A Killer Among Us
Chapter 1
Lexi watched. It was something she was good at. Something she'd been doing all of her life. She didn't seem to be aware of the fact that the waitress had returned with her order or that she'd hovered for several minutes, as if waiting to see if anything else was needed. All of Lexi's focus was on the family across the room. The way they moved, spoke, even how they looked at each other. As she watched, each detail was ingrained into her eidetic memory.
The Pettigrews were an ordinary family, and from the weeks she'd spent watching them, she knew they had two dogs—a pit bull named Roxy and a Rottweiler named Midge. The boy, Cameron, was eleven. Filling in for his history teacher—Mrs. Harrington—had given Lexi a great deal of time to get to know him. A smile graced her face as she thought about how the old woman had suddenly taken ill. Her thoughts raced back to the meal she'd shared with her and knew there was no way she would ever be found. After all, why would they even look when Mrs. Harrington called in sick every day?
Lexi's eyes darted to the front of the restaurant as Debbie—the Pettigrew's nineteen-year-old daughter—turned to look around the room. The snide remarks that Debbie had made toward her were etched into her memory. Her eyes hardened as she remembered that day when she'd taken Cameron home and how mean the girl had been, calling her an eighties reject. She'd added a rider about wondering what the school was thinking, hiring someone like Lexi, who obviously had no idea how to deal with the public.
She startled slightly as a voice above her said, "Excuse me… Is there something wrong with your food? I noticed that you haven't touched it."
Lexi's gaze went to the waitress, and she forced herself to smile. "No. I just got lost in my thoughts. Thank you. I'm sure everything will be fine."
The pretty brunette girl smiled and said, "Okay. Just give a holler if you need anything else."
"Don't worry, I will."
Feeling the waitress's eyes on her, she picked up her fork and absently started eating as her gaze kept going back to the family she was watching. The mother looked like an older version of the daughter. The classic, beautiful, blonde, cheerleader type. Dismissing her, Lexi turned her attention to the father.
David Pettigrew looked every bit as fit as he must have been in high school. From the many conversations she'd had with Cameron, Lexi knew that he was something of a football hero. And from the research she'd done, she learned that when his cheerleader girlfriend got pregnant, he'd done the honorable thing and married her. Until two weeks ago, he'd been faithful to his wife.
Her eyes gleamed as she thought about how that change had come about. She'd taken Cameron home that day.
It was unseasonably hot, and she felt like she was melting in the polyester suit she'd donned earlier that day. David had stopped home to pick up some plans that he needed for construction his company was doing on the downtown area, he'd told them when Cameron questioned why his father was home.
Debbie walked into the room and said, "I see the bag lady brought Cameron home again! I don't know why you have to spend so much time hanging around our family."
David's response was instantaneous as he said, "Debbie! Go to your room. You're grounded for the next month."
Debbie looked horrified as she said, "You can't mean that, Daddy!"
"You still live under my roof; you'll follow my rules. We don't treat guests that way, and it's time you learned that."
Debbie turned and stormed out of the room.
Lexi had to fight the smile that was trying to form on her face. Instead, she schooled her features so that she would come off as a vulnerable young woman who'd been hurt by the verbal exchange.
David turned his attention to her. "I'm so sorry she acted that way. Please accept my apology."
She let the smile come to her face but made sure it was a weak version. "It's all right."
David sighed. "You're being too kind. It's not all right that she acts that way."
Lexi shook her head. "It wasn't your fault." She stood. "I really need to be going now. I just wanted to make sure Cameron was home safe." She turned and smiled at the boy. She'd gone to great pains to ingratiate herself to him, and the adoring look on his face as he looked up at her told her she'd succeeded.
David smiled at her and offered his hand.
She accepted it, and he helped her up from the sofa. She smiled and let her hand linger on his forearm as she said, "I really need to get going."
As Lexi made her way to her car, she decided that today was the day to put her plan in motion. She got in and pretended to try starting the car, then climbed back out and lifted the hood. A fast search was all it took to find what she needed. She pulled the chip out and broke it off before replacing it.
She'd just finished her task when a deep voice from behind her asked, "Car trouble?"
She turned, her cheeks flushed from being so close to him. "It won't start."
"Would you like me to take a look?"
Lexi forced a worried look on her face. "I wouldn't want you to be late."
David grinned before winking at her. "Shh! Don't tell anyone, but the plans were just a ruse. Deidre's mother is coming for dinner tonight, and this was stage one of my getting out of being here for it."
She grinned. "I'll keep your secret safe."
It didn't take David long to find the problem that she'd engineered. "It doesn't look like this car is going anywhere. How about if I give you a ride home and we can have the car towed to the shop?"
"That would be wonderful, but I wouldn't want to put you out."
"No trouble. Come on."
Lexi blinked, and once again her gaze went to the family she was watching as she recalled what had happened on the trip to her house, how she'd made sure that her skirt rode up on her leg. They were one of her best features, and she knew how to show them off. Every so often, she'd felt his gaze on her breasts as well.
When they'd reached her house, she'd invited him in for a drink. The minute his cheeks had flushed, she'd known that she had him.
A clattering brought her back to the present once again, and she looked over to the table she'd been watching. Deidre was berating their hapless waitress, and David's eyes looked away, as if he were wishing he could be anywhere else. She knew the second his gaze widened in startled surprise that he'd seen her. She smiled, lifting her fingers slightly and waggling them in a wave.
He blushed before hurriedly looking back to his family.
Suddenly, she felt hostile eyes on her and turned to see Debbie glaring at her. Forcing a smile to her lips, she nodded as if nothing were wrong.
Debbie touched her mother's arm, and when the older woman looked at her, she nodded in Lexi's direction.
Deidre glared at her.
Lexi placed her hand over her stomach, wondering why the two women were so hostile. There was no way they could know she was having an affair with David… She stilled as some of the things that had been happening the past week seemed to come together. Her eyes narrowed as she came to the conclusion that the two probably did know about the affair.
Lexi took out her phone and pretended an interest she didn't have as she finished the meal she'd lost interest in the minute it was ordered. She forced herself not to look over at them as they gathered up their things and prepared to leave. Once they'd walked out the door, she took a sigh of relief, but it was premature.
A shadow fell over her, causing her to look up. Debbie was standing there with a glare on her face.
"I know what happened, and I'm telling you to leave my father alone or you'll regret it."
Lexi feigned innocence. "I don't know what you're talking about."
Debbie grabbed the nearly full glass of wine from the table and threw it at Lexi. "I'm warning you…"
It was all Lexi could do to keep herself from reacting in the way she wanted.
The owner rushed over and took Debbie's arm. "You need to go home and calm down. You don't want people hearing you talk crazy like this."
Debbie pulled her arm out of his grasp. "I don't care who hears me. If the bitch doesn't stay away from my father, I'm going to make sure she regrets the day she ever came to this town."
Lexi hooded her eyes so the others wouldn't see the excitement she was unable to bank down. She reached for her purse, making sure that, to the onlookers, it looked as if she were deathly afraid of the young woman. She pulled out a twenty, laid it on the table, and then stood, making sure that her chair fell over. The clash drew the other diners' gazes in her direction.
She pinched herself as hard as she could in order to bring tears to her eyes. She knew how to make her lips quiver and had studied the mannerisms she needed to play the part she wanted to convey to all of those watching. "She's insane. I don't even know what she's talking about. Please keep her away from me. She's been stalking me, and I don't know why."
Covering her eyes, she let the sobs loose, knowing to the onlookers, she would appear to be the injured party.
Debbie took a step toward her but was stopped by another man. Lexi listened as the man told Debbie to leave or she would be arrested. The excitement she'd felt before was nothing compared to what she was feeling now.
A warm hand descended on her shoulder, and she jumped. She needed to make this look good.
"You're safe, ma'am. She's gone."
Lexi lifted tear-stained eyes. "Thank you."
The man was in his mid-fifties and had cop written all over him. "I'm Detective Trace Vickers. I'll write this up so that if she gives you problems again, there will be a paper trail."
She smiled wanly. "Thank you so much. I really don't understand this fixation she has with me."
He smiled. "Would you like me to walk you to your car?"
"Would you? That would be so nice of you."
Lexi let Detective Vickers put his arm around her as they exited the restaurant. They had only gone a few steps when Debbie flew at her in a rage. Detective Vickers soon had her handcuffed, and he called for a patrol car to come and pick Debbie up.
The patrol car was there in less than five minutes, and in that time, Lexi had told Vickers everything she wanted him to know. Once she was in her car, she schooled herself to stay in character as she cautiously pulled out into traffic.
When she got to her house, Lexi saw that David's car was parked in the drive. She pressed the door opener and drove into the garage. By the time she'd exited her car, David was standing there waiting for her.
She moved toward him, expecting him to take her in his arms like he had the last few times they'd been together.
Instead, he took a step back, his face solemn as he said, "We have to talk."
White-hot fury raced through her, but she couldn't let on. Instead, she lowered her head as if she was ashamed of the way she'd acted.
"Please, Lexi, don't do that. You aren't the one who's in the wrong here. All of this is on me. You were just so fresh and vibrant, and after nearly twenty years of marriage, that was something I desperately needed."
Lexi made her voice sound hesitant as she asked, "So you were just using me?"
"No!" His head hung down. "Not intentionally. Deidre found out about us, and she's livid. If I agree not to see you again, she'll forget about the whole thing. I'm sorry, but I have to think about Cameron."
"Debbie attacked me outside the restaurant."
David's hand ran through his hair as he let out a disgusted sigh. "I've made such a mess out of all of our lives. I'm sorry." He backed away. "I need to go to her."
Lexi watched as he got in his car and drove away. As the garage door closed behind her, she lifted her chin in anger and turned to go in the house. Setting her purse on the kitchen counter as she passed through on her way to the bedroom, she let the anger surface as she plotted her next move.
She stopped as she stepped into her bedroom. Flipping the light on, she scanned the pictures on the wall. She stepped forward, and one by one, she took each photo down and put it in the box marked fragile. When the last picture was in the box, she placed it on the dresser and then moved through the house to the office she'd set up. She booted up the computer and printed up another picture that she would need to add with the others. She lifted the photo and held it at eye level.
Smiling, her voice changed to an exact replica of Deidre's as she said, "No, David, I don't mind at all. Lexi is very important to our family. She belongs with us."
Lexi smiled. "Why, thank you, Mrs. Pettigrew. That's very sweet of you."
"I've always wanted another daughter. You'll fit into our family beautifully. Maybe you can teach Debbie some manners."
"I'll do my best."
Carrying the photo back to her bedroom, she placed it in the box with the others. As if on auto-pilot, she walked through the house and picked up all of the items that had special meaning to her—there weren't many. When she reached the kitchen, she grabbed her bag and made her way back out to the garage. She put the box in the trunk and grabbed the leather gloves that she kept there, as well as the hammer. There was a bag as well, and she set that on the floor of the car on the driver's side before making her way back into the house.
She took out Vickers' card to call him.
"Detective Vickers."
"Hello…this is…Lexi Southern. I…I'm sorry to bother you, but I saw someone outside, and I just wanted to make sure that Miss Pettigrew was still at the police station."
There was a hesitation on the other end before Vickers said, "I'm sorry, but Miss Pettigrew left ten minutes ago with her mother and lawyer."
"Oh no! Well…she couldn't have gotten here in ten minutes, could she?"
"What's your address?"
"Thirteen oh seven Milburn Way."
There was another pause before the detective said, "I'm sending a car your way. Is there a safe place in the house?"
"I…I don't know." Lexi moved to the side window and used the meat-mallet from the butcher block to break the window. She screamed into the phone and dropped it, smashing it to pieces. She went to the hall closet, grabbed the body that had been waiting for just such a moment, and let it fall beside the phone.
Going over to the broken window, she dropped the hammer on the other side so that it would be found. She glanced at her watch and knew that she had exactly two minutes to get the scene set and drive away or she risked being caught. She knew the police would know the window had been broken from the inside, but she'd gone to great pains to make sure that this window was cemented shut. This way it would look like someone had broken the window in order to escape.
Working as fast as she possibly could, she placed the accelerant-soaked material and then turned the gas stove on. She moved to the garage and quickly changed into her disguise. She put everything in the trunk and got into the car. She was cutting it close when she hit the button for the garage door, and she waited till it had just cleared the car before she barreled out of the garage and squealed the tires as she did a one eighty and sped away.
In the few seconds that the car was turning, she saw Debbie sneaking up to the house. Lexi smiled as she realized that the other woman was going to the exact window that had been broken. A smug smile filled her face as she pressed the button that would blow everything sky high. As she sped away, she caught a glimpse of Debbie being tossed in the air from the blast.
Lexi slowed down so that she wouldn't draw attention to herself. She had her next location already set up. Pulling into a motel, she got her key from the manager before parking in back. She grabbed her bag from the back and made her way to her room. Sitting down on the bed, she pulled the list from her bag. There were several names on the paper, eight of which had been marked off, and then there were three more names after her next destination. She had a week to make sure that the Pettigrews were taken care of before she started her new job as nanny to the Wilsons. George and Irene Wilson had just given birth to a son they'd named Peter. They were listed below the Pettigrews.
Pulling up her legs so she could wrap her arms around them, she rested her chin on her knees. Her voice was whisper-soft as she said, "I will belong."
After sitting there feeling sorry for herself for nearly half an hour, she decided that there was no time like the present to get started on the changes she needed to make. She dressed in the disguise she was going to use and then made sure the car was cleaned out except for a gas can. Next, she drove to a nearby gas station and then from there she made her way to the town junkyard. The barking of a dog made her jump, but she soon relaxed.
Taking the gas can out of the trunk, she doused the inside of the car with the liquid before making a trail as she left the car behind her. Once the can was empty, she retraced her steps and tossed the container into the car before hurrying to where the trail ended. She took out a book of matches, and then, carefully lighting a match, she started the book on fire and then dropped it onto the trail of gasoline. Lexi hurried to get as far away from the junkyard as possible before the fire reached the vehicle.
She'd just reached the entrance to the junkyard when the explosion occurred. She was far enough away not to have to worry about the heat of the blast, but the force of the explosion nearly sent her to the ground, and only her quick thinking stopped her from getting hurt. There were enough shrubs and trees around that she was able to blend in with the landscape to stay out of sight of potential witnesses who might be close by. Keeping her pace fast enough to get away before anyone else joined the party, she made her way across town and ducked into a pharmacy.
Lexi made her way up and down the aisles, picking up the items she would need to make her next transformation possible. Once she had everything, she went to the counter and paid cash for them and left. When she got outside the store, Lexi looked around and smiled as she saw a pay phone across the street. She hurried over there and called a cab to take her back to the motel.
Two hours later, she looked in the mirror, and there was no trace of the woman she'd been. She smiled, putting a finger to her lips she kissed the tip and then touched it to the lips of the woman in the mirror. She batted her eyelashes at the woman and said, "Well, hello, Alexa."
Turning from the mirror, she stripped down and climbed into bed. She slept for her standard five hours and woke automatically. Taking her laptop out of its case, she started searching for vehicles for sale. There were three in her price range, and she decided to go with the used Lexus. It was pricier, but the name had special meaning.
The beauty about ordering off the Internet was that she didn't have to let anyone see her right at the moment and she wouldn't need to let the manager of the motel see the car she would be driving. Smiling, she made sure that the car would have plates and everything in the name of Alexa Branton. It was easy enough to have them deliver the car to the address she gave them and leave the key where she specified since she'd already paid them in full for the amount of the car. Now, all she had to do was wait until dark to go and retrieve it and get the hell out of town so she could start the next phase of her plan.
Needing something to keep her busy, she went through the photos in the box, making sure that each of them was in perfect condition as she removed them from the frames. Out of everything she'd placed in the box, these were the true treasures. Once the task was complete, she placed the photos in the briefcase she used for the laptop. There were just a few other keepsakes, and she took the time to go through them as well. They were small enough that they would fit in the new purse that she'd bought. Now she just needed to make sure there was no way to trace these back to the life she'd left behind.
Taking out her gloves, she put them on and then grabbed a cloth so that she could wipe everything clean of any fingerprints. When she was convinced the trinkets were safe, she placed them in the purse. It didn't take her long to complete the task, and then she took the remains that were left in the box and put them in a garbage bag.
Lexi—or Alexa, as she now thought of herself—searched through the phonebook, and when she found the number she wanted, she used the motel phone to call for a pizza, arranging for payment at the same time, and then she waited the thirty minutes it took for the pizza to arrive.
When the knock came, she stood at the door and said, "Just leave it by the front door."
She watched through the curtain to make sure that the driver did as asked, and then once he'd driven away, she stepped outside to get the box and took it into the room. Pizza wasn't her favorite food, but it had the benefit that she could make sure no one saw her and that was her reason for ordering it. After she'd eaten, she lay down on the bed, deciding to take a nap so that she'd be ready to move out when it was dark enough. She was paid up through the week and she'd asked for no maid service, so she wouldn't have to worry about those in the office coming here unexpectedly until her time was up. By then, Lexi Southern would be dead.
Her sleep was peaceful, and she took that as a sign that she was doing the right thing. Five hours was all she'd slept—that's all she could ever sleep. When she woke, she looked around, a bit disoriented due to the time. Normally it would be light out, but since she'd slept in the early afternoon, it was after nine p.m. now and there was darkness. Alexa slipped from bed and made her way to the bathroom to shower. She wanted no traces of the old life on her when she left here.
Less than an hour later, she was ready. She called for a cab and arranged for them to pick her up a short distance away. She grabbed her briefcase, the garbage bag, and her purse, and then she headed for the rendezvous spot. She made it just as the cab pulled over to the curb. Climbing into the backseat, she gave the driver the address.
Fifteen minutes later, the cab pulled up three blocks from where she'd arranged for the car to be parked. She paid the cabbie and added an average amount for a tip. She didn't want him remembering her because she'd paid him a huge tip, and by the same token, she didn't want him to remember her because of a too-small tip.
Alexa walked the three blocks to the car and felt a sense of elation when it was there. She waited around and made sure that no one was watching before moving in closer. Climbing into the car, she made her way to Hopatcong, New Jersey. After finding a motel, she checked in under her new name, Alexa Branton.
Once she got situated in the room, she went to work setting up her new life. It took her less than a day to get everything arranged. Once that was done, she had a window of time that she would be able to put her plan regarding the Pettigrew family in motion. To that end, she arranged for one final purchase.
She walked the half-mile to the location where she'd arranged for another vehicle to be dropped off. Once again, she made sure no one was waiting around and then made her way to the car and climbed in. She had the directions to the spot where she needed to go, and that's where she headed.
After a bit of driving, she finally reached her destination. Looking around at her temporary home for the next week—a decrepit log cabin of a motel located in the middle of nowhere, twenty-five miles out of town—Alexa parked the '66 Buick Lesabre. She made her way into the front office of the motel and gave an involuntary shudder at the décor—retro nineteen fifties if she wasn't mistaken—and made her way over to the counter. Trying to portray that she was nervous, her voice was little more than a whisper as she said, "I…I need a room for the night, please."
The big, burly man behind the counter was wearing a wifebeater and plaid shorts, his hairy chest and arms visible as he pushed the sign-in book her way. He gruffly said, "I need some I.D. and cash payment in advance."
Alexa opened her purse and pulled out the ID indicating she was Loraine Dumont, along with a couple of twenties. "Will that be enough?"
He looked at the money on the counter and gave a brisk nod. "That will get you two nights. If you intend to stay longer, you'll need to add to it tomorrow night."
She nodded and then accepted the skeleton key that was placed on the counter as she said, "Thank you."
The man grinned, his tobacco-stained teeth prominent. "Cabin's down the lane about half a mile. The name is Steele—Josiah Steele—and if you need anything, just dial zero on your phone."
Alexa had practiced her shy smile for hours in front of the mirror over the years and knew just what movements of her face were needed to portray it. She made those movements now and let her mind remember the time she'd been humiliated by her fiancé. She needed the pink that she'd known would come to her cheeks by remembering him and what had happened.
Lowering her eyes to give the impression of innocence, she said, "Thank you. I'll remember." She turned and walked back out the door.
The cabin was easy to find. She parked in front of it and then got her bag out of the back before making her way inside. When Josiah said cabin, he wasn't kidding. It was even more rustic than the office had been. She felt like she'd gone back in time to the late eighteen hundreds, when people were building log cabins in which to live. Her expression tightened at the thought that even though she had a week to do this, it had better not take more than two nights to finish, or she was going to go nuts trapped in this log prison.
The skeleton key unlocked the door, and when she opened it, another shudder racked her small frame. Great! All of the things she hated with a passion. Reluctantly, she entered the cabin and lit the kerosene lamp on the table. Twenty dollars a night didn't get you much nowadays.
Alexa looked disparagingly around the room. The furnishings looked like they'd come from the same period as the cabin—a wooden rocking chair, table, two chairs, and a wood-framed bed with what looked like animal pelts as a mattress. Her hands clenched as she fumed at the situation she was in. This was the only way, though. No one ever came to this motel, and now that she'd seen this, she knew the reason for that. She set her bag on the table and decided to get her revenge over with so she could get the hell out of here and move on.