In the Shadow of Evil Book 2 Read online

  “Get your hands off her!” Jared gasped for air.

  Mendoza laughed, forcing her head back. While he eyed Jared, he crushed his lips down on Jennie’s mouth. The brutal kiss only lasted a moment, but he received the response he wanted. He dragged her to the chopper and tossed her body onto the hard steel floor.

  Jared fought Mendoza’s goon like a madman. He reared his head back and bashed it into the man’s jaw while he tried to release the arm from around his neck. His captor, in one fluid motion, slammed Jared’s body down onto the asphalt and rammed a foot into the middle of his back.

  “You were her only chance,” a familiar voice roared inside his head.

  “Adios, pendejos, enjoy hell.” Mendoza climbed in behind Jennie, lifted his cell phone, and pressed the call button.

  “No!”

  While Jared struggled to free himself, the cell phone rang, activating the explosives attached to Noah’s chest.

  The sound of the bomb blast pierced through Jared’s sleep and he bolted upright on the sofa. His cry echoed off the walls of his office. He sucked in a deep breath and let it out slowly, but his heart continued to hammer between his ears. Beads of sweat trickled down his spine.

  “Easy, Jared. It’s just a dream,” Noah said from the doorway of the office.

  Jared shifted his body on the sofa and let out a strained groan. He stretched his arms above his head and dropped them over his eyes to block out the sunlight streaming in through the window. He was one huge cramp from head to toe.

  Removing his arm from over his face, Jared scanned the room. Everything appeared untouched. It was just a nightmare, the same crazy dream that haunted him for months. He could still feel the intense heat of the blast and the pressure that tossed his body into oblivion.

  “I hope your neck and back hurt like a motherfucker,” Noah said, moving into the office. “Damn, bro, this has got to stop.” He grabbed several files off the floor in front of the desk. “So yesterday, the sadistic bastard attacked another woman. I get that you want this guy, but this is ridiculous. You’re not going to stop him by living in your damn office.”

  Jared sat upright on the sofa and brushed his fingers through his hair. “What the hell are you doing here so early? I was sleeping.”

  Noah lifted the coffee cup sitting on a stack of folders and took a sniff. Shaking his head with disapproval, he tightened the cap on the bottle of bourbon and placed it back in the bottom drawer. “It’s not that early. How long did you stay up going through all these? Shit, can’t you give it a rest?”

  “No, I can’t. We’re missing something. There were only three weeks between the last victim and Hanna Tu. Our serial killer’s need for his next victim is growing. We could be looking at our next attack in about two weeks.” Jared reached his hand out toward his twin. “Is that for me, or are you just holding it to torture me?”

  Noah placed the bag of breakfast sandwiches and two large cups of coffee on the table. He sat next to Jared and reached down to pick up a piece of paper lying partially under the sofa.

  Jared grabbed for the check, but Noah reached it first. “Holy shit, what in the hell is this?” He held the check out of Jared’s reach.

  “Stay out of it.” Jared grabbed Jennie’s check, folded it in half, and placed it inside his shirt pocket.

  “Like hell I will. Where did Jennie McKenzie get that kind of money and why is the check made out to you?”

  Moving behind the desk, Jared fussed with the mess of files that littered the surface. “It has nothing to do with you.”

  “I can’t. I won’t. You’re not even going to look into where she got her hands on that kind of money?”

  “I’m serious, Noah. I want you to leave Jennie alone. I know how you feel about her. In fact, the whole damn squad room knows how you feel about her. You’ve never been so wrong.”

  Jennie’s scent lingered on his clothing, and the ache in the pit of his stomach wouldn’t go away with a breakfast sandwich.

  “I don’t have to explain anything to you.” He eased in front of his desk, leaning against it. “I know you are trying in your pigheaded way to protect me. I don’t need or want to be protected from Jennie McKenzie. You, on the other hand, had better find a good place to hide if you attack her like you did yesterday. Understand that, bro?”

  “Jennie attacked me. Her ass should be resting in a holding cell. What I understand is you placed that little bitch in the middle—”

  “I wouldn’t finish if I were you.”

  Noah backed out of Jared’s reach and lifted his hands in front of him. “Okay, that was out of line. But Jennie is going to get you killed.” He wandered over to the window. “Something is off with her. She may fear Mendoza, but she has some kind of weird connection to him she’s keeping from you.”

  “Jennie would never lie to me. . . not about something like that.”

  “But I would?”

  The office door banged open and the youngest McNeil, Jason, barged into the office. “What’s come in on Hanna Tu’s apartment?” Jason’s stare alternated between Jared and Noah, but he got no response from either of them. “Yo, idiots, pay attention.”

  He reached for one of the Styrofoam coffee containers on the table and helped himself to a large gulp of the hot brew. He tore off a chunk of the breakfast sandwich and stuffed it into his mouth. “I’m heading back to the hospital. Our serial rapist was there yesterday. He didn’t mean to leave Hanna alive and came back to finish the job.” Jason handed Noah a sheet of paper. “I worked with our forensic sketch artist. I didn’t get a clear look at him, but this facial composite is a place to start, and more than we had on the bastard yesterday.” He turned to Jared. “So, has anything come in from the crime scene?”

  “It’s been less than twelve hours. Are you sure this is our guy? Couldn’t the man you saw leave the trauma unit just be a weary orderly?”

  “No.” Jason grabbed the composite out of Noah’s hand and slammed it on Jared’s desk. “This is our guy. I know it here.” Jason hit his abdomen. “Do we at least know how he got into Hanna’s apartment? The damn door was chained from the inside.”

  Jason reached for the coffee cup, but Noah grabbed it out of his hand. “I don’t know what ant crawled up your butt this morning, but you damn well better stop implying that all Jared and I have been doing is sitting on our asses twiddling our thumbs.”

  “Hanna Tu is a twenty-one-year-old kid. That sick bastard cut her, raped her—”

  Jared placed his hand on Jason’s shoulder. “Hey, we know. What he did to her was… I have no words. But like the other cases,” Jared lifted the composite, “we work with what we know and stop him. You can’t let this get personal.”

  “Too late. It’s already personal.”

  Jared studied his brother. Both his hands were fisted, neck and shoulder muscles taunt, and his patience on the edge. When that happened, fists would start swinging at anything in reach. Jared inched between his brothers. While he gained a little patience with age, Noah, no so much.

  His twin shoved Jared to the side and went nose-to-nose with Jason. “If you want to take a whack at something, go ahead, little brother. I’ll play.”

  Jason took a step back. With an awkward grin, he took in a deep breath, held it for a moment, and then exhaled. “Maybe later. I don’t have time for this shit. Hanna’s roommates should be back in town by now. After I take their statements, I’m heading back to the hospital, and I will get the sister to talk to me until I’ve dissected every minute of Hanna’s life. Someone sure the hell won’t fit.”

  “Slow down a minute.” Jared grabbed hold of his youngest brother’s arm. “You can’t just barge into the ICU and start demanding answers from a grieving family member.”

  “Believe it or not, this is not the first time I've questioned a victim, Lieutenant.” He glared at his brothers. “Hanna is the first victim that bastard has left alive. She can identify him.”

  “I get that,” Jared replied. “We don’t w
ant the family to go on the defensive. We need their cooperation. What about the media? Have they been tipped off yet?”

  “Those numbskulls have given him a name: The Beltway Murderer. It’s all over the national news. They’re handing the killer his fifteen minutes of fame on a silver platter.”

  “And I’ll be stuck here dealing with them. Hell, that’s my day.” Jared faced Noah. “You got the roommates’ statements. Jason, you’re on the sister. Go easy and keep the damn media away from her.”

  Jason shook his head as he gave Jared the once-over. “Before you go be nice to anyone, you may want to tidy up first. It looks like you slept in those clothes.” He turned and left as quickly as he entered.

  Jared reached into the file cabinet and pulled out a clean shirt and tie. When Noah headed toward the door, Jared called him back. “Hey, wait a second.”

  “What?”

  “No one can ever come between us.”

  “What’s so damn special about Jennie McKenzie?”

  “I don’t know, Noah, but she matters, she matters a great deal. There is this connection between us. Jennie’s been through hell and I owe her.” For Nick.

  “You don’t owe her a damn thing.” Noah shot back. He dumped his breakfast in the trash canister and left the office.

  Jared dropped into the chair behind his desk and ran his hands over his eyes to clear away the tired strain. One thing was clear. Jennie wasn’t his case. The psychotic bastard who enjoyed slicing through women before killing them was. He reached under the stack of files for a yellow legal pad and read over his notes.

  Meticulous.

  Knows forensics.

  The stab wounds precisely placed– same spot on every woman.

  Sexually assaulted. No DNA.

  Victims: No similarity in appearance — different backgrounds — different occupations — from different counties across Maryland,.

  Who was this guy and how did he pick his victims? How was he able to enter their homes and offices, and leave without anyone noticing? Jared flipped through his notes one more time, but he had more questions than answers.

  He shoved the tablet across the desk. His pen rolled to the corner and dropped onto the floor. He was too damn tried to pick it up. Instead, he leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes.

  Jared couldn’t shake the kiss. Jennie had kissed him back with such desperation. It was as if the moment was her last, and she was going to make the best of it. Why would she react like that?

  After he returned to his office last night, he must have dialed her phone twenty times, but never allowed the call to go through. The look of rejection and disappointment on her face when he stepped behind the column settled like a lump of coal in his stomach, and it hurt like hell.

  There was a cord binding them together. He didn’t understand why, but Jennie was the first woman he could read completely. And she stood in a church and lied to him.

  He reached into the inside pocket of his sport coat and removed her letter. “Like hell it’s not going back. Every damn penny.”

  The newspaper article he tore out of the Baltimore Sun sat on top of several files. Clearing a space on his desk, he carefully unfolded the clipping, ironing out the corners. Jennie, surrounded by her students, stared back at him.

  An instant later, the vivid scene from his nightmare flashed before him. It was a premonition, a warning that something horrible was about to happen. The scene may have dissipated, but the man’s voice lingered.

  You were her only chance.

  Six

  As Jared headed to his SUV at the end of another fifteen-hour shift, he hit automatic dial on his cell phone. “Is she safe?”

  The demand was rude and uncalled for, but it matched his mood.

  “Yo amigo, do you ever sleep? Some of us mere mortals need all the shuteye we can get.”

  “I know what time it is.”

  “She’s tucked into her bed just like you should be. Why are you so uptight, my friend? After your little unplanned visit last night, you should be in a better mood.”

  “You were there?”

  “I’m always there, Jared. And before you ask, Mendoza knows nothing about it. Next time, a little heads-up. So why the midnight visit?”

  “Have you noticed anything unusual lately? Has something happened?”

  “If there was anything you needed to worry about, I would tell you.”

  More lies. But Jared played the only card he had.

  “You have to trust me that I won’t let anything happen to her.”

  The lump in the pit of his stomach roiled. Something did happen to Jennie, and it was his fault she carried the burden alone.

  “Then I guess I better let you get your beauty sleep. I don’t know anyone who needs it more.”

  Jared disconnected the call and tossed the phone on the seat of his SUV.

  He was freaking losing it, and if he wasn’t careful, he would blow the whole damn operation.

  Raúl Ibarra turned over in his bed and tried to go back to sleep. Those precious minutes of contact with his true identity seemed to ground him. He had been undercover so long it was hard to separate the two different worlds he lived in.

  Jennifer Marie McKenzie was playing with fire. Damn hot scorching fire. It was Raúl’s job to keep her safe and Jared away from her. His orders came from Jared’s brother, Mac McNeil. And on some level, that was the only reason Raúl could sleep.

  Repositioning his pillow beneath his head, he reached for his phone and keyed in a code. Jennie’s living room came into focus. She was safe for now.

  Raúl switched off the phone and turned on his side. He thought of his beautiful wife, the one person who could keep him hot and on edge for hours on end.

  Barely ten minutes passed before the offending cell phone yanked Raúl out of a peaceful, yet erotic sleep.

  “Madre de Dios! Does no one sleep at night but me?” Raúl switched his cell phone on again. “What?”

  “Am I interrupting something, Raúl?”

  “No, Jefe. I was sleeping and I—”

  “I expected a call from you. There’s been no contact?”

  Raúl rose from the bed and moved to the window. He looked out over the quiet neighborhood below. Light from a small lamp lit the front window of the Cunningham residence. “There has been no change.”

  “She delivered McNeil a check for thirty thousand dollars and he does nothing? That’s hard to believe.”

  Raúl was fully awake now. “Yes, Jefe. She teaches at her school all day and spends all evening with the old woman. She goes nowhere else except St. Luke’s. I’ve both apartments bugged for video. There’s been no contact.”

  “Could she have met him at St. Luke’s?”

  “We watched her there as well. She directs a group of teenagers on a musical production for Easter. All she does is work.”

  Mendoza made Raúl wait several moments before he spoke again, but that was fine by him. Over time, Raúl became an expert at giving up only what was asked.

  “Is she still running? Have you covered that as well?”

  “She never runs without one of us following her. We switch off so she suspects nothing. Everything is going as planned.”

  “It damn well better be. You have too much at stake to disappoint me.”

  “Are you threatening me?” Raúl asked through clenched teeth. He looked at the photo of his wife and son on the desk and pushed down the anger and revulsion for the man on the other end of the line. “Is there any reason for you to be disappointed in my work?”

  “I become somewhat irritated when I don’t hear regularly from you.”

  Another long pause followed. Raúl waited.

  “Enough business,” Mendoza finally said. “I saw your Anita and young son today. I promised her I would bring you back for a visit. I’ve arranged for you to fly back on the jet today at five. Will that be a problem?”

  “Thank you. I was just thinking it was time for a visit home.”

&nb
sp; “Of course, I would like to meet with you while you are here. Will your men be able to manage while you’re gone, or should I send my man in?”

  “I don’t think that will be necessary.” Raúl shuddered. Mendoza’s enforcer was one sadistic SOB. If Raúl wanted to keep his men loyal to him, he had better keep Ivan away from them. “I’ll instruct them to feed the data to me while I’m home. I can easily monitor everything while I’m away for a few days. They’re good men. They won’t disappoint me or you.”

  “Good. I’ll let you get back to your dreams.” The phone went dead.

  Raúl placed his phone back on the end table and rose from his bed. Sleep would be impossible. He pulled on a sweatshirt and headed to his office. Several monitors hung on the wall. He sat down in his desk chair and ran his hands over his face. The assignment wasn’t supposed to last this long. So many lives were on hold because of one man. On the center monitor, the target of everyone’s fixation was sound asleep on the futon in her living room. She lay on her side in the fetal position, clutching a pillow tightly to her body. Her head jerked, while a moan escaped her lips. Moments later, she shifted and settled in a deep sleep.

  Jennifer Marie, I’m here. McNeil loves you. Never doubt that.

  Mendoza twisted in his chair and stared out the window of his study. He ignored the beauty of the lights set in the trees along the boulevard. They glistened in the rain, making Mexico City sparkle. In the glass of the dark window, he saw only the face of his father. But not the face of the laughing man, always full of life. What stared back at him was the cold, hard, pale face of the dead. The same face he identified lying on a sterile steel table in a brightly lit hospital morgue fourteen years ago.

  The grief never ceased. The hatred of those responsible for his father’s death festered and ate away at his soul. It eradicated any love in him the moment his father’s heart stopped in a filthy holding cell in downtown Washington, D.C.