Page 39

THIRTY-EIGHT

Kaely was moved with compassion for her friend. What had just happened was a great step toward healing. But now Kaely would have to tread carefully.

She’d gone to the kitchen to make them both a cup of tea. While she rinsed the hot chocolate cups and put them in the dishwasher, she prayed. Lead me, Holy Spirit. Don’t let me blow this. Help me to get myself out of the way so that I can hear You.

She’d made the mistake of getting ahead of God before, and she didn’t want to do it again. Erin was fragile. More fragile than she’d realized. As a cop, Erin had been trained to protect others but not herself.

Kaely put two cups of water in the microwave and waited for it to heat up. She pulled out the Earl Grey tea, and there was milk in the fridge. Earl Grey had to be served with milk. It was the only proper way. A British friend of hers had taught her that.

As she waited for the water to heat up, a shriek from outside made her jump. Her first thought was the Woman in Watcher Woods. She stood still for a minute, and within seconds, there was another high-pitched sound. The wind. The storm was coming closer. Kaely took a deep breath to calm herself. She didn’t believe in ghosts, but seeing someone out there, dressed in a dark cloak and glowing, would unnerve anyone.

As far as the storm, she was grateful that they had ample supplies and a backup generator. The only thing that bothered her was the realization that they could soon be cut off from the outside world. Still, serial killings rarely happened during bad weather. Criminals were usually concerned about having a way to escape. Being trapped in a blizzard wasn’t a favorable situation to find themselves in.

Her mind drifted back to the supposed ghost wandering the woods. Who wanted them to believe there was a ghost in Watcher Woods? What was the purpose? Could the killer be dressing up as William Watcher’s dead wife? But that didn’t really go along with his MO or his signature. And there wasn’t anything at the crime scene that connected him to the Emma Watcher ghost story. Kaely’s gut told her that this killer would never do that. He lived to kill. He was driven to kill. He wasn’t focused on some silly ghost story.

Although the FBI’s training pointed only toward a killer’s mental and emotional state, Kaely knew there was more to it. Jesus cast out demons frequently, yet today, modern thinking looked upon that explanation as ridiculous. Even some Christians laughed at the idea. However, if part of the Bible was true, then all of the Bible was true. Demons were real. Kaely had seen them in the acts of some of the criminals she’d profiled for the FBI. Unfortunately, casting out demons was frowned upon by most law enforcement agencies. She suspected the killer they were dealing with now had a spiritual problem. Using angels as his signature made this clear. She supposed that demons didn’t care much for angels either—except maybe the fallen kind.

Kaely jumped when the microwave dinged. Thinking about serial killers and demons was going to make her loopy if she didn’t refocus her mind on the main reason she was here. To help Erin. She was convinced that she needed to keep her talking about the night that changed her life. That had sent her spiraling. She had to find a way to move past it and live her life without that night holding her hostage. She’d taken a big step, but there was more that needed to be done in her heart and mind.

She put the tea bags in the cups, added a little milk, and carried the cups into the living room. She’d just set them down when her cell phone rang. She picked it up. Adrian again.

“Hello?”

“Things are crazy here,” he said, “but I wanted to check on you and Erin. Make sure you’re safely inside. The snow has started and will get heavier as the night goes on.”

“We’re fine. Thank you for checking. We’re nice and warm and have plenty of supplies.”

“Good. If you need me for any reason, you may have to leave me a message. Everyone in town seems to be calling, and we’re busy setting up shelters and providing supplies for those who need them.”

“Thanks for checking, but you don’t need to worry about us. And I imagine your angel friend is also inside for a while too. Maybe that’s a blessing in the midst of the storm.”

“I agree,” Adrian said. “Oh, one other thing, the first body has been identified. Knoxville had a BOLO for her. If it wasn’t for the necklace she was wearing and her broken leg, it might have taken a lot longer. Turns out the necklace was a family heirloom. Very distinctive. Her family had mentioned the necklace when the BOLO was issued. She broke her leg when she was twelve. Her name is Willow Abbott. She was twenty-seven when she disappeared. She’s from Memphis and rode buses from her home in Missouri, heading to Charleston, South Carolina. It was a long and arduous trip, but she was going to see an old friend who lived in Charleston. Obviously, she never made it. The last time she boarded a bus was in Knoxville. Then she just disappeared. Until now, that is.”

Kaely sat down and grabbed the notebook she had on the table. “Hold on, I want to write this down.” She quickly scribbled everything Adrian had told her onto a page in her notebook. “Adrian, can you give me a quick description of Miss... I assume it’s Miss Abbott?”

“Yes. She was single.” She could hear him rustle some papers. Then he said, “Medium build. Red hair. Small frame.”

“Hmmm.”

“Does that hmmm mean something?”

“Maybe,” Kaely said. “Adrian, the other victims. Weren’t they all small in stature?”

He was silent for several seconds. “Well, now that you mention it, you’re right. I hadn’t really thought about it.”

“That means that our unknown subject doesn’t need to be particularly large or strong. I still believe it’s a man. It would still take some strength to move those bodies, and serial killers are usually male. But that fact might help you narrow your search. You’ll want to add that to the profile we provided you.”

“Thank you. I will. By the way, how’s Ozzy doing?”

Kaely chuckled. “Well, Ozzy is now Chester. He’s been fed, thanks to our friend Steve, and is sleeping in front of the fire. And I’m not sure yet, but you may have to fight Erin for him.”

“I’d like nothing better than for him to go home with her,” Adrian said. “Our other dogs are easy to get along with, but Ozzy—I mean, Chester—would probably be happier being the center of attention. Poor guy deserves it, don’t you think?”

“Yes, I certainly do. Well, I’m sure you need to get back to work. I’ll be praying for you and everyone else in town to get through this storm safely.”

“Thank you,” Adrian said. “We certainly need all the prayers we can get.”

Kaely disconnected the call and hung up.

“You’re pretty sure of yourself about Chester, aren’t you?” Erin asked with a smile.

“Aren’t you?”

“Maybe.”

“I think it would be wonderful. Not just for you, but also for Chester. You two are going to be so good for each other. I don’t know what I’d do without Mr. Hoover.”

“You told me a while back that you and Noah are trying to get pregnant. You haven’t said anything lately. How are things going?” Erin asked.

Kaely shrugged. “We’ll get there. It’s just taking longer than I anticipated.” She didn’t want to make her struggles part of the conversation. For now, Erin needed to be the center of attention. “Did you hear that the first victim has been identified?”

“Yeah. Who was she, and do they know why she was in the vicinity?”

“Adrian said she was traveling from her home in Missouri to Charleston, South Carolina. She was planning to meet a friend. She was supposed to change buses in Knoxville, but she didn’t get on.”

“Knoxville? I realize it’s not that far away, but if I remember right, all the other victims were closer to Sanctuary.”

Kaely picked up her notebook and looked through notes. “Yeah, you’re right. Some of them lived farther away, but they all disappeared closer than Willow. Seems our UNSUB started off as far as twenty miles away, but now his comfort zone is tightening. I think Sanctuary was his intended target all along. As he perfects his murders, he seems to be focusing on this town.”