Page 47 of Cooper’s Passion

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After they’d gotten dressed, Cooper had asked her if she wanted to eat something, but Anita was too nervous to eat, and had therefore claimed that she wasn’t really hungry. Cooper had accepted her claim without questioning it, and hadn’t eaten anything either. Had he noticed the change in her behavior? She hoped not, because she had no idea what he was capable of doing if he found out that she’d been listening in on his and Wesley’s conversation.

In the car, she took some of the notes she’d made on Janet’s case out of her handbag, leafed through them and pretended to read them again, just so Cooper wouldn’t hold her hand.

“Is there anything else about Janet’s file that looks like a lead?” Cooper asked as they headed into heavy late afternoon traffic.

Anita shrugged, but she knew she had to say something, or Cooper would wonder what was wrong with her. “I still think we’re overlooking something.”

“You mean apart from the victims’ physical characteristics and their jobs?”

“I wish I knew.”

When she saw him take one hand off the steering wheel, she quickly snatched another paper with her free hand, and continued, “What about the abductions themselves?”

“What about them?”

“Janet was taken after midnight,” she replied and searched for more things to say. “And if I remember correctly, all women were taken at night.”

“That’s not unusual.” Cooper turned at the intersection and hit more traffic.

“I know. But for all thirty-five or thirty-six women to be taken at night, and not a single one during the day, is a pattern. Almost as if he doesn’t want to be out during the day.”

Cooper seemed to hesitate a bit and cast her a sideways glance. “You think he’s worried that he might be recognized? That he’s somebody well-known, a celebrity of sorts?”

“Hmm.” Anita contemplated his words. “That might be the case if he limited the abductions to one state or one city, but it’s not very probable that he thinks he can be recognized in five different states. That would mean he’s nationally well-known. And I somehow doubt that.”

“Then I’m not sure the time of the abductions gives us much of a lead.” Cooper pulled into the Scanguards underground parking garage. “Besides, the prostitute, Ginger, didn’t mention that she recognized him from somewhere.”

“You’re right. Well, let’s see if we recognize him.”

Cooper pulled into an empty parking spot and switched off the engine. Anita opened the passenger door and exited the vehicle. At the elevators, Cooper caught up with her and put his arm around her waist. She tensed involuntarily.

“Something wrong?” he asked, his voice laden with concern.

Anita forced herself to smile up at him. “No, it’s just a little anxiety.” She searched for another excuse. “I wasn’t able to help Janet. What if we don’t find him before he abducts his next victim?”

“I know the feeling.”

He pressed a kiss to her forehead, his tenderness surprising her—and simultaneously confusing the hell out of her. How could he act like the most caring man and lover when he was keeping secrets from her? And how could he look so innocent doing it?

When the elevator door opened, the elevator wasn’t empty. A young man with raven-black hair and blue eyes stood there, looking at a tablet in his hand. He looked up at them.

“Oh, hey, Coop, I was just on my way to your office.”

Cooper ushered her into the elevator. “Anita, this is my colleague, Benjamin.”

“Nice to meet you.”

“Likewise,” Benjamin said, then looked at Cooper. “Just got the sketch.”

He pointed to the tablet, and Anita sidled up to him, and looked at the black-and-white drawing of a man. Cooper looked over her shoulder at the tablet, and she heard him suck in a breath of air.

“Ginger saw this man?”

Anita stared at the drawing, her heart beating out of control, her palms sweating, everything before her eyes blurring. This couldn’t be. This couldn’t be the man.

She’d seen him before. Many, many years before. So why was he still so young? He would be much older by now. Twenty-one years older to be exact. She focused on the man’s face. He was handsome, with very short hair, a straight nose, piercing eyes, and a square chin. It was him, there was no doubt. When she looked at his mouth and saw the tips of two sharp canines peek past his lips, she knew she wasn’t wrong. It was him.