Page 77 of Devoted in Death

“Anything you want. Anything. I love you, Ella-Loo.”

“Make me scream, Darryl. Make me scream. Then let’s go get another.”

And she smiled, feral and fierce, turning her head to look at Jayla as Darryl drove and drove and drove into her until sweat dripped off his face.

She smiled her monster smile as she came.

•••

In the office, Roarke listened as the room of cops worked theories, ran searches. He listened while Eve spoke to Morris on the ’link, while she consulted with Mira.

His mind worked back to the first—the one they believed was the first.

A businessman killed on the side of the road. No vehicles left behind. Battered—fought back—smashed skull.

Nothing like the others, he thought. No torture, no sense of time taken. But he trusted his wife’s instincts.

The first, perhaps an accident, or a matter of impulse. The spark, possible, for all that came after.

“Someone towed it off.”

Distracted, a little annoyed, Eve glanced around. “What?”

“You’ve two options on your first—on this Jansen. They had a second vehicle, and drove off separately, or they left a vehicle behind.”

“No vehicle was recovered or reported on scene.”

“And you’ve never heard of auto theft I’m supposing. Driving off in two, it’s not impossible, of course, but then they’d have to dispose of one, and they’d not be together after the kill—when the blood would be high.”

“Wait.” She held up her hand to ward off comments, narrowed her eyes. “When the blood would be high,” she repeated. “If this is the first, if this started the ball rolling for them, it would be that high after the kill. Driving off separately? Cooldown period. So, less likely. But no vehicle reported or recovered.”

“Darling Eve,” he said, and had Banner glancing at her sideways, “it’s a very remote and rural area, yes?”

“So?”

“And I’ll wager more than a pint there’d be a towing service or two, and beyond that—a farming sort of area? Those with tow bars handy enough. And it’s: Look there, mate, at that car/truck/van on the side of the road. Out you get to have a look. It may be it’s broken down—”

“Which would be a reason to boost another car, okay.”

“Some mechanical problem, that may be. Or it’s been previously boosted, and time to switch out. But either way, an enterprising soul might tow it off, strip it down or alter the van and resell it. Surely even in that area, they’d have a chop shop handy enough, or someone who’d pay to have another vehicle on their land.”

When she frowned, he smiled.

“Speaking hypothetically, of course, one who once made a bit of a living boosting vehicles may have cruised along such back roads and byways for just such an opportunity.”

“Slapping a tow bar on it, hauling it off to another location.”

“And making a tidy little profit through little effort,” Roarke concluded. “You might have your people down there put the arm on towing companies, farmers, mechanics and such.”

He looked over at Banner. “Would you have such events in Arkansas, Will?”

“Could be. There was a guy the next county over who ran a chop shop. They picked cars off the interstate mostly, but hit the back roads, too. I never thought of it. People know people, and you hear tell.”

Eve already had her ’link out. “Carmichael.”

“About to contact you, LT. Having some Arkansas barbecue, and have to echo Santiago. Yee-haw. The coroner—”

“Wait on that. I want you to push this angle, and now. Towing company, mechanics, garages, maybe little farms or whatever the fuck. Ability to tow away a vehicle. Let’s theorize,” she began.