Page 89 of Brutal Ice

What perfect timing. He truly was gonna owe Beau forever.

“Got some bodies you want me to find?” Tony asked, voice tinged with the faintest note of curiosity. “And it’s Rossi-Warner now.”

Right. Because she’d married the rich billionaire who’d fought a killer with her not too long ago. Royal was kind of surprised the man wasn’t trailing behind?—

A tall figure in a damn expensive black suit appeared behind Tony.

And there he is. Aiden Warner.

“What in the hell is going on here?” Curran demanded. The legs of his chair screeched as he shoved it back. He sidled around the table. “Someone want to explain this shit to me?”

Royal motioned to his hideous orange gab. “Sorry for the attire. The cops and the Feds seem to mistakenly think I’m some sort of criminal.”

Tony’s eyes narrowed. “And you’re not?”

“I’m not the criminal you’re after today.” I need to speed this scene along. Get out. Get to Violet. “No, I’m like you.”

Tony took a determined step toward him. “How so?” The curiosity in her voice had deepened.

“Just consider me a junior cold case solver. An Ice Breaker in training, if you will.” He motioned toward an ever-so-watchful Curran. “As the detective can tell you, we have a serial killer at work in Georgia.”

“Serial killers are often at work. A sad and terrifying truth.” Tony’s stare assessed him again.

“I think Savannah is this killer’s home base.”

“Are you making a confession right now?” Agent Duncan asked.

He shook his head. “Feds are wasting my time. I do have places to be. And I think you have bodies to find,” he told Tony. So he’d cut to the chase with her. “The winery. It’s important. Violet Murphy was abducted two weeks ago?—”

“I saw her story on the news,” Tony cut in to say. “And your story. She said you’re a hero.” A shake of her head. “Heroes don’t usually get locked up.”

“Just being questioned. Not tossed into a cage.” A smooth reply. And back to the winery and its sprawling vineyard… “Violet was taken to the old Freemont Winery outside of town. I don’t believe she was the first victim taken there.”

“Cops and crime techs searched that area,” Curran muttered.

“They didn’t search well enough. Obviously.” He smiled at Tony. Royal certainly hoped she lived up to all the hype he’d heard about her. “That’s why we needed the big guns.”

Behind Tony, her husband shifted his position ever so slightly. A small ripple of menace.

“If you review the reports on the victims—reports that I’m sure the resourceful Agent Duncan has somewhere close by—you’ll find that a very diligent crime scene tech discovered grape leaves near Marcella White’s body. Same thing happened with Fiona Law. That discovery made me curious.”

“How did you get access to the reports made by the crime scene techs?” Aiden Warner asked.

Royal waved away the question. “When I learned that interesting detail?—”

“How?” Aiden asked again.

“Through the usual channels.” I hacked my way to the details. “The grape leaves stuck out to me. Something unusual. I had some acquaintances do some research for me. Those grape leaves? Turns out, they were from?—”

“The Freemont Winery,” Tony finished.

Indeed. “Four victims so far. I’m no expert, but it seems strange that someone would just start so strong and so perfectly with his kills. Again, no expert, but don’t serials usually work up to the attacks? Perfect them? Going by that logic, wouldn’t it be possible that our killer had started longer ago than we realize? That there could be other?—”

Curran grabbed Royal’s shoulder. “You think the guy has more vics? And he hid them at the winery?”

“I think someone who is good at finding the dead should give the place a much more thorough look than it’s had before, and since the doctor of the dead has come all this way, it would be a crying shame not to use her specific talents.”

Tony put her hands on her hips. “Who owns the property?”

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