Page 17 of Catching Fire

“I know it's not my fault! I’m not a murderer and I’m not provoking him! But it doesn't change the fact that he killed someone else. Or that he saw fit to notifymeof his murder before anyone else.”

Kalan wanted to put his arm around her and draw her close, but Maggie was already there. As much as he wanted it to be him comforting her, the most important thing was that Seline feel better. The tight knot in his chest could unfurl later.

Now that everyone was up to speed, he aimed back toward his original goal: normalcy. “The agents will be here in a while. I thought we would eat dinner together and talk about something else … anything else.”

It was Sebastian who nodded along. “Should we order pizza?”

“Or Chinese food?” Maggie looked up at him.

Kalan was watching and, though Seline hadn't perked at the offer of pizza, she'd given a slight nod at Maggie’s suggestion.

“Let’s order it,” he said, glad for something to do. He took only a few moments to quiz everyone on what they liked and then ordered too much food rather than get into a discussion. He found himself irritated that he didn't already know Seline’s preferences.

Kalan consoled himself that he would soon. At least ordering food had turned the conversation like he wanted but, as soon as that was done, Seline and Maggie went right back to talking about the Blue River killer.

It was Maggie who didn't seem to understand. “He's mad atme. So why is he sending these things toyou?”

Seline shrugged. “Has he sent you anything?”

“No.” Maggie still seemed perplexed.

“But he told you …” Seline was thinking as she climbed her way out of the deep couch. Her French accent deepened, tilting the words softly as she put pieces together, “—that he prefers blondes.”

She announced the last part almost like a revelation. Even Sebastian snapped his head at that. But he looked confused.

It was only then that Kalan caught on, though he wasn’t sure that he agreed. “Watson and Decker were very clear that they don't think you're in danger.”

But Seline’s blue eyes were growing wider and more frightened with every churn of her brilliant brain. She had believed the FBI until now. With a deep breath and an expression that told him she was holding everything back, she shook her head.

“It’s these notes … If he wanted Maggie, he would have given them to her. Instead, he is messing withmebecauseIfit his profile. Because he enjoys torturing his victims.”

The three of them stood in a small ring around her as Seline offered her horrible predictions. It was clear none of them liked what she was saying, but they all listened.

“The FBI agents are right,” Seline told them, “I'm not his next victim … because he's going to toy with me as long as he can, andthenhe's going to kill me.”

Chapter Eleven

No one told her she was wrong.

As Seline’s eyes darted between three other pairs of eyes, she looked for rebuttal. There was none in Kalan's big dark brown eyes nor Maggie's moss green or even in Sebastian's pale denim.

Mierde.

Maggie was right. If Sanders was mad at her friend, he would have given her the notes. Unless … Seline offered up her new thoughts. “Unless his goal is to get atyouthroughme.”

“Sending you the notes doesn’t do anything to me …” Maggie shook her head as they all stayed standing in the tight circle. Almost like circling their wagons, they could pretend it kept them safer. It didn’t.

“It doesn’t do anything unless he knows we are friends. And he does know that.”

They all nodded at her. Not only did everyone in town know that Maggie and Seline were friends, everyone knew that both had moved here recently. And Merrit Geller had repeatedly broken into Maggie’s home and tried to steal back the evidence of his La Vista Rapist crimes. Geller and Sanders talked, so they must both know about the friendship.

“If he’s trying to get to Maggie,” Seline knew she was repeating herself. She heard her accent thicken and she knew the others understood her distress, but she needed to say it to work out what was nagging at the back of her brain. “Then it doesn’t work unless Maggie knows I’m torn up about the letters.”

Just then, Seline’s eyes snapped to Kalan’s. Why couldn’t he have stayed after their first date? Why couldn’t he have called and made all this easier?

Mierde!

Giving Seline the clues didn't make any difference unless she shared them with Maggie. It wasn’t enough that he knew they were already friends, he had to follow up … She could only whisper it, “He has to be watching.”

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