Seeking Evil (Looking Into The Mind Of A Killer Series) (14 page)

John reached
Warren
’
s office door. This was not going to be a pleasant meeting. AD Warren
’
s growing distrust of John was becoming more evident with each passing day. He suspected John of holding back evidence. It was only a matter of time before
Warren
put the screws to
Rick for answers.

John knocked once and waited.

“
Enter.
”
The flat
-
lined tone in
Warren
’
s voice did little to encourage.

He steeled himself for the confrontation he knew was coming and walked into the room.

Mark Warren eyed him for a moment then pointed toward one of the chairs.

“
You have news for me?
”
Warren
’
s gaze never left John.

“
I do.
”

“
Good. Then maybe that can explain why you
’
ve managed to keep me in the dark about these new developments in a case I personally closed a year ago
,
and why I had to find out from the
Washington Post
instead of my
senior
agent
that the RCK was still at large.
”

John knew no matter how he chose to play this, he
’
d made a powerful enemy of the AD.

“
Because I didn
’
t believe it was wise to jump to any unnecessary conclusions without proof, Mark. You of all people should remember the public
’
s reaction to the last series of murders. We had to be sure.
”

“
And you believed I was a liability?
”
The AD harrumphed.

“
No. No, of course not.
”

Warren
held up a hand.
“
We
’
ll resolve this after we catch the killer. As it is, we look like a bunch of bumbling clowns in the public
’
s eye. I need to know what you have that
’
s new. And it had better be good.
”
Warren
leaned back in his seat and steepled his hands.

“
We
've
found a connection between the victims
,
at least some of the victims
.
W
e
’
re still looking into the rest.
”
He caught the AD
’
s impending anger and plunged ahead.
“
Two of our previous victims had medical transplants. We
’
ve just learned Anna also had a heart transplant as a child.
”

“
And the other
s
. The new ones?
”
Warren
barked his question.

“
Rick
’
s checking with their families now. I
’
ve ordered all the victims
’
medical records sent over.
”

Warren
eyed him suspiciously before nodding.
“
It
’
s a start. Go with it.
”

John got to his feet and headed for the door when
Warren
’
s next remark stopped him dead in his tracks.

“
And Delaney, when this thing
’
s over, I
’ll be launching an internal investigation on you.
I know that you and Sorenson kept information
out of
the files that might have prevented these new murders from happening. I intend to have a full inquiry into what you two were hiding. If you
’
re dirty, you
’
re going to pay for it. Sorenson
’
s not here to keep your secrets any longer. You
’
re on your way out, Delaney.
”

Chapter Nine

“
Ready?
”
John appeared in the doorway.
Anna knew him well enough to know s
omething was wrong.

“
What is it?
”

She
watched as the walls
she’
d seen in the past returned to stand between
them once more
. John no longer trusted
her
with his secrets.
“
Nothing. If you
’
re ready, we should get going. We
’
ll need to beat the traffic.
”

Anna
gathered
Gemma
and her
meager possessions, the few things
she’
d been allowed to bring
along
. Just enough clothes for a few days. Some toiletries.
Her
purse
and the weapon she'd stuffed inside it offering only a small amount of comfort.

She
followed
John
to the stairwell
instead of the elevator
.

“
We don
’
t want to take any chances.
”
He acknowledged
her
unasked question.

Anna
was exhausted and just wanted this thing to be done.
She
and
John
went
to the employee parking area
where
his
old
pickup truck
was parked
. She
recognized
it
right away.

John
’
s father had owned the truck.
He'd told her once that t
hey
’
d restored it together. It was a 1960 Ford and it was John
’
s pride and joy.

“
You
’
re still driving this?
”

He slanted a smile
her
way as he slammed the door hard just to get it to close.
“
O
f
course. It
’
s a classic. They don
’
t make them like this anymore.
”

They
sat side by side as
they
had so many times in the past,
Gemma
happily hanging her head out the cracked window.

It could have been a year ago. D.C. hadn
’
t change all that much. Just a few more tourists.
Some new politicians.

It never occurred to
Anna
to ask where
they
might be going until the lights of the city became
a
distant
memory
.

“
Where did you put Bev and Ed?
”

John spared
her
a quick look before focusing on the light traffic leaving the nation
’
s capital.
“
They
’
ve been moved to another state.
North Carolina
to be exact.
”

She and John
weren
’
t heading toward
North Carolina
.
She
turned in
her
seat so that
she
could get a better read on his expression. John was giving nothing away.

“
Where
exactly
are you taking me.
”
Anna
clutched
Gemma
closer for strength.

He actually smiled at the edge in
her
voice. He
’
d
seen something in her. Her
nervous fear at being alone with him, the anxiety at what feelings it would dredge up.

“
Relax
,
Anna
.”
His tone dipped low and sultry
, slipping
over
her
like a caress.
“
I
’
m taking you somewhere safe. Away from Beverly and Ed for their protection. Someplace where you and I can work the case in peace. I don
’
t think your family needs to see all the gruesome details in those files, do you?
”

In spite of his reassurances, John
’
s answer did nothing to
ease
Anna's
worries. For the
time being
,
she
chose to let the subject drop.
Anna
still needed to get a look
at
Aaron
’
s notes.
She
couldn
’
t afford to tip John off.

The silence between
them
grew as the miles slipped by.
They’
d left
Richmond
behind some time back. Now, t
he city limits sign for
Virginia Beach
came into view.

“
What
’
s here?
”
A thousand different
unwelcome feelings
zipped through
her
mind.
She
couldn
’
t think about being alone with John and not remember the times spent in his arms. In his bed.

A
aron
had
mention
ed once
something about
John
’
s father
leaving
him a place
at
the beach.

He turned to
her
in the darkness. The small cab of the truck shrunk to nothing
but a breath between them
.
“
You
’
ll be safe here.
I made sure we weren’t followed. So, w
hy so nervous? You
’
ve been alone with me before. Many times as I recall.
”
The rough edges in his voice reminded
her
of all those other times.
She wondered if he, too
, remembered the passion
they’
d shared together.

She cleared her throat. “
In the past. That
’
s over.
”

He didn
’
t say a word, but his eyes spoke volumes. It wasn
’
t over at all.

John
parked the truck in front of a small cabin,
got out of the truck, grabbed
her
bag
,
and waited. After a moment,
she
climbed out
and stood
next to him.

He
unlocked the door of the tiny cabin and stepped inside, drawing
her
with him. In the tiny entrance
,
his fingers tightened on
her
arm.
“
Wait here.
”

Anna
stood frozen in place by
a
myriad
of
emotion
s
. Fear. Need. Uncertainty.
The inevitable realization that the past would have its say here whether she liked it or not.

John moved through each room, searching the place without turning on a single light.

“
It
’
s clear.
”
His voice reached
her
in the darkness. He was close. Too close.
Anna
stepped back.