“Still quite a leap to go from non-violent crimes, to assault, to premeditated, cold-blooded murder,” Matthew said.
“Maybe, but Ruth identified her father as the man who abducted her, so there’s no doubt that Gene is Naomi’s stalker.” Sam didn’t want to waste time on all of this background stuff, he wanted to figure out where the man had taken Naomi so they could go and get her.
“I'm not disagreeing that he’s the man we’re looking for,” Matthew said, “just wondering what made him flip. He had a wife, five kids, a job, had never been in trouble with the law and then all of a sudden, he’s arrested and turns violent. Something must have set him off.”
Thinking of what he knew about Gene’s father, Sam wondered aloud, “Maybe he was violent before and no one ever reported it.”
“He was first arrested two years after the fire, then again eighteen months later, and then another time two years after that which was when he got the prison sentence. Maybe it was the fire that set him off,” Allina suggested. “Two of his children died, Ruth was injured, his wife started falling apart, the pressure of it all could have changed him.”
“Or he was the one who set the fire,” Sam proposed.
“After the fire at Naomi’s house we did wonder if perhaps the original fire had been arson, and if it were the same person,” Rylla acknowledged. “But I don’t know. He hasn’t shown any indicators of being a pyromaniac. The house wasn't well insured, the family didn’t get much from it, which is why they moved in with Gene’s parents, so insurance fraud is out. I supposed it could have been an attempt to murder his family, especially if he had switched out the heaters.”
“If he wanted to kill his family then why leave Ruth alive today?” Nick asked. “I get that he might not have wanted to try anything right away, would have looked suspicious if Naomi, Ruth, Seth, and their mother turned up dead so soon after the fire. Then he was in prison. But today he had the opportunity to kill Ruth and he didn’t. He barely even hurt her, then he left her for us to find, not really the actions of someone who wants to kill his family.”
“None of this helps us find them,” Sam raged quietly. He was doing his best to block all thoughts and feelings about Naomi but some kept wiggling through.
“He’s been targeting Naomi specifically, he wants her to suffer, wherever he’s taken her is going to be a place that means something to him, to her, or to them. We want to know everything we can about him so we can figure where he’s holding her,” Allina reminded him patiently. “I understand if this is too much for you, I really do, so if you want to leave then that’s fine.”
“I'm not going anywhere.” He took a long deep breath and shoved his emotions down deep. He had to keep them safely bottled away. If he didn’t, he was going to lose it. It was so much easier to stay angry with Naomi for just walking out of his house like her life meant nothing.
Allina studied his for a long moment, and he was ready with a hundred arguments as to why he was going to continue to help with this case until Naomi was safely home, starting with the fact that he knew she continually worked her sister-in-law’s missing persons case every spare second she got.
But Allina finally nodded her acquiescence and asked, “What exactly did the text he sent Naomi say?”
“It had a picture of Ruth,” Nick answered, “and an address. It warned her that he knew the house was being watched and if anyone came with her, he would kill her sister. And it was signed the monster under the bed. That must be …”
“What?” Sam interrupted. He had missed that earlier when he’d read the message before running after Naomi. “Monster under the bed? It says that?”
Green eyes lighting up, Rylla asked, “Does that mean something?”
His gut had told him that this stalker thing was related to what had happened to her as a child and apparently, he was right. Naomi was afraid of a monster under her bed. She was afraid of monsters under her bed because of the sexual abuse she had been subjected to. Her stepfather knew her fear. Therefore, her stepfather was somehow involved in her being abused, he wasn't quite sure how yet, but he had to have been.
“Sam?” Allina asked.
“She’s not going to like me telling you,” he cautioned.
“Well, at least she’ll be alive to be angry about it,” Rylla shot back.
Sam agreed wholeheartedly, but it didn’t mean he enjoyed telling Naomi’s secrets. “After the fire, when her family moved in with her step-grandparents, Naomi was sexually abused by her step-grandfather.” Aware of the horrified looks of everyone in the room, he once again bottled up his emotions before they got in his way. “She’s afraid of monsters under her bed, he knows it, he’s involved somehow.”
“Maybe he heard her talk about it and thought he’d write it to scare her,” Rylla suggested, her voice a little shaky.
“She’s never talked about it to anyone,” he replied. He wasn't going to tell them that it was because she thought she deserved it.
“You think Gene Sullivanisthe monster under the bed?” Matthew asked.
Unfortunately, that was exactly what he thought. He didn’t know why her stepfather would have been hiding under her bed while his father was raping her, but he couldn’t come up with another explanation that fitted with their facts.
“That puts a whole different spin on things,” Allina noted. “It adds a distinctive sexual element to this case.”
Sam felt like he’d been punched in the heart. It physically ached. He hadn’t thought of that, but Allina was right. Itdidadd a sexual element to Gene’s vicious spree. Was he planning on raping Naomi now that he had her alone?
Anger. He had to focus on his anger. Anger at Gene Sullivan for killing so many innocent people. Anger at Naomi for walking out on him knowing she might never return. Anger at himself for not being able to protect the woman he loved. He could handle anger a lot easier than he could handle burning terror.
* * * * *
2:19 P.M.