Fear For Me: A Novel of the Bayou Butcher(78)

Jaw locking, he nodded. “I’ll call Hawthorne. Tell him what’s happening. He can come out there, even send some of his men. The more bodies you have on the ground, the easier the hunt will be.”

The hunt.

That was exactly what they were doing. The killer wasn’t getting away scot-free. They were the ones hunting now, and they wouldn’t stop.

Not until he was found.



They hadn’t listened to the mayor. He’d had to talk in that bastard’s ear forever just to get Louis to call the meeting, and they were still going to keep looking for the killer.

They were heading for the swamp. Back to the old cabin. This was so f*cking bad. If they found the body…

They can’t tie her to me. It’s been years. So much decomposition. There’s no way the evidence could still be used. It’s far too compromised.

He didn’t want them bringing Jenny out of the ground. Jenny was at peace. Jenny shouldn’t be disturbed.

Not Jenny.

If they found Jenny, they’d look for others. They’d keep going.

Jenny’s blood had soaked his hands. He’d felt her life flow away. The power, the rush, had been the most amazing thing he’d ever felt before.

Animals—animals didn’t compare to humans. Nothing compared with staring into someone’s eyes and seeing the life drain away. It was the ultimate power.

Jenny had tried to take his power away from him. He’d wanted to love her. He’d tried. But she’d told him that he scared her.

So I f*cking really scared her in the end.

Jenny had consumed him. Obsessed him. He’d taken to following her, watching from the shadows because he’d wanted to see her—all the time.

Other boys had tried to come around her. Had tried to take what was his.

He’d known then, there would be no letting her go.

She was his. Always his.

Getting her to meet him that day had been so easy. Jenny had always been far too trusting. He’d told her he wanted them to be friends, that they just needed to talk once more.

She’d been smiling when she got out of her car.

By the time he and Jon had her in the swamp, she’d been begging.

Too late. Jenny had made her choice. There was no going back for her then.

Only…

I missed her. After she was dead, after that wonderful rush was gone…he’d wanted it again. Wanted her. The need had built within him, and he and Jon had planned again.

Another girl. Another who reminded him of his perfect Jenny.

Again and again, he’d killed. Again and again…

But the others had never been as good as the original. Never as good or perfect as Jenny.

Would Lauren be as good? He’d come back to this town to be close to Lauren. She was Jenny’s sister. Staring at her always reminded him of his first kill. That wonderful power.

Maybe when he looked in Lauren’s eyes at the end, maybe it would be just like it had been with Jenny.

The rush. The pleasure.

Soon, he’d find out. Because Lauren Chandler wasn’t going to live much longer in this world.

She’d die begging, too.



The swamp was full of bald cypress trees, with thick trunks and knotted knees growing in the muddy water. Spanish moss hung from the branches, coiling down as Anthony passed.

He looked to the left. To the right. Lash pine, swamp tupelo, even swamp chestnut oaks were scattered in the area.

No willows. Not one damn weeping willow.

“Maybe your expert was wrong,” Wesley Hawthorne said as he stopped, putting his hands on his hips to survey the area. “The willow doesn’t have to be out here in the swamp. Hell, Walker killed in the city, maybe someone out there was growing one in a backyard.”

“The soil found with the seed matched this area,” Lauren said. “The swamp’s soil isn’t like a backyard. You know that, Wesley.” She’d pulled her hair back into a ponytail. Like the others, she was dressed for the hike.

She’d been so determined as they searched. The hours had slid away. They kept looking, kept widening their parameters, but so far…

Jack. Shit.

Where the hell is the tree?

“Like finding a needle in a haystack,” Wesley murmured. “The swamp goes farther than most people realize.”

They wouldn’t give up.

Lauren turned away and went south with one of Wesley’s men at her side. Anthony kept his gaze on her.

“I know she wants to find her sister.” Wesley closed the distance between him and Anthony. “But do you think it’s fair to give her false hope?”

The man was pissing him off. “It’s not false when it’s real.”

Wesley shook his head. “I remember when Jennifer went missing.”

Anthony glanced over at the Fish and Wildlife agent. “I didn’t realize you knew her.”

“A swamp rat doesn’t exactly run in the same circles as the society belle, at least, not back then.” A sad smile twisted his lips. “I went to a different high school, but at football games, well, everyone noticed Jennifer. It was hard to miss her. She was always flying through the air, captain of the cheerleading team…”

The American Dream.

“There were rumors back then, stories that floated in the schools, about Jennifer hooking up with an older guy. That they’d run away, headed out to LA for a fresh start.” Wesley’s gaze had turned to Lauren’s back. “She never believed that.”