Page 61 of Every Deadly Suspicion

He grunted. “When will she talk to him?”

“I guess when he’s up to it.”

“Let me know before Marcus finds out.”

“I don’t plan on telling Marcus anything.”

“Hmph, he always seems to hear about everything. Don’t let any of this distract you from your job.”

“I won’t. I’m on top of things.”

“I’ve got to get back to the fire line.”

“I heard things look good there.”

Everett nodded. “The weather is in our favor right now. The wind has calmed, and what there is of it is blowing away from us. That fire will be burning for a while though, especially if we don’t get any rain.”

“It doesn’t look like any rain is in the forecast.” Was something else on Everett’s mind? He didn’t appear to be ready to leave, and she had work to do. She was about to ask when he spoke up.

“That was a dark time in this town, a horrible crime.” Everett seemed to be staring right through her. “I know your mother filled you in on what specifics she knew. The thing is, no one really knows all the particulars except for Joe. Chase doesn’t, that’s for sure. It’s as if he lost time after the acid burns. If Joe cares to share those details, please let me know.”

“Count on it.”

Nathan glanced at the clock. Joe was most likely settled into Hanna’s house by now. He’d wanted to be there when Joe came home, but the case kept him away. He hated to admit it, but he wanted to talk to Joe. If he’d been running the investigation thirty-five years ago, there were a lot of questions he’d have asked Joe that had not been asked. Would he get the chance to talk to the guy?

As far as the investigation into the Lonely Heart Killer was going, Manny had compiled a list of black SUVs to check. The number of black Chevy Tahoes registered in the county was huge. It needed to be pared down.

Edda’s red VW Bug had not been discovered yet, but Nathan was not anxious for that. The other two victims’ cars had not yielded any evidence, and he doubted that Edda’s would either. It would probably just turn up somewhere like the other victims’ vehicles had.

It still bothered Nathan that Edda was not on a dating website. He wasn’t leaning toward there being two killers anymore. What he feared now was that the killer was evolving. He’d gotten some type of thrill by killing women who thought he wanted to be their boyfriend. Maybe it wasn’t enough of a kick, so he moved to a different platform.

If Nathan was correct, would the killer stay on Facebook, or would he move on from there? Heaven knew there was no shortage of lonely and/or naive people online. How could they stop him when there was an abundance of social media platforms for the killer to exploit? Nathan hated it when his job depended on something other than his own hard work. They were waiting on DNA. That could be the big break, but how long would they wait?

He was running on little sleep and knew he’d not get much more until this guy was caught. They needed to stop a killer.

CHAPTER 33

HANNA METMANDY FOR LUNCHat The Beanery because they both wanted something light. When they had lunch there, they usually shared a ham-and-cheese sandwich, which was what they did today.

“What’s he like?” Mandy asked, before Hanna had a chance to take her first bite.

She set her half sandwich down. “He’s weak. The trek from the car to the house wore him out. When I left, he was breathing with the help of a nebulizer. So I really didn’t talk to him.”

“Do you think he’ll be strong enough to talk to me later today?”

“I don’t know. I think sooner than later would be best. He is very frail.”

Mandy sat back and sipped her tea. “I’m nervous about it. Were you nervous when he got there? What did you feel?”

“Wow, where do I start? I really don’t know what I feel. After all these years, seeing him in person is not what I expected. And, like I said, he’s so frail. I was raised to respect the elderly and infirm, to help them, and I find myself even feeling a bit protective. And then I remember what he did. Where he’s been for all these years. All the horrible things my mother used to say about him. I’m in knots.”

“Knots? Have you forgiven Joe, Hanna?”

“Huh?” Hanna stared at Mandy. She’d just asked the question that had plagued Hanna since the day she received the letter from the Department of Corrections.

Have I forgiven him?

“I honestly don’t know.”

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