I punched the roof of the truck and clenched my teeth in pure frustration that we hadn’t saved a life today. Thankfully, serial killers were becoming rare with the help of today’s technology, so it was even more frustrating to me that we were making no headway with this case.
The drive was long and quiet as we kept our radios off. We didn’t want to hear the details of the murder until we could digest what had happened so far. All we knew was that the body lay along the south end of the lake.
Sarge’s phone rang, and Lisa’s name popped up on the screen in front of us. He hit the speaker button, which sent her frantic voice throughout the entire car.
“G!” Her voice was nearly a scream.
G snapped forward and pressed his chin toward the mic in the roof. “What’s wrong?”
“There’s a dead body three doors down from Spencer’s!”
What? I checked my phone and Googled the address. Holy shit!
“Are you on the way?” The sound on her end muffled as she spoke to someone.
“We are, but where are you?”
“I’m with Spencer. We’re here on Shannan’s dock. G, the girl is so young, she looks like a…child.” Her voice wavered.
Fuck. That was Alison. She looked a lot younger than her age. I wanted to punch the dash just to shake the defeat from my body. Why was the one question we were supposed to ask after we got the who, but what happened if the whys outweighed the whos? Five had been dumped along the lake’s edge to wait for us to find them, with zero leads. Depressing and heart-wrenching were the only two words that came to mind.
“Maybe she should come live with us?” Lisa whispered over the speaker. “It’s almost like he’s getting closer. I don’t know what I would do if anything happened to her.”
Sarge shot me a glance that I caught out of the corner of my eye. I knew what she was feeling. I was right there too and wanted to hide Spencer away so no one could touch her, but the sad, frustrating truth was Spencer would never allow it.
“We’re just pulling up now. I see you.”
Lisa had her arm around Spencer as they both spoke with a police officer. She watched me as I approached her.
I used my body to screen her face from the sun so she could look up at me and removed my sunglasses. Our backs were to the chaos.
“You okay?” I studied the people who watched, careful not to touch her as we spoke.
“Yeah, it’s a little too close to home, but the neighbors have a camera, so hopefully something was caught.”
“Oh, Blake, thank God you’re here.” Shannan latched onto my arm. “Do you know anything?”
“No, not yet.” I held back what I did know. Shannan wore her emotions on her sleeve, and she wouldn’t be able to handle any more news right now.
“I think I need a long bath after this. You know, scrub the idea of the dead body off my own skin.”
I rolled my eyes and wondered where the hell Kim was.
“Is it…her?” Spencer ignored her emotional neighbor and didn’t finish her sentence because she already knew the answer.
“Yeah.” I nodded as I continued to scan faces. “You notice anyone who might have arrived late or left when the police got here? Anything out of place at all?”
“I watched, but no. I recognized all but three faces, and they were pretty shaken up, so my guess is if he’s here, he’s not visible.”
I scanned the tree line. “I want you at my place, okay?”
“Really, Blake, he won’t strike yet. It’s too soon.”
That made me look down. Her enlarged pupils and the way her mouth pushed out told me she was hiding something.
“I hate to play the alpha male card, here, but please just come over. It would make me feel better.”
Her face twisted like she wanted to fight me, but instead she played a different card.
“And where am I supposed to sleep? Spooning Bri?”
I smirked at her angle. “No, not unless you want to sandwich with Benny.”
“Seriously?”
“Yeah,” Sarge caught my eye as he waved me over, “so pack a bag, and I’ll see you tonight, okay?”
“Okay.” She reached over and squeezed my arm before she joined Lisa.
Shannan dropped her sexual act for a half a second and stopped me before I left. “Are we really safe here?”
“I hope so,” I answered honestly.
Carefully, I made my way down the icy path to the shoreline. Three officers and a coroner examined the body behind a black tarp. Of course, the media had arrived, and the story would now spread like gossip on the schoolyard. I never liked the interference of the press, but I knew they were part of life, and I had to live with it.
“Here.” Sarge handed me the victim’s purse with her wallet inside. “Alison Church, age thirty-four, worked at PG and E. “According to her roommate, she called in sick and went to the pharmacy for some cold medication but never returned home.”
“Where’s her roommate?”
“Back at the station.”
“I’m going to go talk to her.” I signaled to Sarge, who nodded.
I quickly said goodbye to Spencer and headed back to the station where the roommate waited, a Kleenex tightly gripped in her hand. I smiled at her as I walked by the doorway on my way to get a much-needed cup of coffee. I needed a moment, and I felt frozen through. I slipped out of my jacket. The last few days and nights had started to merge into one, and I felt the effects of that. My phone buzzed, and I pulled it free.
An image popped up of Spencer in one of my dress shirts, cooking dinner and holding a glass of wine. Written underneath was come home…
My body heated immediately, and my lips curled into a hungry smile as my erection twitched for her.
Dammit. This case was going to make me a sixth victim if I wasn’t careful.
“Blake,” Benny pointed over his shoulder, “the roommate is ready to see you now.”
“Thanks.” I stared at Spencer’s photo and sent a quick message back.
Don’t change. I’ll be home asap!
I pushed off the counter and headed back down the hallway to the witness room.
“Afternoon, Ms. Walton. I’m Detective Blake. I am sorry for the delay.” I paused. “The weather is certainly working against us all lately.”
She nodded with red, glossy eyes, and the Kleenex in her hands was in a small, wet knot. I handed her the box, and she took a new one. Her hands shook as she folded them across her midsection.
I sighed and tried to make my now-practiced witness speech sound unrehearsed, then chucked it altogether. “You know what, I’m not going to tell you what I told everyone else, because frankly, it’s all BS now.”
Apparently, I was finished with my own speech.
“Okay.” She seemed to appreciate my honesty.
“I’m sorry for your friend, I really am. We were moments behind her, and somehow he is just one step ahead of us. However,” she looked up at me, searching for a breath of hope, “we really are getting closer. We’re starting to understand his pattern, and maybe, just maybe, we can nab him before he can hurt anyone else.” I paused for her to digest that. “The way we can do that is with your help. You can help us understand exactly how your day went down. Was there anything different at all, or has anyone strange been lurking around?” I leaned forward. “Sometimes even the smallest thing can be important.”