Dan had arrived at the station just minutes behind them. Apparently, being a senior Phoenix Agency partner gave the formidable man Card Blanche. After offering his agency’s services and resources—all on a pro-bono basis—Sergeant Murphy began falling all over himself to accommodate the man.
While they did their thing out there, Eden had chosen to remain in here. The more time she spent around the women’s photos and personal items, the more connected to them she felt.
It was hard not to beat herself up for not seeing it before now. The sense of loneliness these women lived with was the same Eden had felt her entire life. She went to the board again.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered to those whose lives had been cut tragically short. Raising her hand, she touched Sandra Denney’s picture. “I wish I’d known you when you were still alive. I wish I’d known you all.”
Maybe we could have helped each other.
“You were right.”
Alex’s deep voice startled her. She turned to see him standing in the doorway with a wide grin spread across his face.
Her heart beat a little faster. “I was?”
He started walking into the room when Garrett and Dan appeared behind him. Garrett spoke up first.
“We couldn’t reach the relatives of the first victim, but the others all picked up.” He walked over to the board. “At some point in their lives, each of these women mentioned their abilities to a family member or friend.”
Dan chimed in too. “A couple people we spoke to even admitted to witnessing the use of their powers.”
“Unfortunately”—Alex spoke again— “they all thought it was just an illusion. Some sort of mind trick.”
Garrett looked at her, then the other two men. “It’s not much to go on, but at least this gives us a connection between each of the women.”
“I guess it’s a start.” Eden turned to Alex. “Now we just need to figure out how the killer knew about their gifts.”
A horrific thought suddenly occurred to her.
In near panic mode, she swung her gaze to Dan’s and asked, “Is there any way for you to find out if they were involved with The Lotus Circle? If they were, that could mean he’s somehow using that system to choose his victims. Anyone associated with it could be a target. They could all be in danger.”
“I’ve already checked,” Dan spoke calmly as he put a hand up to stop her rambling. “None of the women were members, nor had any of the other members heard of them prior to their deaths.”
Eden breathed a sigh of relief then shook her head. “If he’s not choosing them from that resource, then how did he know about their abilities?”
“She’s right.” Garrett tipped his chin toward the women’s pictures. “Clearly these women didn’t go around announcing to the world they possessed psychic powers.”
“The opposite, actually,” Alex agreed. “All the evidence points to the fact they did everything they could to hide it.”
Eden ran a hand through her long hair. “So, this doesn’t really help at all. Without some other connection between them, there’s no way the man calling himself The Liberator could have known about their abilities. Not unless…”
Another thought hit.Is it possible?
“What is it, Eden?” Dan asked sounding genuinely curious.
She stared back at all three men. “Unless the killer is psychic, too.”
No one said anything, making Eden question if they were ready to climb aboard that particular crazy train. She had to convince them.
“Look, I know it sounds far-fetched, but just hear me out.” Not giving them a chance to do otherwise, Eden quickly began to run with her newest theory. “Let’s say our guy has a gift. He’s either like me and can get a read through touch, or he’s telepathic…something that gives him the ability to spot women with psychic powers.”
“Not only that, but he can tell they’re loners.” Garrett jumped in. The Greek god of a man actually seemed rather excited by this new direction.
“Right!” Eden pointed at him, her own excitement growing by the second. She hurried back to the board, scanning each of the pictures again. “He somehow senses these women’s gifts, but also knows they felt shunned because of them.”
“He can see the cruelty they’ve been forced to endure from the outside world.”
Alex’s soft-spoken words had her turning back around. His sapphire eyes looked back at her, and with a single tip of his head, she knew he was finally seeing it, too.
