Malevolent (Lieutenant Kane series Book 1) (29 page)

“So, after Cross got out of the military, he tried and failed multiple times to get into law enforcement.”

I jerked my head back. “What?”

Hank nodded. “Failed the psych exam. Eight times on record in different cities and states. The feds think there may have even been more that weren’t recorded.”

“So, he wanted to be a cop? Damn good thing it never happened.”

“Yeah, well.” Hank held up a finger. “Maybe it would have given him something else to focus his energy on other than floating around from city to city doing odd jobs and…” Hank dug through the file. He pulled out four pieces of paper and slid them over. “This.”

They were photos of dead women in lingerie. The backgrounds were different in each photo, yet all the women lay in dirt. Each woman was in a different state of decomposition. Orange date stamps sat at the bottom right corners of two of the pictures. The photos were fifteen and twelve years old. I slid the papers back.

“Where did these come from?” I asked.

“Bank records showed payments to a local storage locker. The originals of those photos were buried among a bunch of junk and old furniture.”

“Do we know who they are?”

Hank shook his head. “Feds are going to look into the date-stamped ones and cross-reference his location at the time with missing persons in that area. The two that aren’t date stamped, we may never know.” Hank pushed himself back from his desk. “Cross is dead—at least there won’t be more.”

I nodded.

“Want to grab lunch?” Hank asked.

I shook my head. “Can’t. Karen didn’t pack you one this morning?”

“Nah, I told her I wasn’t going to eat that garbage anymore—at home or at work.”

I wasn’t buying Hank’s sudden burst of courage toward his wife. “You’re full of it.”

“Yeah, I know, but I thought about saying that to her. So why can’t you go get something to eat?”

“Got a ride waiting outside—going to head back home, look over this file. Plus, I just ate at Dotana’s before I came in.”

Hank nodded. “How are Samantha and Callie?”

“Well, I stopped by the hospital a couple of times to check on Samantha. She saw me the second time I went to visit, to tell me she didn’t want to see me. It seemed like she blamed me for what had happened to her, which I understand, in a way.”

“It’s not your fault that she was attacked.”

“Either way, she was released to Marty’s care the other day. The doctors seem hopeful that she will make a full recovery.”

He nodded. “Good, good. What about Callie? What’s up with her?”

“She’s waiting for me outside. I think they are going to total my car, so I’m without wheels until that gets straightened out. She has been chauffeuring me around the last week.”

“Does she remember anything?”

I shook my head. “No recollection. She remembers leaving work then waking up at the hospital.”

“It’s probably for the best that she doesn’t remember.”

“I agree.”

Hank grinned. “So, you guys have been spending some time together, huh?”

I shrugged. “Yeah, I guess. She’s been stopping by and bringing me food every night. We watched a couple movies, talked, and just kind of hung out.”

“Does she have a toothbrush there yet?”

I smiled. “Not yet. All right, I’ll see you in a couple days. Thanks for saving my life, Quickdraw.”

He made a gun with his hand and fired. “No sweat, Kane. Enjoy your next few days off.”

I headed down two floors and out the front of the station. Callie was waiting at the curb. The windows in her BMW were rolled down, the music turned up. I opened the door and hopped in.

“Where to?” she asked.

“I don’t know. What do you want to do?”

Callie turned the volume on the radio down. “I took off the next week. When do you have to be back at work?”

“I was thinking a couple days.” I shrugged. “Or maybe a little longer. The captain told me to take my time.”

“Well, I’m up for anything. You call it.” She clicked the car into drive and rubbed my knee.

I sat and thought about it for a few seconds. I tossed the file on Cross into the backseat. “Just drive. We’ll see where we end up.”