WATCHING (4 page)

“
God
.
”
Georgia rubbed her brow, pinched the bridge of her nose before taking a bite of her candy bar.
“
Any signs of abuse
?
”

Jules shook her head no.

“
Was she raped?
”
Georgia asked. Jules didn
’
t say, but the look on her face was all the confirmation Georgia needed. She made a note in her file, sick as she thought about it.

“
Bruising was fresh. Probably a few hours before she died. Other than that, everything was similar to the previous victims. No
discernible
differences. Fourth victim was the same, minus pregnancy
and rape
. Both died from internal injuries suffered during the attacks
.
”

Georgia sighed.

“
This sucks,
”
Jules said. It was the only thing said for a moment. Georgia agreed.

“
How hard did the rocks hit, on average? Each rock maybe weighed five or six pounds. The borrow pits were approximately twenty to forty feet deep, depending on soil type, age, and overgrowth. How fast was the bastard throwing them? How fast would it have to be to cause enough damage for four girls to bleed to death internally, or to cause a severe concussion capable of leading to death
?
”
Georgia would be the first to admit she was not strong in math. But Jules was.

“
My expert opinion
?
”
Jules put her soda down on the table in front of her.
“
Pretty damned hard
.
”

“
And accurate. He
’
d not want to expend too much energy by not hitting his target
,
”
Georgia said.

“
True. But motivations are more your field than mine
.
”

“
But I will never understand this kind of motive
.
”
Georgia sighed, drumming her fingers on the table between them.
“
Killing four teenage girls. All small build
.
”

“
Not a one of them was taller than five-foot-four,
”
Jules confirmed,
“
Weight was less than one hundred and fifteen pounds. Small framed. All brunettes
.
”

“
Why this typology
?
”
Georgia asked, her stomach twisting as she looked at
Jules
.

“
Easily controlled, maybe
?
”
Jules shook her head, sending honey brown hair falling out of the bun she
’
d used two pencils to secure. Georgia would never understand Jules and pencils.
“
I doubt
I
’
d
be able to carry someone any bigger than the victims; not that far up the mountain. Remember when you fell in Yellowstone
?
”

“
Yes
.
”
Georgia remembered it well, it was the last vacation they
’
d taken together. They
’
d been camping and she and Jules had woken early to take a quick bath in the stream. Georgia had slipped, twisting the heck out of her ankle. Jules hadn
’
t wanted to leave her behind to go get Bryan or Rick, so she
’
d carried Georgia back. It hadn
’
t been easy.
“
You carried me on your back, because any other way I was too heavy. So that could be a factor
.
”

“
You
’
ve lost me
,
”
Jules said.
“
What factor
?
”

“
He may be a smaller man
,
”
Georgia began.
“
One who feels inadequate when dealing with a woman of average height
?
”

“
Small man syndrome
.
”
Jules nodded.

“
The smaller the man, the more controlling he seems to be with his woman
,
”
Georgia said, from long experience. Bryan, who
’
d stood under six feet, had never had any issues with height, his or hers, but the
guy
she
’
d dated before him had been barely five-foot-six. And he
’
d watched her every move. One reason why they hadn
’
t dated for very long.

They talked a bit more, only about the case and Georgia
’
s recent problems with Hellbrook, but nothing about the past. It saddened Georgia to see how her friend had closed herself off from even talking about her husband.

Jules had once been a bright, vivacious woman, who
’
d drawn all the attention effortlessly in her direction. But then the accident had happened, and Jules had turned to her career in the pathological departments, moving to cut up dead people rather than deal with real living ones. Georgia didn
’
t know how to help her
—
she
was marginally better herself. She
’
d been Jules
’
partner-in-crime. The two of them had so many misadventures Rick and Bryan had joked for hours about them, about having to step in and save them. Like in Yellowstone and in so many other ways.

And it was true; Bryan had been Georgia
’
s savior in a lot of ways. He
’
d made her see the real her, without the baggage associated with having a corporate raider mother and a super-agent father. He
’
d let her be herself, understood her particular brand of humor. Her need to fuss over him and his infant son occasionally. The need to just escape it all once in a while. To run away. Georgia was really good at running away from things. Even if no physical withdrawing took place.

Until the day Bryan and Rick had died and she could not run. Jules had withdrawn, cutting herself off from everyone, Georgia and Matthew included. Georgia had turned her every thought to suddenly caring for an orphaned toddler, to making double funeral arrangements and keeping a close eye on Jules. It hadn
’
t been easy. For any of them.

Jules was so alone, except for Georgia and Matthew. Bryan
’
s mother was elderly
—
and wanted nothing to do with the only living tie to her son. She
’
d not spoken to Georgia, Jules, or Matthew since the double funeral.

Georgia didn
’
t care about Bryan
’
s mother
’
s coldness for her own sake but Matthew had deserved better. And so had Jules, who
’
d gone out of her way to be a good daughter-in-law to the woman.

Thinking of the little boy made her homesick and she pulled her cell phone from her pocket. She pushed number one on speed dial, and waited for her father to pick up.

“
Daddy
?
”

***

Hellbrook rounded the hallway corner right outside the state police
’
s morgue as a familiar voice said
daddy
.

Georgia stood next to the window, looking out on a small, muddy courtyard. Her phone clutched in one hand, the other traced absent circles on the windowpane. It told him a lot about the relationship she held with her parent, that familiar child
’
s term.
Daddy
’
s little girl. Princess.
He paused, shamelessly eavesdropping on her conversation.

“
Can I talk to him
?
”
s
he asked, her face relaxing into a small smile which widened after a moment.
“
Hi, baby! Mommy misses you, too. Are you being good for Grandpa
?
”

Hell stepped back, until he was partially blocked by the corner he
’
d rounded. He
’
d rarely seen this side of her. She rigidly kept the subject of her son to herself
;
he
’
d heard her mention the little boy maybe two dozen times in the last four months. He
’
d seen him only a handful of times, as well. And those had been when they
’
d had spur-of-the-moment cases where he
’
d had to call the team in. She
’
d been forced to bring the child to the CCU where her father, or ex-partner and former roommate, Ana Sorin, would pick him up.

Whenever Hell had gotten close to the boy, Georgia would move
her son
, arrange things so that the child spent as little time near Hell as possible. He knew it was deliberate, and he chalked it up to how he
’
d treated her since that first moment.

She was a mother instinctively protecting her cub, even though she
had
to know he
’
d never do anything to hurt her son. Yet if what she
’
d told him recently was true, the little boy wasn
’
t even hers biologically. Even though the dark eyes were similar. She must have loved the father quite a lot, to agree to take the child. It was a big responsibility, and probably not easy, with the kind of job they did. He admired her for that.

He was well aware of the dangers of this type of work
—
and that was another reason he left her behind at the station houses whenever he could. Georgia, more than anyone else on the team, had a valid reason to be kept as safe as possible.

“
Mommy will be home very soon. No, probably not today. Or tomorrow
.
”
She sighed, lowered her head to rest against the window. Hell moved closer.
“
Mommy misses you, too, baby. I love you, Mattie
.
”

Hell stepped up behind her as she snapped the phone closed. He reached one hand up, rested it on her narrow shoulder. Her body tensed, her hands went into an immediate defensive position. His own muscles tightened instinctively.
“
Georgia
?
”

Her body relaxed.
“
Agent Hellbrook, sir. What are you doing here
?
”

“
I
’
ve called in for auxiliary teams, from the division. You
r
pal Brockman and the rest of his team will be meeting me here as soon as their plane lands. Stephenson
’
s team, as well
.
”
Hell dropped his hand as she turned to face him. Her eyes were clouded, and he fought the urge to run a hand down her arm. To hug her. To touch her and tell her everything would be alright, that he
’
d get her home to her child soon.

“
You think it
’
s necessary at this point
?
”
She tucked the phone back into the pocket of her navy trousers.

“
Yes. The terrain is too spread out for one team to effectively cover it all. Dr. Bellows find anything
?
”

“
Yes. One of our victims was pregnant
.
”
Georgia grabbed the file folder she
’
d placed on the window sill and flipped it open.
“
Everything else was about the same
.
”

“
God. I hate it when it
’
s kids
.
”
He shook his head then moved to read over her shoulder. A floral scent that he had long associated with her hit his senses.

“
So do I
.
”
She stuck her hands into her pocket and then pulled a small object free. She hesitated before moving it where he
’
d be able to see it. He looked closer, trying to identify it. It was a small car, the size of a nickel.
“
It
’
s Matthew
’
s. Came out of his children
’
s meal. He put it in my backpack, so he wouldn
’
t
‘
loosed it
’
. It
’
s been in there since yesterday
.
”

“
Reminds you of why you do this
?
”
He took the toy from her, fingers brushing hers, and examined it. It was small yet the message it represented weighed so much more.

“
Reminds me of why I joined the Bureau at all. He
’
s such a good little boy. He deserves a safe world in which to grow up. They all do. They shouldn
’
t be lying in a morgue
.
”
She took the toy from him, her soft hand brushing against his rougher one. He captured the fragile touch, holding her for a moment. It was the first time he
’
d ever touched her in a non-professional capacity. The kiss of her skin against his burned him.

“
I understand, sweetheart. I do
.
”
He let her hand drop, feeling awkward at the endearment that had slipped free. Their eyes met for a moment.
“
Ready
?
”

“
Ready
.
”