an anonymous phone call to the super-sheriff, Antonio Morrelli. But he had been reckless even then, including Eric Paltrow’s underpants in Jeffreys’ treasure chest of incriminating items.
He had always taken each boy’s underpants for his own souvenir, but with Eric, he had forgotten. It had been easy to retrieve them from the morgue. His mistake, however, had been including Eric’s and not Aaron’s underpants among the items he had planted in Jeffreys’ trunk. Curiously, he had never known if his blunder had gone unnoticed or if the great and powerful Antonio Morrelli simply chose to ignore it. But he would not chance it this time. He would not be reckless. And soon, he would be able to put the throbbing to a stop, maybe for good. Just a few loose ends to tie up and one more lost boy to save. Then his demons could rest.
Yes, poor Timmy would finally be saved. So many bruises- he could only imagine what the boy had to endure at the hands of those who claimed to love him. And he did like the boy, but then, he had liked them all, chosen them carefully and saved each and every one of them. Delivered them from evil.
Chapter 70
Christine pushed the copier button and watched Timmy’s toothy grin slide out into the tray. He’d hate that she was using last year’s school photo. The one with his collar twisted and his cowlick sticking straight up. It was one of her favorites. Suddenly, it struck her how much younger he looked in the photo. Would anyone even recognize him? He had changed so much in one short year.
She set the counter and pushed the button again, watching a succession of the toothy grins slide one over another. Behind her, the sheriff’s department rumbled and vibrated with mumbling voices, shuffling shoes and clicking machines. Despite her chore, she felt isolated, invisible. She wondered if the task simply kept her out of Nick’s way. He insisted the more photos they got out to the news media and store owners, the better chance of triggering someone’s memory. It was a far cry from the way he had treated the Danny Alverez case. But then, maybe they had all learned lessons, expensive lessons. Walking out of this morning’s interview would cost her the high-priced TV job. But she didn’t care. Right now, Christine couldn’t care about anything but Timmy.
She felt him standing behind her. It came in a disturbing chill as if he had slipped an ice cube down her back. She turned slowly just as Eddie Gillick pressed in close against her, trapping her between the copy machine and his body. Sweat beads gathered on his lip above the thin mustache. He was breathing hard as though he had just come in running. The smell of his aftershave lotion assaulted her as his eyes traveled the length of her body.
“Excuse me, Christine. I just need to make a couple of copies of these photos.” He flashed them at her. When she only glanced, he held them up to her, slowly shuffling them one after another. Glossy eight-by-tens, the brilliant color emphasized the red gashes. A close-up of skin peeled back. A throat slashed. And Matthew Tanner’s pale face, his glassy eyes staring out at her.
Christine squeezed past, scraping her shin on the copy machine’s stand in order to escape Eddie Gillick. He watched, smiling at her as she bumped into a state trooper, smashed a knee into a desk and finally made it across the room. Safe in the corner next to the watercooler, she leaned against the wall and stared out at the chaos. Were they all moving in slow motion or was it just her imagination? Even the voices sounded slow, all melting together into one low baritone. And that ringing, that constant high-pitched ringing. Was it a phone? Maybe a siren or a fire alarm? Shouldn’t they be concerned? Couldn’t someone stop the noise? Couldn’t they hear it?
“Christine?”
She heard her name being called from another dimension, far away. She pressed her body against the wall, clinging to the smooth cool texture while the room moved. A slight tip to one side. No one else seemed to notice. Then a slight tip to the other side.
“Christine, are you okay?”
Lucy Burton’s face appeared in front of her, the heart-shaped face oversize with wide eyes bulging like in one of those grocery-store mirrors. Only there were no mirrors. Lucy was saying something to her again. The brightly painted lips moved but emitted no sound. Where was the remote control? She needed to turn up Lucy Burton’s volume.
The hands came at her from nowhere, clutching at her, grabbing for her. She batted them away, but they came again. She couldn’t breathe. She needed water. The watercooler was next to her just to her left, several miles away, far in the distance. She slapped at the hands again.
“No, I can’t hear you, Lucy,” she said, and realized her words were confined to her thoughts.
She felt her body sliding down the wall. She couldn’t catch it, had lost control of her own body as it, too, moved in slow motion. So many feet, scuffed shoes, red toenails, a pair of cowboy boots. Then someone shut off the lights.
Chapter 71
Nick came out of his office just in time to see a crowd gathered around the watercooler. He saw Christine slumped on the floor. Lucy fanned her with a file folder, while Hal held her up against his shoulder. Nick’s father looked on with the rest, his hands deep in his pockets. Nick heard the irritation in his father’s jingling pocket change. He recognized the taut jaw and rigid stance. Nick knew what he was thinking. How dare Christine show such weakness in front of his colleagues.
“What happened?” Nick asked Eddie Gillick at the copy machine.
“Don’t know. Didn’t see it happen,” Eddie said as he pressed the copier’s buttons, his back turned to the commotion.
It occurred to Nick that Eddie was the only one on this side of the room. He glanced down at the copies spitting out into the tray and watched pieces of Matthew Tanner cover Timmy’s smiling face. Maybe asking Christine to make copies of her missing son’s face was too much.
“You have the autopsy photos,” he said, keeping his eyes on Christine.
“Yeah, just picked them up from the hospital morgue. I knew you’d be wanting copies.”
“Great. Put the originals on my desk when you’re finished.”
At least Christine looked conscious now. Adam Preston handed her a paper cup, and she gulped water as if they had pulled her out of the desert. Nick watched from across the room, paralyzed, helpless. The ticking in his chest drummed harder than ever. He glanced at Eddie. Could he hear the ticking?
“Okay, everybody,” his father announced. “Show’s over. Let’s get back to work.”
Without hesitation they followed his orders. When he saw Nick, he waved him over. Nick stood firm, a last-ditch effort to gain back a shred of authority. His father signed something for Lloyd, then wandered over, completely oblivious to Nick’s defiance.
“Lloyd’s found Rydell. We’re bringing him in for questioning.”
“You have no authority to do that.” Nick concentrated. He needed to sound calm, cool, in-charge.
His bushy eyebrows raised as he stared at Nick. “Excuse me?”
His father had heard perfectly well. It was part of his intimidation. It had always worked…in the past.
“You no longer have the authority to bring anyone in for questioning.” He met his father’s narrowed eyes.
“I’m trying to help you, boy, so you don’t look like a fucking idiot to the whole goddamn community.”
“Mark Rydell had nothing to do with any of this.”
“Right. You’re placing your money on some gimpy church janitor.”
“I have evidence that implicates Ray Howard. What do you have on Rydell?”
By now the office had come to a standstill again. Only this time no one dared gather around them. Instead, they quietly watched from doorways and behind desks, pretending to go about their work.
“Rydell’s a known fag. Has a rap sheet as long as my arm for beating up other fags. He was Jeffreys’ fag for a while. I was never convinced that he wasn’t in on the whole thing with Jeffreys. I’d bet the farm that he’s your copycat killer. Only you can’t see it ‘cause you can’t see beyond Agent Maggie’s cute little ass.”
The heat crawled up Nick’s neck. His father turned away from him, finished, dismissing him in his usual manner. Nick glanced around at the eyes pretending to work. Then he saw Maggie in the doorway to the conference room.
