Page 26 of The Last To Know (Hallowed Halls Series #2)

H annah got up from the table and walked to the windows, reflecting on the day. They’d been at it for hours and were no closer to the answers they needed than before.

Worthy hadn’t answered any calls. Unless they could locate her another way, Hannah believed she would prove to be a dead end.

Cooper materialized beside her a welcomed relief from her chaotic thoughts. “Want to take a walk outside to get some fresh air?”

They’d been stuck inside the conference room going over different aspects of the case.

“I’d love to stretch my legs.” She grabbed her coat and bag and stepped outside to a day quickly fading. The cold air invigorated her. “How are you holding up?”

He slipped her hand in his. She froze for a moment then interlocked their fingers.

“I’m still in shock after hearing my father is alive.”

They headed past the hotel portico. “There’s no indication your father’s been killing since he got out of prison before these current cases. I wonder what triggered him?” Hannah’s attention went to the passing cars on the road in front of the hotel.

“I think finding that answer will be the key to unraveling what’s really going on.”

She looked his way. “You mean who the second player is. If he’s Oliver’s brother, then where’s he been?”

“Exactly.” Cooper pointed to a coffeehouse next door. “Want to grab some coffee?”

She chuckled. “Sure. It’s not like we haven’t consumed enough lately.”

He laughed, too. “Yeah, right.” Still, they went inside and found a booth. The business was almost completely empty.

They ordered coffee and pie.

“Why don’t we talk about something else? Anything but the case.” The details of it swam in her head, getting jumbled together.

“Deal.” He glanced around the establishment. “How’s your mother?”

He was trying. For two people whose whole life revolved around the job, finding a topic of conversation other than it wasn’t so easy.

“She’s okay. After Ellie passed, she worried every day. She stayed with me for a while until I couldn’t handle it any longer.” She shrugged. “We’ve never been close really. I think having a child who was sick all the time took its toll on her. It wasn’t easy.”

Their coffee and pie arrived.

“That had to be hard,” he said dumping sugar into his coffee. He obviously felt sorry for her after everything she’d been through.

“It made me stronger, and I had Zeke. He never let me down when others did.”

“He’s a good guy.” Cooper dug into his apple pie with ice cream on top. “This is good. Want some?”

She remembered the many times when they’d worked a case in the past, they’d ordered food and ended up sharing it.

Hannah tried the pie and closed her eyes. “You’re right. It is good. So is the chocolate silk.” She pushed the plate over for him to try it.

“I’m not sure which I like the best.” Cooper sipped his coffee. “Ever wonder what our lives would be like if we both were normal?”

She almost snorted her coffee. “Thanks a lot.”

“You know what I mean.”

She did. They’d both gone through something that would break many. She thought having a heart transplant so young was awful. But watching your father kill your mother and then having to shoot him to keep from dying . . .

“Tell me about your life with the Delaneys. They sound like nice people.”

He smiled when he talked about them. “They saved my life. I can’t imagine what I’d be like if I hadn’t been adopted by them.” He finished off the last of his pie. “They’re an older couple who remind me a lot of my great-grandparents. They moved me away and sheltered me from the fallout of my father’s crimes. I had no idea until after I’d left home that he’d died.”

She sipped her coffee. “Was it hard hearing he’d been convicted of all those murders?”

He shook his head. “Not really. By then, the hate I had for him taking my mother overpowered the love I once felt. I think I realized the person I thought Oliver was didn’t exist.”

From what they’d uncovered so far it seemed to prove true.

Cooper’s phone alerted to a message. “Doesn’t look like ERT found any matches for the DNA yet. They have mine on file to match it against. If this mystery person was my father’s brother, shouldn’t it make a hit?”

She thought as much. “Perhaps he wasn’t your father’s biological brother. After all, the Embalmer persona refers to his victims as family.”

“True.”

The waitress brought over their ticket. Hannah grabbed it. “My treat.” She reached inside her bag for her wallet and froze.

“Hannah?”

She vaguely registered him saying her name, yet she couldn’t respond because of the note lying in her purse. Her breathing came rapidly. She struggled not to hyperventilate.

“Hannah, what’s wrong?” Cooper slipped into the booth beside her.

She pointed because words wouldn’t come.

The pale-blue parchment paper had been left in her purse. The only time she’d left the bag unattended was during their search of Cooper’s great-grandparents’ home.

Cooper brought the folded paper out. He opened it and read the words.

Beloved, now that I’ve found your heart, I’ll never let you go. Soon, you’ll be mine again as before. Now and always.

“What is this?” He looked at her but all she could do was stare at the paper. This one was different. This time the writer mentioned her heart in particular. That couldn’t be an accident.

“Hey, it’s going to be okay.” He gathered her close and held her while she struggled to regain her composure. Hannah couldn’t stop shaking. She’d faced down many killers in her time with BAU, yet this person stalking her scared the daylights out of her.

“Everything alright here?” The waitress noticed Hannah’s distress and came to investigate.

“She’s fine.” Cooper paid the bill. After a moment of doubt, the waitress stepped away.

“Who gave you this?” Cooper tried again once she stopped shaking.

She pulled away and struggled to find words to tell him the nightmare she’d been living with that had everything to do with her dreams.