Page 33 of Sour Layer

Clark

Chapter 19

Two twin beds were pushed up against opposite walls. One had a pink comforter and frilly everything, along with a makeup mirror next to it. The other had holes in the blanket and a messed-up sheets.

“Does he have a sister?” Walker asked as he stepped inside too.

Clark shook his head. “No. He was an only kid.”

Clark picked up a brush on the table and lifted it closer to his eyes. There were strands of shoulder-length blonde hair attached. He touched the strand; it was wiry, unlike real human hair.

Walker looked into the closet. “Uh, you need to see this.”

Clark put the brush down on the dresser and joined Walker at the closet.

A row full of overalls and lumberjack-looking clothes hung on one side. Flowered dresses on padded hangers occupied the other end. All the clothes were about the same size. Walker had picked one up and was holding it out for Clark to see. “These dresses are huge. Man-sized.”

Clark’s heart tightened in his chest as he stepped out. “Put it back and don’t touch anything.”

Clark turned his attention to the rest of the bedroom and began searching the area in earnest. The hairs on his neck stood on end as he dropped to his knees to look under both beds. He found two containers. He pulled out the one from under the guy’s bed and set it on the mattress. He lifted off the lid. Pictures of those girls he’d saved and a few more children he’d never seen in various stages of undress. Dirty and dressed in torn clothes. Porn magazines and a bloody knife were tucked inside.

“Sick fuck,” Walker said as he stepped up beside Clark.

Clark moved to the container beneath the woman’s bed and pulled it out, opening it up. Three long blonde wigs were sitting on one side of the container, along with pictures of Lynnfield when he was a young boy with the same red hair and freckles on his face. He was chained at the ankle to a post on the floor.

Clark lifted his gaze and glanced between the two beds, his skin crawling. “He’s sick, all right. He’s sick in the head.”

Walker picked up one of the pictures of Lynnfield as a child. When Walker finally figured out what Clark had just minutes ago, his eyes widened in horror. “You don’t think…”

“I do,” Clark answered. “Lynnfield must have a split personality. When he fell off the ladder, it must have scrambled him somehow.”

“That could explain why Mercy thought he was dead,” Walker said. “One part of him, the decent part of him, might be.”

Clark ran his gloved hand over his head. His stomach twisted and turned as he surveyed the scene, trying to figure out what the hell had happened. Those poor girls hadn’t stood a chance against the monster roaming free inside of Lynnfield. No one did.

Bile rose to Clark’s throat as he grabbed the walkie from his hip. “I’m going to call in forensics. Don’t touch anything other than what you’ve already touched.”

Walker nodded and pulled out his phone as Clark stepped out of the room and radioed Brandon.

Brandon, forensics, and two FBI agents showed up at the scene while Walker and Clark were waiting on the porch. Each stood in silence as if needing a few minutes to digest the new information.

They were dealing with a delusional maniac, and neither of them knew what the chemist and his alter ego were capable of, other than the terror depicted in those pictures.

Clark brought the FBI agents up to speed while forensics started collecting evidence. It was three hours before Clark and Walker headed back into town, leaving the FBI on site.

“This changes things,” Clark announced.

“Damn right, it does,” Walker agreed.

Clark glanced in Walker’s direction. “You got Milly and Charlotte?”

“Yep. I’ll personally see to their protection.”

The stress in Clark’s shoulders only eased a fraction. Walker was a perfect shot. He knew how to hunt and kill. The Bennetts would be Milly and Charlotte’s best protection. He knew that now. “I appreciate it.”

“She’s ours,” Walker said and turned toward Clark. “You should send your momma and Mercy over, too, while you hunt this son of a bitch.”

“I might just do that,” Clark said as his stomach finally started to settle. There was no doubt this was going to end in bloodshed. No way was he going to let the pedophile spend one more day walking free and breathing air. He owed that to those girls.

“Good, that’s the smartest thing you’ve said in a long time. I’ll take your momma with me. You either talk Mercy into leaving town, or you bring her over. She doesn’t have a dog in this hunt. You feel me?”

“Oh yeah. I feel you,” Clark answered.

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