Evidence of Marriage (8 page)

Great. But he didn't have to tell her that. “So what do we do now?”

Reed grabbed a pile of papers Nikki had left on the conference table. He plopped them on the table in front of Diana. “Since you're here, you might as well get some work done. Besides, no matter what Meredith Unger passes on to Kane, this is still probably the safest place for you.”

Diana picked the top form off the stack. “Missing persons reports?”

“These are from last September and October from all over the country—or at least from those jurisdictions that have computerized their reports. We've already done a computer search to come up with women who match the characteristics of our victim.”

“The body that was burned?” Diana shuddered. The body who was at first mistaken for her.

“Burnell said the copycat burned the body either to act out his own fantasies or to hide her identity. If we can figure out who she was, we'll be that much
closer to finding our copycat.” He tapped a finger on the top of the pile. “Right now, we're at a dead end. I'm hoping with what you know about Kane, you might be able to recognize something in these reports that can help kick-start our investigation.”

She nodded. She could do that. She was eager to do that. “And what are you going to do?”

“I'm going to try to appeal to the human side of Meredith Unger. Provided there is one.” He leaned over her and brushed his lips to her forehead. “I'll be back for you.”

As soon as he stepped out the door, she leaned back in her chair, heart slamming against her rib cage as if she'd just finished a ten-mile run. She raised her hand to her forehead, touching her fingertips to the spot he'd kissed. As sweet as the gesture had been, she couldn't help thinking how she wished he hadn't done it.

How she wished he'd kissed her lips instead.

She shook her head and riveted her attention to the papers in front of her. The stack rose several inches thick. So many women. How many of them were the victims of violent death? Picking the top report from the stack, she forced her mind to concentrate on the information it contained.

She scanned the missing person's description and moved down the page. Moving her eyes over license plate and vehicle information, she studied
the section marked Other Information, a classification including the complainant, the reporting officer and the clothing and jewelry the woman had worn when she'd disappeared. “Diana?”

She didn't recognize the thin voice at first. It was so out of context. She turned around.

Louis Ingersoll leaned against the doorjamb. “Hey.”

“Louis? What are you doing here?”

He didn't meet her gaze; instead, he focused on her neck. “I suppose
he
gave that to you.”

Her hand flew to her throat. She clutched the delicate heart necklace in her fingers. The necklace she wore to feel close to her sister. “It's from Sylvie.” She didn't know why she felt she had to explain. She'd told Louis she wasn't comfortable with his gift. She'd told him she liked him as a friend and that she couldn't be anything more. But the hurt and anger in his eyes when he saw she wasn't wearing the necklace he'd given her, but another, made her feel she had to give him an explanation just the same.

He narrowed his eyes. “For the wedding?”

“What?”

“Did she give you that for being in her wedding?”

“Yes. It was my maid-of-honor gift.”

His face relaxed into the Louis she knew.

She glanced at the conference room. The last
thing she needed was for Reed to walk in about now. This day had been disturbing enough without trying to referee a face-off between the two. “Why are you here?”

He shook his head, as if he wasn't sure. “Something happened at our building yesterday, I guess. The police asked me to come down. Is that why you're here?” He eyed the stack of paper in front of her.

“Not totally.” She hated lying to Louis, but she was sure Reed wouldn't want her to tell Louis anything. Still, it didn't feel right to avoid answering his simple question. “I'm going through some paperwork.”

“You're working for the police?” His eyes widened, then narrowed. “Or for McCaskey?”

The jealousy again. She didn't know if they'd ever get around that, if they'd ever be friends again. “I can't tell you any more than that. I'm sorry.”

His face flushed red, blending skin and freckles and hair.

She felt bad for Louis, but what could she do to satisfy him, short of falling madly in love with him? Something that just plain was not going to happen. “I'm not back together with Reed.” She flinched. There she was, explaining things again.

“That's not what it looks like.”

“I don't want to talk about this.”

“You used to talk to me, Diana. We talked all the time. What happened?”

What happened? How was she supposed to answer that? Louis's feelings happened. He started looking at her as if he had a claim. He started acting as if he deserved an explanation for every decision she made. He started giving her gifts.

“Someone left a music box outside my apartment door yesterday. Did you see anyone unfamiliar in the building?”

His rigid posture seem to relax a little. “No.”

Maybe if she could steer their conversation off the subject of Reed, they could stay clear of hurt feelings. “That's probably what the police want to talk to you about.”

He took a step into the room. “That's not what the detective said.”

“What did he say?”

“I'm only supposed to talk to him. No other detective. No one else.”

Odd. Why would a detective give Louis those kinds of instructions? “Who was the detective?”

“His name is Perreth.”

A bad feeling solidified in the pit of her stomach. Why would Perreth tell Louis not to talk to another detective? What was he up to? “Louis, you have to tell me what Perreth said.”

He shook his head, the fluorescent light flaming orange off his hair. “I can't.”

“Please. It might be important.”

“Sorry, Diana. I know who you're going to run to as soon as I tell you anything. And Detective Perreth specifically said not to say a word to McCaskey.”

 

“S
O WHAT DO YOU THINK
he's up to?” Diana had been mulling over what Louis had told her about Perreth all afternoon and evening while she'd sorted through missing persons reports. She hadn't come up with an explanation that made sense, but her uneasy feeling about the whole exchange had grown.

Alternating shadow and streetlight played across Reed's face as they drove the few blocks to her hotel. “What Perreth's up to is
always
the question. And I don't have the answer this time.”

“Do you think he's doing something to hurt you?” Ever since Reed had confronted Perreth about abusing his wife, the bulldog-faced detective had been looking for revenge.

“I can almost guarantee he is trying to hurt me. He's probably trying to get me thrown off the task force. And if he can, ruin my career.”

“How would he do that?”

“If I knew that, I could head him off.” He flicked on his signal and made a turn, circling toward the hotel. “Perreth is no genius, but he can be creative.
At least when he's properly motivated. And I guess we don't have to wonder if Louis Ingersoll would be eager to help.”

Diana didn't have to spend much time thinking to answer that one. “If Perreth's plan is to hurt you, Louis would help in a heartbeat.”

“I know he's your friend. What I don't understand is why.”

Things might have changed between her and Louis in past months, but it hadn't changed so much that she didn't remember exactly why she'd valued his friendship. “He didn't judge me.”

Reed's brows snapped upward. “And I did?”

“No. Not really. But I felt like I was letting you down just the same.”

“Letting me down? How? You never let me down.”

She shook her head. He was right. She could see that now. Reed had thrived on helping her, taking care of her. The only person she had let down was herself. “I suppose my failings were mostly in my own head. But at the time, Louis seemed safe. It really never occurred to me that he wanted more than friendship. Not until after you and I broke up.”

“What happened?”

“He started coming over to my apartment more. He'd stop to see me at the university every time the food-service company he works for had a delivery
downtown. And he gave me an expensive necklace for a Christmas present. Emeralds and diamonds set in white gold.”

“Nice.” His gaze flicked to her throat, as if checking to see what jewelry she was wearing.

“I never wore it. I knew he would take it as a sign that I wanted to be romantically involved, which I didn't.”

“You gave it back?”

She shifted in her seat. “Well, no.”

“Why not?”

She stared out the side window at the night street scrolling by. She knew she should have insisted Louis take back the gift. But somehow, she couldn't. “He just felt so fragile. So needy. If I had, I would have broken his heart. I didn't know what to do. So I put it in my drawer and forgot about it.” At least she'd tried. With Louis checking her throat nearly every time she saw him, she hadn't been able to wipe it from her mind for good.

“He clearly sees me as his rival.”

She couldn't argue with that. And the way it looked, Louis was now conspiring with Perreth to sabotage Reed's career. “I'll talk to him. I'll tell him to leave you out of this.”

“And you think that will help?”

“Probably not. But if there's a danger to your career, I can't just do nothing.” Reed's career was
more important to him than anything. She couldn't live with herself if her actions ended up destroying it.

He veered the car into a vacant spot along the curb, parking between a van and a cab dropping off its fare. Slipping the key from the ignition, he twisted to face her, his hand braced against the back of her seat. “Everything will be fine.”

God help her, she wanted to believe him. She wanted to grab onto his words and hold them close to her heart. But she knew it wasn't that easy. Things were never that easy. “You promised to be straight with me, not to smooth things over.”

“Okay then, it might not be fine. But whatever happens, we'll deal with it. Better?” Giving her arm a light pat, he spun around and climbed from the car.

Better? Hardly. But at least her eyes were wide open. At least she was seeing everything in front of her, facing everything she needed to face.

She retrieved a file of missing-person reports Reed had allowed her to take from the district office and climbed out of the car. They crossed the lobby and caught an elevator. Once inside, Diana leaned against the mirrored wall, fatigue descending into her body and hissing through her mind.

It would feel good to be alone for a few hours. Quiet. Safe. After suffering through the jangle of activity at the district office for hour upon hour,
Diana could hardly think. She had no idea how Reed could force himself to go back there and work through the night, but she had no doubt that was his plan.

Nadine was still out there, and time was ticking away.

The elevator opened and she followed Reed into the vacant hall.

“Damn.” Reed checked his watch. “It's after midnight. There should be an officer waiting here.”

“He's only a little late.” She probably should have stayed at the City County Building after all. Reed couldn't afford to waste his precious time babysitting her. He needed to get back to work. He needed to find Nadine. “I can stay alone for a little while. It isn't as if the door doesn't lock.”

“You're not staying alone.” He flipped open his phone and punched in a number.

Diana tamped down a spike of frustration. Reed had lived up to their bargain today. He hadn't hovered. He'd let her help with the case. He'd even been straight with her when she'd prodded. She hadn't believed he'd be able to keep up his end, but he had for the most part. If he insisted an officer stay outside her door, she could go along with that. If she were honest with herself, after Kane's harsh words about discipline this morning, she didn't exactly want to be alone.

She fished her key card from her purse and swiped it through the lock. Light flashing green, she turned the door's handle. “We might as well wait inside.” She pushed the door open.

The sickly sweet smell of death and decay hit her like a blanket. Choking her. Gagging her. Bringing her to her knees.

Reed grasped Diana's arm, holding her, keeping her on her feet. He didn't have to check the body to see if she was still alive. Splayed naked on the bedspread, Nadine Washburn was killed in the same manner as Kane and the copycat's previous victims. Blond hair streaked with blood tangled around a pale face and dull eyes stared up at the ceiling, frozen in horror.

Anger worked up Reed's throat, as bitter as bile.

He scanned the flowered spread, the carpet, the furniture, making quick mental notes of each smudge of blood or piece of lint that might be out of place.

“My punishment,” Diana said, her voice barely a whisper. She clutched the file of missing persons forms to her chest, hugging it like a doll.

Reed slipped his arm more securely around her and pulled her trembling body tight to his side. He wanted to whisk her away, convince her this had
nothing to do with her, convince himself. But obviously that would be impossible.

Out in the hall, the elevator swooshed open. Reed released Diana, turning in time to see Officer Drummond tromping down the hall.

He joined them in the doorway. “Sorry I'm late, Detective. I got hung up on State Street. I had to babysit a drunk frat kid puking in the gutter. Real nice. I bet his parents would be proud.” He glanced past them and into the room. His mouth dropped open. “Holy cow.”

Reed released Diana. Once he was certain she could stand under her own power, he turned to give the young officer a glare. He would address his tardiness later. Right now he needed the kid to focus strictly on the job. “I want you to call it in, then set up an outer perimeter. No one leaves this hotel without being interviewed, especially all employees. And I want this floor, the laundry, the kitchen and anywhere else he might have gained access to the hotel and the key to this room sealed. And I need a master key to the rooms on this floor.”

Drummond nodded his cropped head. He backed from the room. “Will do.”

“And Drummond?”

“Yeah?”

“This is the Copycat Killer's work. Speed is of the essence. We can't afford any mistakes.”

“Sure thing.” He gave a military nod. Spinning on a heel, the young cop raced for the elevator.

Reed turned back to Diana. She'd inched farther into the room while he'd been talking to Drummond. Eyes glazed and sunken, she stared at the body as if in a trance.

He'd seen that vacant look in victims' eyes before. The look of shock. Of course, in the past two days, Diana hadn't merely suffered one shock, she'd suffered many. He could only hope that after all she'd been through, her body didn't pick this moment to allow the stress to come crashing down on her. “Come on, Di. I need to get you out of here.” He slipped an arm around her shoulder and guided her away from the body and toward the hall.

Suddenly she stopped, grasping the doorjamb as if desperate to prevent him from ushering her from the room. “No, wait…”

“You can't do anything here, Diana.”

“I know. I just…”

She wasn't thinking. She probably wasn't even feeling. She was just resisting his arm around her. Resisting his concern. Resisting
him.

He shook off the sting. It didn't matter. Not now. He needed to make sure she was okay. As okay as she possibly could be. And letting her stare at Nadine Washburn's body even another second wouldn't help. “This is a crime scene. I need to
preserve whatever he might have left behind. I can't have you contaminating possible evidence.”

She released the door frame and held her hand to her forehead. “I never thought of that. I'm sorry.”

“You're in shock. Disoriented. It's okay.” He guided her into the hall.

She shook her head. “It's not okay, Reed. He said he would discipline me. He said the next time he saw me, he wanted me on my knees. I should have seen something like this coming. I kind of felt it, but—”

“There was nothing you could have done.”

She looked up at him, desperation gleaming in her eyes. “She died because of me.”

“No, she didn't.” At least he could relieve that burden from her shoulders.

“She did. He said he would punish me for talking to Trent Burnell. He killed her to punish me.”

“I don't care what he said. She didn't die because of what happened in your visit with Kane.”

“How do you know?”

“Did you notice how her body was lying flat to the bed? The way her muscles looked relaxed, as if she was asleep?”

“Yeah…”

“A body's muscles start to become rigid a couple hours after death.”

She nodded, as if she was following, understanding. “Rigor mortis.”

“Right.” He let out a relieved breath. She was following. Thinking. Maybe the shock wasn't too much for her. Maybe she would be okay. “I can't be certain, not until the body's examined. But it looks to me as if the rigor is already relaxing. And judging by the smell, she didn't die within the last two hours.”

“So when did she die?”

“I can't say for sure, but depending on conditions, I'd guess her time of death to be sometime last night.”

“That means she was already dead. When Kane said those things, she'd been dead for hours.”

“I'm guessing your punishment was finding her in your bed. Unless he planned that all along, too.”

She still looked pale, her eyes troubled. But there was a strength in the way she held her spine he'd never noticed before. Upright. Straight. As if she was preparing herself to meet head-on whatever might hit her next. She met his eyes and nodded. “Thanks.”

“For what?”

“Just being honest with me, explaining things. Instead of trying to sweep me away and fix everything.”

He swallowed hard, his throat aching all the way down to his gut. He'd wanted to do exactly what she'd said. He'd wanted to shelter her, take care of her. He'd been trying to do just that when
she'd grabbed the edge of the door, when she'd prevented him from whisking her from the room. He felt like a fraud accepting credit he didn't deserve.

But he nodded anyway.

Taking a deep breath to clear his mind, he gestured to a small seating area halfway down the hall. “Why don't you wait down there? When Drummond sends up the master key, I'll open a room for you. You can lie down, get some rest.”

She nodded. “Right. You have a job to do.”

Yes, a job. He thought of Nadine Washburn's mutilated body and the shadow of a wavy-soled footprint he thought he'd spotted on the carpet near the bed. It would be another long night.

She'd just taken a step when the bleat of a cell phone cut the air.

Reed pushed his suit coat to the side and glanced at the phone on his belt. “Not mine.”

Diana balanced the thick file in one arm while she fished her phone from her purse. Flipping it open, she held it to her ear, her hand visibly shaky. “Hello?” Her eyes grew wide and shot to Reed's face.

Another shot of adrenaline slammed into his bloodstream. “What is it?”

“Are you sure?” What little blood still colored Diana's cheeks drained. “Okay. I'll let you talk to Reed.”

She pulled the phone from her ear and held
it out to him. “It's Sylvie. She and Bryce are on their way back.”

“On their way back?”

“They've found our brother. And he lives in the Madison area.”

He took the phone from her hand. The current location of Diana's half brother wasn't wasted on him. And judging from the tone of her voice, it wasn't wasted on Diana either. The killer who had struck tonight, the man revisiting Kane's sick fantasies, might be Diana's own blood.

The son of Dryden Kane.