Faces of Evil [2] Impulse Read Free Page A

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    “Do her sister and mother live together?” Another possible layer of the scenario fell into place for Jess.
    “Yes, ma’am.”
    “Get a unit over there now.” A new worry robbed her lungs of air. “Right now.” The emotion she had hoped to keep at bay washed over her.
    Lori Wells had rushed out of her home with no care as to whether she secured the premises. Something had her scared to death. The most primal emotion known to man, or woman, was the protective instinct. Put a loved one in danger and all reason evaporated.
    Burnett made the necessary call.
    Jess turned to Harper. “We need to get there as quickly as possible.”
    If she was right, and Jess had a sinking feeling she was, they could very well have three victims instead of one.
    Overton Heights, 11:38 a.m.
    As Jess had anticipated, Lori Wells’ red Mustang was parked in the driveway alongside a gray Impala that belonged to her mother. From the passenger seat of Burnett’s SUV, Jess peered past the tinted glass to survey the house and front yard. The house was a 70s style split-level, part brown brick, part beige siding. It sat on the “up” side of the street, the driveway ascending the steep bank and disappearing into the attached garage. Nothing moved. Nothing appeared out of place or amiss.
    But, inside would be an entirely different story. She wanted to get in there. It took every shred of patience she could muster to sit here and wait for the tactical team to do their stuff.
    If they got inside. . . and the Wells family had been murdered. . .
    Pain pinched her face as Jess suffered a new trickle of panic. The need to call her own sister, just to hear her voice, expanded against her ribs. Lily and her family were safe at home, under police protection. If there was trouble at Lily’s, Jess would know. Burnett would get a call.
    Fate apparently heard her thoughts and wanted to ratchet up the tension a little tighter. Burnett shifted behind the wheel and reached for his cell. That band of pressure narrowed around her chest. Why the hell did he keep the damned thing on vibrate all the time? A little warning would be nice.
    “Does her sister have a car?” Jess asked Harper while Burnett spoke quietly to his caller. At eighteen, odds were Terri Wells, Lori’s younger sister, either had a car or used her mother’s.
    “It’s in the shop, ma’am,” Harper said from the backseat. “Terri drives a blue Chevy Cobalt. Lori – Detective Wells told me it’s in the shop.”
    Lori was gone. . . her family could be dead – dammit, Jess needed to be in there! What the hell was taking so long?
    Damn Eric Spears and his games!
    He was here, in Birmingham. No more speculation. Not just a hireling, the monster himself. . . the Player . This morning’s delivery of that damned package was all the proof she needed.
    He’d taken Lori and sent her badge to Jess – at the chief of police’s office – by special delivery.
    Dread joined the pain and frustration expanding in her chest.
    The son of a bitch had started one of his games here . . . just for her.
    Take a breath and concentrate, Jess.
    Burnett ended the call. “The carrier confirmed that a tower in this area was the last location Detective Wells’ cell pinged.” He slid his phone back into the holster at his waist. “Looks like you called this one right out of the gate, Jess. Your instincts may have saved valuable time.”
    Jess absorbed the information. She was on the right track. Wells rushed away from her apartment to come here. That confirmation didn’t make Jess feel one bit better about what they would find inside. The chances of Detective Wells’ mother and sister having survived an up close encounter with the Player were vague to nonexistent.
    The valuable time she may have saved would prove meaningless in the Player’s grand scheme.
    He never left evidence or witnesses or bodies at the scene of an abduction. At least not as far as the Bureau’s research had determined. If