Necessary Valor
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Lenora Worth
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21
ONE
Ignoring the tilt and rumble of the HH-60G Pave Hawk helicopter about to hoist her down below and the dark thunderstorm approaching from the west, Senior Airman Ava Esposito adjusted the sturdy harness sleeves around the black nylon sling holding the sixty-five-pound yellow Lab that was about to rappel with her. Roscoe’s trusting eyes followed her while he hovered close to her chest, always eager to work.
“That’s right. It’s showtime. We’ve got to find that little boy.”
Roscoe wouldn’t understand, but they were armed and ready for anything or anyone they might confront in the dense woods that belonged to Canyon Air Force Base in the Hill Country of Texas. This reserve, mostly used for training, covered hundreds of acres and could hide a person for weeks if not months. Right now, she had to find a lost little boy and watch her back for a serial killer who’d escaped from prison in the spring and was reported to be back in these woods. Boyd Sullivan, known as the Red Rose Killer because he always left one red rose to warn his victims and one after he’d killed them, was a dangerous, deranged man. He’d killed five people over two years ago in his hometown of Dill, Texas. He’d been put in prison for those killings, but he’d escaped and made his way to Canyon Air Force Base to kill again. Two of those he’d murdered had been friends and coworkers of Ava’s. But he hadn’t left it at that. He’d also let out two hundred or so dogs from the Military Working Dog K-9 kennels located on the base. Let them out to run wild. Some that had suffered PTSD were still roaming around these woods. Now seven-year-old Turner Johnson, the son of Colonel Gregory and Mrs. Marilyn Johnson, had gone missing from his backyard this morning. The boy was up against wild animals, dogs with PTSD and a serial killer who wouldn’t think twice about nabbing the kid for leverage.
Her focus humming on high alert, Ava checked her weapons and equipment one more time. Then she patted the alert K-9 on his furry head. “Ready?”
Roscoe woofed his reply.
Nodding, she scooted to the open side of the chopper and let her booted feet dangle out, Roscoe’s warm breath hitting the inch or so of skin she had showing outside of her heavy camo uniform, protective combat vest, knapsack and M16 rifle.
Above her, a crew member adjusted the carabiner holding the pulleys that would hoist both Ava and Roscoe so they could rappel down, each with their own pulley to hold them securely together.
Halfway down, she listened to the chopper’s crew reporting back and forth while she hovered and checked below. Nothing but heavy woods, scattered rocks and hills, and a hint of clay here and there. But somewhere out there was a lost, scared little seven-year-old boy.
“Hold on, Roscoe.”
Something whizzed past her like a gnat. But even with the chopper’s bellowing roar all around her, she heard the ding of metal hitting metal.
And then she saw it. The ricochet of a bullet hitting the fuselage. Someone was shooting at them.
The chopper banked left, causing Ava to shift on the rope. Above her, the gunner motioned for her to come back up.
Then she heard the pilot. “We need to abort.”
“Negative,” she said through the mic attached to her helmet. “I’m going in.”
With that, she steadied herself and, along with Roscoe, hurried the few yards to the ground, relieved to see that team member Chad Watson came down seconds after her. Ava dropped, unhooked the harnesses and turned on a low crouch, ready to return fire.
“Chad, take Custer to the south and wait,” she said, referring to Chad’s K-9 partner. “Start your search there.”
“We have a situation here, ma’am,” he reported back.
“I have a situation, and I can handle it,” she replied. “And Buster will cover me, right, Buster?”
“Affirmative, ma’am. I’m about twenty yards behind you.”
Buster Elliott, all two hundred and fifty pounds of him, was with Security Forces. He’d been assigned to watch her six while she searched for the boy. Good thing, too.
More shots hit all around her, and Buster returned fire while the chopper hovered.
“Don’t engage,” she warned the gunner and Buster through the mic. “The boy could be down here.”
Heavy footsteps stomped through the woods, echoing toward her. Ava belly-crawled to an outcropping of shrubs and rocks, Roscoe doing the same behind her.
Then she lifted up to a crouch.
Letting out a gasp, Ava stared at the man standing a few feet away with what looked like an M4 aimed at her.
The Red Rose Killer.
He hadn’t wasted any time in confronting her. Now her only concern was for the boy. Did this monster already have Turner?
“I’m not here to hurt you,” Boyd Sullivan said, anger and annoyance singing through each word, his blue eyes cold and icy. Backing away, he held his rifle trained on her, but his gaze darted back and forth. “Tell your man to back off.”
Ava lifted her fist to tell Buster to hold fire. Then she held her rifle trained on the tall blond man wearing an old beret. “What do you want?”
Roscoe hadn’t moved from his alert, but the big dog’s low growl indicated he was very aware of this intruder. Buster should still be nearby, too. Ava knew he’d have her back and even as big as he was, he’d use stealth while he kept his rifle trained on Boyd Sullivan. He’d also fire if he had to.
“Pretend you never saw me,” Sullivan said. “That’s all I need right now.”
Ava didn’t dare let the killer know she recognized him or ask if he’d seen the boy, in case he wasn’t aware. And she didn’t get a chance to react any further.
Bullets pierced the air again in a rapid explosion. Ava hit the ground and ordered Roscoe to do the same. Buster returned fire and took off through the woods, all the while communicating with the hovering chopper above.
And then it was over. The woods went silent. Ava lifted her head and tugged at her rifle. Still lying low, she adjusted her aim. But Boyd Sullivan, the man known as the Red Rose Killer, had disappeared back into the woods.
The shooter had covered his escape.
“You saw the Red Rose Killer?”
Rain flowed like a dam had opened all around FBI Special Agent Oliver Davison. Tired and in need of about two days of uninterrupted sleep, Oliver stared at the tougher-than-nails woman who’d called him to these woods to report what she’d just been through. Tall, redheaded, brown-eyed and clearly in no mood to bicker with him, Senior Airman Ava Esposito appeared to have things under control.
A Security Forces Military Working Dog handler who was used to rappelling out of choppers alongside her K-9 partner and working with Search-and-Rescue to find injured or compromised troops the world over, she didn’t seem the least bit fazed by the gully washer trying to knock them to their knees. Or the fact that she’d come face-to-face with a notorious killer.
Come face-to-face and lived, at that. Which was why Oliver had a hard time believing her.
The Red Rose Killer didn’t mess around. Boyd Sullivan hadn’t made it through basic training and never had a relationship last longer than a few months. The man had gone off the deep end in a way that had become very personal to Oliver. Sullivan had killed five people in Dill, Texas, where he’d grown up, including Madison Ackler, who had been Oliver’s fiancée at the time of her death. His fiancée...but she’d also been involved with Boyd Sullivan when she’d died.
Oliver had been in on the hunt and the arrest for those killings two years ago and he’d been relieved when Sullivan was sent to prison. But the Red Rose Killer had escaped in April and apparently made it to the base and allegedly killed his Basic Training commander, Chief Master Sergeant Clint Lockwood, two overnight-shift K-9 trainers and a commissary cook, whose ID he had used to get him on and off the base. He’d also let most of the K-9s go in an attempt to distract the entire Security Forces unit. They’d been searching for him for months.
“I can’t believe this,” he said, voicing his doubts. Oliver still remembered what the Red Rose Killer was capable of.
Ava nodded, her camouflage uniform weighed down with a backpack, weapons and equipment. All wet now. “Believe it, Special Agent. I’m still in shock myself.” Shaking water off her helmet, she added, “We’d expected this but I didn’t think he’d show up the minute my boots hit the ground.”
“Where?” Oliver asked, ready to get down to business. He had to admit, she looked a little shook-up but she was holding things together. Meanwhile, he had to tell himself to stay calm.
Pointing to a thicket behind him, she said, “Right over there.”
Lightning flashed like a spotlight, followed by a rolling thunder that stomped through the trees and shook the woods.
Figured everything would start happening during one of the worst storms of late summer.
After four years of living and working in the San Antonio FBI Bureau, Oliver still hated these Texas downpours and the humidity that always surrounded them. At times like this, he missed the New York town where he’d grown up.
Pushing away memories, Oliver focused on Ava Esposito, questions rolling through his mind.
Leaning in so he could make himself heard over the thunder and lightning putting on a show over the forest reserve behind the base, he stared at the stubborn woman standing beside him.
“So, Senior Airman Esposito, you’re sure the person you saw was Boyd Sullivan—the Red Rose Killer?”
“Yes,” she said on an impatient note, brown eyes making him think of how much he wanted a cup of coffee right now. “First, we were shot at when we rappelled out of the chopper. And now this.”
“Who is we?”
“Myself, K-9 handler Chad Watson and Security Forces officer Buster Elliott. The crew wanted us to abort, but we were halfway down, so we dropped and spread out. The shots continued while the chopper circled. But our gunner couldn’t fire, because of the concerns for the boy.”
Turner Johnson, the seven-year-old who’d gone missing while playing in his backyard this morning. The boy’s high-ranking parents were beside themselves because the whole area had been warned about an escaped convict possibly being in the vicinity. Just one more wrinkle that concerned Oliver more than a little bit. The killer had reportedly left the base a few days ago but they’d had signs over the last couple days that he might be back in the area. Now they had proof. But they also had to search for a rambunctious kid known for sneaking into the woods behind his house.
“And what happened next?”
“We hit the dirt, returned a round of fire and the shooting stopped long enough for me to come upon Sullivan. He told me to hold off my man, so he must have seen Buster and Chad rappelling down behind me and he must have known that Chad went in the other direction. Then the shooting started up again, and he got away. I called you immediately and then we went about our business. Buster searched for Sullivan but to no avail, and Chad went off on another search grid. Roscoe alerted in this spot a few minutes later.”
“You were right to call me.”
“Yes, but now I’m regretting that decision. We’ve got a whole team on the alert and you’re wasting time not believing me.”
“I’m trying to get a handle on this. Go on.”
Taking a breath, she squared her shoulders. “Roscoe started digging and I tried to follow his lead until you got here. But I can assure you the man I saw was Sullivan. I certainly know his face and I know what he’s capable of doing.”
Oliver saw a slight tremble forming on her lips. Delayed reaction. He had to keep her talking, however. “What happened between you two? Did you try to detain him?”
Ava gave him a look that asked, So this is how you’re gonna play this?
“Sullivan held an M4 on me. He was wearing a tight uniform that obviously didn’t belong to him and a black tam. He looked me in the eye and said, ‘I’m not here to hurt you.’”
Motioning behind them, she said, “He also told me to pretend I’d never seen him and ordered me to call off my guard. I didn’t get to question him since more gunfire erupted and Sullivan used the distraction to get away.”
“Just like that?”
“Yes, just like that,” she said, grinding out each word. “Last time we saw him, he was headed west.”
Oliver felt a headache coming on. His black water-resistant FBI jacket sparkled with fat raindrops. “But he told you he wasn’t shooting at you? And he just walked away?”
“He told me he wasn’t going to hurt me,” she said again, her porcelain skin damp and dewy. “What part of I stood face-to-face with the Red Rose Killer don’t you understand?”
“I don’t understand any of this,” Oliver replied, matching her inch for inch since she was almost as tall as him, his eyes holding hers in a stubborn standoff that not even a torrential rain could stop. “The man killed five people in his hometown and he’s gone on a killing spree on this base throughout the summer. Not to mention he has a whole target list that he wants to kill. And we have reason to believe he also killed Airman Drew Golosky a few days ago in order to get his uniform and ID for base access. But he tells you he’s not going to hurt you?”
“Yes, Special Agent Davison,” Ava Esposito said again, aggravation deeply embedded in her words. “But someone did shoot at me and then Boyd Sullivan headed into the woods. I think that shooter, along with my K-9 partner and Buster watching my back, saved me.”
Stomping water off her boots, she added, “The shooter must have been covering Sullivan. If that’s the case, then he has some help. Which we’ve suspected all along. So let me get back to my work, and you go find the Red Rose Killer and whoever else is out there.”
He wanted to find Boyd Sullivan, all right. Especially since he had a personal beef with the man. Most of the investigative team knew Oliver’s history with Boyd Sullivan, even if they didn’t bring it up. Oliver was the only one who knew the whole truth about Madison’s past, and that she’d been briefly involved with Sullivan in high school and again a few years ago when she’d been dating Oliver. Her murder was still too personal for Oliver to talk about, and he couldn’t risk being pulled off the case because of his personal interest. His SAC had approved his coming here, with the stipulation that he didn’t have a personal vendetta. But how could he not?
Needing the whole picture, he asked, “Did you send your K-9 partner after him?”
“Roscoe alerted on this cave,” she replied, pointing to the jagged four-foot-high rock face covered in bushes. “I kept him here because I was concerned about getting shot before I could locate the missing boy who might be inside.”
A little boy missing in six hundred acres of dense thicket overgrown with clusters of trees and heavy brush. A place where dark caves and craggy hills and rocky bluffs made searching that much harder. A place where all types of predators, from poisonous snakes to wild animals of all shapes and sizes, lurked about.
Oliver worried about the worst kind of predator. The Red Rose Killer. He’d have no qualms about killing a child.
“But you haven’t found the boy?”
Rain rolled off her helmet while disappointment and annoyance singed hot through her pretty eyes. “No, Turner Johnson was not inside the cave, so obviously I haven’t found the boy. But I will. Roscoe is never wrong.”
Oliver squinted into the wet, chilly woods. All around them, Security Forces, the Office of Special Investigations and the Military Working Dog handlers moved like hulking shadows while choppers whirled overhead. Crime-scene techs searched for evidence and bullet fragments or shell casings. Boyd Sullivan was out there somewhere. Probably long gone by now, however, since the woods had become overrun with air force personnel.
Oliver looked toward the heavens. “A missing seven-year-old and a serial killer on the loose. In the same woods. This is not good. So not good.”
Her hostile gaze affirmed that summary. “No, and I really need to get back to Roscoe and his find.”
Touching her arm, he glanced at the patient golden-coated Labrador retriever and said, “I understand you want to explore Roscoe’s discovery. I’m anxious to catch up with the team searching for Boyd Sullivan. But I need to ask you a few more questions.”
She glared at him for a moment and then checked on the K-9 eager to dig in the mud. “I’ve told you what happened and now I’m going to do what I came here to do. Because whatever’s buried here might give us a clue to find the boy.”
Special Agent Oliver Davison stared at Ava, skepticism heavy in his green eyes. The man obviously didn’t believe a word of what she’d just told him. And he was seriously beginning to get on her already singed nerves.
But he did have a point. Why had Sullivan allowed her to live when he’d killed so many people already?
He’d been sent to prison for those killings a few years ago. He wanted revenge, and he was willing to kill anyone who stood in his way. He was armed and dangerous, and yes, she’d let him get away. That didn’t sit well with Ava, but she had to focus on the mission at hand.
Even while the creepiness factor made her want to take off and track the killer.
Sullivan earned his name because he always left a red rose and a note stating “I’m coming for you” to warn his victims, and another note stating “Got you” after he’d killed them. Four other base personnel were targeted, so the base had been on high alert all summer. Boyd had a way on and off the base and Ava believed, along with her team members, that he was hiding out in these woods and using uniforms and IDs from some of the other airmen he’d killed to keep up the charade.
Now she’d seen the killer with her own eyes and this agent doubted her and wanted to waste her time while a child could get caught in the cross fire. Glaring up at him, Ava saw something besides a steely determination in the special agent’s green eyes.
Sadness. Then it hit her. He’d been involved with one of the victims from Dill. She didn’t know the whole story, but rumors had circulated. Now was not the time to go into that, however.
“I need to get back to work,” she said on a calm note, hoping to cut him some slack. “Roscoe’s waiting to do his job.”
“Just a few more details,” he insisted, a stubborn glint in his eyes.
Remembering how her heart had gone haywire earlier, Ava thought about Boyd Sullivan’s weird reaction to finding her there. Dressed in dirty, ill-fitting camouflage, he’d looked wild and disoriented, but he’d been carrying an arsenal of weapons.
Thinking about it now, she held herself rigid so she wouldn’t get the shakes.
To stay focused, she stared at Oliver Davison, taking in how his green eyes matched the lush foliage all around them. “Buster went after Sullivan and tracked him, but lost him. Chad and Custer had an alert in another area due east. They couldn’t make it back in time.”
“Why didn’t you send Roscoe after Sullivan?”
“And risk losing my partner and the boy’s location? I sent Buster after Sullivan because I was afraid the boy might still be in the area. Turner Johnson is my first obligation.”
Oliver pushed water off his thick dark hair. “So you let Boyd Sullivan slip through your fingers?”
“I don’t like your tone, Special Agent.”
“Well, I don’t like losing a wanted serial killer, Airman Esposito.”
“I’m here to find the boy. It’s your job to track Boyd Sullivan, and apparently you haven’t been very successful so far.”
“Ouch, that hurt.”
She almost laughed, but this was not funny. She understood how he wanted to get his man, but he was stepping on her toes right now. “I’m going to see what Roscoe has found, if you don’t mind. You have a whole team here to search for Sullivan.”
“I guess I’m dismissed.”
She turned in time to see the flare of both anger and admiration in his interesting eyes. “You could say that, yes.”
But he called out to her. “Hey, if Boyd Sullivan wasn’t shooting at you, then who was, and why?”
