Deadly Secrets *Completed*

Chapter Thirty - Caught

Chapter 30 - Caught

Layla looked up at Nick with a tentative smile. He had called her for a meet-up at Café Bean. He'd given her no indication of what he wanted, it sounded so urgent on the phone. Now that he was in front of her and he'd fallen silent on her, it wasn't helping the growing sense of unease as she shifted and lifted her white coffee mug to her lips just to do something to fill the silence. Blowing the rolling steam gently, she took a sip, still waiting for him to begin until she couldn't bear the heavy silence any longer.

She eyed him from under her lashes, "You've called me here for a reason and from your reluctance to speak, I would say it isn't good news, Detective."

He sighed as he pulled out his notebook and pen, opening the pad to a clean page. "Please, call me Nick, Miss Redding. I think we've spoken enough to dispense with formalities."

The quick smile he cast her way faded quickly as he got down to business, his expression becoming grim. "I don't know if you saw the news but we found another body. I've just come from an updated press conference and I'll need to get back to the station soon, but I wanted to check on you and make sure that you were okay."

"Sure, why wouldn't I be?" Layla asked with a frown, concern etching her features.

"You'd been with one of the victims shortly before his murder. I feel it's better to cover all of my bases here. While it's likely The Ghost didn't see you leaving Mr. Mays, I don't want to take any risks with you. It's our belief that many of the victims may have been stalked for weeks, if not months prior to their abductions. They were taken from places they went regularly, from the darkest alleys on their routes home, and from their cars. These deaths aren't opportune killings, Layla, and if you spot anything untoward, I want to know about it." Nick's tone was grim, serious.

Layla tried to push down the sense of foreboding that took up immediate residence in her chest, constricting tightly around her lungs. "You think he could be following me? Watching me? Learning my routine?"

"It's unlikely." Nick tried to reassure her. "I'm simply taking precautions, but to do so I need to know of anything that's unsettled you. Have you had any encounters or seen anything recently? Maybe someone who had spooked you even? We're trying to gather up a list of suspects, so any information could be valuable to us."

That was when his facade cracked and tension creased his brow as he ran his hand through his hair. "We broadcasted that we have a list of suspects but I can't lie to you. We have no list. This guy is out there killing and getting away with it. We're desperate.

"That's why were resorting to this ploy, trying to lure him out. It's not fair to the family of the woman we found yesterday, asking them to let us use details about her to rile this guy up, to make him fearful. It must be heart-breaking for them, the reports, the pictures of her tattoos floating around the media, all the reminders that a loved one was butchered. She was a mother, Layla. There are two children out there who will grow up knowing their mother was taken, tortured, and mutilated.

"I don't know her husband is managing to stay upright, I really don't. We're lucky he wants justice for his wife, that he's determined to help us in any way he can. He's letting us reveal details about his wife because we hope that if The Ghost thinks we have hard evidence and a narrowing suspect list, he may panic, slip up, and leave us some actual evidence. Or maybe he'll become rash in his need to regain control. He might make mistake trying to abduct one of these women and someone could possibly see him doing it. I'd rather it didn't get to that point that he didn't abduct another... but we need to bring him down by whatever means necessary or this will continue on a vicious cycle. There'll be more children in my office learning that their mothers aren't coming home. More husbands identifying their wives from photos of body parts because that's all he's leaving, jigsaw puzzles with missing pieces..."