Page 109 of I'm Watching You

A long and tedious process that was necessary. ‘Okay,’ Ayden said. ‘What about Turner’s car?’

‘Found at the mall near the shelter. Forensics is going over it now, but so far it looks clean,’ Vega said.

Ricker shifted the papers in front of her. ‘Lindsay and I spoke a half hour ago. She did help me with deciphering her files. We discussed her twelve hottest cases. Six of the abusers are in prison now, five have rock-solid alibis, and one is unaccounted for. We’re looking for him now. But it’s not likely he’d go to Lindsay’s aid. She has a restraining order against him.’

‘What about Sam Begley?’ Zack asked.

C.C. checked her notes. ‘Been at Mercy about eight months. No record. Liked by his coworkers. Last random drug test at Mercy was negative.’ She flipped a page and lifted a brow. ‘I did discover the guy likes to gamble. He owes over ten grand to a local bookie.’

Ayden rubbed the back of his neck. ‘That doesn’t make him a killer.’

Zack was sorry they couldn’t pin more on the guy. He didn’t like or trust him. ‘I’d still like to talk to him.’

Warwick’s cell vibrated. He checked the number and rose to take the call in the hallway.

Ayden shifted his gaze to Warwick. ‘Neighbors? Her assistant, Ruby?’

Vega shook his head. ‘Ruby and the neighbors have nothing new to offer.’ He flipped through his notes. ‘Also, Saunders was last seen in Byrd’s Bar. The bartender stopped serving the guy around eleven and sent him on his way. No one saw him after that and he didn’t appear at work in the morning.’ He raised an eyebrow. ‘Here’s an interesting note. Remember Pam Rogers? She has two brothers and one is a minister close to Sanctuary. And his church has taken the shelter under its wing.’

Warwick returned to the room. ‘That was the medical examiner. It appears Saunders’s hand was cut off before he died. But the veins and arteries collapsed and blood flow slowed to a trickle. That explains why the killer cut the femoral artery. He wanted his victim to bleed to death.’

A heavy silence settled in the room.

‘The killer is getting more violent,’ Zack said.

Ayden pinched the bridge of his nose. ‘Let’s dig a little deeper into the minister’s comings and goings. What do we have on Lindsay’s roommate?’

Vega scanned his notes. ‘Nicole Piper’s prints do match Christina Braxton’s, which were on file, because she was arrested at an animal rights rally when she was in college. No missing person reports have been filed on Ms Braxton. However, the phone number for her photography studio has been disconnected and her Web site is off-line. She was building quite a name for herself on the West Coast as a photographer. But she stopped taking clients and showing her work about a year ago.’

‘That fits with a domestic-abuse situation,’ Ayden said. ‘Her husband was isolating her.’

Vega nodded. ‘She appeared out here as Nicole Piper two weeks ago and started working at a mall portrait studio ten days ago. I spoke to her current boss. Nicole is already very popular with his customers. Basically, her story checks out.’

‘Still,’ Ayden said, ‘she came out of nowhere, moved in with Lindsay just two weeks before the Guardian started killing people.’

Warwick shook his head. ‘She’s just over five feet and weighs a hundred and ten pounds soaking wet. Maybe she could have gotten the jump on Turner, but there’s no way she could have subdued a man like Saunders. The guy outweighs her by a hundred pounds.’

‘She could have drugged him,’ Ricker offered. ‘Just because she’s small doesn’t mean she’s not cunning. Do we have the toxicology reports on Lindsay and Nicole?’

‘They were negative,’ Zack replied.

Vega said, ‘I spoke to Sara. She has nothing to report on the second note. It’s as clean as the first. No prints. No hair fibers. Standard paper. Standard printer.’

Ayden again rubbed the back of his neck with his hand. He looked like he hadn’t slept last night. ‘So the only link we have to this guy is Lindsay O’Neil.“Be careful of cars when you jog.”The tone of the note sounds paternal. It’s something I’d say to my own boys. He was worried about her.’ His gaze flicked to the television screen. ‘Shaw could be right. This killer could be from her past.’

‘What do you know about her extended family?’ Vega asked Zack.

‘When her folks died she ran away. She was seventeen and Social Services didn’t make an effort to track her down. She said something about family in California. I’ll ask.’

Ayden nodded. ‘Every family tree has its nuts. Let’s shake hers and see what falls out.’

‘Gin!’ Eleanor laid down her cards on the kitchen table.

Lindsay laid down hers. She’d not been able to make a single match or straight during this round. ‘You got me again.’

Eleanor frowned. ‘You used to play better, Lindsay. Today you’re awful.’

Audrey, who stood at the kitchen sink, frowned. ‘Eleanor.’

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