Like his daughter and his sons. They were the best of him, he’d go to his grave believing that. “Then I will protect you. It’s what a good dad does.”
“You are a good dad. I think.” She grinned at him, that dimpled grin she’d gotten from his mother. She was bits and pieces of all of them. All of the good had melded into this little monster in the skateboarding unicorn covered hoodie in front of him. Skateboarding. With Asa, it was all about skateboarding. Her older brother Devin was the one into dance and theater. Tristen, his youngest at eight, was all into sports of any kind. B.J. was more into building things with his hands. Talking about buying his own rental houses someday. His kids were beautiful, wonderful and unique, and he appreciated the gifts they were every single day.
Bryan just pulled his baby girl close. A father…a father just wanted to protect his family. Fight all the ghosts, the monsters. There wasn’t anything he wouldn’t do to protect his kids. There just wasn’t.
“You are squeezing me too tight again.” But she hugged him back, smelling like berry shampoo or something, or candy. She was just a mix of little girl and teenager-who-thought-she-knew-everything now. It stung sometimes, seeing how fast the kids were growing up. “I love you, Daddy. Lots and lots. I’ll tell you what Evan said to me at lunch today later.”
Evan. The boy from two streets over. The fourteen-year-old boy who had been making eyes at Bryan’s daughter for a few weeks. The one that came over to walk her to the skate park sometimes. That Evan.
Bryan did not want to know what Evan had said to her at lunch today. He just wasn’t ready for that yet. He just wasn’t.
Chapter 15
She was good at this part. In her element. Dani had always enjoyed just bouncing around the internet, learning about people and random things. It wasn’t cyber-stalking or anything—she was just a curious kind of person. She loved cultural articles, historical articles, scientific discoveries, influencers, bloggers, anything to do with people in any way. She soaked it all up like a sponge.
She’d had hours and hours where all she’d been able to do was play on the internet, when she’d first been hurt. She’d only been able to play online role-playing games for so long before her eyes would start to cross and everything. They were fun, but…her brain needed fed. And that meant reading, learning—that kind of thing.
Now, she liked to believe she used her skills for good. To help people who were at their worst moments. People who needed someone to say ‘hey, you matter to me’.
Like…she had needed back then.
Being found nearly dead alongside a highway so long ago tended to stay with a girl, after all. As did the nightmares. She suspected some people still had nightmares about the Gibson case. How could they not?
Monsters existed. Dani had learned that a long, long time ago.
Dani had already gone through the ancient technology also known as a Blackberry twice when Miranda appeared on the monitor. Dani had been waiting for Fearless Leader to come sniffing around—virtually, of course. And she’d known it would be Miranda. Dr. Super-Gorgeous Knight wasn’t as into video chats as Miranda. Or…technology in general. But Dani would keep him anyway. He could be trained someday. Maybe.
There was always hope.
And it was really fun to see how nervous he made Miranda sometimes. Those two…wow. Talk about heat.
“So what do you have?” Miranda asked.
“Nothing new,” Dani said. “Everything matches the day planner and the original reports. I mean, everything lines up exactly. Asher was thorough. No denying that. Even the original responders before him were dotting the I’s and T’s. I wish all of our cases were this well documented. ISP did not mess around, or make mistakes. At least not that I can find.”
“Give me what you have anyway. Make sure we are on the same page.”
Dani pulled her notes onto the second monitor. “Aimee Gibson used color-coding. Husband in blue. Herself in pink. Daughter in purple. Son in green. Step-daughter in red. She was very well organized. My OCD soul approves.”
“The same system as the planner,” Miranda said. “Same colors. It makes sense. Can look at it in a glance and see who was where. I do it for Bentley and myself. Even my dad and stepmom and sisters, if they are doing anything out of the ordinary. Otherwise, stuff just gets away from you.”
“Yes. She scheduled everything from softball games to when to call the insurance company. This woman loved her routines. And made lots of to-do lists and notes.”
“That’s what I was thinking. These were definitely not high-risk targets.”
“It matches what was pulled at the time. Like I said. Thorough. And there are clear chains of custody, and everything Sergeant Asher has done since was noted.”
“And nothing else.”
“No. Not yet, anyway. The files match the original printouts. I’m running her contacts list, and Derek’s, but his is smaller and mostly work-related. Social media addict he most certainly was not.”
“Anything that week that was unusual?”
“She had several spam emails, and telemarketing calls. But really, Doc, that’s about it. Nothing different than the weeks before. These people followed their routines. Just normal every day lives.”
“Which means they probably crossed paths with their killers as a part of that routine. Damn it. I suspect Pierce already has talked to this guy, at least once. We just need to figure out who, what, where, when, and how. Which means…figuring out the why.”
“Good luck, Lady Sherlock. I’m going over social media for Aimee now. She was the only one with accounts anywhere. I’ll let you know what I find. You just…keep sending me goodies. And maybe a pic or two of this gorgeous Asher guy. For my hot cop collection.”
