Evil Never Dies

Jessica shook her head. “You’re lying.”

Lizzy said nothing.

“Your eye twitches when you lie. It’s the craziest thing, but it happens every time.”

Lizzy shrugged.

“I know you’re all up to something, but I have yet to figure out what it is. I hope you and Hayley haven’t gone and done something irreversible.”

“You worry too much.”

“No, I don’t. You’ve been acting strange, and before I went back to Virginia, you blurted out ‘she’s not a killer.’ Who were you talking about?”

“I don’t remember that particular conversation.”

“I think you’re holding back.”

Lizzy sighed. “There’s nothing going on, Jessica. You have a lot on your plate right now, so don’t try to sniff out trouble where there isn’t any.”

Before she could say another word, Jessica’s phone rang. She snatched it from her waistband and picked up the call. She paced the floor near the door while she listened. The minute she hung up, she said, “I need to borrow your car.”

“Why, what’s going on?”

“They found the Massing fellow, and they’re bringing him in for questioning.”

“I’ll go with you,” Lizzy said. “I want to talk to Jimmy.”

“OK, grab what you need, and meet me at the car.”

When Lizzy went to find her purse and coat from the other room, she saw Joey and Salma sitting on the couch playing with their baby girl. They made a cute couple. “Hope,” Lizzy said. “You should name your baby Hope.”

They both looked up at her, but she didn’t have time to stick around. She fished out her keys as she ran through the kitchen. Out of the corner of her eyes, she saw the note Kitally had left her in case she went to the store for groceries.

And it hit her like a brick to the side of the head.

The note. The note Kathryn had shown her had drawings of his pets in the margins. Next to each drawing were the names of the pets scribbled in hard-to-read writing. The name next to the bird, though, had looked a lot like Polly.

Lizzy pulled out her cell phone and punched in Kathryn’s number as she headed back for her office.

Kathryn answered on the third ring.

“Kathryn, it’s me, Lizzy. I have a question for you.”

“What is it?”

“What were the names of Zachary’s pets? The ones he asked you to care for while he and his parents were away?”

“Oh, gosh, I don’t remember off the top of my head. Let me get the note from my office.”

As Lizzy waited she glanced at the scribblings she’d made on her notepad. Jessica was already in the car, probably antsy as all hell.

“Here it is,” Kathryn said. “Polly, Peter, and Jake.”

“Polly,” Lizzy said. “Jake Polly.”

“What?”

“I think Zachary might have changed his name to Jake Polly.” Lizzy’s gaze fell on the ZT and how the letters, when overlapped, looked a lot like the symbol left on many of the Sacramento Strangler’s victims. “You said that you saved every letter and note he ever gave you.”

“I did.”

“Did he ever sign his name with his initials? With the Z and the T overlapping?”

“Almost always. How did you know?”

“I’ll explain later. Stay safe, Kathryn. Lock your doors, and do not leave your house.”

“I won’t.”

Lizzy hung up the phone and then called her sister.

“Hi, Lizzy. I’m so glad you called. I was just thinking about you, and I thought it would be great if you, Brittany, and I went out and—”

“I’m sorry I have to cut you off,” Lizzy told her sister, “but is Brittany there? I really need to talk to her.”

“No. Remember the art class I told you about? What am I saying? Brittany probably told you all about the class herself when the two of you spent time together the other day.”

“She did,” Lizzy said, trying to remain calm, determined not to let on that something might be wrong. “Where is the class held? I know she told me, but I forgot.”

“Although she’ll be attending Sacramento State, the classes are held at Folsom Lake College. I have the paper right here. You know how I like to know exactly where she is at every minute.”

“I was thinking of stopping by when class ends and surprising her. Jessica is here, and I thought it would be nice for the two of them to get a chance to see each other.”

“I think that’s a wonderful idea. It’s in the Harris Center for the Arts building. Room 154. The class runs from twelve to three.”

“You wouldn’t happen to know who the instructor is today, would you?”

“No. Sorry. Why would you want to know that?”

“No reason, just being nosy. Jessica has been waiting in the car. I have to go, but I’ll call you later and we’ll set up a date to get together, OK?”

“Sounds good. Say hello to Jessica for me.”

“Will do.”

Lizzy grabbed the notepad and then ran out the door to the car. She jumped in, handed the piece of paper to Jessica, started the engine, and took off before Jessica could bitch about how long she’d taken.

“Whoa. Slow down.”

“No. No. No. Not again.”

“What is it?” Jessica asked.

“You guys have the wrong man. Jake Polly is the killer.”

“Jake Polly?”

“Also known as Zachary Tucker. He paints and he teaches art.”

Jessica didn’t need for Lizzy to spell it out. “Shit,” was all she said. “I hope you’re wrong about this.”

“I’m not. Look at that paper. That’s not some crazy symbol the killer leaves on his victims. It’s a Z and a T. His initials. That’s all it is.”

CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN

He unlocked the door to the wine cellar.

Claire hung from the wall in chains. He admired the clever artwork he’d done on her body, using paint and all sorts of fabulous tools. Her attempt at getting away and daring to attack him had been too much. He needed to teach her a lesson. “You’re dying in here—aren’t you, Claire?”

He pulled the lid from the lip balm he had brought and dabbed it over her cracked lips. She didn’t fight him, hardly even moved. “You’ve lost all your fire. Such a disappointment. I was hoping we would spend more time together, but such is life . . . and death.”

She didn’t ask him to remove the chains or the metal cuffs that were clearly cutting into her ankles and wrists. She looked like a bloody mess.

“They’ll find you,” she said, her voice a ragged whisper.

“I hate to disappoint you, but they won’t find me. Or you. It’s all over the news. Their number one suspect is in custody. They’ll spend the next week or so questioning the poor man, perhaps knocking him senseless until he confesses.”

“You’re a liar. I don’t believe you.”

“Well, you can believe what I’m about to tell you, Claire. Today is the day you’re going to die.”

It took some effort, but she lifted her head and spit in his eye. “Go to hell!”

“There’s my girl,” he said fondly as he used his sleeve to wipe the spittle from his face. “I’ll tell you what, Claire. Why don’t we enjoy these last few hours together? I’ll set up the upstairs, let you sit on the couch beside me and enjoy the lovely view. You haven’t had a chance to see the river and the way the water sparkles before the sun disappears in the distance. It’s beautiful. You’re going to love it. Any requests for your last meal?”

Again, she said nothing. “I’ll be back soon. Although I wish I didn’t have to, I will need to drug you first.”

“No drugs. I won’t fight you.”

“Oh,” he said with a laugh, “now who’s the liar?”

Lizzy did her best to explain what was going on, but Jessica didn’t seem convinced.

“I’m going to go on this wild-goose chase with you, Lizzy, because I have great respect for you, but when this is finished, you can either lend me your car or I’ll call a taxi. Massing will be there by now, and I need to question him.”