After stripping in the changing room, she wrapped a towel around her chest and stepped outside, slightly embarrassed at the idea of being naked in front of Chad for the first time. She peered at the empty pool and swallowed hard. Where is he?
A low chuckle came from behind her and she turned around, pulling the towel tighter, expecting to see Chad. A man walked out of the shadows, shaking the water from his hair. As he moved closer, she recognized him and her cheeks burned. “How embarrassing, I thought you were Chad.”
“Chad couldn’t make it.”
Disappointment tinged with anger that Chad would do such a thing, she moved a step toward the dressing room. “If he is not coming, I’ll get dressed and be on my way home.”
A glint of metal drew her gaze to the knife glistening in his hand and she took a step backward. Panic closed her throat and she glanced around, looking for a place to run. The gate to the pool was not far and she could make it. She pivoted and sprinted between the dressing rooms and headed toward the gate. The black iron railings loomed up in front of her and she gaped in disbelief at the chain circling them.
Someone had locked the gate.
Gasping for breath, she grabbed the padlock but her trembling fingers refused to roll the combination. She stared behind her to see the man walking casually toward her swinging a red sock filled with something in one hand as if he had all the time in the world. Valuable seconds ticked by. She must concentrate before this lunatic changed his mind and ran at her. Turning back to the padlock, she spun the dial, locking in the combination.
One, click.
Two, click.
Three, click.
Four—nothing.
Frantic, she glanced over one shoulder. He was a few yards away and grinning like the Cheshire Cat. She spun the dial again and tried to lock in number four.
Nothing.
The evil, low, rumbling chuckle behind her made every hair on her body stand up.
“One, two, three, four ain’t the combination no more.”
I have to escape. If she took off now, she could run up the bleachers on the far side of the pool and jump the fence. Muscles bunched, she turned to run. Blinding pain smashed into her temple and her vision blurred. The ground appeared to rush up and hit her with incredible force. Air rushed from her lungs in a painful burst and, gasping, she tried to crawl away from the hideous laughter.
A shadow of the man passed over her and water dripped on her face from his wet hair.
“Going somewhere?”
Twenty-Eight
Jenna and her deputies had been working tirelessly to follow their leads, but by dinnertime on Wednesday, they had gotten nowhere. After eating dinner with Kane at Aunt Betty’s Café, Jenna decided to have an early night. She slipped into her slippers and strolled into the kitchen. The moment she added cream to her mug of coffee, her cellphone sounded the nine-one-one ringtone. She groaned and stared at the constant vibrating interference in her life then swiped the screen to accept the call. “Sheriff Alton, what is your emergency?”
“Oh my God, oh my God. You gotta send someone. I don’t know what to do.”
Jenna snatched up the pad beside the landline and grabbed a pen from the bunch in the empty pickle jar on the kitchen counter. “Take a deep breath and give me your name and location.”
“Chad Johnson and I’m outside the gates of the pool at the campus.” He let out a mournful moan like an animal in distress. “Something has happened to my girlfriend Kate, Kate Bright. I can see her lying on the diving board and her guts are hanging out. Send someone to help her.”
Jenna sucked in a breath to steady the rush of terror and forced her voice to remain calm. She moved swiftly to the landline and dialed Kane’s number.
“I can’t get to her. She is inside the aquatic center and someone has locked the gate. I called out to her but she isn’t moving.”
“Is anyone else there? Have you seen anyone in the area?”
“No, please hurry.”
“Okay, stay on the line. I’m going to speak to my deputy, he’ll call the paramedics and we’ll be heading in your direction immediately.” She muted the cellphone and heard Kane pick up. “Kane, it’s Jenna, I have Chad Johnson on my cellphone. It sounds like we have another murder. Send the paramedics to the campus aquatic center but make them aware of the potential danger. Instruct them not to enter the area if the victim is deceased—he mentioned her guts are hanging out, so I think we have another murder. It’s the same M.O. as Felicity.”
“I’m on it. Do you want me to drive you?”
“Yeah, give me five to get dressed.” She hung up the phone and went back to the cellphone. “You still there, Chad?” She poured her coffee into a takeout cup, filled another for Kane, then marched into her bedroom.
“Yeah, but I think I’m gonna puke.”
She wriggled out of her nightgown and dressed quickly. “That’s okay. Is there a garden bed or something close by you can use?”
“Yeah.”
“Okay, vomit if you must but don’t hang up. I need to know you’re okay.”
Trying to ignore the sounds of retching, she pushed her feet into boots and took her weapon from the bedside table. She slid her cellphone inside her pocket and attached the earpiece then went via the kitchen to collect the coffee. She set the house alarm and stepped onto the porch as Kane arrived at her front door.
“I’ve called Wolfe, he’ll meet us there.” Kane raised one dark eyebrow, waited for her to place the coffee in the console, then hit the gas. “What have we got?”
She buckled her seatbelt then glanced at Kane’s profile as he engaged the new siren and lights he recently fitted to his personal vehicle. “I have Chad on the line but at the moment he is throwing up.” She covered the microphone hanging midway on the earpiece from her cellphone. “He said little, only that we need to send someone because he found Kate Bright on the diving board at the campus with her guts hanging out.”
“Jesus.” A nerve in Kane’s cheek ticked. “It’s only been two days since we found Felicity and Joanne. If this is the same guy, he is escalating fast.”
The powerful vehicle roared along the highway, and green fields flashed by as it ate up the miles. They sped through town, lights flashing and siren blaring. Kane expertly maneuvered the vehicle through traffic, breaking then accelerating so hard, the G-force threw her back in her seat. Her deputy owned more than an SUV: Since the recent modifications, he had a bulletproof rocket on wheels. Reaching Stanton Road in record time, the SUV screamed along the edge of the forest and made it around the corner onto College Road seconds before the paramedics came over the rise from the other direction. She glanced at Kane. “Nice driving.”
He flicked her a dark blue glance but dropped his lashes as if to hide his feelings. “Thanks.”
She uncovered the microphone. “Chad, are you okay?”
“Yeah, I can hear the sirens. Do you want me to wait here or walk back to the front of the building?”
“Stay there. We are at the main gate now but it’s locked. How did you get inside?” She turned as Kane leaped from the car and, in one smooth movement, pulled his weapon, took aim at the padlock on the front gate, and fired. The chain burst apart in a shower of sparks and hung like a dead snake trailing on the road. “Ah, never mind, we’ve found a way.”
Muscles bunching under his cotton shirt, Kane ripped away the chain and dragged open one of the massive gates in an impressive show of strength. Jenna gaped open-mouthed at him but he shrugged then climbed back behind the wheel.
“Wolfe just arrived. Any idea where the aquatic center is in this place?”
Jenna shut her mouth with a click and pointed ahead. “Yeah, this one I know. I came to watch an event here last fall. It’s out back of the sports center.”
She gave him directions, and moments later they pulled up outside the gym. “The pool is down that passageway. Can you see the water glistening?” She uncovered the mic. “Chad, we’re here.”