Ripper (Tortured Heroes Book 5) Read online

  I sipped on coffee that was getting cold. Kyle and the agents worked together for about an hour with the new information. Then an agent I’d not met ran into the room, breathless, and barely able to contain himself.

  “She’s alive, she escaped.” The agent said to the group working this case.

  “Gwen?” I said. I knew right away. Gwen was alive. I put my hands together and offered a silent thank you. Thank you!

  Someone had finally escaped.

  “Where is she?” Kyle asked.

  “Hospital.”

  “Let’s go,” Kyle said and grabbed my arm. We raced out of the room, a trail of agents was at our heels.

  Gwen Stock could hold the answer they’d been looking for.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Kyle

  “I’d come here on the spur of the moment. I wasn’t planning to stay. So I didn’t tell my family. That was so stupid.”

  Gwen Stock was giving her statement from a hospital bed. She had a black eye, two bruised wrists, but otherwise, miraculously, she was fine. She was in one piece and the information she had was explosive. She spoke in a quiet voice that wavered on the verge of tears. She did look like Sam, but like all the others, wasn’t quite as luminous nor as vibrant.

  Scully, Agent Jasper, and I were listening to her describe what happened.

  “Jerry said he needed help. That he had an opening and could I come for a little? He said it would only be a few days, just to train the new girl. You know I got fired from Arm Up, but it wasn’t Jerry’s fault. It was company policy.” I’d heard the story from Sam.

  “Jerry picked me up from the airport and took me to his place, not the office. I should have known that was a bad thing. Off. But it was okay at first. I was there one night and we were set to go to the office. Nothing happened. No advances. I slept on the couch. Except I didn’t sleep. I couldn’t sleep. I wondered around his kitchen and opened the door to his basement. There were a lot of unpacked boxes and photographic equipment. I didn’t know he took photos.

  And then, the weirdest thing, you know those metal poles? The ones in basements? There were two, and one had ropes attached at the top of it. Right away that scared me. It was weird. But Jerry just moved in, so maybe the people who had the house before had dogs or something? I decided that it was best I get back upstairs. When I turned to go to the steps there he was, Jerry. But he wasn’t Jerry. He had a strange look in his eye. He called me Sam. That’s when I knew it was bad, crazy bad. I tried to run passed him and I must have fallen, or he hit me. I still have a lump. I woke up tied with that same rope. No Jerry, just me, alone in his basement and no way out.”

  Gwen did a good job describing her fear, how Jerry had trapped her, and it was coming together in a way that made so much sense. He was obsessed with Sam. And he couldn’t have her so he was taking that anger out on any woman he could.

  “I never saw Jerry again, after the moment I saw him on the stairs. But I spent the rest of my time working on the ropes. I was afraid to go upstairs. Even though I was pretty sure he wasn’t home. It had to be a work day. But still. What if it wasn’t you know? I had a pretty good idea he was killing women. I know there’s a Vegas Ripper. I know it. And so, I heard the doorbell ring. No one answered, it rang again. I figured that was my chance. Jerry wasn’t home and there was a potential witness at the door. I could ask for help. So, I bolted so fast up those stairs and to the door. And it was a mailman. I pushed the door open and he called 911. Then they brought me here.”

  It was an incredible story. She was lucky to have gotten out of that house. Considering what we now knew about Jerry Moore. He was The Ripper.

  I started to put the pieces together of what Sam had said about Jerry’s behavior towards her. A rejected suitor with an evil sociopathic side. In some ways, it had been right in front of us.

  “You’ve done very well, Gwen. You did all the right things and you were so brave.” She was likely in shock, but she’d given us details about her experience and about Jerry’s behavior that would be valuable. I nodded to an agent at the door and they went to get Sam.

  “Sam Bosque is here, would you like to see her? I know it sometimes helps to see a familiar face when you’re in a strange place.” I was as gentle as I knew how with this woman. She had come so very close to being The Ripper’s next victim.

  “Oh, yes, please, I would love that.”

  A minute later Sam came in and that’s when Gwen broke down. Sam rushed to the woman’s bedside and enveloped her in a hug.

  “It’s okay, you’re safe. The agents will take good care of you. You’re safe.”

  Sam was amazing and she helped comfort Gwen even though she was still reeling from all she’d seen and heard the last few days. The agents and I stepped back into the hall. The next part of this case was getting Jerry.

  Sam came out in the hall to me, the worry was etched on her face. I wanted to hug her like she had just hugged Gwen, but we were staying as professional as possible here. There was enough going on without having to explain what was happening between us to anyone else.

  “What’s next?”

  “We need to pick up Jerry. He obviously won’t be coming back to his place if he knows.”

  “Do you think he knows? Is this really possible? Is he the one who did all this? Killed all these women? And because of me?” She was fraying at the edges. After all she’d heard and seen in the last few days, it was understandable. Hopefully putting Jerry behind bars would help her start the process of moving beyond this horrible situation.

  “Look, the worst is really over. We got prints from Jerry’s house, they match the ones on Debbie Sanders, but more important, they match the prints in the hall. Thanks to Gwen’s statement, we can get Jerry.”

  “Am I still under guard?”

  “As soon as I get word he is in cuffs, you can free range it again.”

  “Are you going to make the arrest?”

  “Well, me and a team. I’m going to have you taken back to the office until I give the all-clear.”

  “Okay, can Gwen come with me?”

  “Sure, if the doctor says it’s okay to go, then that’s the safest place for her too.”

  Sam stepped into my arms and I hugged her. Hard. There were FBI agents around, but fuck it. This was my woman. No two ways about it. Screw being careful. She needed a hug and I needed to feel her heart beat next to mine. Even if it was for just a moment.

  “I’ll take care of Gwen. It will give me something to focus on other than you out there with that monster.”

  “Don’t worry, we’re going to get him. This ends today.”

  I squeezed her hard again and she turned and went back to Gwen’s bedside. I would have an agent escort them to the office. It eased my mind knowing she was in the heart of the FBI while I went and bagged this asshole.

  The Las Vegas Ripper had no idea we were coming for him. But we were and we were coming for him now.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Sam

  I hardly knew Gwen when she worked at Arm Up, but what we’d just been through together at Jerry’s hands made me feel close to her. We sat in that same conference room at the FBI offices. I watched her take it all in.

  I had been in that same position a few days ago. I had no idea what the FBI really did or how they did it. I had no idea that a city like this had offices. I had no clue what the job entailed. I knew a little more now.

  Gwen watched as agents buzzed around the office or poured over computer monitors.

  “So, how are your wrists?” I asked her.

  “Okay, a little raw, but now seeing what could have happened? It’s nothing.”

  “It’s hard to feel lucky in the middle of this nightmare, but we are. These seven girls didn’t walk away.” I hated that thought.

  “No, they didn’t.” Gwen looked at the photos on the wall. She didn’t flinch one bit when she saw them. It made her stand taller. Maybe she realized how strong and resourceful she was. She was seeing
how close she’d come to evil and survived.

  Agent Culvert walked into the conference room.

  “Any news?” I asked. I hoped Jerry hadn’t run. I hoped he didn’t know that Gwen had escaped his house. Everything had happened so quickly. If we were lucky, he hadn’t been tipped off. If the FBI was fast, they’d grab him.

  “Nothing new from the field. Except all the prints match from Jerry’s house and Debbie.”

  “Well, that’s good.”

  “Yes. You ladies need anything?”

  “No, I’m good. Gwen?”

  “No, fine.”

  Gwen continued to look at all the autopsy photos. I started to think maybe she shouldn’t. We couldn’t change what Jerry had done and we couldn’t save these women. I worried maybe we were traumatizing Gwen. Maybe she should be in the hospital.

  She’d latched on to me hard when I went into her room, so I hoped this was the right thing. The two of us here where the action and information was seemed better than being stuck in a hospital bed.

  Still, it was hard to read what she thought as she looked at the gruesome photos.

  Was she picturing herself? I know I had done that. And it was horrible.

  “If you guys want to come out here and watch, we can track our teams.” The agent saw it too, that Gwen needed to get away from those photos.

  We went out to the Bullpen, which is what I’d heard the agents call it. Scully and Kyle were out in the field along with a team of a dozen other agents.

  Support staff in the office were monitoring every move they made and we could see a pin to indicate where they were. I recognized the map. They were headed to the Arm Up Office.

  The agent told us what to expect. “Agent Duvall is leading the team at the offices. That’s where the subject is. However, just in case, we have a backup team at the house where you were captive and another at his vehicle.”

  “What happens if he runs?” I asked.

  “Agent Duvall and the team will have no problem catching up to him.”

  For the first time since I met Kyle Duvall, I had fears about his job. He’d told me only the smallest amount about his time undercover or his time as a police officer. I was so worried about my safety, Gwen’s, and the victims, that I didn’t think about the FBI, about Kyle. A cold pit formed in my chest and I knew what it was. I was afraid that a cornered Jerry could strike.

  Did they know if he was armed? Did they know if he would fight back? They were the FBI, so I supposed they did. But still. I could see Kyle rushing in. I remembered his anger when I was dealing with the fresh fighter. This was so much worse. I worried that he would put himself at risk, not only because Jerry was a monster, he was the monster who wanted to hurt me.

  Did Kyle’s love for me put him at a greater risk? I watched the little points of light that represented Kyle and his team pull up to the parking garage. I saw they had agents on street level and then Kyle’s team entering the building.

  “We’re going in.” It was Kyle on a law enforcement radio channel. He was communicating with his team and with the Bullpen.

  Gwen stood up and got closer to the digital map that was on the wall.

  “This is really amazing, what they do?” She said to me.

  “It is.”

  “Jerry is so fucking screwed.” And she smiled. It was the first time I’d seen her smile since I’d seen her in that hospital bed. I would have seen that as a good thing, except her smile scared me a little. Had something more happened? Had Gwen been changed by being held captive, in a way that couldn’t be undone?

  I had no training or idea of how trauma affected people act, but her smile at Jerry’s imminent capture was off, almost maniacal. What if she’d been through more than she’d told the agents? She had only the smallest of physical injuries. It was why she was allowed out of the hospital and to come with me. But in that short space of time, had he scarred her in a way I couldn’t see?

  I sent up a silent prayer that she had a good family support system back in Nevada. She might really need it.

  Then as the little dots moved closer to their target in the Arm Up office, I sent up another prayer. I prayed that Jerry was there and they’d get him without any danger coming to Special Agent Kyle Duvall.

  Chapter Eighteen

  Kyle

  I’d been in the office before, so that was a plus. Half the time you go into a situation and you know the layout, where doors are, where escape hatches could be, but you don’t know little things that could trip you up. A desk is in a weird place, or a door is shut that should be open.

  With the Arm Up offices, I knew exactly what to expect, so I lead the team in to get Jerry Moore.

  We didn’t go in quietly. I announced our presence loud and clear as Scully and I walked into the receptionist area.

  “FBI! Jerry David Moore, you’re under arrest. Get on the floor face down.”

  We advanced and I heard him.

  “What the hell are you talking about?” It was a question, but there was a cocky tone to it. He hadn’t been tipped off to the fact that he was busted.

  I didn’t know if he was armed, so I assumed he was.

  “Get the fuck down on the floor. Put your hands on your head.” We had agents standing on both sides of his door as he advanced from behind his desk. This was good because now I knew if he had a weapon he’d have to draw it. There wasn’t anything hidden.

  “What the fuck?” he said and that’s when I made the decision to go in.

  “You’re under arrest.” He was still standing in his office, but now he had his hands up.

  “You’re fucking crazy? What for? You’re making a huge fucking mistake!”

  “I said get on the floor now.” And I helped him assume the position. Maybe a little more aggressively than I should have.

  “Dammit. My nose. I think you broke my nose.” Jerry had hit it on the floor when I shoved him down there.

  “No more noise from you.” We needed him cuffed and in the vehicle. As soon as he was, a forensics team would sweep this office from floor to ceiling. They were already doing the same at the Vegas offices.

  Everything in me wanted to pound the shit out of Jerry for what he’d done to Sam, Gwen, and the other victims. It took all I had to stay calm, other than slamming his face to the floor. I didn’t kick him in the head like I wanted to do. I didn’t make him suffer the way he’d done to all his victims.

  I knew if this was going to stick and he was going to stay behind bars forever, or hell, even get the death penalty, everything we did in this office had to be by the book.

  Agents stepped in and picked him off the floor. He would be processed in the local jail and then moved to the county lock up. And from what I knew of cases like this, it could be more than a year before a trial.

  The goal was to keep him behind bars until that time, so no more women could become his prey. So finally, Sam could live her life.

  I realized my hands were balled into fists as I surveyed the office. One thin wall had separated this monster and Sam. I shuddered to think what he could have done. And I mourned the poor women who had crossed his path and looked like Sam.

  He was in cuffs and on the way to the lock-up. He couldn’t hurt them anymore.

  Scully called into the office as the forensics team started their work and then he came over to me. I was looking out the window at Grand City and feeling relief that this asshole wouldn’t be out there preying on Sam.

  “Hey, Duvall.”

  “Yeah. You’re done here. Why don’t you call your girl and tell her it’s all over.”

  “My girl.”

  “Yeah, we all see it. Just be very careful with her. She’s a nice girl and has been through a lot.”

  “An understatement.”

  “So, do you think she can get good tickets to Fight Night?” he asked me and I let a small chuckle escape. Shit, we’d been wound tight since this started.

  “I’ll ask.”

  I dialed her cell.
/>   “Kyle. Are you okay?”

  “I’m okay. Not a scratch on me.”

  “You got Jerry.”

  “I did, they let you watch back in the Bullpen?”

  “Yeah, they did. I was so freaked out. If anything had happened to you I…”

  “It’s all good. Nothing happened to me and Jerry can’t hurt you or anyone else anymore.”

  “God, I don’t even know what to think.”

  “Just move forward. How’s Gwen?”

  “Oh, relieved too. A little weirded out. I mean, I’ve been dealing with this for a few days. She’s stepped into a nightmare she didn’t know existed in the last 24-hours.”

  “Natural for her to be in shock.”

  “I think we need to get out of here for a while.”

  “You do?”

  “Look, Jerry’s behind bars, and Gwen needs a few things. Her suitcase is gone and I think we need to make a run to Meijer and get her some stuff. They told her they couldn’t get her a flight home until tomorrow.”

  “Okay. Meijer. I still don’t like you out and about without me.”

  “Please understand that I’m not going to be caged up anymore. Even if you’re in the cage with me. I need to stretch Kyle.”

  “I know. It’s why I love you.”

  “You do?”

  “Yeah, don’t let it get around.”

  “I love you too.” When she said it back, I was surprisingly relieved. This was a new experience for me. Relationships were uncharted territory in my life.

  “So, how are you going to get around? Your car is trashed.”

  “I’ve got my ways. There’s a rental in front of your building. My insurance policy covers rentals.”

  “Okay. But I expect you back at my place by dinner.”

  “I’ll drop Gwen off at the hotel they set up for her and be there by 7 p.m.”

  “Beautiful. Oh, and did I say I love you?” I seemed to be gushing with emotion. Shit. I was soft.

  “You did, but keep saying it. I like it.”