Soul Possession(22)

“Well you didn’t seem terribly concerned about how it worked when you were having sex with them both,” Kirsten pointed out with an amused smile. “I’d say it works just like it did the first time. You sleep with both of them.”

“You’re such a cheeky bitch,” Jessie grumbled. “I get how the sex works, okay? It’s everything else I’m clueless about.”

Kirsten shrugged. “Okay, so what? Figure it out as you go.”

Jessie drew back in mock surprise. “Are you lobbying for the two men you called dickheads just a few nights ago? The same men you thought castration was too good for?”

“All right. So I have a slightly vicious streak. But they seem genuinely sorry and they worry about you and your knee. I have a hard time finding fault with them if they want you to take better care of yourself.”

Jessie rolled her eyes. “Look, I just need a few days to sort out my mess of a life. The last thing I need is to begin any sort of relationship whether casual or serious in the middle of this clusterf*ck I call my life.”

“Okay yeah, I can agree with that. But after you’ve moved in with me and after you’ve gotten another job I vote you call them up and at least give them the chance to grovel. I love a man who grovels well.”

“You need to stop before you make me all weepy again.”

Kirsten looked at her strangely. “What did I do now?”

“You make me laugh and I really need that right now. I’m so glad I have you.”

Kirsten chuckled. “You’ll forget about me soon enough when you have those two hot cops back in your bed. When you told me about the night you had with them, I wanted to stab you. I was so jealous. They sound absolutely hot and gorgeous even if they’re a little thickheaded. They are male after all. If we wanted perfection, we’d put penises on women and cut off their boobs.”

“Stop,” Jessie said with a shudder. “I think you just ruined them for me.”

The two burst into laughter again and Jessie went limp with relief. Just a short time ago she’d been convinced that her life as she knew it was over. She’d been scared out of her mind and contemplating the very real possibility of going to jail.

No matter how hard she might think her life had been since her accident, she had so much to be grateful for and she’d prefer every hard knock to a life behind bars.

“I think we need to celebrate,” she said impulsively.

Kirsten’s face lit up. “I agree. We’re being pathetic sitting here stuffing our faces with ice cream when we need to be celebrating the fact that you did not kill your evil employer.”

Jessie sighed. “She wasn’t evil. She was just…”

“Evil. She was evil and moody. She was a crusty old bat and she probably hadn’t gotten laid since fire was discovered.”

Jessie tried to hold back her laughter because…well, it was just wrong to speak ill of the dead.

“I’ll concede that she was moody. I won’t, however, speculate on her sex life because that’s just…gross.”

Kirsten snickered and then threw her legs over the end of the couch. “Okay, so what are we going to do? Powell’s is obviously out and we’d never set foot in that place again even if it reopens. I vote we go somewhere, get absolutely shitfaced, and then take a cab home. I have bra twenties for both of us.”

Jessie laughed. “Okay, I’m in. No one will recognize me if we’re in some dark bar anyway, right?”

After spending hours making calls, interviewing the victim’s family members and friends, Rick had a headache from hell, and he was frustrated because nothing made sense.

He and Truitt as well as the entire team assigned to the Big Thicket Killer had tried to connect the dots between the most recent victim and the ones before. With no success. They couldn’t find anything that linked the women.

It was seemingly random, which made it all the more frightening. What was the killer’s selection criteria? Did he just drive around, see a woman, and decide she was the one?

The women weren’t from the same area or town. They had no common interests. They didn’t shop in the same places, go to church at the same churches. Their jobs were varied, some being students, and some not working at all.

The only common denominator was that they were women. And that left a hell of a lot of potential victims in the running.

“Let’s pack it in,” Truitt said. “It’s been a long day and we’re not getting anywhere. We all need some sleep. We can start back in the morning.”

There were murmurs of agreement but after everyone had filtered out of the conference room, Rick still sat, staring broodingly at the crime-scene photos.

“Come on, man. Let’s get out of here. Go have a beer.”

Rick sighed. “Yeah, you’re right.”

He was getting out of his chair when his cell phone rang. Frowning when he saw the incoming call listed as private, he punched the button and brought the phone to his ear.

“Detective Broughman.”

Chills raced down his spine when he heard the telltale metallic silence and then, “Detective, I just wanted you to know that I’ve already selected my next victim and I’m sure she’ll be more of a challenge than my last.”

“You son of a bitch!” Rick roared into the phone. “Stop playing your sick game. These are innocent women you’re killing.”