Fear For Me (For Me #2)(34)

“You’re here for Karen.” His gaze held a touch of sympathy. “I figured you’d be showing up soon.”

Lauren took a deep breath and could have sworn she tasted death. “I know she’s being transferred out soon. I just…I wanted to say good-bye.”

He stepped back, turning to head toward the storage area in the next room. Greg was a good-looking guy, with blond hair that curled slightly. He was called Dr. Death by some of the cops—not an insult, but a compliment because he was so good with the bodies. She didn’t know if he minded the nickname or not. It was hard to tell with Greg.

He didn’t let much show.

But then, neither do I.

Lauren followed him and waited while he pulled out Karen’s body. The sound of the locker opening had her tensing. Then the body was there. Covered in a big, black bag. Greg pulled down the zipper, and the sound of it filled the room.

Then she was staring at Karen. Lauren swallowed. Karen’s face was so pale. She could see the stitches on Karen’s chest. Karen had been so full of life, so ready to take on the world.

Now only death waited for her.

“I was about to call you and Voyt,” Greg said, a hesitant note entering his voice. “I found something else.”

Her brows rose.

His gloved fingers pointed to Karen’s throat. To the arching line that sliced across her neck. “There was…something in there.”

“What?” She couldn’t take her eyes off Karen’s neck. Off that wound. Almost like a smile, one that had been carved into her.

“It was a small, folded piece of paper.”

Lauren took an instinctive step back. “That’s not Walker’s MO.” Walker cut. He sliced. But he didn’t leave messages behind.

“Maybe it is now.” Greg walked away from the table and picked up a small, sealed bag from his desk. “He left a message for you.”

Her heart was beating hard enough to shake her whole chest. “What did the note say?” The paper was so small. So tiny. And stained with blood. Karen’s blood. In her throat.

He lifted the clear bag and she could see the careful letters…

“It’s beginning,” Greg read.

Hell. She did not want to deal with this. “He’s not going on a spree in my city.”

Greg looked steadily at her. “Two victims in Baton Rouge killed within forty-eight hours.” He took a deep sigh. “It sounds like that’s exactly what he’s doing.”

Lauren’s eyes fell back on the body bag. On Karen.

“I’ll give you a minute alone with her,” Greg murmured as he backed away.

Lauren didn’t speak. Instead, she stared at her friend and hated that a monster had stolen Karen’s life away.

Greg’s footsteps echoed through the chilled room.

The cold air from the storage area made Lauren’s goose bumps even worse. She swallowed, trying to shove back the lump in her throat. Karen was one of the few people who had gotten past Lauren’s guard. She’d known Lauren’s secrets, and she hadn’t been afraid of them.

“I’m sorry,” Lauren whispered. It was what she needed to say. This shouldn’t have happened. But I will get him.

Her gaze slid down Karen’s body. So many injuries. So much incredible rage.

Her fingers pushed back the bag as she stared at the marks the Butcher had left behind.

Greg’s footsteps returned. “There are defensive wounds there, on both arms.”

She could see them. “Karen always was a fighter.”

“We found Walker’s DNA under her nails. She made sure to leave her mark on him.”

It hadn’t been enough. “Be very, very thorough with your evidence collection. If there’s any more DNA, anything that could belong to someone other than Walker, I want to know.”

She glanced up and found Greg’s dark eyes on her. “When the second body gets in,” he told her, “I’ll check to see if—”

“If he left a note in her throat, too?”

“Yes.”

She was going to have nightmares for the rest of her life. I’m so sorry, Karen. So very sorry.

His stare flickered to the body. “I would’ve headed for Mexico. Run as fast as I could and not looked back. I mean, you can kill folks down there just as easily as up here, right?”

She’d thought that Walker should have gone for the border, too, but not just so he could keep killing. “Dr. Wright, sometimes you scare me,” Lauren said. Blunt. True. He seemed to have a hard time connecting with the emotional side of the victims.

He offered her a smile, even as he bent to rezip the bag. “If I wasn’t a little scary, do you really think I’d ever be able to do this job?”

No.

“The dead fascinate me. They always have.” He paused. “But what’s your excuse?”

The door opened behind him. She caught sight of Anthony.

“Someone has to make sure justice is served,” she told him.

“That someone has to be you?”

Anthony was close enough to overhear them. “Yes.”

“Why?”

The truth was tied to her past. “Someone I loved was taken, a long time ago.”

Anthony wasn’t speaking. Greg kept watching her.