Page 31

Bishop

She didn’t reply. Just stood there staring at me out of huge green eyes. I took a step back.

“I spoke to an ex-girlfriend of Dulvaney’s earlier. She had some interesting things to say.”

“Interesting how?”

I moved across the kitchen and took another bottle of wine out of the wine cooler. “Would you like another drink?”

“Interesting how ?” she repeated.

I took the corkscrew out of the drawer and twisted it into the cork. “Claudette Rafferty was his childhood sweetheart. They dated throughout school and got engaged shortly after they graduated.” The cork came free with a soft pop, and I filled both glasses. “She ended the relationship after ten years because she discovered he was cheating on her with other women. When she finished it, he refused to leave her alone. Turned up at her workplace, sent her flowers, begged for another chance, and promised never to do it again. The usual. She was fortunate in that she had her family surrounding her, and they closed ranks and cut him off. For quite a while, there seems to be no relationship details for him with anyone else. Then he met Jessica Cantrell.” I took a sip of wine. “Ask me how they met.”

She frowned at me, then turned back to the peppers she’d been chopping when I walked in. “Where are you going with this?”

“Humor me.”

She savagely chopped the pepper for a minute or two. “Fine. How did they meet?”

“Her car broke down and he just happened to be nearby to give a helping hand.” I leaned against the countertop. “Now ask me what happened to her car.”

“What happened to her car?”

“She blew a tire.” The chopping stopped abruptly. “And who showed up just in time? Detective Dulvaney. He stayed with her until a tow-truck arrived, then asked her to dinner. Is any of this sounding familiar?”

“You know it is.”

“She was moved into his place within three months, because his apartment was closer to her work, and it made sense since she was there more often than not.”

Eden’s face drained of color.

“I doubt she’s the only one. She’s just the one I know about. I’m sure if I dig deeper, a pattern will form, but I don’t think I need to. Knowing that both of you have the same story already tells me the pattern is there.”

Movements stiff, she crossed the kitchen and poured pasta into a pot of boiling water. The chopped onions and garlic were dropped into another, and she stood over it while they cooked.

“That’s not everything. What else did you find out?”

Clever girl. She was paying attention.

“Jessica left him after he broke her wrist. He repeated the same things that he’d already tried with Claudette. Pleaded for a second chance, told her it was because he loved her and wanted the best for her. That she’d made him so angry because she couldn’t see what he saw, and it frustrated him. She changed jobs twice and moved four times. Then he suddenly stopped, and she didn’t hear from him again. Care to take a guess when that happened?”

A plate of diced chicken, and the peppers and tomatoes joined the onions and garlic.

“Eden?”

Her head turned toward me. “When he met me.”

“That’s right. And the cycle started again. But even that isn’t the most disturbing part.” I pulled out the printout of the information Knight had sent me. Specifically, the photographs of Eden and the other two women. I unfolded it and held it out. “Take a look.”

She took the sheet from me slowly and lowered her eyes. She frowned.

“Is this a joke?”

“No.”

“He clearly has a type.”

“This is beyond a type.” She screwed the sheet up into a ball and launched it across the room. “What kind of psychopath is he?”

“One who never got over his childhood sweetheart, it seems. And is desperately trying to recreate her in the women who came after. Jessica and then you. And when you didn’t meet the requirements, he grew angry and lashed out.”

“That’s insane.”

I nodded. “Borderline at the very least.”

She turned off the pasta and drained the water. The pasta was mixed with the other ingredients and then she turned down the heat.

When she next looked at me, her eyes shone with tears.

“Eden?” I took a step toward her.

She shook her head. “I’m okay. I just … I should feel guilty for that other woman. I should . But all I feel is relief at knowing that it wasn’t my fault. I wasn’t to blame.”