Chapter Eighteen ~
After they were finished with their
naps, the rest of the afternoon went by pretty fast. Jude, Jackson and Amy showed
the pastors and their wives the Masters Estate. Afterward, they ate an early
supper of chili and peanut butter sandwiches.
They headed back to Church around
five-thirty. It was another awesome sermon, this time given by Isaiah Cobb. It
was about marriage and the family, and Jude enjoyed it immensely, filing away
the information for his future.
He’d called Lauren and brought her to
Church with him. He’d been serious about not neglecting her anymore. He loved
her like a sister and wanted to keep her safe. He fully intended to bring her
to the Masters Estate with the rest of them so nothing else happened to her.
Jude spent the ride home thinking
about the killer. Why haven’t we heard
anything from him? What’s he up to? He didn’t think it boded well for them
that he’d remained silent. He and Jackson had spoken about it before they’d
left for church and agreed he was up to something even more evil than before.
He should've been enraged the weather hadn’t permitted him to beat them back
here, but they hadn't heard a peep from him and there hadn’t been any kind of
security breach, so he breathed easier about that. The retinal scanners had
been installed that morning and Jackson had assured him there was no way to get
in now unless he was invited. I just hope
he’s right.
Jude chose the silent moment in the
car to turn to Lauren and say, “I've been meaning to talk to you..."
"Is there something wrong?"
He could hear the suspicious tone in her voice, and he smiled.
He wanted to tread lightly because he didn't
want to make her angry. "I think you should come and stay at the Masters'
Estate."
"Why in the world would I do
that?"
"Jackson and I talked it over,
and we both think you're in danger. If you think about it, it's not logical for
Max to let you live. He'll be afraid he said something he shouldn't have, and that’ll
make him eager to shut you up," Jude said quietly.
"I think he’s right, for what
it's worth," Justy said as she turned around and looked at Lauren. She
could see the fear on her face plain as day, and she knew Jude did too. She ached
for a closer relationship with him, but knew now wasn’t the right time. He
needed to catch the person who’d killed her parents so violently...
"I'm sure the Masters have
enough going on at their house right now," Lauren stalled.
"It was Jackson's suggestion
that I ask you. He's already arranged a suite for you."
"He has? Why are these people
being so nice to everybody?"
"They're being nice because
that's how they are. Just stay there with us. It would make us all feel better,
not to mention it would make our jobs easier by letting us protect everybody in
the same place.”
"Now that sounds logical,"
Lauren said.
"Then it's settled." Jude
smiled into the mirror. His phone rang just then and he picked it up from the
middle of the seat. "Hello?"
"This is Otis, Jude."
"Hey Otis, what's up? Is
something happening?"
"You remember how I told you
this morning I put a tracker on the killer's van? He's at your partner's house
right now. I followed him from a couple blocks back. He's been in the same spot
for about an hour. I think he's waiting on her."
"It's a good thing she isn’t
going home.”
"Where is she?"
"She's in the car with us.” He
liked the way the ‘us’ sounded, and he stole a glance at Justy, and she
blushed. “Lauren’s gonna be staying at the mansion with everybody else. It'll
make it easier for everyone in the long run."
"That makes sense. I take it you
don't want to tell her just yet he's there?"
"That's exactly right,"
Jude said. "I'll see you back at the mansion. You might want to call and
get that taken care of."
"Do you want me to call the
police?"
"That's right. I'll see you
there." Jude ended the call and turned into the driveway of the Master's
Estate.
"You're gonna love staying here.
Every time I come and stay I find it hard to leave. It kind of spoils you, you
know?" He chuckled as he pulled up into the garage. All vehicles going to
the Masters Estate would be pulling into one of the many different garages
attached to the house. They weren't taking any chances. The killer could be
lurking around outside anywhere.
***
The police arrived at Lauren's house,
but there wasn’t anybody there. The white panel-van was sitting in front of her
house, but it was empty.
Officer Anderson called Jude when
they'd canvassed the whole property. "Do you want me to go in and look
around?"
"Yes, that's what I want. Call
me back when you're done."
Jude was sitting in the living room
with his friends when the officer called back. "There's no one here, and
it doesn't look like anything's been disturbed. Of course I can't really tell,
not knowing what it looked like before."
“You didn't see any glitter, or a
note sticking out somewhere?" Jude asked, holding his breath. Something
wasn't right. The killer was changing his m.o. The man they'd been dealing with
would've already killed someone else and thrown the body to the media to cause
chaos. What was he up to? "Okay, go ahead and leave. Make sure you file a
report." Jude hung up the phone and rejoined the conversation with his
friends.
"Who was that?" Jackson
asked curiously.
Jude looked around the room, trying
to decide if he should say something. He figured he might as well. Lauren was
going to find out soon enough, anyway. "That was a police officer. They
just did a search of Lauren's house and property. We put a tracker on his van
this morning and Otis followed him to her house and waited outside for over an
hour, but when the police got there the van was empty and there was no sign of
the killer. He's playing with us. Almost as soon as he pulled away from the
mansion the tracker signal went off, so he knows it’s there. It came back on
just a little while ago, and that's how Otis was able to follow him. Other than
the obvious fact he's toying with us, I can't figure out what he's up to."
"He's trying to confuse you.
He's using evasive maneuvers. He's probably sitting back studying you guys just
like you've studied him. He's gonna strike when you least expect it,"
Shepherd Adams said confidently.
"How is that possible? I expect
him to strike at any time. He probably already has, and we just don't know it
yet," Lauren said in irritation. "It makes me angry that he was at my
house. I can't believe I was dumb enough to think he was an okay guy."
"Lauren, there's no sense in
coming down on yourself like that. You made a mistake. We all do. You just have
to go forward and put it behind you," Isaiah Cobb said gently.
"How can I do that?" She
asked in a raised voice. "I slept with a serial killer not once, but many
times."
"Not to be mean or judgmental,
but I suggest you don't 'sleep' with anyone else until you get married,"
Shepherd Adams said in a cautious voice.
"I know that's right. I wish I
could take that one back for sure," She replied.
"I think they’re serious,
Lauren. According to the Bible we aren't supposed to sleep with anybody until
we're married," Amy said.
"Really, that's a little odd,
isn't it? I mean, how are we going to know if we're sexually compatible with
someone if we haven't tested the waters?"
Both pastors looked at each other,
and then at Lauren.
She said, “I said something bad,
didn’t I?”
“Uh, yeah you did.” Jude said. “You aren’t
supposed to have relations out of wedlock.”
Lauren’s face reddened. “Oh, I didn’t
know that. I’m sorry if I offended either of you.”
“It’s okay, you’d be surprised what
we hear,” Isaiah said with a small grin.
“Yeah, but I was carelessly talking
about committing sin as if it were nothing. I broke one of the Ten
Commandments.”
"You may have already broken it,
but that doesn't mean you have to continue to," Shepherd Adams said.
"Yeah, I guess that's
true." She pushed her short brown hair behind her ear. It was a nervous
gesture, the hair wasn't even long enough to cause a nuisance yet.
"How long ago did you cut your
hair?" Shepherd asked.
“How did you know I cut my hair?” The
surprise was plain on her face.
“I was an agent before I was a
pastor, it comes naturally.”
"I used to wear it like this all
the time when I was younger, but I grew it out a few years ago. I loved it, but
Max didn't. He told me I needed to get it cut or he would find someone else to
be with. At first I thought he was teasing, but when I didn't cut it, he got
angry...It was the first time he raised his voice at me."
"Why do you think that
was?" Jude asked Shepherd. He'd caught the look on the pastor's face and
knew he was trying to get at something.
"I don't know for sure, but I'm guessing
there was someone significant in his life that had short hair and he was trying
to recreate that relationship with Lauren," He answered.
"Ew..... That is so sick," Lauren returned. This
just keeps getting worse and worse. I don't have a clue how I allowed myself to
be so fooled."
"The most confusing thing about
serial killers is they seem to have some kind of charisma that draws their
victims to them. You know, it's almost like an almost involuntary pull?"
Shepherd said. "It stands to reason this one is no different. He charmed
you because that's what he does. That's how he gets close to his victims."
"He didn't do that with all his
victims, though," Lauren told him. "He came in on Justy's parents in
the middle of the night."
"It's possible he didn't kill
her parents. I'm just as convinced as Jude and Jackson that some of these
murders have a woman's touch. He had those two other women doing his bidding,
and I think one or both of them did that killing, and then he helped them clean
it up," Shepherd said.
"This is just too sickening to contemplate,"
Justy said from her place on the dark brown sofa. She twisted one of the
cream-and-brown-colored throw pillows in her lap.
"You guys didn't talk to Lydia,
I did. You didn't see the desperation and despondency in her eyes. A mother
will do almost anything to protect her children," Amy said into the
silence of the room.
"Did we find her family and get
a security detail on them?" Jude asked at the reminder. He was already
pulling his phone out to make the call.
"I actually sent a few of my men
to keep a watch on their place. Everything is all clear for now," Jackson
said with a reassuring smile.
"Thanks Jackson. You’re the most
thorough guy I've ever known," Jude said. This was another indication he wasn't
up to par in this investigation. Thanks to Jackson's quick thinking, Lydia's
family might just remain safe.
Jude sighed tiredly as he rubbed his
hand through his blonde hair. This case was getting him down and he couldn’t
let it. “I think I’m gonna hit the hay, guys.” He got up to leave the room,
intent on praying for a few hours to ease his mind. Worrying wasn’t getting him
anywhere and he needed to talk it over with God and leave it to Him to take
care of. Being emotionally attached to Justy was making his brain like Jell-O.
“Goodnight, mate,” Jackson said.
“Are you okay, Jude?” Justy asked as
she moved to get up.
He put up a hand to stop her. “It’s
okay, really. I’m just tired and need some alone time.”
“Okay…”
“I’m fine,” He reassured her. She settled
back on the sofa as he left the room.
“Dear Father, give me strength,” he
began as he climbed the stairs.
