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Jessica ground her back teeth together behind a smile. The man had saved her life, after all. “I feel fine. Throat’sa little raw from upchucking a gallon of water. Neck’s sore from where he grabbed me. But I’m just ready to go back to the hotel.”
One of the nurses must’ve been hovering outside because she chose that moment to push through the door. “Ready to leave, Jessica?”
Jessica hopped off the bed. “More than ready.”
Forty-five minutes later, she got her wish as Finn wheeled into the parking lot of the hotel. He wouldn’t let her drive her own car home.
He pulled into a parking space and cut the engine. “I’m coming up with you, and I’m staying the night. The nurse warned you might have some complications.”
“She also mentioned that would be very rare, as you Heimliched all that water out of my lungs.” His insistence had put her at ease, though. She didn’t want to go to her room alone. Didn’t want to spend the night alone. Didn’t want to be alone ever again. “What about Bodhi?”
“I already called my neighbor. He probably had a game of fetch in the water, shared some dog food with the golden retriever next door and now they’re both curled up in front of a crackling fire.”
As they stepped into the lobby, the usually friendly desk clerk didn’t even look up from his computer screen when she walked past him. She’d probably become the town pariah. Would Missy and Gabby even be dead if this guy hadn’t wanted to somehow show off for her? That’s all she could imagine he was doing. Why give her, of all people, a heads-up?
Once inside her room, Finn took charge. He pointed to the bathroom. “Wet clothes off. Take a warm shower. I’ll make you some tea.”
She followed his orders and grabbed her pajamas on her way to the bathroom. She shrugged off her damp jacket and peeled her sodden shirt from her body. Her jeans were just dirty, and she kicked those off, too.
The warm spray of the shower hit her face, and she jumped. The memory of her face in the fountain, the strong force pinning her down, had her doubling over. After everything, she hadn’t actually feared the killer as he never seemed interested in harming her…until now.
She washed her hair and hurried through the rest of her shower. She slipped into her pajamas, a practical two-piece set, and ran a dryer over her hair, scrunching up her curls. True to his word, Finn had a cup of hot tea waiting for her on the nightstand.
He patted the bed. “Come over here and relax.”
She appreciated his solicitousness, but she knew he had an ulterior motive—and it wasn’t sex. He hadn’t been present for most of her conversation with Detective Morse, and he wanted the rest of the details. She didn’t blame him. She had questions of her own about Gabby Medina.
She crawled onto the bed, fluffed pillows behind her and sat cross-legged as she slid her hand around the paper cup of steaming tea. “Fire away.”
“If you’re not up to…”
She sliced a hand through the air. “We both know we need to debrief here.”
Finn didn’t waste any more time. “He texted you from a different number during the vigil. The text you forwarded to me—was that the first one?”
“No. The first text was that it was getting rowdyhere. So I knew he was in the quad or had been in the quad. When I asked him, he answered that he had left with a friend.And I knew then he was going to do something bad or had already done it. I fired off a million questions and he answered with the one I forwarded to you.” She slurped the tea. “I really did try to get your attention before I went to the Art Garden.”
“I believe you. The scene was crazy. I didn’t even hear my phone ring. I did notice you leaving, though, and when I got that text, I figured it out.”
“I had my weapon with me, which I no longer have. I should’ve gone in more aggressively, but when I saw that woman…when I saw Gabby, I lost it. He took advantage of that and attacked me.” She tapped a fingernail against the paper cup and stared into her tea.
“What’s wrong?”
“He attacked me. He’s never done that before—the tires, the doll, even the discovery of Missy’s body—he never tried to physically harm me.”
“I hope you weren’t sitting around thinking you were safe from this guy just because he spared your life a few times.” He dropped onto the bed beside her, making her tea slosh in the cup. “He’s a psychopath. Now he’s a serial killer. He’s not rational.”
“I know, but why now? And why is he leading me to his fresh kills? It’s sick. I hate it.” She dropped her chin to her chest, and a tear rolled down her face.
“It has something to do with your sister’s murder. Maybe he’s a Plank fan. I know, I know. Maybe Plank didn’t kill Tiffany, but most people believe he did. This guy believes Plank was responsible for Tiffany’s murder, so he’s involving you.”
“I wish he’d stop.” She dashed her wet cheek with theback of her hand. “What about Gabby? Her name doesn’t start with anM, but did she work on campus?”
Finn’s eyes darkened and a muscle twitched at the corner of his mouth. “She worked at the ice cream shop. I saw her the day I talked to Deke. She popped her head into his office.”
Jessica clapped a hand over her mouth. “Does Morse know this?”
“I told him everything.”