He had to adjust himself before he could continue into the parking garage, where prison employees who weren’t privileged enough to get a parking space close to the building had to leave their cars.
In a perfect world, he’d bring Evelyn to live with him while he continued to work at the prison and everyone else went out of their minds wondering what’d happened to their beloved champion of victims’ rights. That was what he’d hoped for, what he’d planned. But since that woman staying at the cabin had discovered Kat’s body and he’d had to kill her, he should change his plan.
Sometimes one had to take what one could get.
11
Evelyn was sleeping so deeply it took her a moment to realize someone was banging on the door.
She opened her eyes. She was still at the office. In the oblivion of sleep she’d lost track of that, of everything. But even though the lighting in the common area outside the conference room was dimmer than usual—thanks to the hour and the facility’s attempt to conserve energy when the offices weren’t in use—she could see well enough to determine where she was. She couldn’t understand why anyone would be demanding entrance to this part of the building, though.
Was there an emergency?
Just in case, she struggled to regain full mental power quickly and sat up, blinking against the darkness immediately surrounding her.
Rap. Rap, rap, rap.
More knocking. As she left the conference room and started through the maze of cubicles that provided working spaces for the support staff, she checked the clock on the wall. It was only four thirty. She’d slept less than three hours. No wonder she felt as though she’d been run over by a bus—or, in this part of the world, maybe that cliché should be “run over by a snowplow.”
Even before she could figure out who was trying to rouse her, she knew it was a CO. She could see the uniform through the glass, but not the face. The reflection of what light she did have hit at exactly the wrong place, and he was looking back behind him.
Then he turned—and smiled.
Evelyn’s stomach dropped as she realized it was Andy Smith. She’d had an aversion to him before he’d torn up Bobby Knox’s photograph of his grandmother. Since that incident, she liked him even less.
What could he possibly want, especially at this hour?
“What is it?” she called through the glass.
He raised a Styrofoam cup, probably filled with coffee, and a plate that held a donut. “I thought if you were working this late you might need a little fuel.”
Did he have to wake her up for that? She lifted a hand to indicate she wasn’t interested in the food. “That’s very nice of you, but no thanks.”
“You don’t want to take them for the morning?”
He was only trying to be nice. Maybe he felt bad about what he’d done to Bobby Knox and this was his way of compensating.
Regardless of her feelings about him, he’d saved her life. She should show him a little forgiveness and consideration.
With a sigh, she turned the lock.
*
Jasper hadn’t felt so alive in years. His plan to get to Evelyn by working at the very institution she’d created was going to pan out, just not the way he’d initially envisioned. That came as a disappointment. He’d put so much work into his cellar. And Evelyn had cost him so much, he owed her more than a quick death.
But he’d already told his sergeant that he wasn’t feeling well and had to go home, so it didn’t have to be too quick. He’d have at least an hour to spend with her, during which no one would have any reason to come looking for him. He’d rape her with everything he could find before he killed her in the most brutal way possible. Then he’d leave her body in her office, walk right out of the prison and disappear.
Everyone would eventually realize he was responsible, of course. He wouldn’t be able to work in the prison system ever again. But he didn’t want to, anyway. That had always been nothing more than a means to an end. There was a woman out there somewhere who’d be willing to take care of him; he’d never been unable to find one. He’d shave his beard, let his hair go back to its natural color, assume a new identity, marry and use his new wife to provide for his needs. Meanwhile what he’d done here in Hilltop would have a chance to cool off. If anyone could start over from scratch, he could. He’d been on the run his whole life. And even though this form of revenge wouldn’t be quite as satisfying as torturing Evelyn on a daily basis—practically under the nose of the man who professed to love her—he’d take pleasure in knowing he’d won the battle with her at last and Amarok would suffer and go on suffering for a long time.
When she accepted the plate and the coffee and began to thank him, however, the phone rang. As she hurried over to one of the reception desks to answer it, he followed her inside and paused to lock the door.
Since this section of the prison didn’t house inmates and it was the middle of the night when no one was expected to be working, the offices weren’t well lit.
He considered that a positive.
“Who is it?” he heard her say. “Oh, Leland! Of course I know who you are. But … who gave you this number?… I’m sure Margaret thought she was helping, but I’m afraid I can’t tell you anything.… You’ll have to talk to Amarok.… No, you’re wrong. He is working on it. If he hasn’t contacted you tonight it’s because he’s been busy.”
Jasper stood as close to Evelyn as he dared, at least while she had access to the outside world. He loved the smell of her, the rumpled look of her, too. He could see the scar on her neck he’d created when he was only seventeen, loved that he’d left a mark she had to see every time she looked into a mirror. Those days had brought him some of his best memories. He’d relished finally giving in to the fantasies he’d entertained from as young as he could remember.
He wished for a knife, for the ability to reopen that old wound. But he didn’t have one. So he imagined wrapping the phone cable around her neck and cutting off her air instead. Watching her suffocate as the realization dawned that the man she’d been looking for since she was sixteen was standing right in front of her—that he was Jasper Moore and had been working with her for months—would be such a rush.
He flexed his hands and rose up on the balls of his feet in anticipation. But he forced himself to hold out a little longer. If he interrupted the conversation, Leland would very likely call back and, when he couldn’t reach her, send someone over from the prison side to investigate. That wouldn’t give him nearly long enough time to enjoy something he’d looked forward to for so many years.
As soon as she set the phone down, she was his.…
“Leland, these things take time.”
Jasper smiled when she sent him an apologetic look and leaned against one of the cubicles.
“Listen to me,” she went on. “He’s in Anchorage with evidence collected at the cabin.… Yes, there was evidence.…”
Jasper’s breath caught in his throat. What was she talking about? Before Leland and his party had arrived, he’d cleaned that cabin like he’d never cleaned anything before.
But why get worked up? Now that there’d been a change of plans, whatever evidence he might’ve left behind wouldn’t matter.
“I can’t tell you what it involves.… You’ll need to talk to Amarok.… He doesn’t have a cell phone. No one has a cell phone in Hilltop. We don’t have coverage.… I’m sure you’ll hear from him in the morning.… Trust me, he’s doing all he can.”
Irritated by the delay, Jasper was tempted to give her the windup sign. What more could she say to the sniveling brother of the woman he’d killed? The man was wasting his time and everyone else’s. He wasn’t getting his sister back. She was dead, her body dumped, permanently this time, in a wilderness area on the other side of Anchorage!
Evelyn tried to console Leland for another few minutes before politely telling him she had to go.
Jasper felt an electric spark as the conversation finally came to a close. The moment—his moment—was coming. But as soon as she hung up someone startled them by banging on the door.