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Driven to get to work, she gathered up the laptop and briefcase she’d brought with her. Stopped and looked at Ethan. “Have my bags beendelivered?”
“They should be in yourroom.”
Nyle scrambled to find the file folder with the photos. “Here are the images.” He rose and walked over to hand her the file in question, which she took before heading to the door. Her mind was already on her next task. The insect samples could prove invaluable in fine-tuning the latest victim selection. She frowned as she reached the door, and juggled the items in her hands as she reached for the knob. A false conclusion, however, could send them in a completely wrong direction. It was here that the scientist in her often struggled with the criminologist. She preferred basing her conclusion onsolid—
“You’ll needthis.”
Ethan’s voice interrupted her thoughts. Halfway out the door, she turned. He’d followed her, holding her room card. Sheepishly, she took it from him. “Of course.” He let her get to the hallway before stopping her again. “Alexa?”
She glanced back athim.
A smile was lurking at the corners of his mouth. “Your room is directly across thehall.”
“Oh.” Thoughts scattered, all she could do was stare at him. He’d once worn smiles more easily, she recalled dimly. He’d used them to tease her out of her seriousness. They’d been a beacon in her otherwise dark existence—until they’d extinguished completely when their shared grief threatened to swallow themwhole.
The memory carved a hollow in her stomach. She turned and made her way toward her room, wishing she didn’t feel as though she was running away fromsomething.
Again.
* * *
“She left in a hurry.”
Nyle’s observation had Ethan turning away from the closed door he was still staring at. “Her mind gets two steps ahead when she has hold of an idea.” He headed for the seat at the desk she’d vacated. He had phone calls to make to the team he’d left in New Brunswick so he could catch up on the results of the investigation they’d left behind. He still had to update his superior on the team, Captain Campbell at RCMP headquarters tonight and set priorities for the daily briefing that would take place with the task force members tomorrow morning. “It can make her seem absent-minded, but she’s crazysmart.”
“I’d say that’s a masterful understatement. I researched her after I called home last night. Figured you’d have done the same after Campbell contacted you with the news she’d be joiningus.”
Ethan’s shoulders tightened at Nyle’s words. When he’d gotten word from the brass yesterday, researching the expert consultant had been the last thing on his mind. Dealing with the news that there’d be neither more resources nor more personnel for the case, he’d spent hours after he and Nyle had parted drawing up priorities for the investigation and juggling them between the task force team members and localpolice.
Would it have helped if he’d checked out Dr. Hayden last night? He dug in his pocket for his cell. Maybe he’d have been better prepared for the shock of seeing her today. His gut clenched. But maybe not. There was really no way to adequately prepare for coming face to face with the biggest regret of hislife.
“She’s got double PhDs and board certifications in entomology and forensic psychology, you know that? That’s amazing at her age. She’s got to be brilliant. But you knew her, you said. You’d know all about that.” Ethan felt Nyle’s gaze on him as he read through the responses to his earlier text messages. “Were you guys in schooltogether?”
“She was homeschooled.” He’d realized too late that his knowledge of Alexa’s life before their brief marriage was sketchy. Their chemistry had been too sudden, too overwhelming to allow room for much else. But he’d come to understand that she’d glossed over the areas of her life where the shadows dwelled. He’d had a lot of years to wonder what sort of damage that darkness hadinflicted.
Seeing Nyle’s expectant expression, he realized it was time to end this conversation. “I’ve got to check in with McManus.” He’d left the other man as point in New Brunswick. “Anything come through on the lab teststoday?”
“Tox screen on both New Brunswick victims. Scopolamine, just like wefigured.”
Ethan nodded, unsurprised. Five years ago, they’d wasted a lot of man-hours chasing leads on where the killer was getting the drug. They’d come up with nothing. Scopolamine wasn’t a controlled substance. There were too many illicit avenues available on the street and the dark web to track anyone bent on buying the drug. They’d met with a similar failure following up on the source of the thread used for the mouths. It was mass-produced and widely available, although they had determined the same type was used in each crime. So far, the killer had been smart and lucky. But Ethan was going to do his damnedest to make sure the man’s good fortune ran out sooner, rather than later. And he wasn’t going to let anything divert him from that end. Not even the woman he’d once promised to honor and cherish for the rest of theirlives.
Especiallynother.
* * *
Ahammeringon the door jolted Alexa from the report she was typing on her laptop. Frowning, she got up and crossed the room. As she was about to unsecure the safety chain, however, a sliver of caution chased away the remnants of the work fog engulfing her. She checked the peephole in the door first. A micro-sized Ethan Manning filledit.
She took a moment to haul in a breath. If she’d indulged in a fantasy that she could consult on this case without ever having a single conversation with Ethan, alone, that fantasy was about to be shattered. Alexa unlatched the chain and pulled open the door. She made a point of looking at Ethan’s hands. “Where’d you hide the batteringram?”
“Funny.” He brushed by her as he entered the room, leaving her to shut the door behind him. “I saw the light under your door. I’ve been knocking for five minutes. Was starting to think you wereunconscious.”
“As you can see, I’m…” she began. And then stopped when he turned. Stared at her. “What?”
After a long moment, he cleared his throat. Looked away. “Your glasses. You must have beenworking.”
Her brows raised. He was acting as strangely as she’d ever seen him. “Yes. I like to put my thoughts down in writing, becauseI’m—”
“Hopelessly visual,” he finished. One corner of his mouth kicked up. “Yeah. Iremember.”