Croft continually found himself searching for Emma, just to reassure his frazzled nerves that she was perfectly safe. The emotions that were playing over her face made his heart ache. This had to be tough on her emotionally, but she was right. Emma was working back into who she was once before. He was incredibly proud of her as she stood strong and battling back against the madness of the killer. His woman was tougher than she believed herself to be, and he knew when this was over, she’d persevere.
Emma turned and walked the perimeter, looking for clues to what had happened there. She was crouched down when Greyson came up behind her.
“You okay, honey?”
“Yeah, Grey look.” She pointed to footprints and little silver pieces of broken plastic. “I think that’s a rhinestone. How much do you want to bet that’s part of Megan Landry’s phone?” She picked it up with her gloved finger and moved forward to pick up another piece.
He observed her warily.
“It is a trail of phone fragments!” she said, following them.
Croft froze as Emma walked into the cornrows searching for the next piece. It was as if she was following a trail of breadcrumbs to the epicenter of something waiting for her.
“Emma, wait!” He charged into the rows afraid the killer was laying out a trap for her, attempting to lure her away from everyone else.
“Grey, there are more pieces. It looks like he smashed the phone in anger.” She continued to gather them, dropping pieces into an evidence bag.
Croft was right behind her and ran into her when she stopped suddenly. “What’s wrong?” he asked, pulling her firmly against his chest and wrapping his arms around her protectively.
“We just found the note.” Emma pointed to a cornstalk in front of her.
He stared in horror.
If the killer wanted to maximize the impact, he’d done it. The note on the milk jug was nothing in comparison.
“Oh my God,” she whispered, taking in the photograph.
Anger swept through him as Greyson stared at the printed out photo of him in bed with Emma. They were in the midst of having sex. His body was over hers as the looks on their faces were filled with the passion they were feeling.
Emma was feeling violated that the beautiful moment between them, the first time they’d come together, had just been tainted forever.
If the photograph wasn’t bad enough, the words invoked their own terror.
Over their bodies were scribbled words in blood red.
A WHORE is a WHORE
They all screamed for mercy, and I gave none. The game is ending. Are you ready, Emma? I’m coming for you.
THE HUNTER
The magnitude of his rage was incomprehensible. There was no way in hell this maniac was going to touch his Emma. She was his, and he planned to spend the rest of his life with her. “Over my dead, cold corpse,” he stated, holding Emma against him and burying his face in her hair. “I’ll keep you safe,” he promised.
She wasn’t worried about him keeping his promise. She was terrified he’d try to stand in front of her, and she’d lose him. “I know, Grey. He’s watching us all the time. That bastard wants us to know he’s close enough to see us, and he wanted everyone to sympathize with him. Now everyone’s going to see this. It’s evidence that he feels justified.”
“If he touches you, I’ll kill him. I won’t be stoppable,” he stated, unequivocally.
“We’ll beat him,” she promised.
Croft released her, taking the photo and sealing it into an evidence bag. “He can watch all he wants. I’m going to catch him, and his mistake was warning me. I’ll keep an eye on everyone around you now.” Greyson took Emma’s hand and led her back out into the clearing. Doctor Brooks was assessing the time of death.
“She died around one in the morning, Sheriff,” he offered. “She didn’t go easy either.”
“Was she alive when he did this to her, Doctor Brooks?” Emma needed to know. She prayed that Betty Kline had been dead at this point.
He shook his head. “She was conscious.”
“Terrific,” she muttered, feeling even more sick. Who even knew that was possible?
Croft released Emma’s fingers, only to give his tech team their next assignments. When he handed Gail the photo, he registered the look on her face. “I need this processed ASAP for prints.”
Gail made a snorting noise somewhere between disgust and glee. How she wished she could photocopy it and send it to the local papers, press, and every citizen of Celestia. On this one, she had to agree with the killer. Emma Starling was a trashbag whore.
His temper flared. “When you’re done with that, Gail, I need to take a few moments of your time. We need to have a little discussion today.” Croft turned away, missing the angry sneer that Gail directed at the sheriff.
Emma crouched beside Betty Kline’s body, examining the wounds. The sight of the dead woman turned her stomach, but she knew she could get through it.
“She wasn’t stabbed as brutally as the last two victims,” she muttered, watching as Doctor Brooks zipped up the body bag.
“No, the killer wanted her to die from being eviscerated,” Doctor Brooks said, stripping out of his gloves.
Emma stood there deep in thought. She wasn’t buying it. The killer was escalating with each woman. Yeah, the impact was huge on how he killed, but it didn't add up to her. Why was Betty Kline only stabbed a few times and the other women showed increased fury?
Something had to be there, and she wasn’t seeing it.
“We need to get back to the office, Emma.” It was Croft’s voice, which broke through her concentration.
“I’m ready,” she answered, following him towards their vehicle. Her thoughts were still on the woman in the black body bag as butterflies filled her gut. Her instinct was screaming at her, and she needed to work it out.
Croft drove as Emma sat in silence. His eyes flickered over at her a few times. The mask had finally come off and emotion was plastered across her face.
“Are you afraid?” he asked.
“Me? I am more afraid that we won’t catch him. It makes me nervous to know he’s watching us. Are you scared?” she asked.
“I’m terrified out of my mind. I’m so full of fear that he’s going to take you from me and hurt you. I’m scared I’ll be too slow. I want to take you away from here and put you some place safe where he can’t find you. Does that make me a horrible person?” Croft sighed.
“It makes you human, babe.” Emma ran her hand up and down his thigh. “I’ll be fine, Grey. I promise.”
He nodded, his eyes returning to the road as the feelings of doom that lingered in his mind, rattling his confidence. He would just have to stay by her side continually.
There was one truth bouncing around in his head. If the killer came for her, she’d live, and he’d be willing to die.
Sunday Mid-Morning
Back at the station, Emma escaped to her office for some privacy. Closing the door, she sat at her desk. Right now, she needed a few minutes to think, and Croft hovering over her was distracting as hell. For now, Emma needed to focus on the things that were twisting her gut.
As she dropped into her desk chair, Emma began playing the events over and over in her mind. What she needed was the killer to slip up, and to be focused enough to see the mistake when it happened.
Oh, and peace and quiet. She’d sell her soul to just be left alone.
When her boss entered the building, Lila watched her storm past her desk, and wisely decided to sit and say nothing to the woman. When the agent walked past her, he too looked just as distracted.
Something bad had happened. Lila could feel the tension in the air. She really needed to talk to her boss, and hoped the bad mood would blow over soon. She was afraid and desperate to get something off her chest.
In the meeting room, Agent Croft was sending emails and taking care of all the background work associated with running the team. The final email was to his boss, requestin
g information on another field office position. He’d heard through the FBI grapevine that there was a job opening which piqued his interest. When this was all done, he was going to try to convince Emma to marry him and run away to anywhere else but Philly or Celestia.
What he wanted was a new start, and he only wanted it with her. Croft emailed a local realtor, asking him to assess his home for market value and put it up for sale. After finding out Emma was the killer’s ultimate prize, he’d decided he’d leave the FBI if he had to, just to spend his life with her.
There were priorities and at the top of the list sat this little copper haired woman. She’s flounced her way into his life, and he was taking control and keeping her there with him.
Sending off the last email, he knew his boss would get back to him almost immediately. Glancing up at the motion from the doorway, he found her standing there waiting for him to finish what he was doing.
“Do you need me, honey?” he asked.
Emma closed the door and crossed the room to him. She sat on his lap and took his face in her hands. “I love you,” she said, before kissing him. The look on his face was of anguish and so much weight on his shoulders. The poor man was carrying it all, and she wanted to offer him a moment of peace, before they continued.
The kiss warmed the coldest recesses of his body, where the fear of her death began staining his soul. Her arms wrapped around his neck, holding her to him, while they shared an emotionally charged kiss. Greyson’s body came alive as she rooted herself into his life even further. “Emma,” he whispered, as their lips slowly parted. “God, you make everything so much better.”
The crystal green of her eyes met the molten silver. Delicately, she left little kisses across his cheeks and lips. They were almost playfully done, easing even more tension. “Want to finish this later, Grey?” she offered, feeling his body already hard beneath hers.
“Most definitely. If I didn’t think my partner would come through that door, I’d finish it here,” he muttered, taking a deep breath before trying to find some control. It amazed him that even in the midst of murder, Emma was able to make him forget.
She giggled. “That idea intrigues me, Grey. One day, I may take you up on it.”
There went the little control he’d been searching for a few seconds ago. In his mind, he pictured what they could be doing at that very moment.
When Emma stood, there was such a feeling of longing to keep her in his lap. He’d spent so many years without love, and now, he’d finally found happiness. It was all thanks to death. Who knew?
She took her few moments of normalcy, and now, it was time to refocus on the situation. “I called the mayor’s office. We have a meeting there in a little while.”
“How’d he sound?”
Emma shrugged. “I didn’t get to talk to him. I ended up talking to his ass-kissing lackey. As usual, he was playing buffer.”
“You’ll get to talk to him if I have to lock his sidekick in a closet,” he stated, emphatically.
“I love when I have big, sexy muscle at my disposal.”
Croft winked at her. “Use me all you want.”
Briefly, she considered the possibilities, and then forced her mind back on the work at hand. “I have some questions I want to ask him,” she said, taking a seat beside Greyson, remaining connected by placing her hand on his leg.
“Like what?” he asked, staring down at her fingers and willing them to slide a little further to the left. Croft couldn’t help himself. He was a man after all.
“Where he was last night? When did he leave the office? What time was Betty there until, and WHY was she working on a weekend?” Emma stared into his eyes.
“What’s going on in that pretty head of yours?” he asked, stroking her knuckles with his fingertips.
“Something feels wrong. Why didn’t he hack her apart like the other women? The killer was escalating, and then stopped.”
He thought about it. “Good question. I was thinking about it myself, and all I could come up with was maybe it was all about the show of it all.”
“Huh?”
“He wanted the most dramatic impact. Hanging a woman up like a scarecrow and cutting her from sternum to pelvic bone screams drama.”
“You think he was setting a scene.”
“I think he’s nuts, and in his mind he wanted to terrify, gross you out, and make you a nervous wreck.”
Emma shook her head. “He missed on that one. It was nasty, but I’ve seen far worse.”
Croft knew that was indeed the truth because so had he.
“We’re missing something, Grey. What aren’t we seeing?” she inquired, flipping her hand and taking his fingers in hers.
Before he could answer, there was a knock on the door. Both of them turned as it opened slowly.
“Sheriff, Agent Croft, may I talk to you for a second?” asked Emma’s secretary, nervously.
“Sure, Lila, come on in.”
Entering, she closed the door and faced them. “I think I have a problem. I went to my car last night and the door was all scratched up. Like someone keyed the paint. I think I have a stalker.”
Emma knew who she was talking about immediately. “Do you think Billy did that to your car, Lila?”
She looked worried. “I think he’s trying to get even. He may still be mad at me, but I’ve been avoiding him and not answering the phone at home. I don’t know what to do.”
“I suggest you file a report for your vehicle, fill out a restraining order, and let me send a deputy out to his house to talk to him about it.”
Croft squeezed her hand, knowing what she was thinking because so was he.
“I’d appreciate it.” She got up and Croft spoke for the first time.
“Does he have a temper, Lila?”
“Yes, he does, Agent Croft. That was one of the reasons why he left Philadelphia. He was fired from his job.”
Both Greyson and Emma tensed at the new information they were being given.
“What was the other reason?” Emma asked.
Lila twirled a piece of her hair around her finger as she thought about it. “He told me he hated his boss at the post office. Billy said she had it in for him and was a bitch.”
Emma measured the information. “A bitch, huh?”
Lila nodded enthusiastically. “Billy loved his job, but she ruined it for him. He really hated her.” Lila’s phone beeped. As if signaling that she was done with the interview, she began texting.
Emma glanced over at Greyson as they both watched the woman lose total focus. Good thing they got information out of her before she became distracted.
Lila looked up. “Thank you for sending a deputy. I bet my daddy will be so much happier to know you’re taking care of it,” she stated, waving and heading back out the door.
She rolled her eyes. “Like I give a damn about what her ‘daddy’ thinks,” she muttered.
Croft leaned over and kissed her on the cheek. “Think about the positive on this one, honey,” he said grinning.
“Yeah, we added another suspect to the pool,” she stated, crossing her arms across her chest. “So far, we have Michael Parks, Ron Tate, and Billy Barnes.”
Croft was grateful they had more suspects to look at. He would be very cautious if any of those men turned up around Emma.
“We need to look a little closer at our angry Mr. Barnes now too.” Emma said, staring at the files all over the table
At the knock on the door, they again both waited for the person to enter. When Gail stuck her head into the room, Croft could feel Emma tense beside him.
“You wanted to see me?” she said icily.
“Come on in, Gail,” said Croft. He was trying to decide if he should have this discussion in front of Emma or not. At the last minute, he opted to not go that route. She was under enough pressure and didn’t need what nastiness the woman was about to spew on her shoulders too.
“Honey, can you head to your office? I need to do this in private,
” he said, hoping she’d understand.
“I’ll make us some coffee,” she answered, glad that he was letting her out of there. Whatever was going to be said wasn’t going to be pretty, and she wanted no part of it.
When she stood and stroked his cheek lovingly, Croft knew she wasn’t mad that he’d asked her to leave.
“Come find me,” she said, walking past the woman.
“Emma, wait for me before you go to the meeting. I’ll be finished in here in a few minutes.”
She knew he was worried she’d be abducted, so she gave him a wink. “Yes, sir, Senior Agent Croft.” Now, she’d have some coffee and escape the incoming nuclear explosion that was brewing in her meeting room.
Croft pointed to the chair and waited until the woman took a seat. This entire situation was his fault. He knew better than to mix business with pleasure. The only positive coming out of this was he never slept with the woman. Croft could only imagine how much uglier this would have been.
“What did you want to discuss?” she asked.
“I want to apologize to you.”
Gail was caught off guard by that. “Excuse me?”
He began, “I never wanted to hurt your feelings or give you the impression we had something between us. When I asked you out for dinner, I was thinking that there might be a possibility. When we finished up the second date, I knew then that we weren’t compatible.”
She didn’t like the conversation already.
“When I meet a woman, I have a rule about sleeping with them. I rarely do unless that spark is there. I like you, Gail. You’re smart, funny, and a terrific tech, but I wasn’t going to cheapen who you are or who I am by rolling around with you in a meaningless romp. I respect you too much for that.”
Gail was beginning to get angry at his brushoff.
“I have a mother and two sisters. If any man ever treated them like that, I’d be furious. I don’t ever have one night stands. That’s why I gave us a second date. Maybe there’d be something there. I apologize if the second date misled you.”
Celestia is Falling (A Croft & Croft Romance Adventure Book 1) Page 34
