Page 34 of Cold Threat

“Mom is up and has coffee on in the kitchen. Is that okay?”

River tried to stifle a yawn but failed. “That’s perfect. Coffee’s exactly what I need right now.”

Tony got up and went to the door. “I’ll meet you down there.”

After he pulled the door shut and left, River checked herself out in the mirror that hung over the chest of drawers. Not too bad. She found her brush and ran it through her hair a few times. Then she slid her feet into her slippers. They were more like shoes than slippers. She took off her T-shirt, put on her bra, and then pulled on her FBI hoodie and zipped it up. If Tony was going to wear his FBI sweatshirt, she had to lose the comic book T-shirt. Then she headed toward the stairs, stopping by the bathroom first.

When she reached the kitchen, she found Beth and Tony sitting at the kitchen table, talking softly. When Beth glanced up and saw River, she smiled.

“Coffee?” she asked.

“If you want me to make any sense at this hour, I think that’s a good idea,” River said.

Beth laughed and got to her feet. “We need you to have your wits about you. Ray will be home before long. He got called out earlier because of a fire. He seems to think he’ll have some good information for you.”

Tony pulled out the chair next to him and motioned for River to sit down. She slid into the chair. “Okay, so now that I’m actually conscious, repeat what Ray told you, okay?”

“He said that the Snowman had struck again,” Tony said, “but that this time he’d made a mistake. He believes that it’s something significant and could help us to finally discover the Snowman’s identity.”

“How does he know this is really the Snowman?”

Tony took his phone out of his pocket and clicked on something. Then he scrolled down and handed her his phone. River saw a house that had flames shooting through the roof. The fire department was there, trying to put it out.

“Look at the next picture,” Tony said.

River did what he said. There, on a tree near the street, was the same kind of snowman ornament that they’d seen at the other crime scenes.

“He has to place them outside the house the same night he strikes,” she said. “Otherwise, the homeowner would notice the ornament.”

“They might assume someone in the neighborhood put it there,” Tony said.

River shook her head. “Too risky. I think this is part of his ritual.”

“But isn’t he taking a chance of being seen?” Beth asked, frowning. “Aren’t most of the ornaments hung on trees near the street?”

“When there’s one available,” Tony said. “People have outside cameras, but Dad never mentioned catching the Snowman on one. He definitely would have brought it up if it had happened.”

“I agree,” River said. “But Beth’s right. Why hasn’t anyone reported seeing him?”

Tony shrugged. “Middle of the night? People are asleep?”

“Take it from someone who has a hard time getting to sleep,”Beth said. “I think it’s a good chance someone saw something. Maybe they just didn’t realize what it meant.”

“But again, Dad would know that.”

“Not necessarily.” Beth handed River and Tony their coffee. “Hope you don’t mind my two cents, but I’ve been married to a cop for a lot of years. You pick up things.”

“Why do you say he might not know about a possible witness to these murders?” River asked.

Beth sat down at the table. “Ray was just a beat cop when the first killings in Des Moines happened. The police chief didn’t share the details of the case with him—or any beat cop. Only with the detectives assigned to the case. Yes, he has copies of the paperwork filed with the case sent by a friend, but that doesn’t mean that his friend had access to everything. Especially if the chief or the detectives missed something they shouldn’t have. Those things have a history of disappearing. That doesn’t mean that’s what happened there. I’m not saying that, but still, it’s possible. They had no idea they had a serial killer until the second murder. Same modus operandi, and the same ornament outside. They were working hard to investigate when the copycat struck. The chief wanted a big win in his corner. So, he accused Arlen Thacker of all three incidents. They only prosecuted the third one since it meant life in prison, and they had no evidence for the other murders that pointed to Thacker. As I’m sure you know, this happens frequently. The only person who believed the first two fires were set by someone else was your father. Even the friend who sent him the information copied from the files chose to attribute all the murders to Thacker. Still, he respects your father, so he risked his career to get the records to Ray.”

“And Ray promised to not tell anyone who sent the files?” River asked.

Beth nodded. “So, anything he learns that might help to connect the killings will have to come through whatever happens here.”

“Mom, what do you really think about the Snowman coming here after you and Dad moved?” Tony asked.

“I don’t know,” Beth said with a sigh. “I know enough about these killers to realize that he can’t ignore his obsession and focus on Ray ... but the coincidence is incredibly strange.” She smiled at them. “I think that’s one of the reasons Ray asked you both here. He believes, as do I, that you have the training and instinct to answer that question.”

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