Dan took a step closer, carefully studying the board behind her. “Something in his life, probably something from his past, makes him feel responsible for taking their pain away.”
Eden nodded. “He feels compelled to send them to a world where there is no pain.”
“Jesus.” Alex looked down at her. “That’s it. That’s why he refers to himself as The Liberator.” His gaze rose to the victim’s smiling faces. “He thinks he’s liberating them from a world where they aren’t wanted.”
“Question is”—Garrett’s voice turned somber— “how do we find him?”
“That’s what I want to know.”
All four heads turned toward the door. With his hands on his narrow hips, Sergeant Murphy scowled back at them from the doorway. The man never really looked happy, but the expression on his face right then was even more unpleasant than normal.
With his brown eyes laser-focused on her, Murphy made his way further into the room. “It’s been three days, and from what I can tell, you haven’t found shit. Maybe the press got it right, after all.”
“Sarge,” Garrett gave his boss a look. Alex wasn’t so subtle.
“What the fuck did you just say?”
Those angry eyes turned to him. “You got something to say, Bennett?”
“Yeah.” Alex nodded. “I do.”
“Alex, don’t,” Eden attempted to stop him.
The last thing she wanted on her conscious was the man she loved losing his job because of her. Ignoring her protest, the well-meaning man stood up for her.
“Eden found the connection we’ve been missing.” He slid her a sideways glance before returning his focus to his boss. “This entire unit, including you, has spentweekstrying to come up with how our guy picks his victims. The fucking FBI couldn’t do it. But Eden did it in three days.”
Mic drop.Eden watched nervously as the two men continued staring each other down.
Murphy remained quiet for a few more seconds before turning to her. “Explain.”
Keeping her voice surprisingly steady, Eden quickly went over her theory. When she was finished, Murphy took a minute to digest what they’d all come to believe as fact. Finally, just when she was sure the man was going to toss her ass out, he nodded.
“Fine.” He turned his back on her to address the others. “Let’s assume these women are like her. That tells us about them.” He used his thumb to gesture over his shoulder toward the board. “I want to know abouthim.” Murphy faced her again. “What did you get when you touched the cards?”
Eden frowned. “Whatcards?”
The man’s salt and pepper brows arched high as he spun his head in Alex’s direction. “Are you shitting me? You didn’t give them to her?”
Alex’s gaze flickered to hers then back to the man in charge. “No, sir. I didn’t.”
“We have something the killer left at the scenes, yet you purposely kept that from her? You want to explain that to me, Detective?”
“All due respect, Sarge, but Eden nearly died once for this department. I don’t want to risk her like that again.”
Though he was much shorter than Alex, Murphy had no qualms about going toe-to-toe with him. Literally.
Eden fully expected the pissed-off man to start screaming. Instead, he turned his voice low, which was almost worse.
“I’ve got women dying in my city. On my watch. So, I don’t give a rat’s ass what you want. Nor, do I care what she wants. The only thing that matters is whatIwant. You have any idea what that is?”
A muscle in Alex’s jaw bulged. “To catch the sonofabitch.”
Murphy sneered. “That’s right. And I don’t care what we have to do to get that done.” He stepped back and faced Garrett. “Get her the damn cards, or you and your partner can both get the hell out of my unit.”
It was the last order Sergeant Murphy gave before storming out the door. In his wake, the tension in the became air so thick, it was damn near suffocating.
“I’ll, uh…I’ll go get those.” Garrett refused to look her way as he quietly left the room.
