“OKAY?”
She looked up at Lynch, her breath still coming in gasps from the last time they had come together.
“Fine.”
“Yes, you were.” His head dipped and his tongue traced her nipple. “Extraordinary.”
Extraordinary. Yes, that was what the last few hours had been. Erotic, mind-blowing, and totally extraordinary.
“Again?” he murmured.
She wanted to say yes. She couldn’t get enough of him. But that might be because she’d thought she’d lost him entirely. Not exactly a healthy reaction, but nothing she’d done today had been anything resembling her usual pragmatic behavior. Even now she felt totally open, completely vulnerable, yet ready for anything he asked.
He was blowing teasingly on her nipple. “Kendra?”
She didn’t answer. The vulnerability was suddenly there before her, frightening her. She forced herself to roll over on the carpet and then get to her knees.
“I take it that’s a no.” He was resting his head on his hand as he watched her get to her feet. “Second thoughts? I was afraid they’d be popping up. We’ll discuss it later. I need to call that son of a bitch, Griffin, anyway. Do you want to put that frozen lasagna in the oven?” He smiled mischievously. “I’ve worked up an appetite.”
She had also and that appetite was for more than the lasagna. She headed for the kitchen. “I’ll put it in the oven, but you’ll have to watch it. It takes forty-five minutes and I’m going to shower.”
“It’s a deal.” He got to his feet. “I’ll grab a quick shower now so I’ll be ready for kitchen duty.” He headed for the guest bath. “You notice I’m giving you your space. That doesn’t mean we’re not going to discuss it after lasagna.”
Lord, he was fantastic naked, she thought as she watched him disappear into the bathroom. Masculine and sexy and totally Greek-god gorgeous. Which didn’t help either her bewilderment or her wariness. Well, it wasn’t as if there was any great urgency. He was giving her space. Giving her? she thought impatiently. She would take whatever time and space she needed in any situation. And what was she doing looking after him like some wistful groupie? She strode into the kitchen and opened the freezer door.
* * *
“THERE’S NO MORE delicious scent on earth than fresh-baked garlic bread,” Lynch said as he put the bread on a plate. “Though you come pretty close. I like that lemon shampoo you use.” He didn’t wait for an answer as he put her salad in front of her. “It probably has some exotic, complicated name, but don’t tell me about it. I’m just a simple man who embraces the basics.”
“Bullshit.” She dropped down in her chair. “I noticed that there’s nothing basic about you. You’re all for experiment and going that extra step.” She picked up her fork and started to eat. “For instance, you mentioned lasagna and wine and you turned out a gourmet salad and garlic bread to go with it. This salad is terrific, by the way.”
“I was bored.” He sat down opposite her. “You took a long time in that shower. Not that I didn’t expect it.” He started to eat his salad. “And I had to work off being so pissed off at Griffin that I wouldn’t go on the hunt. It was very close.”
“He had an excuse for those lies?”
“He thought he did. He could have gone another way.” His lips tightened. “He didn’t have to hurt you. It turned out that he’d tapped an informant he had with Brock and probed for information about how much they knew about me … and you. He wanted to make sure that my death was entirely plausible to them. Of course you were prominently mentioned. Brock had already started monitoring your calls when I called you that first night from Portland.”
“What?” She felt suddenly violated. She tried to remember that conversation. “They were listening?”
“Yes. And Griffin seized on the opportunity he saw and ran with it. Since you didn’t know anything about the explosion, your reaction would give just the authentic touch he needed to prove that they’d managed to dispose of me.”
She swore beneath her breath. “That cold son of a bitch.”
“No one would expect anything else of him,” he said harshly. “When it comes down to who he is, you accept he’s all FBI. He had a job to do and he did it in the most efficient way possible. I should have been on the lookout for it. I thought he’d do what I told him to do. I didn’t know about his damn informant.”
She was looking blindly down at her salad remembering that moment of incredible pain and shock. “Was he pleased?” she asked jerkily. “What was my critique?”
He reached over and covered her hand with his own. “He said you were perfect. He couldn’t have asked for anything better. That’s when I almost lost it.” His hand tightened. “I’ll find a way to punish him, Kendra. I can’t do it right now, but I’ll study and find a way.”
“Why?” She put her fork down. “His technique was a little crude, but it accomplished what you needed. I was perfect.” She pushed back her chair. “But I seem to have lost my appetite. I’m a little sick to my stomach. I think I’ll lie down for a while.”
He caught up with her before she reached the bedroom. He pulled her into his arms and was rocking her. “You were perfect,” he said fiercely. “You were perfect, and giving, and everything you should be. I didn’t deserve that I should have been able to hurt you like that, but I’m grateful that you thought that I was.”
“Let me go, Lynch.”
“No, because if I do, you’re going to hide away and I’ll have to work twice as hard to bring you back. I can see it coming.” He kissed her forehead and then slipped his arm around her waist and was leading her toward her bed. “You’re going to lie down and I’m going to hold you until you forget how vulnerable you felt when Griffin decided to savage you. Because that wasn’t really about what we are together.” He was pulling her down and holding her close. “And then I’ll go and warm up our dinner and we’ll talk about how we’re going to torture Griffin. Is that a plan?”
“It’s appealing.” But he was wrong, that vulnerability she had felt when she had thought she had lost him had everything to do with what they were together. “But he was right, you know. It’s an opportunity. I’m an opportunity.”
“Shh, I’m trying to keep you from thinking about that. I knew it was going to occur to you.” He drew her closer. “Stick to our plan. I’d much rather torture Griffin…”
* * *
“YOU DIDN’T MENTION sex when you set out your master plan.” She put her arms in the terry robe he was holding for her. “Was that supposed to be a surprise?”
“No, it was an opportunity. That was the only opportunity I was interested in pursuing.” He tied the belt of her robe before turning away and starting to dress. “How could I resist when I knew how difficult you were going to be when you recovered?” He smiled as he took her hand and pulled her toward the door. “But it gets better and better, doesn’t it? Now come and have a cup of coffee while I heat up dinner. Then you can tell me about all the things you were storing up to hit me with while you took that shower earlier.” He settled her in her chair and went to the cabinet and put coffee in the automatic coffeemaker. Then he cleared the table and put the bread in the warmer. “Go ahead, I’m listening.”
“Why are you waiting on me? You’re acting as if I’m wounded or something. Why are you doing all this?”
“I’m not doing much.” He put the lasagna back in the oven. “Not when you compare it to flying away to sit by my dead body just to hold my hand.”
“That’s not funny, Lynch.”
“I know it isn’t. That’s why it touched me and made me feel a lot of weird stuff I’d never felt before.” He poured her coffee and then one for himself. “So just take what’s offered and be gracious about it.” He brought the coffee to the table and set her cup before her. “Now go ahead.” He sat down across from her. “Get it out so that you’ll feel better.”
“You think you know me so well,” she said impatiently. “It’s very annoying.”
“I know. But you have to consider I’ve made a study of you. It didn’t come easy.” He took a sip of his coffee. “Do you want me to start? Let’s see, you’re backing away with all due speed. You enjoyed the hell out of the sex, but it’s scaring you. Because you’re afraid that it’s going to bring me closer to you.” He looked into her eyes. “And you don’t want to ever feel as you did when Griffin opened his big yap and told you that whopper. You might not have even realized that you’d feel that terrible if I bit it.” He added softly, “Oh, but you did and I like it very, very much, Kendra. Not your pain, but everything else connected to it.”
“Well, I don’t,” she said curtly. “I liked it just fine when we were just … friends. I don’t want this … other.”
“But you’ve already got it. Tied up in red ribbons.” He tilted his head. “You could tell me to go to hell. But I probably wouldn’t go and you’d miss me if I did. You might even worry about me if you couldn’t be there to take care of me. You were really upset about Portland.” He took another drink of coffee. “And it would also demonstrate to you that you weren’t strong enough to handle me. That would hurt your pride. Wouldn’t it be better to just learn how we can get through this together?”
Not if it meant repeating those hideous moments that had almost devastated her today. “Until the time someone really does kill you? Until you actually do get blown up because you’re trying to manipulate every situation to suit yourself? With your track record, it could happen anytime. You seem to go looking for it on every assignment you take. And if that’s your choice, I have no right to even question it. But I’ve made my own choice, Lynch.” Her hand was shaking and she had to put her cup down. “I can’t deny I feel … something for you. It’s a little late for that. But I won’t go through this again. And I can’t let it get any deeper.” She moistened her lips. “I’ll be your friend, I’ll help you and keep you safe, but I won’t let myself in for that kind of punishment. It was a wake-up call.”
He shook his head. “It’s not going to work, Kendra,” he said gently.
“It’s the only thing that will work.”
He was silent. Then he shrugged. “I thought that was where this was going. I knew Griffin had probably squashed any slow and gradual approach with his damn shock tactics. It’s a definite setback, but not irreversible. I’ll take what I can get, and I’ll play your game.” He smiled. “We actually took several steps forward. We found out what we have sexually and it’s very, very hot. Even if we try to forget it, that’s not going to happen. There will be a moment, an hour, a day…” He got to his feet and went to the oven and pulled out the lasagna. “Get used to the idea that we won’t be able to stop it.”
But he was agreeing to acknowledge that she meant what she’d said and wasn’t walking away from her. Somehow the thought of him doing that was causing her to panic. She didn’t know if it was relief or disappointment that was making her feel this strange letdown. “Maybe that won’t be a factor.” She smiled with an effort. “You might get bored with me and decide to wander off. I’m not exactly a femme fatale. You always have lots of women revolving in your orbit.”
“I won’t get bored.” He was dishing out the lasagna onto their plates. “No, we’re going to have to work this out on our own. So start accepting the challenge.” He sat down again. “Now to problem two on the agenda. I could see how quickly you snatched at Griffin’s using you to help fool Brock. You want to twist it and for us to use you to stage a trap?”
“It seems the logical thing to do.” Her lips twisted. “After all, I’m perfect. Heartbroken, willing to do anything for revenge or to complete your mission. I’m even distantly involved in the wedding party killings. All we’d have to do is create a plan.”
“I don’t like this concept at all. It’s scaring me.” He was studying her expression. “But I’m not going to be able to change your mind, am I?”
“They were listening to me. I feel dirty when I think about it. And they tried to kill you.” Her lips tightened. “I want to see just how perfect I can be.”
He didn’t speak for a moment. “Okay. But only as a last resort. There may be another way to avoid it. I told you we wanted to use Facey. When I was talking to Griffin tonight, he was practically salivating. He wants to use the information we got from Facey about Brock right away instead of waiting.” He grimaced. “So much for all the trouble we went through to make everyone think we were dead. I argued with him, but now I may have to go along. Griffin’s planning a raid on the main Brock Limited headquarters that would include an in-depth search and bringing in Vivianne Kerstine and her merry band. We’re hoping to find any records pertaining to Derek as well as anything else incriminating.”
“Yes.” She leaned eagerly forward. “When?”
“Later today. Probably this afternoon.” His lips twisted. “And you’re looking a little too happy. I was afraid of that. This is an FBI raid. You shouldn’t be anywhere near it. If you like, you can be present when we bring them in for questioning.”
“Yes, I will. And Griffin can assign an agent to drive me to those headquarters and I’ll watch them being taken into custody.” She gestured impatiently. “Don’t worry, I’m not going to bust into that place with guns blazing. That would be stupid. I just want to see them taken down and shown that they don’t own the entire world.”
“I like my way better.”
“You always like your way better.” She started to eat. “But I want to squeeze every bit of satisfaction I can from those bastards. I’m going to eat this dinner that’s now really breakfast. While I’m doing that, I want you to call Metcalf and tell him to get me a burner phone so that those assholes won’t hear me unless I want them to hear me. Then I’m going to shower and dress and head for the FBI office and make my demands known to Griffin.” She smiled. “And I’m going to enjoy every minute of it.”
* * *
“I DON’T LIKE THIS IDEA.” Griffin scowled as Kendra climbed into the van beside the special agent he’d assigned her. “This is FBI business and civilians should not be involved.”
“I’m merely an observer and I have no intention of being involved.” She slammed the door. “And what about Lynch? I saw him get into that van over there.”
“Lynch is different,” Griffin said. “You know that, Kendra.”
“Yes, he’s a dead man walking.” Kendra leaned out the window and said between her teeth, “What a surprise. I wonder if you realize just how angry I am with you, Griffin.”
He shrugged. “Yeah, Lynch spelled it out for me. But I thought it was the right thing to do. Once I knew how important Facey was going to be, I had to make certain that both their deaths appeared authentic. I’ll make it up to you, Kendra.”
“Oh, will you?” He was incredible, she thought. Lynch was right, nothing was important but his damn job. “I’d be interested to see how.” She started to roll up her window. “I’m going, Griffin.”
“Whatever.” He turned away. “But don’t get yourself killed. It would be very bad press.”
Was he trying to joke? She thought he might be.
Incredible.
* * *
LYNCH RAN ALONGSIDE Griffin as the two-dozen FBI agents ran across Juniper Street to the Brock Limited’s office building. Lynch nodded to a pair of agents with assault rifles. “You really think those are necessary?”
“If I did, we’d all have them. But I know it’s a language Brock understands.”
“Agreed.”
The group moved through the building lobby and commandeered four elevators to the fourteenth floor. They burst into the Brock Limited lobby to the surprise and consternation of a pair of receptionists seated at a long granite counter.
Griffin held up a badge and warrant as agents rushed past him to the offices. “FBI. I need to address everyone on this floor. Now!”
With trembling hands, one of the assistants picked up her phone and punched a three-digit code.
Griffin took the phone and spoke into it. His amplified voice echoed down the hallway. “This is the FBI, operating under the force of a Federal warrant. Everyone must immediately stand and step away from their offices. I repeat, everyone must immediately stand and step away from their offices. This is the FBI.”
Vivianne Kerstine strode into the reception area, glaring at them. The Brock CEO was as strikingly attractive as Lynch had seen in photographs, but her expression was ugly.
“What the hell is going on?” she asked.
Griffin handed her the warrant. “Records and data seizure.”
Her already chilly demeanor grew downright icy. “Why?”
“It’s in the warrant. We suspect this office is in possession of material vital to a murder investigation.”
“Ridiculous.”
Brock employees spilled from their offices as FBI agents moved in. A second wave of FBI agents emerged from the elevator behind them with flattened cardboard boxes, packing tape, and hand trucks.
“What are you taking?” she asked.
“All computers, data, and paper records.”
“This is a multinational corporation. We need these things to function.”
Griffin nodded. “The sooner we find what we need, the sooner you’ll get them back. Some of them will even be examined here on the premises. You and your management can help by joining us for a discussion at our office. We have vans waiting downstairs.”
She looked at him incredulously. “You’re taking us in?”
“It’s in your best interest to talk to us,” Griffin said.
Vivianne whirled and strode back down the hallway. Griffin nodded to Metcalf, who quickly followed her.
Along with the dozens of curious Brock employees who appeared in the lobby, Josh Blake rounded the corner. He froze as he caught sight of Lynch. “Shit.”
Lynch smiled. “Hi, Josh. Why, I thought you’d be at the training center again.”
“No. I … no.”
Josh awkwardly turned away.
“Why, he looks like he’s seen a dead man,” Griffin murmured.
Lynch nodded. “Exactly what I thought. But if Vivianne Kerstine was surprised to see me, she didn’t show it.”
“Doesn’t mean anything,” Griffin said. “She’s smooth.”
His mobile phone beeped in his pocket. He pulled it out and looked at the Caller ID screen. “That didn’t take long.”
Lynch looked at the name. “Senator James Morant.”
Griffin nodded. “Head of the Senate Armed Services Committee. Brock has friends in high places.”
“It won’t be the last call you get.”
Griffin put away his phone. “All in good time.”
Vivianne Kerstine came back into the lobby closely followed by Metcalf. “I’m ready to go. Let’s get this nonsense over with.” She headed for the elevator. “But if you’ve notified the press about this indignity, you might be in for a reprimand. I won’t let my reputation be sullied.”
“We wouldn’t think of doing that.” Griffin smiled. “Unless we found proof that it was ‘warranted’ I’ll see you back at the office, Ms. Kerstine. Metcalf will escort you.”
Lynch entered the elevator at the last minute and moved to the back of the car. Vivianne Kerstine ignored him as if he wasn’t there. For that matter, Metcalf was getting the same treatment, he noticed.
She strode ahead of them as they exited the elevator and crossed the lobby to the sidewalk. Metcalf had to hurry to catch up with her. “This way, Ms. Kerstine.”
But she stopped as she reached the street. She was gazing at Kendra, who was standing outside her van watching the Brock employees stream out of the building.
She didn’t hesitate but strode straight up to Kendra. “You’re Kendra Michaels, aren’t you?”
Lynch stiffened and took a step toward Kerstine.
But Kendra was staring directly into her eyes. “Yes, I am. Ms. Kerstine. Do you have something to say to me?”
She stared at her for a long moment. “You’ve made a mistake.”
She turned and let Metcalf lead her away.
Kendra gazed after her. Then she shook her head as if to clear it and turned to Lynch. “Are you coming back to the office with me?”
“I was thinking about it.” He turned back to the building. “But I believe I’ll go back upstairs and help with the search. It might be a good idea to have all hands on deck to find a way to eliminate that lady.”
FBI Regional Office
Kendra’s hands clenched on the arms of her chair in the lobby as Metcalf shrugged, shook his head at her, and then disappeared back into the interrogation room.
This had been the fourth time in as many hours that ritual had been repeated. It was driving her crazy that Griffin had decided she was not to be allowed in there while the questioning was going on. She almost wished she’d stayed back at the Brock building with Lynch.
Her phone rang and she jumped at answering it. “Lynch?”
“I’m afraid not,” Trey Suber said apologetically. “I understand there all kinds of interesting things going on with you and the bureau today and I didn’t want to disturb you. But I’ve found something I regard as interesting as well and I wonder if you could come and talk with me for a few minutes?”
She gave a glance at the closed door of the interrogation room. At least someone believed she could be of help, she thought in frustration. If anything broke, Metcalf would call her anyway. She jumped to her feet. “I’ll be right there. Where are you?”
“Fifth floor conference room.”
Three minutes later Kendra walked into the fifth-floor conference room, which was now entirely covered with freestanding billboards plastered with gory murder-scene photos. Trey Suber was seated at the end of the long table, hunched over his laptop.
“I thought you’d take over this room,” Kendra said as she glanced at the posters.
Trey stood and gestured around them. “This is pretty much where I live these days. And the possible connection with the Damascus and London serial killings has suddenly opened up our investigation quite a bit.”
Kendra blanched at the sight of a particularly gruesome London killing. “You didn’t waste time tracking those photos down, Suber.”
“Oh, I already had them all in my laptop.”
Kendra smiled. “Of course you did.”
“I knew the details of every one of those crime scenes, but there’s nothing so distinctive about them that they made me connect the Damascus, London, and San Diego scenes to each other.” Suber walked across the room, motioning toward the boards like an enthusiastic college professor. “Now that I can directly compare, I can see that the killer employed a frontal strangulation in the Damascus and San Diego killings accompanied by a knee against the chest. In London, it was left-to-right swipe across the throat with a nine-inch serrated blade. So of course, no one noticed any connections with that one.” He shook his head regretfully. “Though I wish I had. There has to be more connections here.”
“If anyone can find them, you can.”
Suber studied the boards. “I just wanted to make certain you knew how obsessed this killer is with patterns in each series. Perhaps more than any murderer I’ve ever seen. It’s all about the pattern with him. He kills just long enough for law enforcement to recognize the pattern, then he stops. The medical school class in Damascus, the soccer team in London, and the wedding party here. The wedding party connection was recognized here sooner than it would have been, thanks to the video that was found on Elena Meyer’s body.”
“You think he’ll stop here?” Kendra asked.
“Hard to say. He’s obviously extremely disciplined, so that’s a possibility. But he may just look at it as a challenge and try to move forward anyway.” Trey shook his head. “I just don’t know him well enough yet.” He stepped back from the boards, trying to take them in all at once. “But I can’t help but think…”
“What?”
Trey took off his eyeglasses and wiped them on the tail of his untucked shirt. “A killer this pattern-obsessed would link each series of killings somehow. It may be here right in front of our eyes, but he doesn’t want us to see it yet. In his grand plan, there might be a common element that would be evident only after a half-dozen cities over a couple decades.”
Her eyes widened. “A couple decades?”
“Oh, yeah. Trust me. He’s just getting started,” Suber said soberly. “We have to find this guy. Fast.”
“We’re trying, Suber. That’s the unanimous decision.” She turned and headed for the door. “But that pattern you’re talking about is getting more complicated all the time. Now I have to get back and see if Griffin has managed to find an answer.”
* * *
METCALF WAS JUST COMING out of the interrogation room again when Kendra arrived back at the lobby.
“Anything?” Kendra asked. “Is she talking at all?”
“Not a word,” Metcalf said. “Neither is Josh Blake. And we’re not going to be able to keep her from lawyering up for much longer. She’s had a crew of expensive lawyers waiting downstairs since we pulled her in. Hell, we’ve had her and Blake in that room for over five hours and she’s threatening a suit for false imprisonment.” He added grimly, “She’d win. Lynch called from Brock headquarters and said that so far they haven’t found a shred of evidence that would link her to anything illegal and certainly nothing about Derek. There have to be records, but she has to have them stashed so deep it would take a Geiger counter to unearth them.”
“They probably are,” Kendra said, frustrated. “They learned their lesson when Elena Meyer blundered across that file on Derek. They must have scrambled to make certain nothing like that would ever happen again.”
“We had a chance,” Metcalf said. “We’ll just have to find another way to go. Maybe this will discourage Brock from dealing with Derek.”
“When he also has copies of the evidence that they hid so industriously? Not likely.” She shook her head. “It might just make them more eager to please the bastard.” She remembered that moment when Vivianne Kerstine had given her that fierce glare before she had been taken away. “Because she definitely didn’t like having her dignity ruffled when she was hauled off so unceremoniously.”
“Yeah, I noticed she was looking daggers at you as we passed. I couldn’t decide why you were taking the heat.”
She shrugged. “Because I’m a woman. She’s probably been fighting the male world all her life and winning. She wouldn’t think they were worthy adversaries anymore. But she’d accept that I might cause her trouble.”
“If that’s true, then she might feel that she should get rid of a possible threat,” Metcalf said quietly. “Maybe Lynch was right about keeping you in the background. Her dossier is pretty impressive and she— Uh-oh.” His gaze was on the elevator doors that had just opened. “Here come the legal eagles. Griffin must have decided to give up on Kerstine and her crew.”
Kendra watched the herd of sleek, expensively dressed men and women hurrying toward the interrogation room. “Shouldn’t you go back in there and help referee?”
“Maybe,” Metcalf said. “But there’s not much use. The minute those lawyers get in there, their ‘innocent’ clients are going to be released and will be streaming back through here and be allowed to go back to Brock headquarters, smirking all the way.” He paused. “And I wanted to take a minute to talk to you and apologize for—”
“I’m not ready to listen to your apologies right now,” Kendra said curtly. “Let’s just keep doing what we have to do to find Derek and keep him from killing Barbara Campbell.”
“I just wanted to—”
“Here they come,” she interrupted as the doors of the interrogation room opened and Vivianne Kerstine strode out, followed by her battery of lawyers. “As you predicted.”
Vivianne must have heard her voice because she stopped and turned to the chairs where they were sitting. She lifted her chin. “I told you that you’d made a mistake.” She almost spat the words out. “I worked very hard to get where I am, Dr. Michaels. You should have thought twice before you tried to shred my reputation. There are always consequences.”
“That sounded like a threat. I believe the only mistake we made was not getting to your files soon enough. We’ll know better next time.” She cocked her head. “And what do you think my mistake was?”
Vivianne smiled sweetly. “Why the persecution of a perfectly innocent woman, of course. What else could I have meant?” She turned and sailed toward the elevator with her entourage.
“She’s very sharp,” Kendra said as she watched the elevator doors close. “And she’s very angry. Where the hell are those records? Where would she think they’d be safe?”
“We’ll try doing a search of other Brock locations in the area, but I can’t see her letting anything vital be taken too far away from her jurisdiction.”
“Unless she had to find—”
The text on her phone was buzzing. She didn’t recognize the number and she tried to turn it off.
The text wouldn’t turn off. It kept on buzzing.
What the hell?
She pressed the access.
Hello Kendra,
You’ve had a busy day haven’t you? You’re proving to be very annoying. And my wedding arrangements have been going so splendidly up to now.
Kendra dropped the phone.
“What is it,” Metcalf asked, startled.
“I’m not sure.” She moistened her lips. “I … think it might be Derek.” She forced herself to pick up the phone again and continue reading.
But you’re forcing me to curtail some of the finer details and characters since you arrived on the scene. Not that I object to you causing problems for my friends, it rather amused me. But now they’re going to be nervous and that might cause me time and effort to correct. So I’ve decided that I won’t be able to let them take care of you. Unfortunately, I’m not sure they’re competent enough. I’ll have to do it myself. That’s not good news for you. You should really never have had the arrogance to accept this assignment that would pit you against me. But I do believe you should be given a lesson that only I can teach.
She showed the text to Metcalf. “What do you think? It’s him?”
He nodded. “I think so. Answer him.” He was hurriedly taking out his phone. “It’s a long shot, but may be it can be traced.”
Her hands were shaking as she typed.
Derek?
Who else?
Shock. She took a deep breath.
Murderer. You can’t get away with this. You think you’re so clever. But you might as well return Barbara Campbell to us. Because I’ll never stop. I’ll be there behind you until you make a mistake and then I’ll take you down.
His answer came quickly.
I don’t like threats. But I’ll forgive you this time. And I am very clever. Because I wouldn’t have been fooled by all that flim-flam you all used to make my friends believe Facey and Lynch were dead. Though I understand you were very convincing. Is there some real feeling there, Kendra? I admit I’m disappointed. I don’t really believe in all that man-woman garbage. It’s too limited. There are so many more relationships that can offer me so much more. I was hoping for something more challenging.
She glanced at Metcalf, but he was still talking frantically on his phone.
Challenging? I don’t know what you mean?
Derek’s answer didn’t come for more than two minutes.
Of course, you don’t. And you’re trying desperately to keep me on the phone to trace this text. You won’t succeed, so why shouldn’t I accommodate you? I do get so bored, Kendra. Anyone with a superior intellect does. Don’t you find that? Not that you’re near to my capacity, but you’re close enough to be teachable. Challenging? My philosophy? The most exquisite thing on earth is power. The ultimate power can only be gained by inflicting the ultimate amount of pain. Because that’s what all human beings fear most.
She typed quickly and with perfect truth.
That’s totally sick.
Another pause.
You’re disappointing me again. I’ve let you into my world and all I get is scorn. That’s all right. As I said, you’re teachable. And there are so many other ways I can show you I’m right about the power and the pain. How does it feel to be the target, Kendra? If you were as smart as they think you are, you’d have already made that connection about me. But don’t worry, I’ve already started the process to show you the error of your ways. I look forward to completing it.
The text ended.
She whirled on Metcalf. “Did you get the trace?”
“I don’t think so. They’re still trying. It was blocked.” He took a deep breath. “Shit,” Metcalf said. “I think we stirred up a hornet’s nest.”
Kendra thought that, too. Her heart was pounding as she looked down at her phone. “But at least he responded. He gave us information.” And he’d given them an insight into how he thought that was chilling. Well, what had she expected? He was a psychopath and they were usually about pain. “I need to talk to Lynch. Where is he?”
“On his way back from Brock headquarters, he should be here anytime.” Metcalf was frowning. “Can’t I help?”
“Not this time.” She took out the burner phone Lynch had given her and pressed his number.
He answered immediately. “Pay dirt?”
“Derek texted me on my personal phone. It was weird. It wouldn’t go off until I accepted the text. I’m giving my phone to Metcalf for analysis to see if they can tell anything more about how he did it. And make sure Derek or Brock can’t trace me through it.” She paused. “But he said … things that might help. I think we need to talk about it. Can I meet you somewhere?”
“I’m almost there. Go down to the tech department and meet me. There’s a private office next door we can use. You’ll be able to remember the text?”
“I’m grabbing a copy. But I assure you there would be no problem,” she said dryly. “I’ll definitely be able to remember every word of that text.”