“Have you found anything?”I ask.
“The paper is old and dates to the time the Bondage Killer was last active.”
“Really?”
“Yes, and I have a theory about the smoky quality of the paper.It might have been from the killer’s personal supplies in the warehouse.”
“How is that possible?”
“He could’ve slipped back in to salvage his possessions after he was presumed dead.”
I curse.Damn this serial killer for returning to haunt Inara decades later.“Or it’s a copycat.Someone who was obsessed with the original Bondage Killer and decided to hunt down the one person who escaped him.”
Hamish inclines his head.“Another excellent theory.There’s no way to conclusively confirm it without more evidence.”
I have a thought.“You said the NRPD found a letter at the scene of the latest murder.Can we test that letter against these?”
“I’ll see what I can do.”He’ll have to use his contacts to obtain a sample from the evidence locker.Not legal, but necessary.And right now, time is of the essence.Even now, the killer could be choosing his next victims.
“Has Detective Ramos left?”Hamish asks.
“No, there’s been a change of plans.”There’s a little stone in the pit of my stomach, the tiniest regret.I wish I didn’t have to lock Inara up.But it only takes a second of imagining what will happen to her if the Bondage Killer gets her in his clutches to harden my resolve.
Hamish has paused his work, waiting for me to explain further.He’s not going to like this, but I tell him anyway.“She’ll remain here as our guest while the killer is at large.”
Hamish’s eyes narrow.He knows when I’m glossing over the truth.“As a guest?Or a prisoner?”
“I prefer to think of her as a reluctant guest.Her unwillingness is temporary.She’ll come around.”
Hamish sighs.“I see.”Over the years, I’ve grown used to his unspoken disapproval.He supports a certain amount of lawbreaking in the name of justice, but there are moral lines he won’t cross, especially when it comes to torture and murder.I keep those activities off-site.
He doesn’t approve of locking up a woman for any reason.But he understands how important she is to me and how I’d do anything to keep her alive.
“Sir, if I may give you some advice?—”
“I don’t want a lecture, Hamish.”
He gives me his silence instead, which is worse than a lecture.Finally, I groan, “Say your piece.”
“I know you’ve searched for her for a long time.But now that your search has borne fruit, you would do well to put some thought into how you will keep her by your side.”
“Right now, under lock and key.”
“I can’t imagine she’s happy with that.”
“You don’t have to imagine.”I instruct Alfie to cast the surveillance footage on a nearby screen, and Hamish and I both watch Inara tear apart the room, running her hands over the walls and investigating the in-suite bathroom in her search for a way out.“I’ll handle all contact with her.Meals, et cetera.She’s off limits.”
He presses his lips into a disapproving line but acquiesces.“Understood.”
I should stop broadcasting the footage and get to work, but I can’t take my eyes off Inara.Her expression is closed off and focused, but she’s still breathtakingly lovely, marching around the room looking for ways to escape.I admire her determination, even while I want to soothe away the haunted look on her face.
I move close to the screen to block Hamish’s view.I don’t want anyone looking at my little bird.There’s something satisfying about having her at my mercy.It’s wrong to keep her this way, but it soothes my deep need to possess her.
Hamish speaks quietly to my back.“When I was a boy, I found a butterfly that had hurt its wing.I thought I’d care for it by placing it in a glass jar.”
Oh gods, here it comes.A homily inserted in a fable.My childhood was rife with them.
“I thought the glass would protect it,” he continues.“But when I woke the next morning, I found the butterfly had died.Suffocated.”
