Today is the fifth.
“He’s targeted Samantha. She’s his next victim.”
“Tessa is calling her right now,” said Kurt. “And we’re sending Bruce straight to her home. We’ll move her somewhere safe.”
11
After arriving at Sam’s house, Cate squeezed her friend in a big hug. “I’m so sorry. We’ll get the guy.”
“I know you will,” said Sam. “You two have already proved you can do anything.” She included Tessa with a nod.
Bruce had watched over Sam and her mother and Mickey as they’d packed. They wanted out of the home as quickly as possible. At first Tessa had suggested the three of them go to a hotel, but Cate—and Jane—had felt Jane’s home would be the most secure. “Logan has already offered to keep watch,” Cate had said. “And you know how protective my grandmother is. The two of them won’t let anything near Sam and her family.”
“Logan talked to me about it,” Tessa had said. “I agreed because we’re stretched thin. I think it’s a solid plan.”
Henry and Bruce loaded the family’s things into Logan’s vehicle, and the park ranger drove off as Mickey waved goodbye from his seat. Cate breathed a sigh of relief as she watched them leave and heard Tessa do the same.
She had no doubt they’d be safe with her brother.
“Okay,” said Tessa. “Now to find Chris.” She looked at Kurt and Bruce. “Kurt, I want you to check the ferry video from this morning. See if he left the island. Bruce, check the marina and see if his boat is still there. If it is, check with the rental companies to see if he rented a boat. Ask the water taxi too. Everyone keep an eye out for his vehicle.”
“It’s going to happen today,” Cate murmured. “I can feel it.”
“I’ll stay here to watch the house and make some calls,” said Mike. “There’s a good chance he’ll show up here this evening.”
“I’ll stay too,” said Cate as an idea struck her. “I’ll be the bait.”
Tessa and Mike stared.
“Explain,” said Mike as Tessa’s face cleared, and she slowly nodded.
Tessa knows what I’m thinking.
“With both Samantha’s and Marsha’s cars in the drive, it looks like they’re home,” said Cate. “I’ll stay in the house and try to remain in view from a window. I want him to believe Sam is still here.”
“You don’t look like her,” Mike pointed out. “Especially your hair. You can’t change your hair to red unless you’ve got a wig stashed somewhere.”
“I’ll wear a bathrobe,” Cate said. “And put my hair up in a towel, as if I’ve just showered. Sam’s always wearing reading glasses with thick frames. I’ll borrow them and try to keep my back to any windows. From a distance, it should work. We’re the same height and build.”
Mike exchanged a look with Tessa, who shrugged. “I’ll stay in the house with her. It’s not a bad idea.”
“All right. I’ll join you inside,” said Mike.
“Great. It’s settled,” said Cate. She’d worried they’d refuse her plan.
We’ll get him.
Two hours later the sun had set, and Cate had been pretending to read a book at the table in the kitchen. Her senses were on high alert, but she was bored. She’d made five cups of tea and rewrapped the towel around her hair at least a dozen times.
She’d talked to Henry, who was in his car down the street, watching the comings and goings of the neighborhood. The review of the ferry tapes hadn’t shown Chris’s vehicle, and no one on the island had rented a boat to him. His personal boat was still tied up at the marina. Bruce had boarded and found it empty. So now Kurt sat in his own truck at the end of the street, the county vehicles too noticeable for surveillance. Bruce sat with Henry, because his own orange muscle car was highly recognizable on the island. Henry’s silver Explorer was not.
The wait was excruciating.
Tessa and Mike continued to research and make work calls from inside Samantha’s home, staying out of sight.
Cate’s phone beeped. Tessa was calling from a back bedroom. Cate answered and found herself on a three-way call with Mike.
“Hey, guys,” said Tessa. “Did you know that Chris’s mother died when he was seven?”
“No,” Mike and Cate said in unison.
“Yeah. She was found murdered in a park not far from their home. Death was from a ligature.”
“Where was Chris that day?”
“In school.”
“Was the murder solved?” asked Mike.
“No. Still open,” said Tessa. “I don’t like this.”
“A seven-year-old isn’t going to murder his mother,” said Cate.
“True, but it will leave a lasting effect on the child.”
“Are you saying Chris might kill mothers because his own mother was murdered?” asked Cate. “I don’t quite see the logic there . . . and besides, it’s Jeff Lamb who started all this. His victims were the young women with children—oh, my god.” Cate’s mind shot down a tangent. “Tessa, how old was Jeff Lamb the year Chris’s mother was killed?”
“He would have been twenty-three.”
“Where did both of them live when this happened?” Cate asked, struggling to breathe normally.
“Give me a minute,” said Tessa. Sounds of typing came through the phone.
“Is it possible?” Mike muttered.
“They both lived in Kent,” said Tessa. “I’m looking up the location of their addresses—holy shit. Their homes were one street apart.”
“They were neighbors,” breathed Cate. “I don’t know what a twenty-three-year-old man would have to do with a child, but I think there’s a good chance that’s where their relationship started.”
“And Lamb may have killed Chris’s mother,” said Mike. “It fits with his other victims. Mothers with young children. But for some reason he didn’t do the burial part of his routine.”
“Maybe he hadn’t added it yet,” said Cate. “I wonder if he’d done the surveillance part. Was she married?”
“Divorced for four years when she died,” said Tessa. “Her ex was a primary suspect for a long
