CHAPTER FIFTY-SEVEN

Jake paced back and forth behind Steven's chair. The thoughts running through her mind were threatening to drive her insane. All she could see was Nicole and some bastard hitting her, raping her... strangling her. Hell, she'd seen the bodies. She'd read the autopsies. She knew what he would do to her. What he may have already done. She also knew she could not live with herself if... if she was too late. She glanced again at her watch. Three hours since she'd been taken. Too much time.

" Steven? Anything? "

Steven turned around, his voice tense. " Don't you think I'll tell you if I find anything? "

" I'm sorry. Fuck. "

" I can't miraculously produce a hit." Steven leaned back in his chair. " I'm telling you, he doesn't own any property other than his house. We'd have found it by now."

" What if it's not in his name? "

" What do you mean? "

" What if the title is in someone else's name? "

" Jake, how is this going to help us? We still don't know the name."

Jake paced again. There had to be a place where Matthew Gregory went. Someplace private.

" Can you check property taxes? " she asked.

" Yes, of course. They're listed by county."

" Okay, let's check a hundred mile radius around Denver. See if Lieutenant Gregory pays taxes on property other than his home."

" Oh, man. I didn't even think of that, " Steven said, as his fingers flew across the keyboard. Jake leaned over his shoulder, waiting while he searched. There were two hits. One was his home. The other, a cabin in Jefferson County owned by Rebecca Gregory. It had a Golden address.

" Golden Gate Canyon? Print us a map, Steven, " she said excitedly. " That's where the son of a bitch is."

" Matthew? "

Tears had formed again, and he struggled to get the words out. She sat quietly, her hand held tightly in his.

" He... he tied me to a chair and put it by the bed. He had beaten my mother. Her face was just a mess. Blood everywhere. Her eyes, they pleaded with me to help her. But I couldn't. He had hit me so hard, I could hardly hold my head up."

" He made you watch while he raped her? " Nicole guessed.

Matthew nodded. " She couldn't even scream, " he whispered. " He raped her over and over. Every time I begged him to stop, he hit me." He wiped at his eyes. " She had passed out. When he... when he put his hands around her neck, she was unconscious. She didn't know what happened. He squeezed so hard, he broke her neck. I can still hear the snapping of the bones."

His quiet voice echoed in the cabin and for once, Nicole was at a loss for words. She simply held his hand while he wept.

" I passed out, too. I wanted to die right along with her. But I wasn't so lucky. When I came to, he had her in the bathtub, soaking. The water was so full of blood." Matthew got up again and walked to the fire, tossing on another log. " He was disgusted with me. He said I was a pervert. He said if I told anyone what happened, he would say that I killed her. And it would come out that I'd been... having sex with her all those years. And who in the police department would believe me over him? "

Nicole nodded. " What did he do with her? "

" He cleaned her up and then took her away. He locked me in the room by myself, " he said and his voice caught. " Not that I could have gone anywhere. I was so beat up, I looked like a truck had hit me." He gave a pitiful laugh. " And that's what he told everyone. That I'd been in a car accident."

" And you didn't tell a soul? "

He shook his head. " I dropped out of school two months before graduation."

Nicole nodded. " And came looking for me? "

" I was scared. I remembered the compassion in your eyes that day, you know. So I thought, maybe I'd look you up."

Nicole lost every ounce of professionalism she had at that point and she let her tears fall down her cheeks.

" I just couldn't bring myself to approach you."

" And you became... the stalker."

" The first time you reported it, my father put two and two together right away. He threatened to send me to Trinity if I didn't stop."

" So they didn't really shoot you that night, " she said.

" Tranquilizer gun. I dropped like a rock."

" And he sent you away."

" It was probably for the best."

" He told them about you and your mother. You never said a word, did you? "

" No. I didn't... talk much. I behaved, and they were kind enough to get me a computer."

" And you were smart enough not to abuse it? "

He smiled. " I could hide myself quite well."

" Six years, " she said. " Why now? "

" Why now? "

" The killings. Why did he start now? "

Matthew looked startled. " Everyone thinks I'm the killer."

" Yes. But you're not. Why the game? "

Matthew lowered his eyes. " He told me I would be blamed for them all anyway. I'd almost convinced myself I'd done it."

" He comes here with them, doesn't he? "

" Yes. He takes them to... our room, " he finished in a whisper. " He kills them in... our room."

Nicole stood and went to him. She wrapped both arms around him and held him. " You're not a killer. You've done nothing wrong." She felt him relax, felt the tentative arms that reached around her waist. In that instant, she knew that she was the first person he'd had physical contact with in six long years.

" I know I'm not a cop, but isn't this where we should call for backup? " Steven asked, as he held on to the dash when Jake rounded a corner. " I mean, they do on TV."

" Normally, yes. But we have a captain that isn't sure he believes us, and we're accusing a lieutenant of a major cover-up and possibly the murder of three cops."

" So... it's just us? "

" Sorry, Stevie. But don't worry. You're staying in the car with Cheyenne. You give me a little bit of a head start, then you call for backup. They'll have to notify Golden PD."

" You can't go in alone. You don't know what you'll find."

" I know what I'll find. He works alone."

But something was nagging at her, and she couldn't put her finger on it. It was something Rick had said about Gregory, about the murders. That he was nearly nonchalant about them. At first, he was gung-ho and riding their ass. But it was almost as if he backed off every time they found another body. Maybe he didn't want his son caught, maybe that was all. But hell, it wasn't like they had any leads that should have caused concern. The only thing was the stalker.

" And he ordered me to drop it, " she murmured.

" What? "

She shook her head. " Thinking out loud." She turned off the highway and headed to Golden. " Nicole lives out this way. It would have been easy for him to slip to her house and then back to this cabin."

" We'll take Highway 93 all the way through Golden. Turn left on Tucker Gulch, also known as County Road 70."

" Listen, you got your notes with you? "

" Notes? "

" About the kid and all."

" Oh, yes." He pulled his PDA from his coat pocket.

" When did he get out of Trinity? "

" The exact date? "

" Yeah." Traffic was light on this early Sunday evening, and Jake cruised through Golden and headed out into the foothills of the Rockies. The light had faded from the sky and her headlights picked up patches of snow that had not melted during the day.

" June seventh, " he said.

" Something's bothering me, Stevie." She pulled her cell from her pocket and dialed a number from memory. She waited only a few moments. " It's Detective McCoy, Special Victims. I need you to pull up a post for me."

" Who are you calling? " Steven asked quietly.

" ME's office."

" On a Sunday night? "

" Melissa works the night shift, " she said. " Yeah, I'm here. Shelly Burke, back in June." She nodded. " Okay." She glanced at Steven. " Are you watching for our road? "

" Yeah. It should be the next one to the left."

" Thanks, Melissa. I'm just looking for dates. When the post was done and time of death." She frowned and nodded. " Thanks, kid." She slipped her phone back into her jacket. " We got a problem."

" What? "

" They did the post on the sixth. They have her time of death as the fourth."

" Matthew Gregory got out on the seventh."

" He's not our killer. At least, not Shelly Burke." Jake's hands tightened on the wheel. " Of course, Shelly Burke was the only one not dumped. She was found in her apartment. The others were dumped."

Steven held his head with both hands. " This is making me crazy. I think we really need some backup, Jake. We don't know who the hell we're looking for now."

" We're looking for Nicole. And she's at this cabin."

" He threatened to kill you if I said anything. And again, he'd blame it on me. So, over the years, I kept a watch out for you. I've been in Catherine's computer for years. I knew who Shelly Burke was. When I got the report that she'd been raped, strangled, I knew it was him. And I couldn't take the chance that he'd go after you."

" Why didn't you come to me then, Matthew? "

" I didn't think you'd believe me. A stranger walks in off the street and tells you all this? What are you going to do? "

" Send you back to Trinity, " she said honestly.

" Exactly." Again, he paced. " So, I watched you. I knew the cops thought you were the link with these women. I also knew you didn't really believe them. That's why I broke into your house that night. I wanted to leave you a warning."

" Be careful, " she said quietly, remembering the note.

" Yes."

She walked to him and took both of his hands. " Matthew, if you're up to it, we need to go to the police. You need to let me call Jake."

" Yes. I'm ready for it to be over."

" Good, " she said, letting out a relieved sigh. " Is there a phone? "

" Not here, no."

" My cell is in your car."

" I'll get it. Stay here by the fire."

Nicole wrapped her arms around herself, trying to remain rational. The whole thing was one big nightmare. But it was about to be over. She watched as Matthew opened the door... and stopped dead in his tracks.

" Oh, no, " Matthew hissed. He quickly shut the door and hurried back to Nicole.

" What is it? "

" My father. He never comes here on the weekends. We've got to get out! "

" Oh, God, no. He's here? "

The words had barely left her mouth when the front door burst opened and Lieutenant Gregory stood there, gun in hand. His other hand held a rope, of which he gave a forceful tug and a bound and gagged young woman was pulled into the room. Nicole's eyes widened. It was Joni Connell from her group session. Joni fell to her knees, then was kicked to the ground by Gregory.

" My, my. Thank you, son. You got the good doctor for me. Saved me the trouble. I was going to give her until Wednesday."

Matthew stood in front of Nicole, shielding her. " No. I won't let you hurt her."

He laughed. " Don't think I won't shoot you, Matthew."

Gregory walked closer and for the first time in her life, Nicole looked into the eyes of pure evil. And she was scared.