Page 23 of Bad Mother

“So... he’s not exactly sane but not so crazy that he doesn’t feel some sense of twisted remorse. So that’s why he’s writing his personal tale of woe out for us. It’s an attempt to assuage his guilt or explain why he is the way he is. His mother taught him everything he knows.”

Sienna nodded distractedly. “Yes. But if that were the case, he wouldn’t bother with all the games. The posing of his victim. No, he’s enjoying this. He’s probably even watching us,” she said, thinking of the strange prickles that had gone up her spine when she’d gone to see Lucia Pechero at the coffee shop and then when she’d been at the abandoned house with Kat.

“So what should we expect next? Is this the end of his story?”

Sienna’s phone lit up with a text, and she glanced at it.Gavin.Her heart gave an odd quiver. “One sec,” she murmured to Kat, opening the message.

Just checking in. Did anything come from that address on Allegra?

She sent a quick reply, not liking her reaction to his name on her phone.

Yes. We found another installment. I’ll follow up tomorrow. Heading home soon.

Sienna set her phone down, glancing at Danny Boy’s note and forcing her focus back to the topic at hand. “It seems like it could be the end of his story,” she said, picking up the conversation where it’d been interrupted. “But I think we should assume it’s not and look for the same types of clues in this letter that he put in the last.” She made eye contact with Kat. “I feel like he’s one step ahead of us. How do we get one step ahead of him?”

“For now? I think we have to follow along as he leads the way and hope that he messes up and accidentally reveals himself.” Kat’s shoulders rose and fell as she took in a deep breath. “However, a profile could help. There’s a guy who’s really good, and the department has used him in the past. He’s a professor at the University of Nevada. I’ll ask Ingrid if she wants to see if he’s available.”

“Sounds good,” Sienna said as they both stood, Kat placing the note they’d just read into an evidence bag so forensics could process it.

“I’ll make a copy of this,” she said. “You and I will see if we can make anything of it in the morning when we’ve gotten some sleep.” She yawned, and Sienna realized how exhausted she was too. It had been another long damn day.

CHAPTER TWELVE

Sienna pulled into her driveway, giving a small startle as a dark shadow stepped into the light. She relaxed the muscles she’d just tensed, turning off the ignition.Gavin. A pizza in hand. What the hell?

She got out of her car, hefting her briefcase over her shoulder as she nodded to the phallic cactus next to the walkway, the pink flower on top sprouting in a way that made it especially... suggestive, if not downright lewd. “I suppose that’s how you found me.”

He grinned. “Arlington is a short street.” He inclined his head toward the plant. “And that’s quite the eye-catcher.”

She suppressed a smile. “You shouldn’t pop out of nowhere in front of someone who carries a weapon,” she advised.

“Even if I pop out carrying pizza?” he asked, holding the box out in front of him with two hands as though presenting a case of jewels.

And frankly, at the moment, to her, it felt just as valuable. She hadn’t eaten all day. The scent of melted cheese and tomato sauce wafted up to her, and Sienna’s stomach growled, completely giving her away.

“Mushroom and olive, right?” Gavin asked.

“You don’t play fair,” she mumbled. “Also, this isn’t really appropriate, you know.” She scooted past him and the smell of the mouthwatering food he was holding.

“Why not?”

Sienna removed her key. “You’re a consultant on my case.”

“So?” he asked as she inserted the key in her lock. “Me being a consultant on your case practically makes us work partners,” he went on. “You don’t catch a meal now and then with coworkers?”

“Also, you showed up uninvited. At my home.”

“With pizza,” he repeated. “You sounded hungry on the phone.”

She let out a short laugh and rolled her eyes. “It was a one-line text.”

He shrugged. “I’m good at reading between the lines.”

“Ha.” She opened the door and then turned toward him, glancing at the pizza again. “Fine. Come in. But only because you’re carrying food and I am actually starving.”

Gavin grinned triumphantly, and that damn grin simultaneously made her heart do a weird flip-flop and made her grit her teeth in annoyance. She turned away from it, from him, and he entered the condo behind her as she flicked on the hall light and the overhead chandelier in the front room. Their feet echoed as they walked, Gavin following Sienna down the hall and into the kitchen, located at the back of the condo. The overhead lights flooded the space with a warm glow, and he stood in the doorway for a moment, glancing around. “I see you haven’t unpacked yet,” he said, nodding to the few boxes on the floor near the back door.

She shrugged, placing her briefcase on the end of the counter. “I was sort of thrown straight into the thick of things the moment I arrived,” she said. And though she’d meant workwise, she realized that what she’d said probably covered the fact that Gavin Decker was standing in her condo too.

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