Cy swallowed more of his drink. “I have news. Kellie’s friend put her cell-phone number in the WPR Association’s database. After some searching I discovered that a Denny Denham worked for Standard Computer Services as a tech in Colorado Springs starting in April of this year. He was called out on a problem at WPRA and signed the work order June 20. After that, he quit his job on the excuse he needed to be with his sick mother in Michigan.”
Vic’s whistle sang throughout the kitchen. “I talked to Rafe. Get this. He said the voice on Kellie’s phone meets the criteria for a person from Virginia Beach or Charleston, South Carolina.”
“A long way from Texas,” Cy mused aloud. “Charleston’s the place where one of the victims was killed.”
“Yup. The minute I heard that, I started a search of all identical twin boys born in both the Virginia Beach area and the Charleston area over the time period I’ve estimated. I’m waiting for them to get back to me.”
“You do great work. At this point I’m wondering where these killers saw Kellie and decided to target her. Until now they’ve operated in the other half of the US.”
“You’ll figure it out. In the meantime Stan told me that he couldn’t get a good read on the half fingerprint from the garage-door pad.”
Cy’s eyes closed for a minute. “That was a long shot. Did the woman show up at the mailbox today?”
“No. Nothing went on around the town house. It’s a waiting game now.”
“I’m pretty sure he’ll break in one of these nights, possibly even tonight after he sees Kellie’s parents drop her off. I’ll be waiting for him.”
“Or them,” Vic added. “The crew will cover the front of the condo. I’ll be out in back.”
“Any news on the IP address of the email sent to Kellie?”
Vic shook his head. “Janene’s still working on the source. Tor hidden services mask their locations behind layers of routing. But she got into a site called ‘hangman’ and discovered the owner had left the administrative account open with no password. She logged in and is still digging around. As soon as I hear from her, I’ll let you know.”
“Good.” Cy reached into his pocket and pulled out the paper from the computer services company. “This is the application the stalker filled out to get hired for work at the computer company.”
They sat down at the table to study it. Cy let out a harsh laugh. “Look at that reference. As I told Kellie, it’s full of lies. Two years at another computer company in Omaha, Nebraska, before he moved to Colorado Springs?”
“I’ll call the number and see who answers.” Vic pulled out his cell phone and tried it, then put the phone to Cy’s ear. “You may have reached this recording in error. You can try again or call your operator.” Vic hung up.
Cy rubbed his eyes with the palms of his hands. “No doubt he used his brother, who set up a phony address and phone to send the referral. These killers get around, Vic. They’ve got money to operate. Most likely smash-and-grab stuff, unless they’re living off a family death benefit of some kind. I’ll email this to the agents on the East Coast.”
“Depending on what goes on here tonight, I’ll track things down tomorrow.” Vic checked his watch. “Tell you what. I’m going to leave to get me a bite to eat. But I’ll let you know when I’m back for the rest of the night.”
“I can’t do this without you.” Cy walked him to the back door. After Vic left, he phoned TJ to check in and catch him up on the latest.
“If two of them break in, you may need more backup.”
“Vic and the crew have us covered.”
“I’ll put two more Rangers on alert anyway,” his boss said before Cy heard the click.
A second later his phone rang. The caller ID said Nadine, Kellie’s mother. He picked up. “Kellie?”
“Hi.” The small tremor in her voice brought out his protective instincts.
“Is all well with you and your horses?”
“They’re in fine form.” She’d ignored his question about herself. The tension had to be getting to her. “I just wanted you to know my parents are driving me home now. We should be there in five minutes.”
“Good. Before you come in the house, check your mailbox.”
“I will. See you soon.” She hung up.
He got up from the table and walked into the living room while he prepared himself for what might happen tonight. If the stalker suspected Kellie had been telling the truth about a husband, he might lie low so she would think the menace had gone away. But neither he nor his twin would ever go away. One thing about a sociopath. Once he’d fixated on his victim, he’d dog her to the bitter end no matter how long it took. With two sociopaths working together, they were a lethal combination.
He ground his teeth, hoping both of them showed up. Once they were taken down, Kellie could get on with her life. So could he...
While he was trying to imagine what that would be like now that he’d met her, he heard her key in the lock. In order not to frighten her, he moved to the kitchen so she’d see him when she walked in. After she locked the door behind her, she turned around.
He noticed she was wearing her riding clothes and boots. Kellie’s eyes flew to his. She held up a couple of catalogs. “This was all I found in the box.” She put them on the kitchen table.
Cy thumbed through them, but there was no envelope hiding inside the pages. He looked up. “Have you eaten dinner?”
“Ages ago.”
“Why don’t you sit down and tell me what’s wrong? Did something happen you need to talk to me about?”
Her chin lifted. “What’s wrong is that you’re putting your life on the line for me,” she said in a voice shaking with emotion.
He cocked his head. “Would you rather someone else were doing this job? It can be arranged.”
“No!” she cried out. “No,” she said in a softer tone and looked away. “That isn’t what I meant at all.”
“Then what did you mean?” came his deep, almost-seductive voice.
She folded her arms to her waist. “Situations like this shouldn’t happen to anyone, but I know they do. Horrible things happen all the time, all over the world, and a handful of men and women like you are courageous enough to make the bad people go away. There isn’t a way to repay you for what you have to face twenty-four hours a day in order to protect someone like me.”
Cy put his hands on one of the chair backs. “I get my payment every time I lock up a criminal and throw away the key. There’s no satisfaction like it.”
“Then you’re an amazing breed of man.”
“That’s exactly what I was thinking about you when I saw you perform in Bandera. Only a few exceptional women have the patience and the skills to work year in and year out to thrill the thousands of people who can only dream about what you do on your horse. The heart of a champion is inside you. All I could do watching you at the rodeo was sit back and marvel.”
She eyed him with a frank stare. “What you do and what I do aren’t comparable, but I appreciate the compliment.”
“It was heartfelt.”
“You enjoy the rodeo?”
“All my life.”
Her eyes lit up. “Really?”
“I love it. Growing up we had horses and always went to the rodeo. I still keep my horse on my parents’ small ranch and ride when I have time. Like most of my friends