Page 8 of Craving Sin (Touch of Evil 13)

“Look at the gash in her neck,” Brook directed, cutting into Russell’s concern over the two individuals who had exited the hangar. They were too far away for her to identify, but she assumed they were employees of the privately owned airstrip. “It’s not clean. There are several areas that are somewhat jagged, which indicates hesitation on the part of the unsub. Also, notice how some of the cheek flesh is still intact. It's as if the unsub couldn’t stomach such brutality.”

“Jesus Christ,” Russell muttered, distracted from the curiosity of those near the hangar. “Walsh has been in custody this entire time. No contact with anyone outside the federal prison. Don’t think I don’t know you are somehow monitoring your brother’s?—”

“Mitch Norona.” Theo prevented Russell from making an accusation that Brook wouldn’t have been able to deny. “As Jacob’s defense attorney, he has been to FCI Cumberland once a month since the beginning of the year.”

“Norona hasn’t left the East Coast.” Russell’s abrupt statement garnered glances from both Brook and Theo. The man shrugged off their surprise. “You aren’t the only ones with half a brain. Norona and his firm took over the case from a public defender without ever having contact with Walsh at the prison. I couldn’t find any connection between the two men or between Walsh and anyone else at the firm. Anyway, I’ve been keeping close tabs on his movements.”

Brook didn’t need to warn Theo about sharing the alleged link between Norona and Jacob with anyone outside the firm. While she could argue that they had relied solely on social media to place both Norona and Jacob in Alaska, she didn’t want attention brought to Bit and the leeway she had given him regarding her brother.

“I hope you ran your suspicions by Nathaniel Carter,” Theo replied, steering the discussion toward the federal prosecutor. “We mentioned to him how odd it was that Norona picked up such a high-profile case, but Nathaniel didn’t seem interested in pursuing that lead.”

“Well, word has it that Carter is thinking of switching sides at some point. He received a lucrative offer from a firm in New York, and I think he hands in his resignation after this case.” Russell shot each of them a warning glance. “You didn’t hear that from me.”

Brook had been listening to Russell, but she kept most of her focus on the body in front of them. There was something familiar about the victim’s stature that she couldn’t quite place. The unsub had gone to a lot of trouble in transferring the victim to the airstrip.

So much effort that it would have been pointless for him to leave a body without identification. Given the strength it would have taken to carry the body from a location that couldn’t necessarily be seen from the hangar, the profile would indicate a male subject.

Brook slowly set her backpack on the tarmac before kneeling to unzip the main compartment. Sifting through the contents, she didn’t stop until she found the small plastic bag that held her toothbrush. It didn’t take her long to empty the bag and slip her hand inside so she wouldn’t contaminate the crime scene.

Kneeling beside the woman's remains, Brook began to gently pat the victim’s pockets for anything that might give them something to help with identification. In the process of doing so, the right side of the victim’s suit jacket slipped to the side. Attached to the woman’s belt were law enforcement credentials.

Federal credentials.

Bile hit the back of Brook’s throat as her surroundings immediately closed in on her. She couldn’t bring herself to move as déjà vu took hold, memories of discovering her best friend lying in a pool of her own blood in the middle of an Illinois cornfield flooding her mind. An instant later, the cornfield morphed into Brook’s college dorm room, where she found Cara Jordan on the floor in between their beds.

There were other victims who had personally touched Brook’s life in some way, but the woman in front of her had once embodied purpose…determination. She had worked for S&E Investigations as a steppingstone to her true calling as a federal agent.

In a way, she had reminded Brook of a young version of herself.

“It’s Kate,” Brook managed to say as she crushed the clear plastic bag into the palm of her hand. “Theo, it’s Kate Lin.”

5

Brooklyn Sloane

June 2025

Tuesday — 5:58 pm

The anguished ambiance in the hotel room was suffocating, heavy with unspoken grief. The low hum of the heating system wasn’t enough to mask the occasional sniffle and the struggle to remain composed in light of recent circumstances. Not even the warm air that trickled through the vents in the ceiling above could dispel the bone-chilling reality of death.

Although the hotel was old and worn, its layout was adequate for surveillance. The rooms weren’t luxurious by any means, but they were the most decent option in Blackpeak. The location also meant they were roughly an hour’s hike from the general area Jacob had provided them last week. Unfortunately, he was keeping the exact coordinates to himself to ensure he was included in the trek.

Brook observed Sylvie and Bit at the table in the corner. Despite their best efforts, they couldn’t hide the aftermath of their reactions to the news of Kate’s death. Sylvie had readjusted the tight bun at the base of her neck several times, giving her hands something to do. The blonde strands were taut enough now to lift the temples on her black-rimmed glasses.She would no doubt have a severe headache by evening, if she didn’t already.

As for Bit, he had taken the news the hardest. His face seemed gaunter, and the pallor of his skin accentuated the redness of his bloodshot eyes. He had been the one who had consistently remained in close contact with Kate over the past few years, and his lighthearted wit had been noticeably absent since he had learned of her death.

Across the room, Theo stood silently next to the window overlooking the small parking lot. Unlike Bit and Sylvie, Theo had turned inward and hadn’t uttered a word that didn’t have to do with proper procedure.

“Has someone notified Mr. Lin?” Bit asked before removing his signature grey beanie that had seen better days. The same could be said for his hair. No matter how many times he washed the blond strands, he couldn’t get rid of their oily sheen. “He shouldn’t hear it from?—”

“Mr. Lin is giving a lecture as a guest speaker at a healthcare conference in New York.” Brook held onto the coffee mug that Theo had given her a few minutes ago, not that she could swallow any of the contents at the moment. “I have a local officer there who will call me when Kate’s father steps off the stage.”

Bit shifted his focus from Brook to the three screens on the table. One displayed Jacob's room, another the adjacent bathroom, and the third the hallway outside. Bit’s chair was at an angle so he could view both the monitors and those inside the room, while Sylvie’s back was toward the screens.

Kate’s death hit home for a completely different reason for Sylvie. She had almost been a victim of one of Jacob’s disciples herself over a year ago. It was unfortunate that serial killers could be viewed as misunderstood, and there were sick individuals who would do anything for them. Sylvie had suffered at the hands of such an individual. With Kate’s death, there was a possibility they were dealing with the same type of situation.

The one question that kept rising to the surface was why Kate had been in Alaska in the first place. That unanswered inquiry was where they would begin their investigation.

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