Page 39 of Cold Threat

She looked over at Tony, who smiled at her. “Sorry. Maybe I shouldn’t have knocked on your door.”

She shook her head as she sat down. “Not a problem. I was already awake.”

River was still worried that she might have yelled out in her sleep, but no one seemed concerned. The scream must have been in her mind. Thank God. She looked around the table at Tony and his family. She wondered if Tony truly realized how blessed he was. She assumed he did. Their work with the FBI had certainly opened their eyes to all the pain and destruction that occurred at the hands of family members. Very few of the disturbed individuals they’d profiled had happy childhoods.

“Did you hear me, River?”

She looked up and realized that Beth was standing over her with a large plate. “I ... I’m sorry. I guess I am a little tired.”

“I just wanted to know if you wanted one waffle or two,” Beth said.

River looked at the large waffles on her plate. “I think one should do it,” she said. “They smell so good.”

“They’re delicious,” Ray said while Beth stabbed a waffle and put it on River’s plate. “But I’ve got to go. The hospital says Sandra Cooper is conscious. She’s doing better than they anticipated. I want to find out what she knows. Sometimes burn patients go south without warning. I’ve seen it happen before.”

“Is there some way we could visit the crime scene?” Tony asked. “I’d like to see how the Snowman got inside.”

“Our evidence technician is going over the scene now. He’s actually quite competent. You may get what you want by reading his report, but if you still want to check it out yourself, I’ll make it happen.”

“Thanks, Dad.”

“And I’ll look for Angie. I’m still not sure she’ll be able to help you, especially after all this time, but like you said, you might help her remember something we couldn’t.” Ray pushed back his chair and stood to his feet. “I’ll call you if I find out anything that might be helpful.”

“Dad, do you have someone posted outside Sandra Cooper’s room?”

“Of course. This isn’t my first rodeo, you know.”

Tony exchanged a quick glance with River. They knew how important it was to restrict access to the witness. River hoped Ray knew it too.

Beth walked over to the refrigerator and took out a bag, which she handed to Ray. “I put some of those cookies you like in there. Don’t share them with everyone else this time.”

Ray laughed. “I learned my lesson the hard way. This time I’ll keep them for myself.”

“Not that I don’t trust you but...” Beth also removed a plastictub and handed it to him. “There are enough cookies in there for everyone at the station to have two.”

Ray pulled Beth over to him and kissed her on the forehead. “You are the perfect girl for me, you know that?”

“You’ve been telling me that for over forty-five years,” she said, smiling.

“And I’ll be saying it for the next forty-five.”

Ray said goodbye and left the kitchen. River could hear him getting his coat. Then the alarm disarmed and the door opened and shut. Beth walked out into the foyer and reset the alarm. Then she came back and sat down at the table while Tony and River finished their breakfasts. The silence was filled with casual but comfortable small talk.

When they were finished, Beth refilled their coffee cups, which they carried upstairs to work. As they entered the office, River couldn’t help but wonder what Ray might learn from the victim. It could be crucial to their profile. She prayed silently that somehow, since the Snowman had failed in his last attempt, he might slink away and never attack anyone else. Unfortunately, most of these killers reacted quite differently. The truth was, he was probably angry and would see his failure as a challenge to prove his superiority. River had a bad feeling that if he couldn’t get to Sandra Cooper, someone else’s life might now be hanging in the balance.

CHAPTER

TWENTY-THREE

As they prepared to work, Tony searched for a way to bring up River’s nightmares without letting her know that he’d heard her. It would probably embarrass her, and she’d worry that his parents had also overheard her. Of course, the truth was, everyone wanted to help her, but River was proud. If she wanted support, she liked to ask for it. All he could do was pray that God would provide an opening if that was what He wanted. Tony was aware that God didn’t actually need his assistance, but at the same time, Tony wanted to be available to Him if He chose to use him.

“I think we need to go over what we have already,” River said, sitting at the table and going through the file again. Although it seemed redundant to go through the same information over and over, many times at the BAU, they’d stumbled onto something important that they’d missed before. “I realize what your father tells us may change things.”

“Or send us in a better direction,” Tony said absentmindedly. He shook his head. “I’m worried about what the Snowman will do next. I mean, since he’ll most likely see this morning’s failure as an embarrassment.”

“I am too. But hopefully, this will be the thing that finally leads to his downfall.”

“You mean that he’ll feel compelled to strike again so quickly that he’ll make a mistake?” Tony said.

---