Page 48 of Shattered Sanctuary

“Well, that was fast,” Erin said.

Adrian called Lonzine over to where they stood. “Would you go back to the station? Interview a gal there who may know this woman. Take a picture and have her confirm her identity.”

“Yes, boss,” Lonzine said. “I’ll let you know what I find out. By the way, we’ve called every bar and club in Sanctuary and the surrounding area near where Chloe’s car was found. No one reported seeing her. If she was all dressed up, it should have made her easy to spot. But some places were really busy and admitted she could have been there and they just didn’t notice. We’ve requested video surveillance tapes from any place that has them. Unfortunately, most of those that have cameras have them trained on the cash registers and the card machines. Not on their customers.”

“That’s because they want people to feel secure,” Adrian said. “Some of them may be there with people they aren’t married to.” He sighed. “Thanks for trying.”

“Lonzine,” Kaely said, “ask specifically about anyone Hailey might have been dating. Especially someone brand new.”

“You think he could be the UNSUB?” Lonzine asked.

“It’s entirely possible,” Adrian answered. “Get a description of the guy. We really need one.”

Lonzine snapped a picture of the victim and hurried away.

Adrian looked back and forth between Erin and Kaely. “Anything else?”

Erin shook her head. “Same MO as the others. Killed somewhere else. Brought here. I doubt you’ll find any evidence.”

“I agree,” Kaely said. “You have an organized psychopath who isn’t done.” She frowned. “The only thing that surprises me is that you haven’t heard from him. Usually, these kinds of killers like to get attention. They crave it. I would have expected at least one letter to the editor of your local paper. Or a phone call to one of the local news channels. Something. His silence is unusual.”

“Can you guess why haven’t we heard anything?” Adrian asked.

Kaely looked over at Erin. “What do you think?”

“I don’t know,” she said. “Maybe he’s sent a message, but we just haven’t recognized it yet.”

“If that’s true,” Kaely said, focusing her gaze on Adrian. “It won’t take long before he tries to communicate again, in a much clearer way. It would be much better for everyone if you can keep that from happening. Right now, he feels strong. Empowered. He’s bested the police—and us. If he doesn’t get the attention he wants soon, he could become angry—and things could get much worse.”

THIRTY-THREE

Erin and Kaely hurried back to town and headed toward the small grocery store. There wasn’t much they needed, but Erin wanted her favorite breakfast cereal, and Kaely had forgotten to pack her razors. They also needed to stock up on toilet paper. Erin hoped the store hadn’t sold out. Toilet paper seemed to be one of the items people thought about when the weather got bad.

“We’ve also got to have popcorn to eat during the snowstorm,” Kaely insisted. “You can’t have snow without popcorn. And we need chocolate syrup for hot chocolate. Steve has some instant hot chocolate packets in the pantry, but I want to have the real stuff.”

Erin laughed at her. “You have very specific needs when it snows.”

“Blame it on Noah,” Kaely said, grinning. “He’s spoiled me.”

They decided to buy another gallon of milk and some bread, but by the time they got to Grady’s General Store, there wasn’t much left. They settled for a loaf of whole wheat bread and a half gallon of milk that was close to its sell-bydate. They also found chocolate syrup and popcorn. Kaely snatched up one of the last remaining packages of toilet paper. Erin noticed some rather angry looks from people who were headed toward the aisles that held some of the items in their cart, but she didn’t care. When it came to bad weather, it was every man—or woman—for themselves.

A large man standing behind the only register in the small store gave them a wide smile as they took their place in the line waiting to check out.

“Grady Howard,” he said loudly. The people in front of them turned and stared. “You’re the author and the FBI agent, right? The whole town’s talking about you.”

“I guess that’s us,” Kaely said. “Is this your store?”

His smile widened even more. “Yes, ma’am. Looks like you got some of the last bread and milk before the storm hits. Usually, it’s bread, milk, and toilet paper that sell out when the weather gets dicey. I see you were able to grab one of our last packages of toilet paper. I keep extra, but we weren’t planning on this storm.”

Although announcing to the public about her toilet paper needs wasn’t something Erin usually did, she grinned and nodded like some kind of weird bobblehead. She wasn’t used to being around this many people, and although she’d been doing just fine, at this point, all she wanted to do was to get back to the cabin and wait for the snow to protect her from the outside world. She’d had enough of people for one day. If she had to come up with one more response to some inane question, she was fairly certain the top of her head would blow off.

“I wish we had some of your books in the store,” Grady said, “but I don’t have room for much else besides the basics.Maybe the next time you visit, we can set up a book signing. I know people here would love that.”

First of all, she wasn’t interested in book signings. And secondly, a book signing in a grocery store? She wasn’t a snob, but she felt like asking Grady where the signing would take place. Next to the day-old bread or the frozen chicken livers?

As soon as the thought entered her head, she dismissed it. She wasn’t too good to sign books in any venue. The man was attempting to be nice.

“Maybe so, Mr. Howard,” she said.

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