Behind Her Mind: A Suspense Mystery Thriller (Kate Summers Book 5) Page 5

Adams clutched the evidence tighter.

  Katie laughed and reached for her keys, a small Swiss Army Knife dangling from them beside a fuzzy rabbit Kate had put there.

  “There’s no one to hear you scream, Dr. Adams. Stay still and it will be quick. Fight me and this will be long and painful.”

  9

  Katie was panting. She was covered in blood. The pressure built again, and she gritted her teeth against another wave of agony as her other half tried to reach for control. The office was a mess, but Adams was dead.

  “See that?” she snarled at her reflection in the blood-marred wall. “You fought and fought to stop me, but you failed. She’s dead anyway.”

  Another stab of fury, of pain.

  Katie felt her world blur, control slipping in and out of her grasp. She wrested it back and snatched up the evidence folder and evidence bags, all coated in blood.

  She quickly sneaked to the locker rooms, stripping and throwing on the set of jogging pants and thin knotted sweater she’d left there several days ago. She didn’t have time to destroy with fire. Her other half’s interference had let things run far too long. She needed to leave. Fast.

  But first, she needed a scapegoat. She spotted a lowly intern and smiled. The young woman was about the same size. Katie ran to her, a look of terror on her face.

  “Help! Please, quickly. It is Dr. Adams!”

  The intern followed and then froze as she entered the heart of the carnage. Katie was already in motion. In seconds, the woman had been pushed back, her head knocking with fatal force against the sharp corner of the table.

  She pulled the pocket knife from the keys and felt everything shift again. When she came around, the clock had ticked three minutes more, but the bodies were still where she’d left them. Good.

  She scooped up the blade, wiped it down, and then, with her own hands covered, pressed it into the dead intern’s palm.

  Stop fighting! She screamed in her mind, as another lunge was made.

  She stood, grabbed the plastic bag she’d shoved her bloodied clothes and evidence into, and fled. As she neared security she slowed, looking tired but unconcerned. Just another worker leaving the office late. Nothing new.

  ****

  “Where is Dr. Adams?” Kyle asked, finally stepping into Olsen’s office.

  “Have you checked on Kate?”

  Kyle sighed. “She was asleep at her desk. She’s exhausted. We need Adams.”

  “I told her to be here,” Olsen said, with a shrug.

  Kyle tapped his fingers against his arm. He was feeling on edge. Something was off. He’d checked in on Kate about an hour ago. She’d been soundly asleep, head resting on her arms, lying over her desk.

  He’d wanted to hold this meeting straight away, but Adams had sent a message to delay. She’d found something too.

  “You all look on edge,” Landers said, sliding silently into the office and making the other two men jump. “Has something happened?”

  Kyle began to shake his head, but then the door burst open, revealing Jack, disheveled and red-faced. “We need to go. Now!”

  “What is going on, Carson?” Olsen asked, his voice terse.

  Kyle felt himself brace automatically, his edginess feeling more like a premonition now.

  “Something happened at the labs. You said Kate was there. Sleeping. We have to go.”

  Kyle felt his hands snap into fists. “What happened?”

  “I don’t know, but I’d guess the killer found a way in. Adams is dead.”

  Olsen, Kyle, and Landers exchanged a look. Landers had warned that Kate’s awareness might tip the scales—cause a desperate fight—as things unraveled.

  “Let’s go.”

  The building was being guarded by security. Inside, all was still: the guards all grim faced, the workers all terrified. Kyle could see several interns sitting nervously in a side room, watched closely by security.

  “Take us to the scene,” Olsen barked, as the head of security reached them.

  Kyle followed but realized belatedly that there were no footsteps following his. With only Olsen and Landers ahead, Jack should have been behind him. He shook his head. The man had probably headed straight to Kate’s office.

  But she won’t be there anymore; I guarantee it.

  The thought gave him little comfort, but at least, it meant Jack would be safe for now. Not that the other seemed interested in harming him.

  His other worries all disappeared, as they stepped to the doorway of Adams’s office, drowned out by nausea and fear.

  He’d seen a lot in his years on the force, but this was high up in the levels of brutality. He edged in and crouched beside the body, as Olsen muttered everything from savage curses to murmurs of disbelief.

  “I’m done,” Olsen said abruptly, after sending the head of security away. “I’m taking Summers down now.”

  “We aren’t ready,” Landers said, though his voice, too, lacked the completely smooth surface it usually boasted. “If we act now, we’ll not be able to hold her. Then what? Your reputation will be ruined, and she’ll be free.”

  “This isn’t enough?” Olsen spat in anger.

  “You can see the scapegoat as easily as I can. You really think we’ll find anything conclusive?”

  Olsen breathed a curse.

  “You’re right,” Kyle said, shaking himself out of his thoughts. “Both of you.”

  Olsen and Landers turned to him, both looking confused.

  “We can’t wait, but we don’t have enough. We need her to confess.”

  “I am not certain she can,” Landers said.

  “Or that she wants to,” Olsen added.

  Kyle stood and gestured at the body of Dr. Adams. “She wants to. The cuts are all inconsistent. I may not be a coroner or a forensic analyst, but I have seen many murders. So many of these were deep enough to draw blood but were not in any way life-threatening. There are only three fatal ones.”

  “Only three,” Olsen repeated in disbelief, as if one wouldn’t have been too many.

  “What I mean is the others are evidence of Kate fighting back. Yes, she failed,” he continued, as Landers opened his mouth. “But she tried. I have seen the struggle. It is obvious to anyone watching. I also got what I asked Adams for earlier today. I was right.”

  Landers nodded. “Good. We also have what she told Adams to find, last night.”

  “What?” Kyle asked.

  “She sent Adams a text last night, just after midnight. It turned out to be a cache of evidence. Proof that she wants to be caught.”

  Kyle sighed. “See?”

  Olsen shook his head. “All I see is the body count getting higher every time I listen to you two.”

  “Give us until nightfall tomorrow,” Landers said, his eyes on Kyle. “I know I can draw her out.”

  Olsen gritted his teeth and then nodded once. “You have until then, but if even one more person dies, I’m bringing her in cold.”

  Kyle looked at Landers. “You sure you can do it?”

  “Yes. The plan is ready.”

  “I want to be there.”

  “Of course. I can bring in the monster. You have to bring in the woman.”

  Kyle nodded, steeling himself. They had a lot. They only needed the final piece. A proof of her insanity. “I’m going to find Jack. Convince him to leave her be tonight. I don’t know who’s in control after all this, but if you’re going to call her out, then I don’t want anyone with her.”

  Landers patted his shoulder. “Yes. Do that. While we need Olsen’s hard-line attitude, I have little doubt his threat was genuine.”

  Kyle turned to leave, then glanced back. “Thank you. For giving her the benefit of the doubt.”

  ****

  Kate tried to snare control again. She was so tired. This battle had felt like an age to her. It wasn’t helped by the failures. Adams had died. That intern had died. Now she was here, still trapped, still burning, while the other toyed with Jack.

  St
op it!

  I want a reward. A celebration of my victory, the other retorted. She stepped out onto the balcony as Jack took a call.

  Kate knew the real reason they were here. Jack’s choice to call her Katie all the time gave the other strength. It was her name, and so it helped her stay in control.

  Kate pushed again, another desperate attempt. This had gone on too long. She didn’t know if Kyle had noticed any of the messages she’d scratched into her arms. She didn’t know if her momentary control in Adams’s office had given him what he needed. She didn’t even know if Adams had understood her message the other night. All she knew was that it was enough.

  Jack appeared on the balcony, his eyes tight with annoyance.

  “You look like you got passed over for another,” her other self purred, pinning him against the low railing and trailing a hand down his center.

  Kate made a lunge but was rebuffed, as he spoke.

  “You already know me so well, Katie. It was just Kyle, trying to get me to meet him. I told him I was with you,” Jack grinned and kissed her.

  Kate pushed against her other again, hope giving her strength. Her other self pushed back.

  I am warning you. Let me have this reward.

  No.

  Fine.

  Kate only had a second’s warning, before the other lunged and pushed, throwing Jack off his balcony. She reached, catching hold of his calf and feeling the skin tear under her nails as his momentum and weight proved too much.

  10

  Kate was frozen in a house of flames. All she could see was people burning. Her family, strangers, and Jack, falling three stories.

  I warned you to leave me to my fun, spoke the voice that was hers, but also not hers.

  She didn’t respond. She couldn’t think. The fire was too hot, the burning too painful, and the screams were hurting her ears.

  Behind it all, was the cold laugh of the one controlling her body.

  Katie looked down over the railing and sighed. Now, what would she do for the night? Her phone buzzed, and she felt her lips turn up in a small smile.

  Meet me. Empty warehouse off Mulvaney Street. S.L.

  Her smile grew into a feral grin. The message had come from Adams’s phone, but even without the initials, she’d been able to guess the sender.

  “So you’re finally ready to accept defeat. Good.”

  Katie glanced once more at the crumpled form and left the apartment. It was already late, but the nighttime was her favorite time, a trait she shared with most predators.

  She reached the warehouse and stepped inside.

  “Landers? Where are you? I should warn you—a game of cat and mouse will not improve your chances.”

  “I am not hiding, Katie. You are not scary enough to hide from.”

  Katie flashed her teeth. “No?”

  “No.”

  She joined him in the circle of light. Though other lights were on within the warehouse, this one was by far the brightest. He cocked his head to the side, and she took a few steps to the left, which he compensated for casually.

  “You have lost. Anything you’d like to say before I lay out your options?”

  “I have options?”

  “You can confess your terrible crimes, or you can simply die, and I’ll prove them through your corpse.”

  “Why leave me alive?”

  Katie laughed. “You’re not half as smart as I thought, you know. I remember being so impressed with you, twenty years ago. You were the first—and only one to notice.”

  “He wasn’t the only one. Not then, and certainly not now.”

  She turned to face the new voice as Kyle stepped into the light too.

  “Ah. So that’s why Landers was there—to save you from the flames.”

  “Sorry I am late,” he said, ignoring her and talking to Landers.

  Katie felt her eyes flash. “You really think two on one will save either of you?”

  “We’re not here to fight,” Landers said. “We are here to talk.”

  “But not with you. I want to talk to Kate. Kate?”

  Katie laughed. “Idiots. She’s done now. She’s gone back to being the puppet she always was.”

  “Kate? I’m waiting for you. I’m here, Kate. You aren’t alone. Kate.”

  Katie felt her teeth clench over the sudden tremor and lancing pain. “Shut up, Green.”

  “Kate is no puppet. You are. That is Kate’s body. This is Kate’s life. And I’m going to help her bring you in. Kate. You can do it.”

  Katie pulled the gun from her waistband. Jack’s handgun. “Say that name one more time, and I’ll kill you first.”

  Kyle met her gaze steadily. “Kate is stronger than you. Kate is—”

  The deafening gunshot echoed around the space.

  Kyle’s voice didn’t falter. She had missed. “Kate is my friend. Kate never gives up. Kate—”

  The next bullet grazed his arm, but still, he didn’t stop. She squeezed the trigger again.

  Kate, Kate, Kate, Kate . . . Kate, Kate, KATE!

  Kate heard the name. Her name. Her friend. She stood, pressing back against the flames. They burned, and her fear rose. Fear of the pain, fear of the loss, fear of the suppressed knowledge that she had caused all the death and devastation.

  “No more.”

  Kate flung out her arms, her ears registering another round fired, then the clatter and slide of metal on concrete. The gun was gone, and her other self was fraying at the edges.

  The fire burned hotter, but Kate welcomed it inside. Let it be the fire that tempered her courage—that melted her fear and uncertainty. Kyle was here. He knew everything, but he was still here, fighting to help her achieve justice.

  She took the flames, breathing them in and in until they were gone, all trapped inside her, chilled by the determination in her. The people who had been screaming and dying within them fell to ash and vanished. She said goodbye, took her courage in both hands, and shifted.

  Kate opened her eyes and loosed the power within. It was a power born of no lies. In this world, this body and mind, she was Kate and Katie. She both sought justice and committed injustice. She was fire and ice. Such contradictions could never survive side by side. One would always win out over the other. That victory was hers.

  The other fought like a caged beast—had built a symbiotic relationship with Kate—needed her as a cover to survive in the world, but it was no use. Kate did not need her other. She did not want it and had no qualms in using all her strength against it.

  Kate felt her knees hit the ground, tears wetting her cheeks, but with a smile forming on her lips.

  “Hi, Kate.”

  She looked up to see Kyle smiling at her. His old smile. The one he had always worn as a boy. Before the first fire. Before things changed. “Thank you.”

  He nodded.

  Kate felt her happiness morph slightly. “Jack. We need . . .”

  “Jack is fine, Kate. I got there in time. Half a dozen broken bones, but he’ll be okay.”

  She sighed, wiping at her cheeks. “How did you know you could get me back?”

  Kyle shrugged. “Because you’ve been trying to tell us ever since the first time. You’d carve messages into your arms, trusting your dermatographia to emblazon the words, even if you lost control later.”

  Kate frowned. “I’ve only been doing that recently.”

  Kyle shook his head. “Maybe consciously. Here. Look at this.”

  Kate looked at the paper he placed on the floor before her. On it, twelve marks were written, all straight lines at varying angles. She recognized them well. They were the marks she had found, linking her family’s remains to a single killer. Kyle had written each mark in a different color pen.

  “Now turn it over.”

  Kate obeyed and read the word the marks had been rearranged to fit. KATE. Her name, all in capitals. “How in the world did you figure this out?”

  “That morning after my house burned, you weren’t you, an
d you were scratching “not” into your skin, with one straight stroke at a time. The two pieces came together later, when Landers said something useful.”

  Landers. Kate had completely forgotten that the man was there. “This is what you tried to tell my uncle, wasn’t it?”

  Landers nodded. “I bumped into you, or rather, your other self before I left the first time. The encounter stayed in my mind, so I started looking into it. What I found made me certain you, at the very least, needed watching.”

  “So you hired Grace.”

  “I used my connections to ensure she was the one assigned.” Landers tilted his head to the side, ever the crow, and smiled. “Well done, Dr. Summers. Courage and honesty without equal.”

  Kate took a steadying breath. “I’m in control now, but I don’t know how long it will last. Did you find the proof I left in Adams’s office?” The words came out slightly strangled by the memory of that murder.

  “Kate, breathe. It is alright, Kate. We have everything. We found your bloodied clothes, the charm bracelet, and the bunny key chain with the bear claw inside.” She looked at Kyle, and he almost smiled. “Nothing got lost in my house fire either. That was a ploy. We have all the conclusions you made. We have all the evidence. Including what you left behind and what Kirk had been gathering. We also have Matt’s analysis that you asked for. No one but you ever touched the microscope. You’d planted it. You, not her. A thing that didn’t belong to show something was amiss. I’d wager you have done that at every scene she created.”

  Kate stared and Landers chuckled. “What? You thought I’d go through all the trouble of ensuring Grace Thompson watched over you here, but would just ignore you when you became an adult? Yes, Kirk had been working for the same people with whom I have connections to.”

  Kate breathed a laugh. “Kirk took me in because of you. He gave you everything from the murders in New York.”

  “Yes.”

  Kate nodded, breathing out in relief. The Duncans, and many others like them had fallen prey to her. She knew why Kirk had never made a move. All they had was a hunch. She was too careful; the other made too good a use of her knowledge of crime scenes. They needed this. They needed a confession.