A laugh escaped her before she could stop it. “Yes, I think they would. We’ve already established that neither of us is exactly quiet.”
His grin widened. “Fair point. Then it’ll have to wait until later.” The scorching look he gave her sent anticipation skittering through her. “But be warned, sweetheart. I fully intend to rock your world later.”
“Promises, promises.”
His thumb brushed across her knuckles. “That’s not a promise. That’s a guarantee.”
He leaned in for another kiss, this one lingering just long enough to leave her wishing they were anywhere but standing in the middle of Pro-Care.
“I’ll call when I have a better idea of what time I’m getting off. How does Chinese takeout sound? I’m not in the mood to cook or deal with dishes.”
The practical suggestion, paired with the teasing glint still lingering in his eyes, made her smile. “Chinese sounds perfect.” She gave him a playful look. “And I suppose we can figure out the rest of the evening after dinner.”
The answering gleam in his eyes told her he had every intention of doing exactly that.
An hour later, anger and frustration had returned and simmered beneath Sean’s calm exterior as he studied the photographs pinned across the wall of the sheriff department’s training room. With the task force expanded to accommodate the flood of additional personnel, they had outgrown the smaller conference room upstairs. This larger space had become command central, though no amount of square footage made the mounting evidence any easier to look at.
Five women stared back at him.
Becky Travis. Shannon Emerson. Daphne Jones. Jessica Daly. Whitney Wells.
Five lives cut short.
Five faces frozen in smiling photographs that had once belonged to families and friends, now reduced to evidence in a hunt growing colder with every passing day. Add the three victims from Philadelphia, and the killer was climbing into territory occupied by some of the most prolific serial offenders in recent history.
The media had turned the whole thing into a spectacle. Every outlet in the country seemed determined to wring every ounce of drama from the case, especially after one of their own had become victim number four.
The only real breakthrough they’d managed so far had been identifying the source of Jessica Daly’s inside information. Phone records had told the story plainly enough. Deputy Larry Cumberland’s number had appeared multiple times a week on both her personal and work call logs. The man had been feeding details to Daly and other reporters in exchange for money and favors.
Thirteen years on the job, gone in an instant. Matt had stripped him of his badge and sidearm on the spot, pending formal charges, but it brought Sean little satisfaction. Cumberland’s betrayal hadn’t just compromised the investigation. It had cost lives.
The sound of footsteps drew Sean’s attention, and when Brian and Rafe entered the room, he glanced at the clock mounted above the whiteboard. They had only a few minutes before the hastily scheduled afternoon press conference—an unscheduled briefing called in response to the latest killing and the media frenzy surrounding it.
Brian studied him for a moment. “You sure about this?”
Sean frowned but nodded. “Yeah. Daly angered him, and he broke the pattern because of it. Suki thinks that if I push hard enough, he might slip again. Unless you’ve got a better idea, I’m out of options. We’ve exhausted every tip worth chasing, and the DNA sample from under Daphne Jones’s fingernails doesn’t help us if he’s not in the system. Whether we provoke him or not, he’s already planning his next move. If this rattles him enough to make a mistake, it’s worth the risk.”
Leaning against the table, Brian crossed his arms. “If you want, I’ll do it.”
Sean’s brow lifted. “What?”
“If this guy decides to make it personal, you’ve got Grace to think about now. I don’t.”
The mention of her sent an immediate knot of concern through him.
Since Easter dinner with the family, there had been no pretending anymore. Everyone knew what was happening between him and Grace, and no one had been subtle about their approval. In the span of only a few weeks, she had become woven into his daily life so completely that imagining his days without her had grown difficult.
The thought of placing her in danger turned his stomach. He had already considered the possibility and would do everything in his power to protect her.
He shook his head. “No. I’ll talk to Grace tonight and make sure she understands the precautions. Dan can keep an eye on the clinic from across the street, and Tim’s there with her during business hours. Besides, it won’t matter whether you’re seeing someone or not. If he wants leverage, any woman connected to us would do. And if this comes from anyone but the FBI, it loses impact.”
A knock on the doorframe interrupted them. Matt stood there with Brad just behind him. “Ready?”
Sean straightened and picked up the pages of his carefully prepared statement. “Yeah. I went over every word with Suki. She reviewed all of Daly’s broadcasts and thinks the language is what set him off. Barbarian. Savage. Sadist. Those are the buttons she thinks we need to push.”
Matt gave a grim nod. “All right then. Let’s go poke a rabid psychopath.”
They followed him into the hallway. As they neared the lobby, Rafe fell into step beside Sean and cleared his throat. “So… how was Suki when you talked to her? Is she coming back to update the profile?”
