Harmony leaned in slightly, absorbing the shape of truth.
Vega noticed it all. He saw more than they could imagine.
“Staging a body like this takes time,” Hale said. “It takes time alone and uninterrupted.”
Vega rose slowly, his eyes narrowing. “Which means they picked a window when they knew no one would return.”
Durante rubbed a hand across his jaw. “The storm gave them the perfect cover they were looking for. They have to be very aware that the heat is on, and killing and displaying is going to get harder and harder. They clearly saw an opportunity last night and took it, needing to feed a sick hunger.”
Vega looked over the held witnesses once more. Disgust rested in his eyes. “Storms don’t create opportunities, people do. This person will kill no matter the weather. We’ll stop them. Until then, everyone is a suspect. Badge or no badge.”
Harmony then noted how Vega’s gaze shifted to the officers. Tingles ran down her spine as she realized it wasn’t just them they were looking at. These detectives weren’t ruling Avalon’s police department out as suspects either. Fascinating! Could one of Avalon’s protectors actually be a killer? That was a new twist she wasn’t expecting.
As the team continued to log evidence, Vega drifted away from the others with calculated casualness. Harmony sensed him heading her way before he arrived.
“Take a walk with me,” he commanded.
She nodded and followed him. They stopped at the back of the airport building, where tables waited, soaked from the rain. Wind tugged at Harmony’s shirt, carrying the scent of wet sage.
“You see a lot,” Vega quietly said. “You don’t blink, and you don’t flinch.”
Harmony shrugged. “I’m a writer. If I don’t observe, I don’t have material.”
He shook his head, and for the first time, Harmony felt uncomfortable. She wasn’t used to being with a person who saw more than she did. So many people moved through life not knowing the people next to them. They didn’t notice the little things that made others unique, didn’t listen to the words beneath the words.
Harmony realized Vega wasn’t one of those people. He might even see more than she did.
“Observation isn’t your job, Ms. Blake, it’s your obsession.”
Harmony lost her smile. Still, though, she was enjoying the verbal battle. She liked being challenged. It didn’t happen too often.
“Is that flattery, detective?”
Vega leaned in just enough that she felt heat radiating off of him. “It’s not flattery, Ms. Blake. You should be concerned, though.”
“Why is that?” she asked, not heeding his advice. She wasn’t worried in the least.
His expression didn’t give away his thoughts, which frustrated her. It made her want to study him even more.
“Because, Ms. Blake, the killer is creating a story. They’re either writing it for you . . . or about you.” He paused for a long moment. “Or writing just like you.”
Her pulse skipped a single time. Vega caught it. Harmony wasn’t sure if she was scared, excited, or simply fascinated. She’d have to go over this entire event again and again to figure out which it was. She paused for long enough to make the air thicken.
“I don’t scare too easily, Detective,” Harmony told him.
“That’s a problem,” Vega murmured. “Killers love people who don’t scare.”
Before she could respond, Hale called his name. He stepped back, then started to turn. He stopped and faced her again.
“One more thing.”
Harmony tilted her head and waited.
“Whoever is doing this is enjoying the staging more each time,” Vega said, his voice lowered to a rasp. “That means escalation. That means confidence. That means proximity.”
“Proximity to what?” Harmony asked.
Vega held her gaze. Neither blinked.
