“Maybe we could get Emmett to take a look at that, Gunnar,” Bryn suggested. “He might be able to magic up one of his algorithms if we gave him a few parameters to refine it with.”
“Good idea. You have any problem with that, Bell?”
“Not at all. Any help you can give us will be welcome.”
“Then I guess we’ll get back to HQ.” Gunnar stood and extended his hand to Bell. “You hear anything about Templeton…”
“You guys will be first on my call list, believe me.”
Bryn didn’t offer a handshake. Even with his gloves on, he wasn’t sure it would be welcome, even though Bell had shaken his hand before. He took a last look at the board, making sure the four faces of the Walmart killer’s victims were firmly burned on his conscience.
He and Gunnar left the building and headed out to the parking lot. Gunnar kept his body between Bryn and the building.
“This is the FBI, I think their parking lot should be safe,” Bryn said.
“I don’t want you getting any extra holes in you. I’m being cautious.”
“And there’s a wonderful image.”
Once they were in the car, Bryn said, “We were only calling him the Walmart killer because of that touch in the checkout line, but turns out we had the name right all along.”
“Yeah, it seems so.”
“They’ve gotten further than I expected them to, if I’m honest,” Bryn said. He stared at passing cars out of the side window as they drove along. “Dr. Templeton has got clean away, though, hasn’t he?”
“I wish there was something I could do or say to make that better,” Gunnar said. “He’ll be tracked down eventually.”
“Let’s hope so. I don’t want to be constantly looking over my shoulder wondering if he’s going to jump out from behind a bush or something.”
Gunnar chuckled. “Somehow, I don’t think that’s likely. I do think he’ll want to mess with your head.He’ll turn this into some kind of game. He’s arrogant and he’ll think that he’s far more intelligent than we are.”
“He might be right.”
“Individually, maybe, but as a team, I don’t think so.”
They traveled in silence for a while. Bryn wanted to bring up their earlier conversation but didn’t know quite how. Somehow it didn’t feel right, in the midst of everything that was going on, to focus on whatever there was between him and Gunnar.Maybe later, when we’re alone. There’s so much work to do but I won’t let him hide behind those lame excuses he gave me. I may have to deal with the uncertainty of being stalked by a serial killer, but I don’t have to put up with Gunnar avoiding what I know he wants. What we both want.
Chapter Fifteen
When they got back to the Gene Control and Research headquarters, Gunnar briefed Emmett on the image they wanted him to take a look at. He was excited and wanted to start right away, but because it was getting late, Gunnar sent him home. “There will be time enough for that tomorrow. You need to get some rest so that you can employ that giant brain of yours effectively in the morning.”
“Okay,” Emmett said. “You have to promise to tell me about everything you learned from the FBI today. I emailed you and Bryn a list of everything I’ve done today, and I’ve added a few new case files to the folder of future work.” Emmett slipped on his coat. “You guys have a good evening, okay?”
“We will,” Gunnar replied, turning off the light in the office and going to find Bryn. He wasn’t in his room, but Gunnar could hear the shower running. It was very tempting to spy on him. Gunnar had no problem imagining Bryn naked, with soapy water cascadingover his pale skin, his hair made even darker by the water. He shivered and gave his crotch a thump. “Behave,” he muttered.
He went to the kitchen to investigate the possibilities for dinner and found that Emmett had stocked the fridge. “Emmett, you are a complete treasure,” Gunnar muttered, feeling guilty that Emmett had gone home to cater for himself while he and Bryn were so well supplied. “He works just as hard as we do.” He pulled a large cottage pie from the fridge. The label told him that it had been supplied by a local delicatessen, a family-run small business known for its excellent reputation and high-quality food and takeout meals. Gunnar realized now that they also supplied meals to cook at home. He had a good sniff to check for any suspect scents before he put the pie into the stove to warm, then picked out some veggies to go with it. He had just finished preparing them when Bryn came into the kitchen, his hair still damp.
“Thanks to Emmett, we have cottage pie and veggies for dinner, followed by apple pie and ice cream. He had the fridge stocked. You think he has any protection out there? He’s kinda vulnerable.”
Bryn immediately went to take a look. “Oh, wow, have you seen what’s in here? And knowing the way Warden looks at Emmett, there’s probably a whole team watching him that he won’t even be aware of.”
“Yeah, you could be right. We’ll be eating like kings. And much as I like to cook, after a long day it’s great that there’s something to slam in the stove.”
Bryn came to stand next to him. “You want me to help with anything?”
“I’m about done. Just need to throw the veggies in a pan. Do you want anything to drink?”
“A pint of brandy would hit the spot but I’ll settle for hot chocolate. Can we eat on the couch in front of a bad movie?”
