The Broken Trail: A Chilling Serial Killer Thriller (Harriet Harper Thriller Book 3) Read online

  The Broken Trail

  A Harriet Harper Thriller

  Dominika Best

  Contents

  Prologue

  1. Day 1 – Monday, November 5, 2018

  2. Day 1 – Los Angeles, CA

  3. Day 1

  4. Day 1

  5. Day 1

  6. Day 1

  7. Day 1

  8. Day 1 -Night

  9. Day 2

  10. Day 2

  11. Day 2

  12. Day 2

  13. Day 2

  14. Day 2

  15. Day 2

  16. Day 2 -Night

  17. Day 2 -Night

  18. Day 2 -Night

  19. Day 3 - Morning

  20. Day 3

  21. Day 3

  22. Day 3 -Evening

  23. Day 4

  24. Day 4

  25. Day 4

  26. Day 4

  27. Day 4

  28. Day 4

  29. Day 4 – Early Evening

  30. Day 4 – Early Evening

  31. Day 4 – Evening

  32. Day 4 – Evening

  33. Day 4 – Evening

  34. Day 4 – Evening

  35. Day 4 – Evening

  36. Day 4 – Evening

  37. Day 4 – Evening

  38. Day 4 – Evening

  39. Day 4 – Evening

  40. Day 5

  41. Day 5

  42. Day 12

  Afterword

  About Dominika Best

  Prologue

  October 19, 2018

  Addison James did not want to be out in the middle of Hollywood tonight. She flexed her fingers remembering the tune she was working on. It was a tricky chord progression she wanted to get right by next week’s lesson with her mentor, a jazz legend by the name of Foster McGuire.

  Sophie, her best friend since fifth grade, had called begging for support earlier. So instead of playing her guitar, Addy was waiting on a small patch of grass across from the Scientology Celebrity Center right off of Franklin Avenue. Supposedly, that’s where Sophie’s producer told her to meet him for the most fabulous party of the year. Or so Sophie had said.

  Sophie had that hopeful tone in her voice when she told Addy about how she’d met some big hotshot producer at her acting audition earlier in the day and he’d invited her to a party. Addy knew her friend thought this invitation might be the ticket to getting a part in the newest superhero movie, but Addy highly doubted that. The casting couch was a real thing, and Sophie had already encountered enough lecherous creeps in this town to know better. But Sophie was her best friend and when she’d begged, Addy was afraid Sophie would just go alone if she didn’t agree to be her wing woman. So, Addy put on a sparkly dress, applied her makeup to look just like a model going out to a nightclub, and put her light-brown curls into a loose bun. She borrowed without asking her mom’s highest black heels and real diamond stud earrings and headed out.

  Sophie might be a dead ringer for Megan Fox, but she was also street smart. She wanted Addy there for back-up, just in case. Addy doubted she could be of much help, yet here she was at the side of a road, waiting for a chartered bus to shuttle them into the Hollywood Hills for the supposed party of the year.

  The bus was a nice gesture, but that didn’t make Addy feel much better. How would they leave? When she’d brought this up, Sophie brushed it off, saying they could walk out and call a car service before mentioning again how excited she was to finally be invited to one of these exclusive parties. The way Sophie said that finally convinced Addy to come along.

  Sophie slipped her hand into Addy’s and squeezed. “Thanks for coming with me, sister,” she whispered into her ear.

  Addy smiled and squeezed back. “Do you know those girls?” Addy whispered, nodding to three girls walking toward their corner, definitely dressed up for a party.

  They saw Addy and Sophie and waved. The tall red-haired girl in the middle smiled.

  “Are you two going to Jimmy's party?” she asked.

  “I don’t know a Jimmy.” Sophie shook her head. “The producer that invited me is Thomas Brown.

  “Don't know him, but this party is supposed to be going off,” the blonde next to the leggy redhead said. She looked like a taller version of Pamela Anderson. Their gorgeous black friend, dressed in a suit and looking uncomfortable, didn’t say a word. She wanted to be there as much as Addy did.

  A small white bus drove up to the little group and opened its door. A young guy was driving.

  “You ladies ready to party?” he asked.

  “Hells yeah, baby,” the blonde-haired girl said.

  The quiet woman rolled her eyes at her friend.

  “Is this for Jimmy's party?” the red-haired girl asked.

  Addy noticed a slight tremble in her voice. Jimmy must have promised her something spectacular, she thought.

  “Don’t know the hosts, but if you’re on this corner, I’m supposed to be picking you up,” he said with a wink.

  Addy didn’t like the sound of that. She wanted to be home. Sophie squeezed Addy’s hand.

  “You ready?” she asked.

  “As ready as I'll ever be,” Addy said and followed her best friend into the van.

  The white van drove up a winding, seemingly one-way road into the Hollywood Hills. Addy had never been to this part of the Hills and understood why the hosts had chartered a van for their guests.

  For one thing, the neighbors would complain about noise, congestion, and parked cars, and she was sure the cops would shut the party down. Rich people didn't like to have strangers at ragers in their neighborhoods.

  After about fifteen minutes of driving, the white van finally stopped.

  “Be careful up there,” the driver said as he opened the door for them.

  When Addy turned back, she saw him frown. Her stomach knotted. Why was the driver frowning?

  Addy watched the three girls make their way up the steep drive in their heels. Sophie started up right behind them. Addy took a few steps and frowned. Her fancy stilettos had been a bad idea. They were made for sitting and looking hot and not teetering up a gravel driveway.

  “See you gals up there,” the redhead called out to them and the three girls disappeared over the crest of the hill.

  Sophie looked back at Addy and noticed her struggling to walk. She skipped back and put her arm around her. “Thank you so much for coming with me,” she said.

  “You said that before.” Addy laughed. “It's gonna be fine,” Addy said even though she didn't entirely feel like it would be. She heard the distant techno music pounding and her stomach swirled with nerves. Addy had only turned seventeen last month, and she’d already been to her share of parties.

  This one felt different, though. Maybe all the information coming out through the #metoo movement about girls assaulted and abused by well-known Hollywood men could be putting her on edge.

  “All right, let's do this,” Addy said.

  The friends hiked up the drive and the party unfolded in front of them the moment they made it to the top.

  “Holy shit,” Addy said under her breath.

  The mansion was a replica of a small castle made of rough-hewn stone like the ones she’d seen pictures of in Europe. The grounds were immaculately manicured with flowers and hedges. Beautiful, young people, drinks in hand, mingled under twinkle lights. Addy could see couples kissing in secret rock grottos against water fountains. The aroma of marijuana smoke mixed with the scent of roses. And it was only eleven o'
clock.

  “What kind of party is this again?” Addy asked as they headed toward the front door.

  A drunk girl bumped into them and laughed. “Oh my god!” She laughed. “Your skin is flawless. How old are you girls?” she asked, peering into their faces.

  “You’re drunk,” Addy said.

  “What’s it to you?” Sophie asked and pushed past her.

  “You toddlers know this is a swingers party, right?” she called after them. Addy stopped and turned around.

  “Wait, what?” Addy asked. “What exactly is a swingers party?” She knew she sounded naïve and stupid, but she didn't care. Swingers were married couples who swapped partners, right? None of these people looked too old.

  “What is she talking about?” Addy asked.

  “She’s drunk, honey,” Sophie said under her breath.

  Addy knew Sophie well enough to tell when she was changing the subject.

  “You brought me to a sex party? Eww.” Addy shuddered.

  Sophie stopped walking and pulled Addy to the side.

  “What the hell, Sophie? You knew about this and you still made me come?”

  “Well obviously, I couldn’t go alone,” Sophie hissed. “And no one made you come. I really want this part, Addy. We don’t have to do anything.”

  “Obviously,” Addy said. “Eww again. These guys are way too old. Let’s just find this producer of yours and get it over with as far as your presence being here is concerned.”

  “Thank you, Addy,” Sophie gushed. I owe you big time.”

  As they turned toward the front door, Addy looked up and saw a toned, acrobatic woman twisting gracefully between two straps of silk hanging from a tree. The completely nude aerialist had an intricate butterfly tattoo that seemed to flutter its wings as she whirled. Addy had never seen a woman move like that before, and she couldn’t turn away from the spectacle.

  Addy’s eyes grew wide as the woman spread her legs out into a split showing her female bits to anyone in the crowd below her. Something sparkled and Addy saw that right above her genitalia were crystals shaped into a star, glittering and casting their reflection as she moved.

  “Holy shit,” she whispered to Sophie. “Are you seeing this?”

  “Oh my God, she's doing that naked,” Sophie said, covering her eyes with her hands.

  Addy scanned the crowd. “All these guys are like in their thirties and forties,” she said.

  “You said that already,” Sophie commented. She was also scanning the crowd.

  “Do you see your producer anywhere?” Addy asked. The longer they were here, the more Addy wanted to be home.

  The men definitely skewed toward receding hairlines and belly paunches. The women on their arms, however, were young and gorgeous.

  Wasn’t that always the case in Hollywood, Addy thought. As expected, the women looked impeccable, their bodies slim and toned, their skin, hair and makeup perfection, while the men were slobbish, wearing shorts and sneakers with unkempt hair.

  “I don’t see him.” Sophie shook her head. “Let’s go inside.”

  Addy tore her eyes away from the naked aerialist and followed her friend inside the mansion. Even though the castle looked huge on the outside, on the inside it was cramped with people and dark.

  “I think I see him,” Sophie said over her shoulder and disappeared into the crowd.

  Addy tried to follow her friend, but the crowd closed in around her. As she pushed through in Sophie’s direction, she overheard three girls and a guy discussing who would go first. In what, Addy didn’t want to know.

  She finally pushed through into a larger room, but Sophie was long gone. Great, Addy thought. Now what was she going to do?

  She wandered to the bar and smiled at the bartender wearing a white shirt and a black bowtie. If nothing else, she could at least get a drink. “Is this an open bar?” Addy asked.

  “Indeed, it is,” he said. “What’ll you have?”

  He didn’t ask her age or to see an ID. She supposed that was a good thing.

  “Can I have a glass of white wine?” Addy wasn't really a big drinker. Occasionally when she and Sophie did manage to get alcohol, it was white wine Sophie pilfered from her mother. Addy could handle a glass, and she certainly didn’t want to get drunk here. The bartender handed her a wine glass of yellow liquid.

  “Enjoy,” he said with a smile.

  Addy turned away from him and took her first sip. The cold liquid rolled down her throat and her body responded by warming right up. She turned to the dance floor and watched as couples grooved to the music in front of her. At least for the most part everybody was wearing clothes here.

  “You look lost,” a man's voice came from her right.

  She turned to see a good-looking guy, probably in his mid-thirties, holding a bottle of beer.

  “I lost my friend,” Addy called out, trying to make herself heard over the music.

  “I lost my friends too,” he said. “My name’s Peter.”

  “Addy,” she said.

  “We can find your friend together,” he said.

  Addy looked him over again. He didn’t look dangerous, but then again no one got into Ted Bundy’s car because he looked dangerous.

  “What about your friends?” Addy asked.

  “Forget them.” He laughed. “Who needs ‘em?”

  “Really?”

  “Actually.” He leaned closer to her and loudly whispered. “I think they want to be alone.”

  “Oh, I see.” Addy nodded.

  “Are you an actor?” Peter asked as they pushed away from the bar.

  “Musician,” she replied. “My friend Sophie is an incredible actor. A producer invited her to this party. I'm just the sidekick.”

  “You don't look like just a sidekick to me,” Peter said. “You should think about doing acting yourself. You have the most beautiful eyes.”

  Addy flushed at his compliment and then was immediately embarrassed. She wasn’t a stupid little girl to fall for a line like that, right?

  “Sure, right.” She laughed. “I gotta find a bathroom first. Be back.” She pushed away from him. As she made her way through the crowd, she could see Peter following her in the mirrored wall.

  Great, she’d have to find a way to lose him somehow. Her stomach knotted again and she wanted to puke up the white wine she’d just finished. Where the hell was Sophie? Why did she come with her? She could be home chatting with Nick, her crush. Or learning that new song her mentor had assigned her. Instead, she was at a weird party in a stranger’s house trying to ditch some thirty-year-old skeeve.

  She walked faster and pushed through the crowd, nearly knocking a drink out of someone’s hand. Where the hell had Sophie gone to anyway?

  1

  Day 1 – Monday, November 5, 2018

  LAPD Detective Harriet ‘Harri’ Harper sat at the Nickel Diner flipping through her latest cold case while she waited on Detective Jackie Render for lunch. As a detective in the Cold Case Homicide Special Section (CCHSS) of the Robbery-Homicide division of the Los Angeles Police Department, Harri took on cases that had gone cold, using new techniques like DNA matching to bring justice to long-forgotten victims. Her current cases included a woman strangled in her apartment in 2004 and a drive-by murder in Hollywood in 2000. Neither of them would be solved by running DNA.

  The cold case haunting her the most though, she hadn’t solved. Not yet. She had found her decades-missing older sister’s body some months back up in an Oregon national forest. Now, she needed to find and bring to justice who pulled the trigger.

  “Sorry, I’m late Harri,” Detective Jackie Render said as she plopped down in the seat next to hers. “Working lunch?”

  Harri smiled at her friend. As usual, Jackie was perfectly manicured with her hair swept back in a groomed ponytail and bright red nails with red lipstick to match. Harri had once asked how Jackie could look so put together with two small girls at home while working Special Assault Section (SAS) of the Robbery
-Homicide division. SAS dealt mainly with Sexual Assault, the most disturbing cases in the department in Harri’s estimation.

  “Something like that,” Harri said.

  “If you don’t mind me saying so, you look like shit,” Jackie said.

  Harri smoothed down the brown strands of hair escaping out of her own ponytail.

  “But you’ve had a rough few months.” Jackie shrugged.

  “I finally found her,” Harri said. She hadn’t spoken to Jackie since she’d gotten back from Oregon several months ago. She’d kept a low profile after the shitstorm she’d dealt with at the LAPD. Special Agent Nick McNarin, who’d been in charge of the missing boys case up in Oregon, had called everyone he knew in LA to get rid of her after her investigation into her sister’s disappearance collided with his dormant investigation of a number of boys who’d gone missing in the same area. Harri thought he should be appreciative that she’d practically solved both cases, but McNarin didn’t see it that way.

  And he ended up knowing a lot of people. Specifically, Richard Byrne, the detective who most wanted her out of her job.

  “It was a beautiful funeral,” Jackie said.

  Harri nodded. The Oregon coroner released her sister’s body three weeks after she and Jake Tepesky arrived back in Los Angeles. Both she and Jake, a former FBI profiler, had been investigating the trafficking ring since then, trying to put names to the men who’d killed her sister and those boys.