Where Monsters Hide Read online

  Highest Praise for M. William Phelps

  “M. William Phelps dares to tread where few others will: into the mind of a killer.”

  —TV Rage

  “Phelps is the king of true crime.”

  —Lynda Hirsch, Creators Syndicate

  “Phelps treads dangerous ground like an Amazon jungle guide—fearless, compassionate, insightful.”

  —Geoff Fitzpatrick, Executive Producer of Dark Minds

  DANGEROUS GROUND

  “It takes a unique individual to stay the course on a disturbing journey like the one documented in Dangerous Ground. We’d expect no less from Phelps, as he blends his own powerful story with that of a demanding serial killer—his anonymous consultant on Dark Minds unmasked—who alternately fascinated and repulsed him. True crime fans will savor this careful descent into an obsessive psychopathic mind, even when they feel how difficult it can be to come up for air.”

  —Katherine Ramsland

  THE KILLING KIND

  “In this true crime book, Phelps focuses on unrepentant killer Danny Hembree . . . [who] seizes the chance to take center stage with lurid confessions of a decades-long career of violent robbery, assault, rape, and murder.... Fans of the author’s Discovery TV series, Dark Minds, will be rewarded.”

  —Publishers Weekly

  “Phelps presents in-depth research and interviews that allow for vivid descriptions of characters and events.... Fans of true crime, forensics, and serial killer activities will all find something of interest here.”

  —Library Journal

  OBSESSED

  “Phelps focuses on a fatal love triangle that definitely proved to be stranger than fiction. The police work undertaken to solve the case is recounted with the right amount of detail, and readers will be rewarded with shocking twists in a story with inherent drama.”

  —Publishers Weekly

  BAD GIRLS

  “Fascinating, gripping . . . Phelps’s sharp

  investigative skills and questioning mind resonate.”

  —Sue Russell

  NEVER SEE THEM AGAIN

  “This riveting book examines one of the most horrific murders in recent American history.”

  —New York Post

  “Phelps clearly shows how the ugliest crimes can take place in the quietest of suburbs.”

  —Library Journal

  “Thoroughly reported . . . the book is primarily a police procedural, but it is also a tribute to the four murder victims.”

  —Kirkus Reviews

  TOO YOUNG TO KILL

  “Phelps is the Harlan Coben of real-life thrillers.”

  —Allison Brennan

  LOVE HER TO DEATH

  “Reading anything by Phelps is always an eye opening experience. The characters are well researched and well written. We have murder, adultery, obsession, lies and so much more.”

  —Suspense Magazine

  “You don’t want to miss Love Her to Death by M. William Phelps, a book destined to be one of 2011’s top true crimes!”

  —True Crime Book Reviews

  “A chilling crime . . . Award-winning author

  Phelps goes into lustrous and painstaking detail, bringing all the players vividly to life.”

  —Crime Magazine

  KILL FOR ME

  “Phelps gets into the blood and guts of the story.”

  —Gregg Olsen, New York Times best-selling author of Fear Collector

  “Phelps infuses his investigative journalism with plenty of energized descriptions.”

  —Publishers Weekly

  DEATH TRAP

  “A chilling tale of a sociopathic wife and mother . . . A compelling journey from the inside of this woman’s mind to final justice in a court of law.”

  —Harry N. MacLean, New York Times best-selling author of In Broad Daylight

  I’LL BE WATCHING YOU

  “Phelps has an unrelenting sense for detail that affirms his place, book by book, as one of our most engaging crime journalists.”

  —Katherine Ramsland

  IF LOOKS COULD KILL

  “M. William Phelps, one of America’s finest true-crime writers, has written a compelling and gripping book about an intriguing murder mystery.”

  —Vincent Bugliosi

  “Phelps consistently ratchets up the dramatic tension, hooking readers. His thorough research and interviews give the book complexity, richness of character, and urgency.”

  —Stephen Singular

  MURDER IN THE HEARTLAND

  “Drawing on interviews with law officers and relatives, the author has done significant research. His facile writing pulls the reader along.”

  —St. Louis Post-Dispatch

  “Phelps expertly reminds us that when the darkest form of evil invades the quiet and safe outposts of rural America, the tragedy is greatly magnified. Get ready for some sleepless nights.”

  —Carlton Stowers

  “This is the most disturbing and moving look at murder in rural America since Capote’s In Cold Blood.”

  —Gregg Olsen

  SLEEP IN HEAVENLY PEACE

  “An exceptional book by an exceptional true crime writer. Phelps exposes long-hidden secrets and reveals disquieting truths.”

  —Kathryn Casey

  EVERY MOVE YOU MAKE

  “An insightful and fast-paced examination of the inner workings of a good cop and his bad informant, culminating in an unforgettable truth-is-stranger-than-fiction climax.”

  —Michael M. Baden, M.D.

  LETHAL GUARDIAN

  “An intense roller-coaster of a crime story . . . complex, with twists and turns worthy of any great detective mystery . . . reads more like a novel than your standard non-fiction crime book.”

  —Steve Jackson

  PERFECT POISON

  “A compelling account of terror . . . The author dedicates himself to unmasking the psychopath with facts, insight and the other proven methods of journalistic leg work.”

  —Lowell Cauffiel

  Also By M. William Phelps

  Perfect Poison

  Lethal Guardian

  Every Move You Make

  Sleep in Heavenly Peace

  Murder in the Heartland

  Because You Loved Me

  If Looks Could Kill

  I’ll Be Watching You

  Deadly Secrets

  Cruel Death

  Death Trap

  Kill for Me

  Love Her to Death

  Too Young to Kill

  Never See Them Again

  Kiss of the She-Devil

  Bad Girls

  Obsessed

  The Killing Kind

  She Survived: Melissa (e-book)

  She Survived: Jane (e-book)

  She Survived: Anne (e-book)

  I’d Kill for You

  To Love and to Kill

  One Breath Away

  If You Only Knew

  Don’t Tell a Soul

  Dangerous Ground

  Beautifully Cruel

  WHERE MONSTERS

  HIDE

  M. WILLIAM PHELPS

  KENSINGTON BOOKS

  www.kensingtonbooks.com

  All copyrighted material within is Attributor Protected.

  Table of Contents

  Praise

  Also by

  Title Page

  Copyright Page

  Dedication

  Epigraph

  PROLOGUE

  PART 1 - THE MISSING MAN

  1 - MOVING ON

  2 - NIGHT SHIFT

  3 - DAD

  4 - PARK-AND-RIDE

  5 - MESSING AROUND

  6 - WHISPERS

  7 - ABSENCE OF MALICE

  8 - QUESTI
ONS

  9 - ANSWERS

  10 - SOMETHING’S NOT RIGHT

  11 - A COP’S COP

  12 - ROCKY ROADS

  13 - THE OTHER MAN

  14 - TRUTH AND CONSEQUENCES

  15 - EXCLUSION

  16 - INCLUSION

  17 - QUACK-QUACK

  18 - FRUSTRATION

  19 - THE UNEXPECTED

  PART 2 - BUTTERFLIES

  20 - PINK METAL

  21 - CAT AND MICE

  22 - NIGHT WORK

  23 - VOICES CARRY

  24 - DETAILS

  25 - TROUBLED LIFE, TROUBLED WIFE

  26 - CHAOS REIGNS

  27 - THE DARK SIDE

  28 - PIECES

  29 - HOME LIFE

  30 - NEW BLOOD

  31 - LISTEN AND LEARN

  32 - SIGNED, SEALED, DELIVERED

  33 - EXECUTION

  34 - BARE NAKED LADIES

  35 - PREMONITION

  36 - BLOOD AND AMMO

  37 - NEIGHBORS

  38 - JUST RUNNING SCARED

  PART 3 - THE CHASE

  39 - A LONG ROAD

  40 - SUSPICION

  41 - TWO TRACK

  42 - FEELING THE PRESSURE

  43 - (RE)SEARCH

  44 - RUMOR HAS IT

  45 - DIVER DOWN

  46 - PUSHING FORWARD BACK

  47 - HELP

  48 - SAGE ADVICE

  49 - SINK OR SWIM

  50 - CLOSING IN

  PART 4 - MURDER PACT

  51 - THE SOUNDS OF SILENCE

  52 - UNSURPRISING SHOCKER

  53 - PINPOINT

  54 - SEX, LIES, AND VIDEOTAPE

  55 - PERSISTENCE

  56 - THE LETTER

  57 - STALKED

  58 - PRESENCE OF EVIL

  59 - CHILDHOOD

  60 - DOWNSIZED

  61 - DOWN A RABBIT HOLE

  62 - LIFE AND DEATH

  63 - HORROR SHOW

  64 - ROLE REVERSAL

  65 - BLOOD WILL TELL

  66 - BURIED SECRETS

  67 - READY AND WILLING

  68 - “GAME ON”

  69 - THE MONSTER

  70 - HELA

  71 - SEARCHING

  PART 5 - A JUST CAUSE

  72 - SEXUAL DIGRESSION

  73 - ATONEMENT

  74 - CRUISE CONTROL

  75 - SIDESTEPPING

  76 - JUDGMENT DAY

  77 - “OH, MY GOD”

  78 - FINALLY

  EPILOGUE AND ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  Notes

  KENSINGTON BOOKS are published by

  Kensington Publishing Corp.

  119 West 40th Street

  New York, NY 10018

  Copyright © 2019 by M. William Phelps

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means without the prior written consent of the Publisher, excepting brief quotes used in reviews.

  Kensington and the K logo Reg. U.S. Pat. & TM Off.

  ISBN: 978-1-4967-2081-8

  ISBN-10: 1-4967-2082-2 (ebook)

  Kensington Electronic Edition: April 2019

  ISBN-13: 978-1-4967-2081-8

  ISBN-10: 1-4967-2081-4

  First Kensington Trade Paperback Edition: April 2019

  This book is dedicated to . . .

  Matthew Valentinas:

  friend, manager, agent, lawyer, “therapist”

  &

  Sonya Cosumano, LMFT:

  for helping me work through the most difficult time of my life

  Three may keep a secret, if two of them are dead.

  —Benjamin Franklin

  PROLOGUE

  EVERY YEAR, BETWEEN THE THIRD WEEK OF JUNE AND THE THIRD week of July, the Mitchell’s satyr butterfly emerges from hiding, exposing her fragile, coffee-colored wingspan, in only two states: Michigan and Indiana. An endangered species, the satyr is an elusive, unique, devious creature, using yellow- and orange-ringed eyespots located near the tips of her wings as camouflage to hide in plain sight. Catching a glimpse of this unusual, uncommon caterpillar-mutated-into-flying-insect is more rare than a Sasquatch sighting. The primary threat to the satyr’s survival is habitat loss and modification. As an adult, she does not eat or drink—and there is very little known about how she reproduces. Only during her flight period, after breaking free from the chrysalis entombing her, will the satyr mate, lay eggs, and, with her life’s purpose now complete, die—a process that takes no more than two weeks. It is one reason why those looking to catch even the slightest glimpse of her have such an incredibly frustrating, difficult time.

  PART 1

  THE MISSING MAN

  1

  MOVING ON

  CHRIS REGAN JR.’S CAR WAS LOADED WITH NEARLY EVERYTHING HE owned. For the past several weeks, Chris had slept on the floor of his Traverse City apartment in north Detroit, Michigan, nothing left inside but life’s core essentials: iPhone and laptop, coffeepot, pillow, a few blankets for keeping warm. At twenty-six years old, Chris Jr. was ready for a change. He and his father, Chris Regan Sr., had discussed moving in together for the past year. They’d decided to leave Michigan, where both had lived for most of Chris Jr.’s life.

  “Fresh start,” Chris Jr. said. “Something different.”

  “Yeah,” Senior responded. “Sounds good to me.”

  The previous winter, 2013, Chris Jr. had taken a trip to Florida. He’d gotten his hands on an ice-cream truck from a friend and drove it fifteen hundred miles south. He wanted a change of scene, if only for a few months, but also to see what opportunities were available outside Michigan. An avid photographer, along the way, Chris took scores of photographs. He’d passed through towns and cities he would have never known existed—or had a chance to ever see—had he not driven. When he returned to Michigan four months later, just as the spring of 2014 broke, Chris had nowhere to live. He’d given up his place in Traverse City. So his father allowed him to sleep in the basement of a house Senior was renting. On some nights they’d get together, sit and talk. Chris Jr. would pull out photos he’d taken during his trip.

  “Let’s just do it, son,” Chris Sr. said one night. “The two us. Get the heck out of Michigan and live somewhere else.”

  Chris Sr. did not have to twist his son’s arm. Chris Jr. loved the idea. The cold, dark, gloomy winters up north were something both could easily leave behind. Chris Jr.’s brother, the father’s only other child, lived far enough away in Rochester, Michigan, outside Detroit, anyway. Senior had been divorced from his sons’ mother for just a few years. The four of them hardly ever saw one another. They had no family up north. Why not move? What was holding them back?

  “Where, though?” Senior asked.

  “Texas?” Chris Jr. suggested.

  “No. Not a chance.”

  “South Carolina?”

  “Maybe, Chris,” the father said.

  “Asheville, North Carolina, has always been on my radar as a place I kind of want to live, Dad.”

  They both looked at each other. Rolling off the tongue, Asheville sounded delightful, as if it were meant to be. They’d visited before. Camping. Cycling. Hiking trails. So much to love about a town that seemed to celebrate the eccentricities of life! Where art trumped the fast-paced style of modern living,

  Junior soon moved out on his own, downstate from Upper Michigan, where Senior now lived. He rented his own apartment. And they continued discussing a move to Asheville. It almost seemed like a plan now.

  “What about Colorado?” Senior suggested over the phone one day, still tossing out locales.

  “No.”

  “Yeah, too cold and snowy still.”

  “Asheville, Dad. I’m telling you,” Junior reiterated. “Remember, we camped there. Rode our bikes on the trails.”

  “Right. It’s gorgeous, Chris.” The father paused. “Okay, it’s decided. Asheville it is, then.”

  “Yes.”

  Asheville offered the most opportunity for b
oth. Especially where it pertained to hobbies and life outside work. Both were avid cyclists, mountain biking, mostly downhill. Chris Jr. had dedicated most of his life to cycling, having started riding at the age of three with the help of his dad. Senior was an expert cyclist and had won trophies while racing in the air force. He’d actually traveled and lived all over the world, where he enjoyed a second passion, scuba diving. The son had worked in cycle shops all his adult life. So finding a job for Chris Jr. in North Carolina was not going to be a problem once they got settled.

  * * *

  AS THE MIDDLE OF October 2014 settled in, Senior had a job lined up in Asheville. He’d signed a contract with a company he was excited to get started with. In fact, he had a scheduled October 15, 2014, drug-screening test for the new job. Still packing, with boxes everywhere, Senior was working toward being ready to leave on schedule. His apartment in Iron River, Michigan, where he’d relocated, was in a bit of disarray.