Dead Right (Stillwater Trilogy #3)(75)
Author: Brenda Novak

Still, she was hesitant. “It’s getting late,” she said, “and I’ve got to get back to the office. I’m meeting someone there.”

He tried to act casual. “Your private investigator?”

“Yes.”

“How’s that going? Is he finding anything new?”

“Not yet.” She waited for him to move out of her way, but he couldn’t let her go. He was sure no one had seen her walk into his place. Ivy, the neighbor on his left, was gone. And he’d watched Madeline for a long time, seen Helen and her horse-faced daughter drive away first, leaving her alone.

“That’s too bad,” he said. “Your father and I didn’t end on the best of terms, as you know, but in some ways, no one could speak to my inner self like he could.” Ray envisioned the tarantula crawling between Madeline’s bare br**sts. She wasn’t a little girl anymore. She’d be harder to handle. But she was still Barker’s child. He found that intensely erotic.

“I appreciate your saying so,” she said, tearing up again. “He was a good preacher, wasn’t he?”

“The best. He was good at a lot of other things, too. That’s what I want to show you,” he added. “Something your father gave me.”

This caught her attention. He saw her pause, glance over her shoulder toward the hall.

“I got it out last night so it’s kind of a coincidence that you’re here. It reveals the, uh, real Lee Barker like nothing else.”

She was puzzled now. And too curious to insist on leaving.

Turning, she started toward the room where she’d find the sex toys he’d already used. He wanted her so badly he almost lunged at her right there and forced her to the floor.

But it’d be better to wait, he promised himself. More shocking. More electrifying. And more private, as he’d taped thick black paper over the window in that room.

She was nearly at the door. When he was finished with her, he’d have to figure out how to dispose of her body. But night would come and there’d be plenty of time for that. Maybe he’d even keep her alive for a while as a sex slave. He had the credit card and cash he’d taken from Bubba’s pockets. Surprisingly, the cash amounted to more than he’d expected Bubba to have—he must’ve just cashed his welfare check. If he wanted, he could rent a cabin in the Tennessee mountains online, using Bubba’s credit card, then bind and gag Madeline and take her there. He’d strip her down and tie her to the bedposts, where she’d be ready for him at all times.

The thrill of arousal rushed through him as he imagined slipping the garrote around Madeline’s neck. He’d have to act quickly to subdue her before she could scream. But then her cell phone rang, and she opened it before he could stop her.

“Hello?…Hunter! Where’ve you been?…Ray Harper’s…Oh, they’re coming to repair the window this afternoon. Have you heard about Bubba?”

Ray clenched his hands at his sides. He should’ve sprung the trap early. Now that she’d mentioned his name, there was nothing he could do.

Catching her arm, he stopped her just before she could turn the corner and see everything. What shitty luck. He’d been so…damn…close.

She looked at him expectantly.

“Let me clean up the room a bit,” he whispered, acting slightly embarrassed as he edged past her.

She remained where she was, and he listened to her tell her P.I. about Bubba while he shut down the computer and shoved the dildo, the lotion, the Chinese herbs, the garrote and the bikini underwear he sometimes wore under the bed. The place smelled strongly of sex and sweat, so he sprayed some of the cheap cologne he kept on the dresser.

“Ray?”

He froze. She’d hung up already. “Yes?”

“Are you ready for me?”

He was more than ready. Thanks to the Viagra, he’d had an erection for nearly three hours and felt like he could perform for another three. His revenge on her and her father would be delayed—but it would come.

He took a last sweeping glance around, satisfied that he hadn’t left out anything that could give him away. Maybe he’d make Madeline service him for months, years. Until he tired of her. Wouldn’t that make Barker roll over in his grave?

“It’s not exactly clean,” he said with enough uncertainty to sound sincere. “But…come in.”

She stepped over the threshold. For a few seconds, her beauty held him spellbound. He couldn’t wait to touch her. That it wouldn’t be today made his whole body throb and ache in disappointment.

“What is it?” she asked, her eyes circling the room.

“This.” He retrieved a picture from the dresser and brought it over to her. It was a photograph of Rose Lee standing next to Barker, wearing her Sunday best.

“How nice,” she said, her expression pained as though she missed him terribly.

Ray smiled. She had no idea that Barker had his hand up the back of Rose’s dress even as he smiled so benignly for the camera.

“Your father sure loved her,” he said as if they were sharing a deep, touching moment. But what he really meant was that her father loved his own power more than anything else.

Even Madeline.

Chapter Twenty

Madeline called Hunter back as soon as she left Ray’s trailer. She’d told him about Bubba, but she’d felt awkward standing in Ray’s hall, waiting for some mysterious surprise, and had wanted to get out of there. Ray didn’t seem himself. He watched her a little too closely. Or maybe he’d just had a bad night. She’d never seen anyone with eyes as bloodshot as his.

“I’m in the car, so I can talk now,” she said.

“How are you?” he asked.

She could tell by his tone that it was more than the typical formality. He really wanted to know. “Shaken,” she told him. So much had happened; so much had been lost. First Rachel Simmons. Then learning that evil had touched Grace when she was little more than a child. All of that was heartbreaking enough. Add Mike’s return, the crude message on her answering machine, the break-in last night, Bubba’s death—and she was overwhelmed. Even Kirk’s leaving town upset her. It wasn’t that she wanted them to be together romantically. She just wanted everything to be okay.

And yet, suddenly, even the things that used to be okay weren’t.

“I’m sorry about your friend,” he said.

She swallowed around the tears that rose in her throat, the tears she’d been fighting all morning. “Please don’t show me any sympathy right now.”