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Elise thought of her boys. If she gave herself to this maniac, they’d be orphaned. “Don’t hurt her. It’s me you want, not her.”
“True, but I want you to suffer like you made me suffer.”
“What do you want from me? Why are you doing this?”
“Like the rhyme said...” He laughed. “They remind me of everything I lost because of you...Alice.”
CHAPTER 11
Paul strode through the office,heels hitting hard on the tiled floor. “Mel? You here?”
Mel’s head popped up over the top of her cubicle. “I’m here, though I’d rather be out of this stuffy office. Whatcha got?”
“In my office, ASAP.” He paced behind his desk until Mel closed the door.
She stood with her shoulders back, her hands crossed at the small of her back in a perfect parade rest. “What happened, boss?”
“Whoever left Elise that note, broke into her home and wrote another across the wall in her bedroom.”
“Shoot.” Mel let out a long breath. “The woman could use some better locks.”
“I need you out there as soon as possible to collect any evidence you can find. And get a locksmith. I want all the doors on her house rekeyed.”
“I should get hold of Joe in Forensics.”
“No, I promised her we wouldn’t get more people involved than we already have. She’s expecting you and the sooner you’re out there, the better I’ll feel.”
“Gotcha.” Mel dug a small steno pad out of her back jeans pocket. “I spent my day out in Breuer as well, interviewing the first victim’s friends and family. It seems Lauren Alice Pendley worked in the high school cafeteria as a lunch lady. She quit just a month ago to go to work at the pharmacy.”
“Elise’s high school?”
Mel nodded. “One and the same.”
“I think I need to spend more time on campus.”
“On campus in general, or with Elise in particular?” Mel’s smile came and went with the searing glare Paul aimed her way. “Anything else, boss?”
“Yeah, keep an eye open for a Hispanic teen about six feet tall. Caesar Valdez. He threatened Elise in school today and I think he was also responsible for throwing a brick at her car windshield.”
“Think our Alice Klaus has enough people gunning for her?” Mel shook her head. “And here I thought you were just out enjoying the cool hill-country weather.”
Paul ran a hand through his hair, his shoulders tense, the muscles screaming for the release of a good workout. And maybe a workout would help him clear his mind and body of the feeling of Elise’s lips on his, her body pressed to him. He really needed to clear his mind of her. If he hurried through the paperwork, he mightget in a run before dark. “She’s scared, Mel. Go easy on her.”
“You don’t have to tell me, Paul. I can just imagine. Seems like the world is gangin’ up on her.”
“Tread lightly around the kids, too. The oldest boy knows about his father.”
Mel sucked air past her clamped teeth. “That’s a darn shame. Gotta be a blow to the kid to know that much.”
“Yeah.” Paul frowned at Mel. “When did you start talking like a Texan?”
Mel shrugged. “It grows on you.”
He glared at her. “Quit it, it doesn’t sound right on someone from the east coast.”
“You might not like Texas, but I plan on staying here as long as the Bureau lets me.” She hooked her thumbs in the belt loops of her jeans and rocked back on her cowboy boot heels.
Paul shook his head. “Go on. I don’t like Elise being without protection too long.”