Page 9 of Cold Threat

“You mean the one that sent you to the hospital?” Tony said. “How could I forget?”

“Tony told me about that,” River said. “I know you went into a burning house and rescued a trapped child. You were severely burned.” She frowned. “You must have healed well. Your injuries don’t show.”

Ray lifted his hair on one side and revealed scars on his scalp.He’d obviously learned how to cover them, but the skin was wrinkled and red. He put his hair back in place and then rolled up his long shirt sleeves. The scarring was evident.

“Is there pain?” River asked.

“Sometimes in my arms because the skin is so tight. When I move them a certain way, it hurts. The worst pain came months after the injuries. The nerves had been damaged but when they began to work again ... it was terrible. It lasted for a while and then gradually faded. To be honest, I don’t think about them much anymore. They’re a part of me.”

“What you did was very admirable,” River said. “Tony told me you were commanded to stand down by your chief, but you went in anyway.”

“That’s right, and I’ve never regretted it. That child wouldn’t have survived if I hadn’t made the decision I did.” He shook his head. “To this day I can’t understand how others could just stand by and watch her die. Cops and firefighters no less. It was our job to protect civilians—even at the risk of our own lives. Didn’t make sense to me then and doesn’t make sense to me now.”

“That’s because not many people are like you, Dad,” Tony said. His voice broke a little. It was obvious he was proud of his father. It also helped to explain why he’d put his life on the line that night on the banks of the Salt River. He’d learned his values from his hero father. Tony could have died, but River was incredibly thankful he hadn’t. She wasn’t sure where she’d be right now if not for Tony. Thinking about the sacrifices both of these men had made in their lives made her determined to do everything she could to help Ray trap the monster he hunted.

If it were possible.

CHAPTER

FIVE

Ipulled my coat up to cover my neck and part of my face even though I wasn’t really afraid of being recognized. No one knew me in this neighborhood. I walked slowly down the block, scouting out my next target. I’d done my research and was certain judgment was deserved. I’d watched her for a couple of days. Found out when she turned her lights off at night. There was no sign of an alarm system. Hunting here was so much easier than it had been in Des Moines. Hardly anyone used security systems in this town. They seemed to trust their neighbors and believed they had no reason to be afraid.

“This one will be easy,” she said softly. “But are you sure about her?”

I nodded. “I checked her out. There are a lot of good reasons to punish her.”

“But she didn’t hurt us.”

I took a deep breath. How could I get her to understand? “But she would have if she’d had the chance. What about the others she hurt? Don’t they matter?” I turned to look at her. She still looked so young. She never changed.

She gazed deeply into my eyes. It made my heart hurt.

“Okay. I trust you.”

“I know.”

I could see that this house had a fireplace. Smoke from the chimney turned white in the frigid air. I needed to prepare, and I had to wait for snow. I had no intention of trying to make it look like anything other than an execution. Since the police and the fire department didn’t believe in spontaneous combustion, they would recognize that someone had done this—even before they found my victims. They wouldn’t believe it was me, though. That was the plan. I only wanted the detective to know the truth. He would soon learn that I had the power to decide who would live and who would die.

The cops in Des Moines were stupid. They’d arrested a guy who’d killed a couple and then set their house on fire. They’d connected him to me. They were too lazy to see that his sloppy job was nothing like mine. That guy killed in the spring, not in the winter. The guilty had to die as the snow fell. It was important.

“When will you let him know who we are?” she asked. “He has to know.”

“I’m not sure. But I’ll make certain he finds out before he dies.”

I had to laugh. He’d never figure it out in time. Ray had a big surprise coming, one that he’d never expect until it was too late. One that would be the final nail in his coffin. Literally.

“THIS WAS THE FIRST INCIDENT,”Ray said. “Edward and Vera Wilson. Twenty-four years ago. The one where I was burned.” He pointed to several pictures pinned to the top of his corkboard. Then he walked over to his desk and picked up a file, which he handed to Tony. “Copies of the reports from the fire department, the police, and the medical examiner.”

Tony perused the pages and then frowned. He passed the file to River.

“It was clearly murder and arson,” he said. “The department investigated but had no suspects. There wasn’t anyone in the couple’s lives or in their pasts that led to a suspect.”

“Correct,” Ray said. “Besides that, the fire destroyed any evidence that could have helped the investigation.”

“You suspect the UNSUB did that on purpose?” River asked.

Ray nodded. “I believe the unknown subject was meticulous in his planning. He knew what we’d look for and made certain we wouldn’t find anything that could lead to him. We know he used gasoline to start the fire, but there wasn’t any kind of container left behind.”

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