Page 43 of Cold Vengeance

“Again, how do you know what I’m thinking? Stop it. It’s weird.”

Tony laughed. “Great minds, I guess.”

“My father’s coming to visit on Saturday.”

Tony didn’t respond immediately. Finally, he said, “How do you feel about that?”

“Well, according to Pastor Mason, I’m not supposed to worry about how I feel. Just decide to love him.”

“I know it’s hard, but I know you can do it.”

“I guess we’ll find out. Remember you promised to be there when I face him.”

“I will,” Tony said. “I promise.”

River felt some peace for the first time since hearing about her father’s visit. “Thank you. See you in the morning?”

“You bet. Good night.”

“Good night.”

River forced herself to gather her sweats and head to the bathroom for her shower. She continued thinking about the case so she could forget about her father for a while. But there was something else picking at her, trying to get her attention. It was as if it were just out of her grasp, yet she kept trying to reach it. Frankly, it was beginning to wear her down.

She’d just started shampooing her hair when it hit her. She quickly rinsed, got out of the shower, and hurried back to the bedroom, where she’d left her cellphone. As soon as Tony answered, she told him what she’d realized.

CHAPTER

TWENTY-FOUR

Although the place he’d picked was largely deserted, he waited until the last car was gone and no one had come by for quite some time. Then he drove to the spot he’d scouted out earlier. It was perfect. A group of trees close to the river. He’d searched for a while before he’d found it. Spruces don’t lose foliage during the winter, so pulling down some branches to cover the old chest wouldn’t look suspicious. The last time River had faced the Strangler, the chest had been taken from the trunk of a car. It had taken too long. She’d almost gotten her hands on a gun and ruined the fun. This time, her coffin would be on site. Ready to go.

He turned off his headlights and took the chest out of his trunk. After that, he carried it to a spot beneath the trees, broke off several branches, and covered it up. Then he gathered up lots of dead leaves and placed them in any bare spots. After a few minutes, he walked a few feet away from the trees and gazed at his work. Perfect. No one would suspect anything.

He laughed softly. The clock was ticking on River Ryland’s life and her coffin was ready. She would soon belong to him forever.

TONY PICKED RIVER UP EARLY,and they drove to the office. Watson was secured in the back seat by a special harness. The puggle seemed extremely happy to be going with them. River knew Tony didn’t want to take advantage of the landlord’s willingness to allow pets, but she wished she could spend more time around him. Watson was getting a little older and his once-blond snout was now flecked with gray. River didn’t like to think about Watson’s mortality. If anything happened to the small, friendly dog, Tony would be devastated—and so would she.

She’d tried to call Dan before she left, but she’d reached his voicemail. She almost left a message but at the last minute just hung up. She felt they needed to talk, and she didn’t want their contact to become a series of voicemail messages.

When they reached the office, she waited in the car while Tony took Watson for a brief walk. Once Watson had done his business, they came back to the car and the three of them went upstairs. In the elevator, River kept reaching down to pet his soft head. He looked up at her with affection. He’d captured her heart long ago, and she wondered if he knew how much she loved him.

Once inside the office, Watson settled down into the soft dog bed Tony brought from home. Tony made a phone call, and when he was done, they talked about the situation that had arisen last night. They weren’t completely in agreement on how to proceed, but River reminded Tony that no matter what else was going on, they had to concentrate on the cases left on April’s list. A man had died, and they needed to try to figure out how to stop the UNSUB before he hurt someone else.

“We’ve got to focus on what’s in front of us,” she told him. “We have a client to think about. We’ll work out the details of this other thing with Arnie. We’ve got the upper hand now. Remember that.”

Tony was silent for a moment. “You may be right, but I don’t like it. I think it’s too dangerous.”

“Duly noted. Now let me grab my notebook.”

Tony sighed loudly and shook his head. “Okay, I guess I’ll make coffee. But this discussion isn’t over.”

“Just black for me,” she said, ignoring him.

Tony stopped in his tracks and turned to look at her. “Excuse me?”

“I’m flashing back to the time our coffee was tampered with.”

“I don’t think you need to worry about that,” Tony said.

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