Page 28 of Cold Vengeance

Tony picked up his phone and punched in a number. River was still impressed that he had a direct line to the chief of police in St. Louis. And Arnie, as Tony called him, always picked up. As usual, Tony got right through.

River glanced over at Nathan, who looked scared. She was sure that Tony’s concern worried him, but it was just a precaution. It was always best to be careful, just in case anything happened that investigators weren’t expecting.

“Just a minute,” Tony said. He walked up to the officers and looked at their badges. “Yes,” he said, “that checks out.” He listened for a moment more, then he thanked Arnie and hung up.

“The detective in charge will meet you at the secure location and get some information,” he said to Nathan. “These officers will escort you there.” He picked up Nathan’s laptop and handed it to one of the officers. “Nathan uses his phone and laptop for his job,” he said. “Once detectives go through everything, it would be great if he could get back to work. We’d hate to see him lose his job over this thing.”

“We’ll have to leave that up to the detective in charge,” one of the officers said. “But we’ll make sure he knows about it.”

River got up from her chair and walked over to Nathan. “You’ll be fine. We’ll keep in touch. Don’t worry. Is your new phone activated?”

Nathan nodded.

She looked at the officers. “Nathan bought a new phone on the way here. Let me get that number, okay? That phone should be completely safe.”

One of the officers nodded at her, so she grabbed her notebook and quickly wrote down the number Nathan read off to her. She’d just put her notebook down on her desk when Nathan suddenly moved forward and hugged her. It startled River, and she almost pulled away. Her parents weren’t huggers, so she wasn’t used to physical affection. However, she realized Nathan was afraid andneeded comfort, so she hugged him back. The action made her feel even more committed to helping him. When he let her go, she could see that he was a lot more relaxed than he’d been when he came into the office.

“Everything will be okay,” she said, not completely sure it would be. But for his sake, she prayed it would.

“Okay.” He put his hand out and shook hands with Tony, then he turned and went out the door with the officers right behind him.

“Do you really think he’ll be all right?” she asked Tony.

“I don’t know. I certainly hope so.” He shook his head. “I have a bad feeling that this case has just started, and it’s only going to get worse. One thing that really worries me?”

“Just one thing?”

“Good point. Kevin’s wife obviously didn’t hear a shot. Neither did his neighbors.” He looked at her and frowned. “If our killer used a silencer, he could be very dangerous. He might be a professional. And he may not be through.”

Although River wanted to challenge him, she couldn’t because she was afraid he was absolutely right.

CHAPTER

SIXTEEN

He watched as police escorted a young man to their squad car. He was certain this was the same kid who’d visited River and Tony before. What was going on? For just a moment, he thought about following them. Find out where they were going. The kid wasn’t handcuffed, so he wasn’t under arrest. At the last second, he decided to let it go. He couldn’t get sidetracked from his ultimate goal. River Ryland was his target. Whatever was going on in this guy’s life wasn’t his business, nor did it really interest him.

He had everything planned down to the last detail. His only regret was that he wouldn’t be able to watch the life drain from her eyes. It was the best part of taking a life. But he’d experienced that quite a bit. No, he wanted her to die in terror. Even if he couldn’t see it, he could envision it, and that would bring him great satisfaction.

He wasn’t certain why he hated her so much. It wasn’t her fault she’d survived the first time. Not at all. But there was just something about her. Something that repelled him. Seems she believed in God now. Maybe that was it. He believed in Godtoo. He just didn’t bow down and degrade himself at His feet. He worshipped no one but himself and fully embraced the hate that fueled him. It was that hate that strengthened him. Hate had taught him to kill from the very beginning. His mother had been his first victim, and her death had taught him that he was the one with the power. Not her. He’d shoved that horror of a human being down the basement stairs when he was eight years old. Then he’d gone outside to play. No one ever suspected him. His big sister had raised him, and he never endured the beatings and the torture again. Natalie had done her best, but he’d already learned true dominance. Real power. He’d waited patiently until he could move out and use his new power to prove his superiority. Then he’d met Joseph Baker. He’d never known anyone else who understood him the way Joe had. They were the same. Forged in the same fires of destruction. Scores of dead human beings lay in their wake. And no one suspected he was part of a team. Until it was too late, that is. River Ryland had been his last victim, but she was still alive. He wasn’t going to allow that to continue.

However, the next time, no one would step up to save her. He smiled to himself and went back to pretending to be busy. The words he typed on his laptop were repeated over and over.

River Ryland is going to die screaming. River Ryland is going to diescreaming. River Ryland is going to die screaming.

“SONOW WHAT?”Tony asked after Nathan left.

“We get back to work,” River said. “Why don’t we go through April’s cases together?”

“Sure,” Tony said. “Should we get lunch first?”

“Fine with me, but can we go out? I’m getting a little claustrophobic. Between work and home, I haven’t gone anywherelately. We haven’t gone out to eat for quite a while, even though we’ve planned to.”

“We drove over to Nathan’s twice,” Tony said, trying not to sound snarky.

“Yeah, that was great fun. But that’s about it since we got back from seeing your parents.”

“By the way, I talked to my mom last night. She told me to tell you hello and asked when you could visit again.”

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