Seeking Evil (Looking Into The Mind Of A Killer Series) (18 page)

He left his position against the door and came to
her
, his eyes never leaving
hers
.
“
Mistake? What are you talking about? What happened between us last night
and before
was no mistake, even though you may want to deny it.
”

Anna
shook
her
head.
“
No, that
’
s not the truth. And even if it were it doesn
’
t matter. It can
’
t happen again.
”

His frustration
was clear in his tone.
“
Anna, why can
’
t accept that we have something special. I care for you.
It was the same back then. It still is.
I know you care for me as well. Stop fighting it.
”

She
couldn
’
t look at him and not
want to
believe him.
“
No, whatever is between us
,
is just physical,
some
residual feelings from the past. This case, seeing each other again, has brought it all back, but that
’
s it.
”

John reached for
her
, but
she
backed away.

“
You don
’
t believe that
,” he said, the hurt in his eyes hard to take.

“
I do. John, I do. We don
’
t have a future together. Our lives are as different as we are.
”
Anna tried
to soften the force of
her
words.
“
John, what happened last night was wonderful. We both needed it, but it
’
s over. Let
’
s just leave it at that and move on. We have a case to solve. Time is running out.
”

She
saw how difficult this was for him to accept and part
of her
was thrilled.
“A
l
l
right. I guess I can
’
t force you to admit how you feel, but
,
Anna, you do
feel
something. You can deny it all you want.
”
He held up a hand when
she
would have argued.
“
Let
’
s leave it for now
because y
ou
’
re right
. W
e need to get started on the case. I
’
ve had Rick send over the records for all the victims. We have a lot of work to do.
”

John disappeared for a moment and came back carrying a stack of files.
“
This is everything. All the case files. And the medical records.
”

He hesitated then sat down across from
her at the kitchen table
.
Anna
needed space to think clearly without John
’
s image invading
every
inch of
her
mind
.

“
John…
”

“
I know. You need me to leave, but I thought you might have questions.
”

She
met his gaze. He knew what
she
wanted to know.

“
It
’
s not there, Anna. Whatever you think you
’
re going to find out about Aaron
’
s secrets aren
’
t going to be found in these files.
”

Anna
tried to
get into his head
.
“
Why? Did you
remove
his notes?
”

Anna could see t
he fact that
she
couldn
’
t trust him didn
’
t set well with John. He shook h
is
head.
“
No, I didn
’
t take anything out of the files. All of Aaron
’
s notes are
in
there. There
’
s nothing. I know. I
’
ve gone over th
em
a thousand times.
”

Anna
dropped the file
she’
d been using as a shield to shut out his image.
“
Then why don
’
t we just stop playing games and you tell me what I want to know.
”

That shot in the dark
re
warded
her with
the truth. He knew something. Even if he wasn
’
t prepared to share it with
her
.
“
I don
’
t know what you want me to say. If Aaron didn
’
t want you to know what was going on in his life then what makes you think I can shed light on it
?”

“
John, dammit, you owe me.
”

He got to his feet.
“
Read the files
,
Anna. I
’
ve got work to do myself.
”

He turned and left
her
staring after him, more frustrated than ever before.

* * * * *

Anna had
been at i
t
for hours without any luck. By early afternoon,
she
abandoned the files altogether.
She'd managed
only a
barebones
profile worked out of
the
killer. Not much to go on.

“
Want some lunch?
”
John appeared in the doorway as if he
’
d known what
she
was thinking.

She
accept
ed
his peace offering.
“
Yes, but I need to stretch my legs more. It looks like a beautiful day out there. Can we walk? I know
Gemma
’
s sick of being cooped up.
”

He hesitated then nodded.
“
Sure, I don
’
t see why not. This place is secure enough.
”
John reached for his weapon and followed
Anna
out the door.

The s
cent
of the ocean reminded
her
of the house
she’
d left behind. While
she
pretended to enjoy
her
new life in
Florida
,
in truth, the
house wasn
’
t a home. It was just somewhere to hide
from the world
.

Anna and
John walked in silence for a while, until the
waters of the
ocean came into view.

“Do you
come here often?
”
Anna
wasn
’
t ready to discuss the case yet.
John
understood that need.

“
Yes,
well,
as often as I can
, that is. A
couple of
times
a year
. It helps clear the images away.
”

She
nodded. Of all people,
she
could relate.
“
Aaron told me you inherited the place from your dad.
”

He smiled at that.
“
That
’
s right. It
’
s about the only thing my dad ever did right
, well, except for the truck
.
”

A
aron
had told her once
that John and his dad
had
never
really
got
ten
along. He
’
d deserted his son and wife when John was a teenager and had drifted from one crazy get
-
rich scheme to another.
She
wondered why John still held onto the truck and house.

“
Did Aaron ever come here
with you
?
”
Anna
didn't
know why
she
insisted on opening that sore. Aaron might be the one thing
Anna and
John truly had in common,
still,
it was not a good subject considering the night
they’
d spent together.

“
No. Aaron wasn
’
t really into fishing and I can
’
t picture him here. Can you?
”

That
made her smile. She couldn't either.
Aaron was smart. An intellectual. Roughing it wouldn
’
t compute for him.
“
No, not really.
”

She cleared her throat. She was ready
to talk about the case.

“
You
’
re looking for a while male, forty
to
fifty in age. He
’
s got a deep
seated
connection to each of the victims. Or at least he believes he has a deep connection. The number of stab wounds seems to indicate rage, but I believe it
’
s more than rage. I think he
’
s extremely frustrated. He
’
s looking for something or likely someone. Each new victim has been a disappointment. He hasn
’
t found what he
’
s looking for yet. John, this is personal for him.
Very personal.
The last note he sent to me indicates he believes there
’
s a romantic connection
of some kind
between us. Obviously, it has something to do with the transplants. I can only assume he relates to this
in some way
. Perhaps he
’
s lost someone in such a manner. He
’
s no doubt from the area, since all of the victims have been from this region. Do you have the transplant records yet?
”

“
No. We
’
re still working the legal side of it. There
’
s a certain belief of anonymity expected by the transplant donor
’
s family. One that requires a judge
’
s ruling.
”

“
That won
’
t be easy.
”

“
No. You know we
’
ll be getting yours as well, don
’
t you?
”

She
did know.
She would have
expected no less.
“
Yes. I can give you my consent if it will make it easier for you?
”

“
It can
’
t hurt.
Unfortunately,
the donor
’
s family will be the main issue here
. Anything else jump out at you?”

Anna
carried
Gemma
in
her
arms until
they
reached the shore
then she
turned
Gemma
loose on her leash and let
the dog
prowl along the water
’
s edge.

“
No, I
’
m sorry, John, but without the transplant records we
’
re operating under assumptions.
And t
ime is running out. I can feel it.
”