Syd Parker - The Killing Ground

“No, no. I don’t want to go to prison.” She pulled her calendar up and typed for several minutes before she spun the screen around. “This is her private schedule. She doesn’t know I have access to it. She’s making a house call.”

Jordan took one look at the screen. Julie Keppler’s name screamed at her from the monitor. She stood up quickly. “Why would she make a house call? Why wouldn’t she just schedule an appointment? Has she done this before?”

“No.” Ruth shook her head. “Never. This is the first time.”

A thought so foreign to Jordan invaded the recesses of her mind like a black fog rolling through her, and she forced herself to give credence to its absurdity. When she accepted it for truth, she froze. “What time did she leave?”

Ruth saw the panic in her eyes, and she withered. “A half an hour ago, forty-five minutes tops.”

Rebecca saw the color drain from her face. She put her hand on her arm. “What’s wrong?”

“We need to leave now. Julie’s in danger.” The panic was evident.

Rebecca didn’t question the sudden snap. She just went with it. She had known Jordan long enough to know that if she had a feeling, it was usually right.

Jordan was already sprinting to the car. She started it with one hand and dialed her phone with the other. Seconds later, she slammed her palm against the wheel. “Shit! She isn’t answering.” She dialed another number. “Come on! Come on!” Again, there was no answer. She swore loudly.

“What’s going on, Jordan?” Rebecca hadn’t put two and two together, and Jordan’s erratic behavior was starting to make her nervous.

“It’s Dr. Mercer.” Jordan punched numbers on her phone. “Matt? It’s Dr. Mercer. The killer is Meghan Mercer. Just trust me. She’s going after Julie.” A pause. “We have to get to their house now! Susan isn’t answering. Call in backup. God damn it, Matty, we have to get there. She’s in danger.”

“Jordan, what is going on?” Rebecca’s tone snapped through Jordan’s haze.

“The video from the alley. Something kept bothering me about it. The way the guy stepped back and dropped his shoulder before the punch. It clicked when I heard that Dr. Mercer was making a special house call. She’s a fighter, and she’s used the move on me before.”

“You’re sure?” Rebecca’s brow furrowed. “You’re saying that the perp that everyone thought was a man is actually a woman. How’s she doing it?”

“I don’t know.” Jordan slid through a red light, her eyes flicking to the oncoming traffic. A horn blared to their right, and Jordan gunned it. “I haven’t got that part figured out. But I know I’m right. I can feel it.” She dialed the phone again, hoping against hope, she was wrong, but her gut told her she wasn’t, and as time slipped away, she felt her hope slipping away.

“It’s going to be okay. She’s FBI. I’m sure she can protect herself.” Rebecca tried to sound reassuring, but her voice sounded unconvincing even to herself.

Jordan’s phone rang. “Gray.”

“It’s Matt. Rick has five blue and whites on the way. ETA is five minutes. We’re still fifteen minutes away.”

“Okay, good.” Jordan’s hand was white where she gripped the phone. “We’re almost there.” She ended the call, and as if feeling danger, inched the speedometer towards the red.

Minutes later, Jordan screeched to a halt behind a black Range Rover. There were no other cars. Rick’s backup hadn’t arrived yet, and Jordan prayed they were close. The vanity plate said it all. BBYMKR. Jordan’s instincts had been right, and now she hoped it wasn’t too late. Why hadn’t she seen it before? She knew it was because of their night together. It meant nothing, but acknowledging that Meghan was a killer would eventually make her have to question her judgment.

She leapt out of the car and pulled out her Glock. Rebecca was on her heels before she could even say anything. The front door was ajar. Jordan motioned for Rebecca to stand to the side, and she pushed the door open with her gun. She waited. Nothing. She leaned her head around the doorjamb and looked through the living room into the large kitchen. She saw nothing. Heard nothing. At least she didn’t see anyone lying on the floor.

She put her finger up to her lips, signaling Rebecca to stay silent. They crept inside wordlessly, guns poised and ready. The hall was dark and Jordan made out a light creeping underneath a door at the back of the house. She waived Rebecca down the hall.

The wood floor creaked, and they froze. Waiting. In their silence, Jordan heard soft murmurs coming from behind the door at the end of the hall. Her eyes narrowed. She recognized the deep voice and froze at the words she heard.

“You left me and now you deserve to die.”

Jordan jumped, her legs covering the last fifteen feet in less than a second. She flung the door open. Her eyes met Meghan’s, and she knew that whoever was behind those wild eyes was not the cool, collected doctor whom they had met before. Her eyes flashed madly. “You!”

Jordan couldn’t move. Meghan had Julie’s hair in her grasp, and a large knife pressed against her neck. Fear and something else flashed in her eyes. Something akin to resignation. Jordan’s jaw clenched tightly. This could only end one way.

Susan was duct-taped to a chair, blood seeping from her leg. Her fingers curled around the arms of the chair. Her mouth was taped. Where Julie had all but given up, fury flashed in Susan’s eyes, and Jordan knew if she got a hold of Meghan, she would kill her.

She leveled her gun on Meghan. “Put the knife down. All I need is you to give me a reason, and I’ll blow your head off.”

Meghan cackled. She spied Rebecca standing behind Jordan, and her face broke into an evil smile. “Mmm, you little bitch. How is it fucking Jordan? She’s good, isn’t she?”

“Meghan, stop.” Jordan’s voice was a low, menacing tone.

Meghan shrugged it off as though she was just having a conversation with a girlfriend. “She tastes good, doesn’t she? Did she tell you I fucked her too?”

Rebecca tensed, her temper and fear getting the best of her. “Fuck you.”

“Fuck me?” Meghan laughed cynically. “That’s what my whole life has been. People fucking me and walking away.” She cinched Julie’s hair tighter. She leaned close to Julie’s ear and bared her teeth. “That’s why you have to die, Christine.”

Suddenly, it made sense. Christine was the woman who had left Meghan and put into motion a series of events that had left too many women dead and the fear of one more.

Susan tried to yell through the tape, and it came out as a desperate groan.

Meghan’s head snapped up. She leveled her gaze on Susan. “I’m saving you. She’ll just fuck you and leave you.”

Jordan took a step closer. “Meghan, please. Don’t do this. It’s not Christine. It’s not too late. You can put the knife down and walk away. We can get you a plea bargain. You need help.”

Meghan dug the knife into Julie’s neck, breaking the skin and sending the first droplets of blood sliding down her neck. Meghan sniffed the air like a hunter picking up on the blood of its wounded prey. “Yes.”

Jordan stepped closer again. She wanted to close the gap in the moments that Meghan slipped out of consciousness. One step. Another step and Meghan’s eyes snapped to hers.

“Get back, or I’ll kill her now.” Meghan’s sneer was menacing, and Jordan took a step back. She couldn’t risk pushing Meghan off the very narrow precipice that she now occupied. There was a very visible line that separated Julie from life and death and Jordan was holding it in her hand.

“Stop, Meghan. It’s not Christine. She’s not here.” Jordan’s voice was calm. She needed to distract her. Keep her occupied just a little longer. “Meghan, tell me about Christine. Tell me how you met.” She silently prayed that Rebecca’s men were close.