Page 51 of Cold Threat

“My parents love each other,” Tony said. “There’s give and take on both sides.”

“I think they’re very special. We didn’t often see marriages at the Bureau last. The pressures of the job were just too much.”

“I don’t want to spend the rest of my life alone,” Tony said, his tone somewhat tense. “My parents have made a go of it. They decided a long time ago that they would accommodate each other. Make allowances so that their marriage would work. And it has.”

River reached over and touched his arm. “I’m sorry, Tony. I wasn’t talking about them. I ... I guess I wasn’t thinking.”

He took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “I’m sorry. I know so many marriages fail among our colleagues in the FBI, but the truth is, I want what my parents have, River. I don’t want to give up a family and a chance at love over my job. No matter how much I love it.”

“If that’s how you feel, then why don’t you date? I mean, you used to. But then about a year before we were attacked by the Strangler, it seemed as if you just lost interest.”

Another long silence. River wished she’d never started down this road. She had an idea why he’d stopped dating, but she wasn’t sure. They’d both touched on their feelings for each other, but she wasn’t certain enough of him to assume she was the reason he didn’t date anymore.

“Look,” Tony said, “I dated. And I enjoyed it. But one day I realized that I needed to put my dating life in God’s hands. I really do want to get married and have kids, but I want to marry the person God has for me. I don’t want my marriage to fail. I know why some of our fellow agents’ marriages didn’t make it. But it was heartbreaking. Like Mark and Tanya Rutledge. They were the perfect couple. I would have bet anything they’d make it. But they didn’t. And when things fell apart ... well, it was awful. I’llnever forget the look on Tanya’s face when she found out Mark was having an affair. She was devastated.”

“It really was a shock. Especially since they were Christians. I thought Christians weren’t supposed to get divorced.”

“Christians are still people, and sometimes we fail.” He looked over at her. “She gave him several chances. At one point it looked like they were going to make it, but then Mark cheated again. I couldn’t blame her for leaving.”

“Mark was involved in that sex-trafficking case. You know, the one with the young girls?” River had tried to put that case out of her mind. Her unit worked with crimes against adults, and Mark was in the unit that handled crimes against children. Although she didn’t know everything that was uncovered, she knew the facts were horrendous. Beyond anything most people could even begin to understand. “I think he just broke, you know? I know he loved Tanya. Those other women were just ... I don’t know ... diversions? Maybe a way to distract him from what he was dealing with?”

“I talked to him,” Tony said. “He told me he became so shut down he was just searching for anything that would make him feel something again. It’s not an excuse for what he did, but it is a reason. I begged him to get couples counseling, but I guess by then it was too late. Tanya left her job in the administrative offices and moved back home to Indiana with the kids.”

“I think we just proved why it’s best not to get married when you work in law enforcement.”

“But we’re not in law enforcement anymore,” Tony said slowly. “We’re private investigators, and we run a not-very-successful agency. The pressures aren’t what they were.”

River snorted. “That would be true if it weren’t for the serial-killer wannabe following us, promising to finish what his beloved leader started.”

Tony laughed. “Now you’re just reaching.”

She lightly slapped his arm. “Not funny.”

As Tony turned toward into the neighborhood where his parents lived, River said, “Well, at least our visit with Angie gave us something new we can share with your dad. Hopefully, he’ll have more information from Sandra Cooper. She saw him, Tony. She may have valuable information. After we hear from her, we’ll complete our profile.”

“Aimee and I are going to have lunch after we go by Ms. Cooper’s house. Then we can finish the profile. That means we’ll be at my parents’ house all weekend. Maybe we can relax some and have a little fun. What do you think?”

“I think that sounds wonderful. I could use some downtime.”

“We used to play games a lot as a family,” Tony said. “Would you be up for a rousing game of charades?”

River smiled. “It sounds great. But if your mother keeps cooking and baking, you may have to roll me out to the car on Monday.”

He laughed again. River loved his laugh. It made her feel better. It was like a soothing salve. Wasn’t there a scripture about laughter being like a medicine? It was true.

Tony pulled into the driveway and parked the car. As they headed inside, River couldn’t help but look at the house with its Christmas lights and decorations. Snow adorned the trees and bushes, making the house and the yard look like a Christmas card. River loved snow. Always had. As a child she remembered feeling as if snow covered all the ugliness, making the world look beautiful. But knowing the Snowman was out there, and that it was a signal for him to hunt down and kill his victims, the snow seemed less like an ornamentation and more like an omen of death.

CHAPTER

THIRTY

Iwas ready. I’d already cased their home. I had the house key. I’d learned how to follow my victims and get access to their keys. It was easy. Take a picture and then go online. There were locksmiths who didn’t care why you needed a key. I always used the same story—I’d lost my keys. I’d taken a picture of my house key because I’d been told I’d be able to get a replacement with a photo if I ever needed to. I knew who to approach, and I’d never had a problem. Getting keys that belonged to my current victims hadn’t been too difficult. I’d picked up the wife’s purse from the floor next to her chair while she and her daughter had lunch in a local restaurant. I’d gotten the table next to them, then waited until the wife went to the bathroom. I pretended to drop my napkin on the floor and placed it over the purse, which I quickly slid under my jacket. After that, I simply went to the restroom, walked inside a stall where I removed her keys, and took a picture of the house key. It was pretty easy to figure out which key it was, but I photographed two this time, just in case. Then, when no one was in the bathroom, I left the purse on the hook on the back of the stall door. I also removed the cash in her billfold so it would look as if that was the reason the pursehad been stolen. Someone would turn it in. I’d actually done it myself before, but the last time, they’d asked me to wait for the police to arrive so I could tell them how I found the purse. I made an excuse and got out of there. That’s when I decided it was too risky to be the hero. Better to let someone else do it.

I was aware that my targets had an alarm system, but I knew how to get around it. No one kept their alarms on all the time. I’d wait until I was certain it was off, then I’d enter the house, hide, and wait for my opportunity. Basements were good hiding places. Unless they were finished and there were bedrooms, most people stayed upstairs. Especially in the winter since basements could be cold. This house was perfect. I’d looked through the basement windows. The space was partially finished, but one part was used for storage. There was a room with a pool table, and a small bedroom, but since I’d been watching the house, no one had gone downstairs. It would be a perfect place to wait. I’d get inside tomorrow with my backpack. I was ready. I had my syringes, vials, wire, electrical tape, and gasoline. I’d counted my syringes and was a little worried that one was missing, but in the end, I decided it wasn’t important. Either I’d miscounted or I’d dropped one at the woman’s house. Even if they knew how I really killed them, it wouldn’t make any difference. There wouldn’t be any fingerprints—no way to trace it back to me. And there was no way to stop me. Still, it bothered me that I’d been careless. How had that happened? Was I in too big of a hurry? Was I getting too confident? I was also a little upset that I couldn’t get the insulin from my regular source. He was afraid someone at the hospital where he worked was on to him, so he’d decided to stop stealing insulin for now. He’d sent me to someone else, but I didn’t really like this guy. Still, I had no choice. Regardless, I was ready, and this time there would be no mistakes. I always brought a gun as a backup in case I needed it. I’d only had to use it once, but I’d never had to actually fire it. However, I would ifI had to. This mission would be perfect. No one would get away this time.

I smiled. Tomorrow was their last full day on Earth. Saturday, they would all die.

TONY FELT BADLYthat his mother had held dinner for so long, but she wasn’t upset at all. Just glad to see them. His father was already home, and Tony could tell he wanted to talk to them. Although he’d mentioned the Snowman in front of his mother, for the most part, Tony’s dad tried to keep most of their conversation for the upstairs office.

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