Page 53 of Remember Her Name

“Anything?” asked Gretchen.

Relief surged through Josie’s veins as the faint, thready beats of the boy’s heart thumped against her fingertips. “He’s alive.”

Noah spoke into his radio, calling for EMS to come through the front door. Josie lowered her face and spoke into the boy’s ear. “Can you hear me? I’m with the Denton Police. We’re here to help you.”

No response.

Turner dropped to his knees on the other side of the boy, lowering his head toward the floor. His voice boomed through the church. “Hey, kid, wake up. We’re gonna take you to the hospital.”

Shouting only inches from the boy’s ear wasn’t the approach Josie would have taken but it worked. His eyelids fluttered. A low, deep moan escaped his parted lips.

Turner kept going. “That’s it, kid. Can you open your eyes? Talk to us?”

One of his arms shifted, his finger coming off the polaroid. Josie touched his shoulder. “Try not to move. The paramedics are on their way. Can you talk?”

An indecipherable sound came from his mouth.

“Come on, kid,” said Turner. “You can do it.”

“He—he?—”

Every syllable took tremendous effort. A bead of sweat rolled from his hairline, across his temple and over his forehead.

“He who?” Josie asked, keeping a light touch against his shoulder. “Who did this to you?”

He continued to struggle but his eyes blinked open, a startling shade of blue. Josie bent until her face was nearly parallel to his, the blood-smeared floor only an inch from her cheek. “That’s it,” she said. “That’s good. We’re here to help. Can you tell us who did this to you?”

“Don’t know…dark. He—he was covered.”

“What about the woman?” Turner asked.

The boy’s eyes went glassy. Josie’s stomach plummeted. His whispered words were inaudible.

A series of bangs came from the front door. EMS trying to maneuver the gurney up the steps and inside.

“That’s my mom.” The boy blinked slowly. A single tear slid from his eye. “He killed my—my mom.”

THIRTY-NINE

He stood under the cover of the trees, waiting for her. It wasn’t lost on him that she’d chosen to run through the city park alone. He was certain that she knew he’d been following her. It was obvious in the way she occasionally stopped and tilted her head, as if she was listening to a melody only the two of them could hear. He’d given her time, waiting for the perfect moment to claim her, but she’d stayed too close to other people and cameras. Even when she parked her car, she chose the spot nearest the building she was entering.

Until today.

Once he knew which path she was jogging along, he raced ahead, cutting across through dense woods so that he could meet her in a more remote spot.

The sound of sneakers pounding against the asphalt trail startled him from his thoughts. Seconds later, she appeared, her sprint slowed by exertion and the heat. He stepped out in front of her. She screamed, one hand flying to her chest. His fingers tingled with the compulsion to touch her. The girl he loved was only a memory now but this one—she was here in front of him. There was no way she would have gotten into his car last week,then led him to her apartment after she got out unless she wanted him. Jogging alone was a clear invitation.

“Come here,” he said.

She shook her head. “No.”

He smiled and she shrank back. Still playing hard to get. It must have been her favorite game. “No?”

“I don’t want to…be with you. Ineverwanted to be with you.”

He didn’t believe her, but he could see by the way she shifted from foot to foot that she would run at his first advance. It only turned him on more. He let his fists hang loosely at his sides. “You found me,” he reminded her.

She glanced around but no one was going to ruin this moment. “That was a mistake. I just—I don’t want to see you again.”

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