“Oh, yes. I have the sense. I get feelings sometimes. It’s hard to explain. Flashes of . . . I don’t know. I guess you’d call it awareness. I knew I was going to be touched by evil this week. I can’t think of a better way to say it.” He kept eye contact as he spoke, something that was rarer than most people realized.
“I see,” Laurel said. “Did you know from which direction that evil would come?”
Kohnex wiped a large hand down his face. “Not at all. Buster and I take walks all the time, but I had an inkling that something was going to happen today. Now I’m not entirely sure if it was finding the dead body or meeting you, Agent Snow.”
Laurel kept her face calm. “Meeting me?”
“Yes. I’ve imagined you before. The dual-colored eyes, the wild scarlet hair.”
She’d never considered her hair wild or all that scarlet. It was more brown, tinged with some red. “I see.” How convinced was he of his delusions? “Perhaps you’ve just seen me on the news? We’ve had a few newsworthy cases lately.”
“I don’t watch the news,” Kohnex said. “Don’t you believe in things you can’t see?”
“Rarely,” Laurel said. “Did you recognize the body?”
He shuddered. “No, I just saw a body lying in the snow next to the river. So I ran into the church and called the police.”
“Where did you say the pastor had gone?” Laurel asked.
“He went to get more coffee.” Kohnex sat with confidence, his long legs stretched out beneath the table.
Huck unzipped his parka. “You called the police after running inside. Was the pastor already here?”
“No. After dialing 911, I called Pastor Zeke, and he arrived in about fifteen minutes. He wanted to go out there and say a prayer over the body, but I told him that we should wait until you arrived because we didn’t want to contaminate the crime scene.”
Huck leaned back and made his chair squeak. “So you know something about forensics.”
Kohnex waved a hand in the air. “Just what I’ve seen on TV. I used to watch thatCSIshow until it got a little boring. But, you know, everybody knows not to contaminate a crime scene.”
“What makes you think it was a crime?” Huck asked abruptly.
“Well”—Kohnex sat back—“I heard about the other lady found by Iceberg River. The details were pretty graphic—that she was frozen face down, and this woman was on her belly and frozen, too, so I just figured. Plus, the place felt like murder. Like evil had been there. Do you believe in coincidences, Agent Snow?”
“No,” Laurel said. “These feelings you get, have they led to you to any other crimes?”
He ducked his head. “Yes, but not often. I’ve called in anonymous tips after having a vision, but usually people don’t believe me. I learned that a long time ago, so I don’t say anything. But since I’m here, I thought I should.”
“Is there anything else you’d like to add?” Laurel asked. He actually seemed to believe he held psychic powers.
Kohnex leaned down and stroked his dog, as if seeking comfort. “Just that this killer . . . I could sense him. He’s been here before. He knew the woman, and he’s just getting started.”
A rustle sounded, and Zeke Caine strode into the room.
Kohnex brightened. “Pastor, the FBI is here.”
Zeke looked directly at Laurel. “I can see that. How are you, my wayward daughter?”
Chapter 10
Huck kicked his chair away from the table and to the side, putting him squarely between Laurel and Zeke Caine. “Pastor Caine, we have questions for you.”
Zeke kept his gaze on Laurel and walked toward them with a coffee pot in one hand and several Styrofoam cups in the other. “Yes, I assume you do.” The now bald pastor had apparently once had the same auburn-colored hair as Laurel and Abigail, as well as their heterochromatic eyes, but he wore blue contacts to mask them.
Kohnex stilled. “You’re Agent Snow’s father?”
“I am,” the pastor said.
Kohnex looked from one to the other. “There’s bad blood between you.” His dog whined, and he leaned down to pet him again, for the first time appearing uneasy.
