WATCHING (16 page)

***

Twenty minutes later the two men had the tires changed and were ready to head back to Carterville. Georgia ignored Hell for the most part, speaking only about the case specifics. He started the SUV
’
s engine, after wiping his hands on a rag.
“
Get in
.
”

“
I was going to ride with Jules and Ana, if that was alright with you
.
”
Cool professionalism coated her words, but he wasn
’
t lost to the way her eyes avoided his. She was hiding, right in front of him. Retreating, a defense mechanism that he
had
expected. Now she was aware of him, and he fe
lt the urge to hunt. He smiled and
reminded himself to be patient.

“
No. We have things to discuss, still
.
”
He wasn
’
t letting her hide from him. And that
’
s what she was wanting to do
—
use her friends to retreat.

“
Yes, sir!
”
She slammed her passenger door with a smart finality that had him shaking his head.

She kept the discussion strictly on the case. Every attempt he made to veer the subject to the two of them, she avoided, evaded.

It was only when they were pulling into the parking lot the motel shared with the adjacent country diner that she spoke.
“
When do you want to meet? Head to the precinct
?
”

“
As quickly as we can. Under an hour
?
”
That would give him time to shower and dress, get something to eat, and catch up on all the new information from the day before. It would also give him time to cool down. He needed some time away from her to think. To strategize.
“
We
’
ll grab some breakfast before we go
.
”

She nodded, then unlocked her own motel room. They had adjacent rooms, so he
’
d hear when she was ready to leave. He
’
d table that talk they needed to have, at least until they
’
d both had time to think.

Chapter
18

****

He saw them pull in from where he sat at the diner. He felt an absurd rush of relief-what if the UNSUB had found them, stranded alongside the highway?

Sure, the princess had had Hellbrook to protect her, and both were armed, but what if the UNSUB had gotten the jump on Hellbrook? The blown tires could also have gotten them killed. He hadn
’
t intended that, just wanted to teach Hellbrook a lesson, was all.

He
’
d been a ball of nerves since he
’
d overheard the little mouse M.E. pounding on Brockman
’
s door with a crazy story of the princess being missing.

The worry in the doctor
’
s voice still had him feeling a bit sick with guilt. He hadn
’
t realized she and the princess were such good friends.

He hadn
’
t meant to get
the mouse
all worked up. Just figured Hellbrook and the princess would be a bit delayed getting back to the motel. Didn
’
t even consider they
’
d be out there all night.

Still, they both looked just fine, so it wasn
’
t a big deal. They had more important things to worry about. Like catching a killer.

Chapter
19

****

Georgia slapped a note on Hellbrook
’
s door before crossing the parking lot of the motel to the small diner across the street. She wasn
’
t quite ready to see him face-to-face yet. She
’
d get breakfast for both of them. Then they could get underway. Catch this
guy
. Georgia reviewed what she knew of him.

They had an average man, short but athletic, of Caucasian descent running around a large rural area kidnapping and torturing small framed brunettes whom he must have noticed flirting.

Flirting
—
one of the most natural acts in the process of finding a mate. Nearly every species on the planet had actions that were designed to entice members of the opposite gender.

She flirted, playfully teased men she felt comfortable with. Most people did. Something must have twisted or corrupted somewhere in the UNSUB
’
s past to make him enraged by a female flirting. And that corruption probably took the form of a small built brunette. It wasn
’
t about teenage girls; it was about petite brunettes who were exhibiting the initial signs of sexual attraction.

But who would have an issue with sexual attraction? Who would think to use such an old method of killing as stoning?

Someone who valued the traditional aspects of the common religion of this area. Of course, stoning was a part of many religious fables and myths, but in this area Christianity was the dominant religion.

He was someone who had to have seen the victims in a variety of locations, movie theatres, sandwich shop, library, even the high school.

Someone who
’
d blend into the community, someone who it wouldn
’
t be surprising to see near a teenage girl. Someone people would almost expect to see near the girls.

She also couldn
’
t forget the Turn Around. The bar didn
’
t fit the other typology of locations. Of course, neither did Katherine Montehue in a lot of ways.

And they were still waiting on the information of the still as of yet unidentified body. She pulled her cell from her pocket, pushing number three on speed dial.

Carrie answered on the second ring.

“
Hey, Sparkie. Any word on the Spurgeon Quarry victim
?
”
Georgia asked, not surprised when the answer was no.
“
Are you still tracing all disappearances that meet the general build? Might go back another six months
.
”

The man had to have a first kill. And Georgia strongly suspected they hadn
’
t found it yet. Unless the body found in the now defunct quarry was it. And that body was of a grown woman. So what, besides flirting, made him switch to teenage girls?

Georgia was about to enter the diner when a hand on her back stopped her. She whirled around, taking her phone from her ear, as her free hand dropped to her side where her Sig rested.

The man behind her backed up quickly.
“
I
’
m sorry, miss. Didn
’
t mean to startle you. I thought you were someone else
.
”

“
That
’
s ok. I
’
m a bit jumpy
.
”
Georgia cataloged the man. He was barely three inches taller than her five-two. He was close to Hellbrook
’
s age of thirty-eight. His light blue eyes showed the signs of severe allergies, watered and red.

He wasn
’
t an attractive man. But he also didn
’
t come across as a threatening man either.

His hair was dark.

He fit the description given by Katherine Montehue. Georgia fought her body
’
s instinctive desire to tense. A lot of men fit the physical description given by Katherine Montehue. Just because this man had stopped her didn
’
t mean he was the man they were looking for. She
’
d been trained not to overreact, she wasn
’
t about to start now.

***

Hell found the note Georgia had left attached to his door five minutes later and it pissed him off. Was she really that reckless? Did she honestly think that she wasn
’
t vulnerable to this bastard?

She
fit the victimology now; he hadn
’
t needed Brockman to point it out the day before at breakfast. At first it had been limited to only young girls. This latest find upped their ante, because any woman of small stature and dark hair could be a potential target. And it was completely feasible that their paths would cross with the UNSUB
’
s; it was the nature of their jobs. Georgia and Dr. Bellows
were both
small brunettes, though the doctor
’
s hair was a golden brown
, and
both were of narrow build. And yet Georgia walked across a deserted parking lot in search of coffee and toast? What the hell was she thinking? Why hadn
’
t she waited for him? He thought he
’
d made it clear that she was to stay within sight of him at all times.

When he caught up to her, he
’
d let her know that when it came to the functionality of the team, and her damned safety, he was still in charge. Would always be in charge.

He jogged across the parking lot. He bit back a curse when he saw her speaking with a man outside the diner
’
s glass doors. He profiled her quickly, taking in the tense set of her narrow shoulders, the hand resting on the butt of her weapon. She wasn
’
t comfortable with the man. That was apparent.

Good. Maybe that would teach little Miss Independent to think before acting so stupidly again.

Before Hell could approach, the man nodded, and then loped off the sidewalk to his truck. Hell made an absent note of the license plate and model specifications, before storming up to her side. His hand wrapped around her upper arm and he resisted the urge to jerk her to face him.
“
Just what the hell were you thinking
?
”

“
About what
?
”
Her face held genuine surprise and he took a deep breath.

He bit down on the instinctive urge to yell. He always wanted to yell where she was concerned. This time his words came out soft but harsh.
“
You decide to walk around on your own? Have you forgotten something
?
”

“
Like? I crossed the damned parking lot
.
”
Her tone dropped and frost coated each word.
“
I can assure you it
’
s something I
’
ve done many times in my life
—
and I looked both ways before I did.
You
r
room was in plain view the whole time. And I knew you
’
d be along shortly
.
”

“
Like the fact that you best fit the son-of-a-bitch
’
s typology? Like the fact that each victim disappeared from a parking lot? Like each victim had contact with a male shortly before their disappearances
?
”
He barely paused for breath, as he pulled her closer.
“
And let
’
s not forget the fact that the bastard could have been responsible for our being stuck in the middle of nowhere last night? He could be watching us right now! You could be the next target! Dammit, that man you were speaking with could have been him. Did you stop to think about that
?
”

“
And did you stop to think that maybe I can take care of myself? I
’
m armed and I can seriously kick ass-not to mention that I
’
m a trained federal agent compared to a scared fourteen-year-old. I don
’
t need a baby-sitter or a daddy, Hellbrook. I
’
d think you
’
d know that! You weren
’
t exactly kissing a child this morning!
”
She pushed against his chest and he loosened his grip, not realizing he
’
d grabbed her so tightly. He tried to apologize, but she stormed into the diner before he could. He followed.

“
Georgia..
.
”
He slipped into the booth across from her.

“
What? What do you want now
?
”
She jerked the menu up between them.

He grabbed it and lowered it so he could see her face. Anger sparked in her eyes, yes. But behind it was a touch of hurt. Hurt because he
’
d doubted her capabilities?
“
I know you
’
re a perfectly capable agent, but in a situation where you so closely resemble the victims, I
’
m in charge of keeping you safe. And that
’
s what I
’
m going to do, whether you like it or not. If you can
’
t play by that rule, you
’
re staying in the precinct. Got me
?
”

“
You
’
ve been perfectly clear. Now, shouldn
’
t we get going. We
’
ve wasted enough time
with each other
as it is
.
”
She turned and nodded at the waitress. Conversation ended.