Quickly, he sat down and listened to the tape of her screams, heard her beg for mercy and felt her terror. Perfect, he thought, listening to the sounds over and over. He indulged himself, walked to the bureau, rubbed the bloodstains on the surface, then reached into the drawer where his keepsakes waited. Silk and lace slid through his fingers.
He got hard.
Real hard.
Nikki was slowly going out of her mind. She’d heard nothing. It had been hours and Nikki was tired as she sat at the barren desk she’d been assigned at the police station. After whining for an hour, Mikado had curled into a ball at Nikki’s feet while she tried to reach Simone’s family and friends. A tall, efficient-looking officer named Willie Armstrong was seated near enough to her that she wondered if he’d been told to “baby-sit” her and keep her out of trouble. Such was her reputation, she supposed, though she didn’t care as she watched the hands of the clock tick off the minutes and hours with no word from Reed.
What had they found at Chevalier’s apartment? Surely, if he and Detective Morrisette had found Simone they would have called.
No such luck.
Her heart heavy with fear, her brain creating mind-numbing scenarios of sheer horror for her friend, she’d watched the police department in action from the inside. Even though it was the dead of night, the crew that was working took care of the BOLF bulletin and had copies of LeRoy Chevalier’s likeness distributed. Nikki had called all of the friends and family of Simone that she could reach. Unfortunately her parents weren’t home, but maybe that was for the best. Why worry them unnecessarily?
If it is unnecessary.
Finally, she heard Reed’s voice and his footsteps on the stairs. Ludicrous as it was, her silly heart skipped a beat. She was on her feet in an instant but his dark expression when he walked up the steps stopped her cold. Her heart nosedived. “Did you find her?”
“No.”
Morrisette was with him. “No trace. Not of her. Nor Chevalier.”
“He wasn’t home?”
“No. Nor did he show up at the video store where he works. We checked. And that’s not to be printed, you got it?” Morrisette said.
Reed asked, “Did you find out anything?”
“No. No one’s seen her since the restaurant.”
“Hell.”
Morrisette’s phone chirped and she pulled it out of her bag as Reed and Nikki walked into his office.
“He’s got her, doesn’t he?” she asked as she stood at the window and stared into the dark, relentless night. Mikado had roused and was whining at her feet.
“I don’t know. Nothing’s certain.”
“But you think so.”
He started to argue with her, but stopped himself. The corners of his mouth drew tight. “Yeah. You’re right. That is what I think.”
“I knew it.”
“I could be wrong.”
“Yeah, right.” She leaned over and picked up Simone’s dog. “And the Pope could suddenly get married.” She rubbed the crick from the back of her neck. “We have to find some way to get to her. Before it’s too late.” But she knew it probably already was, that there were probably few grains of sand left to run through Simone’s hourglass.
Clicking off her cell phone, Morrisette returned. “They’re handling everything here. I checked. We’ve got a BOLF out and if anything pops, they’ll call me or Siebert.”
“Where is he?” Nikki scratched Mikado behind his ears.
“On his way. He spent the day up in Dahlonega—said he left me a message I never got. Talked to the kid who saw the killer, but the kid couldn’t finger Chevalier. Claimed he wouldn’t know the guy if he ran into him.” She shrugged a slim shoulder. “Who knows if the kid is lying? Siebert thinks he’s too afraid of what might happen to him. And his old man wasn’t very cooperative—thinks his boy might have a story that some rag will pay money for…Gee, maybe you can convince the Sentinel to ante up.”
“We don’t pay for news,” Nikki snapped.
Morrisette snorted as she opened her purse and rooted around in it. “No, you just rake up the muck, get people agitated and get in the way.” Nikki opened her mouth to protest, but Morrisette cut her off. “And don’t give me any crap about freedom of the press and letting the people know, because it’s all bullshit.”
“I think she gets it,” Reed cut in.