Page 70 of Wanted by the Lawman

CHAPTER 23

WYNN FAUGHT AGAINST the aching at her temples. She wasn’t sure how long she’d been out but when she came face to face with evil, she remembered what happened.

Deputy Lansing’s silhouette was blurry, but he was there.

“Why? Why all those innocent girls?”

“Here’s some water. Drink it and you’ll feel better.” Lansing sat down on the edge of the bed.

She backed up across the bed, hitting the cold wall.

“Don’t fight me, my dear. Drink the water.” When she didn’t take the glass, he placed it nearby on a table. “Suit yourself.”

Her vision started to clear and she was able to see her surroundings better. She didn’t have a clue where she was, but it was a bedroom with nice, oak furniture and a painting of the forest on the wall. On the dresser was a variety of make-up and hair products. Did a woman live here?

She struggled against the weakness in her limbs. She wanted the water—had a thirst like never before, but fear kept her from giving in. He could have easily poisoned the water.

He must have seen her staring at the glass because he smirked. “Are you afraid I’ve tampered with the water. Watch this.” He grabbed the glass and took a drink, then held it out for her.

Her mouth was as dry as a cotton ball. She couldn’t resist the need. Taking the glass, she sipped just enough to ease her thirst, but not anymore. He took the glass back, placed it on the table, and then he strolled to the other side of the room.

“Where am I?”

“You’ll find out soon enough.” His words seemed to come through a tunnel, although he was only less than ten feet away.

“I don’t understand. Why am I here?”

“Like I said. It’ll all make sense soon. Just be patient.”

~~~**~~~

Wynn’s house was empty.

Zander put the pieces together. After he found that Deputy Lansing’s wife had severe asthma and had died from her illness, Zander knew, without a doubt, who the killer was. Before he could make it to Wynn’s, he’d gotten a call from Kace explaining about the phone call he had received.

Zander had hurried to the house, hoping she was still there, but he’d been too late.

He called Wynn’s number and heard her ringtone. The phone was laying on the floor and her nebulizer was still in her purse. He remembered her saying she’d never leave home without it.

Obviously, she’d been taken from the house against her will.

Zander would kill the motherfucker.

He paced back and forth, clearing his mind of any emotion and focusing on the case.

Then it came to him.

Reaching for his phone, he stabbed in a number and the Sheriff dispatcher answered. “Give me Deputy Lansing’s current and previous addresses.”

After a moment’s pause, the dispatcher came back on the line. She told him the current address. “But there isn’t a previous address here.”

Clicking off, he raced to his truck and spun out of the driveway, sliding in the snow as he headed back onto the main road. Thankful the plow had been through recently.

But his disappointment grew once he stood on the landlady’s stoop who had rented an apartment to Lansing.

“And you have no clue where he is?”

“I really don’t know.” The elderly woman tugged her shawl tighter around her shoulders. “Wait, I do know that he visited Emily White every Tuesday. She was his mother-in-law, but she passed away several months ago.”

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