Page 67 of Mistletoe and Malice
“Let’s see what we have.”
John gloved up, picked up the envelope by its edges, carefully opened it, and looked inside. “This is interesting.”
Turning the envelope over, he held his other hand under it and a lipstick tube fell into his palm.
She gasped. “That’s mine. I always carry it in my bag, but I haven’t been able to find it. But how—” Her breath caught. “My bag. It spilled onto the concrete during the—in the parking garage. He must’ve picked it up.”
Colton grimaced. “We already determined it was the same guy, but he wasn’t aware we’d figured it out. This is his way of telling you it’s him, and he knows where to get to you. It’s all mind games, Ri.”
And he was good at it. It might be time to call her doctor about a sleeping pill. At this point, she had no idea if a good night’s rest was anywhere in her near future.
John reached into the envelope and pulled out a folded sheet of paper.
Colton peered over his shoulder as he unfolded the page. “You’re kidding me.”
“What?” She launched to her feet, her pulse spiking at the vehemence in his voice.
John turned the letter around. A photo had been copied to the sheet. A picture of her standing behind the counter wearing a white apron, smiling and serving a plate to a grateful woman in a tattered coat and floppy hat. Colton stood right beside her. It had been taken from a distance, but there was no way the creep went through the line with her standing there. It had to be while shewas on the break Colton insisted she take, and he snapped this picture once they returned.
If they’d only stayed, this could all be over.
Colton’s forehead furrowed. “I know of two news agencies who were there. Maybe someone got this guy on film.”
“Good thinking,” John said. “I’ll get the footage.”
Riley lowered herself into her chair. “I would have recognized him if he was the same guy who grabbed me, Cole. I would’ve known his eyes. I should have never left the line.”
His mouth pulled into a frown. “Maybe. But we’ve seen he’s a master of disguise. You got a—what? Five-second look at him that day he tried to grab you? He was probably disguised even then.”
“I’d know his eyes,” she repeated. Her chest filled with heat. If only Colton hadn’t pulled her away. “And if he’d spoken to me, I would’ve recognized his voice. Trust me. I still hear it. Every day.”
With his lips pinched into a line, he turned back to John. “She also got another call. We tried to get a trace, but he hung up too soon.”
“How did you get the call?” John asked.
“Hallie put him through,” she answered.
“Did she put the two previous calls through?”
“Yes.” She took a deep breath and willed calmness into her shaking limbs. “But he gave a different name each time.”
“Means she’s heard him three times now, before he altered his voice to speak with you.”
“I didn’t think of that. But, yes. I would think she’d be suspicious of the voice I heard, so he has to be disguising it for my benefit.”
Colton nodded. “Let’s have her listen closely for any other callers who sound like this guy so we can get a head start on the trace next time. And we should put a tap on your phone here,catch him on tape, then we’ll have something we can go back to and listen for background noise. See if we can zero in on a location.”
“I can’t do that. I speak to or about my clients on my line.”
His face went slack. “Attorney-client privilege. Right.” He turned back to the detective. “Any luck on the phone records?”
John shook his head. “You were right. It’s a burner. And fingerprints on the previous cards include the lobby guard, Riley’s, her assistant, and a fourth that aren’t in the system. Good call getting baseline prints from her staff in case we ever needed to weed them out, and, of course, the guard’s are in the system as security personnel.”
Riley’s heart sank. “So we have nothing. Still. We’re no closer than we were before.”
“We’re going to get him, Riley. Trust me. Every day, we’re closer to the day he’s ours. We’ve all got your back on this.”
Tears threatened to spill. A weakness she couldn’t give in to. “I appreciate that, John. More than you know.”
