“Do you have the key?” Shaun asked.
She shook her head.
Shaun nodded at the agent. “Break it down.”
Aidan followed the agent to the back room while Shaun stayed with Mrs. Ory.
The agent connected the heel of his foot to the office door and it splintered open. They had their weapons ready in case Kent was inside waiting but now slipped it back in the holsters.
Aidan stepped into the office and looked around the small room. It held camera equipment, files and a bookshelf of tapes. They were labeled by dates. Aidan retrieved one of the tapes and stuck it into the TV/VCR combo.
It played automatically, and he recognized one of the victims. Her name was Nora Drake. She was the one found in the Hudson River a few weeks after he’d killed Candace.
Nora was chained to the wall of what looked like a cabin. She’d already been abused for some time. Her legs held deep gashes and her abdomen had a large cut over her belly button. Nora’s eyes were swollen shut.
Kent stepped in front of the camera and stared at his helpless victim hanging against the wall.
“Are you ready for some more?” he asked.
“Please. Somebody help.”
The words sounded rash.
Weak.
Kent laughed.
“Help?” he repeated. “Oh honey, no one’s going to help you. We’re alone, you and me.”
He walked to the woman and rubbed his hands on her cheek. He leaned in close. Aidan couldn’t tell if he said something before pulling away.
“Tell me you love me.”
The woman cried harder.
Kent connected the tire iron he held against her stomach. Blood shot out onto the floor.
Aidan heard the agent next to him gasp and from the corner of his eyes, he saw him cover his mouth with both hands.
“Tell me!”
“I love you!”
He swung the tire iron across her knees, requesting she tell him she loved him over and over again. She did until she shouted it out from the top of her lungs and he leaned over, panting from exertion.
“Oh, my goodness!”
Aidan turned to see Mrs. Ory standing in the doorway, eyes wide, hands covering her mouth.
“Oh, my—”
“Get her out of here!” Aidan hissed.
One of the agents obliged, leaving Shaun standing next to Aidan. The other agent had turned away, his head lowered to the carpet. Aidan was afraid he’d get sick.
And Aidan understood the feeling.
He turned back to the video.
Kent had released Nora from her chains and used the fishing wire to choke her.
According to the time stamp, it took two minutes for his victim to breathe her last.
After there was no movement left from Nora, Kent ran his hand across her body. He whispered something, but it was too low for the camera audio to catch. Slowly, Kent rose and strolled to a wooden trunk. He opened it and brought out the black dress.
“You’re going to look so—”
Aidan turned off the television, his eyes closed. He knew he wouldn't be able to stand to see more.
He now saw firsthand how his sister's best friend, Candace, died at the hands of The Carnations Killer.
And that was how he was treating Cheyenne right this second.
Aidan needed to find her.
Shaun told the remaining agents to collect the tapes and they left the room to find Mrs. Ory in the living room, tears streaming from her face. “What’s going on? I don’t understand! Who was that man in the video?”
Aidan sat on the couch next to her.
“Your husband’s real name is Grant Rivers,” he explained. “He changed his name a few years back, so he could get a fresh start.” Aidan told her about his time during foster care, the troubled teens program and being sent to the hospital when nothing else worked. He told her about the assault with a deadly weapon charge.
Mrs. Ory put her head in her hands as her body shook more violently with each word Aidan spoke.
“Mommy?”
Aidan looked to see her daughter standing in the doorway, holding her bear. Her eyes drooped, and her lips turned to a quivering frown.
Shaun led the girl out of the room, telling her they needed to talk to her mom for a little bit longer.
Aidan put his hand on Mrs. Ory’s shoulder.
“We need your help now. He has another woman. And if we don't find her—,” Aidan swallowed, then cleared his throat. “—If we don't find her, he’ll kill her. The same way he murdered that woman on the tape. Please. Do you know where your husband is?”
She looked into his eyes, blinking back tears. Finally, she shook her head. “He said he’d have to run out for a little bit. But he didn’t tell me where. I assumed he and Jordan were working on a segment.”
“Can you call him?”
“Is there any chance you’re wrong?”
Aidan could tell in her eyes she knew the truth but needed to hold onto the hope that the father of her child wasn’t a serial offender.
“I’m afraid not. I’m very sorry you’re going through this right now. And I'm sorry to be insistent, but time is running out. If you call him, we can run a trace on his cell phone to find out where he is.”
Mrs. Ory put her head in her hands again and let out a tearful groan. Aidan heard her mutter something underneath her breath, then she lifted her head.
“Okay.” Mrs. Ory wiped her face dry of the tears and pushed to her feet. She went into the kitchen and then reappeared with her phone. “What do you want me to say?”
74
JORDAN HAD WATCHED Kent leave his house earlier and then
