Alex Kava Bundle - Alex Kava [258]
“We won’t track her down. He’s taken her.” The quiver was there though she did her best to hide it. “He’s added her to his collection. She may be dead already.” Her hands reached for her holster then disappeared into her pockets. “Or if she’s not dead, she may be wishing she was,” she added in almost a whisper.
Tully rubbed his eyes. He had removed his glasses hours ago. O’Dell was starting to spook him. He didn’t want to think about the fact that Albert Stucky may have added to his collection. Back on his desk, buried under manuals and documents, he had a bulging file of missing women from across the country. Women who had disappeared without a trace in the last five months since Stucky’s escape.
The volume wasn’t that unusual. It happened all the time. Some of the women left and didn’t want to be found. Others had been abused by husbands and lovers and chose to disappear. But too many were gone without any explanation, and Tully knew enough about Stucky’s games to pray that none of them in his file folder were actually in Stucky’s new collection.
“Look, there’s nothing more we can do tonight.”
“We need to do a luminol test. We can have Keith Ganza bring it and the Lumi-Light, so we can go over the master bedroom.”
“There’s nothing here. There’s absolutely no reason to believe anything happened in this house, Agent O’Dell.”
“The Lumi-Light might show any latent prints. And the luminol will show any blood left in the cracks, any stains we can’t see. He obviously tried to clean things up, but you can’t clean enough to get rid of blood.” It was almost as if she didn’t hear him. As though he wasn’t there and she was talking to herself.
“We can’t do anything more tonight. I’m exhausted. You must be exhausted.” When she started for the stairs again, he gently grabbed her arm. “Agent O’Dell.”
She wrenched her arm away, turning on him with eyes flashing anger. She stood solidly, firmly in place, staring at him as though challenging him to a dual. Then without warning she turned on her heel and marched to the door, snapping off lights in her path.
Tully followed her cue before she changed her mind. He ran upstairs and shut off those lights, and when he returned, O’Dell was in the foyer, activating the security system. It wasn’t until he locked the front door and walked alongside her to his car that he saw her revolver in her hand, dropped at her side but in a tight grip.
Suddenly Tully realized that the hysteria, the frustration, the anger he had witnessed was actually fear. How stupid of him not to have seen it before now. Special Agent Maggie O’Dell was scared to death, not just for Tess McGowan, but for herself, too.
CHAPTER 39
Tess jerked awake. Her throat felt like sandpaper, so dry it hurt to swallow. Her eyelids felt like lead shutters. Her chest ached as though some massive weight had pressed against her. There was nothing on top of her now. She lay on what appeared to be a narrow, lumpy cot. The room was dimly lit, forcing her to squint. The smell of mildew surrounded her. A draft made her pull the scratchy blanket up under her chin.
She remembered feeling paralyzed. In a mad panic, she lifted both her arms, grateful to find no restraints but quickly disappointed to find her limbs heavy, movement awkward. They felt detached and unresponsive. But at least she could move and at least she was not tied down.
She started to sit up, and immediately her muscles protested. The room began to spin. Her head throbbed and nausea washed over her so sudden and so strong, she lay back. She was used to hangovers, but this was much worse. Something had been injected into her bloodstream. Then she remembered the dark-haired man and the needle. Dear God, where the hell had he taken her? And where was he?
Her eyes darted around the small space. The nausea forced her to keep her head on the pillow as she twisted and turned her neck to examine her accommodations.