Page 398 of Cold Case, Warm Hearts

The killer could have DNA from the victim on a watch he still wore. Testing it could nail their suspect—when they figured out who it was.

Did Jacob wear a watch?

“Martial arts, maybe. Or police training, though holds like that are illegal now. He isn’t going to care about that when he’sgotten away with this for so long. He believes he’s above the law.”

Addie went to her notebook and jotted down several things about the knife and the hold. “Seems like some of the things he does are instinctual. Others are methodical. He lives his life and when the urge to take a life grows to where it’s undeniable, he finds someone. After he kills again, he can suppress the urge for a year or two.”

If there was another death before Celia’s it could be that the death wasn’t even listed as a murder. Or it was considered solved. This guy could be working outside of the local counties for all they knew, especially if the first one was a trigger kill—where he snapped. It could have happened somewhere else if the guy suddenly found himself unable to control the compunction to end a life.

Sarah sank onto the edge of the desk. “I’ll look in my files. It’s possible someone was overlooked.”

“Thanks.”

“I should go.” Sarah glanced at the thin gold watch on her wrist. “I’m supposed to meet my dad for dinner.”

“He lives locally?” Addie had no idea where her mom was these days. Or who she was in a relationship with. It was too hard to keep track when it changed so frequently.

Sarah retrieved her things. “He moved here a few years ago. Persuaded me to do the same.”

Addie lifted her chin. “Thanks for coming.”

“Anytime.” Sarah waved and headed for the hall.

Across the way, the police department had their lights on. She could see the front desk sergeant typing on a computer, the phone between her shoulder and cheek.

Still no sign of Hank.

Addie didn’t know if she was supposed to bug them for an answer on Jacob. Everyone knew about their history. It wasn’tas though it would be a shock to anyone if she came across as concerned—which she was.

It would be naïve to believe without a doubt that he hadn’t killed Celia. Or any of these women. She couldn’t know without a shadow of a doubt without solving the case.

Whoever sent her here might not have known just how tightly connected she was to each of these crimes, but they knew she would have to jump the hurdle of her issues. The drive she had to understand every evil person and why they did what they did would fuel her. Enough to overcome her fears? She wasn’t sure, given her reaction to those insects.

Maybe she would always have those triggers.

But having fears didn’t stop her from being an FBI agent. If it did, no one would qualify. Still, she felt the need to prove she actuallymightbe able to do this alone.

No one in her life would think she could.

The lure of achievement tempted her. Even if the odds were so low she would no doubt fall on her face.

That drive to believe in hope that amounted to a mustard seed had also led her to get burned out. To find a cause for evil, when instead there were too many instances where no explanation existed. Some people were damaged, in certain cases—usually coupled with a particular psychological profile—a person targeted others for no reason at all other than that they could.

But Jake?

She just couldn’t believe him capable of something like this. Multiple murders spanning years?

Then again, didn’t people who knew—and sometimes loved—serial killers often say they had no idea the person was capable of those horrors? It was why this killer had managed to get away with all these deaths. For years.

Addie put more detail onto her profile. There were still a lot of questions, but she was beginning to be able to fill in the gaps on this thing. That put her a few steps closer to cuffs on a suspect and filed charges.

If he truly had nothing to do with it, Jake would be free.

She didn’t want to be doing this for that reason. At least not that reason alone. She was an FBI agent who had every intention of fulfilling the oath she’d taken to operate with integrity and honesty—and no bias.

Addie made a note to find out if any of the others had a broken hyoid. They could have all been choked as a method to subdue them. Then there was this insect bite, always a different creature.

That was some research she didn’t particularly want to get into, but maybe the police department or the crime lab had an expert in that stuff, and she could draw from their knowledge. Get a support team going.