Page 99 of Trap ’N’ Trace

“Do you have something of his we could borrow? A hairbrush, a toothbrush, something he touches every day?” Something with DNA or fingerprints.

“I don’t understand this.” Her grip on the gold cross tightened, her knuckles whitening. “I need to call Christian again. I need to talk with my husband.”

Dayne exhaled a tight breath but let her go. They waited while she dialed. A minute later, she returned, her face paling more by the second.

“He’s still not answering. I don’t know what to do.”

“Mrs. Mauser…Carolyn. Please.” He used her first name to establish a more personal link she might respond to more readily. “We’re looking for someone. Someone dangerous, and we’re running out of time. We need your help, and we need it now. If the person we’re looking for isn’t your husband, then his fingerprints and DNA will definitively rule him out as a suspect.” It was him. Dayne knew it.

Carolyn’s eyes flicked back and forth. “He’s a God-fearing man. He’s active in the church. We both are. He wouldn’t hurt anyone. I know it. I know it in my heart.” The chain around her neck tightened then broke. The gold cross fell to the floor with a ping.

“Please, Carolyn. With your help, we can rule him out within twenty-four hours. By the time he gets home, this could all be over.”

Yeah, with my hands around the fucker’s throat.

Her eyes took on a faraway look as she processed the implications of what he’d just said. He wanted to press harder but worried they were about to lose her.

“O-okay,” she whispered.

He cast a quick look to the crucifix on the wall. Thank you, Jesus.

Her gait was unsteady as she led them upstairs then through the master bedroom into the bathroom. She opened a drawer and pointed. “That’s his, and so is the toothbrush in the cup.”

Dayne grabbed two tissues from the box on the vanity, one for the hairbrush and one for the toothbrush. He handed one tissue to Paulson, who went for the toothbrush, while Dayne took the hairbrush.

“Thank you, Carolyn.” He nodded to Paulson. “We’ll get you a property receipt.”

Minutes later, they placed the items in separate evidence bags Dayne dug from the back of his SUV. Paulson filled out a property receipt, going back inside the house to give it to Carolyn Mauser. While Dayne waited for the detective to return, he tried calling Beth Shanahan and the security guards on duty outside the castle and the Canine Haven. Nobody answered. What were the chances of none of them answering at the same time?

He tightened his hand around his cell and punched up Kat’s number. It went to voicemail.

“Mike.” He grabbed the evidence bags. “Get these to the nearest lab and run them for prints. Call me if you get a hit. I’m heading to the castle. No one’s answering there.”

“You got it.”

“And send patrol cars to the castle and the Canine Haven. Tell them I’ll meet them there.”

He pounded to the Interceptor and fired up the engine. Please don’t let me be too late. Two seconds later, he was peeling rubber up the New Jersey Turnpike.

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Before she turned around, she knew. It’s him.

The killer.

An uncontrollable shudder swept through her body, and her heart began thudding painfully in her chest. Cold, stark fear prevented her from getting a single one of her body parts to move. Sucking in a deep breath, she started to turn when he grabbed her hair and yanked. Hard.

Excruciating pain radiated through her skull as he dragged her backward, twisting her hair tighter. She screamed, flailing her arms and clawing at his hands, but it was no use. His grip was too tight.

Panic exploded in her mind, and she drew in quick, shallow breaths, trying her best not to tighten his hold and add to the throbbing pain in her scalp.

Don’t give up. Fight!

With a rough shove, he pushed her to the ground on her belly and rammed his knee between her shoulder blades. She breathed in a mixture of damp grass, smoke, and gasoline.

Again, he grabbed her hair, pulling it tighter and forcing her to angle her head backward. Something sharp dug into the tender flesh of her neck.

A knife.