Karen Rose - Scream For Me

“When I know something.” Daniel opened the door, then stopped, his hand still on the doorknob. And stared.

Behind him he heard Jim’s soft gasp. “Oh my God. That’s…”

Alex Fallon. She stood at the bottom of the police station stairs, a satchel over one shoulder. She still wore her black suit. Her shoulders abruptly stiffened and she turned slowly until she met his eyes. For a long moment they stared at each other across Main Street. She didn’t smile. In fact, even from this distance Daniel could see her full lips go thin. She was angry.

Daniel crossed the street, his eyes never breaking away from hers. When he stood before her she lifted her chin, as she’d done that morning. “Agent Vartanian.”

His mouth went dry. “I didn’t expect to see you here.”

“I’m here to see the sheriff about filing a missing person report on Bailey.” She looked over his shoulder. “Who are you?”

Jim Woolf stepped around him. “Jim Woolf, Dutton Review. Did I hear you say you were filing a missing person report? Perhaps I can be of assistance. We can print a photograph of Bailey, did you say? Bailey Crighton is missing?”

Daniel looked down at Jim and frowned. “Go away.”

But Alex tilted her head. “Give me your card. I may wish to talk with you.”

Again smug, Jim gave her a card. “Any time, Miss Tremaine.”

Alex flinched as if he’d struck her. “Fallon. My name is Alex Fallon.”

“Any time, Miss Fallon.” Jim gave Daniel a salute and was gone.

Something had changed and Daniel didn’t like it. “I’m going to the station, too. Can I carry your bag?”

The way she searched his face made Daniel uncomfortable. “No thank you.” She started up the stairs, leaving him to follow.

He could see her hunch one shoulder from the weight of her bag, but it didn’t seem to affect the sway of her slim hips as she hurried. Daniel thought her bag was a far safer thing on which to focus. He caught up to her easily. “You’re about to topple over. What are you carrying in here? Bricks?”

“A gun and lots of bullets. If you must know.”

She started up the stairs again, but Daniel grabbed her arm and pulled her around to face him. “Excuse me? ”

Her whiskey eyes were cool. “You said I might be in danger. I took you seriously. I have a child to protect.”

Her stepsister’s daughter. Hope. “How did you buy a gun? You’re not a resident.”

“I am now. You want to see my new driver’s license?”

“You got a driver’s license? How did you do that? You don’t live here.”

“I do now. You want to see my rental contract?”

Bowled over, he blinked. “You rented an apartment?”

“A house.” She really was staying a while.

“In Dutton?”

She nodded. “I’m not leaving until Bailey’s found, and Hope can’t live in a hotel.”

“I see. Are we still meeting at seven?”

“That was my plan. Now if you don’t mind, I still have a lot to do before then.” She’d run up a few more stairs before he called her name.

“Alex.” He waited until she stopped and turned again.

“Yes, Agent Vartanian? What is it?”

He ignored the ice in her voice. “Alex. You can’t take a gun into the police station. Even in Dutton. It’s a government building.”

Her shoulders sagged and her frosty expression melted away, leaving exhaustion and vulnerability in its place. She was afraid and doing her damndest to hide it. “I forgot. I should have come here first. I wanted to get my driver’s license before the DMV closed. But I can’t leave a gun in the car. Somebody might steal it.” A ghost of a smile flitted across her unpainted lips, tugging at his heart. “Even in Dutton.”

“You look tired. I’m going to see the sheriff. I’ll ask him about Bailey. Go back to your house and get some sleep. I’ll meet you at seven in front of the GBI building.” He eyed her satchel. “And for God’s sake, make sure the safety is on on that thing and you put it in a lockbox so Hope can’t get to it.”

“I bought a lockbox.” She lifted her chin, a gesture he was coming to anticipate. “I’ve coded enough children in the ER who’ve played with guns. I won’t put my niece in any more danger. Please call me if Loomis refuses to file Bailey as a missing person.”

“He won’t refuse,” Daniel said grimly, “but give me your cell phone number anyway.” She did, and he committed it to memory as she started back down the stairs, her steps weary. When she got to the street she looked back up at him.

“Seven o’clock, Agent Vartanian.”

Somehow the way she said it made it seem more like a threat than the confirmation of a meeting. “Seven o’clock. And don’t forget to change your suit.”

Dutton, Monday, January 29, 4:55 p.m.

Mack pulled the earpiece from his ear. How the plot thickened , he thought as he watched Daniel Vartanian watch Alexandra Tremaine drive away. Oh, wait. Alex Fallon . She’d changed her name.

It had been a surprise to hear she’d come back. That was one of the good things about a small town. No sooner had she stepped into Delia Anderson’s real estate office than the word began to spread. Alexandra Tremaine is back. The sister who lived.

Her stepsister Bailey Crighton was missing. He had a good idea where Bailey might have been taken. And why. But that was not his business at the moment. Should it become important, he’d act. Until then, he’d watch and listen.

Alex Tremaine was back. And Daniel Vartanian was interested. This, too, he’d watch. It could be useful later. He smiled. What a kick-off that would have been, to kill the identical twin and leave her in the same exact place. I wish I’d thought of it. But he’d kicked it off with a target of his own choosing. She’d deserved everything she got, but Alex Tremaine would have been a most excellent first victim. Now it was too late.

For a first victim. His brows lifted as he considered it. But what about his last? It would make quite the grand finale. It would complete the circle. He’d consider it.

For now, he had work to do. Another lovely with whom to deal. He already had her picked out. Very soon the cops would find another body in a ditch and the pillars of the community would find another skeleton dumped on their doorstep. He had it on good authority that they’d all been practically pissing themselves all day. Who would break? Who would tell? Who would tear their idyllic little world asunder?

He chuckled, just picturing it. Pretty soon the first two he’d targeted would get their letters. He was starting to enjoy himself.

Dutton, Monday, January 29, 5:35 p.m.

This is really nice!” Meredith explored the bungalow with a delighted smile.

Hope sat at the table. Alex took the red Play-Doh under her nails as a good sign.

“It is nice,” Alex agreed. “And there’s a park not even a block away with a carousel.”

Meredith looked impressed. “A real carousel? With horses?”

“With horses. It’s been there since I was a kid.” Alex sat on the arm of the sofa. “This place was here then, too. I’d pass by when I was walking home from school.”

Meredith sat next to Hope, but her eyes stayed on Alex’s face. “You sound wistful.”

“I was, then. I always thought this was like a dollhouse and the people that lived here were so lucky. They could go on the carousel any time they chose.”

“And you couldn’t?”

“No. We didn’t have money for things like that after my dad died. Mama had trouble scraping enough together for us to eat.”

“Until she moved in with Craig.”