Page 29 of Cold Vengeance

River sighed. “I’d love to see them, but I guess that won’t happen until we solve this case.”

“I know. After this is done, and when the Strangler’s friend is caught and put away forever, we can go back if you want to.”

“I’m surprised you let me leave town last month,” River said, rolling her eyes.

“And maybe I shouldn’t have.” Tony looked away. “I wanted to help my dad, and I knew you needed a break. Maybe it was too risky.”

“If it had been I wouldn’t still be alive. I realize we owe it to Nathan to stay here and look for April before we leave town again, but we have no idea when the Strangler’s partner will be caught. I don’t want to live sheltered from life forever.”

Tony met her gaze. “The problem is that the longer he waits, the less time we may have. He won’t hold off forever.” He scowled at her. “I can’t believe you considered leaving me for one second. You would have walked right into his path. How could you...” He was surprised and embarrassed when his voice broke. When he’d found out what she’d been thinking, he was horrified. How could she have considered something so reckless? He knew his sister had planted the notion, but he was still shocked that River had fallen for it. River’s expression made him look away. He struggled to regain his composure.

“Tony, you know why I thought about getting away. I was afraid ... am still afraid ... this guy will hurt you. Don’t youthink you’ve given up enough for me? Your health? Your career? I can’t have you give up your life as well.”

The look on her face almost made him lose it again. He struggled to keep his tone steady. “I can protect you...”

“I know you believe that, and like I told you, I’m now convinced that we’re stronger together. But sometimes I think you forget that I was trained by the FBI just like you were. And I’m a better shot than you are.”

Tony was able to laugh lightly. “Not so fast. We need to go to the range. You’ll have to prove that.”

Although they had a friendly competition, the truth was, she really was a better shot. He didn’t care. He loved it anytime he saw that old spark in her eyes. She was so much better now than she’d been right after her encounter with the Strangler. When she let God back in her life, healing had begun. She was still on a path to total freedom, but Tony was convinced she’d get there. She was determined, and so was God. He never gave up on His children.

“You’ve got a deal,” River said. “So how about lunch? In a real restaurant?” She shrugged. “I’m armed, so if we’re attacked by anyone, I’ll just take them out. You know how much I hate having my meal interrupted.”

“I’m sure the other customers would love that,” he said dryly. Tony wanted to grant her request. They’d eaten out before, usually on the way to work or on the way home, but the past few days, he’d felt an impending sense of unease. He wasn’t certain if it was his own fear, or if it was something else. He believed the Holy Spirit warns His children and leads them away from danger if they listen. He sent up a quick silent prayer about going out for lunch, but he didn’t feel any check in his spirit.

“We can go somewhere and get a fast meal,” he said, “if you really think it’s the right thing to do. We need to jump on Nathan’s case as soon as we can.”

“I feel like getting out of here for just a bit will give me a new burst of energy,” River said with a smile.

He loved her crooked smiles. They made him feel happy. He suspected that she knew that and from time to time used them to her advantage. He sighed. “Okay, so where do you want to go?”

“The new Chinese place down the street?” she said. “Their General Tso’s chicken is so good.”

“I was just thinking the same thing,” Tony said, chuckling. “But we can’t stay too long.” He started to stand up but then stopped. “First, I think we need to talk about April’s stuff. I want to be certain we have everything we need. I have a feeling we’ll have to hand all of it over to the police before long.”

“Have you downloaded all the files you took from her laptop and Nathan’s to your laptop?” she asked.

He shook his head. “Not yet, but I’ve got the flash drives, so it won’t take me long to do it. By the way, I looked up the numbers on April’s phone. There were some calls to certain police stations. I’m assuming she called them in an attempt to get information. There were also some business numbers like fast-food restaurants, her father’s phone number, Nathan’s...” Tony shook his head. “What I couldn’t find were calls to friends and other family. I think she was so focused on her podcast, there wasn’t much time for anything else.”

River sighed. “That’s sad.”

Tony frowned at her. “Does that sound like anyone else you know?”

“I have friends.”

“I meant here. Since we moved to St. Louis.”

“Tony, that’s not fair. I’ve been focusing on my mother and starting our agency. I’ll make friends when I can.”

“I hope so,” he said.

“Back to this case. ... The pictures I took of April’s notebookare on my phone so they’re safe. And her podcast is online so that’s not a problem.”

“What about the notes you’ve made?”

She picked up a notebook and waved it at him. “It’s all here.”

“You might think I sound paranoid, but let’s take April’s stuff with us. I don’t want to leave anything we have about this case lying around. It makes me nervous.” He reached behind his desk and grabbed April’s tote bag that readHot Coffee and Cold Cases.

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