Serial Games (Virginia Justice Book One) (9 page)

Maggie’s jaw tightened. “The US Marshals and the FBI are actively searching for him, Mrs. Collins. We’re sure to have him back in custody soon.” Although Burrows’s presence in Culpeper wasn’t definitively proved, Maggie hoped her words about catching him were true.

“He killed all those women. He could be after one of us next.” She trembled.

Maggie sized up the woman in front of her. The grandmotherly sort, older than Burrows’s own mother when she died, Maggie could hardly consider Mrs. Collins a target of the killer’s wrath. All of his victims were younger, under forty years of age, but typically around thirty. Maggie offered her a gentle smile. “Don’t worry, Mrs. Collins, the safety of the city’s residents is our top priority. We don’t believe you’re in any immediate danger.”

Mrs. Collins let out a loud sigh. “Well, that’s a relief. Let me tell you, when I heard the lunatic was let loose, I nearly had a fit. And my husband goes over to the crazy boy’s home… Who knows what could happen if he—”

“Mrs. Collins,” Maggie interrupted. “About your husband going over to the Burrows’s home? What exactly does he do there, I mean, besides care for the lawn?”

Mrs. Collins looked toward the ceiling, her lips pursed. “As far as I know, he just mows the lawn, trims the hedges, and makes sure everything is in its place.”

“In its place in the home?”

“Mmm-hmm, I believe so.”

“He has a key?”

Mrs. Collins’s eyes widened. “Oh, yes he does. Would you like me to get it?”

Maggie and Deckker exchanged a glance. One less copy of the key would keep access to the house down to a minimum. “That would be great, thank you,” Maggie said as Mrs. Collins hopped up and walked toward the kitchen.

“I told my husband he better steer clear of the place now that John is out there somewhere. Lord knows what I would do if my husband wound up dead just ’cause he was takin’ care of the place. No good deed goes unpunished, isn’t that what they say?”

“Yes. How did your husband come to be the caretaker?” Maggie asked as Mrs. Collins walked back from the kitchen, key in hand. She handed it to Maggie before she took a seat again. Maggie slipped the key inside her jacket pocket.

“Well, we were good friends with Maxine, his mother. Whenever she needed anything fixed, Abram would go over there and help out, especially when John was a youngster. You know, Abram and I even took the boy to visit the Virginia Air and Space Museum once, when my older sister’s children were in town. Oh, I don’t know how many years ago. Poor boy never had a real father. Abram kept an eye on him, and Maxine never seemed to have trouble carin’ for him.” Mrs. Collins’s face turned a soft shade of pink, and she drew a deep breath. “Anyway, like I was saying. Since we were good friends with Maxine, we got a call one day from John’s lawyer, asking us if we would sign some sort of document statin’ we would be lookin’ after the place. I said ‘no’ up and down, but we were offered enough money so Abram need only work part-time so we said yes. Abram should have been able to retire by now, but we’ve had to help out some family members over the past couple of years, and that has put a strain on our finances, if you know what I mean.”

“Absolutely, Mrs. Collins,” Deckker said a tad bit too forcefully.

Maggie weighed the benefit of asking any more questions. She forced herself to keep her glance off her watch. “That’s it? Your husband, Abram, doesn’t disturb anything in the house?”

“I told him to touch nothin’. John’s bloody hands have been all over that place. I don’t want Abram comin’ home touchin’ me after he’s been in contact with those poor women’s blood. They still haven’t found ’em yet, have they? How many were there?” Her brows came together as she searched her memory. “No sir, I don’t like it for him to touch me after being in that place, and you know my Abram is
real
affectionate—”

Maggie and Deckker stood up at once. “Thank you, Mrs. Collins, for the information. It has been very helpful.” Maggie extended a hand.

Mrs. Collins’s eyes widened with surprise. “Oh, um, you’re welcome.” She struggled to get to the door first. “You’re sure you don’t need anything else?”

“No, ma’am.” Deckker quickly stepped out onto the porch and continued toward their vehicle.

Maggie turned back after she stepped outside. “Thank you, again, Mrs. Collins. Please tell your husband to stay away from the Burrowses’ place. We don’t want Abram to encounter Burrows should he return there.”

Mrs. Collins’s mouth dropped, and her hand instantly covered it. “Oh, oh no. No, I don’t want that at all.”

Maggie walked quickly down the driveway and Deckker had the car in reverse before she could snap her seatbelt into place.

“I thought we’d never get out of there,” Deckker said in exasperation. “She talks a mile a minute. It’s a good thing we left when we did or she would have gone into the depths of their love life and we do
not
need to go there.”

Maggie laughed. “Well, we know one thing for sure.”

“What’s that?”

“Burrows has money. I’d like to know where he got that money and exactly how much is being paid to Mr. Collins for the upkeep.”

“If it’s enough for him to semi-retire, then it’s probably a lot.”

“We need to verify this information with Mr. Collins personally.”

“No problem. Doug and I will try to catch him without Mrs. Collins present.”

Deckker turned onto the main highway that would take them back to the hotel. Maggie shifted on the seat and pulled her cell phone from her pocket. She had one missed call and a voicemail. When she saw it was her mother, she grimaced.

“Bad news from Brandon?”

Maggie’s head snapped up.
Brandon?
“Oh, no. From my mother actually,” she said dryly.
Since when did she start calling him Brandon?

“You two don’t get along?”

“Hmm?” she asked, still annoyed over Deckker’s familiarity with Brandon. Had they spent much time together? Maggie mentally recalled Brandon’s activities over the last twenty-four hours. If he wasn’t with her, he was out in the field — wasn’t he? “Oh, we get along fine, but I was scheduled to babysit my nephew yesterday and I called my sister Pat and told her I couldn’t make it because of the case. Pat probably called my mother to complain, and now Mama is calling me.”

Deckker let out a breath of shock. “’Cause you missed one night of babysitting?”

“Several, actually, over the years. You see, since I’m over thirty with no husband, she feels it’s her duty to remind me of this fact every chance she gets.” Maggie groaned.

“Ugh, don’t you just hate that? Not only do they keep track of their biological clocks, they act like we can’t hear our own ticking.”

Maggie frowned. Truth was, she didn’t. At least, she didn’t think so. She had only loved one boy, Bobby something or other from high school. She couldn’t remember his last name now. Ever since then, no one had really been on her radar. Especially not with school, and then her internship with the FBI and subsequent training at the FBI’s law enforcement center at Quantico. And throughout that time, men rarely approached her. Maggie enjoyed her work now; it was a steady and reliable companion.

“I don’t mind at all. You know me, I’m never with a date. Not like you, Sara.”

“Whoa, wait. What about that hunky US Marshal?”

Maggie eyed Deckker. “You mean Marshal Worth?”

Deckker rolled her eyes. “Who else would I be talking about? Of course Marshal ‘So Worth It.’” Her voice ended in a dreamy state.

“Hunky?” Maggie turned her head away to hide the heat in her cheeks.

“Please, like you haven’t noticed?”

“Well, I…”

“You wouldn’t be a real woman if you didn’t notice. Well, maybe not. You could be cold and dead inside.” Deckker laughed deliciously. “A man like that would certainly heat things up. And the two of you are spending all that time together.”

Maggie tried to steady her breathing, but the thought of all the time she would be spending with the marshal caused her heart to skip beats.
He’s not spending time with her, then
. “Sara, we’re hunting a killer. I hardly have the time to spice up my love life.”

“Uh-huh, and while Marshal Worth gets his man,” she turned to her with a devilish grin, “you can get yours.”

Maggie’s expression must have looked horrified because Deckker broke out laughing. “No, I don’t think so,” Maggie disagreed quietly.

“Why not? What’s wrong with him?”

“You know me, Sara. I’m looking for a particular man, with a faith that matches my own. And it’s a plus if he doesn’t have any mental issues,” Maggie said with a short laugh.

“I get the ‘issue’ part since all you study all day are psychopaths, but you don’t believe he has that faith?”

Maggie sighed, looked out the window and watched the fields of corn pass her by. “I’m not sure, but I don’t think so.”

“You can’t bend the rules, I mean, just a little? We’re talking about a really good-looking man here.”

This time Maggie rolled her eyes and turned to look at Deckker. “No, not a little — even if he is good-looking. Plus, we hardly know each other.” Maggie’s mind traveled back to the lunch she’d shared with Brandon. He had profiled her better than most, and he had known her less than two days. He read her mind like he knew her on a soul level.

“Hmm, okay, so you just don’t want a man.”

Maggie groaned. “Of course I do. I just know, based on my extremely limited experience, nothing will probably happen anyway. I’m okay with that,” she hurried to say. “All I want to do right now is concentrate on finding Burrows.” Maggie nodded her head for emphasis.

“That means he’s fair game.”

Maggie’s brows furrowed. “Fair game?”

“That’s right. You don’t want him, so he’s fair game for anyone else who can get him.” Deckker sent her a cautious look.

Maggie raised a brow and turned to look out the window again. She didn’t exactly say she
didn’t
want him, but it was impossible to consider him as anything but a professional colleague. They were single-minded about catching Burrows. Even if she did want to explore something more with Brandon, he would be too busy hunting Burrows to consider her as anyone other than a work partner.

Maggie gave Deckker a sideways glance. She didn’t know Brandon well, but she didn’t see him as a man who would allow just anyone to “get” him. He was a hunter by nature and Maggie didn’t doubt that trait extended beyond fugitive recovery to women. Deckker seemed determined, though. Maggie never saw her without a man on her arm, and whenever she set her sights on someone, she usually got him.

And quickly.

They stopped at a red light and Deckker straightened to look into the rearview mirror. She fingered the curve of her mouth, even though her lipstick was perfect, and then ran a finger over the edge of one brow. Deckker flung her suit jacket to the backseat and proceeded to edge her tank top a tad bit lower. The swell of her breasts evoked a twinge of jealousy in Maggie. Although not displeased with her own curves, Deckker was adept at using hers. Maggie rubbed her forehead as the image of her tripping in the Town Hall flashed before her eyes.
Did I have to be such a klutz?

Maggie let out a slow breath. By this time tomorrow, she would see a change in both Brandon and Deckker. Brandon would try to hide it, and Deckker would be walking around with a self-satisfied grin. Deckker’s cavalier attitude about men annoyed Maggie, but a relationship consisted of two people. Maggie felt an unfamiliar surge of what she could only describe as anger toward Brandon. If Brandon wanted to be Deckker’s prey, then that was his choice.

Maggie rolled the window down to allow the breeze to cool her face. Why was she so furious? Nothing had happened yet.
But it will
. If she weren’t already so partial to Brandon, Deckker’s proclamation wouldn’t have upset her. Had she allowed her heart to open too soon? Maggie pushed Brandon from her thoughts and crossed her arms over her chest. “Sure. He’s fair game.”

Doug rushed across the lobby as Maggie and Deckker entered the hotel. “I just got off the phone with the district attorney’s office and they confirmed it — Burrows’s attorney did arrange for the Collinses to have legal stewardship over the Burrowses’ residence right before sentencing.”

The three of them fell into step as they headed toward the command center. Deckker shook her head. “Where is he getting the money to pay Mr. Collins? Mrs. Collins implied they are pulling a tidy sum, and Burrows isn’t working at the photography store anymore.”

“You’re reading my mind, Deckker.” A sly grin appeared on Doug’s face. “At first I thought he must have some kind of investment plan set up, and he does, but—”

“The photography shop is still in business.” Maggie slowed her steps. Doug faced her as they stopped in front of the entrance to the room. “He’s been managing his life on the outside, from the inside of a jail cell.”

Doug rubbed his hands together greedily. “Let me show you what I found out.” He pulled open the door and allowed the ladies to enter first.

Maggie’s eyes immediately sought Brandon but a cursory look around the room revealed he was absent. A twinge of disappointment struck her and she steeled herself. It didn’t matter whether he was the most handsome man she had seen to date, or that he was apparently unattached, or that they might have shared a moment. She had relinquished her rights on him to Deckker.
Wait a minute, my rights?

“The DA faxed me some documents.” Doug sifted through piles of paperwork on a table set aside for the FBI to work on. “Ah, here we are.” He pulled a stapled group of papers out, faced the women, and handed it to Maggie. “Basically this paperwork names the Collinses as stewards of the residential property, but Happy Gilbert is the co-owner and managing partner of Burrows Photography.”

“This,” he continued and handed a sheet of paper to Deckker, “contains his investment assets. Not bad, if you ask me.”

“It says he’s holding shares in Kodak and Fuji, some dot com companies.” Deckker read down the list. “Some of these holdings date back to when his mother was alive, and no doubt she was the original purchaser of the shares.” Deckker looked up. Her mouth gaped at Doug. “He could literally live off the dividends alone on some of these.”