Page 16 of Shattered Sanctuary

“Well, if they won’t change their minds, I could really use your help.”

Erin had learned a lot about the FBI from Kaely. The chief was right. Unless local authorities invited them, they wouldn’t interfere in a local investigation. That would only change if this was a federal crime. Which, of course, it wasn’t.

“I understand,” Erin said. “I’m certain Kaely can help you.” She looked at Kaely, who stared at the ground. Whatwas she thinking? Had Erin just offered Kaely’s assistance without her permission? But why wouldn’t she want to help?

Before she could say anything else, Kaely said, “Chief Nightengale, I’d be happy to write a profile for you. It should help you narrow your search. Profiles aren’t always right, but they’re usually helpful. But first, I need to ask you some questions.”

“I’ve got to get back to the scene,” he said. “Can you come with me?”

Kaely looked at Erin. “Is that okay with you?”

Erin nodded. “Of course. It’s your decision.”

Kaely nodded and then turned her head and met the chief’s gaze. “Before we leave, I need to ask how you found the other bodies.”

The chief frowned. “Our dogs. We have two of them. They used to work as cadaver dogs in Knoxville. When Mutt and Jeff were retired, my administrative assistant, Lisa, adopted them. One of my officers let them out after Miss Delaney left, just to see if they could pick up any kind of a trail. They went nuts. Ran to a spot about twenty yards from the body we found this morning. Started pawing at the ground. My officers dug around and found the first body. After that, they just followed the dogs. They alerted two more times. After the other two bodies were dug up, they quieted down. And yes, my officers wondered if there were more, so they allowed them free rein. They just went back to the car. If there’s anything else out there, they didn’t alert to it.”

Kaely nodded. “Your UNSUB either lives in the area or he comes here regularly. We need to narrow down TOD for each victim.”

“The doc is looking them over now and should be ableto give us an estimated time of death sometime today. If I had to guess, I’d say at least one of them has been there over a year. But I’ll let Dr. Gibson give you a more definitive time frame.”

“Okay,” Kaely said. “We’ll get our jackets and join you shortly.”

“Thanks. I’ll wait out here for you. And by the way,” he said, addressing Erin. “The body you saw this morning was identified as a woman who went missing from our local resort. I thought you’d want to know.” The chief turned and walked down the steps, headed for his car.

“I’m sorry about this,” Erin said after closing the door. “I’m sure this isn’t what you were expecting.”

“Actually, I should have known,” Kaely said with a sigh. “I swear, it’s like this kind of thing follows me wherever I go.”

“I may not believe in God,” Erin said, “but if I did, I might think that maybe this happens because it’s supposed to. Because it’s your calling. God is using you to help people.”

Kaely’s eyebrows shot up. “For someone who doesn’t believe in God, that was pretty intuitive. You could be right.” She shook her head. “I have to admit that part of me has missed this. Just helping to bring justice to victims and their families.” She grinned at Erin. “Not the people dying thing.”

In spite of herself, Erin laughed. “That’s awful.”

“Don’t point your finger at me,” Kaely said, smiling. “You write about this kind of stuff.”

“Okay, we’re both terrible human beings,” Erin said, grinning. “Let’s grab our coats and get in the car.”

Kaely saluted her. “Yes, ma’am.”

As Erin got her coat and pulled it on, she realized that, even though she’d been worried about going out in public,away from her safe space, for the first time since she’d arrived in Sanctuary, she wasn’t afraid.

They’d taken the bait. He hadn’t been certain about displaying his first offering until he found out the famous author and her FBI friend were coming here. After three imperfect attempts, he’d felt confident enough to share this gift with the world. It showed his brilliance, and he was proud of it. They would never connect it to him. He would beat them at their own game. And he would never stop. He’d studied their methods and knew how they thought. He intended to contradict every one of their suppositions.

He would not only break them. He would break the angels.

He heard his god sigh with pleasure, and it made him smile.

THIRTEEN

Kaely was silent as the chief drove them to the crime scene. She’d made the comment about death following her in a cavalier manner, not expecting Erin to take it seriously. But there could be some truth in it. Although she’d come here for her friend, she felt the need to disconnect as well. She needed some time to stop thinking about having a baby. She’d planned to do that by concentrating on Erin. Helping someone else was the best way to get your mind off yourself. But now, here she was again. Dead bodies. A serial killer. She knew that there were a lot more serial killers in the world than people realized. The truth was, most of them never made the news. Some killers knew how to cover their tracks. And a lot of deaths were attributed to something else. Accidents. Undetermined deaths. However, one of the traits that led to capture was a psychopath’s desire for fame. Then, there were the killers who murdered for the single desire to take a life. They were the most dangerous. Even trained behavioral analysts like Kaely couldn’t contribute to their capture. At least this guy was taunting them. Daring them to catch him. That would make it easier to apprehend him.

She’d told Erin that, in some ways, she’d missed this. That was true as well. She’d said perhaps God led her to situations where her help was needed. Erin might not be a Christian, but sometimes God could speak through others. She fought back a smile as the thoughteven donkeyspopped into her mind. Not sure Erin would want to be compared to Baalam’s donkey. Or Baalam for that matter.

“Hold on,” the chief said. “The road is pretty rough here.”

Kaely, who was sitting in the backseat, clutched the grab handle. Noah liked to call itthe chicken handle.Sure enough, the car began to bounce. It was obvious the chief was trying to keep the car as steady as possible, but the road here was dirt and full of holes. Kaely loved the Smoky Mountains, but a lot of the area was rather wild. That was the part she adored the most. If she had her way, she and Noah would retire here someday. For now, they were happy in Virginia. Even though they lived in a more suburban-type neighborhood, they didn’t have to drive far to find forests and gorgeous scenery. It wasn’t that Kaely was unhappy with the life they had. She just wanted something different someday. Far away from the FBI and Noah’s job. She knew how the job could drain you. Change you. She could see the haunted look in his eyes during particularly tough cases. But he felt strongly he was where he was supposed to be. And now, here she was. Was she doing what she was called to do too? Was God telling her she would never be a mother? That this was what He had for her? If so, why did her heart cry out to hold a child? Sometimes in church, watching a mother cradle a baby overwhelmed her emotions so strongly she couldn’t stop the tears that spilled unbidden from her eyes.

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