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Finn jerked his head to the side, and the car swerved into the gravel for a few seconds. “You’re going to visit Avery Plank in the pen?”
“I’ve already cleared it. He’s expecting me tomorrow during visiting hours.” She sloshed the water around in the bottle, its motion mirroring his thoughts.
“Why on earth would you want to talk to Plank?” Finn smacked his palms on the steering wheel. “Wait. Have you seen him before?”
“Never. This is my first visit, although I’ve been thinking about it for a while. I even wrote a few letters to him that I ripped up.”
“He’s dangerous, Jessica.” He jerked his thumb over his shoulder. “You felt evil at Morgan’s death site. Wait until you sit across from Plank. You’ll choke on it.”
She tipped some water into her mouth and licked her lips. “He’s locked up. He can’t hurt me.”
“Here.” Finn tapped the side of his head. “He’ll hurt youup here. He plays games with people. You’re not going to get any truth out of him.”
“You sure didn’t feel that way about him ten years ago, did you? None of you did.” She put on a fake low voice as she said, “Oh, hey, Avery, did you kill Tiffany Hunt? Shari Chang? Letitia Rocha? You wanna help us close some pesky open cases we couldn’t be bothered to investigate?”
“Those cases didn’t come out of the blue. They all had the same pattern as the Creekside Killer victims. It made sense.” He clenched his jaw. Ithadbeen the easy way out, but it didn’t mean law enforcement was wrong or that Plank was lying.
“Okay, so you all believed him then. ButnowI’m not going to get any truth out of him?” She pushed her wheat-colored hair out of her face. “What if Plank tells me the same thing he told law enforcement all those years ago? What if he tells me he did murder my sister? Is he to be trusted again because he gave the acceptable answer?”
Finn opened his mouth a few times like a fish out of water. She wasn’t wrong, but he had his own reasons for keeping her away from Plank. “He’ll toy with you, and he’ll enjoy it. Will he know who you are tomorrow? Did you indicate you were a victim’s sister on your request or just that you worked for the Washington State Patrol?”
“Both.” She narrowed her hazel eyes. “I wanted to make sure I got in.”
“The family of one of his victims?” Finn shook his head. “He’ll go to town on you. When you walk out of there, you’re not gonna know which way is up.”
Jessica folded her hands in her lap, her knuckles white. “You underestimate me, Finn. You know what my childhood was like. Do you really think a man like Avery Plankis going to rattle me? Hell, a guy like that could’ve been one of my stepfathers.”
He swallowed. She’d told him all about growing up with a drug-addicted mother and the men who populated their lives…and the older half sister who’d protected her from all of it. At the time, he thought she’d given him a sob story to sway him, get him to do things for her that a young patrol officer should’ve never done.
When she disappeared from his life and he got over his anger, he did some investigating and discovered every word she’d told him had been the truth. It made him ache for her all over again.
“I know you had it bad when you were a kid. Know your mom exposed you to all kinds of unsavory people, but Plank is evil.”
“Gee, a serial killer is evil. Thanks, Sherlock. I’m not going to be sitting down for tea and scones with him. He’ll be chained up like the animal he is.” She rapped one knuckle on the window. “Turn right on this street. I’m up one block.”
Finn took the turn onto a tree-lined street that bordered the eastern edge of the campus. Night had fallen, and the towering Douglas firs blocked out most of the streetlights, creating a shadowy tunnel where few cars remained.
The university had a call-in system where students could request an escort to their cars, but few vehicles parked on this street at this time of night. The library sat on the other side of campus, around the corner from a hub of restaurants, bars and shops.
After Morgan’s murder, the Safe Line had been getting a massive number of calls. Tonight, he’d be Jessica’s safe line.
“That’s me.” Jessica pointed to a green Subaru parkedon the left side of the street, so Finn made a U-turn at the next intersection and pulled behind her car.
He cut the engine and opened his door as Jessica unclasped her seat belt.
“You don’t have to get out, but I’d appreciate it if you watched while I get into my car and start it.”
“It’s not a problem. I’ll just take a quick look around your car before you get in. Nice ride.” He pushed out of the car while she grabbed her stuff.
She beeped her remote, and the lights flashed and stayed on while he peered into the back seat. He skirted the trunk and stepped onto the sidewalk, surveying the side of her vehicle, which seemed to tilt in the back.
He swore under his breath. He didn’t even need to crouch down to see the problem. “Ah, Jessica. You’re gonna want to have a look at this before you start that engine.”
Leaving the driver’s-side door open, she joined him on the sidewalk. “What now?”
He leveled a finger at her back tire. “You’ve got a flat.”
She hunched forward, reaching out her hand toward the wheel. She ran her fingers over the rubber and cranked her head over her shoulder, the whites of her rounded eyes gleaming in the dark. “It’s flat because someone slashed it.”