulled the handle and the door opened, although he hadn’t been sure it would.

  “Get in,” she said, her voice firm and with a no-nonsense attitude.

  He hated strong women. They thought they were better than a man and they weren’t even close. She was no different. She believed she was the sun and the moon, and the Earth revolved around her.

  Well, tonight he would show her that wasn’t the case.

  She drove to a deserted rest stop off Interstate 35.

  “You could have let me follow you, so you don’t have to take me back to my car.”

  “Take an Uber. I don’t want to draw suspicions by going back there again.”

  “It’s a nice night. No one is here and your car is a little stuffy. Let’s get out and talk over there at the picnic tables.” He didn’t even wait for a reply; he opened the door, got out, and headed toward the tables. He checked his pocket and the plastic bag with his secret weapon still filled his back pocket. He reached the picnic area first.

  “You could have waited for my response. I didn’t really want to get out of the car.” She put her purse on the table. Her back was to him.

  He didn’t waste a second. He pulled the damp cloth out of the plastic bag that lined his back-pant pocket and shoved it over her nose and mouth. She fought more than any other woman before her—she kicked at his shins, over and over.

  “Stop that. Damn. That hurts!”

  She kicked harder and thrust her arms above her head, hitting her fists against his face and head. He’d maintained control with the other women. Now he feared she would slip from his grip. Just as he believed he’d lost her, she slumped toward the ground. The chloroform had finally overtaken her. He caught her and held her close.

  His cock turned rock hard in seconds. He had to face it. He’d wanted to fuck her since the day he’d met her—and then cut her to ribbons. He surprised himself that he controlled his impulses this long.

  He searched the parking lot and verified that no cars had entered as they struggled. He didn’t see any additional vehicles in the area.

  He bent her at the waist and laid her upper body face down on the table. He lifted her sundress, not too surprised to find her with no panties. He slipped his cock out and then a condom from his pocket. After opening the foil pouch, he rolled the thin rubber onto his dick. He couldn’t take a chance on this being linked to the other murders.

  When he was finished, he said, “My only regret is you will never know the pain I just caused you. You will never know how wet you were, how much your body wanted me. You will never know I killed you and your baby. This baby won’t survive. You will not survive.” He laughed an evil, wicked laugh, so evil it almost scared him. He tossed the condoms in the trashcan near the table.

  He dragged her to her car. Once there, he searched her pockets but didn’t find the key. She had locked the doors. Remembering her placing her bag on top of the table, he sighed heavily, let her drop to the ground, and then headed back to where he had just been. He grabbed her purse and searched for the keys on the way back to the car. Standing next to her unmoving body, the streetlamp lit part of her handbag and he caught sight of the keys. He unlocked the doors, tossed the bag in the backseat, and then popped the trunk. He lifted her from the asphalt and headed to the back of the car.

  After tossing her inside, he noticed her hair askew. He fingered it and realized it was a wig. He tugged it off and blonde hair fell around her. He knew all along she wore wigs. Hell, he thought, she probably has contacts to change her eye color, too.

  He hopped in the driver’s seat and readjusted the seat position, so he wasn’t jammed against the steering wheel. He sat inside the car a minute and pondered the situation. His last two burial sites had been compromised. Where would he put her? He didn’t even have supplies to dig a hole with him, not unless he drove back to the restaurant and switched her to his car. He couldn’t do that; it was too risky.

  He might have to wait until tomorrow to retrieve his car. Then, if anyone asked, he had left with a sure thing. They pulled over and pleasured each other and then he hitched back to the parking lot next morning to get his car.

  “Stay on point. What am I going to do with her?” He lit a cigarette. While he smoked it, he ran through his options, which were few with no tools. He wouldn’t be able to dispose of her as he had other women. He had to devise a new plan. Maybe he could make it look like an accident, so it wasn’t connected to his women at all. “Hmmm. I think I’ll check out the facilities and see what they have to offer.” He took a last, deep drag, opened the door and then tossed the butt. He headed to the facility. Men and women were on separate sides, as usual; however, in the middle were two private family facilities. He opened one of the reserved bathrooms. Not much inside—a toilet, a sink, and a baby changer hanging in the open position. The thing appeared filthy. He wouldn’t put a puppy on it.

  This would work. He could make it look as if she slipped and hit her head. He made it back to her car and drove closer to the center of the building. He backed into the parking spot. He put it in park, turned off the engine, and pocketed the keys. A second later, he stood in front of the trunk. He carefully scanned the parking lot. Still no one. After he opened the trunk, he searched inside for something to hit her with. He found a hammer in her trunk.

  Why does she have this? He shrugged and forced it into his back pocket. He examined the area once again. Not seeing a soul, he pulled her out. Still unconscious from the chloroform, he realized she wasn’t as heavy as the other women had been. Her belly wasn’t firm like the other women’s; he thought of a pillow when he touched her. He dropped her back in the trunk. She moaned.

  He pulled the rag out of his pocket and pressed it over her face as he patted her down with his other hand. Her soft stomach wasn’t a woman’s pregnant belly. He pulled her dress up. She had a weird-looking pillow strapped to her waist. He reached for the knife on his hip. The switched blade popped up instantly. Two quick slits and he removed the fake baby bump. He lifted her into his arms and over his shoulder, but left the fake maternity pillow in the trunk.

  He shouldn’t be shocked that she faked her pregnancy, but he was. What did she expect, that he would find her a baby? He got her inside the bathroom with little effort. Once inside, he dropped her. He leaned over the faucet and splashed cold water on his face. Then, he splashed water all over the floor, to make it look like a slip and fall.

  He pulled the hammer from his back pocket, swung it above his head and then came down with a sickening thump on the temple of her head. His urges almost spoiled the whole plan as he stopped himself from striking her a second time. He smeared the bloody hammer up against the sink corner, spreading blood along the edge. This would easily support his setup.

  He wiped his prints off the sink handles. He scanned the small room once again to be sure he wasn’t leaving something he shouldn’t. He wasn’t going to get caught now.

  Chapter 61

  Jaxson stood before Brittany’s door in the crime lab. The chemical smells of the building were stronger today than when he had visited Brittany only yesterday. He had called her to let her know that he had followed his suspect and retrieved a cigarette butt that he had smoked and then tossed. She had agreed to meet him at the lab. He knocked on her door.

  “Come in.”

  He opened the door and called out, “It’s Texas Ranger Wyatt.”

  “You are persistent. I thought it would take a week or more to get a sample. Hopefully, we will find DNA
on the butt.”

  She met him in the middle of her office and he handed her the evidence bag. He removed his hat as he answered. “You don’t know the half of it. How soon will you have the results?”

  She retreated to her desk and began typing into her computer. “We’re moving it to the head of the line, but it may still take time—at least twenty-four to seventy-two hours to process. But it has priority. We don’t want any more pregnant women killed.”

  Jaxson remained standing in the middle of the room, holding his hat with both of his hands. “I can’t thank you enough for this, Ms. Walker.”

  She glanced up from her typing. “Brittany, please.”

  He smiled and gestured with his hat. “Brittany. Thank you.”

  “This is a case close to my heart. My sister is pregnant. And unlike my brunette locks and brown eyes, she is blonde and blue-eyed.” She returned to typing and then clicked her mouse once. “It’s in the system. I will personally take it to my lead DNA specialist.” She stood and headed toward Jaxson.

  “Make sure your sister is never alone until we catch this monster. Have someone accompany her to every appointment, walk, shopping excursion, whatever. Never let her alone.”

  She reached his side and then continued to the door. “Trust me, we have family members lined up to protect her. Law enforcement is a family business. I’ll walk out with you. I want to get this to my DNA specialist.”

  Jaxson returned his hat to his head. “Thanks again. I’ll await your call.”

  He exited Brittany’s office with her. She headed deeper inside the building while he retreated to the exit and back to the hotel to tell Piper the good news.

  Chapter 62

  Jaxson repeated no so many times it was as if his mouth were stuck on a scratch like an old vinyl album. He rolled his eyes and that was all Piper could take.