Page 6 of Killer Clone

“Hey, got my hands full here. Just on my way in.”

“Excellent. I just spoke to Bill. He wants to speak with us both at the office.”

“I need to drop someone off in the cells first.”

“Sounds good. Find me after you’ve booked him.”

Stella pocketed her phone, climbed into the warm SUV, and clicked the seat belt into place. “Hope you’re excited for your bed and your nice, warm cell, Broad.” Without waiting for a response, she released the parking brake.

The local newspaper lay on the passenger seat next to her. There she was with Hagen on the front page, leaning against the patrol vehicle while they sipped hot drinks.

The headline told the whole story.

More Details Emerge about the Psychiatric Patient Killer.

The sight of their faces and their names infuriated Stella. Again.

For two weeks, Broad had sobered up enough to milk that story, writing two print editions and daily online articles—now nationally syndicated because of the interest the case generated. They’d asked him repeatedly to leave their names and faces out and warned him he was endangering federal law enforcement officials. Broad had ignored them.

He’d named them, photographed them, and even suggested in one editorial that they should’ve taken the killer alive. As if he’d been there in the room on that dreadful day two weeks ago.

The gall of the man.

Yet sometimes Stella did wonder if they couldn’t have done more to prevent the killer’s death.

She swept the newspaper to the floor and pulled out onto the road.

Broad chuckled. “I see you’re a fan of my work.”

“I wish you’d just stop writing about this.”

“Hey, it’s in the public interest, right? And you should see the kind of response this story’s been generating.” He belched, loud and wet. “Online, that stuff’s getting hundreds of thousands of hits. Most popular story I’ve ever covered. People can’t get enough of those killings.”

Stella swore under her breath and pushed the gas. The last thing she and Hagen needed was to be known. She’d even gotten a call from her mother—wondering whether her career might be too dangerous and asking if she’d please find a nice desk job somewhere.

The sheriff’s department was no more than five minutes away. As long as three-foot snowdrifts or six-foot David Broads weren’t blocking the road, nothing in Claymore was more than five minutes away. But by the time Stella pulled up, Broad was already snoring.

She stepped out and opened the back seat. “Wake up!” The combination of her voice and the blast of cold air served to stir him.

After muscling Broad inside, booking him, and dropping him in the drunk tank to sleep it off, Stella returned to the temporary office she shared with Hagen.

She found him seated behind the sheriff’s desk. Across from him sat Dr. Bill Silow and another man in a sheriff’s uniform. The man sat with his legs crossed at the ankles. He was in his early fifties, had a long, bare chin, and hadn’t taken off his hat. His sausage fingers drummed the arm of the chair.

Hagen smiled, his eyes crinkling at the corners. “Come on in.”

The man greeted Stella with no more than the lightest of nods.

Dr. Silow turned with a smile. “Stella, good morning. Let me introduce you to Sheriff Louis Deacon. He just received his commission from the governor, and he’ll be taking over from you and Hagen starting immediately. Much as I’ll be sorry to see you go, I know you’ve got lives and jobs to get back to. Wanted you both present for the handover.”

A weight lifted from Stella’s shoulders. They were done here. Their leave was over. The murders in the town were solved, and their responsibilities had been fulfilled.

They had their lives back.

She knew Hagen well enough now to recognize the relief in those dark-green eyes. But there was also a tightness in his jaw that suggested worry. They hadn’t been a couple for long—and almost all of it had been on their leave from work. Now, as they returned to Nashville, they’d be building a life together.

Unfolding before them was a whole new adventure. The thought excited Stella, even as it worried her.

She nodded to Sheriff Deacon and stretched out her hand. “Nice to meet you, Sheriff. If you’ve got any questions, feel free to?—”

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