Page 24 of Cold Vengeance

River got up and went over to Nathan. She put her hand on his shoulder and looked into his eyes. Tony was amazed at the way she was able to immediately establish a connection with him. His taut expression and his stiff shoulders began to relax. At the same time his eyes filled with tears.

River gently led him over to a chair. He slumped down into it and put his hands over his face.

“You need to tell us what happened, Nathan,” River said. “We can’t help you if you don’t tell us the truth.”

Tony stayed in his chair and kept quiet. River had the young man where she wanted him. He didn’t want to break the spell.

“I ... I can’t,” Nathan said, blinking away his tears. He was clearly embarrassed by his emotional reaction. River and Tony both knew that people didn’t always cry because they were sad. Almost any strong emotional reaction could cause a human being to weep. Fear, remorse, even anger.

River pulled another chair up close to him. “It’s just us here, Nathan. No one else will ever know what you tell us.”

Nathan looked down at the floor for a moment, cleared his throat, and then raised his face to meet River’s gaze. It was at that moment Tony knew Nathan was going to tell them what had happened to cause his abrupt turnaround. River was amazing. Tony was convinced that he wouldn’t have been able to get Nathan to trust him the way River did. She had a special way with people. Of course, in many situations, men tended to trust women more than men. It had something to do with the strong connections boys usually had with their mothers. It wasn’t always true, of course. Boys abused by their mothers had the ability to react violently toward women. As behavioral analysts, they’d seen this trait displayed through serial killers trying to murder their mothers because of the emotional pain they’d caused them, but Nathan wasn’t a serial killer, and River was definitely getting through to him.

Nathan reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out an envelope. Tony almost sighed audibly. What was the deal with all these envelopes? In this day and age, corresponding through snail mail was almost unheard of. This was definitely unusual. Of course, sending an email usually made it easier to track thesender. A typed or handwritten letter handled correctly could make it impossible to locate its origin.

“This was dropped off at the guard gate last night after you left.” He handed the envelope to River. She looked over at Tony, who got up and grabbed two sets of gloves. He was beginning to wonder how many gloves they had left.

“If you receive any other notes, Nathan,” he said, “please handle them with caution. We may be able to find fingerprints that could help us. But if you get yours on the paper, it could actually keep us from getting a clean print.”

“I noticed how careful you were with the other note I received. I didn’t think about it at first, but after I opened this envelope, I used a paper towel to hold the note inside.”

“Good. Thanks.”

Tony handed one pair of gloves to River, who put them on. Tony did the same with the other pair. When River was ready, she slid the folded piece of paper out of the envelope. Then she handed the envelope to Tony. Someone had written Nathan’s name and apartment number on the front in block letters with black ink. Obviously, they were trying to disguise their handwriting. The letters were written just like the printing on the picture of Nathan. Although he could be wrong, Tony suspected that the same person had sent both messages.

After reading the note inside, River passed it to Tony. In the same block lettering, someone had writtenStop talking to the PIs or she will die. Then you will benext. No police or you both die.

“You said the envelope was given to the guard at the front gate last night?”

Nathan nodded. “He came by my apartment to tell me someone had dropped off a delivery.” He frowned at them. “He tried to call me first, but I didn’t have my phone.”

“You should have called us,” River said.

Nathan shot her a look.

“You could have asked the guard to use his phone.”

“To be honest, I was afraid to. Especially after this note. I only ventured out this morning because the laptop you took has work on it that I need. I had no choice.” He shook his head. “I made one stop on the way here and bought another phone. I guess it pays to have two.”

“I keep a spare,” River said.

For a moment, her comment confused Tony. Then he remembered the extra phone she’d bought as a backup in case she was in trouble and couldn’t get to her regular phone. River believed that if she’d had an extra phone when she was attacked by the Strangler, who’d taken the phone in her pocket, she could have gotten help sooner. She liked to call the second phone herboot phone. Anytime she felt she might be facing a dangerous situation, she planned to put it in her boot. He’d forgotten all about it. She hadn’t mentioned it in a long time.

“You realize that this confirms that April is alive, right?” Nathan said.

River shook her head. “Not really. They may be saying this because they’re trying to control you. The one thing it does tell us though, is that whoever wrote this knows about April. They might very well have something to do with her disappearance.”

“Why can’t you believe she’s alive?”

Tony could tell he was frustrated.

“Look, for now, let’s talk about you,” Tony said. “I know you’re afraid. I think we need to err on the side of caution. I believe we should move you to a more secure location.” Even though he found the continued warnings problematic, Tony had no intention of taking another chance with Nathan’s welfare.

“I live in a gated community,” Nathan said. “I should be okay at home.”

“But whoever left that note knows where you live,” River said. “The guards at the gate aren’t law enforcement. They’re people.People who have to use the bathroom—or who can be bribed. Or even fooled by someone pretending to be with a utility company.”

“Actually, they’re planning on adding an electric gate,” Nathan said. “It will take a code to get inside the community.”

---