Unsure what to do with herself, Cassidy moved to the Christmas tree and placed her fingers under the glowing lights. She owed Amber her life. The whole team did. She wished she’d remembered months ago.
After Kyle dropped her off at Doug’s, she’d placed a call to her boss, giving him the details of those missing moments in her report. He thanked her and asked how she was feeling. In the end, there was no offer to let her return to work. But to be honest, she was glad. It gave her more time to find her cousin’s killer.
She wrapped her arms around her waist and stared at the flames dancing in the fireplace a few feet away.
How had she ended up here? Confused. Alone. And in love with her dead best friend’s fiancé.
“What do I do, Amber?” she whispered.
“Cassidy?”
She spun to find Kyle watching her. “Hi.” The timidity in her voice shocked her. But the man standing before her had her off balance. Did he hate her? Not trust her? Or had he felt the attraction between them? “Are you okay?”
Two strides, and he stood before her. “I’m sorry I overreacted. I’ve been horrible to you. Please forgive me.”
“Forgive you? I’m the one who should be asking.”
He shook his head. “I knew from the beginning that Amber’s death wasn’t your fault, but my guilt blinded me to the truth. I had to blame someone, and you were there.”
“I was a coward. I hadn’t wanted to face the pain to discover what had happened. I wish I’d been braver. You deserved to know the truth.” She held up her hand, exposing the burn scars. “But I feared reliving the pain.”
“I’m sorry you suffered, and I turned my back on you. My insecurities got in the way.” Kyle traced a finger over the ridges on her arm.
Cassidy resisted the urge to pull away. No one had touched her scars—not in a loving manner, anyway. “Can we say we both made mistakes and leave it at that?”
“I think that’s a great idea.” He tucked a stray hair behind her ear. “I’m not sure what’s going on between us.”
Her heart thundered in her chest. Was he going to kiss her? “Me either.”
“But I think I want to find out.” He leaned in.
If she rose up on her toes, their lips would meet. Did she want that? Who was she kidding? “Kyle,” she whispered on a ragged breath.
He tilted his head and closed the gap.
“Hey, Kyle? The sheriff and the crew are on the way over.” Doug’s voice came out of nowhere.
She jerked back and turned away. Her cheeks flamed with heat.
“Oops. Sorry. I’ll just be in the kitchen.” Doug hurried from the room.
“My partner has lousy timing,” Kyle grumbled.
“No reason to shed blood.” Cassidy left him standing there and moved to the couch. She forced her pulse to slow. “Let’s get back to the cases and see if we can find the evidence for a search warrant.”
“Doug’s going to pay for that,” Kyle muttered.
Cassidy bit her lip to hide her smile. At least she wasn’t the only one frustrated at his partner’s abrupt entrance.
She’d flown away from his touch and put distance between them. Afraid of her own traitorous heart. Could she open up to him? Kyle had taken a risk and been vulnerable with her. Should she do the same and admit her feelings?
“Kyle... I—”
The doorbell rang.
Kyle threw his hands in the air and huffed. “You’d think this is Grand Central Station.” He headed for the door and let the others in.
Maybe now wasn’t the time to confess that she cared about him as more than a friend. They both needed to heal before they tackled that Gordian knot.
The lost moment would be forever imprinted in Kyle’s memory. He hadn’t declared his feelings for her, but if she hadn’t figured it out, her detective skills required work. Somewhere between the failed hit-and-run and the explosion, he’d lost his heart to her.
“Yo, Kyle.” Jason tossed a wadded-up napkin at him. “Did you hear a word I said?”
The living room grew quiet, waiting for him to answer Jason’s question. He had no idea what his friend had asked. He had to get his mind focused and away from Cassidy’s kissable lips. “Sorry.”
“That’s what I thought. I said I think we’ve found something. From our interviews of the other cases and Doug’s amazing computer skills, we’ve discovered that each of the victims has a commonality.”
Cassidy straightened. “You found a connection?”
“Not exactly. But each victim had a power position in his or her company. The companies ranged from medium-size businesses to large corporations, but each person held an influential role. CEO, CFO, owner, on the board of directors. You get the picture.”
Kyle mulled over the information. “That fits with the details that Doug found for our cases too. John, Sandy, Michael and Aaron started the computer company together, and all died except Mr. Morrison.”
“Which makes me wonder why the killer didn’t come after John again.” Cassidy twirled a piece of hair around her finger.
“Unless he is the killer and staged his hit-and-run to make him look like a victim.”
Dennis stood and paced the room. “It’s still not enough evidence to get a warrant. But I’ll admit, it makes me curious why he survived, and the others didn’t.”
The front door opened, and Amy waltzed in. She kissed Keith and plopped down on the floor. “Hi, everyone.”
Doug stood. “I can get you a chair.”
“Nah.” Amy waved him off.
Keith ran his fingers through the end of his wife’s hair. “Not that I’m not happy to see you, but what’s up?”
Amy tilted her head back and smiled at her husband.
“Ugh.” Jason made gagging noises.
“Oh, please. You and Melanie are worse than we are,” Amy scolded. “Now, if you let me get to the point, I have a grandpa that needs saving from an active little boy.”
Dennis returned to his seat. “Go ahead, Amy.”
“You know that I’ve spotted inconsistencies in all crime scene photos. That the cases that the reporting officers deemed accidents are homicides. It’s the homicides that we haven’t been able to find a thread to link them.”
“That about sums it up,” Kyle said.
“Well, I’m here with that connection.”
The room grew quiet. All eyes shifted to Amy. She reached for a grape from the tray of snacks that Doug had supplied and popped it in her mouth.
Keith massaged her shoulders. “Ames, if you don’t finish your explanation, I think boss man over there is going to blow a gasket waiting for you to get to the point.”
“Sorry, Dennis.”
The sheriff closed his eyes and shook his head. “It’s okay, Amy. But if you’d please continue, I’d be grateful.”
Amy removed several photos from the file she’d carried in. “If you look closely at each of these images, you’ll see a coin. I’ve circled it with a wax pencil.”
When the photographic evidence reached Kyle, he shared it with Cassidy.
She studied the picture. Her breath hitched. “There was a coin in Laura’s car.”
Kyle had forgotten all about the quarter. “Cassidy found it under the driver’s seat.” He fished his phone from his pocket and pulled up the picture he’d taken. “Here.” He passed it around the room.
“The thing I noticed about the quarter is that the year on it was the same as Laura’s birth year. I’m not sure why, but it struck me as unusual,” Cassidy said.
“Amy?” Dennis urged her to check the dates.
“I’m on it.” She grabbed her laptop and opened the crime scene files. “I enlarged the coins. Let me see if I can read the dates.”
Doug opened his computer. “Give me the victim and the coin year, and I’ll confirm our suspicions.”
“First one, Sandy and Michael Hughes.” Amy tilted her head and squinted at the screen. “Got it.” She gave Doug the year.
The clicking of keys on the keyboard filled the room. “It’s not a match to either birthday.”
Cassidy sat up straight. “But it matches the year they founded the company.”
“That’s interesting. Keep going.” Dennis leaned forward, his attention on Amy.
Amy rattled off the next set, then the next.
“Most of the cases have coins with matching birth years, and those that don’t, the date matches the year the victim died. And the coin for the Hugheses is a match to the start of the company. The photos of the other crime scenes didn’t show coins, but I wouldn’t rule it out. Some of the files had minimal evidence collected due to the circumstances.”
Dennis handed the pictures to Keith, who collected them for his wife. “Thanks, Amy.”
“I’d say anytime, but you’d take me up on it. I’ll see you all later.” Amy smiled and let herself out.
Jason clapped his hands. “Now, we’re getting somewhere.”
Cassidy’s eyes scanned the room. “So, you all believe me?”
Kyle clasped her fingers in silent support. He knew he believed her, but he waited for the others to give their opinions.
“I think I can speak for everyone here. I’m convinced there’s a possibility of a serial killer, and I plan to reopen these cases,” Dennis said.
The others agreed.
“I don’t know what to say.” Cassidy sat stunned, looking from one person to the next. She knew they’d doubted this theory from the get-go, but they’d stuck with her, respecting her abilities as an investigator, letting the evidence lead them. Now they were on board with the idea a serial killer could be responsible. She warmed with appreciation for this crew.
“How about let’s get to work?” Jason teased.
Cassidy’s smile bloomed.
“Jason, do you have anything for us about the attempts on Cassidy’s life?” Dennis asked.
“Not much. I checked the camera at Ben’s. No go on the license plate of the SUV that tried to run her over. A mud-like substance covered it. And there’s no evidence at any of the scenes that indicated who has her in his sights,” Jason said.
“What about the drone?” Kyle hadn’t known that Dennis had tagged Jason to investigate the attacks on Cassidy.
“The techs are still working on it, but nothing as of yet.” Jason sighed.
“If I’m right, it’s the serial killer who’s after me.” Cassidy stared at Kyle as if asking him to back her up.
Kyle agreed with her to a point. “Since we are leaning toward a serial killer, let’s confirm or disprove that theory then go from there.”
“Let’s do it.” Keith rubbed his hands together. “So, what’s up with the coins?”
Doug scratched his jaw. A habit the man had when he was deep in thought. “It’s obviously his calling card, but why?”
The guys threw out possibilities and discussed the merits of each idea.
He glanced at Cassidy, who had been too quiet and hadn’t added her opinions in several minutes.
She sat and stared at the Christmas tree, her eyes shifting back and forth.
Kyle wondered what occupied her thoughts. He refrained from disturbing her. He knew how hard it was for ideas to coalesce.
She jerked her head up and snapped her fingers. “The four quarters.”
“There were nine, Cassidy.” Keith corrected her.
“No. Not the ones we discovered but the ones at John Morrison’s office. He has a frame of four quarters. I remember now that when I originally interviewed him, I asked him about the significance of it. Since four friends started the business, they got four quarters with the year they launched the company, symbolizing the first dollar earned.”
“You really think Morrison killed his friends?” Keith asked.
“Why not? He’s now the sole owner of the company.” She tapped her chin. “Either that or someone wants to make him look guilty.”
“If he was having business problems, there are easier ways to resolve them than murdering the people involved, though.” Doug sighed.
“A setup is an interesting concept.” Jason drummed his fingers on the arm of his chair. “Who had it out for Morrison?”
“I haven’t found anything to suggest that.” Doug retrieved his laptop. “Based on that idea, I’ll target my search to include enemies.”
Kyle sorted the new ideas in his head. He doodled on the notepad in his lap, half listening to the discussion going on around him. He circled Aaron’s name.
“Kyle?” Cassidy rested her hand on his arm. “What is it?”
His coworkers stopped talking and looked at him.
“I’m wondering about Aaron Perkins.” He tapped the tip of his pen on the man’s name.
Cassidy shifted to face Kyle. “What about him?”
“They never found his body.” He glanced up.
Her eyes widened. “You think he faked his death?”
Kyle shrugged. “I’m only throwing out the idea.”
“It’s possible.” Dennis’s scowl deepened. “Keith, I want a full workup on the investigation. Talk to every officer, tech and diver that worked that case. I want to know if there’s anything that hints at Aaron staging his own death.”
“On it, boss.” Keith scribbled down notes.
“I want that warrant for Morrison,” Cassidy said.
“It’s iffy that a judge will agree to it even with the new information.” Kyle hated to speak the reality of the situation, but what they had was slim.
Dennis blew out a breath. “I’ll try. It’s a stretch, but we might get the warrant if I spin it just right.”
Kyle could tell Cassidy wanted to argue, but she held on to her composure.
“That’s all I ask. It’s time to trust the system and send up a few prayers that God will help us solve these cases.” Cassidy exhaled.
Jason nodded. “I agree.”
“I’ll make the call. Y’all start praying.” Dennis excused himself and headed to the kitchen for privacy.
One by one, the guys closed their eyes. He noticed Cassidy hesitate, then follow their lead. The room became quiet.
Prayer. Kyle had leaned on his faith for the past year. He’d never have made it without God by his side. Chats with Him on a daily occurrence. But that was the problem. He hadn’t had a long conversation with Him in a long time. Maybe the time had come to quit hiding behind his guilt and shame and make God a top priority again.
God, I’m sorry for not treating You like the best friend You are. I’m sorry for the quick words and for not taking the time to really talk with You. But until we can have that conversation, could You please help us get the information we need to put this killer behind bars?
One at a time, his friends opened their eyes and waited to hear about the warrant.
Dennis strode in. “We got it.”
“Yes!” Jason and Keith gave each other a high five.
“Kyle, you and Cassidy pick it up when it’s ready in the morning. It’s for Morrison’s office. The judge wouldn’t add his home, but I’ll take what I can get.” Dennis placed his hands on the back of the chair he’d vacated. “Everyone else, keep at your current assignments in case we’re off about this guy.”
After several more minutes of conversation, the guys said their goodbyes and left.
Alone with Cassidy in the living room, Kyle steeled his nerves. He had to talk to her about the almost kiss.
“Cassidy, about earlier.”
“Let’s focus on the case for now.”
“But—”
She shook her head. “I’m going to see if Doug needs help with dinner.” She walked away.
Kyle stood staring at her back.
What had changed in the last couple of hours?