Page 423 of Cold Case, Warm Hearts

“Ruptured eardrums?” Addie’s stomach flipped over just saying it.

Stella nodded. “Yeah, that was listed on both.”

Addie stumbled to a chair and sat. She took a long breath and blew it out slowly. “Anything else?”

Stella and Kyle glanced at each other, then looked at her. Stella lifted her chin. “How about you tell us what you’re thinking?”

Addie didn’t want to say it.

“This is about what happened to you, isn’t it?” Kyle spoke with a measured tone.

She could only nod.

“These deaths occurred two months ago.”

“He’s doing it again.” Addie swallowed. “But it makes no sense. Why kill Celia?”

“You think it’s the same guy, some kind of copycat?” Stella shifted to sit on the edge of a table.

“An apprentice.” Addie winced. “There were indications, but no one ever figured out if it was true that he worked with someone.”

“None of you ever saw a second person?” Kyle sighed. “I wish we could ask Detective Maxwell.”

Addie hadn’t heard from McCauley whether or not Hank had been found. “He’s still AWOL?”

Stella nodded. “It isn’t looking good for him.”

Addie wanted to jump to his defense. The way she did with Jake.

Hank wasn’t the friend she’d known.

Not even the Jacob she knew now was the same boy she’d been so in love with. They’d all lived a lifetime since the last time they were together.

Things with him might be familiar, and what seemed to be there between them had a hint of the easy thing it had been. Yet there was a whole lot about it that was new.

Addie felt the same about being back in Benson. Who she had been in the FBI was a person she’d decided on. Maybe she needed to be to move on from everything that happened. Someone who analyzed and took a step back to look at things from the outside rather than getting involved, and it ended up messy.

Who she was in Benson didn’t quite match up. Someone wanted her back here, and just in time for Ivan Damen’s apprentice to begin his work again?

Addie fought a shiver. She got up and grabbed the phone from the desk, punching in the numbers to call SAC Zimmerman.

He picked up. “Calling to ask for your job back? Or some other reason?”

Addie pressed her lips together. Did he think she was going to cry and plead for another chance at their relationship? They lived on opposite sides of the country, and he was back with his wife, wasn’t he? She figured whatever the question, Kyle and Stella didn’t need any more reason to believe her emotions were clouded right now.

“Well?” Zimmerman sighed.

“Who pushed for me to come here and take this assignment?” Addie asked.

“That’s what you want to know?”

“I’m sorry, did you think this was going to be a personal call?” She tried to keep the sarcasm out of her tone. “I’m busy with a dozen open cases. Do you know the answer or not?”

Zimmerman went quiet for a second. “I can try and find out.”

“Great. That would be…” She’d already saidgreatagain.“Thanks. I appreciate it.”

“Hmm.” Zimmerman hung up.

---