Chapter 7

NEXT DAY

SAN DIEGO POLICE DEPARTMENT

DOWNTOWN HEADQUARTERS

Detective Perry was waiting for Kendra when she stepped off the elevator at the police department's third floor. The downstairs desk sergeant had made her wait almost fifteen minutes before reaching Perry and permitting her to go upstairs.

"What brings you here, Dr. Michaels?"

"You called me this morning, didn't you?"

"You could have just called back. That's how it's usually done."

"I like the personal touch. Or maybe I was moved by your concern for my welfare."

"Well, when you left us last night, you were sporting a big bump on that blood-drenched head of yours. I wanted to make sure you woke up today."

"Still here, still in the fight. I hoped you were calling with something more important, but I guess it's a little early for DNA on that sample I helped collect for you."

"Afraid so. But I thought you'd be interested in some news on that garrote."

"Uh, maybe a little."

"That is human blood on it."

The news took her breath away. "Any idea how old?"

"Not yet. But they're running DNA on it."

Kendra nodded her approval. "Definitely worth a phone call, Perry. Thanks. Breen tells me you already started digging into the Morgan sisters' case files."

"You could say that. Want to see what I've been doing?"

"Sure."

He motioned for her to follow him down the corridor. "I've mostly been trying to get a handle on what those women were doing and the leads they were following. There's about ten years of work to wade through."

"Impressive, isn't it?"

"Trust me, a lot of the case files I see around here aren't nearly as thorough. I was looking at the dates on some of the transcripts, and those girls were seventeen and fifteen when they took their first witness statements. They could give a seminar."

"Find them, and maybe they will."

Perry pursed his lips and looked slightly pained. He clearly didn't believe the sisters would be found alive. "I'd love to sit in the front row for that."

"You and me both."

They rounded a corner, and he gestured for her to enter a doorway ahead of him. "Welcome to my makeshift command center."

Kendra entered a long conference room where every square inch of wall and table space was taken up by the Morgan sisters' files. Perry had neatly separated the files according to each of the Bayside Strangler's victims, with photographs and newspaper clippings higher up, and interview transcripts down where they could be more easily perused. Each of the written records was color-coded with strips of removable tape, though Kendra couldn't immediately discern his coding system.

"Nice," she said. "I flipped through my scans, but sometimes it's easier to grasp when you can look at them this way."

"Well, my boss is going to want this conference room back soon. Especially since these cases aren't active. Right now, we can't even prove they're a relevant part of our investigation."

Kendra looked at photos of the last two murder scenes, which for some reason were especially vivid and disturbing. "Has anything jumped out at you?"

"Rather than look at the facts of these cases, I've just been trying to follow the chronology of the sisters' investigation. That's what the colored tape is for. Ever since the Morgan sisters started this project, they've been focused on adding to their body of knowledge by interviewing new subjects and finding new and different evidence and written material." He pointed to an interview transcript with green tape placed on the upper-right-hand corner. "That all changed here, last August. For the first time, they doubled back and re-interviewed someone they'd spoken with years before. For the past six months or so, that's pretty much all they've done."

Kendra followed the green-tape-marked transcripts down the length of the room. "You're right. That's a cold-case technique, isn't it? Re-interviewing the witnesses years later to see if the stories have changed?"

"Exactly. Once again, those sisters knew what they were doing. In the intervening years, people may die, relationships might fall apart, witnesses could have guilty feelings about things they withheld… There are all kinds of reasons why a round of fresh interviews might shake loose some new information."

"Did it work for Chloe and Sloane?"

"I'm still studying that. You might follow up in your files. They definitely got more information. At first glance, it seems like there's less of a tendency to place the victims on a pedestal, but that's not uncommon with the passage of time. At least two of the victims' acquaintances now admit to a sexual relationship with them, where they didn't before."

"Seriously?"

Perry tapped the green-coded transcripts. "Victims three and five, Leah McLane and Katrina Burge. One guy knew that the significant other is always the number one suspect and didn't want the heat. And the other guy was married at the time, so there's that. There's no reason to think one of them is our guy. It's just the kind of thing that shakes loose when you re-interview so long after the fact. But there may be something else here, I don't know."

"Good work, Perry."

"Thanks."

She turned and walked out of the conference room.

"What happened to you?"

They were the first words out of Marlee Davis' mouth when Kendra turned up at her front door. Kendra had been trying to fool herself into believing that her forehead wound was barely noticeable, but that clearly wasn't the case.

"Oh, this." She waved her fingers over her forehead. "I'm afraid Sloane is going to need a new window." Kendra handed her Sloane's door key.

"What?"

"My visit to your niece's condo was… eventful."

Marlee opened her door wide for her to enter. "Get in here." She motioned toward her sofa. "Can I get you anything? Water? Cold compress? Paramedic?"

"It looks worse than it is."

Marlee made a concerned face. "Are you sure?"

"Well, that's been my story since the moment it happened, so I guess I'm sticking to it. But seriously, I'm fine."

"If you say so. Do you plan to tell me what happened?"

"Yes." Kendra gave her the blow-by-blow of her visit to Sloane's condo, making sure to repeat every word that came from her attacker's mouth.

"Damn," Marlee said when she finished. "You have no idea who it was?"

"He didn't leave his card. At first I thought it might be a friend of Sloane's being overly protective, but when he said that stuff about wanting to know what I gave the detective, it was pretty clear he'd been following us."

"Yes. Scary."

"That's why I thought you should know. It seemed very clear I was the main target, but you should be careful, too."

"I will be. Thank you."

"But there's something else I wanted to ask you about. You said Sloane had a fiancé who was completely unsupportive of her and Chloe's investigation."

"Yes. Charlie. She was crazy about him. Things were going well between them until Chloe drew her back into the case. He never understood the obsession that both sisters had with their mother's murder."

"Have they stayed in touch?"

"I'm not sure. If they have, she never talks about him. If anything, she seemed relieved that he wasn't around to fuss at her about the case."

"I'd like to talk to him. Do you have a phone number or email address for Charlie?"

"I'm afraid I don't. But he's a car mechanic. He owns a garage that specializes in exotic foreign cars."

"Do you know the name?"

"I think his name is on it. Charlie Davenport. It's in Chula Vista."

"Thanks."

Marlee made a face. "I'm not certain that you have anything to thank me about. You've evidently been taking quite a bit of punishment since we came together."

"But we're making progress, and I may have come close to the man who killed Paula. We might still have valuable clues from that encounter, and the authorities are keeping an eagle eye on me. In any case, you should be careful and stay aware of your surroundings."

"You think I might be in danger?"

"I don't know. It depends if the killer thinks Chloe and Sloane told you about whatever lead they discovered."

"But they didn't."

"The killer may not know that. Just keep an eye out. If there's any indication you're in danger, we may be able to arrange protection. You've been very helpful. If you think of anything else, please let me know."

Marlee nodded doubtfully. "I guarantee I intend to watch my back. You do the same."

"Absolutely." Kendra smiled and headed for her car in the driveway. "Thanks again for your help. I'll let you know if I learn anything from this Charlie person…"

It took Kendra all of two minutes on Google to find Davenport Exotic Auto Service and Repairs in south San Diego County, and only another fifteen minutes to drive there from Marlee's house. A few questions later, she was standing in front of a tall, slender man wearing a protective face mask as he leaned into a McLaren Spider's engine compartment.

"Can I help you?" He didn't look up from the car.

"Are you Charlie Davenport?"

"If you want an update on your car, the guy at the inside counter can help you with that."

"I'm not here about a car. I'm here about Sloane Morgan."

He finally looked up warily. "And who are you?"

"My name is Kendra Michaels. I've been asked to look into her disappearance."

He stepped toward her. "It isn't just Sloane, you know."

"I know. Chloe, too."

He still didn't pull off his mask. "What does this have to do with me?"

"It wasn't that long ago that you and Sloane were going to be married. You didn't keep in touch with her? She didn't talk to you about the case she was investigating with her sister?"

He muttered a curse under his breath. "I heard enough about that damn case. It's all she wanted to talk about when we were together. I knew about her family history when we started dating, but I had no idea it was still such a big part of her life, you know? Sometimes I wanted her to just leave it behind for a while. She wouldn't do it."

"Did that make you angry?"

He glared at her over the mask. "You think I had anything to do with what happened to her and her sister?" He cursed again. "I was frustrated that we couldn't just live our own lives. I was pissed that this killer still had so much power over her and our relationship. And yes, I felt sorry for her, too. But it wasn't a recipe for a great marriage, so I finally broke it off."

"I think most people could understand that." Kendra stepped back, knowing that the next words out of her mouth could royally piss him off. "But tell me… at what point did you start sleeping with her sister?"

His eyes literally bulged. "What?"

"When did you start dating Chloe? Before or after you broke up with Sloane?"

"After!" He spoke so loudly that he felt the need to repeat it again in a quieter voice. "After. No way I would've cheated on Sloane, especially not with her sister."

"Then why the big secret? Nobody seems to know anything about it."

"Sloane wouldn't have understood. How could she? She probably never would have forgiven Chloe or me. It's nothing we planned. It just… happened."

"Relationships are rarely that simple."

He nodded. "Okay, maybe it wasn't. Chloe reached out to me after Sloane and I broke up. I think she felt guilty."

"Guilty? Why?"

"Because of how she got Sloane so involved in their case again. They were like a couple of addicts. Nothing else in their lives mattered to either one of them. When Sloane and I split up, I think Chloe felt it was partially her fault. She called me a couple of times, and we started spending time together down at the beach. One thing led to another."

Kendra said slowly, "You do know how bad this looks? You were involved in something of a romantic triangle in which both women are now missing. And it's something you've kept hidden."

Charlie was looking down and away from her. For an instant he appeared ashamed. "I didn't think it mattered."

"That's up to the police to decide."

"To be honest, I didn't think anyone would find out about me and Chloe. It's the last thing she would have wanted, and I sure as hell didn't tell anyone. I was too embarrassed. Who told you?"

"No one. As far as I'm aware, you and she are the only ones who knew."

He stared at her for a long moment. "Then how the hell did you find out?"

"I've been to Chloe's house."

"Yeah?"

"I saw the bottle of Gojo skin cleaner in her shower. It's very popular among mechanics, pumice-based, and it has a distinctly orange scent. That's what is coming off you right now. I guess you scrubbed with it here before lunch."

"A lot of people use that. How do you know it wasn't Chloe's?"

"I didn't, although I never saw any indication that she got her hands dirty enough to use a product that could scrape her skin raw. But more than that, I could smell what I presumed to be a hair product on one of her pillows. It wasn't a product I could recognize. It wasn't a common one, whatever it was, but you're wearing it now. Some kind of mousse?"

His glance sidled away. "Conditioner. I buy it online. It doesn't hold the grime from this place like a lot of the stuff out there."

"When was the last time you saw her, Charlie?"

He thought for a moment. "I was there two nights before she went missing. After Chloe and I started up, we almost never talked on the phone. I usually just swung by after work. If I saw her car, I'd go in and we'd hang out. She was spending more time at her sister's, though. They really thought they were onto something lately."

"Any idea what?"

He was quiet as a co-worker in a jumpsuit walked past. "Chloe went out of her way not to talk to me about that stuff, especially after she saw what it did to my and Sloane's relationship. But I did overhear some things when they were talking on the phone."

"Like what?"

"I'm not totally sure what it meant, but Chloe seemed pretty intense when she was talking about ‘the bomb place.'"

"The bomb place?" Kendra frowned. "As in explosives?"

"Yeah. That kind of grabbed my attention. I even asked her about it after she got off the phone, and she told me not to worry about it. She said it wasn't what it sounded like."

"I don't know. It sounds pretty clear to me."

"Yeah, I thought so, too. I know. And of course, after she went missing, I wished I had followed up with her more. But in those last few weeks, she didn't talk about it to anybody but her sister."

"So I keep hearing."

"It's the truth," he said defensively. "None of this would have happened if she'd have talked to me. I loved her. Maybe if I hadn't been so impatient, she wouldn't have left me. I did love her."

"I think maybe you did," Kendra said quietly, her gaze on his glittering eyes. His face was twisted with pain, and there had been no hint of a threat in his demeanor when confronting Kendra. He seemed almost relieved to tell her about his affair with Chloe. "You wouldn't by any chance have an alibi that would explain what you were doing on the night those women disappeared?"

He shrugged. "I don't remember. I think I spent at least part of the night at a bar in town getting drunk as a skunk. Someone might remember me. Why?"

Wow. This guy was pretty dense, she thought impatiently. "Look, it's my duty to notify the FBI of what you told me, and I will do it. But I'll give you three hours before I make the call. I want to give you time to make a few arrangements before they haul you into the interrogation room." She stared at him for a long time, studying him. "I won't be the last one who will be questioning you. If I were you, I'd call the cops and the FBI right away and tell them everything you've told me. All of it. It will be better if you tell them yourself. Get yourself a lawyer. If you can present alibis for the time when those women disappeared, try to do it before you turn yourself in."

"I guess you're trying to help me." He frowned. "Thanks. I think. But I don't know why you're doing it."

"I'm not sure, either," Kendra said. "But maybe it's because both those women had it pretty rough in one way or another. Though both of them seemed to care about you for some reason. Since they were both smart, it could be you're actually worth it. But it's going to be a very short leash. So do what I told you, do you hear?"

He nodded. "Whatever you say."

"But do me one more favor. Will you pull down your mask for a second? I need to see your face."

"What?"

"You have a similar build and eyes to someone I met last night. Would you mind?"

He pulled down his protective mask, flashing a disbelieving grin. All front teeth present and accounted for, she noticed. Cross that off the list.

"Thanks. Had to check." She turned and headed out of the parking lot.

As Kendra walked down the sidewalk toward her car, a text appeared on her phone screen.

JUST RECEIVED EXTREMELY DISTRESSING NEWS. WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON THERE?

It had to be from Adam Lynch.

That's all she needed—an input from Lynch after the morning she'd had.

She typed her reply. REALLY NOT YOUR BUSINESS. NOT MUCH GOING ON. JUST ANOTHER DAY IN THE LIFE.

WHICH INCLUDES ALMOST BEING THROWN OUT OF A SIX-STORY BUILDING? I KNEW I SHOULD HAVE FOLLOWED YOU BACK HOME TO THE STATES.

STOP BEING DRAMATIC. ATTACK WAS ON FLOOR FIVE.

His response was immediate. SUCH A RELIEF. IN THAT CASE, SIDEWALK SPLATTER SLIGHTLY SMALLER.

Kendra leaned against her car and tapped out another message. MOST UNCOMFORTABLE WITH POLICE SOURCE REVEALING MY EVERY MOVE TO GLOBE-TROTTING SOMETIME COMPANION.

She waited a long moment. No response.

She finally typed: STILL THERE?

STILL HERE. JUST SLIGHTLY WOUNDED BY "SOMETIME COMPANION" DESIGNATION.

DESIGNATION MORE A PRODUCT OF COMPANION'S FREQUENT OVERSEAS ADVENTURES.

M'LADY WOULD BE WELCOME AT ALL SUCH EXCURSIONS.

She smiled. SINCERELY DOUBT THAT.

SOMETIME COMPANION SINCERELY MISSING YOU.

She was about to type something glib, but she found she was touched by his display of vulnerability. Before she could decide how to respond, another message came from him: IMPRESSED BY YOUR INSISTENCE ON SEEING AUTO MECHANIC'S FACE. NOT YOUR NOW TOOTHLESS ATTACKER?

Shocked. Her hands tightened around her phone. WHAT THE HELL? ARE YOU USING MY PHONE TO EAVESDROP ON ME?

WOULDN'T VIOLATE COMPANION'S PRIVACY IN SUCH A CONTEMPTIBLE WAY.

SURE YOU WOULD.

OKAY, POSSIBLY. BUT NOT THIS TIME. TOO CAPTIVATED BY TIGHT-FITTING NAVY-BLUE SLACKS AND SUEDE PUMPS.

"No way!" She said the words aloud.

There was laughter behind her. She turned and saw Adam Lynch standing on the sidewalk five feet behind her. His blue eyes were gleaming with mischief as he tapped his forehead mockingly at her and put away his phone. "Sorry, I couldn't resist."

"What the hell are you doing here?" she asked as he strolled toward her. Dear God, how much she had missed him. She wanted to run to him. But his presence here had been totally invasive and the fact that he had just shown up with no advance notice made her want to shake him. "And what source did you tap this time?"

"Breen." He was close to her now. "I figured he'd be able to give me the most info in the shortest time. I was in a hurry. I didn't like what I was hearing." His lips tightened as he moved even closer. "I like it even less now that I see what you've been going through." His hands were ultra-gentle as they moved caressingly over her throat and cupped her face. "Would it have hurt you to tell me what was happening to you?" he asked roughly. "I told you I couldn't leave right away." His fingers were gently probing the wound on her temple. "This is nasty. But you knew I'd be there if you needed me. All you would have to do is let me know. I've been wanting to reach out and kick ass ever since Breen told me about the attack on you."

"And that was what I didn't want you to do." She was instinctively leaning into his touch. It wouldn't hurt to stay like this for a few minutes more. He felt so good… It had been so long. "I took care of it. It's not as if I need you to watch out for me. I've told you before that I know what my place is in your life."

"Do you? I've been thinking and I'm not at all sure that you have any idea." For a moment his grip tightened on her throat. "I believe you'd better reexamine that belief. Because we might have to have a discussion about it."

"It wouldn't be necessary." She forced herself to step back away from him. "It's not as if we don't know that we're two independent people going our separate ways. Because we're also friends, you feel a certain responsibility when you see that there might be a certain weakness in my vicinity. That's also perfectly natural."

"How logical you are," Lynch said caustically. "But you also said that you wouldn't mind if I stepped in if I discovered a way to find those two women who had disappeared. You were quite explicit where that was concerned. I'm sure you'll recall."

"I was upset. I would never have insisted you interfere with my business. Any more than I would believe I was capable of going after that crew you were dealing with when you talked to me last. That would annoy you big time if I decided to get in your way."

"Not necessarily. I can remember a few times that you stepped in to help when I've been in trouble."

So could Kendra. "That was rare, and most of the time we were working together."

"Too late. The fact remains. You did ask me for help." He grinned. "I refuse to take it back. You'll just have to find a way to keep me around. I promise I'll be gentle with you." His hand fell away from her face. "Now, the first thing I want to do is go to your condo and search it. I'm very angry about what happened to you while you were wandering around San Diego and getting in trouble. I can't believe that Breen and Perry didn't find any decent leads."

"They've found a good many. So have I. We're waiting on DNA right now. You're not irreplaceable, Lynch."

"No, but I'm boundlessly useful on occasion. Admit it."

"You're… okay."

"Oh, that hurt." He looked back at her. "I'm not going to push you or get in your way. I just want to help you get whatever makes you happy. That's all I ever wanted." He was getting into his glossy red Lamborghini, parked just a few feet behind her Toyota 4Runner. "I'll follow you back to your condo and we'll have a cup of coffee. I'll look around and see what I can find that's interesting. Would it be all right if we invited Olivia up for a drink? I've missed her."

"You know it would be," Kendra said curtly. "You're one of her favorite people. Olivia hasn't been very content with what's been going on around here. Unlike you, she trusts that I know what I'm doing, but she doesn't think much of the authorities. She always believes you could handle anything better than they could. She tried to call you a few days ago. She was disappointed you weren't available."

He met her gaze as he started the Lamborghini. "Was that before or after you got that nasty bruise? We both know that I would have made myself available if she'd gotten through to me. All you would have had to do was send word."

"That I needed you? Take you away from your assignment?" She shook her head. "That's not the way we've ever handled our relationship. That's the last thing I wanted." She shrugged. "And I made sure that Olivia didn't find out about that little tap I got. She wouldn't have understood." She made a face. "As it was, she was constantly trying to set me up with Bill Dillingham as my bodyguard."

"Bill?" He started to chuckle. "He's a good man. However, you might say that his qualifications are a little lacking in that area."

"He wouldn't agree with you. And I admire his willingness to try to help me." She lifted her chin. "I even told him that when the situation got a little more on an even keel, I might call on him."

"Which pleased him, I'm sure," Lynch said. "And if that's what you want, I'll go along with it. Even if I have to keep an eagle eye on him. Anything you want, Kendra."

"You're being very agreeable." Kendra's lips twisted. "Not like you at all, Lynch."

"It's sheer terror. Did it occur to you that you scared the shit out of me when Breen told me about the attack on you?" He added teasingly, "You've got me where you want me, even if it's acting as old Bill's guardian."

"That's not where I want you." She was scowling. "Haven't you been listening to me?"

"You want your independence. You want me to go away," he said quietly. "But I can't do that, Kendra. Not until I know you're going to be safe. I don't like the company you're keeping. So you'll have to put up with me. I'm not going to cause you any trouble or get in your way. But it's too late to send me packing. So take me to your place and give me a cup of coffee. Then we'll talk and you can fill me in on everything you know about the case. It's nothing different than we've done before."

"It's different," she said. It was always different when she was with him. It had been different from the first time she had met him.

"Okay, maybe it is," he said. "But like I said, it's too late to send me packing. You'll just have to put up with it until we bring the bad guys home."

"I don't have to do anything I don't want to do," she said jerkily.

"No, you don't. But you will. Because I promised to help you find those two women who might have given their lives to find their mother's killer. You'd think that would be worthwhile."

"Yes, I would."

"My promise is still good, Kendra. I don't break my word."

"I know you don't." Her voice was shaking. "You've never broken your word to me. That's not what this is all about."

"No, it's about you being damnably stubborn and not letting me help you. I've already given you my word, now let me run interference until I get you safely inside your condo. Is that too much to ask?"

"No, only completely unnecessary and annoying." His chin was hardening and she'd seen that expression before.

Give it up for the time being.

"Oh, for heaven's sake." She turned and walked toward her Toyota. "Just follow me to the condo and I'll tell you what I know about the case. But it's my case, Lynch."

"It's your case," he repeated. "I'm not arguing that point. I wouldn't dare."

"Don't tell me that. You'd dare anything," she said. She climbed into her Toyota, started it, and tore off down the road toward the freeway.