Once Dormant Read online

  The front of the thermometer came loose, and Riley found a key that was still behind it, hanging on a hooked piece of metal. The thermometer was actually a modestly clever little spare key holder.

  She felt immediately sure of it …

  He used this key.

  He’d put it back when he’d finished his horrific deeds, and no one else had even thought to look for it until just now.

  As she held the key between her fingers, a palpable sense of the killer’s thoughts and feelings rose up in her—a wild mixture of anticipation, fear, dread, and exhilaration.

  She put the key in the lock of the broken door and turned it, just as the killer must have done.

  It felt as though it was much more than just a key to a door.

  It was the key to a terrible moment of the past.

  CHAPTER TWENTY TWO

  As Riley stepped back through the doorway and into the living room, her companions stood still and quiet, giving her space to move and concentrate. Determined to discover whatever she could about that night, she brought all her thoughts and senses into focus on the mind that had driven the murder of a family.

  Soon she began to feel it. The years had not erased the evil that had happened here.

  As she had done at the Ogden house, she imagined the weight of the hammer in her hand. But she didn’t have the self-assurance she had felt at the other house—not yet. Instead, she faintly sensed that the killer had stood here breathlessly, his heart pounding, wondering …

  Can I do this?

  Should I just get out of here and never give it another thought?

  But something was driving him—some powerful emotion …

  Anger, Riley thought.

  As Riley’s feeling of connection grew more intense, an almost tangible darkness seemed to close in around her.

  He felt some sort of cold, fierce fury toward at least one of the people in the Bonnett family—enough to drive him to kill all of them.

  Riley wondered—had he known the layout of the house?

  Did he know who he would find in each of the rooms?

  She wasn’t sure.

  But she had no doubt about the route he must have taken …

  One room at a time, in the order I come to them.

  She walked into the hall and edged past the attic ladder, which surely wouldn’t have been lowered at the time. Then she opened the first door she came to, which was on the left.

  She gasped slightly as she looked around.

  Although the room was stripped of furniture and belongings, a glance was enough to see that it had once belonged to a young girl. The tattered wallpaper, gouged with holes by the copper thieves, was all pink and painted with princesses and cheerful characters from animated cartoons.

  Riley remembered enough details from the crime scene photo to know exactly where the bed had been. She felt a pang of horror well up as she imagined what the killer had thought as he stood in the doorway looking at the peacefully sleeping ten-year-old girl …

  Poor Lisa.

  She never did anything wrong.

  Does she deserve this?

  But then, Riley thought, a renewed sense of anger kicked in.

  The very fact that the girl was innocent of whatever grievance the man held against the Bonnetts was all the more reason for him to kill her.

  Perhaps this would be his only murder.

  Maybe he’d let the others live.

  Of course, Lisa’s death would break the others’ hearts. And at least one of their hearts thoroughly deserved to be broken.

  Following his footsteps, Riley walked over to where he must have stood looking down at the girl.

  Now she felt fully connected with the killer’s thoughts and actions …

  Looking down at the sleeping child he thought …

  I don’t dare hesitate.

  Without another moment’s wavering, he lifted the hammer and slammed it into the child’s skull. The girl made a horrible croaking sound, and her whole body twitched violently.

  I’ve got to finish it.

  He brought the hammer down again and again until her face was an unrecognizable pulp and her body fell still.

  The killer was gasping for breath now …

  Keep quiet.

  Don’t wake the others.

  As he slowed his breathing, an eerie calm settled over him—and a twisted sense of pride. He’d just carried out the most appalling and irrevocable act of his entire life. It had taken astonishing fortitude and determination and …

  Courage.

  Yes, there was something positively heroic about what he’d done.

  But should I stop here?

  He could just walk out of here, leaving the rest of the family to awaken to the horrible scene of the girl’s ghastly murder.

  But no—he’d gotten a taste for it now, he lusted for further carnage.

  He crept out of the bedroom toward the next door, which was on the opposite side of the hall. He opened the door and found himself looking at the teenaged boy, Martin, who was sleeping as soundly and unwarily as his younger sister had been.

  This time he felt no pangs of guilt or conscience—only exhilaration.

  The hammer came up, then down again.

  Like his sister, Martin made a hideous groaning sound and twitched violently.

  Swiftly and surely, the killer slammed Martin’s head with the hammer repeatedly.

  In another moment, the body lay stiff and still.

  The killer could hardly believe his success …

  It’s easy!

  And it feels so, so good!

  He was filled with wild, drunken joy and wanted to shout out loud.

  Don’t, he told himself.

  Keep control.

  This was going so well, the last thing he wanted was to botch it.

  Again he wondered—should he stop now?

  Were the two children’s deaths enough?

  It would be a fine enough vengeance if the parents simply had to live with their loss.

  It would certainly fulfill the killer’s purpose.

  And yet the mayhem was working inside him like a powerful drug …

  I can’t stop now. I don’t want to stop.

  It was all he could do to keep from breaking into a wild run to his next victims. He sternly reminded himself …

  Keep quiet.

  And don’t rush.

  He crept out of the boy’s room and headed across the hall to the last bedroom.

  He pushed the door open and saw the couple lying in bed asleep.

  It started to dawn on him …

  This will be more difficult.

  He walked silently to the bed until he stood at the side where the wife was sleeping.

  He knew he couldn’t kill either one of them without awakening the other.

  He decided to kill the wife first, then keep the husband from escaping.

  He hit the woman’s head once, and again her body twitched and writhed.

  The husband lay facing away from her and didn’t awaken immediately.

  Instead, he groaned with irritation in his sleep.

  Perfect, the killer thought, landing a couple more hammer blows to the woman’s head. Then the husband pitched over toward him, suddenly wide awake and horror-stricken.

  The killer was pleased by the man’s horror.

  But there was no time to think now.

  The killer climbed up onto the bed over the wife’s body, pushed the husband onto his back with one hand, then lifted the hammer with the other and brought it down again and again.

  When at last he got back to his feet and looked down at his handiwork, he let out a yelp of triumph.

  But hardly had the sound escaped his lips before a strange new feeling came over him.

  The wild exhilaration gave way to …

  Emptiness.

  It was done now.

  There was no one else to kill.

  It can’t be, he thought.

  It can’t be the
end.

  How could he live the rest of his life without experiencing this intoxication ever again? And besides …

  I could do it better.

  I could do it with more skill.

  I could do it cleaner and faster …

  The sense of the killer’s presence ebbed away, and Riley found herself standing in the empty bedroom staring at torn-up walls.

  She stood there gasping for breath.

  The experience had been unusually vivid—so much so that she had to remind herself …

  It’s all speculation.

  I don’t know what he really felt.

  I can only imagine.

  Still, the scenario she’d played out in her mind had felt real and it seemed entirely plausible. Even more importantly, what she had experienced here supported the insight she’d had about the recent hammer murder.

  She walked back out into the living room, where the two young cops and her FBI colleagues stood waiting for her.

  Riley said to them …

  “It’s just as I thought when we were at the scene of Gareth Ogden’s death. There’s a definite connection between these killings. Ogden’s murder was a sort of a …”

  She paused to think of the right word.

  “Continuation,” she said.

  Her companions exchanged slightly confused glances.

  Then Jenn asked, “Does that mean we’re dealing with the same killer as before?”

  Riley hesitated for a long moment.

  Then she said, “Yes.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY THREE

  Blaine felt uneasy as he approached Riley’s townhouse in his SUV.

  He was driving his own daughter, Crystal, and Riley’s daughters, April and Jilly, home from school.

  The girls are so quiet, he thought.

  Again.

  Riley had called Blaine yesterday morning to let him know she was on her way to Mississippi to work on a case, and as usual she didn’t know how long she’d be away. Blaine knew that April and Jilly usually took the bus to and from school, just like Crystal did. He’d offered to drive them all to school and back while Riley was gone …

  Just to be helpful.

  He’d thought it would be a nice change for the girls. It had also seemed like an appropriate offer, given the possibility—or was it actually a likelihood?—that he would soon be Riley’s daughters’ stepfather. And Crystal had certainly seemed excited about the idea.

  Blaine had driven them home yesterday afternoon, then to school this morning, and now he was getting ready to drop off Riley’s daughters at their house again. At first they had all seemed to appreciate the extra attention and they’d been delighted about not having to ride the school bus home.

  But now …

  Jilly was sitting in the passenger seat next to him with her arms crossed, sullenly silent. Blaine kept wondering whether he should ask her if anything was wrong.

  Or maybe it’s none of my business, he thought.

  Then again, maybe it was his business.

  Just how much concern should he start showing toward Riley’s daughters?

  Meanwhile, April and Crystal were sitting in the seat behind them, and they seemed unusually quiet too. The two girls were in the same grade and about the same age, and the best of friends. Normally they couldn’t stop chattering and gossiping and giggling about one thing or another.

  When he glanced back in the mirror, Blaine saw that April looked too preoccupied to be her usual playful self. He guessed that Crystal was respecting April’s quiet mood.

  Probably also listening to music on ear buds, he thought.

  As he pulled the car to a stop in front of Riley’s house, he asked Jilly …

  “How are things going at school?”

  Jilly put her hand on the door handle and said in a barely audible voice …

  “Fine.”

  Blaine finally felt like he had to say something.

  “Hold on a minute, Jilly,” he said, before she could open the door. “Things don’t seem fine. Is there anything you’d like to talk about?”

  April leaned over from the back seat and said, “Yeah, I’ve been wondering too, Jilly. You’ve been kind of weird lately.”

  Jilly snapped, “I’ll tell you what’s wrong. Everybody’s getting on my case about everything.”

  Blaine was shocked by her tone. April sounded shocked as well.

  “That’s not fair, Jilly,” she said. “This is the first time anybody’s brought it up.”

  Jilly’s face twitched a little with anger.

  “You’ve been bringing it up a lot.”

  “OK, maybe I have,” April said. “But that’s no reason to take it out on Blaine.”

  “I’m just trying to be helpful,” Blaine said.

  “I don’t need anybody’s help,” Jilly said.

  She opened the door and jumped out of the car and strode toward the house.

  Blaine turned off the car engine. He thought maybe he should follow Jilly and talk to her.

  Then he heard Crystal’s voice …

  “Don’t bother her, Dad. She’ll be OK.”

  Blaine stayed seated, and April hopped out of the car and dashed after Jilly. As the two girls went into the house, Crystal got into the front seat beside him. Blaine started the car again and pulled away.

  After about a minute, Crystal said …

  “I’m worried about Jilly.”

  Blaine glanced at his daughter with surprise.

  “But you just told me not to bother her,” he said. “You said she’d be OK.”

  Crystal said, “Yeah, well … I’m a little worried, if you want to know the truth. So is April. She’s been telling me so. Something’s been going on with Jilly ever since we were on vacation together.”

  “What do you think it is?” Blaine asked.

  Crystal shrugged and said, “Dunno. Some kid thing, I guess.”

  Blaine sighed and said, “Teenagers are complicated.”

  “You don’t know the half of it,” Crystal said with a chuckle. “And believe me, you don’t want to know.”

  Blaine laughed as well. He knew his daughter was teasing him, and right now that came as a relief.

  Blaine was about to ask Crystal about her own day when she popped her ear buds back in and started listening to music again. She began bouncing slightly to some catchy pop tune.

  Blaine didn’t feel shut out by the music. He and Crystal had an easy rapport, and he knew she’d talk to him later if he really wanted her to. Even though she went through her share of teenaged angst, Crystal was usually willing to talk with him about it, and that always seemed to help. As far as he knew, she didn’t keep many secrets from him.

  Blaine likewise tried to keep few secrets from her. He’d talked to her pretty openly about where things were between him and Riley, and she’d seemed happy with the idea of their two families joining into one.

  Jilly will be all right, he told himself, as he continued driving.

  But then, some of his own worries started to nag at him.

  He hadn’t seen Riley at all since they’d all gotten home from the beach a few days ago. That wasn’t her fault, of course—he’d been busy catching up on things at the restaurant.

  But he remembered how weird it had felt to find Ryan, of all people, waiting at Riley’s house for her to come home …

  And with his suitcases, no less.

  Riley had called Blaine later on to apologize for her ex-husband, and to assure him that Ryan was not moving back in, not even temporarily. But she hadn’t explained what it was all about.

  Blaine prided himself on not being the jealous type. But even so, wasn’t it only natural for him to feel uncomfortable about Ryan showing up out of the blue like that?

  He remembered what Riley had said when they’d been discussing their future back in the house by the beach …

  “I don’t think we’ll see much of Ryan. And I think that’s just as well.”

  Things would certainly be bett
er that way.

  But was that how things were really going to be?

  He glanced again at his daughter, who seemed to be really enjoying her music.

  He was sure that Crystal and April had talked all about whatever had gone on with Ryan. Crystal surely knew more about it than Blaine did himself.

  Should I just ask her? he wondered.

  Then he shook his head and scoffed under his breath …

  How ridiculous.

  Was he really going to start asking his daughter about that kind of thing?

  Leave it alone, he told himself.

  Wherever things were going between him and Riley, he knew they’d both have a lot of adjusting to do, and they’d have to learn each other’s boundaries. And he reminded himself that being in a relationship meant living with uncertainties …

  And a few mysteries, too.

  He chuckled a little as he thought …

  I’m semi-engaged to an FBI agent, after all.

  Mysteries were sure to be part of the package.

  *

  April sat at the dining room table staring at her laptop, nibbling on an afternoon snack that Gabriela had just made for her. She found it hard to concentrate on homework with an adorable black and white kitten stretched out in in her lap begging to be petted.

  April thought wryly …

  Well, it’s a price that has to be paid.

  She kept on eating with one hand and petting Marbles with the other, not thinking about her homework at all.

  Instead, her thoughts turned to the little fight she’d just had with her sister. Jilly had charged upstairs to her room as soon as they’d gotten into the house.

  April wished she knew why Jilly was upset now. Just a few weeks ago, she had been so tearfully joyful at being legally adopted and becoming an official part of this family.

  She’d seemed to have a good time at the beach. She seemed to like Blaine and Crystal.

  So why had Jilly behaved so badly toward Blaine just now?

  April wondered if it might be her own fault somehow …

  Was it something I said?

  As she replayed the scene in her head, she remembered saying to Jilly …

  “You’ve been kind of weird lately.”

  April shook her head and murmured …