Chilled (Bone Secrets, #2)(63)

Paul almost missed the flicker of skepticism in the sheriff’s eyes. Collins was a lousy liar. That could be a good trait or a bad trait in a cop.

In Paul’s opinion it was usually bad.

“Let me know what you hear.”

“Will do.” Collins marched back to his RV.

Paul knew he was lying again. The sheriff wouldn’t tell him any information until it was absolutely necessary. He watched the retreating back of Collins’s parka, the big Madison County Search and Rescue name and logo clearly visible through the snowfall. Collins hadn’t mentioned Darrin Besand or either of the search groups. Everything was in a holding pattern. Until the damned snow and wind let up, no one was finding anything. He rubbed at his frozen nose, thinking of Kinton spending the night in the woods. He hoped he froze his balls off. Paul was still trying to accept the fact that Kinton had attached himself to the search group.

Kinton couldn’t have guessed his connection to Darrin. There was no way.

So why the f*ck had he gone to such lengths?

Paul grabbed the broom he’d leaned against his truck and swept vigorously at his hood. Powdery snow flew. Kinton was out to get him. He could feel it. He’d heard the rumors. Kinton asking questions. Kinton nosing around, asking about Darrin and his transport coverage. If Darrin had left Kinton’s brother alone, they’d never be in this mess. Kinton wouldn’t have looked twice at Darrin, but Darrin killed the relative of the one guy who had the tenacity of a hungry dog staring at the last bone in the world.

Damn it.

This transport was supposed to have been Darrin’s last flight. But not in a plane crash sort of last flight. It was a last flight to get

Darrin off his back, give him what he needed to walk away and stay out of Paul’s life. If Darrin hadn’t survived, that was OK. It solved the problem. If Darrin had survived and crossed paths with Kinton…

Paul had warned Darrin, several times, to cool it. He’d known what Darrin was doing. He’d known his tastes and habits. He’d read about the cases in the paper, talked to the detectives. To Paul it was like Darrin had signed his name to his victims.

But Darrin had gotten away with it for so long.

And Darrin knew that he knew.

Paul hadn’t needed a reminder to keep his mouth shut.

He valued his wife and his expensive home. He valued his way of life.

Darrin could destroy it all with one sentence.

Alex Kinton could be the person to pull that sentence out of Darrin.

How had he missed that?

Alex and Jim hadn’t been looking up as they checked the men in the cockpit. And they especially hadn’t been looking at the ceiling, but both men stared at it now.

“Could the pilots reach…”

“There’s no way.” Jim’s voice was flat.

Alex already knew that. “Yesterday, did you look—”

“I can’t remember. I’ve been racking my brain since I saw it. I don’t know if I looked up there yesterday or not.”

“It’s gotta be new.” Alex reached out to touch the blood on the ceiling. Dry. But dry from twenty-four hours ago or last night? Or this morning?

His hand shook as he slowly lowered his arm.

“He didn’t finish writing his words. Maybe we scared him off before he finished.”

“It’s finished,” Alex whispered. He couldn’t swallow. His throat was completely dry. But his heartbeat rivaled a rock band.

“‘A man’…that part doesn’t look finished. What was he going to write after ‘A man’?”

“A-man is me.”

Jim pulled his startled gaze from the bloody writing on the ceiling. “You?”

“That’s what he called me. ‘A-man.’A is for Alex.”

“You had f*cking nicknames for each other?” Jim sounded ready to puke.

Alex shot him a level look. “I didn’t call him anything but murderer.”

“Did he ever say the other part of this sentence?”

Alex read it again. He didn’t need to. The second he saw it, he knew exactly what it meant and who it was for. “That’s how he referred to his victims. The younger ones, anyway. The nurses. He was particular about their looks. Took pride in his selection.”

He watched Jim’s Adam’s apple bob. His hands were in tight fists, and Alex didn’t blame him one bit. Alex was feeling like he’d been sucker punched in the head. Several times.

“He’s seen you up here. He wrote this for you. About Brynn. But he can’t know that she’s a nurse. How could he?”

Alex shook his head. “He doesn’t know. He just knows she’s beautiful. That’s enough for him.”

“We’ve got to get out of here.” Jim spoke through clenched teeth, but Alex could hear his panic.

Alex nodded. He didn’t know if Jim meant the cockpit or the forest. It didn’t matter; they just had to move. The men checked their weapons and turned to leave, but Alex couldn’t stop himself from taking one last look at the writing on the ceiling.

Beautiful girl, A-man.

His hand tightened around his gun.





She hadn’t seen Alex that morning. He and Jim had snuck away before anyone else woke. But when she’d stepped outside to look for the men, she’d seen two sets of footprints heading down toward the cockpit. Together. It didn’t surprise her one bit. They were a paranoid pair. How many times had she caught Alex studying the terrain around them? And she’d known he wasn’t admiring the trees. He had a haunted look, make that a hunted look about him. He might be after someone, but he acted like he was being followed.