Scream for Me (5 page)

Kyle had come to her side. “We need a guard to stay with Lily’s family, and we want a trace put on their phone lines.” He knew the drill perfectly. After a year working with her, he should.

“Why?” This came from Officer Randall Hollings. They’d talked to the slightly paunchy, balding officer earlier. “Do you think whoever took Lily might call for some kind of ransom?” He shook his head. “Lily didn’t have any money. Why else do you think she was working a double shift at Striker’s?”

“It’s not always about money,” Cadence replied.
If only it were
. Greed was easy to understand. The sadistic motives of the killers
she had faced over the years?
Not so easy
. “It’s possible our perp might want to taunt the family, or…”
Hate saying this, hate saying it…
“If he has already killed Lily, then guilt might grow in him. He may feel the urge to reach out to the family. Even to confess his crimes.” She’d seen that happen, too.

Randall gave a low whistle. “That’s messed up.”

Killers often were. That was why they were killers.

“We’ll all need to stay in close contact,” Kyle said, his voice strong and hard. “If you discover anything, everyone needs to know. Lily Adams is out there, and we
are
going to locate her.”

It wasn’t a promise Cadence was ready to make. It was a vow Kyle shouldn’t have made.

Cadence had checked the weather report earlier that day. A major storm system was coming their way. They needed to hunt,
before
that storm hit. Because once it did, the storm would wash away any trace that Lily’s abductor might have left behind.

Mother Nature was going to work against them. That meant they had to work even faster, even harder, if they were going to beat her.

Then the doors to the station opened. A woman with graying hair and worried eyes stepped inside. A little girl, blonde, shaking, was at her side. Cadence recognized the girl from pictures she’d seen just a little while before.

Lily’s daughter
. Carrie.

“Please,” the woman said, as she glanced around the station. “Please, tell me where my daughter is!”

Tears slid down the little girl’s cheeks.

Deep inside of Cadence, something seemed to break.

“What happened back there?” Kyle asked as the car they’d taken from the station slid to a stop. It was a patrol car, so it wasn’t like they were keeping a low profile as they headed toward Striker’s.

“We got the officers organized and took control of the case. That’s what happened.” She wouldn’t have thought the guy needed a point-by-point breakdown of a situation he’d seen plenty of times before. They’d talked with the cops, confirmed alibis, a very necessary step because they didn’t want the perp working with them. Unfortunately, they’d been there and done that before, too. They’d cleared officers and then they’d stopped wasting time. They needed boots on the ground, needed men searching, and that was exactly what they’d gotten.

“I’m talking about what happened when you saw Lily’s mother.”

It hadn’t been the mother who had gotten to her.

The little girl
. She’d reminded Cadence too much of herself. She cleared her throat and said, “I didn’t want to give her any false hope.”

“You didn’t want to talk to her at all.”

No, she hadn’t. Cadence couldn’t afford to let emotion get in the way of her job. “The captain can interview her. He knows Lily’s mother. He has the connection already established with her.”

She climbed from the vehicle. A few other cars were scattered in the Striker’s parking lot, along with some pickup trucks and two motorcycles.

“Sometimes, people need hope in order to get them through the day.”

Careful now, Cadence glanced back over at Kyle. She made sure not to let any emotions show on her face. “Then you give them hope.”

A muscle flexed in his jaw.

In the next instant, he strode around the car, hurrying toward her. Cadence sped up her pace and marched toward the bar’s entrance. She didn’t want Kyle digging too deep right then.
The case, the case
. It was what mattered. Not her. Not him.

She yanked open the bar’s door. The interior of Striker’s was dim, but on the far right wall, she saw a line of big-screen TVs. Pool tables were scattered to the left. Dining tables waited in the middle.

Kyle’s hand closed around her elbow. “Why do you get to know all my secrets?” he demanded, his voice a low whisper in her ear. “But you never share yours.”

She kept her past buried deep inside.

His hold on her tightened. “You’re not going to get away with this forever, Cadence. One day soon, I’ll know everything about you.” A dark promise. One that sent a surging wave of sensual awareness through her.

Her head turned. He was just inches away. Big, strong, seeming to surround her. She’d tried so hard to avoid letting her personal feelings get in the way of their partnership.

But Kyle kept pushing her.

One day, she might push him back.

They were close enough to kiss then. She’d thought of kissing him before. Thought of a whole lot before. Late at night, when she couldn’t sleep, he was what she thought of.

What she wanted.

Wrong time, wrong place
. That was their story. She pulled away and offered him a hard smile, “No, you won’t know everything, but keep dreaming.”
I know I will
. Then she made her way to the bar. A waitress was there, one with her long, dark hair pulled back in a ponytail.

The waitress smiled when she saw Cadence and Kyle. “What can I get you two?”

Cadence pulled out her ID. “We need to ask you some questions about another waitress who works here.”

The woman leaned across the bar. Her very abundant cleavage almost broke free of her small, white top. “You’re FBI?” Her brown eyes widened into minisaucers. “What’s the FBI doing here?”

“Lily Adams is missing,” Kyle said as he slid onto the stool beside Cadence.

The brunette gasped. “Lily? She was here last night!”

And she was gone today.

There was no point keeping Lily’s disappearance quiet. They actually needed to tell as many people as possible. The more eyes looking for Lily, the more hope they had of finding her. “Were you working the late shift with her last night?”

The woman, her name tag identifying her as Susannah Jane, nodded. Her gaze nervously flew back and forth between Cadence and Kyle.

“Did anything unusual happen here?” She gestured to the area behind her. “Did anyone cause trouble for Lily?”

Susannah Jane shook her head.

“Did any customers hit on her?” Kyle pressed. “Maybe some guy who didn’t want to take no for an answer?”

Susannah Jane licked her lips. “Guys are always hitting on us here. The more they drink”—a bitter laugh slipped from her—“the prettier we become.”

Susannah Jane
was
a pretty woman, but her eyes were hard and tired.

“Was there anyone in particular who liked to hit on Lily?” Kyle wanted to know.

“Lily was going through a divorce. She flirted, but she never carried it past that. There was no one.” Her shoulders trembled. “Lily’s
gone
?”

She seemed to have just understood how significant that was. Family and friends often had that delayed reaction as the pain and fear set in fully for them.

Susannah Jane’s fingers were shaking as she poured herself a—whiskey? Yes, that was what it looked like. She knocked the drink back fast.

Interesting. “Do you have any security cameras here?” Cadence asked.

Susannah Jane shook her head. Her fingers clenched around the empty glass.

“Where’s the employee exit?”

Susannah Jane pointed to the door on the right. “Lily parked her car out back, two spots over from the Dumpster.” She swallowed and her voice dropped as she said, “Always in the same spot.”

Cadence realized that would have been a pattern the perp could have easily noticed. “Were any other waitresses on duty last night?”

“Just me and Lily. Stacey and Leann are both sick. That’s why Lily had to pull the double.”

“If you think of anything else, call me, okay?” Cadence slid her card across the bar.

Susannah Jane stared at it a moment. Didn’t take it. “There’s nothing else.” Her voice was hoarse.

Cadence left the card on the counter. “You never know. You might remember something later.” She inclined her head. “Thanks for your help.”

Cadence and Kyle headed for the employee door. Susannah Jane was already reaching for her phone as they left. The card was still on the bar top.

The door took them to the back of the building.

“No lights,” Kyle muttered as he glanced around. “At night, this place would have been perfect for hunting.”

Too perfect.

Cadence slowly walked from the back exit over to Lily’s parking space. Her nose twitched at the acrid scent in the air. “Do you smell that?”

“Gasoline.” The one word was clipped.

Yes. Just past Lily’s parking space, long green grass grew in a wild tangle. She bent near the grass. “The scent’s stronger here.”

Kyle had followed her. “The SOB drained her gas, then dumped it here.”

Sure looked that way.

Cadence rose. “He was out here, waiting for her.” Or he’d even been in the bar, watching her.

Cadence turned around and stared at the long rear wall of Striker’s.

Why did you pick Lily?

What was it about Lily that had caught her abductor’s eye?

“He planned out every moment,” Kyle said, and she looked over to see him glaring at the parking space. “He could have taken her right here, if he’d wanted. It was so late, no one would have even noticed what was happening in the darkness.”

Cadence pulled in a slow breath. When she profiled, she used the victims to help her. She saw the killer through them.

But Kyle tried to get straight into the minds of the killers. Sometimes, he seemed to get into their minds almost too easily.

“He wanted her alone,” Kyle continued, his voice deepening. “Far away, so it didn’t matter if she shouted for help.”

Goose bumps rose on Cadence’s skin. She was conscious of the secure weight of the holster under her arm. “He was watching her out here.” He’d had to be. He’d emptied her tank, made sure she would break down, and he’d followed her, waiting for the perfect moment to attack.

Waiting for that long, lonely stretch of road.

“He had it all planned out, every minute.” Kyle faced her. “He’s done this before.”

She was very afraid he had. “We’re already checking for missing persons.”

“We’re going to find them. Sonofabitch, we’re
going to find them
.”

The clench in her gut told Cadence that Kyle was right.

Heavy rope cut into her wrists and ankles. Lily had been jerking and twisting against the rope, and she’d made the skin raw and bloody beneath her binds.

He smiled as he stared down at her. He’d been so quiet when he came in. She didn’t even realize he was there.

Her blindfold was in place. Not because he didn’t want her to see him, but because he didn’t want her to see
anything
. Soon, Lily would learn he controlled her life. What she saw, what she heard, what she tasted.

What she felt.

Everything.

You’re mine, Lily
.

She would never be free of him.

She was on the bed he’d prepared, hunching and turning on the bare mattress. She still wore her clothes, and he’d let her keep them, for a time.

Breaking prey too quickly could lead to disastrous results. He’d learned that over the years.

He stepped closer to her. He pushed against the wooden door, letting it creak so she’d realize she wasn’t alone.

At the faint sound, Lily stopped struggling. Seemed to stop breathing.

“Lily.” He whispered her name. He loved her name. Delicate, beautiful. Like she was.

Lily didn’t belong at Striker’s, waiting tables and serving drunk fools. She sure didn’t belong with the twisted SOB who cared about his drugs more than he cared about her.

Lily is mine. She belongs with me
. He’d show her that.