Page 78 of Royal
“Yeah. But her shirt was in ribbons and drenched in blood. The guy must’ve been super pissed, because she was covered in deep stab wounds. Her face was slashed, and her throat.”
An anchor dropped into my gut.
Ameiniasneverplaced his victims facedown. He spent time combing and fixing their hair, applying makeup to their face. He took care with their hands, making sure their nails were clean. He wouldn’t have treated a victim so carelessly, as if they were a piece of trash. And they were always naked, with only shallow cuts on their body along with a deep stab to the abdomen.
Phoenix’s eyes flashed to mine, and I saw his realization, as well.
Ameinias didn’t kill this woman.
Someone had seen the news—seen the damn details we hadn’t wanted released to the public, like the flowers—and had copied the killings.
“What’s wrong?” Officer Smith asked, looking between me and Phoenix. “Your guy did this, right? There were a bunch of flowers all over the body. That’s the Vanity Killer’s signature.”
Phoenix walked over to the other FBI agent, Luke, and spoke quietly to him. Luke nodded and responded before walking away and pulling out his phone to call someone. When he came back over, he exchanged a look with me before moving his gaze to the officer.
“Thank you for your time,” Phoenix said. “I regret to say this isn’t the same killer. The details don’t add up.”
“You think it’s a copycat?”
“I know it is,” Phoenix answered. “I’ve spent nearly a year studying the Vanity Killer. Whoever did this intended to frame him. My suggestion is look into the victim’s personal life. The murder was fueled by rage from the sound of it, so look for anyone who might’ve had a grudge.”
I walked beside Phoenix as we went back to the SUV. I’d never seen him so irritated. Fuck, I was upset, too. We’d driven all the way here just to find out it wasn’t our guy. A massive waste of our time. The police chief had been too eager to bring attention to his little Podunk town in the middle of fucking nowhere that he’d blabbed about it being Ameinias before he got his facts straight.
Luke was on the phone when we got to the car. “Tell them he’s still in Addersfield. This isn’t the same killer.” He paused as the person on the other end spoke. “Yes. Go to the festival and keep an eye out. He’ll be there.”
I opened the passenger’s side door and climbed in, telling myself to calm down. Ameinias was still in Addersfield. At the festival. With Royal. And I was a goddamn hour away, not able to do shit if something happened to him. I clenched my fist and brought it up to my mouth, taking deep breaths.
“Call him,” Phoenix said, glancing over at me before starting the engine.
Maybe hewasa mind reader.
We drove away from the river and got back on the main road. I grabbed my phone and clicked on Royal’s contact photo.
Please, god, let him answer.
“Hello?” he shouted, as loud music played in the background.
“Hey. Are you okay?”
“Yeah.” A rustling sounded over the phone, and I assumed he was walking away from the crowd so he could hear me better. “Why wouldn’t I be?”
“Ameinias is still there,” I said, feeling my panic start to rise. “Royal? Did you hear me?”
“What do you mean he’s still here? He killed someone in Oklahoma. That’s why you drove all the way out there.”
“It was a copycat killer.” I tried to stay calm, but it was damn hard. “Is Brysen with you?”
“Y-yeah.”
“Stay with him, do you hear me? Don’t go anywhere alone.” My throat tightened, and I looked out the window, watching the trees blur past. “We think he’s at the festival. Just be cautious, and don’t get fucking wasted or something. Pay attention to your surroundings. Ruby and the other officers are there. I’d feel better if you found one of them and stayed by their side until I got there.”
“I don’t need to be babysat.”
“Don’t argue with me.”
“I’m not arguing. Areyouokay?” Royal asked. “You don’t sound good.”
“Because I’m fucking pissed,” I snapped, banging my fist against the door. Phoenix looked over at me, his brow wrinkled. “I hate that I’m not there with you right now. And I feel like I’ve been played, big time. We left town on theone daywhen we really needed to be there.”
