He couldn’t do that with cops sitting in the parking lot, though.Maybe they’d be gone once business hours closed, but the target he wanted wasn’t an early arriver.She stayed late often, but she was also the director of the facility now, so it wasn’t likely the police would leave until she was gone.
“The fucking director.God above.”
He laughed and pulled into the parking lot of his apartment building.The building was a fourteen-story high-rise near downtown.It wasn’t quite dilapidated, but it probably would be in a few years.The developers built it about twenty years ago thinking that Arlington was going to boom with people eschewing the density of Fort Worth and Dallas but preferring the convenience of a large city.By the time they figured out that made no sense at all, the building was already occupied just enough to make it more worthwhile to let it limp along than to shut it down and try elsewhere.
It was comfortable enough.The stairs creaked, and his apartment’s windows let in a draft until he convinced the landlord to let him put new ones in, but the neighbors were all older and not noisy.The appliances were old, but they worked.He lived alone, so it didn’t matter that the place paled in comparison to the sprawling luxury communities in the outer neighborhoods.He had no need to impress a girl.
And it allowed pets.From time to time, he entertained the idea of getting himself a pet.It would be easier, definitely.He was under no illusions that his actions were safe.The FBI was investigating him now, and they’d brought a K9 unit.He hadn’t done anything to mask his scent, so if they happened to pass him somewhere, the dog would pick him up.
But it was too late.His occasional thoughts of getting a dog never panned out.No dog was Hunter.And he’d already started.He’d killed three people, and he was definitely killing at least one more.That would take care of everyone who’d taken Hunter from him and let him die.After that, he would probably keep killing.There were other fake healers.Other assholes who helped “pretty” dogs and sent the ones that really needed help to die.
He parked his sedan in its spot and sighed.He stared through the windshield at the beige concrete wall in front of his car.A praying mantis stood on the top.It tilted its head to look at the killer, missing a chance at a particularly fat grasshopper that briefly alighted on the fence in front of it before wisely jumping to the ground out of danger.
The killer opened his door and stepped out of the car.The startled mantis began swaying from side to side.He had no idea why they did that when they were afraid.How was that supposed to help them?
He walked up the stairs to his apartment.Soft moans emanated from one of the rooms on the first floor, and he chuckled.Not all of his neighbors were old.
He walked into his unit and switched the living room light on.It bathed the place in sickly yellow.He’d get around to switching the old yellow bulb out for a cool white LED one of these days.
He kicked his shoes off and trudged across the carpet to the small desk on the opposite wall.He settled into the chair with a sigh and pulled up the folder on his victims.He had created this folder prior to committing to the murders, thinking that maybe he could get the urge out by planning it out like a fantasy.That wasn’t even close to enough, but it had given him a good amount of information in case he needed to plan a killing more carefully.
He opened the fourth file and read through his notes.They were more detailed than he remembered them being.That was good.He knew exactly when his next target would be most vulnerable.
He might play with her a little.Drag this one out.Make it hurt more.
A smile stretched across his face.“Yeah, that’s it.That’s the business.”
He would make this one last.He would make her suffer the way Hunter had suffered.She would pay for her crimes in full.Maybe then the nightmares would stop.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
“Question,” Jessica asked.“What if we’re looking at this the wrong way?”
Faith, whose thoughts still felt like they were floating through murky water, shrugged.“I’ll bite.What way should we be looking at it?”
The two of them were back in their hotel room, trying to create a profile of their killer.Their search for aggrieved adopters or former owners who might have interacted with all three victims turned up nothing.However, they were able to confirm that all victims were at one point decision-makers in the adoption process.That was a connection, but without a connection between all three of them, they needed another reason why these people in particular had been targeted.
“Well, we’re assuming that we’re looking for someone who’s pissed either because they couldn’t get a dog or because a dog was taken from them, right?”
“Right.”
“The thing is, this killer murdered his victims in front of dogs.I guess Matthew not so much, but that was because Carl was in the building when the killer attacked.I don’t think he cares much about the dogs.You saw how traumatized Bonnie was.”
“Bonnie?”
“The collie.She was on the verge of a heart attack.And the first dog, the rottweiler, had to be sedated and moved elsewhere.These aren’t the acts of someone who cares about dogs.”
Faith nodded.“Then again, Lucas Hayes cared about the dogs he went after.He actually wanted to take one for himself.Granted, he was very selfish, but from his perspective, he loved those dogs.”
“Yeah, but he sedated them.This guy hasn’t.”
“He isn’t afraid of them,” Faith countered.“Lucas was afraid that the dogs would alert others to his presence.He killed in broad daylight with other people around.”
“Only with one of the victims,” Jessica said.“And this killer hasn’t released any of the dogs either.He just kills his victims and leaves them there.”
Faith leaned forward and steepled her fingers.The fog was clearing somewhat as she brainstormed with Jessica.“So, what then?This guy hates dogs?”
“Hate is a strong word, but maybe he feels that some dogs don’t deserve adoption.”
