Page 77 of Cooper’s Passion

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Cooper sat in the driver’s seat of one of Scanguards’ black-out vans, Sheriff Diaz in the passenger seat. On the dashboard, a tablet showed live-streams from different cameras in a three-block radius Scanguards had set up. The car was parked half a block from the spot where Anita had just exited a large office building, dressed in a navy business suit and high heels, a briefcase in one hand. She looked up and down the street, pretending to wait for an Uber like they’d discussed.

“And you really think he’s gonna show up here?” Sheriff Diaz said skeptically, glancing at him briefly before looking back in Anita’s direction.

“It’s our best guess. Janet Fillmore’s body was found a quarter mile from here, and two nights before that, he tried to abduct a woman only two blocks from here. That, together with sightings of white vans, makes this area his most likely hunting grounds.”

“I still don’t like it,” Diaz grunted. “What if he gets to Anita and slips through your net?”

“Very unlikely. We have somebody on every block, plus the cameras. If he enters this three-block radius, we’ll see him.”

And hopefully the killer wouldn’t see the vampires who’d hidden themselves at strategic spots. While there were civilians around, it was imperative that their suspect didn’t see any vampires, or he would suspect a trap.

“I didn’t see any of your colleagues.” Diaz motioned to the cameras.

“That’s the point. If you can’t see them, neither can the suspect.”

“Easy for you to say. You’re not the sitting duck. My daughter is.”

There was no convincing Diaz that Anita was safe short of telling him that the people from Scanguards were vampires and would be able to come to Anita’s aid within seconds.

Cooper tapped his microphone. “Anita, turn to your right, and walk to the next block, then cross the street.”

Anita didn’t answer, but she turned like he’d instructed, and walked toward the intersection.

“Samson, she’s coming toward you.”

A moment later, Samson replied, “I have her in my sight.”

When Anita crossed the intersection and disappeared from Cooper’s view, he looked at the tablet and saw her show up in one of the feeds.

“Anita, wait at the bus stop. Pretend to look at the bus route,” Samson instructed through the earphone.

Cooper tapped on his mic to mute it. “José, I know you’re worried.” He continued looking at the live feed of Anita standing at the bus station a block away. “Trust me, I’m the last guy who would want your daughter to get hurt.”

Diaz turned his head to give him a long look. “You’ve got a funny way of showing that. You should have talked her out of this.”

“You know better than I that once your daughter has made up her mind about something, she can’t be dissuaded.”

Diaz let out a huff. “Yeah, well, she gets that from me, I guess. Damn stubborn. That’s what she is.”

“It’s a good trait for an investigator. If she hadn’t been so stubborn then we would still not know that we’re dealing with a serial killer.” And they would have never met, depriving him of the chance to be with the woman he wanted as his mate.

“Samson, the bus will be turning onto your street in a couple of moments,” Yvette said via the earpiece.

“Anita,” Samson said, “move five steps to your left otherwise I’ll lose sight of you when the bus stops.”

Cooper kept his eyes on the live feed and saw the bus approaching. When it stopped at the small hut, it blocked the camera, and all he could see were several people standing on the bus, ready to get off.

Cooper’s heart pounded out of control. “Samson? The camera lost her.”

“I’ve got her,” Samson confirmed.

Suddenly, the bus driver rose from his seat.

“What’s happening?” Diaz asked.

“A wheelchair user has to get off,” Samson replied.