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Arms wrapped around her waist, Noelle stood several feet away from the metal autopsy table that held the remains of the man unearthed in Richard Nelson’s backyard. Her pulse raced. The body, the torture room similar to the one he’d used for her, and Matt finding her serial killer had sent her into an internal black hole that she hadn’t climbed out of. From the moment she’d flashed back to her abduction, she’d pushed Jonah away, unsure how to deal with the kaleidoscope of emotions whirling through her. Nelson had taken her security—her self-confidence.

Jonah tied his apron and snapped on nitrile gloves. “All right, ladies and gentlemen. I plan to record the findings, but are there any questions before I start?”

Matt stood across the table from Jonah and cleared his throat. “I’d like it on record that the remains are confirmed through dental and medical records as those of Richard Nelson. He had a unique crack in his jaw noted by old dental X-rays and identical evidence of previous broken bones. We still need DNA verification, but I believe that is a formality at this point. The crime scene techs are continuing to collect evidence, but the initial assessment, along with the cold-case files, shows that starting fifteen years ago, Nelson kidnapped, tortured, and killed for over six years until he disappeared.”

“Noted.” Jonah adjusted the overhead lamp.

“Any information about the young boys in the photo?” Juliette had insisted on backing Noelle up, knowing last night had taken a toll on her.

Matt nodded. “We discovered that Nelson had at least one child. Beyond that, we can’t find any information.”

The conversation swirled around Noelle. She swallowed against the smell of dirt and decay, but it was being in the presence of her killer that made her stomach roil. She hated to admit weakness, but the scene had thrown her off-balance. “Juliette, you have protection duty. I’m stepping outside.”

Jonah paused his work. His gaze met hers.

She couldn’t respond to his silent question. The whole situation had numbed her from the inside out. She hurried from the room.

The door swung closed behind her, and she rushed out the exit into the parking lot.

She drew in fresh air and tilted her face to the sun. Tears spilled over her temples.

God, I should be thanking You for finding the man who hurt me. And I am grateful. But how am I supposed to deal with this? Then there’s Jonah…She closed her eyes. Why had she thought a relationship with Jonah was possible? Life experiences had damaged her more than the physical scars on her arms and chest. Jonah deserved a whole woman, not someone who retreated when memories came crashing down.

Footfalls clomped to her right. She lowered her head, not wanting to bring unwanted attention to her meltdown. She turned to greet the person walking down the sidewalk.

Icy blue eyes met her gaze.

The air was sucked from her lungs. The man who’d attacked Jonah stood a few feet away. She reached for the Glock that pressed against her back.

“No, no.” The man closed the distance and held a gun to her side. “Get your keys. We’re going for a little ride.”

“Who are you?” Noelle slid her fingers into her pocket.

“Easy there with the hand.” He nodded toward her jeans. “You can call me Jack.”

The man’s eyes had her heart pounding. The same unique color and sinister look as Richard Nelson. She fought against the flashbacks, retrieved her keys, and held them up.

He snatched them from her hand and jabbed the barrel of the gun into her side. “Slowly walk to your car.”

Noelle scanned the empty parking lot. So much for covertly signaling someone to alert security. And the cameras on the outside of the building were useless. The assailant had positioned himself in such a fashion that the video feed would show the two of them strolling to her car like friends. Besides, with the Glock in her back, it would be a death sentence to do anything bold.

“Go to the passenger side and get in.”

“I know why you’re trying to kill Dr. Harris, but why take me, Jack?” She followed his instructions and slipped into the car, all the while searching for a way to take the guy down.

“The ME knows too much. He’ll die soon. But you…” He brushed a strand of hair from her cheek.

She jerked away. Her skin crawled from his touch.

“You are a loose end. The elusive whale, if you will.” He flashed a grin at her.

“And you’re Moby Dick’s Ishmael?”

He shook his head and chuckled. “Ishmael? No.” Jack flipped down the car’s visor and winked. “Gotta block the view.”

Bile rose in her throat. A list of horrible things he could do to her swirled in her brain. Even with God by her side, she’d never survive another abduction like the first one.

Jack held out the loop of flex cuffs. “Hands.”

She stared at the plastic. Sweat beaded on her forehead. Her heart rate skyrocketed from the memories.

“Now!”

The rage in the man’s gaze had her following his instructions. First order of business—survive. If she stayed alive, she could escape or be rescued. She slid her hands into the cuffs, and he tightened them, cutting into her flesh.

At least he’d cuffed her hands in front of her. She had options.

Jack withdrew a folded handkerchief from his pocket. “Time to have some fun.” He placed it over her nose and mouth.

The sweaty odor of chloroform registered in her brain. She bucked against Jack’s hold, but he pinned her to the seat.

The world dimmed.

His hot breath fanned her ear. “My father loved Moby Dick. I prefer Jack the Ripper.”

A muffled cry fell from her lips, and she lost the battle to stay conscious.

* * *

Jonah lifted his gaze from Richard Nelson’s decomposed corpse and glanced at the clock in the autopsy room. An hour had passed since Noelle had made her hasty escape. He hadn’t said a word about her departure, knowing her struggle with the turn of events. She’d retreated into herself last night and hadn’t shaken off the shock as of that morning. He wasn’t surprised she hadn’t returned to the room, but for some reason—call it his gut screaming at him—worry wrapped him and squeezed, sending a shiver snaking up his spine.

He examined the hole in Nelson’s skull one more time. The man’s death…definitely not natural causes. He’d request that the crime techs search the grave for the bullet. But if it hadn’t lodged in Nelson’s head, the dirt wouldn’t contain the evidence. And who knew where his final breath had taken place?

With the condition of the remains, the autopsy hadn’t taken as long as he’d expected. He snapped a few final pictures. “Anyone heard from Noelle?”

Matt checked his phone. “Not me. Juliette?”

“Sorry. No text message or call. She tasked me with your protection, so as you know, I haven’t left the room. And as harsh as it sounds, you are my priority. But something’s not right. She’d never leave you for this long without checking in.” A scowl formed on Juliette’s face. “Matt, I’m turning Doc’s safety over to you while I go find Noelle.”

The detective nodded, and the petite bodyguard hustled from the room.

Matt folded his arms over his chest. “Noelle looked a bit green when she left.”

“It had nothing to do with witnessing an autopsy, and you know it.” Jonah covered the body with a sheet and dealt with his instruments.

“I do. I’ve known her a while now, and her reaction yesterday surprised me.”

“Have you read her entire case file?” Jonah wondered how much his friend knew about Noelle’s past.

Matt rubbed the back of his neck. “Enough. That, along with what she told us—I can only imagine what she went through.”

Juliette rushed through the door. “Her car is gone, and she’s not answering her phone.”

Jonah shed his gloves and paper apron, tossed them into the biohazard can, and scrubbed his hands in the sink. “I have a bad feeling about this. I’ll have security run through the video feed.” He placed a call to the security office in the building and then one to Bonnie to have an assistant take care of Nelson’s body.

Matt’s phone rang. He put it on speaker. “What’s up, Decia?”

“I heard from Alana. The restaurant, Twilight Serenade, is owned by a company linked to Congressman Sanford.”

“I thought the bartender, Austin James, or something like that, owned the place.” Jonah’s worry for Noelle had slowed his reasoning abilities.

“Hi, Doc. He very well might. But even so, the congressman has a hand in it.”

The room phone rang. Jonah picked it up. “Dr. Harris.”

“Doc, this is Mitch with security. I found your lady. She left in her car with a man. I’ve never seen him before.”

“Thanks, Mitch.” The situation was all kinds of wrong.

“Doc, wait. There was something odd about it.”

Jonah’s spine stiffened. “Go on.”

“I don’t have specifics, just a gut feeling. But the way they walked together…it didn’t look natural.”

“Good enough for me. I’ll be in touch.” Jonah hung up and relayed the message to his friends.

Matt widened his stance and placed his hands on his hips. “I think it’s time to have another chat with Sanford.”

“I’m coming with you. Give me a minute to change clothes.” Jonah hurried to his office with Juliette and Matt on his heels.

Juliette held up her hand. “Let me clear the room first.”

He leaned against the wall and waited. After Juliette had cleared the small room, he changed into his jeans and polo. “Ready.”

Matt turned to Juliette. “See what you can find out from the security cameras. We’ll go meet with Sanford. Then we can exchange info.”

“Sounds like a plan. But since Noelle left me in charge of Doc’s safety, I’m counting on you to play bodyguard.”

“Done. I’ll call you and Alana when we finish.” Matt motioned toward the exit. “Let’s go, Doc.”

Twenty-five minutes later, they entered Sanford’s office building and marched to the receptionist’s desk.

Matt flashed his badge. “We need to talk with Congressman Sanford immediately.”

“Yes, sir.” The woman notified Sanford and stood. “Follow me.” She opened the door to the congressman’s office for them.

Jonah stepped next to Matt and folded his arms.

“What can I do for you, gentlemen?” Sanford stood behind his large ornate oak desk.

“What is your relationship with Richard Nelson?” Matt’s tone held a lethal edge that Jonah hadn’t heard before.

Sanford rubbed his chin. “We were friends growing up.”

Matt arched a brow. “Keep going.”

“He disappeared nine years ago. What more do you want me to say?”

“We found his body.”

Jonah flinched at Matt’s abrupt words.

Sanford blindly reached for the arm of his chair and collapsed onto it. “You found Richard?”

Jonah nodded. “Yes, sir.”

“You found my dad?”

He and Matt spun to the doorway.

Royce Dwight, the congressman’s aide, pressed a hand against the wall. Jonah studied the man’s pallor.

“We discovered his remains yesterday on the property of his old address.”

Royce’s gaze met the congressman’s. “I don’t understand. What’s going on?”

Jonah decided to follow Matt’s lead and go with blunt and gauge both men’s reactions. “We have reason to believe Richard Nelson killed multiple women starting fifteen years ago.”

“What? No way. Not my father.” Royce straightened and strode farther into the room.

Sanford shook his head. “I don’t believe it. The man was devastated when his wife left him. We spent quite a bit of time together. I would have known.”

“Maybe. Maybe not. And now there’s another serial killer mimicking Nelson. It has to be someone who knew what he had done. There are too many similarities.” Matt’s eyes darted back and forth between Royce and Sanford. “Royce, why doesn’t your last name match your father’s?”

The man’s shoulders drooped. “I took my mother’s last name when I turned twenty-one.”

“Why?” Jonah asked.

Royce pinched the bridge of his nose.

“That’s okay, son. I’ve got this.” Congressman Sanford rose and placed a hand on the younger man’s shoulder. “Royce and his brother Austin didn’t get along. He wanted separation from the family name, so I supported him.”

“What happened between you and your brother?” Matt asked.

“When we were younger, he changed. One day we were best friends, the next… But years later, after my father disappeared, it was like a switch flipped in him,” Royce said.

“I remember that.” The congressman continued. “After Richard left without word, I took his boys in and helped them get started in the world. I gave Royce a job here in my office, and I invested in Austin’s restaurant. Both boys work hard. Royce is invaluable, and Austin bartends at his own business.”

“The one you frequent with, shall we say, young women?” Matt tilted his head as if challenging the older man to disagree.

Sanford dropped onto his chair. “Fine. Yes, I take my dates there. But there’s nothing illegal about that. They are all of age.”

“I’m not going there about the age difference. But the fact several have turned up tortured and killed makes me wonder, Congressman.”

Sanford jerked back in his seat. “Tortured?” The shock on the man’s face—evident. No way was the man that good an actor.

Jonah pondered the new information while Matt continued to pepper the men with questions.

Noelle’s reaction clicked in his brain. “Royce.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Does your brother have your father’s eye color?”

The man nodded. “Yes. I have a cross between Mom’s and Dad’s blue eyes, and he got Dad’s unique icy blue.”

Jonah spun toward Matt. “It’s the bartender—Austin.”

Matt’s entire body went rigid. “I thought his last name was James.”

Royce shook his head. “No. For some reason, eight or nine years ago he started introducing himself using his middle name, going by Austin James, but unlike mine, his last name never changed. It’s still Nelson.”

Matt gave Jonah a knowing look, then shifted his gaze to the congressman. “If Austin wanted a private place, where would he go?”

“I’m not sure.” The creases in Sanford’s forehead deepened.

“Hold on.” Royce strode to a cabinet next to the desk. “I saw him here this morning. I thought he came to talk with Mr. Sanford, but…” The aide opened the door, revealing a row of keys. One of the hooks was empty. “Your cabin.”

“Where?” Matt demanded.

Sanford wrote down the address and handed it over.

“Don’t leave town.” Matt hurried toward the door. “Come on, Doc.”

Jonah rushed to keep up.

Matt hurried down the stairs. “The one that got away.”

“Excuse me?”

“I don’t know, man, but what if Austin saw his dad hurting Noelle when he was young and that’s what changed him?”

“It’s possible. And it makes sense.”

“She was the only girl to escape.” Matt pushed through the glass doors at the entrance of the building and jogged to his car. “Hear me out. What if Austin had planned all along to finish what his dad started?”

“How did he know who Noelle was?”

“Officer Taylor found pictures of the girls Nelson killed. It’s possible Austin saw them, but with the age difference and lack of information, he couldn’t find her. That is, until he came face-to-face with her.”

“Then why target me?” Jonah slid into the passenger seat while Matt tapped the address into his GPS.

“To keep you from exposing his kills. He hadn’t anticipated Ken revealing the truth to you. He’s mitigating the fallout.” Matt pulled from the parking space and raced down the street. “But when Noelle saw his eyes on the trolley, he must have realized who she was, and the opportunity to finish her became his priority.” Matt called Decia and gave her the rundown. “Decia will meet us at the cabin. She’s informing the boss man and asking for backup.”

Jonah lay back against the headrest and mulled over Matt’s theory. “I think you’re right.”

“My theory? It’s nonsense.” Matt adjusted the air vents.

“It’s not. In fact, it makes perfect sense.” Jonah shifted and peered out the passenger window. God, please let her be there and keep her safe. I’m trusting You with her life. He stiffened. Had he really taken the leap to trust God again?

“You okay, Doc?”

“How can I be? Some maniac has the woman I love. So no, I’m not all right.” Jonah froze.

“You didn’t mean to say that, did you?” Matt’s soft tone surprised him.

He shook his head. “No. But that doesn’t mean it’s not true.”

“I’m happy for you, Doc. You’ve carried the guilt over your wife’s death for a lot of years. It’s time to let go and live again. And I can’t think of a better woman for you.”

“What happens if we can’t find her? Or worse yet, we’re too late.” Tears pooled on his lashes.

“We will find her. We will bring her home—alive.” Matt’s hands tightened on the steering wheel, turning his fingers white. “No other option is acceptable.”

But what if?

Jonah swallowed past the lump in his throat. Noelle needed him, and he’d do anything to save her.

He’d allowed anger to control him for too long. He wanted the peace of giving God his fears and allowing Him to take control, like he’d done so many times in the past during an emergency surgery when he thought he’d lose the patient no matter what he did.

Jonah tossed aside years of resenting God and prayed like he hadn’t since the day his wife died.