Page 16 of Cold Vengeance

“She didn’t see her mother at the funeral?”

Nathan shook his head. “Her father didn’t think it was good for her to be there. He especially didn’t want her to view Katherine’s body. He was afraid it would traumatize her.”

“How old was she when her mother died?”

“Nine.”

River sighed. “So, her mother just disappears and never comes back? No wonder she was obsessed with cold cases. She was trying to make sense of something she never had closure from.”

“Look, Nathan, this showed up at our office today,” Tony said. “It’s a warning directed at us, but someone’s taken your picture. They may be following you. We feel you need to know.”

Tony handed him the copy they’d made of the photo.

When Nathan looked at it, his face turned pale. “I don’t understand. Why would anyone do this?” He looked back and forth between them. “Doesn’t this mean that April may still be alive? I mean, why would anyone care enough to do this unless they were trying to protect a secret? What else could it be except that they don’t want her found?”

“It could also mean that someone doesn’t want us to identify them and find out that ... that they hurt her,” Tony said.

“Maybe,” Nathan said, “but I won’t give up. I just can’t.”

“We hope this will turn out the way you want,” River said gently. “If we decide to move forward, we’ll do our very best to find out what happened to April.”

“You thought I’d want to give up because of this picture?” Nathan asked. “I live in a gated community, and I work from home. You don’t have to worry about me.”

“Do us a favor,” Tony said. “Don’t leave here. Have your food delivered. Can delivery drivers leave your food at the gate?”

“Yeah, as long as I’ve paid for it ahead of time.”

“Are you stocked up on other things?” River asked.

Nathan nodded, “Just went to the store a couple of days ago.” He frowned at them. “Do you really think I’m in danger? I mean, if someone’s trying to tell you to back off, maybe you’re the ones who need to be careful.”

“We were both trained by the FBI,” Tony said. “We’re not worried. We know how to take care of ourselves.” Tony sounded confident, but with the Strangler’s apprentice still out there, another threat made him wonder if they were biting off more than they could chew right now.

“Should ... should I get a gun?”

“Not at this point,” River said. “You seem to be pretty well protected here. Arming yourself should be a decision you make under normal circumstances. Not under duress. Besides, you should never buy a gun without learning how to use it first.”

“Okay,” Tony said. “That’s it for now. We’ll be back in the morning. Don’t forget to give the guard our information.”

“I’ll remember.”

Tony gazed into Nathan’s eyes. “I want to ask you just once more before we leave. You’re absolutely sure you want to move forward with an investigation if we decide to take your case?”

“Yes.” Nathan’s body language and expression made it clear that he was determined to see this through. “I have to know what happened to April. Like I said, this... picture hasn’t changed my mind.”

“All right,” Tony said. “We’ll let you know our decision in the morning.”

“I’ll have a check ready for you.”

Tony and River said goodbye and walked out to their car. Once they were inside, River said, “I hope we find something that will give us direction in those seven cold cases April has on her site. If we don’t, this could take a while.”

“You’re trying to find a nice way to tell me we don’t have time to get pizza.”

River didn’t say anything, just smiled at him.

Tony shook his head. “Fine, but if the police call you in the morning and tell you they’ve discovered my emaciated body lying on the floor of my apartment, I want you to remember that you could have saved me.”

“I’ll try hard to get over it,” River said, laughing. “Besides, you pass that great hamburger place you like on the way home. I think you can pick up something and eat while you work.”

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