Just before he went into the bathroom, he walked out to take a final look at the furniture and other possessions he’d accumulated over the past eight months. Too bad he’d have to leave it all behind, especially his dungeon downstairs. That’d taken so much work and expense, and he’d never even had the chance to use it.
Sacrifices had to be made, however. It was important he travel light and disappear the second he hit Mexico. Maybe he’d even work his way down to Central America, to some place like Costa Rica or Nicaragua. He’d heard they were both beautiful countries.
Once he came up with a new alias and the documentation to go with it, which could all be had for a price, he could go anywhere.
*
Waiting for those manifests wasn’t easy. Evelyn had expected there to be a holdup over the weekend, since everything moved more slowly then. But both Monday and Tuesday passed with nothing—no news on the DNA culled from the blood on the tree or in the snow the night Amarok was shot. Nothing from the airlines, either.
Despite the pressures of her own job, she’d checked in with Ashton twice, since they were still waiting for a supervisor at the lab to verify the DNA results that were supposed to have come in on Monday, and she seemed to be calling Amarok every few hours. He assured her again and again that he was hounding every airline employee he could contact who might have some say in the matter. They all told him they’d received a copy of the warrant and were doing their best to expedite the process, but none of the information arrived until Wednesday.
She was having lunch when Amarok called her at Hanover House to say he’d finally received the manifests from Southwest and two other large carriers. “I’ve got a few of the files,” he said.
The hesitancy in his voice made her uneasy. “That’s good news, isn’t it?”
“It is, except there’s a lot more to go through than I was expecting—and I don’t have everything yet. There are nearly fifty airlines at Sky Harbor alone.”
“Chances are, he would’ve taken one of the major airlines for the sake of convenience,” Evelyn pointed out.
“Yeah, but the logistics are crazy. And I’m missing the manifests from Delta altogether.” He sighed. “This sounded easier than it’s turning out to be.”
“What are you saying?”
“I’m saying it’s more of a long shot than I wanted to believe, and I’m afraid I might’ve gotten your hopes up too high. I can do what I initially planned but not as thoroughly and not as quickly.”
“Wherever Jasper is, we have to catch him before he strikes again, Amarok. I have no idea what his cooling-off period is like. It’s different for every serial killer, but without something to interrupt them—a new girlfriend or wife, a stint in jail, an illness, something—the kills usually accelerate. And he’s been out there doing whatever he wants for more than twenty years, so I’d imagine his bloodlust is pretty intense. If he hasn’t taken a victim since Sierra, he’ll be getting the urge to kill again soon.” For all they knew, he’d already killed another victim. There could be another body somewhere, maybe more than one.
“Considering how much the person who shot at me was bleeding that night, I can’t believe he didn’t go to a hospital,” Amarok said.
“If it was Jasper, he’d only go if he absolutely had to. That tells us whoever it was must not have been hurt badly enough that he had no other choice.”
“I’ve checked with every business in the area. No one’s even called in sick.”
“Maybe the person who killed Sierra and Katherine doesn’t have a job. Maybe he has the money he needs, so he doesn’t have to work. We’ve talked about that. He could be hiding out, waiting for the chance to make his next move.”
“That means he could be almost any stranger who stops to get gas or have a drink at the Moosehead.”
“Those tire impressions haven’t turned up anything?”
“Not yet. Dunnigan, the expert, is still working through them. If I’d sent him a set of photos from the primary suspect’s car, he would’ve jumped all over it. He’s a nice guy, but he’s busy working on other cases, too, and the photos I sent were so random that he has to do them in his spare time.”
“Well, don’t get discouraged. We should hear from Ashton soon. And I’ll help you with the manifests this evening.”
“That’s okay. Phil’s willing to help. You have plenty of other stuff to work on. Call me as soon as you hear from Ashton,” he said.
Just then Penny poked her head into Evelyn’s office to say the attorney was on line two.
“He’s calling me now,” she told Amarok. “I’ll get back to you in a few.”
After he hung up, she switched over. “Ashton?”
“I’m afraid I have some unpleasant news,” the attorney said.
She tightened her grip on the phone. “What kind of unpleasant news?”
“He’s there. Jasper’s in Alaska. The DNA tests prove it.”
So she and Amarok had been right. Jasper had followed her to Hilltop, and he could have only one reason for doing that. He was planning to kill her. Otherwise, why wouldn’t he stay in the Lower 48 and continue to satisfy himself by murdering women who looked like her?
“Evelyn?”
She blinked and her office came back into view. “Yes, I’m here.”
“I’m sorry,” he said. “I hate that you have to deal with this—with him—again.”
“Don’t be sorry. I’m glad he’s here.”
“Because…”
She could hear the surprise in his voice. “I want to get him as badly as he wants to get me.”
“But are you prepared? How will you see him coming? How will you defend yourself?”
She thought of the manifests. Would they be able to use those to identify him?
If not, they wouldn’t have a lot to go on besides the tire evidence, which wasn’t particularly effective without a suspect who had a vehicle to compare against the impression Amarok had taken at the cabin. “I’ll just have to be careful.”
“This is crazy. As long as I’ve dealt with the criminal justice system, I’ve never come up against a situation quite like this.”
“Have you told Tim about the DNA evidence found in the house where Charlotte was killed?”
“I have.”
“He must be relieved.”
“He is. He’s also grateful to you.”
“If he’s innocent, he doesn’t belong in jail.” She paused. “I’d better go. I need to let Amarok know that we’re facing exactly what we thought we were.”
“Okay. Be safe, and please stay in touch.”
“I will.” She hung up and called Amarok. “Jasper’s here,” she said as soon as he answered.
He muttered a curse. “Then I shot the bastard.”
“You did.”
“If only I’d seen him better!”
“He could be seriously injured. Maybe that injury’s the reason I’m still breathing.”
Amarok didn’t respond.
“What are you thinking?” she asked.
“I’m thinking we could be running out of time. Don’t go anywhere alone.”
“I won’t,” she promised.
*
It was four o’clock in the afternoon, and Jasper had just finished the last shift he would ever work at Hanover House. He’d loved being so close to Evelyn for the past eight months, had taken great pleasure in creating his torture chamber while waving and smiling at her as they both entered or exited the prison. Imagining and anticipating the day she’d learn that the man who’d saved her from Lyman Bishop was the same man who’d nearly killed her before—and would kill her in the end—had been beyond titillating. But he’d hated everything else about having a real job, although he had to admit he’d miss the freedom that came with supporting himself.