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.
Maybe he was right. Maybe it wasnt her place. But if her theory was correct, then the nightmare wasnt over.
More women were going to die.
Uncle Gabe, please listen to her. Cissy put her hand on her uncles arm. I didnt want to believe it, either. I was hoping Alicia would tell me I was imagining things.
Gabes eyes narrowed as he looked from Cissy to Alicia. I take it you didnt?
Why dont we sit? Alicia motioned toward the sofa.
Gabe frowned but sat. Cissy dropped onto the sofa next to him, leaving Alicia to take the ottoman again. She cleared her throat and leaned forward to pick up the folder Gabe had set down just before Cissy arrived.
Cissys been taking criminology courses since last year, Alicia began, straightening the contents of the file to give her twitchy hands something to do. One of her courses was Basic Criminal Profiling.
I profiled Moms murderer as one of my assignments, Cissy added quietly. Got an A.
Im sure you probably know that profiling is more an art than a science, Alicia continued, trying not to react to the raw intensity of Gabes gaze, part of her wondering what it would feel like to experience that sort of no-holds-barred focus under more intimate circumstances.
Understatement, he murmured.
She slanted a look at him. Legwork solves more cases. I dont dispute that.
The evidence against Logan was damning, he said simply. Why keep asking a question thats already been answered?
Because the one person we can prove Victor killed was a man. A man against whom he had a personal grudge. I read the statements your brother and sister-in-law gave last month after their ordeal with Logan. He used a gun to subdue them, and even then, he wasnt very good at using it. Hes not the person who shot the game wardenthat was the other man.
Uncle Gabe, nothing fits, dont you see? Cissy turned to Gabe, her expression animated. Alicia watched her warily, aware that the younger womans personal stakes in the case put her at risk of getting too wrapped up in the outcome of Alicias project. She had to be careful with Cissy, not let her get any more involved than she was already.
Gabe pressed his lips together in consternation. He looked across at Alicia. How did you get all this material?
Alicia looked down at her hands, a little embarrassed. I used to date one of the local cops. He still does favors for me now and then. He talked his bosses into letting me look into some cold cases that might be connected to the other murders.
And you sweet-talked them into letting you request records from other law enforcement agencies, right?
Alicia almost laughed aloud. Sweet talk wasnt one of her strong suits. Bulldozer was a better description. Something like that. I used Cissys profile, tweaked it with my own observations and put out feelers to other departments to see if they had any cases that fit the profile.
What did you find?
Alicia couldnt tell if he was interested or just humoring his niece. Either way, it might be her only chance to convince him to listen. She dug through the file for the timeline shed worked out, speaking as she searched. I found fifteen murders that I think are connected.
That many? He sounded surprised.
Im not sure there arent more, she admitted, finally finding the paper she was looking for. She pulled it from the file and laid it on the table in front of her.
Gabe eyed the paper warily, as if it were about to morph into a cobra or something. Alicia darted a look at Cissy, who returned her gaze with an apologetic shrug.
I need food, Gabe said.
Alicia blinked, caught off balance. I could make something
No, I think Ill take my niece out to dinner. Gabe stood, looking down at Cissy.
Uncle Gabe
Im not shutting down the conversation, he said. Just tabling it until Ive eaten.
Cissy stood, lifting her chin. Alicia, would you like to join us?
Gabes expression was neutral, but Alicia saw the irritation in his blue eyes. She shook her head. No, not tonight. Ive got a lot of work to sort through. You two go have fun. We can talk tomorrow.
Cissys lips tightened to a thin line and Alicia could see the family resemblance between her and her uncle. But she didnt argue, following Gabe to the front door.
Ill call you if we dont get back too late, Cissy told Alicia firmly. This isnt over.
Alicia closed the door behind them, locking up. She remained by the door a moment, surprised by how empty and large the apartment seemed now that her visitors had left.
Gabe Cooper sure knew how to fill a room with his presence.
She crossed to the sofa and plopped down in the space Gabe had just vacated. The cushion was still warm, and maybe she was just imagining it, but she thought she detected a whiff of testosterone lingering in the air.
She laughed aloud, the sound echoing in the silent apartment. Man, she needed to get out more.
Her laughter faltered a few seconds later, when she heard a furtive scrape coming from the porch outside.
Instantly tense, she grabbed her discarded jacket from the coat tree by the door and pulled the vial of pepper spray from the pocket. It seemed grossly inadequate, but her aluminum bat was in the bedroom, too far away.
There was a window by the front door, which would give her a clear view of the porch, but she couldnt talk herself into moving the curtains aside and taking a look. She settled for the peephole in the door and its fish-eyed view. She saw no sign of movement outside.
And yet, she heard another set of creaking noises, as if someone was walking around on the wooden porch outside.
Stop it, she told herself, backing away from the door. This isnt some isolated warehouse and youre not really alone.
But she held on to the pepper spray anyway.
I CANT BELIEVE HOW RUDE you were. Cissy kept her voice low, glancing around the restaurant as if she thought her half-whispered rebuke might cause a scene.
Gabe felt a hint of guilt, but it was eclipsed by annoyance at his niece and, more to the point, the pretty little egghead whod stirred up Cissys emotions about her mothers murder. I prefer to call it direct, he answered tightly.
Call it whatever you want. It was still uncalled for.
Know what else is uncalled for? Dragging someone across the state on false pretenses. Gabe gave Cissy a pointed look.
They werent false. They wereincomplete.
Gabe fiddled with the salad fork lying beside his water glass. Victor Logan killed your mother. Even as he spoke the words aloud, doubt nagged at him, making the back of his neck prickle with unease.
You dont sound as convinced here as you did back at Alicias place, Cissy murmured.
You havent mentioned any of this to your dad, have you?
Cissy looked horrified. No! Im not going to him with anything less than hard evidence. Hes been through enough pain over the years trying to find Moms killer.
So you called me instead. Not that Cissy could understand just how hard the roller coaster of false leads and dashed hopes had been on him, too. She didnt know just how intimately he was involved in the disaster of that night, how much blame he had earned with his selfish thoughtlessness.
Youve been there for my brother and me, as much as anyone. I knew youd come if I called. Cissy looked across the table at him, her expression softening. I trust your judgment about this particular topic.
Except when I disagree with your theories, he added with an indulgent smile.
She grinned. Exactly.
The waitress arrived to take their orders. Cissy had chosen one of the higher-end restaurants in town, although in a place like Millbridge, Alabama, high-end was relative. A snowy linen tablecloth covered the small window-side table where they sat, their seats overlooking a moonlit garden partially obscured by their reflection bouncing back at them on the picture window. The flatware was stainless steel, but clean and shiny, free of nicks and stains.
At least the menu was unpretentious. Home cooking, plenty of options. Gabe selected a steak and vegetable plate, though he wasnt feeling particularly hungry at the moment, thanks to Cissys ambush.
Cissy ordered cheese fries.
As the apparent stand-in for your father, I have to tell you that cheese fries are almost completely lacking in nutritional value, he said after the waitress departed.
Cheese has protein, she defended. Besides, Im feeling strangely in need of comfort food.
Reaching across the table, he patted her hand. Thats my fault, isnt it?
Her brow wrinkled. Not everythings your fault, you know.
But it was, he thought. More than she realized. You want to go back there tonight? he asked. Finish what we started?
Yes, she answered simply.
What do you know about this Alicia person, anyway? Whats her deal?
Cissy gave him an odd look. Her deal?
What made her decide to look into cold cases in the first place?
I dont know, exactly. She was already working on her thesis when I took my first lab with her.
What kind of labs does she teach? When Gabe had been in school, the labs hed attended were usually limited to either the hard sciences or language classes. Of course, he had pretty much avoided the social sciences like the plague. His major had been marine biology, with a focus on freshwater ecosystems. Gave him a head start on figuring out where to find the bass when he was fishing a tournament.
Shes helping the head of the psychology department develop research labs for criminal investigations. For instance, she and another grad student, Marlon, are spending a lot of their time working up a set of protocols to quantify the likelihood of a violence-prone individual to escalate to sadistic murder.
Gabe grimaced. Tell me youre not helping with that one.
Im not. You have to be a senior or a grad student to participate. The waitress arrived with Cissys cheese fries, assuring Gabe his steak was on the way. Gabe took notice of her this time. She was tall, on the curvy side, with a wide, smiling mouth and eyes the color of dark chocolate. She didnt look like Brenda, but there was something about her that reminded Gabe of his sister-in-law.
What little appetite hed had fled.
Whats the matter? Cissy asked after the waitress left.
Nothing.
Cissy followed his gaze as he tracked the waitress departure. Shes pretty. A little old for you, though. And I think she was wearing a wedding ring
Gabe looked across the table at his niece. She reminded me of someone.
Mom?
A little, he admitted.
Not that much. Shes just on your mind. Shes on mine, too. Cissy picked at the plate of cheese fries in front of her, swirling one thin strip of potato in the gooey sauce. Some days, I barely remember her, and others, its like Im right there, curled up in my bed, listening to her read me a story. A hint of a smile curved her pink lips. Our favorite was Sam, Bangs and Moonshine. So mysterious and adventurous. A good lesson about the consequences of lies, too.
Im sorry, sweetheart. You shouldnt have had to go through life without your mama. I shouldnt have let it happen, he added silently.
Cissy pushed her plate of cheese fries across the table, an unconscious echo of her mothers habit of offering comfort through the distraction of food. In a family that included five active males under the age of thirty at the time, it had often proved a successful ploy. I know this may seem like a long shot to you
I just dont know if your father can bear another let-down. Gabe gently pushed the plate back toward her. I dont know if I can.
You may have to. Cissy met his gaze directly, her expression deadly serious. Gabe realized, in that instant, that his little niece had grown up without his realizing it. How had that happened?
Whys that? he asked aloud.
Cissy leaned forward, lowering her voice. Because the murders are still happening.
THE MOON EMERGED FROM BEHIND a wispy cloud, casting a pale blue glow across the front lawn of the Bellewood Manor Apartments. The real estate website was rightit did look like history come to life. He could almost imagine a parade of silly Southern belles strolling along the length of the porch, flirting and flitting and behaving generally like the weak little sheep they were.
He was safely across the street now, hidden by the limber fronds of a willow tree. Hed taken a chance earlier, walking right up to her front door. Hed been careful to stay out of range of the security peephole, though she would have seen him easily enough had she looked out the window.
But she wouldnt look. For all her hardheaded determination to solve the mystery shed uncovered, Alicia Solano was scared. Scared she fit the victim profile.
Scared she would be next.
Well, she did fit the profile. She was a curvy brunette with a strong, independent streak just screaming for a take down. Hell, sometimes, he wanted to do it himself.
But that wasnt his job. He was the scout, not the hunter. That was Alexs job.
And Alex didnt take foolish chances.
Alicia wouldnt be the next victim. Not here, surrounded by people who could hear or see something and share it with the cops. The next victim worked at a convenience store on Route 7, a cashier who could go a whole six-hour evening shift without seeing a soul now that the bypass to the interstate was completed, diverting traffic away from the dying store.
She would close up at eleven, no doubt relieved to be done with the mind-numbing shift. Her only thought would be of heading home, her mind already full of the things she had to do before she could finally go to bed and get a well-earned night of sleep before dragging herself to her first morning class.
Useless ponderings, of course. Shed never make it to bed.
Shed never even make it out of the store.