Seeking Evil (Looking Into The Mind Of A Killer Series) (6 page)

John
spotted
the rise of Rick
’
s hackles and decided it was time to
put
an end to Hays
’
pissing match.
“
That
’
s why time is of an essence here, Agent Hays. Along with discretion. I need you and your team to go over the grounds outside inch by inch along with the neighborhood…as discreetly as possible,
”
he inserted when Hays was ready to point out the obvious.

“
Focus on the house across the street and have someone check the mailbox for fingerprints. Rick, you
’
ve contacted the local PD?
”

His partner nodded, ignoring the red creeping up Hays
’
neck at John
’
s rebuke.
“
Yes, they
’
re on their way. They
’
ll provide round
-
the
-
clock protection. They can help out with the canvassing as well.
”

“
Good. I expect everyone
’
s full cooperation on this thing.
”

From the doorway, Anna cleared her throat. All four men followed the sound. She was dressed for work. The Anna he
’
d known in D.C. had pretty much perfected the image the Bureau was going for when
it
came to female members. Sexy. Smart. He
’
d always admired the way she made even the
“
business suit
”
, as she called it
,
look desirable. But this new Anna, well, she
’
d gone for the extreme. The soft pastel
-
green dress tied snug around her waist was fluid with her body. She
’
d lost a good twenty pounds she didn
’
t need to lose. Her tanned legs were bare. The strappy sandals gave just enough protection to be called shoes. She was still angry, defiant, lost. Afraid. And
damn
beautiful
.

It occurred to John that she hadn
’
t changed because of the company. She intended to make good on her threat to go to work.

“
No way, Anna. No today
,
”
John warned, but she ignored his attempt at sounding stern.

“
Yes, today. I
’
m not sitting here all day long going crazy with your people tearing my life apart. I
’
m going to work.
I have orders to fill and
Bev
’
s never seen my shop and she
’
s on vacation. Your goons can come
along
if they want, but I
’
m warning you, they
’
d better stay out of the way.
”

John blew out a sigh.
This
was the last thing he should be doing. There were too many things depending on solving the case quickly. Important things like Anna
’
s life. His future with the
Bureau.

He blew out a sigh. “Alright. Fill the orders, but that’s it. After that, you’re officially out of the clothing business until further notice.”
He knew better
than to give in to her this,
but he couldn
’
t help himself. A year was a long time to need someone.

He left Rick in charge of getting the task force organized and keeping Hays under control while he drove Anna, Bev and the rat of a dog Anna called
Gemma
to work.

It was an unwelcome compromise on both their parts.
She
forced Bev into the passenger seat next to
John
while she sat shooting daggers at his back with the dog growling in reaction to her anger.

Chapter Four

Island Breeze, located in an upscale strip mall a few blocks from the ocean, was surrounded by typical tourist shops, a pet store
,
and a couple of trendy restaurants.

The boutique
’
s pastel mint green front displayed a rainbow of colorful clothing designed to catch the tourist
’
s eye.

John waited
while
she disarmed the alarm.
“
Stay here,
”
h
e ordered
,
then stepped past her into the store and stopped. The hum of the AC was the only noise in the place. He took his time searching the boutique, the storage
area,
and the small office space in the back.

Once he was certain they were clear, he nodded to Anna.
“
How much
foot
traffic does the store see on a normal day?
”

The defiance in her tone answered the question for him.
“
Why?
”

He
’
d had enough.
“
Dammit, Anna, I
’
m trying to help.
”

Bev stepped between them as if expecting a battle.
“
Anna, for once stop being so defensive and listen to him.
”

Anna
’
s focused anger shifted from John to her sister. She closed her eyes. He could see her visibly struggling to let go of it.

“
You
’
re right. I
’
m sorry. It
’
s just…
”

His heart melted at the little lost girl expression in her eyes. He remembered that look too well.
“
It
’
s okay.
”
He wanted to hold her but h
e forced himself to keep their relationship professional. It was the only way he
’
d get through this thing.

The longing in
Anna’s eyes
threatened his resolve and had him ready to break all of the vows he
’
d just made to himself to protect her at all cost.

“
I
’
ll go make some coffee. I need to go over the books and…
”
She left Bev and John watching her leave.

Bev made no move to break the silence
once Anna was gone
. She simply went about the room, turning on the lights.

“
I
’
m sorry.
”
He wasn
’
t aware of Beverly standing close until he turned and found her watching him
.
“
She
’
s not normally so prickly.
”

“
It
’
s okay. She
’
s been through a lot.
”
He turned from the sympathy in Bev
’
s gaze
.
It wasn
’
t his place to answer the questions Bev was about to ask.

“
John…
”

Before he had to
dash her curiosity
,
Anna returned carrying two Styrofoam cups steaming with coffee
. She
handed them each one. She
’d
remembered exactly the way he took his coffee.

“
There
’
s not usually a lot of traffic right now.
”

He almost lost the sip of coffee he
’
d just taken.
“
I beg your pardon?
”

“
The store. You asked about foot traffic. During this time of the year, there
’
s not a lot of tourist traffic left. It
’
s almost Labor Day
.
Most p
eople are taking one final vacation before the kids go back to school.
There
are
lots of visitors on the island but not here. By the weekend, the beach
will be
so crowded you can barely see the sand. The locals have learned this is the best time to shop for back
-
to
-
school clothes, so most of the customers I
’
ll have will be local. People I trust.
”

He nodded.
“
You may trust them but I don
’
t. I can
’
t afford to. Not until we know what we
’
re up against.
Anna, I don
’
t have to tell you this is a bad idea. Staying here. He knows where you live now, chances are he knows where you work. You
’
re vulnerable. He could be anywhere or anyone—
”

“
I
’
m not leaving my home. I told you
—”

“
You can
’
t go back to D.C.
,
I know. Then let me take you somewhere else. Somewhere he
’
ll never think to look for you. I know of just such a place. I promise you
’
ll be safe there.
”

*
*
*
*
*

You’ll be safe there…

Anna
ha
d
no idea what safe
looked like
anymore.
Right now,
she
doubted if
she
ever would.

She
shook
her
head.
“
There
’
s no such place. We both know it
’
s true. As long as he
’
s out there, I
’
ll never be safe.
”
The truth in those words was reflected in his eyes.
She
turned away.
“
I have work to do. If you want to help me, then catch the man responsible for this.
”

Anna
left John searching for something
to say
that might change
her
mind. When
she
reached
her
tiny office,
she
closed the door, drove the lock home
hard
, then leaned back against
it.

Even with John close by
,
she
was
afraid. It had nothing to do with the monster who haunted
her
and everything to do with the man who wouldn
’
t leave
her
heart.

“
Anna
,
are you okay?
”
Bev
tapped softly against the door.

Anna
rubbed
her
hand over
her
eyes to scrub away the pain
then
unlocked
the door
.
“
Sure. I
’
m fine.
”
S
he
returned to
her
desk and pretended to sort through the stacks of orders scattered there.

Bev closed the door quietly then came to
Anna's
side, seeing too much.
“
Anna…
”

Anna
closed
her
eyes.
She
didn
’
t want to have this conversation now.
“
What?
”
The word came out angry. Hell,
she
was
angry. With Bev for insisting
she
confide in her. With John for reminding
her
of
things,
she
wanted to deny. With Aaron for dying before
she
could settle the matter
of their
divorce
once and for
all
in
her
head.