Page 37 of Cold Threat

Bobby stood. “Thanks for the coffee, Beth. I need to head out before the streets get any worse.”

“Thank you for following him home, Bobby,” Beth said with a smile. “I really appreciate it.”

“Not a problem.” Bobby smiled at Tony and River. “Nice to meet you both.”

“Likewise,” Tony said. “Be safe out there.”

“I will.”

Ray got up and followed Bobby to the door. They could hear him turning off the alarm. Then another burst of cold air, followed by the door closing and the sound of the alarm being reset.

“Ray, do you think we can find the girl from the first murders?” River asked when he came back into the room. “What’s her name? Angie something?”

“Angie Mayhew,” he said as he sat down again. “Like I said, she went into foster care. It’s possible I could locate her. I’ll contact the agency that worked her case. As long as some of the same people work there, I think they’ll help me. But it will have to be okay with Angie for me to talk to her.”

“Good,” River said. “I’d really like to pose some questions to her.”

“I’m not sure you’ll learn anything new,” Ray said. “All she told us was that a man dressed in black came into the house and hurt her grandparents. She never saw his face. To say she was traumatized by what happened is an understatement.”

“I understand.” River caught Tony’s eye. She was certain herealized that talking to Angie could help them with their profile. Maybe the girl didn’t see the killer’s face, but what did he say? What did he do? Did she smell anything? All these things were really important when it came to creating an accurate profile. She could know something vital. Something she didn’t realize she knew. Victims of trauma frequently had buried memories. Asking the right questions could uncover those hidden details. They had no idea what she’d been asked after her grandparents were murdered.

“I didn’t see anything in the files about anyone interviewing Angie,” River said.

Ray nodded. “I know. I asked my friend in Des Moines about it, but he wasn’t able to find anything either. Could be in a different file. One he didn’t have access to. Since Chief Watts said Angie didn’t have anything helpful to say, maybe it was never entered into the records. I’d guess the latter is probably true.”

“We’d like to try,” Tony said. “We might know ways to jog her memory. Maybe she repressed things that might help us with our profile.”

Ray nodded. “I see your point. I’ll see what I can do.”

Beth stood up. “I think it’s time for everyone to go back to bed. There’s nothing more any of you can accomplish tonight. We’ll start fresh in the morning. How does that sound?”

River nodded her agreement, but to be honest, her mind was full of thoughts that seemed to be on steroids. It was as if she knew something important, but she wasn’t seeing it. Like it was just out of reach.

Even as they all headed back to bed, a voice inside her was nudging her to remember something. But what was it? What was she missing?

She said good-night to Tony, closed the bedroom door, and fell into bed. But instead of going right to sleep, she lay there, trying to grasp whatever it was that stayed just out of her reach.

“God, if there’s something I need to see ... something that will stop the Snowman, please show me. Thanks.”

With that she turned over on her side and felt herself drifting away.

ANGER FLOWED THROUGH MElike hot blood. What had gone wrong? I’d followed the same procedure I’d used for my other righteous acts. But the woman obviously hadn’t died like the others had. I’d used the same amount of fast-acting insulin.

“You really messed up.”

I glared at her as she sat across from me at the table. “I don’t need to hear your opinion. Go away.”

“You don’t have to get mad at me. You’re the one who caused this.”

The rage inside me felt as if it would boil over. I started to scream something at her that I knew would cause her pain. But then I remembered that it was all for her. What was I thinking? I felt ashamed.

“I did everything the exact same way I always do,” I said, trying to keep my voice even. “Why didn’t she die?”

She shrugged her thin shoulders. “I don’t know, but you have to figure it out.” She frowned at me. “She’s probably in the hospital. Maybe you can get to her there.”

I shook my head. “No, it’s too dangerous. There’s no reason for me to...” I stopped. Was there a way? If I could complete my mission, it would bring me peace. “You know what? Maybe I’ll try. I know I can get into the hospital. Getting inside her room is another thing.”

“If someone catches you, you could tell them that you made a mistake and were looking for a different patient.”

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