Bring Me Flowers (Detectives Kane and Alton #2)(38)
“Ask them to send the files and complete autopsy reports on both girls to me.” Wolfe frowned. “Two weeks apart.” He rubbed his chin thoughtfully and his pale eyes slid to Kane. “If this is the same killer, he had a break for four months before killing Felicity.”
“If it is, then I wonder what happened to slow him down.” Kane keyed in a reply to the email and lifted his concerned gaze to Jenna.
“Maybe he was in transit from his last killing ground?” She cleared her throat. “He has not murdered anyone here before, so we have to assume he moved here since his last kill.”
“Or like Derick and the cowboys, he moves around a lot, like with a football team or in a rodeo and didn’t need to get his fix in his hometown. There could also be other victims in nearby towns unaccounted for, or something substantial prevented him from pursuing his activities for a while. Perhaps he was in jail. Psychopaths at this stage of madness don’t slow down, they escalate.” Kane frowned. “The fact we can determine Joanne Blunt was a thrill or opportunistic kill means he is out of control.”
Jenna chewed on her bottom lip, thinking. “Rowley, get me a list of men recently released from jail. We have a list sent monthly, it’s in the files.”
“Yes, ma’am.” Rowley pulled out his notepad and pen. “Right away.”
Gripped by the horror of finding another mutilated girl, Jenna pulled hard on the years of training she relied on to keep her sane and kept her tone calm and professional. She looked at Kane. “How long do you estimate we have to catch him before he kills again?”
“It depends how much control he has over the beast.” Kane took one of the takeout cups Rowley handed him and reached for the coffee pot. “Maybe a week, maybe a couple of days, or maybe he has killed again already.” He gave her a long, steady look. “This animal enjoys killing and wants to show his skill to the world, and from Joanne Blunt’s murder, we can tell that although he prefers to plan his kills, if a suitable girl comes along, he’ll take advantage. He likes to shock and his next thrill ride could be hours away.”
Her stomach cramped with concern for the safety of the local girls. “Then we need to move faster if we plan to catch this guy. I want you out there interviewing our suspects immediately.”
“Yes, ma’am.” Wolfe nodded in agreement.
“Kane, when you talk to Rogers, I want to know why he was in the forest. He is married. Speak to his wife as well. Find out what you can about him, as in does he often sneak off during the day?” She picked up her car keys and coffee. “Okay, move out.”
Twenty-Three
He watched the girls as they chatted. The girl in the forest had been a gift but he’d wanted more time to play with her and now the ache inside was intolerable. He ran his fingers through the pile of carefully tied skeins of hair, enjoying the silky-smooth remembrance of his girls.
His head filled with a colorful screensaver capturing their confused expressions as he gave them what they craved. Their pleas rang in his ears and he gazed down at his hands, imagining hot sticky blood dripping from his fingers. The moment Felicity’s flesh whitened, clean in the water, he felt empowered. Vivid images slashed across his brain, exciting him. I must choose another tonight.
Aimee and Kate stared at their friends, unaware of his presence. They were so close he could almost reach out and touch them. He wanted to caress their cheeks and trace their lips with his fingers. “Eeny, meeny, miny, moe, which one of you is next to go?”
His finger pointed to Kate.
A rush of euphoria hit him, and in his mind, he traced his thumb across her delicate white throat, seeing the knife in his hand. He would taunt her with the glint of the sharp blade and enjoy her gasp of surprise as he cut deep. The spurt of crimson blood gurgling over his flesh would excite him, but he craved the delightful shudder they all made as life slipped away.
Blissfully unaware of his presence, the girls chatted to their boyfriends as usual on Skype. Kate made plans to sneak out to meet Chad the following evening at the high-school football ground under the bleachers.
“Someone will see us.” Chad ruffled his dark brown curls and grinned at her. “We could go into the gym for a time and maybe after go skinny-dippin’ in the pool. I have the combination to the locks.”
Kate’s cheeks pinked. “I think we all have the combination. The cleaners are so dumb the janitor has to use the numbers one, two, three, and four on every lock.”
“So, I’ll see you tomorrow at six thirty? I’ll meet you outside the gym.”
Kate smiled. “Sure but I’ll call you later.”
“My dad confiscated my cellphone and laptop for twenty-four hours. I’m grounded tonight but I convinced Mom to allow Lucas to come over. He snuck in his laptop so we could talk to our girls.” His white grin flashed in a tanned face. “I’ll see you when I get out of jail.”
The boys left and Kate turned to Aimee. “I can’t wait to see him.” Kate curled her long blonde hair around her finger. “His kisses make me tingle all over.”
“All you ever talk about is boys. They are just boys, and Lucas looks good but he is a terrible kisser, all tongue. Now Lucky Briggs, he’s a man. All muscles and tight jeans. He is sooo hot.” Aimee chuckled.