Page 20

NINETEEN

Adrian noticed the look in Erin’s eyes. She was spooked. Kaely seemed okay, though. More focused on the murders than on the ghostly apparition supposedly haunting Watcher Woods. She was the one who made him believe they’d actually seen something. Erin was smart, yet he sensed some instability. Not that she was weak. She wasn’t. He was convinced that the haunted look in her eyes came from something more personal. Her pain was deep and not as easily vanquished as a mere ghost. He might have suspected that the murders in the woods were too much for her if he hadn’t noticed that she seemed calmer and more focused when her concentration was directed toward helping him find the person responsible. She was a hunter, intent on capturing her prey, and she had no plans to back down before the quest was at an end.

“So, describe to me what you saw.” He nodded at Kaely, wanting to hear her version of their sighting first.

“We heard someone wailing,” she said.”

“Miss Delaney said she heard crying, ”

“Kaely’s right,” Erin interjected. “It was more of a wail.”

“We both heard it,” Kaely said. “It was loud enough for us to pick it up from inside. At first, I wasn’t certain what it was, but as we moved closer to the window, I could hear it more clearly. I’m certain it wasn’t an animal. It was human. That’s when we saw it.” She took a deep breath and met Adrian’s eyes. “The person was tall and hidden beneath a dark cloak or covering of some kind. I couldn’t see it very well.”

“Then how could you tell that he was tall and that he wore a cloak?”

“There are lights outside, in the front,” Kaely said. “They illuminated him enough that we could make him out. But then we noticed an eerie glow coming from the figure. As if the light were inside the cloak.” She shook her head. “I’m sorry. It’s the only way I can describe it.”

“Did you see a face?”

“No,” Erin said. She looked at Kaely. “Anyway, I didn’t. Did you?”

Kaely shook her head. “I specifically looked. The face was either covered by the cloak or... something else. It was just black... or, I should say it was dark. In that kind of lighting, I can’t definitively tell you what color it was.”

Adrian paused for a moment before asking, “Did the... figure make any sound while you were looking at it?”

Both women nodded at the same time. “Yes, it let out a really loud moan.”

“You keep referring to the figure as him, yet you hinted that the sound you heard was female?”

“Yes,” Erin said quickly, but Kaely didn’t look as convinced.

“I’m not sure. I think we’re referring to the person we saw as ‘he’ because we’re not certain if it was a man or a woman,” she said. She looked at Erin. “Couldn’t a man have made that sound? I mean, if he was trying to sound like a woman?”

Erin’s confident expression slipped a little. She looked down at the floor for a few seconds, but then shook her head. “Maybe, but I don’t think so. It definitely sounded like a woman to me.”

“Did this... person notice you?” Adrian asked. He was trying to sound professional, but the truth was, he was dog-tired and stressed out. This felt silly and unnecessary, yet even a small chance that what these women saw had something to do with the bodies in the woods made it important for him to take them seriously.

“She was looking right at us,” Erin said.

“But after he—or she—made that... noise,” Kaely said, “she kind of... disappeared.” She blushed slightly. “Look, Chief—Adrian—again, I know how this sounds, but every word of it is true. I spent several years in the FBI. I’m not prone to fantasies or high imaginations. We definitely saw something, and we’re describing it as succinctly as we can. I’m certainly not telling you it was a real ghost. I don’t believe it was. But it was... something.”

Adrian leaned back in the chair and rubbed his eyes. “If you see it again, call me right away. But for now, there’s not much I can do. I don’t see how it could be connected to the bodies in the woods, but at this point, I can’t be certain of anything. I don’t want to take any chances. Please don’t go outside if you see anything suspicious.”

“Like I would do that,” Erin said under her breath.

“I’m going to work on a profile for you tonight,” Kaely said. “I know this sounds awful, but if there was more than one recent body, it would be easier. I can’t be sure whether or not the killer has a certain type of victim, and that can shape a profile quite a bit.”

Just then his phone rang. “Excuse me,” Adrian said. “This could be important.”

“Of course,” Kaely said.

Adrian answered and listened to the voice on the other end. After asking a couple of questions, he disconnected the call.

“God must be listening,” he said as he put his phone back in his pocket. “Another body has just been identified. The woman murdered before Terri. Her name is Ann Squires. Annie, as she was called by those close to her, was reported missing by her parents when she didn’t come home from college on break. Some of her friends thought she’d run away with her boyfriend. He was interviewed by the police and was able to prove he hadn’t seen her. He thought she might have decided to visit her aunt in Taylor, a small town just a few miles to the north of Sanctuary. The aunt said she hadn’t contacted her, but she did have a habit of just showing up unannounced. They were really close.”

“Has the evidence revealed anything yet?” Kaely asked.

“Detective Sergeant Johnson went over the dress and the shoes and couldn’t find anything that would help us,” Adrian said. “Locard’s exchange principle appears to have failed us this time. Gibson didn’t add much, but he did establish TOD at around four to six hours before we found the body. So between one and three in the morning. It could have been earlier because it was so cold last night. He feels pretty confident about his estimation though. He agreed with your assessments, Erin. The dress was put on her. Her undergarments were her own. She wasn’t sexually violated either. The killer knew exactly where to stab her. That doesn’t happen very often. The other two bodies didn’t show the same kind of skill. The ribs were nicked, and he saw something odd in the second oldest body. The hyoid bone in her neck was broken.”

“She was strangled,” Kaely said. “He didn’t hit the heart when he tried to kill her, and she fought back. He had to strangle her to get her to die.”

Adrian nodded. “Exactly what Gibson thought.”

“Anything on the oldest body?” Erin asked.

“Not yet,” Adrian said. “Although two of her ribs are broken. Doc can’t tell us how that happened though. Was there a struggle? Did it happen when he buried her? We just don’t know.”

“None of the buried bodies wore dresses, blue ribbons, or had a figurine,” Kaely said softly. “We believe he was waiting for the perfect kill. She was the only one who deserved his attention. The dress, the blue ribbon, and the figurine are his signature. They’re what’s important to him.”

“I think that’s right.”

“Do you know where the killer crossed paths with the victims?” Erin asked.

Adrian shook his head. “You do remember that we only discovered the first body this morning, right? I think we’re doing pretty good here. Of course, being able to access records of missing persons helped.” He sighed. “Identifying the first body might take a while. She’s obviously been missing a long time, and there’s very little to go on.” He downed the rest of his hot chocolate and stood. “I’ll let you know if we find anything in the morning. For tonight, please keep your doors locked. I’m more than willing to send one of my officers out here to keep an eye on things, if you’d like, but I have a feeling that my offer wouldn’t be accepted.”

“And you’d be right,” Erin said. “We’re both trained and armed. We can take care of ourselves.”

“I have no doubt of that.”

Adrian couldn’t think of anything else to say and made a clicking noise with his tongue. Jake jumped down from the couch. He took a look back at Erin and Kaely as if hoping Adrian would change his mind and stay a little longer. It appeared that Jake had made some new friends. “I should be in the office pretty early tomorrow. I appreciate your offer of a profile. Anything I can learn that will help me to know where to look or who I’m searching for is appreciated more than I can say.” He sighed. “I was certain that working in Sanctuary would give me a quiet life. Just goes to show how wrong you can be.”

“I’m sure you have your challenges, even without trying to find a serial killer,” Kaely said with a smile.

“It’s true. But nothing like I faced in Chicago. I know you’ve both encountered the same things.” He shook his head. “This is a nice community. Good people. This kind of thing shouldn’t happen here.”

“Unfortunately, evil doesn’t seem to have borders, Adrian,” Erin said.

“Sadly, that seems to be true, Miss Delaney.” He nodded at them. “Call me any time. I’ll get back to you as soon as I can.”

Erin smiled at him. “If you want me to call you Adrian, you must call me Erin.”

“Sorry, Erin. Habit learned from dealing with the public.”

He headed for the front door, with Jake following behind him, his nails clicking on the wooden floor. When Adrian had arrived, he hadn’t really been concerned about the so-called ghost in the woods. But after talking to Kaely and Erin, he was worried. They’d seen something. But what? Were the women in danger? Although they seemed confident they could take care of themselves, he wasn’t convinced. Something terrible was happening in Sanctuary, and he wasn’t sure that anyone was safe.