He stepped forward and extended his right hand.“Hi, Ms.Daly.The name’s George.Thanks for meeting me.I must admit, I wasn’t quite sure you’d come.”
Jessica gave him her thousand-watt smile.“And miss out on a great scoop like this, George?Never.Thanks for contacting me, and please call me Jessica.”
The man blushed.“Okay, Jessica it is.Come on inside.I have all the evidence you need to nail this bastard who’s killing all those women.”
Hesitating in the doorway, she surveyed the interior of the building.It appeared this had been a reception area of sorts but had more recently been used by kids having parties.There were empty beer cans and liquor bottles all over the place, and a couch had been brought in at some point for them to sit on.The stained and ripped fabric had her immediately deciding she wouldn’t be using it at all.The walls were covered with graffiti and holes that looked like they’d been made by a combination of fists, bullets, and who knew what else.
George gestured to the other side of the large room.“Here, I brought a folding table, two chairs, and a camping lantern for us.”After turning on the latter, which lit up the room, he switched off the flashlight and set it down on the table.
“Why are we meeting here?I mean, it is a bit out of the way.Why contact me instead of the police?”While she wasn’t one to look a gift horse in the mouth, she was still curious.And that curiosity was what made her good at her job.
When she stepped over to the table and placed both bags on it, George shrugged, and his expression was one of embarrassment.“Well, truthfully, I didn’t want to be known as the person who turned my brother in to the police.My family is quite close, and they stick together, even if it’s the wrong thing to do.They’d ostracize me if they found out I was the one who gave him up.”
“Your brother is killing these women?”Holy shit, this was going to be an incredible story!Her mind flittered with how she would spin things in her newscast as she absentmindedly began to pull her pen, pad, and camera out of her bag.“Wow.That must be awful for you.How did you find out it was your brother?”
George didn’t immediately answer her, and Jessica glanced up at him.Excruciating pain shot through her face as his fist made contact with her cheek, dropping her to the floor.Multi-colored lights flashed before her eyes, and bile burned her throat as she came close to vomiting from the shock.Her head spun, and he was on her before she had a chance to recover.She was vaguely aware of him tying her wrists together.Terror and agony coursed through her body, and she suddenly needed to urinate.Shivering, she tried to clear her mind and focus on what was happening.
Oh, God!What have you gotten yourself into?Scream!Do something!
But when she opened her mouth, a rag was shoved into it.He brought his face within inches of hers and snarled, “You think I’m a savage?A sadist?A fucking barbarian?Bitch, you have no fucking clue who you’re dealing with.But you will—trust me, before you die, you’ll know exactly who you’re dealing with!”
Chapter15
Arranging the bitch’s body in the sand, George scanned the secluded stretch of beach again.It was at the edge of the Pea Island Natural Wildlife Refuge and didn’t get the volume of traffic the rest of the shoreline did, especially in the cooler weather.But in a few hours, there would be morning anglers setting up their rods and chairs for some early morning surf fishing, so it shouldn’t be long before his new victim was found.
Killing her had been such a high.She hadn’t been like his usual tramps, and, for some reason, that had gotten him even more excited.Instead of carving “slut” into her torso, he’d given her the word that described her best—bitch.Her screams still echoed in his ears as he recalled stripping her naked and taking the knife to her skin.Her blood had been warm as it flowed from her body.
After she was permanently branded, he’d gotten to the part he loved the most.Taking a scarf, he’d wrapped it around her throat and cut off her windpipe until she’d stopped struggling and breathing.Then he’d performed mouth-to-mouth on her using a plastic shield to avoid any DNA transfer.Each time he revived her, he waited until she was alert enough to struggle again.He continued until he could no longer breathe life back into her and then let death have her.
He’d stepped back to admire his work and jacked off far enough away from her to, again, avoid leaving any of his DNA behind—not that it mattered since his DNA wasn’t on file anywhere to connect it to him.
The earlier full moon was now dimmed by storm clouds passing to the west.He double-checked that at full tide, her body wouldn’t get washed out to sea, then pulled out a penny from his pants pocket with a gloved hand.Placing it right above the bridge of her nose, between her open yet unseeing eyes, he completed his masterpiece.Like any artist, he took pride in his work.Maybe one day, after he was long gone from this earth, someone would associate his name with his work.He could give his lawyer a sealed envelope with instructions to only open after his death, but that was too big a risk.He’d have to give it more thought so, someday, the world could admire what a great man he was.
With one last appreciative inspection of his newest artwork, George trudged back to his nearby car.He needed to get a few hours of sleep before he had to report to work.
Rolling over, Sean grabbed his ringing phone from the nightstand in Grace’s bedroom, silencing the ringer so it wouldn’t wake her up.It was just after 6:00 a.m., and they’d had very little sleep last night—not that he was complaining.They’d taken that shower together sometime after midnight, then they had gotten all sweaty again around 4:00 a.m.—which resulted in a second shower.Truthfully, it didn’t surprise him that he wanted her again right now.
Tossing the bedcovers aside, he stood, pulled on his boxer briefs, and wandered to the living room.Rico passed him in the hallway, snubbing the man who’d kept him from his new mistress all night and made a beeline for the now partially-open bedroom door.
Sean’s phone call had gone to voicemail, but instead of listening to it, he just hit the callback button.Matt Griffin’s voice came on the line, and he didn’t bother saying hello.“We’ve got another one.He dumped this one on the beach at the north property line of the Pea Island Refuge.I’m on my way, and so are Brad and the coroner.I’ll call Brian and Rafe next.”
“Shit.”Sean ran a hand down his face in frustration, trying to bring his mind to full attention.“I’ll be right behind you.”
He disconnected the call as he returned to the bedroom to find Grace sitting up in bed, rubbing the sleep from her eyes.Rico was by her legs, kneading the covers with his claws.
“What time is it?”Grace asked while stretching her arms over her head.Sean groaned when the sheet she’d been holding fell down, exposing her naked body.And just like that, his morning wood was back.Damn it.
“Just after six.”He held up his cell phone for her to see he’d been on it and searched for his pants as he tried to ignore the urge to dive on top of her for some quick relief.“Sheriff Griffin just called.I have to run.”
“Oh no, does that mean there’s been another murder?”
Zipping up his pants, he found his shirt.Thank God he always had a go-bag in the trunk of his car.He’d change into a clean T-shirt before heading to meet Matt.At least after taking two showers last night, he didn’t need another one.He’d have to swing by the beach house for more professional clothing after he was done at the crime scene.“Yeah, but I don’t know more than that.”
Making sure he had his cell phone, gun, keys, and wallet, he bent over and kissed Grace on the lips.“I’ll call you later.I’m not sure when, but I will.”
He kissed her again.And again.Cupping her jaw in his hands, he deepened the kiss.Her lips were soft and warm, and he vividly remembered what she’d done with them a few hours ago.Of course, the body part of his that had also been involved was now hard as a fucking rock.“Shit.I want nothing more than to climb back into bed with you.”
Another peck.A lick.A nibble.
