Page 20 of Line of Sight (Second Sight #4)

DETECTIVE RILEY Watson stuck his head around the door of the office. “You got a minute? And to sweeten the deal, I come bearing gifts.”

One sniff was all it took to let Dan know exactly what those gifts were. He beamed. “Cinnamon rolls and coffee? You’ve been to Phil’s Place.”

“Now that’s impressive.” Then his eyes twinkled.

“Or it would be, if it wasn’t written on the bag.

” Riley chuckled. “Can’t get anything past you, can I?

” He came into the room. “Actually, I have an ulterior motive. I’m just checking to see if you’re both okay after the other day.

And to find out if you know you’re the hot topic of conversation around the precinct. ”

Gary huffed. “Not for long. Everyone will soon find something else to talk about.”

“We hope.” Dan had thought things had gotten on an even keel, and while he was disappointed to find they weren’t, he wasn’t entirely surprised.

He still hadn’t gotten over his admiration for Gary’s brief explosion.

He also hoped Travers’s visible support for them would deter any others who felt the same way from expressing their hate.

Riley glanced at the whiteboard. “They’re keeping you busy, I see.”

“Admit it. You miss us,” Gary teased.

Riley held his hands up. “Not gonna lie. The detectives on my team are shit at conversation, and they have lousy taste in coffee too. ’Course I miss you guys.

” He wandered over to peer at the crime-scene photos.

“Some of these are before my time. Hell, some of these happened when I was still wearing short pants.” He walked a little closer, then stiffened.

“Something wrong?” Dan asked.

Riley grimaced. “Someone’s really a fan of grisly thrillers, huh?”

Gary frowned. “Why do you say that?”

Riley pointed to the photo of Scott McCarthy. “An ax to the head? Lye? That’s a nod to a book. That scene even made it into the movie too.”

Dan’s heartbeat raced. “What book? What movie?”

“ American Psycho . That creepy movie with Christian Bale. Not that I saw it when it came out—I was about twelve—but I read the book a few years ago. That was way creepier. The main character, Patrick Bateman, is this honest-to-God psycho. He kills this guy and dumps the body in a bathtub full of lye to dissolve it.” He smirked.

“Be thankful your killer didn’t do the same. There’d be no body for us otherwise.”

“Wait a minute. You said thrillers, plural.” Dan indicated the board. “Are you saying more than one of these murders is from a thriller?”

“Sure.” He pointed to the pictures of Heather Kelly.

“Someone blasted her with high-pressured steam? That’s like a scene from The Bone Collector , a movie with Denzel Washington and Angelina Jolie.

It’s in the book too. Some woman is chained up in an industrial basement or something, in front of an open steam pipe.

The steam gets turned on, and bingo, she’s cooked.

” He moved to stand in front of Mark Wilson’s photos.

“Disembowelment? Pinned up like a goddamn butterfly? That’s from The Silence of the Lambs .

You know, the part when Lector escapes from that ballroom they have him locked up in?

” Finally, he pointed to Jeff Murphy’s photo.

“And that’s from Single White Female , right down to the shirt. ”

“What about Brad?” Gary demanded. “Have you ever read a book where a victim turns up like that?”

Riley shook his head. “Never seen that before. Or read it.”

Dan regarded him with interest. “Do you read a lot of these kinds of books?”

He grinned. “Read? No. Devour? Yes.”

Dan chuckled. “If you weren’t busy on other cases, I think I’d get Gary to ask Lieutenant Travers to second you to cold cases, as a kind of expert.”

Riley laughed. “I wouldn’t say no. I’d love to work with you guys again.”

A detective poked his head around the door. “I thought I saw you in here, Riley. Kyle’s been asking for you.”

“Fine, I’m on my way.” As soon as the detective withdrew, Riley sighed. “Don’t take this the wrong way, Dan, but I sure miss your boyfriend.” And with that he grabbed a cup, a roll from the bag, and left.

Gary picked up one of the remaining cups of coffee. “You said books were important. Looks as if you were right.”

Dan was only half listening. Riley’s revelations had sent his mind down a new avenue.

“Scott was drugged with ketamine before he was killed. What about the others? I’m sure I read that they had drugs in their systems too.

Did Brad?” He pointed to the picture of Heather Kelly.

“She didn’t just sit there and let the steam boil her.

Either she was bound and unable to move—in which case there would be signs of that, wouldn’t there?

—or else she was drugged and unconscious, ready for the killer to do whatever he had planned.

Those tubs of lye around that tub where Scott was found?

” Dan smiled. “They’re nothing but props, that’s all. He was setting a goddamn scene for us.”

“I’m going to call Sean.” Gary got his phone out and dialed. “Hey, you got a sec? Did you find Brad’s books?”

Sean’s voice came from the speaker. “I was about to call you. Can you stop by the hotel later today?”

“Sure. See you then.” Gary hung up.

Dan was brimming with energy. “I have a feeling this is going to be an important link.” There was a knock at the door, and he went to answer it. A uniformed officer handed him a package.

“This got sent to the wrong department.”

Dan thanked him and closed the door. He glanced at the address label. “Mail for you.”

Gary took the package and peered at it. “No return address.”

Dan reached for the box of gloves on the shelf. “Put on a pair of these before you open it. To be on the safe side.”

He chuckled. “I was going to do that anyway. Like I said, you’re thinking more and more like a detective every day.”

“That’s because I have a good teacher.”

Gary put the gloves on, then tore open the brown paper to reveal a paperback. “Okay, this is weird. Who’s sending me a book?”

Dan froze. “There is one possibility.” He took a look at the cover. “ The Surgeon , by Tess Gerritsen. Is there a message with it?”

Gary shook his head. He opened the book. “No, wait a minute.” He removed a slip of paper from inside.

Cold crept its way through Dan. “What does it say?”

Gary read aloud, “You might enjoy this one, Detective. Your brother would have loved it. It’s been almost a year since my last game. And do you know what that means? I’m ready for another. Because…. Page 334.”

Cold gave way to ice.

“What’s on page 334?” Dan asked.

Gary leafed through the pages. “A line’s been highlighted.” He jerked his head up and stared at Dan. “It says, ‘It has been long enough.’”

Dan’s stomach clenched. “Something tells me we’re not going to like the games this guy plays.”