Truth is in the Darkness (Paynes Creek Thriller Book 2) Page 26

  “There’s nowhere to go, darling,” Winn taunted.

  “Who is that man to you?”

  “That man is my father.”

  I narrowed my gaze. “That can’t be.” I glanced at Jake. “What about Jake?”

  “Jake is the dear half-brother I never knew I had until just last year.” Winn laughed. “And he could have been a very rich man. But he had to go and get all self-righteous on us.”

  “What are you talking about?”

  “You really know nothing, do you? Well, I suppose it’s time you learned what I’ve been up to all these years. What Dad’s been up to. And poor little brother Jake.” He smiled. “Jake decided that he just had to know who his father was, so he hired a private investigator. And as you might imagine, Dad didn’t like the thought of some Podunk lawyer connecting the branches of the Richardson family tree. So when Jake got close to figuring out who his father was, Dad paid off the PI to shitcan the investigation, and I sent Tricia to work for Jake. To keep an eye on him. She made sure he got thrown off track.”

  He paced, warming to his story, enjoying his reveal. “But then, about a month ago, he started up again. Somehow he convinced his mother to tell him the truth. That she worked at Girlz Next Door once upon a time back when dear ol’ Dad ran the establishment. That was more than thirty years ago, and it was named something different then, but I’m sure you know the place.”

  I did. That was the same place where Linda stripped, and where she tried to get me to strip too, that summer after I graduated high school.

  “Dad got the bitch pregnant,” Winn continued, “and she moved to Paynes Creek to hide that old part of her life. As if a slut can ever stop being a slut. Dad sent her money each month. I guess he loved her, though I can’t imagine what he saw in her. But then, after he tried to take you that night, she got scared and ran—just disappeared.”

  “You don’t know where she is?”

  Winn laughed. “Oh, I’m sure Dad knows, but he pretends that he doesn’t. He even bought this house when she sold it—under an alias, of course. You see, it never ended, Lil. Nothing ever ended. We’ve been watching you ever since that day you ran away. I’ve been watching you. You thought you escaped, but you’ve been in my sights this entire time. Now, be a good little girl and come to me. I don’t want to hurt you.”

  That’s when the full truth hit me. “You aren’t just my stalker. You were there that night. The other man. You were the one who moved my car.”

  “Well aren’t you the clever one. Yes, that was me. And here I am again, to finish the job.”

  “Why are you doing this?” I asked, stalling. I was watching every tiny move he made, and was prepared to run for it first chance I got. “You don’t need to traffic girls. You’ve got a successful career in New York.”

  He laughed. “You think I was able to wine and dine you and pay for those expensive hotel rooms for your ridiculous signings solely from the commissions I made off of you? You’re a children’s book author!” He said “children’s book author” as if it were a dirty profession. “And do you have any idea what kind of money I stand to make off of you now? My father has offered me a very lucrative bonus for delivering you. He was never the same after you escaped him and caused him to lose Sophia.”

  I stood up tall. “Fine. You can have me, if you let Bryn go. You don’t need her.”

  “No can do, my sweet Lily. She knows too much. Besides, I’ve already got a buyer lined up. Most of ’em like their product nice and young, but I have a special client who prefers his products a bit more mature. I was going to deliver him just one”—he leered at me—“but two will be a magnificent payout. Now be a good girl and come to me.” He stepped forward.

  “Like hell I will,” I said through gritted teeth.

  A crack of thunder sounded overhead, and a sudden deluge of rain hitting the metal roof drowned out all other noise.

  As Winn lunged for me, I dodged left and sprinted toward the doors. “Help me!” I screamed, but I knew my voice wouldn’t be heard over the thunder and rain.

  Winn’s arms wrapped around me from behind and a hand covered my mouth as he dragged me backward. “That was really stupid, my dear. My father will kill you if you keep this up. I’m the only hope you have right now.”

  My screams were smothered beneath his palm, and when I bucked and kicked, his arm around me tightened even further, forcing the air out of me and making it impossible to get a breath.

  “Don’t make me hurt you,” Winn said into my ear. “I’d hate to mess up your pretty face. Or any other part of you.” His hand roamed over my breast and down my stomach. “I know how amazing this body is. I know it well.” His hand crept lower. “And I’d like to keep it in pristine condition for what’s to come.”

  I stilled and quieted. Tears stung my eyes, but I knew I had to fight. I just had to wait for my moment.

  When he loosened his grip and turned me in his arms, I stared straight into his eyes. “You’re disgusting.”

  He smiled. “I managed to seduce you, didn’t I? And every gift I sent you—as your ‘stalker’—only drove you further into my arms. I’m sure the blood at your dear old Grammy’s would have sent you back to me in New York had that motherfucking cop not butted into our lives.”

  “Why? Why did you bother with any of that? You knew where I was. You could have kidnapped me at any time. Or just killed me.”

  “My dear Lil, now why would I want to do that? I loved you. I fell for you the day I first laid eyes on you all those years ago. You were nothing like the college girls I was screwing at the time. So Dad said I could keep you—if I could get you to marry me.” He shook his head. “We would have had an amazing life together. I had big plans after you were one hundred percent mine. And I can assure you those plans didn’t include your stupid children’s books. But then Cooper Adams had to go and take what was mine.”

  A shiver moved down my spine. I didn’t even want to know what Winn meant by “plans.”

  “Why did you kill Tricia?”

  “I didn’t want to, I promise you that. She was useful. But the Lexington PD were sniffing around, so it was necessary. The antique knives were a nice touch though, right? I found them in a box in the house. Dad told me Jake’s mother bought them for him, so I thought it was appropriate to use them now, given Jake was the one who stirred all this up.”

  “Because he wanted to find his father,” I said.

  “Because he stuck his nose where it doesn’t belong!” Winn snapped, his eyes flashing. “Until today, he only knew his father was the one-time owner of Girlz Next Door. Dad made sure his name wasn’t on any paperwork, but Jake’s practically been living at Girlz Next Door lately, asking questions, making contacts. It wouldn’t have been long before he found someone who remembered Dad’s name.”

  “You mean he never learned the truth?” I asked.

  “No, he did—but only because Dad was stupid enough to think maybe it was time to bring little Jake into the family business. I tried to tell him Jake wasn’t ready, and probably never would be, but Dad insisted. Yesterday he invited Jake out here to the old family farm. Sure enough, just as I predicted, Jakey-boy gets all self-righteous and starts talking shit about calling the cops.”

  Jake groaned from his spot on the floor.

  “Oh, look. Baby brother seems to be coming around.”

  I heard Richardson’s voice outside. “Why don’t you boys go on up to the house and relax a bit. We’ll let you know when the cargo is loaded.”

  I had stalled as long as I could, and Coop still wasn’t here. Maybe my text had never gone through. Either way, I couldn’t wait any longer. Whatever I was going to do, I had to do it now.

  I looked Winn in the eye. “Well, as long as we’re telling secrets, I’ve got one for you. Do you know why I never agreed to marry you?”

  Winn focused on me, interested.

  “Because you’re a weak little man,” I said with a sneer. “And you’ve confirmed exactly that to
day by showing me how much of a daddy’s little boy you are.”

  I grabbed his arms and jammed my knee up into his crotch. When he doubled over, I lifted my right arm and brought my elbow down hard on his back. He fell to the ground, writhing in pain.

  I didn’t wait for him to get up—instead I ran toward the barn doors.

  Richardson appeared in front of me.

  He merely chuckled when he saw his son on the ground. “Oh, you are a fighter. I’ve been waiting a long time to get another chance with you. But that’s going to have to wait until we get to our destination.”

  I backed up slowly. And when he came for me, my self-defense classes weren’t enough. He overpowered me, and seconds later, I found myself locked inside the last metal cage.

  Forty-Three

  Coop

  I called Luke. “Winn is Richardson’s son.”

  “Lil’s Winn?”

  “Not how I would put it, but yes.” I told him everything Linda had told me. “Send the lab that set of prints we got from Winn. Send them now. If he really is Richardson’s son, my gut tells me that he was the third person the night they tried to kidnap Lil. It will be his fingerprints on Lil’s car.”

  “I’ll get it done. Two squad cars are headed your way. They shouldn’t be more than five minutes behind you. The rest of us are leaving now.”

  I hung up and called my analyst at the FBI lab, even as I continued to speed down the country roads in driving rain and dangerous lightning toward Jake’s childhood home. I spoke as soon as she answered.

  “Katy, check your email. Special Agent Justice is sending you a set of prints. I want you to run those against the unidentified prints from the Lily Thomas kidnapping in Paynes Creek twelve years ago. It’s urgent.”

  “Okay. I’ll check, run the comparison, and call you back.”

  “No! I’ll hold.”

  “Okay, I’ll be right back then.”

  Luke was right. I had been too close to this case. My original instinct had been to investigate Winn Garrison, but I didn’t trust that instinct because I was wrought with jealousy of a man who had gained Lil’s trust. I assumed my personal feelings had led me to wrongly suspect him.

  “God, Lil,” I said softly.

  We were going to get through this. I would get her through this. But first I had to save her from whatever Garrison and Richardson had planned.

  “Special Agent Adams?”

  “Yeah, I’m here.”

  “It’s a match.”

  I pulled to a stop on the side of the road half a mile from Jake’s childhood home. I grabbed an FBI windbreaker from the back seat, reached for a pair of binoculars Luke kept in the glove box, and climbed out of the truck into a driving rain. Standing in the door, I studied the house through the binoculars.

  I spotted Jake’s car, Bryn’s car, and my SUV. There was also a moving truck in the drive, and a man was directing a couple of other men toward the house. It was hard to make out detail in the rain, but I was almost certain I was looking at Rudy Richardson. He turned and walked toward a barn to the left of the house.

  I had no signal on my cell phone, and thus no way of contacting Luke. I just hoped the officers he’d dispatched wouldn’t be coming in hot. I didn’t want Richardson panicking and hurting someone—or worse.

  The next five minutes ticked by slowly, feeling more like thirty. And still there was no sign of approaching police.

  Movement caught my attention.

  “What the fuck?”

  A forklift came out of the barn, carrying—

  “Son of a bitch!”

  He had them in cages.

  It was a repeat of West Virginia. Which meant the last thing I needed was inexperienced police officers coming in with sirens blaring. I knew from experience how badly things could go if this turned into a gunfight.

  I got back in Luke’s truck and headed back the way I came. When I heard the first sounds of police sirens over the rain and thunder, I stopped the truck in the middle of the road, turned on the hazards, and got out and began waving my arms.

  Two police cruisers came into view and slowed. I held up my badge as I approached, and I ordered them to shut off their sirens. The four officers from both cars climbed out and joined me in the rain.

  “Here’s what I know,” I began. “Rudy Richardson is on the property. He is presumed to be armed and extremely dangerous. As is his son, Winn Garrison. There are also two drivers of a moving van there. I do not know their involvement. There are at least three victims, possibly more, and I suspect they are in metal cages and cannot defend themselves. If you draw your weapons, you’d better be damn sure you have a clear shot.”

  “Sir,” one of the officers said, “we’ve got six additional officers plus the sheriff and your partner on their way. They’ll be here in three minutes.”

  “That’s great. Give me five minutes to get on the property. One of you have a radio I can borrow?”

  The officer handed me his.

  “Radio Special Agent Justice and the sheriff. Tell them to wait for my signal.”

  I drove back to the spot on the side of the road where I’d originally parked. I got out, armed with my sidearm and a radio, and began making my way through the field toward the barn. Ahead of me, the forklift was moving yet another cage to the back of the truck. Inside the cage, two girls were huddled together. Neither of them was Lil.

  I stayed low when the forklift turned and headed back toward the barn. That’s when I saw Winn Garrison’s face. He was driving the forklift.

  When I was once again out of his field of view, I kept going, holding my firearm to the side and at the ready. I didn’t even flinch when a crack of thunder sounded directly overhead and lightning lit up the increasingly dark sky. Soon I had taken cover behind the barn.

  I crept slowly around to the side. The rain was coming down harder now, and the ground was soft as I walked. As I came around the back corner, I could see the house. There was no movement. I kept going.

  Just as I reached the front corner, the forklift came out of the barn once more, carrying yet another cage. I stiffened when I saw who was inside.

  Bryn.

  She was lying on her side, apparently unconscious. Even the hard rain didn’t make her stir. Don’t wake up, Bryn. Stay unconscious, I thought.

  And then the man I’d been pursuing for most of my adult life exited the barn. Rudy Richardson. If anything happened to Lil or Bryn, I would kill that scum. And I’d do it with my bare hands.

  I jerked back behind the corner and hurried once more to the back of the barn. Under cover of the storm, I lifted the radio to my mouth and spoke as quickly and quietly as I could. “Rudy Richardson and Winn Garrison are moving in and out of the barn. Two additional potential suspects are inside the house. There are at least three victims caged inside the moving truck. Probably more caged inside the barn. Come in hot.”

  I heard the sirens almost immediately. A parade of jackpot lights, including the sheriff’s SUV, tore up the drive and came to a stop. I popped around the side of the barn just as Rudy Richardson raised a rifle and pointed it at the sheriff’s truck.

  “Don’t do it, Richardson!” I yelled. “FBI. Slowly set the gun down.”

  Winn spotted me from his seat on the forklift and immediately reached down. I shifted my aim directly at his head. “Give me a reason to pull this trigger, Garrison.”

  As I was yelling at Garrison, Richardson whipped around, rifle pointed directly at me. Gunfire rang out from both Richardson’s rifle and my glock.

  Fortunately, I was faster. Having shot Richardson in the chest and knocking his aim off, he missed hitting me.

  Garrison’s hands shot up in surrender.

  Richardson fell to his knees, then collapsed to the ground.

  Within seconds, ten police officers had guns aimed at the two assholes.

  Forty-Four

  Coop

  With both Rudy Richardson and Winn Garrison restrained, Luke joined me as we entered t
he barn with our firearms out.

  Jake lay on the ground near the door, unconscious. But my eyes were focused on the one cage remaining in the barn, and the person trapped inside.

  Lil.

  Tears stained her face. “Coop.”

  “We’ve captured Winn and Richardson. Is there anyone else?” My eyes darted around the dilapidated building that reeked of dead animal.

  “No. It was just the two of them.” She slumped against the bars.

  I secured my gun, then went to her. The cage was secured with a large padlock. I touched her fingers that were hooked around the bars in an attempt to comfort her. “I need to get the keys. Are you hurt?”

  Lil immediately waved me off. “I’m fine. Go to Jake. He’s hurt.”

  “I’ve got him,” Luke said, kneeling beside Jake. “And we already have ambulances on their way.”

  Sheriff Daniels appeared in the doorway. “You’ll need these.” He held up a set of keys, then tossed them to me. “Ambulances will be here in under ten.”

  “What about Bryn?” Lil asked. “Is she okay?”

  The sheriff had a distressed look on his face but offered Lil a smile at the question. “Bryn is semi-alert. The other three young women are also coming around. We’ll know more as soon as the ambulance gets here, but no one appears to be badly harmed. I’m going to get back out there.”

  When I had the cage opened, Lil wrapped herself around me, not caring that I was soaked from the storm. “If you hadn’t gotten here in time…”

  “Of course I got here in time,” I said, though I knew I would play the “what if” game on repeat for a long time to come. I held her for a good thirty seconds, smoothing out her hair, before I let her pull away.

  “Did he say anything?” I asked her, nodding toward Jake. I still didn’t know if he was involved. If my best childhood friend had put Lil in danger.

  “No, but Winn told me everything. He thought it was all over for me—that he finally had me trapped with no way to escape—and he wanted to taunt me with everything he’d done.”