Page 54 of Be Very Quiet

“Thanks. They’ve worked hard.”

When the class was over, Liliana ensured the students had the information for the joint practice sessions with Maria’s studio before sending them home.

Luca and Christian came back inside. Liliana’s heart kicked up to see Luca stride forward with a supreme confidence that was both sexy and sure. Oh gosh, she loved him. She loved Luca.

Maybe she should’ve been shocked at the intensity of her feelings, but deep down, she’d always known, from the moment she’d met him years ago. He was the love of her life.

“Ready to go?”

For a moment, she couldn’t speak. All she could do was stare into the face that was so dear to her. Then she nodded.

When Luca reached down and took her hand, Liliana clung to it like a lifeline.

Chapter Eighteen

Luca was getting frustrated at the long line of dead ends. The Mortician was a human male with faults and flaws just like anyone, yet they couldn’t catch a break. He’d outmaneuvered them at every turn. Luca had his chance to stop him ten years ago, but Liliana’s life had mattered more than a notch on his police belt. Given the opportunity, he’d do the same thing a hundred times over. He would never regret staying with her after she’d been shot.

His partner at the time, Richard Wells, had been a couple of months short of retirement. He’d never aspired to be anything other than a beat cop. Still, when he’d gone after The Mortician, Luca thought he’d catch him. After all, they’d both wounded the killer. But Ted Rader bested them once again. He’d gotten away without a trace. Wells had retired a few months later, and Luca had gone on to become a detective with the force.

Now, all these years later, Luca was still chasing him. It was as if he was a phantom. He’d check the system every couple of years to see if there were any similar murders, but there hadn’t been any. So, what had Rader been doing for the last decade? It was rare for a serial killer to stop for so long.

Luca would have enjoyed making love to Liliana last night, but the day’s events had drained her. Two people admitting they knew about her past had thrown her for a loop. Luca had held her so she could sleep.

She came out to where he was drinking coffee with Audria and Christian, looking well-rested. Her smile was the air he needed to breathe.

“Hungry?”

The look she gave him telegraphedfor you. He almost grabbed her and dragged her back to the bedroom. Instead, he handed her a cranberry-apple muffin.

Once everyone had eaten, they headed to the SUV.

“Luca.”

He turned at Audria’s voice and then followed her gaze. Lying on the windshield was a manilla envelope.

Luca glanced around the parking garage. It was full of cars but absent of people. He’d checked the security situation the first day and discovered that while there were cameras, they only covered the elevator. When Christian and Audria had arrived with supplies, they’d attached one on a wall to encompass the vehicles, both Liliana’s and theirs. The package was on theirs.

“Pulling up footage,” Christian announced.

Luca watched over his coworker’s shoulder to see a young kid on a skateboard wearing a gray hoodie scoping all the vehicles. He stopped, placed a foot on the edge of his board to tip it in the air, and swiped it. Then he removed a piece of paper from his pocket and checked to make sure the license plate was what he was looking for. He crumpled the paper and tossed it over his shoulder before pulling the envelope from inside his sweatshirt. He barely dropped it on the glass, probably afraid an alarm would go off. If they’d been driving an official COBRA Securities vehicle, it would have, and Luca would’ve received an alert on his phone. Once the kid finished, he released the board to the ground, hopped on, and skated away.

“It wouldn’t do any good to find him,” Christian said. “He won’t know who paid him to leave the package.”

Luca agreed. The person had used cash so far and had donned a disguise at least once. It was almost certain the kid would have no idea who had bribed him to drop off the package.

“Found the note.”

Audria had slid on a pair of latex gloves and unfolded the crumpled paper the kid had tossed away. Their plate number was scribbled in black ink.

Luca glanced around again. Instead of checking the contents out in the open, he would wait until they were inside the SUV. He removed it from the windshield and climbed into the back seat with Liliana.

The vehicle had been compromised. Rader knew their license plate. Luca texted BeBe, asking if she could secure another one in a different color. She answered five minutes later with instructions on where to make the switch. It probably wouldn’t fool Rader, but it might slow him down.

Audria drove out of the lot and merged into traffic. Luca pinched the clip to open the envelope addressed to Liliana. Inside was a chunky ring with a faux red stone and a sapphire tennis bracelet. There was no doubt the bracelet belonged to Emilee Carden, Rader’s original fourth victim, since it had been listed as missing from the crime scene. They would have to wait for a body to be discovered before the ring’s owner could be identified.

Audria pulled up to the door to drop Christian and Liliana off at her studio. Luca ran in to make sure everything was clear before they headed to exchange the SUV. Instead of black, this one was forest green with tinted windows. After they moved everything to the new vehicle, they continued to the police station for the task force meeting.

Reese Reneau was already in the room when they arrived, working on his computer. He looked up when they entered, and his gaze zeroed in on the package.

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