Page 10 of The Girl He Wanted

Paige's eyes widened slightly as she realized what that meant. "There’s a chance that the killer is an experienced climber."

Especially with the fact that he’d been able to rig up a system to lift Bea Milling up here, it was the explanation that made the most sense.

Christopher nodded. "Yes, and he had to have planned this out well in advance. He knew the victim, he knew the location, and he had the equipment to pull this off."

Paige felt a sense of unease settle in her stomach. The killer was smart, resourceful, and skilled. That made him even more dangerous. They would have to be careful if they wanted to catch him.

"So, we're looking for someone with climbing experience. One who went to the trouble of rigging up a system to get Bea Milling up here."

Christopher nodded. "It narrows down the pool of suspects, but it's still a pretty broad category. There must be a lot of climbers out there."

Paige sighed. "Yeah, I know. But it's something. We need to keep digging."

She kept looking around the tower and started to wonder what kind of person would pick out this place. Who would think of this water tower to bring a victim?

Who would have access to it?

"Somewhere this old and rickety would require maintenance, wouldn't it?" Paige said.

"You're thinking it might be someone in one of the maintenance crews?" Christopher asked.

Paige nodded. "It's possible. They would have access to the tower and know the area well. It's worth checking out. Maybe someone on a council maintenance crew would also have access to the administration building with the clock tower."

Christopher looked thoughtful. "That's a good point. We should check out the maintenance crews in the area, see if anyone matches the profile we're looking for."

Paige nodded, feeling a sense of hope. Maybe they were getting somewhere with this case after all. She stood up, dusting off her pants.

"We should get back to the local precinct and start looking into this. If we get in contact with the city authorities, we might even be able to get a list of everyone who's worked on this tower over the years."

"After that, we'll need to find a way to cross reference anyone we find with climbers," Christopher pointed out. "It's not as if there's exactly a register of people who climb."

Paige nodded. She knew that, but it was the best shot they had. They would find a way.

As they made their way down the ladder at the side of the water tower, Paige couldn't shake the feeling of unease that had settled in her stomach. The killer was still out there, and they had only just begun to scratch the surface of his identity.

They just had to hope that what they'd found at the water tower would help them to find him. If they didn’t find him soon, then Paige had a feeling that more people were going to die before this was over.

CHAPTER FIVE

It wasn't easy, selecting the perfect victim, one who embodied everything he was looking for, but he thought that he had found her. Her name was Sarah, and she was a young college student who loved to hike and climb.

He had been watching her for days now—even while he was planning his previous work—studying her patterns and routines. He knew where she would be and when at almost every minute of the day. People were a lot more predictable in their habits than they liked to believe. It made them vulnerable.

He had already prepared everything he needed for the abduction. The rope, the drugs, the gloves, and the mask. He had even scouted out the perfect location for it: a spot near her walk home from the college she went to where she usually left the company of her friends. There would be a window of opportunity then, one that he wouldn’t miss.

He followed behind her now in his car, waiting for his moment. It was harder than it looked, following someone on foot using a car. It meant that he had to stop and start, finding excuses to pull over, waiting and watching as Sarah went about her day.

Sarah was still with her friends, but he knew that, soon enough, she would separate from them and take the path that he had been watching. He waited patiently, feeling the thrill of anticipation building inside of him.

Sarah seemed to be taking forever to split from her friends to go her own way. What if she didn’t do it today? What if they all suddenly decided to go back to her place together, or she wandered off with one of them to go to one of the stores that lined the street? In that moment, his plan felt so fragile, a thing that might blow away with the lightest breeze.

He had to tell himself to be patient. The plan would work, just as his plans had worked with the others. Even so, he found his fingers drumming a repetitive pattern on the steering wheel as he willed Sarah to do what she always did.

Finally, the moment came. Sarah's friends had said goodbye, and she continued down the street alone. He followed her, keeping a safe distance behind her. She had no idea he was there, even as he pulled up next to her, in exactly the spot he'd planned.

He exited the car, the syringe ready in his hand. There was no time to waste now, and no room for error. As he walked towards her, he could feel his heart pounding in his chest. He had done this before, but it seemed that it never got any easier. He had to focus, to stay calm and collected.

He approached her from behind, slipping the mask over his face to make sure that even if she saw him, even if she somehow got away, she wouldn't be able to identify him. This was a blind spot for cameras, but he wasn't prepared to take any risks. Everything depended on him not being identified before he could finish his work. In an ideal world, he would complete it and slip away, a ghost in the wind.

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