Adelle Laudan - Killer Scents

Chapter Twenty One

She’d battled demons and conquered many fears in her forty years, but at this precise moment she freely admitted to being scared shitless. There has to be a way out. If he uses that needle, God only knows what he’ll do to me.

The more Becca struggled, the deeper the tape burned into her flesh. If only I could bend my elbows.

The sheen of perspiration worked in her favor, helping the tape work its way up her arm. Her eyes filled and she blinked rapidly to clear her vision.

Please stay away just a little longer. If I can get my wrists to my mouth, I might be able to chew through the tape.

She frantically wiggled from side to side in hopes of moving the tape further. Her gaze never wavered from the panel Danny had disappeared behind. The harder she worked, the more she sweated. The mounting tension made the threat of being sick, very real.

Finally, the tape slid over her elbow. Despite her pain, she moved quickly, bringing her wrists up to start gnawing through the bloodied tape.

All too soon, the creak of the panel forced her to stop and lie perfectly still. Becca prayed he didn’t notice anything amiss. She swallowed her rising frustration. If only he’d stayed away a little longer.

Worry lines sprouted between Danny’s eyes as he crossed the distance between them.

Please, please, please, don’t figure out what I’ve been up to.

He now stood at her side and looked down on her. Suspicion darkened his eyes as his fingertips skimmed her lips and came away bloodied.

Becca held her breath, forcing a calm exterior.

“You bit your lip?” His words were slurred like he’d been drinking drunk. Danny let go of her hair and pulled at the tape wound around her wrists.

She whimpered.

“Aw, does that hurt?” He yanked at it harder, the tape digging deeper and deeper into her skin.

“You sick bastard.” With every ounce of strength left in her, Becca clasped her hands and brought up her fist, connecting with his nose. Blood spurted over her and the floor.

Danny howled, grabbing his nose and hopping about like he was in a tribal dance. Becca prayed for mercy. Her plan to knock him out failed.

He squeezed the bridge of his swelling nose and glared at her. “You know, for a hotshot detective, you’re not very smart. Rule number one: never piss off the guy holding the needle.”

Randy stepped on the gas and blazed a trail out of Danny’s driveway.

Jeffery grabbed the dashboard. “Take it easy, man. How was I supposed to know he rented out his house?”

He smacked the steering wheel. “I’m not pissed off at you, Jeffery. I’m just plain ol’ pissed off. God only knows what he’s doing to her right now.” Pictures of the seven victims played over and over in his mind.

During the discussion between Jeffery, Jacob, and the professor, they listed previous workers who might have the kind of knowledge needed to pull something of this magnitude off undetected. Once Danny’s name was mentioned everything fell into place, and before long they agreed they’d uncovered the identity of The Florist. “I still can’t wrap my head around it being a cop. Never in a million years would any of us have suspected Danny.”

“If it’s any consolation, Danny’s a real smooth talker. I’m not surprised he never drew any suspicion.”

“So, the two of you were close at one time?”

Jeffery settled in his seat. “I couldn’t talk about this in front of my father last night. Danny was my first lover. We were best friends, and when his mother passed away, he came to live with us. Soon after, he seduced me.”

“Are you saying it wasn’t consensual?”

He waved a hand. “No, no, nothing like that. Danny was the first man to love me in that way. Before then you could say I was a little confused about my sexuality.”

“Is that the reason behind you and your father’s estrangement?”

“Not entirely. You see, Danny and my mother became very close, and he took on the role of her protector. As you can well imagine, we were all devastated by her sudden death, but Danny took grief to a whole new level. He wouldn’t accept that she simply died of a heart attack. Everybody was suspect, and someone was going to pay for her death. It became his mission in life to find out whom.

“My mother helped us keep our relationship from my father. Shortly after her death, he found out and went ballistic. He told Danny to move out, even banned him from the property. I also left the house that night, but continued to work and live on the acreage.”

Jeffery shrugged indifference. “Dear old dad actually did me a favor. I wanted to end it with Danny, but didn’t know how. A few months later, I hooked up with Jacob, and here we are now.”

Randy listened to Jeffery’s story half-heartedly. While it was all interesting and gave him a better understanding of Danny, it brought them no closer to finding Becca. He hit the steering wheel again. “We’re missing something and I can’t for the life of me figure out what it is.” Smoke came up from under the car as he hit the brakes and peeled down the professor’s driveway.

His heart sank as the scene unfolded before them. The officers lingered outside the buildings, making it crystal clear their search had turned up nothing. His tires bit into the gravel with the truck’s sudden stop.

“The dogs. Why haven’t they been called in? Mark, go find the chief and bring him back here. I don’t have the authority to request them.”

After thirty excruciating minutes, the K9 units arrived with two beautiful Belgian Malinois on board. Each dog had been outfitted with ballistic vests for their protection. Given Danny’s state of mind and the fact he’d already poisoned and killed a dog, he wouldn’t think twice about shooting them.

With ears pointed upwards, one canine sniffed Becca’s sweater and the other Danny’s vest. Their police partners knelt beside them and uttered their command of search and find.

The dogs put their black snouts to the ground and ran off in the same direction. Their partners followed close behind until both animals jumped into a thicket of trees and bramble, obscuring the back of a sorting building.

Randy’s heart pumped so hard he heard blood rushing in his ears. He’d asked Jacob earlier what was behind that particular structure and the guy assured him not even their brawny utility trucks could get through the mass of overgrown weeds and foliage there.

We can’t get to it from the front, but maybe we can go through the back.

“Jacob, can you show us around to the other side of this brush? Isn’t it possible he got in that way?”

The foreman shrugged and slid in behind the wheel of his Mule. “I guess it’s possible, but I can’t see how he did it without anybody noticing.”

The trainers tried to bring the dogs back to no avail. Once the two animals started to bark incessantly, he turned to the chief. “They’ve definitely found something.”

“Can’t you just command them to come back?” the chief asked.

“They are trained to stay with their find. I doubt they’ll come.” He cupped the side of his mouth and called out. “Baron! Regan! Home!”

“We’re wasting time.” Randy waved the chief over. “If anyone gets in this way, let us know immediately. I want a team to follow us as well.”

Jacob drove down the lane to the main road. He travelled a short distance before turning onto a rough path through the middle of a field. He pointed to where the tree line began.

“Right about here is where they went in from the other side.”

“Can’t we get closer than this?” Randy’s lack of patience reached a new high.