All His Pretty Girls Read online

  All His Pretty Girls

  Table of Contents

  Cover

  Title Page

  Dedication

  PART ONE

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  PART TWO

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  Chapter Thirty

  Chapter Thirty-One

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  Chapter Thirty-Three

  Chapter Thirty-Four

  Chapter Thirty-Five

  Chapter Thirty-Six

  Chapter Thirty-Seven

  Chapter Thirty-Eight

  Chapter Thirty-Nine

  Chapter Forty

  Chapter Forty-One

  Chapter Forty-Two

  Chapter Forty-Three

  Chapter Forty-Four

  Chapter Forty-Five

  Chapter Forty-Six

  Chapter Forty-Seven

  Chapter Forty-Eight

  Chapter Forty-Nine

  Chapter Fifty

  Chapter Fifty-One

  Chapter Fifty-Two

  Chapter Fifty-Three

  Chapter Fifty-Four

  Chapter Fifty-Five

  Chapter Fifty-Six

  Chapter Fifty-Seven

  Chapter Fifty-Eight

  Chapter Fifty-Nine

  Chapter Sixty

  A LETTER FROM CHARLY

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  Copyright

  All His Pretty Girls

  Charly Cox

  For Kevin and Timothee, for your love, unflagging support, and faith in me

  and

  For all the police, military, and first responders out there, risking your lives day in and day out. Thank you for being willing to sacrifice everything for us! You are appreciated.

  PART ONE

  Chapter One

  Thursday, March 28

  The woman didn’t feel right. She wasn’t getting enough oxygen, and she was certain she was being smothered. Sharp spasms tore through her stomach with every breath she attempted to take, and what was that in her mouth? Her entire body felt weighed down, as if a ton of rocks had been substituted in place of her comforter. Not to mention the fact she was so cold that even her bones seemed to be chattering.

  Wherever she was, it wasn’t in her nice, cozy bed, covered in her warm, comfortable blankets and surrounded by her down-filled pillows. She tried to open her eyes, but they refused to cooperate for more than a second, and even then, she was surrounded by darkness. She reached out her arm – it was so heavy, like someone had infused her blood with liquid steel – to grab onto something, though she didn’t know what.

  She really needed to sit up and figure out where she was, but when she tried, she realized she couldn’t separate her legs. The tightness in her chest magnified as she tried to remember if she’d been in an accident. A brief image of fists raining down on her body as a foot kicked out in anger flashed in her mind, and an overwhelming sense of dread made her go numb.

  She whimpered as memories flickered, coming at her in lightning speed. She squeezed her eyes shut, hoping to escape this nightmare, praying sleep would drag her back under.

  * * *

  ‘Are you sure no one will find us back here, Jack?’ the young woman asked the man she’d met a few nights ago at the bar her cousin owned. Having moved here only a few months earlier, she wasn’t too familiar with the area, but she knew they were somewhere up in the Jemez Mountains, far from any of the hiking trails she’d seen along the way. They’d left his X-Terra at a campsite and were trekking ‘just a short distance’ off the road. His ‘short distance’ gauge and hers were apparently not in sync because it felt like they’d been walking an hour already.

  ‘Positive. Relax, babe. I come out here all the time to hike. I’ve never seen anyone out here, ever,’ he assured her. The young man stopped and looked into his date’s wide eyes. ‘But you’re the first girl I’ve ever brought up here. You’re special, Trinity.’ He brushed her hair to the side and leaned in to kiss her.

  It wasn’t true, of course. He’d brought plenty of women up here. He told them all they were special.

  He found his lucky spot in a small copse of trees and released Trinity’s hand so he could pull the knapsack off his back and set the small cooler down. After he cleared some brush away, he unzipped the large compartment of his bag and pulled out a heavy wool blanket which he laid on the flattest part of the ground, securing all the corners in case the wind picked up. He glanced up at the sky and thanked the heavens it was such a nice day, even up here in the mountains. When everything was the way he liked it, he pulled out a bottle of wine, pouring a little into two plastic cups.

  Jack handed Trinity one of the cups and situated himself in the center of the blanket, legs stretched out. When she simply stood there looking unsure, he tugged gently on her hand, encouraging her to sit next to him. When she did, he moved her hair away from her neck and kissed the silky soft spot below her ear.

  ‘Relax, Trinity. We don’t have to do anything you don’t want. You know that, right? We can just chill on the blanket, watch the clouds, and talk.’ As he spoke, he rubbed soothing circles on her back.

  Within a short amount of time, Trinity had drunk two glasses of wine and was on her third. ‘You’re not doing a very good job of keeping up with me here, Jack.’

  ‘Ah, but I’m the one who’s driving, remember?’ Jack poured more wine into her glass even though it was still half full.

  Trinity giggled nervously and took another sip. With just a hint of slur in her words, she said, ‘If I didn’t know better, I’d say you were trying to get me drunk.’

  ‘Now, babe, I wouldn’t do that. I just want you to relax a little.’ She wasn’t drunk yet, but she’d finished off those other two glasses rather quickly, so she must be feeling pretty buzzed. He didn’t really want her completely inebriated; he didn’t want to take advantage of her – he wasn’t a jerk. He wanted her to enjoy this as much as he would, but still, he let her continue drinking. While she was busy taking another sip, he slipped his hand under her shirt.

  It didn’t take much longer before Jack was able to coax Trinity to lie down ‘to get more comfortable.’ Still, he didn’t rush things. He continued stroking her arms, her belly, brushing under her breasts, but never quite touching them. He teased her mouth with kisses, not giving in to her obvious desire to deepen those kisses. No, he wanted her completely ready because there was nothing worse than a girl backing out at the last minute.

  He felt her resistance slipping away, so it surprised him when she suddenly pushed him off her and sprang into a sitting position.

  ‘What’s the matter, baby? Come back down here,’ he coaxed.

  ‘What’s that noise?’ Trinity looked around her wildly, then back at him, eyes wide. ‘Do you hear it?’

  Jack sat up and strained to hear whatever had spooked her but heard only the breeze. ‘It’s just the wind blowing thr
ough the tops of the trees. It always sounds like cars on the highway. It’s o –’

  ‘No, not that!’ Trinity cocked her head. ‘That! Listen. It sounds like… I don’t know… like someone else is out there.’

  He sat up and laughed, nestling his nose into her hair. ‘Baby, trust me. There’s no one else out here.’ He tried to ease her onto her back again. ‘Let’s just…’

  Trinity pushed him away. ‘No. Seriously, Jack, listen. Just be quiet a second.’ She kept her hand up to ward off further advances.

  Jack swallowed his irritation and did as he was instructed – he listened. He still didn’t hear anything. It was probably just birds singing in the trees or some type of animal stomping through the brush, something intent on leaving them alone as long as they left it be. Regardless, he sure as hell wasn’t going to tell her that because he didn’t want her freaking out about other kinds of wildlife lurking about. He moved his legs and winced a little. His pants were too tight. He groaned. He was so close.

  Then he heard the sound, too. It was a strange noise, unlike any animal he’d ever heard. It was more of a… muted gurgling, almost.

  He listened more closely to get a better idea which direction the sound was coming from. East. It was coming from the east. He stood to get a feel for how far away the person was – and he was suddenly convinced there was definitely a someone, not a something, out there. He held his hand out for Trinity and pulled her up but released her as she struggled to re-hook her bra and untwist her shirt. When she finished, she stepped forward and squeezed his arm with a grip tighter than he would’ve thought she was capable of.

  ‘You hear it too, don’t you?’ she whispered.

  Jack nodded. He put his finger to his lips and tilted his head. There it was again. He glanced at Trinity, walked over to his knapsack, and pulled out the hunting knife he always carried with him, a gift from his father. He cringed at Trinity’s gasp.

  ‘What the hell is that for?’

  ‘Relax,’ Jack said. He felt like he used that word with her a lot. ‘It’s for protection, just-in-case. I always carry it. I never need it, so I don’t even think about it being there. Until times like now.’ He saw the wariness in her face and knew she was unsure whether or not she believed him, but he ignored that because right now, he was glad he never left home without his Ka-Bar. The sound came again. Trinity tucked herself closer to his side.

  ‘Stay here,’ he ordered. ‘I’m going to take a look. It might be a wounded bear or something.’ He didn’t believe that for a second, and he’d already forgotten about his plan not to mention wild animals. ‘I’ll be back in a minute.’

  ‘You’re kidding, right? I’m not staying here. No freaking way. I watch horror movies; I know what happens to the person who stays behind. Yeah, not gonna happen. I’m coming with you.’

  He started to argue, to tell her she’d be safer here, not to mention she’d be closer to the truck in case she needed to make a quick getaway – no one else was ever up here, so he kept his keys hidden under the back seat’s floor mat – but instead he nodded. He didn’t really want to be a hero anyway. Not his style. ‘Yeah, okay. Sounds like it’s coming from over that way. Just stay behind me – and run if I tell you to. Okay?’ He didn’t want to be a hero, but he wanted to sound like one. Trinity nodded, and the two set off to find out what was making the noise.

  They walked quietly into the trees, pausing every few seconds to listen. As they moved, dry vegetation crunched under their feet, twigs snapped, and the wind rustled the leaves. Birds chirped, and squirrels raced up trees. A woodpecker drummed somewhere off in the distance. All the various sounds of nature made it difficult to tell if they were still going the right way. They paused again, straining their ears for any tell-tale sign they were on the right path. Jack searched left and right, looking for – he didn’t even know what he was looking for.

  ‘Do you still hear it?’ he asked. She shook her head and squeezed him tighter. He stared at his arm. It was beet red from where her fingernails dug into his skin. Half-crescent moon shapes covered his forearm. He nonchalantly removed her hand and pushed her a little further behind him. He felt her latch onto the waistband of his pants.

  Waving his knife in front of him, Jack inched forward, Trinity close on his heels, both hoping to uncover the mysterious sound and both hoping to find nothing at all.

  They had just turned left into a small grouping of trees not far from their picnic spot when Trinity jerked to a stop and screamed. The sound was so shrill, Jack winced, wanting to cover his ears. A jackrabbit bolted from the bushes and ran in the opposite direction, startled birds scattered from the treetops, and a chipmunk scurried into the brush. Jack didn’t blame them; he wished he could run, too.

  He crouched and brought his knife up in a defensive motion, rotating his body left and right. Trinity pointed down, her other hand covering her mouth. She continued screaming, but the sound was more muffled. He moved her to the side so he could see what she was pointing at.

  An arm, red and covered in wounds, stuck out of a natural trench covered with sticks and leaves, resembling a grave that someone had forgotten to finish filling in. They’d almost tripped over it.

  ‘Shh. Stop screaming,’ he hissed at Trinity. When she finally pulled herself together enough to stop the unattractive sound coming from her mouth, Jack whispered, ‘I’m going to look. Wait here.’ Trinity nodded, but she kept hold of his pants and inched forward with him. He figured that since her body quivered so much, she probably couldn’t feel his own body trembling.

  When he was close enough, Jack moved the top limb out of the way and poked the arm sticking out. Nothing happened. He crept closer. He started to uncover some of the brush, moving more quickly as he did. Then Trinity was helping him move the twigs and leaves, both of them glancing every few seconds at the arm. Jack didn’t know what he expected it to do, but still, he couldn’t look away for long. He’d probably watched too many zombie movies.

  Tangled yellow strands of hair began to show through the pile of colorful, damp leaves. Lank was the word that came to mind. When the gurgling noises stopped, Jack worked more quickly, tossing handfuls of leaves behind him, and then finally shoveling with his hands.

  Trinity had stopped helping and moved back, her hands again covering her mouth, her eyes so wide, he thought they’d pop out of the sockets. His hand hit something solid. A woman’s head. Her eyes were closed, the parts of her body that showed covered in bruises. Jack worked frantically to uncover the rest of her.

  It wasn’t long before he realized the woman was nude. Cuts, deep and long, covered her entire body. Her face was red, along with a myriad of other colors, and swollen. Her wrists and ankles were purple and raw, the skin torn in several places. Jesus, Jack shuddered.

  The abrasions on the woman’s wrists reminded him of the wolf that had been snared in one of his father’s steel traps. The wolf had gnawed almost completely through its front paw trying to get loose when his dad, using a long-handled lever for just such a case, carefully sprung the steel trap, releasing the wolf. The wounded animal had looked back at Jack and his dad as if to thank them before limping off. And just as he had back then, Jack held his breath, scared of what might happen next.

  He looked over to Trinity, and then wished he hadn’t. She was facing away from him, throwing up. He averted his eyes, not knowing where to focus. He fought against the instinct to look at the body again, but it was like a train wreck; he couldn’t stop himself.

  One of the branches brushed Jack’s leg, snagging on his jeans, and he glanced down to move it away. He shrieked, jumping back. The hand sticking out of the brush was clasped onto his pants.

  The gurgling sound started again, and he jerked his gaze back up to the woman’s battered face. Her swollen eyes were small slits but open now, staring vacantly right at, or rather through, him, reminding him of his blind uncle who ‘stared’ directly at people though he couldn’t see.

  Embarrassingly, a small scream
burst from his throat before he could stop it. His heart took off at a gallop, and he sucked in so much oxygen, he became light-headed and was afraid he might faint. He slowly backed away. Not paying attention to what was behind him, he tripped over a tree stump and stumbled, falling, his legs splayed in front of him. One foot touched the woman’s outstretched arm, and he scrambled backwards.

  Jack had forgotten all about Trinity until she was suddenly by his side, trying to help him up. The woman’s arm twitched, touching the exposed part of his leg where his jeans had inched up, and a gurgled sound escaped her throat. Shaking, he leaned in to try to make sense of the woman’s incomprehensible babble. A breath of sound escaped her lips, and this time Jack understood.

  ‘H-h-help me!’

  Chapter Two

  Four days earlier – Monday, March 25, 3:30p.m.

  ‘We, the jury, find Lucas Bloomfield guilty on all charges.’

  Cheers and sobs alike erupted throughout the hot, stuffy courtroom as soon as the words left the foreman’s lips, and as the judge banged her gavel and called for order, Detective Alyssa Wyatt felt as though a granite boulder had been lifted from her shoulders. Though she had never really doubted the district attorney’s ability to get a conviction, there had been times over the years when she’d been unpleasantly surprised by the unpredictability of a jury.

  Watching Bloomfield’s cold, impassive face as the verdict was read, she couldn’t help but think of her own family’s tragedy all those years ago when she was only nine years old.

  But when the couple in front of her turned around and mouthed ‘Thank you,’ Alyssa knew this was why she’d come today. For these parents, and for their daughter, who Bloomfield had stalked for weeks, finally following her back to her apartment where he spent hours torturing her before stabbing and leaving her for dead. Somehow, she’d survived that brutal attack and had managed to call 911.

  Several witnesses had described seeing a black pickup truck in the area in the days before the attack, and with the help of security cameras placed around the apartment complex, Alyssa had been able to zoom in and get a license plate, enabling her to track Bloomfield to his home on the West Side. The second he saw them, he bolted out the back, but Alyssa was ready, taking him to the ground by shooting 1200 volts through his body. From the evidence they obtained inside his house, the young woman wasn’t his first victim, but Alyssa made sure she was his last.