Look, Ive clearly spooked you. And I guess if there are murders going on here that Cissy thinks I need to know about, youve got good reason to be a little freaked.
I told you, you didnt scare me.
Im afraid I dont believe you, he answered in a slow, devastating drawl. He reached into the back pocket of his jeans. As he did so, the side hem of his shirt lifted to reveal a handgun tucked into a slim holster attached to the waistband of his jeans.
Alicias heart skipped a beat. She pulled the pepper spray canister from her jacket pocket, ready to press the button and run like hell at the slightest provocation.
But the man who called himself Gabe Cooper merely brought out a thin, dark-colored wallet. He flipped it open with one hand and flashed a small penlight onto the contents. Alicia saw a photo ID inside.
This is me, he said, moving closer.
She settled her trembling finger over the button of the pepper spray dispenser, but stood her ground as he came close enough for her to see the ID. It was an Alabama drivers license, with a Gossamer Ridge address. The photo of the man was impossibly good for a drivers license photo, making Alicia hate him a little in envy.
The name on the license was definitely Gabe Cooper, and she knew her friend Cissy was from Gossamer Ridge.
Would a second ID help? I have a lifetime Alabama fishing license
Her tension eased again. What do you do for a living?
He hesitated a second, as if realizing this was a test. Im a fishing guide and sometimes professional angler. I also pull volunteer shifts as an auxiliary deputy at the Chickasaw County Sheriffs Department.
Whats Cissys fathers name?
J.D., he answered patiently. James Dennison, actually, but weve always called him J.D.
What about her mother?
He hesitated again, this time answering in a faint, emotion-tinged voice. Brenda Alice Teague Cooper. She died twelve years ago.
Howd she die?
She was murdered.
Pain etched every word into the darkness between them, reminding her of the way Cissy spoke of her mother, in a voice raw with sadness. Only with this man, the pain was rawer still, edged with a bitterness that made Alicias stomach ache.
This man couldnt take a persons life with the impersonal ease of a serial killer. Alicia put the pepper spray back into the pocket of her jacket. Im Alicia Solano.
So youre Professor Solano? He sounded surprised. Alicia guessed his niece had mentioned her to him at some point.
Instructor, actually. No Ph.D yet. She tried not to bristle at his skepticism. It wasnt an insult to be thought too young to be a college instructor, or so her older colleagues insisted. She was a young-looking twenty-five, especially when she eschewed makeup, as shed done today.
Cissy speaks well of you.
Shes a good student, she answered automatically, then softened her voice. Good person, actually.
The shadows of his face split to reveal a flash of white teeth that even the gloom couldnt conceal. Were kind of fond of her our own selves.
Cissy shares Apartment D with a couple of other Mill Valley underclassmen. Alicia waved at the apartment on the far left. There were no lights burning inside on either floor of the two-story apartment. They were nearing the end of the spring semester, so any of the girls might still be at the library studying for end of term exams.
Looks like no ones home, Gabe murmured.
You can wait for her at my place.
He looked surprised. You dont even know me.
She was a little surprised herself, remembering the holstered gun shed spotted. But she was convinced he really was Cissys uncle and hed said he was a volunteer deputy sheriff. If Cissy had asked him to visit, he must be a pretty good guy, packing heat or not.
Besides, she had a million questions for him. Cissy had been seven when her mother died, and from what she had told Alicia, shed been sheltered from a lot of details of the murder. What little she did know, shed gleaned mostly from snippets of her fathers conversations shed overheard over the years and from a series of newspaper articles shed looked up at the local library when she was in high school.
But Gabe Cooper was old enough to know everything that happened. He could answer some of the questions she had about Brenda Coopers murder. And maybe, if she asked the right questions, he could help her catch a couple of killers.
THE OUTSIDE OF THE apartment may have been all shabby Southern charm, but inside, a riot of color greeted Gabe Cooper, nearly scorching his retinas. Pale yellow walls were the extent of subtlety inside Alicia Solanos apartment, providing a neutral backdrop for a variety of bright furnishings, from Caribbean dancers writhing in frenetic joy across a wide canvas hanging over a bright orange sofa to the lime green area rug covering the hardwood floor underfoot. It reminded Gabe of an outdoor market hed visited in South America the last time hed gone fishing down there, all vivid colors and kinetic energy.
I dont drink coffee, Alicia said over her shoulder, moving out of the living room into the smaller, open kitchen area, but I have iced tea. Or I could make some lemonade
He could tell by her accent that she wasnt from anywhere near the sleepy college town of Millbridge, Alabama, but shed apparently picked up the local customs of hospitality somewhere along the way.
Or maybe youre hungry? she added. Had dinner yet?
He laughed softly. Yes, shed learned the Southern way very well. Ill wait and have something with Cissy when she gets home, he answered.
She paused in the middle of the kitchen, turning to look at him. Oh, okay. Sure you dont want something to drink?
Ice water would be great, he answered, mostly so he wouldnt disappoint her.
She turned toward the cabinets, standing on tiptoe to reach the glasses on the top shelf. She seemed relieved to have something to do with all the bottled up energy radiating from her compact body.
Hed scared her earlier, despite her protestations to the contrary. He should have identified himself first, put her at ease. He sometimes forgot, having grown up in a little town where everyone knew everyone else, that the world could be a very different place for other people.
Brendas murder should have etched that life lesson into his soul a long time ago.
She came into the living room bearing a glass of water and ice, a paper napkin under the bottom as a makeshift coaster. She waved for him to sit on the sofa and dropped onto a bright green ottoman nearby.
Im not keeping you from anything, I hope. He eyed the neon blue briefcase shed set on the coffee table when they entered.
She followed his gaze. Just brought some notes home to work on my thesis.
He took a sip of the water. She didnt put a lot of ice in, which meant wherever that accent had come from, it probably wasnt somewhere particularly hot. Where are you from? Originally, I mean.
San Francisco.
Pretty area.
Yes.
She watched him with a narrowed gaze, her mind working visibly behind a pair of dark, observant eyes. She didnt have any makeup on, though with her thick black eyelashes and honey-toned skin, she didnt need much. It had been hard to tell at first glance what sort of body lay beneath the loose-cut gray blouse and plain black skirt she wore. But watching her move, as hed done when she went to the kitchen for his water, hed quickly seen the graceful curves of her hips and spine, the straining of her round breasts against the front of the blouse when shed risen to reach the glasses.
Surrounded by the riot of color in her apartment, she seemed almost unnaturally still in contrast, a little sparrow sitting quiet and watchful in the midst of chaos.
A shrill sound emanated from inside the blue briefcase, making her jump. That might be a studentI have to get that. She snapped open the case and retrieved a small silver phone. She flipped it open. Hello?
As she moved toward the kitchen, Gabe glanced at the contents of the open briefcase. A stack of files and papers lay within, nondescript at first glance. But the edge of a photo peeked out of one folder. The only thing he could make out were a patch of tall grass and a womans single shoe.
But it was enough to make his blood run cold.
He glanced up at Alicia. Shed moved all the way into the kitchen, her back to him as she spoke in low tones on the phone.
Gabe reached into the case and pulled out the file containing the photo. He took the photo out and stared at it, his pulse hammering in his head.
Brenda.
She lay as hed found her, wedged between the tree and the bush, her skirt demurely in place, her legs slightly bent. Her brown pumps were still on her feet, though the police had informed the family that there had been scrapes on the heels of her feet and shredding of her stockings consistent with being dragged through the rough parking lot outside the trucking company.
When Victor Logan raped and killed her, hed made sure she was left in a dignified position in death. Apparently hed fancied himself a gentleman. Gabes lip curled with disgust.
I should have closed the briefcase.
Gabe looked up at Alicias words. He hadnt heard her approach. What are you doing with this?
The look on her face was equal parts guilt and determination. Well, Id hoped that Cissy would get here before the subject came up, but Im pretty sure thats why she called you to come here.
Connections started forming in his mind, though they made no sense. Brendas murder had been solved finally, after twelve years, when his twin brother Jake and Jakes wife Mariah had put the pieces together that implicated an itinerant mechanic named Victor Logan in Brendas murder as well as several other murders in a three-state area. Logan had died in a gas explosion at his home in Buckley, Mississippi, not a month earlier.
Cissy knew Victor Logan had been living in Chickasaw County at the time of her mothers murder and that hed kept a scrapbook on the series of murders that had included articles about Brendas death as well. She knew why the police believed Logan was her mothers killer, so why would she have called him all the way here just to dredge up a closed case?
Brendas murder investigation is over, he said aloud, dropping the file onto the coffee table dismissively. The killer is dead.
A knock on the door sent a jolt through his nervous system.
Alicia gave a small start, too. She crossed to the front door and glanced through the peephole. Her tense posture eased and she opened the door to reveal Gabes niece Cissy.
Cissys green eyes met Gabes, first with delight then with a growing sense of dismay as she sensed the tension in the room. Has something happened? she asked Alicia.
He saw the file, Alicia answered quietly, closing the door behind her.
Cissy pressed her lips into a narrow line. I wanted to set it up better, but I guess you know why youre here now.
Gabe shook his head. Not really. How about you start telling me why you really dragged me down here?
Cissy took his hand for a moment, then wrapped her slender arms around him and gave him a tight, fierce hug. I know you wanted this to all be over. I did, too. She stepped back, pinning him with the full force of her green-eyed gaze. But its not. Victor Logan didnt kill my mom.
Chapter Two
Alicia watched Gabe Coopers expression go from puzzled to furious in the span of a second. His gaze whipped up to snare her own, snapping with anger so intense her stomach knotted.
Did you put this idea in her head? he asked.
Cissy tugged at his arm. Alicia cant make me believe something if I dont think its true. Im the one who raised the subject with her, not the other way around.
Gabe turned to his niece, his brow furrowing. Why? You heard everything Mariah and Jake told us about Logan. You know about the scrapbook
Nobodys ever tracked down the other guy, Cissy pointed out. Alicia knew she was referring to a second man the police were looking for in connection to Victor Logans death. Cissy had filled her in on everything the Cooper family knew about Logan and the events of the previous month, when Logan had taken Cissys Uncle Jake and his wife Mariah captive.
Jakes certain the other guy wouldnt have been more than a teenager when your mother was murdered, Gabe said, gently stroking his nieces arm. I know it doesnt feel like closure. We never got to face Victor Logan and make him admit what he did, but grasping at straws
They may not be straws, Alicia interjected.
Gabes head snapped toward her. What is your deal? Youre so desperate for a thesis topic that youd mess with a young girls mind about her mothers murder?
Damn it! Cissy pulled away from her uncle. Im not a baby and Alicias not messing with my head. Do you have any idea how insulting youre being right now?
Gabes expression fell, and he raked his hand through his dark hair, turning away. Im sorry.
Alicia crossed to Cissys side, offering a united front. Cissy had questions about her mothers murder before she ever stepped foot in my lab. When she found out I was doing my doctoral thesis on a series of unsolved serial murders in the Gulf states, she asked my opinion about her mothers case.
The hard muscles of Gabes jaws tensed. My brother and I have both spent the last twelve years looking into every lead that emerged, most of which fell apart. We know a viable suspect when we see one. Victor Logan had the means to do it and the opportunity. And based on his issues with women, were confident we have a good idea what motivated him
Why you? Alicia interrupted, struck by something hed said a moment earlier. I mean, I get why Cissys father would have devoted his life to finding an answer, but why you?
Gabe glanced at his niece before answering. Im the one who found her body.
Alicia glanced at Cissy, whose expression was solemn and tinged with sympathy as she gazed up at her uncle. If she found the answer as incomplete as Alicia did, she gave no sign of it.
I see, she said, although she didnt really. Finding the body might have given Gabe a bigger stake in learning what happened to Cissys mother, but not enough to spend twelve years following leads long after the case had grown stone-cold.
I appreciate that you have a paper to write. And I get that having Cissy here is like a case study practically falling into your lap. But all the authorities whove ever looked into Brendas murder are convinced that Victor Logan is the guy.
Hes one of them, Alicia agreed.
Gabes brow furrowed. One of them?
Ive managed to get my hands on the bulk of the police reports dealing with Victor Logans actions from this past April as well as your sister-in-laws statements about his actions four years ago, when he killed her sons father. She felt a ripple of guilt at the look of dismay in Gabes eyes, as if he saw her actions as intrusive and presumptuous.