Kurt Colbey strode around the corner and caught sight of her, motioning her over. She gingerly picked her way across the muddy ground and around the side of the building, only to stop cold at seeing a light blue dumpster.
“Nice dumpster,” she said wearily, even her bones feeling exhausted.
Brother Jeremiah stood off to the side, his face pale, and anger tightening the lines around his eyes.
“Jeremiah,” she said.
He moved away from the trash receptacle and toward her. “What have you brought to my town, Mia Stone?”
It was a fair question. She swallowed. “I don’t know.” Exhaling, she forced herself closer to the dumpster. Somebody had stretched a tarp above it to protect it from the rain.
Kurt reached her side. “I called in the crime scene techs from the Seattle field office, but they won’t be here for a couple of hours. We’ve tried to protect the body as best we can while we wait for the coroner.”
Mia gulped air and then looked inside. The woman had been tossed in with the remnants of eggs and bacon and left in the mess, much like the other victims. Ligature marks were visible around her neck. She looked to be in her early twenties.
“Who is she?” Mia asked.
Brother Jeremiah stepped up. “Her name is Claudia Chantel. She moved here about five years ago.”
Mia jolted. “Was she a sex worker?”
“No,” Jeremiah said. “She moved to work in Seattle as a nurse.”
Mia frowned. She didn’t fit the profile of the other victims. “How do you know her? Did she grow up in your commune?”
“It’s not really a commune, not how you use the word,” Brother Jeremiah snapped. “She and her parents joined us about five years ago, and then she left to work in the city. She comes home for holidays.”
Mia’s mind reeled with the information. “So, she’s from here. She went to Seattle, and the killer brought her back here?”
Jeremiah shook his head. “Apparently.”
That didn’t make any sense, now did it?
A photographer finished with the other side of the dumpster, his camera clicking. He continued around the scene and then came into view. “Mia.”
She smiled. “Lionel. I was wondering when you’d arrive. It’s good to see you.” Striding toward him, she leaned up for a quick hug. “Sorry it’s under these circumstances.”
“As am I.” Agent Lionel Strobe was in his late thirties with dark blond hair, studious blue eyes, and a talent for capturing a crime scene like no other. He’d been one of the few work associates who’d reached out to her after the Delaney disaster, and there’d been a rumor he’d even gone to bat for her with their boss. “Even so, you look good.”
She felt like throwing up. “Thanks.”
His gaze rose over her head. “Who’s the muscle?”
Mia partially turned. Seth was too sleek and dangerous to be calledthe muscle, but he was fairly cut.
Seth sighed and strode their way in the rain, his gaze clocking the entire area in a second before focusing back on her. “Seth Volk. Mia’s fiancé.”
She tried not to jolt at the claim. Fiancé?
“Nice to meet you.” Lionel held out a hand, and they shook. His eyebrows rose as he focused back on her. “You’ve been busy.”
She cleared her throat. “You have no idea.”
He pushed his wire-rimmed glasses up his nose. “This isn’t a coincidence. Two bodies, basically in the same county where you’re living. We all know that, right?”
A lump settled in Mia’s stomach. “I know.” The killer was definitely taunting her. But why?
More importantly, who would he hurt next?
