Rainey Nights Read online

  There was also the possibility the truck contained more evidence, other than the rings, which Dalton could not explain away. He wouldn’t want the cops going over his truck. No, Rainey was sure he was going to come out of the church any minute, hop in, and drive off. They had to stop him. This might be their only chance. If he got out of sight, Rainey was sure he would leave the area, but he wasn’t about to stop killing. Once she and Danny were outside, Rainey pulled out her phone. Danny already had his out.

  Danny asked, “Do you think that deputy will be alright?”

  Rainey looked at the church. “Yes, I think she can handle herself.”

  “You know that’s him, right?” Danny asked

  Rainey pointed at the windshield of the truck. “Look what’s hanging on his mirror.”

  Danny looked up, saw the rings, and immediately started punching buttons on his phone.

  “I’m waiting for Brooks to call back,” Rainey said. “Chambers was arrested at seventeen for sexual assault, but charges were dropped. I’m sure there are probably more things that fit the profile, but guys like that get away with so much by just talking their way out of it. He suffered a severe beating his senior year of high school that ruined his athletic career. He dedicated his life to God after that. I want more details on his injuries.”

  Danny held his phone to his ear. “I’m calling Martin for some backup. He can start the search warrant process for the truck.”

  “Right now, it’s all circumstantial, but I bet that truck has physical evidence in it, no matter how much he cleaned it,” Rainey said.

  Rainey’s phone jangled in her hand. She answered, while Danny waited for the detective to pick up.

  Brooks started talking as soon as Rainey said hello. “Okay, baby girl, you got your dirt bag. I got nothing from his credit cards, so I ran his parents’ cards, and bingo! There are records of purchases near each site on or around the dates of the murders and when the bodies were found. Bastard used his mother’s accounts to finance his sicko tour.”

  “Hang on,” Rainey said. She filled Danny in on what Brooks just told her. It would help with the search warrant. Then she put the phone back to her ear. “Okay, and what about the medical files?”

  “Wow. No, ‘Thank you, Magic Brooks,’ for that case breaking input.”

  Rainey answered swiftly, “No time. This asshole is about to walk out of this church and drive away.”

  “Oh shit,” was followed rapidly by, “he was a messed up boy. Whoever beat him paid special attention to his genitals. He was effectively castrated. I found the police report. There was some thought that this was retaliation by some brothers of a girl Chambers was suspected of raping. Chambers claimed he didn’t know who did it. No charges were ever filed in either case.”

  Rainey saw it all fall into place in her mind. Chambers’ sordid history laid out in front of her like a movie leading to this moment.

  “Thank you so much. I owe you dinner,” Rainey said, anxious to hang up and tell Danny. “I have to go.”

  Brooks signed off with her usual, “Rainey Bell, you be safe.”

  “Always,” came the reply.

  Rainey hung up and got Danny’s attention. He was still on the line with the detective, explaining what to put in the warrant request. He told the detective to hold on and listened to Rainey.

  “It’s him, Danny. No doubt about it. He was beaten and castrated for raping a girl when he was eighteen. That’s his motive. Revenge on all the virgins. We have receipts placing him at the scenes.”

  Danny responded, “More cops are on the way. Watch the doors, I’m going around back.”

  Danny returned his phone to his ear and began talking fast, as he moved around the building. Rainey undid the snap on her holster. She walked around the truck so that she was partially hidden from view. She removed the FBI issued, Sig Sauer P220, semi-automatic pistol from her waist, made sure she had a round chambered, and re-holstered it. Rainey hoped she wouldn’t have to use it, but these guys were unpredictable when cornered. Hopefully Chambers would come down for questioning, without any fuss. She highly doubted it.

  Rainey heard a door open. Looking up she saw Deputy Knox and the killer coming out of the education building together. She stepped around the truck and back into view.

  “I was just admiring your truck. It’s quite impressive. Looks like you keep it spotless,” Rainey said, as nonchalantly as she could muster. She felt the adrenaline beginning to quicken her heart. She hoped it didn’t show in her voice. She needed to buy time.

  Dalton smiled his practiced grin. It wasn’t genuine. These guys were consummate actors. “Yep, that’s my baby. I spend a lot of time keeping it detailed.”

  Deputy Knox’s eyes were locked on Rainey. She was looking for a sign as to what to do next. Rainey didn’t have a plan. She was hoping a host of police cars would come sliding into the parking lot about now. She needed Dalton Chambers to feel too outnumbered to try anything.

  Dalton looked around. “Where’s your partner?”

  “He went inside to use the restroom,” Rainey answered.

  She could see that Dalton was sizing up his situation. She thought he must know they weren’t going to let him leave. This type of killer would think he was smart enough to wiggle out of anything. He was making a mental plan of action. He turned to look behind him and that’s when Rainey saw it. Chambers was wearing a blue polo shirt. All three of the buttons at the neck were undone. When he turned, the sun caught the gold cross around his neck and Rainey recognized it as the one custom made for Crystal. She wore it in her smiling picture. Rainey’s hand went slowly to her weapon. Knox’s eyes followed Rainey’s hand. The young deputy stopped walking, freezing beside Dalton who saw the movement, too.

  Rainey smiled, thinly. “I like that cross, Messiah.” She drew her weapon quickly, shouting, “Freeze!”

  The instant Rainey pulled the Sig, Chambers made his move. He grabbed Knox and pulled her tight to his body. Rainey had no shot. She kept her weapon trained on Dalton, but all she could do was watch, as Chambers grappled with the deputy for her gun. In seconds, the stronger man overcame Knox. He held her in a chokehold with one arm and put the barrel of Knox’s nine-millimeter against her temple with the other. Rainey slid behind the truck bed, putting it between her and the serial killer, now brandishing a weapon and threatening to shoot a cop. Not good. The truck wouldn’t stop the bullet, unless she was behind the engine block, but at least it would slow it down.

  Rainey had not expected to run into the UNSUB. Unlike on TV, her unit was almost never involved in the actual hands on apprehension of a suspect. Their job was to tell the local investigators where and whom to look for. She had been involved in arrests before, but she always had on protection, and usually followed a SWAT team in. This time she wasn’t wearing a vest. There was no SWAT team in sight, no sirens coming in the distance. She looked into Knox’s terrified eyes and spoke as calmly as she could, even though her heart was about to beat out of her chest.

  “Okay, Dalton, you need to just drop the weapon and we’ll talk.”

  Dalton glared at her. “You drop your weapon and then we’ll talk.”

  “You know I can’t do that. Drop the weapon. You know how this ends, if you don’t.”

  Knox struggled to get free, having regained some strength after the initial battle for her gun. The handsome face of Dalton Chambers transformed before Rainey’s eyes. He tightened his grip around Knox’s throat, enjoying the smaller woman’s attempts to pry his arm from her throat. Knox gasped for air. Dalton chuckled and smiled at Rainey. He narrowed his glare and spoke in an almost jovial tone.

  “Yes, I do know how this ends. The deputy and I are going for a ride. She’s a little old for my taste, but damn, she’s a fighter. Look at her go.” Knox kicked at his legs. Dalton laughed and then narrowed his eyes at Rainey, his voice now pure evil. “And if you try to stop me, I’ll blow this bitch’s head off.”

  Rainey was not only an FBI agent trained
in tactical weapons, negotiations, and critical response, she was the daughter of a man who survived several Special Forces tours in Vietnam. He taught her to shoot, but more importantly, he taught her to survive. She knew she had to keep Dalton focused on her. Rainey hoped Knox would understand her next words.

  “When she put on that badge this morning, she knew she might not make it home tonight. It’s the nature of the beast. You might shoot her, but then I’m going to drop you like a sack of potatoes. No trial, no publicity, just a dead killer and a hero cop. They’ll write article after article about the deputy and her tragic death. You, you’ll be a footnote in the story.”

  Dalton started dragging his captive toward the driver’s door of the truck. Rainey thought fast. She took a step back, dropped her aim, and fired. The right rear tire went flat. That got Dalton’s attention and hopefully Danny’s, too. She quickly reacquired her target, the only part of Dalton that was exposed, his head.

  Rainey laughed. She needed Dalton off his game. “Wooo. That’s gonna cost you. Bet those tires run over three-hundred dollars a piece.”

  Dalton said, through gritted teeth, “You bitch.” He changed directions and started for the SUV.

  Danny had a bad habit of leaving the keys in the ignition. Rainey could not let Dalton get to the vehicle. She dropped her aim again and fired at the back tire of the SUV. Bam, whoosh, the air left the tire.

  “Now, that’s gonna cost the government. Guess we’ll put it on your tab.”

  Dalton was losing his composure rapidly. “Crazy bitch. I’m gonna drop this cop and then I’m gonna fuck you up.”

  Rainey was waiting for him to aim his weapon at her. If he pulled the barrel away from Knox’s head, Rainey would not hesitate to shoot him. Still, Rainey kept the truck bed in front of her, in case he got off the first shot. She doubted he would. Rainey was the best shot in her class and had every confidence that she would drop him where he stood. She would shoot now, but Knox could move the wrong way and catch the bullet, or he could spasm at the time of death and kill Knox. The truck was so tall she couldn’t see in front of it, where Danny should be by now. Rainey had no choice, but to keep talking and hope Danny was creeping up behind Dalton.

  “Come on Dalton, drop the weapon. You have no way out of this. My partner heard those shots. He’ll be coming soon. Nobody’s hurt, yet. Let’s just calm down and put the weapons away, before he gets the wrong idea and shoots you in the back.”

  Rainey saw the door to the education center begin to open. It creaked just enough to draw Dalton’s attention. He turned quickly and fired, believing it to be Danny coming out of the church. Pastor Morrell hit the ground, crawling for safety. Dalton wheeled his arm back around and fired at Rainey. She hit the ground, too. The round hit the truck bed, where she had been standing. Instantly she sighted her gun on one of Dalton’s legs and fired. At the same time, she heard Danny’s weapon go off in front of the truck. Dalton crumpled, still holding on to Knox, but he lost his grip on her. She elbowed him in the ribs, rolled over, and jumped to her feet.

  Knox kicked the pistol from Dalton’s hand, the adrenaline coursing through her veins causing her to scream, “Motherfucker!”

  Rainey scrambled to her feet and ran around the truck. Danny appeared from in front of the truck. He had evidently been watching the whole time, waiting for a shot. Neither Dalton nor Rainey knew he was there.

  “Everybody okay?” Danny asked.

  Rainey kept her weapon on Dalton who was writhing on the ground, moaning in pain. “I’m fine. You okay, Knox?” Rainey asked the freaked out deputy.

  “God dammit!” Knox was pissed. “I can’t believe I let him grab me. Fuck!”

  Rainey smiled. “You’re all right. Just breathe. Pick up your weapon.”

  Dalton moaned louder. Rainey could see he was shot twice. Her bullet shattered his lower leg. Danny got him in the butt. Neither wound was life threatening. Anyone who says they don’t feel fear when confronted with a weapon is a liar. Through training, Rainey learned to channel that primal instinct into hyper alertness in order to reduce or stop the threat. Now that the danger had passed, her fear turned to anger. Rainey went over to Dalton and stepped on his injured leg.

  “How’s that feel, asshole? You like pain don’t you? Isn’t that what gets you off?”

  “Get off me bitch. I’ll kill you.”

  “I doubt it,” Rainey said. “You have a date with a needle Mr. Chambers. Look up at the sky. The next time you see it will be through razor wire.”

  Rainey reached down, rolled him on to his stomach, slapping a pair of handcuffs on his wrists. “You’re going to prison Mr. Chambers. You just shot at a federal agent.”

  Danny started reciting the Miranda Rights. “To start with, Dalton Chambers, you are under arrest for the attempted murder of a federal officer. You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say or do can and will be used against you in a court of…”

  “I know my fucking rights.”

  Danny continued the recitation of the rights, ignoring Dalton’s outburst.

  Dalton kicked at Rainey with his uninjured leg. “I’m going to kill you, bitch. I’ll hunt you down and kill you.”

  Rainey stepped back. She looked over at Knox and smiled mischievously. “Hey, Knox. You want to help me hogtie this uncooperative prisoner?”

  Knox finally regained her composure and smiled back. “Yes, ma’am. It would be my pleasure.”

  Chapter three

  June 25, fourteen months later.

  Wise County, Virginia

  A transparent blue mist blanketed the mountain range passing beneath the helicopter. The only sound Rainey could hear was the muffled plop-plop of the blades through the air. No one spoke on the headsets, as the sleek black chopper cut through the haze that gave this mountain range its name. They were closing in on the target destination. Surrounded by ridges of thick, green forest that opened onto multicolored fields of wild flowers, the beauty of the Blue Ridge Mountains was lost on the muted passengers. From behind dark sunglasses, Rainey glanced down at the fence and razor wire sparkling in the morning sun. She was making her final “descent into hell,” as she had begun to call this part of the trip.

  A few minutes later, a tall, very large, prison guard motioned for them to follow. “Right this way, agents,” he said, while sliding a key card through a slot and then punching a code into a control pad on a heavily armored door. A loud “thunk” signaled the release of the bolt and the door slid open.

  Danny and Rainey entered the front gate of Red Onion State Prison, a super maximum-security facility housing the worst criminals the state of Virginia had to offer. From that moment on, they were never alone within the confines of the prison. A guard escorted them to the main intake area where they presented their identification to another blue clad guard behind the glass. It was a formality that seemed unnecessary since they had been there a dozen times in six months. Rainey and Danny removed their weapons and slid them into the security drawer, where they were pulled back out of sight. Rainey took her hair down from the ponytail she was wearing and shook it free, to fall across her shoulders. This was part of the game she had to play here. The guard behind the glass smiled at Rainey and motioned them to step through the opening gate, while he raised a phone receiver to his ear. The guard spoke into the phone and more locks clanged open. Two more guards appeared to escort them through the maze of halls and security checks of “The Onion.”

  Heavy steel doors ground opened, metal on metal screeching as they moved. The bolts banged shut instantly behind them, as they passed. Loudspeakers barked orders and reverberated off the prison’s concrete block walls. The sounds of ankle chains clanked in the air, keys jangled from the guards’ Sam Browne belts, blurring with the roar of humanity from inside each pod. The din grew and dissipated as they made their way through the labyrinth of hallways to solitary confinement. Rainey endured the vile calls from inside the cells. The deeper they went into the prison where the worst offenders
were held, the more abusive the taunts became. Men masturbated openly, trying to rattle her. She kept her eyes focused ahead, not giving them the satisfaction of looking. Buried beneath the prison walls, where he would never take another free breath, Dalton Chambers waited.

  At the end of a long hallway, they turned left to face a single, heavily guarded room. The reinforced glass and steel wall allowed them to see inside the high security interview area. Two guards stood watch by the door, two more in riot gear a few feet away. Five guards, dressed in Prisoner Removal Team gear, stood outside the door. With extra armor and helmets, they were prepared to make the prisoner comply, forcefully, if necessary. A few of them wore an eager expression, apparently hoping for a chance to use their unique skills.

  Dalton’s wrists were cuffed and attached to a chain connected to a belt at his waist. His leg restraints glinted under the table. A guard stood watch in the corner of the room, holding a black box in his hand. Rainey recognized the box. It operated an electronic custody control stun belt, also around Dalton’s waist. At their last meeting, Dalton became furious, lashing out at Danny. It took three guards to restrain him. They were taking no chances this time. If Dalton so much as twitched, Rainey was sure the guard would not hesitate to send 50,000 volts coursing through his body.

  Their escort spoke into his radio. “Control, open on twelve.”

  The door in front of them slid open. Danny entered first, a stack of file folders in his hand. He walked straight to the table. Tossing the files down, he glared at Dalton.

  “I’m not going to have any trouble with you today, am I?”

  Dalton ignored Danny. He looked around him at Rainey as she entered. “Why Agent Bell, you look beautiful.”

  Rainey woke up on, what her dad would have called, “the wrong side of the bed.” She was in no mood to pretend to like Dalton, but she had to. Her part in the investigation was to appear sympathetic to Dalton’s situation. She pulled her hair down, because he liked it that way. Rainey didn’t want Dalton to be attracted to her, but her looks distracted him. Their tactics were for Danny to push and prod, while she coaxed and cajoled the information out of this sadistic rapist murderer. In his plea deal, to avoid the death penalty Dalton was given six consecutive life sentences, without the possibility of parole, in exchange for the location of other victims’ bodies tied to him after his arrest. Nothing he said about his Virginia crimes after the deal could be used to prosecute him further. He had been careful not to mention any unknown crimes in North Carolina.