Lethal (Small Town Secrets Book 1) Page 3

  “Back off, Cassidy,” Trent said.

  “Just saying.”

  Trent avoided glancing Risa’s way, and instead turned to the gray wooden storage structure on one wall of the cell. Comprised of shelves, cubbyholes and a writing surface, the unit was filled with stacks of letters, neatly folded magazine pages and a few trinkets. “Has anyone gone through this?”

  “When I heard you were on your way, I thought I’d better wait. Wouldn’t want to step on delicate toes.”

  Ignoring the jab, Trent pulled out the magazine pages and unfolded them.

  Risa turned away and coughed. A good cover, but Trent could see her revulsion. He felt it himself.

  Violent pornography was common with psychopaths, but the images on those pages—bound women screaming and crying, whips raising welts and drawing blood—likely went beyond any s/m Risa had seen in one of her studies.

  Cassidy’s face remained blank. “What kind of pervert likes to tie people up?”

  Risa turned away, a blush tinting her cheeks, and Trent knew she was thinking the same thing he was. A night long ago, playing with his handcuffs after a bottle of wine…

  But that had been consensual. A silly game. No pain or humiliation involved. These pictures were abuse, plain and simple.

  And this is what Risa’s little sister had run off with. A sadist who got off on another’s pain. And if it weren’t for Trent’s career, his obsession, Risa and Nikki never would have met Ed Dryden.

  “How did Dryden get this…stuff?” Risa asked.

  Cassidy glanced at the pages. “Had to have been smuggled in. Probably by your sister.”

  “Nikki would never have anything to do with this.”

  Cassidy shrugged. “She married good old Eddie, didn’t she?”

  “He convinced her that her love made him a better person. I doubt he could continue that charade if she saw this garbage.”

  “I don’t know. Love can be a powerful thing.”

  Trent knew the detective was being sarcastic, but in cases like these, his statement was more accurate than he knew. And though Risa didn’t want to face the truth, Trent could tell the images had shaken her. Badly.

  Setting the pornography aside, Trent plucked a stack of letters from one of the cubbyholes and began paging through them. He scanned each page individually, handing it to Rees when he’d finished reading.

  Most were from Nikki, long opuses declaring her undying love for the serial killer, her unflagging belief in him, and her bitter resentment of her older sister.

  She always has to be right, always has to be better than me… Miss Ph.D. thinks she’s so smart, but she has no idea…

  Trent almost flinched at the hurtful words. Envy was probably normal for a troubled younger sister like Nikki. But he knew Rees wouldn’t write this off as mere sibling jealousy. Not Rees. She would accept it like tender flesh accepts a sharp blade. She would internalize it. She would bleed over it.

  He forced himself to hand her the next page. And the next.

  Once he’d scanned the first stack, he moved on to the next. To his relief, these weren’t from Nikki. Where Risa’s sister’s handwriting was loopy and childish, the hand that composed these letters was pointed and bold, and they were signed Always, Farrentina. But except for the jabs at Rees, the content of the letters was similar. Declarations of love. Promises of care packages. Plans for Dryden’s future outside prison—a future his multiple life sentences were supposed to prevent.

  Trent held up the letter he was reading and focused on Cassidy. “What do you know about this Farrentina?”

  “Last name is Hamilton. Married to Wingate Hamilton.” Cassidy paused, as if waiting for Trent to recognize the import of that name.

  “Okay, I’ll bite. Who’s Wingate Hamilton?”

  “Multi-millionaire. Born rich, got richer. Apparently can’t keep his trophy wife entertained, so she picks up a serial killer hobby. Visited Dryden regularly. Al Mylinski is at her house now.”

  Trent remembered Detective Mylinski. Good detective to Cassidy’s asshole detective.

  Handing the last pile to Rees, Trent homed in on the trinkets still left in the storage unit. He fingered a lock of platinum hair, Nikki’s probably, and a small pile of cigarettes. Then his hand moved to a stack of photographs lying facedown in one of the cubbies. He picked up the pile by the edges and turned the photos into the light. The first photo was a wedding shot of Dryden and Nikki. The bride was dressed head-to-toe in frothy white, the groom in his prison jumpsuit.

  Rees leaned in close to see the pictures. Trent hurriedly flipped to the next.

  The next three were snapshots of a brunette posing seductively in red lace lingerie, complete with garter belt and stockings. He flipped the photograph over and read the inscription on the back.

  Enjoy! Love, Farrentina.

  A face to go with the name. He shuffled past head shots of several blondes, women obviously attracted to the excitement and notoriety of Ed Dryden. Finally his fingers grasped the last photo.

  It was a snapshot of Nikki and Rees in the foyer of Rees’s home. The two of them were posed on the antique bench, surrounded with teddy bears, silly smiles on their faces.

  The image was innocent.

  The photo was marred.

  A precise slit was cut through the photo paper, from the locket around Nikki’s neck to her thighs. Drops of something thick and dried and brown obscured her sweet smile.

  Blood.

  Rees gasped and looked away.

  Trent dropped the stack of photos on the storage unit. “He put that photo there for you. I warned you.”

  He regretted the words as soon as they left his lips. The last thing Risa needed right now was an I-told-you-so, especially from him.

  “I’m fine.”

  “He’s playing games, just like we were talking—”

  “I’m fine.”

  Rees was strong, but she wasn’t strong enough to stand up to Dryden’s twisted manipulations. How could she be? How could any normal person face such an overt threat to the life of someone she loved?

  It had been a mistake not to listen to his original instincts. “I shouldn’t have let you come. I’m taking you back to the entrance.”

  “Trent...”

  “If I find anything you might be able to help with, I’ll let you know.”

  Nikki

  They couldn’t bear to wait.

  In all of Nikki’s fantasies about the way their first time would be, she’d never imagined them doing it parked along a dead end road in the woods. But they loved each other so much, they couldn’t keep their hands to themselves.

  Nikki kissed Eddie, reveling in the feel of him on top of her, inside her. Never wanting it to end.

  High beams strafed the trees. A car approaching them on the lonely road.

  Nikki slid lower in her seat. “They’ll see you.”

  “Nah,” Eddie said and gave her a teasing kiss.

  “It’s not funny. You said yourself that they might be looking for my car.”

  Another light blinked on, deeper in the forest, and the car turned into a driveway Nikki hadn’t realized was there. She let out a relieved giggle.

  “What did I tell you? It’s just a drunk home from the bar.”

  “You’re always right.”

  Eddie gave her one more kiss, then pushed himself off her and slid into the driver’s seat. He yanked up his pants. “I have to take a piss.”

  “Wait a minute. He might see you.”

  “The drunk? Too many trees.”

  Eddie opened the door, the dome light flashing on. She reached for her panties.

  “Don’t put your clothes on. Promise? I’ll be right back.” He grasped the locket she wore on a silver chain around her neck and centered it between her naked breasts. Then he gave her a wink that she could feel all the way to her toes.

  He closed the door, and Nikki was plunged back into darkness. She let out a sigh. Their reunion had been passionate, even roma
ntic, everything she’d imagined. She’d had boyfriends in high school. Several. But they’d been awkward and unsure, and in the end, boring.

  Not like Eddie at all.

  Eddie was no kid. He was a man. He knew what he wanted. Best of all, he wanted her. He couldn’t seem to get enough of her.

  Risa wouldn’t approve. And just thinking about that made Nikki smile. Eddie had told her all about Risa and her obsession with him. Visiting him in prison, writing about him. But this time, Risa didn’t get everything she wanted.

  This time, Nikki was the special one.

  And that’s what Eddie made her feel. Special. He couldn’t get enough of her. And she had never known she could love someone this hard.

  She peered into the darkness, wondering where he went. The garage door of the nearest house still stood open, the light inside revealing the square-looking sedan. She didn’t see any—

  A knock sounded on her window, knuckles against glass.

  Nikki jumped, then squinted into the darkness at Eddie’s smile.

  So he wanted to get into her side again. She smiled. No wonder he’d asked her to stay naked for him. She opened her legs. Then she flicked the lock button on the door.

  He pulled the door wide.

  The dome light blinded her for a second, but even though she couldn’t see Eddie’s expression, she could imagine him looking at her bare breasts, her spread pussy, and she knew he’d be hungry for her. His love. His wife.

  “I thought you said she was sick.”

  Not Eddie. Another male voice. A stranger.

  Nikki crossed her arms over her chest. She clapped her thighs shut. It took a second for her eyes to adjust, and when they did, she stared into an older man’s surprised face.

  “Open your arms, Nikki,” Eddie said, his voice stern.

  Nikki shook her head. What was happening? She didn’t know what was happening.

  “Show us your tits, babe,” he said, his voice a little softer this time. “She has great tits. The best. I can’t resist showing them off.”

  “Listen, I don’t want to intrude…”

  “Nikki, show him.”

  Nikki moved her arms to her sides, the dome light glowing off her naked skin.

  “Best tits you’ve ever seen.”

  The man stared. “Uh, yeah. Nice.”

  “Nikki? Your legs…”

  Her throat was dry, her heart pounding. But she opened her thighs anyway.

  “Nice, eh?”

  “Uh, yeah. Real nice.”

  “You want to touch her, don’t you? Try her out?”

  “Of course. But… are you sure this is okay?” The man was asking Nikki, looking into her eyes.

  “She loves it. Don’t you Nik?”

  Nikki opened her mouth to answer, but no sound would come.

  “Take out his dick, Nikki.”

  Nikki had no idea what to do, what to think. She liked that Eddie was proud of her. That he thought she was beautiful, but… all this… it was just wrong. She gave him a pleading look.

  “I want to see him hard in your hands. In your sexy mouth.” Eddie stepped aside and pushed the man forward. “You wouldn’t believe how she can suck. Like a fucking vacuum. She’s made for it.”

  Nikki’s fingers shook. She tried three times to grasp the man’s zipper before she got hold. She didn’t want to do this. She wasn’t even sure what this was. But the way Eddie was looking at her, she could tell it was turning him on. She couldn’t disappoint him.

  She inched the man’s fly down, then reached in and touched warm, firm flesh.

  The man’s body arched. He tilted his head back. A horrible sound erupted from his throat. Then he slumped forward, falling heavily on top of Nikki, warmth flowing over her skin.

  Nikki couldn’t breathe. She couldn’t do anything but stare. She looked up at Eddie, a knife in his hand, a look on his face she didn’t recognize.

  A shuddering rasp came from the man.

  A wimpering sound filled the car.

  “Shut up,” Eddie said. He had to repeat himself before Nikki realized the wimper was coming from her.

  Eddie rifled through the man’s pockets, pulling out his wallet and a set of car keys. Then he grabbed the man’s arms, lifting his weight off her. “Get out of the car. Now.”

  Nikki wasn’t sure how she managed to move, but the next thing she knew, she was out from under the stranger’s body. Her skin was wet, covered in blood, and the June dawn felt cold. Shivers racked her muscles. Her legs felt weak.

  Eddie picked up the man’s legs, shoved him fully into the car, and slammed the door. Then he grabbed her upper arm and propelled her toward the open garage. “I wonder if he lives alone.”

  Risa

  Risa leaned against one of the government-beige walls in the entrance of the prison. Like all the other times she’d ventured inside the razor wire, the lack of light and air made her lungs constrict and her heart pound. But it was what she’d seen in Dryden’s cell that made her really uncomfortable.

  She’d known Nikki was in danger since the day she’d married Ed Dryden, but seeing what he’d left for her had been different. All the research Risa had done into the criminal mind, all the horror stories she’d heard while surveying Dryden and other offenders, none of it had prepared her to face the blood on that photograph. The slit down the middle of Nikki’s body. The threat made personal. Real.

  But the worst part was that Risa had let Dryden get to her. She’d insisted she didn’t need protection, that she could handle whatever Dryden had planned, and the truth was, she couldn’t.

  Thank God, she hadn’t fainted. If she had, Trent probably would have shipped her off in an ambulance and ordered the doctors to sequester her in the hospital until Nikki was rescued. Or until it was too late. At least here, she could talk to the guards and do some general fact gathering on her own. She might still be able to help.

  She sighed and looked up at Gordy. Even before he’d phoned to inform her of Nikki’s secret wedding, the guard had taken her under his wing. And judging by the way he hovered over her, he was nearly as protective as Trent.

  Noticing her gaze on him, Gordy laid his hand on her arm, his big mitt making it look as fragile as a toothpick. “I’m real sorry about what happened, Professor.”

  She looked into his weary eyes. “Thanks, Gordy. That means a lot to me.”

  “Anything I can do to help, you let me know.”

  Risa glanced around the entrance to the prison, at the barred doors leading to inner corridors guarded by more barred doors. Despite the warden’s moans about funding for extra guards and security measures, the prison seemed awfully secure. Risa couldn’t imagine how a prisoner could break out. Not without inside help.

  No doubt, an angle the sheriff’s office was following up on. But a few more questions couldn’t hurt. “Actually, there is something, Gordy. A few things I’m wondering about.”

  “Shoot.”

  “How well did you know Dryden?”

  Gordy’s mouth curled in distaste. “Know him?”

  “Did you ever talk to him? Have any personal contact with him?”

  “I don’t talk to scum.”

  “Never?”

  “Not any more than I have to. I sure don’t know him.”

  “Are any of the other COs friendly with prisoners? Or more specifically, were any friendly with Dryden?”

  “No one comes to mind.”

  “Can you think of anyone who would have reason to help Dryden?”

  Surprise registered on Gordy’s face. “Help him?”

  “He couldn’t have gotten into that garbage truck without someone looking the other way.”

  Gordy’s bushy brows turned down. “I think you got it wrong. No one would help someone like him. He must have gotten out on his own.”

  “It seems like it would be impossible.”

  Gordy’s big shoulders rose and fell in a shrug.

  “Dryden is a master manipulator.”

 
Gordy shook his head.

  “He manipulated my sister.”

  “I can’t—” His cheeks and neck reddened.

  “Imagine anyone being deluded enough to marry him? Neither can I.” Heaviness bore down on Risa’s shoulders. “But it happened. And he could have manipulated someone here into helping him escape, too.”

  “The best thing that could happen would be if somebody took Dryden out while he’s on the loose.” His voice dropped and shadows darkened his eyes. “He didn’t give those girls he killed a chance—hunting them down and gutting them like deer. And the guy who worked for the sanitation company? Awful. Dryden don’t deserve to live. Not one more day. Not even in a hellhole like this.”

  Risa barely kept herself from nodding in agreement. Wisconsin wasn’t a death-penalty state, and she had always been against allowing the government to execute its citizens. But in this case, with a man like Ed Dryden, she could almost justify strapping him to a table and sticking a needle in his arm.

  She didn’t know what that said about her, but she was sure it wasn’t good.

  Footsteps echoed through the corridor, growing louder, nearer. The barred door slid open and Trent strode through, carrying a cardboard box. Detective Cassidy followed.

  “Did you find anything more?”

  “Not much.” Trent paused only to sign out at the entrance desk. “How are you holding up?”

  “I’m fine. Embarrassed.”

  Trent retrieved his gun and headed for the exit. “Good. Because we’re going to do things my way from here on out. The Lake Loyal police chief is waiting for you.”

  The guard touched her on the arm on her way out. “Take care, Professor. If I come up with anybody who might have helped Dryden, I’ll let you know.”

  Giving the guard a parting nod, Risa followed Trent out into the first light of dawn.

  Trent

  The Lake Loyal police station had to be one of the smallest Trent had yet seen, and he’d visited a lot of them. Carved out of a corner of the village hall, the department consisted of a countertop jammed with computer equipment that served as the dispatch center, cubicles the color of faded Pepto Bismol that served as office space for everyone other than the chief, a closet-sized breakroom, and a conference room shared with the village board where County Detective Cassidy and boxes of old files waited for Trent’s attention.