Jane was touched until Gina added, “And don’t get Rapp killed.”
“Aw, I knew you cared.”
Gina huffed. “Go on. Be safe.”
Jane hurried to the front of the building and held up her arms, showing herself weaponless. After lowering her arms, she said into a radio one of the SWAT guys had handed her, “I’m here and unarmed.”
“Enter,” Rapp answered.
Good. He was alive. Walking slowly, she entered, noting the locations of the small, weird mystery tanks inside, hooked up to wires that disappeared into the walls. The door swung shut behind her, leaving her in the lobby with Rapp and Phillip.
Phillip sat at a desk, a semiautomatic resting in front of him.
Rapp sat on the floor, his legs splayed and resting back on his hands.
Jane had the feeling she’d interrupted an interesting discussion. Rapp didn’t appear upset, and Phillip was smiling.
“What did I miss?” She walked near Rapp but stopped when Phillip lifted a hand. “Where do you want me?”
“That’s what I like about you, Jane. You’re a pleasure to work with.” Phillip pointed to a nearby chair off center of the middle of the floor. “Please, sit there. And know if you did sneak a weapon in, I’ll shoot him in the head before you get off a round.”
“Understood.”
He smiled. “Excellent.” After she settled, he asked, “Where were you?”
During her travel from the island, she’d debated on whether or not to tell him the truth. She’d decided he’d appreciate her honesty. “Well, it’s been an exciting night.” She felt Rapp’s attention narrow on her.
While she explained everything that had happened, she waited for Phillip to chime in with some detail. He didn’t.
She finished with, “Sullivan’s at the hospital now, and we don’t know if she’ll make it. Her new boyfriend seems a decent sort. He cared about helping more than he did about saving his own skin.”
“That’s a good quality in a partner,” Phillip agreed. “My parents were like that.”
“I heard amazing things about your dad,” Jane agreed. “And everyone loved your mom. The florist next door to her bakery couldn’t say enough about her or her baked goods.”
Phillip grinned. “Ah, Mrs. Knof. She’d pretend to be cranky, but she always gave my mom a fresh bouquet to start the week, free of charge. She was such a nice woman.” Unexpected tears filled his eyes. “It’s been so long since I’ve been around nice people.”
Rapp caught her eye, but she didn’t need him to tell her Phillip had held on this long for some reason. He now had an excuse to end things since she’d finally arrived.
“Phillip, how can I help you?” Jane asked.
“Just by being here, you’re helping. I called a reporter the other day, and I told him everything. How the FBI covered up aserial killer—that’s me. I also gave him my name, so don’t blame anyone on the task force for giving me up. This spectacle … I imagine it’ll be hard to hide this. Although I bet you could if you wanted.”
Jane shrugged. “I don’t much care. My job isn’t about PR. It’s about protecting lives. And I know he doesn’t care.” She nodded to Rapp. “Or he’d have fired me on day one. I don’t play nice with others.”
“Seriously. She’s not kidding.” Rapp chuckled.
Phillip glanced from Rapp to Jane. “I like you both. He’s got military training. You can tell.”
“I know.”
Rapp sighed. “Hard to hide proficiency from a fellow expert.”
“Thank you.” Phillip had to be the nicest—well, only—serial killer Jane had ever met.
“Phillip, can I ask you a question?”
He glanced at his phone before placing it back down. “Go ahead.”
