WATCHING (17 page)

Chapter
20

****

Georgia avoided Hellbrook for the rest of the morning. She didn
’
t speak with him, unless he directly addressed her, and he rarely sought her out.

They
’
d reverted back to their previous relationship; Georgia was comfortable with it
’
s return. It was the norm, the established. It meant no waves in her routine. But she still felt the smallest pinch of loss. When they weren
’
t disagreeing, were having easy conversation, she
’
d found she actually liked the man.

That pinch disappeared ten minutes after she
’
d finished eating the sandwich Dan had placed in front of her. Hellbrook had been in and out of the Carterville precinct, Dan and Malachi at his side. His attitude almost dared Georgia to say something, to protest his leaving her behind. She didn
’
t, wouldn
’
t.

She focused on going over witness statements for what felt like the sixteenth time in an hour. Hellbrook snapped his cell shut then marched over to Georgia with a determined glint in his eye.

“
Hellbrook
.
”
She kept her tone professional and respectful. No matter what games or weird ideas he got in that annoyingly complex head of his, she was not going to let him call all the shots. Not anymore.

“
Dr. Dennis
.
”
His mouth quirked, an obvious challenge that made her long to smack him. Man was exceedingly arrogant at times.
“
That was your Dr. Bellows. They
’
ve finished the autopsy on the Spurgeon Quarry body. I need someone to wait here and speak with Bellows in person. That
’
s going to be you. And K.D
.
”

“
Hellbrook..
.
”
She started to protest, but his raised brow was yet another challenge. Georgia clenched her jaw, then forced herself to relax. What could she say to him, anyway, that wouldn
’
t be an act of insubordination? He was her team leader and he
’
d given an order. She didn
’
t have to like it.

“
Don
’
t
.
”
It surprised her that he said nothing more. Until she looked at his eyes. He may have sounded mild, but his eyes burned with both aggravation and what could only be lust as he stared at her mouth.

Georgia felt her cheeks heat as she remembered the burning kisses the man had given her that morning. An experiment, he
’
d called it.
And she had to be honest.
A part of her wouldn
’
t mind repeating that particular experiment again and again. It had been a long time since she
’
d...experimented.

She had a feeling any other kisses the man gave her would build on that hot. That thought sent a shiver through her—a shiver of pure feminine lust. She only hoped he hadn
’
t noticed.

God, she had to get out of the CCU. A transfer not only looked good, it looked like the only way she
’
d come out of the CCU unsinged. For reasons entirely different than when she
’
d first filled out the paperwork. She
’
d hate to end up no better than that damned blonde at the Turn Around, simpering over Hellbrook.

“
I
’
ll keep in touch
.
”
He nodded at K.D. before looking pointedly at Georgia. She avoided the urge to swallow, instead forcing herself to nod. Hellbrook looked like he wanted to devour her and she wanted to let him. God, this case couldn
’
t end fast enough for her peace of mind. If she didn
’
t get away from him, he could end up completely consuming her.

***

She spent the next two hours contemplating
herself and Hellbrook. She
’
d trained in human behavior, so what did their recent actions tell her? Her mind shied away from the answers, but the thoughts of him and the experiment were right there, a temptation that would catch her attention in a weak moment.

She looked up and smiled when a shadow fell over her desk.
“
Hey Jules, what have you got
?
”

Jules was dressed in ratty jeans that Georgia vaguely recalled loaning her several years ago, and a hooded yellow sweatshirt that concealed every feminine attribute she possessed. The sweatshirt proclaimed
I see dead people
. Georgia
’
s heart squeezed, remembering the day she and Bryan had picked it out for Jules
’
twenty-seventh birthday. Bryan had gotten such a laugh out of it. Jules
’
FBI credentials hung on a chain around her neck and her hair was twisted up and held in place by yet another pair of pencils. She carried three large files in her hands. Georgia took one when Jules nodded.

“
Plenty. Let
’
s start with the
adult
victim found. ID is tentative, but from the medical history I
’
d say it was Claire Reid. Been missing ten weeks
.
”
Jules opened a file and pulled out a photocopy of an x-ray.
“
Ms. Reid, a school teacher from Belle Fourche, Butte County, age twenty-nine, had knee replacement surgery while in high school. Car accident. I
’
ve put a tracer on the manufacturer of the prosthetic. Should be calling back this afternoon. If it
’
s Claire it will be confirmed, if not...prosthetic will confirm the name, anyway
.
”

“
How did she die
?
”
Georgia asked. This was the body they
’
d found the night she and Hellbrook were stranded and it was the first adult victim they
’
d found. Time would tell if she was their first victim all together or if the UNSUB had killed even more.

“
Crushing injuries. Broken ribs, similar to our earlier victims. And from the position the body was found in, from the impression in the dirt around her, she was lying on her hands when she was dumped. I also found this embedded in the tissue
.
”
Jules handed Georgia an evidence bag in which ordinary twine was contained. She
’
d stuffed it in the sweatshirt
’
s front pouch, of all places. She
’
d bagged and labeled it properly, Georgia saw, and that was all that mattered. Even if her method of transport was unusual.
“
Isn
’
t much, but it does indicate that she was bound
.
”

“
Our other victims were bound for a period of time, then released before he threw them into the borrow pits
,
”
Georgia said.
“
Wonder why this one wasn
’
t released
?
”

“
I don
’
t know, that
’
s for you, head-girl, to figure out. I
’
m a body-girl. But there was also a few other noticeable differences. Including the money shot
—
enough foreign material for a possible DNA match. Possible, only, as it might be degraded. I
’
ve sent it to the lab in St. Louis
—
via my assistant Mia
—
for faster typing. I
’
ll let you know when the results are in
.
”

“
Any other differences
?
”
Georgia asked.

“
Sexually assaulted, and it was brutal. I won
’
t go into the details; it
’
s all there in the reports. But I do know her attack wasn
’
t as cool and methodical as the others. The crushing injuries are smaller, for one thing
.
”
Jules motioned to areas around the woman
’
s ribs.

“
We believe he
’
s finding the stones he uses before the attacks. Probably stock-piling. Norton and Dan found what they thought would be his next scene-and found several piles of stones. Just waiting
.
”
Georgia felt the disgust welling.
“
He takes his victims when opportunity presents itself, but once he has them he has his place all ready for them. Sadistic bastard
.
”

“
Albeit the tissue is pretty degraded, the damage to the inner areas and the bones indicate that the first few blows were hesitant. If I had to hazard a guess, I
’
d say they were experimental. And they didn
’
t kill her
.
”

Georgia
’
s hand stilled on the autopsy report.
“
They didn
’
t? What did
?
”

Jules pulled a pencil from her hair and made a notation on the outer edge of her file.
“
Official cause? Old-fashioned strangulation. My guess is that the stoning didn
’
t work fast enough, and so he did it another traditional way-with his hands around the neck. I
’
m not a profiler, that
’
s your trick, but my slightly over-educated opinion says this was most likely his first
.
”

“
You sure? Of course you
’
re sure
.
”
Georgia knew Jules was very rarely wrong. Not when it involved the victims.

“
Pretty much. Where
’
s Hellbrook? You might want to refocus your team
’
s attention on this girl. I brought the giant a file all his own. Think he
’
d want it gift-wrapped
?
”

“
No bow on top necessary. He
’
s out of cell range, dammit
.
”
Georgia grabbed her backpack, her phone, and her copy of the reports. She called to K.D., gave her quick instructions, then watched as the blonde swigged some more water and sunk into a chair.

Jules stood and watched, using the files she still clutched to fan her face lazily. The Carterville station
’
s thermostat only had one setting—hot. Georgia had quickly learned to dress accordingly.
“
Anything I can do to help
?
”

“
Yeah. You
’
re coming with. I need a navigator
.
”
Georgia grabbed her friend and dragged her to the door.

Chapter
21

****

He
’
d always felt at home in the woods; the back country of Arkansas was where he
’
d grown up. This place reminded him of those days. Nothing but woods and land around for miles, unspoiled by the ravages of people. That was one of the few things he hated about his job, the people. Linda had often teased him about being a misanthrope time and time again.

He heard the sound of someone shouting and he headed in that direction, hoping someone had found something they could use to catch this child-killing bastard.

It was Compton, one of Hellbrook
’
s younger agents. Good enough kid. Quiet type who didn
’
t make waves. Didn
’
t annoy him as much as some of the other young kids coming out of Quantico these days. Kid was yelling for his partner, that hot little redhead who followed Hellbrook everywhere. Now she had no business anywhere in the field. Going to get someone hurt someday. How the fuck had Compton lost her out here? God, were all of Hellbrook
’
s agents so careless? Especially with the damned women. Women did not belong in the field, period. Hadn
’
t they learned after what happened to Linda nine months ago? They were there that day, weren
’
t they?

He couldn
’
t remember.

Dammit, somebody should teach Compton and Hellbrook a lesson. He grabbed the thick branch lying next to his left foot. Before he knew it, the branch connected with the side of Compton
’
s head. The kid crumpled at his feet.

Fuck
! What had he done? He wasn
’
t a killer. He didn
’
t hurt the innocent.

He knelt over the kid, checking for a pulse. Lying there on the muddy ground the boy looked enough like his son to have his heart squeezing in his chest. What had he done? He hadn
’
t meant to hurt him. Still, he couldn
’
t let someone find him leaning over this kid. First to find was often the first suspect.

He stepped over Compton and headed deeper into the woods. Let someone else find the kid. If nothing else, this would teach Compton to guard his ass a little better.