Page 20 of For Wrath

"Dammit,"she muttered under her breath, gritting her teeth.

She thought aboutthe crime scenes, envisioning them, walking through them again in her mind. Itwas clear that the women had not been killed where they'd been displayed, sothe killer had taken them somewhere else, then brought them back. A bold--andstupid--move. But it didn't tell Morgan anything about where to go next.

She sighed,leaning back in her chair. She was stumped.

Maybe it was timeto bring Derik back in on this again.

CHAPTER ELEVEN

The sterile scentof antiseptic invaded Morgan's nostrils as she stood in Derik's hospital room,the sunlight filtering through the partially closed blinds, casting a patternof lines on the white linoleum floor. A heart monitor beeped steadily in thebackground, providing an unsettling rhythm to their conversation.

"Thought I'dbe outta here by now," Derik said with a weak smile, his voice strained."But they want me resting a while longer."

"Doctor'sorders, huh?" Morgan replied, trying to sound casual. Internally, she wasrelieved. Having Derik in one place meant she could keep a closer eye on him,especially with the newfound suspicion swirling in her mind.

"Yeah,"Derik sighed, settling back onto his pillows. "Anyway, let's talk aboutthe case."

"Right,"Morgan agreed, pulling out her notepad and flipping it open. "So far, wehave two victims: Sheryl Stewart and Bethany Good. Both over forty, bothwealthy, and both with a history of plastic surgery." She tapped her penagainst the pad, her brow furrowing in thought. "There's a clear profilehere, but we need to figure out how the killer picks his victims."

Derik nodded, hiseyes clouded with concern. "Have any leads turned up so far?"

"Nothingconcrete yet," Morgan admitted, feeling the weight of the unsolved casepressing down on her. "We're digging into their backgrounds, looking forany connections or patterns that might give us a clue."

"Keep at it,Morgan," Derik encouraged her, his determination evident despite hisweakened state. "We'll find this guy."

"Thanks,Derik," she replied, trying to keep her voice steady. "I won't giveup."

Morgan couldn'tshake the nagging feeling that there was still something she wasn't seeing,something just out of her reach. She needed to find the missing piece thatwould bring everything together and lead them to the killer. But it was hard tofocus on the case when her thoughts kept drifting back to Derik and theircomplicated past. Morgan had to admit, it hurt to think the bonding they'd beendoing lately had all been a lie. They had come such a long way, and she hadjust been learning to trust again, and now it all seemed futile.

"Hey,"Derik's voice broke through her reverie. "You alright?"

Morgan forced asmile. "Yeah, just thinking."

"Thanks forbeing here, Morgan," he said softly, reaching for her hand. She hesitatedfor a moment before allowing him to grasp it.

"Ofcourse," she whispered, her heart pounding in her chest as she looked intohis eyes. But the lingering suspicion wouldn't allow her to fully embrace thistender moment. She had to keep her guard up, at least until she could be sureof Derik's innocence.

Morgan's eyesscanned the sterile hospital room as she pulled her hand away, the beeping ofmonitors providing a constant reminder of Derik's condition. She clenched herfists, forcing herself to focus on the case.

"Derik,"she began, her voice low and serious. "There's something I've been meaningto tell you about this case. The killer... he returns the women to their homesafter he kills them. But it's clear they're not being killed there."

"Really?"Derik frowned, his brow furrowed in concentration. "That's a bold move.He's bound to make a mistake if he keeps doing that."

"Exactly,"Morgan nodded. "We just have to be ready to capitalize on it when hedoes." Her mind raced with possibilities, each more gruesome than thelast.

"Maybe weshould look into all the local plastic surgery clinics," Derik suggested,shifting uncomfortably in his hospital bed. "Both victims had a history ofplastic surgery, right?"

Morgan looked athim, nodding. "Yeah. We're in Dallas, so there are plenty of clinics to investigate.We've already cleared Bethany Good's surgeon, but I'll make sure to look intoevery surgeon Sheryl ever visited. I already checked out some and didn't getany immediate suspicions, but that doesn't mean there aren't any."

"Good,"Derik said, his eyes flickering with determination. "I wish I could be outthere helping you."

"Iknow," Morgan replied softly, watching his face. A wave of protectivenesssurged through her, quickly followed by doubt and confusion. Was it possiblethat the man she was growing close to again was the same one who had betrayedher all those years ago?

"Stayfocused, Derik," she whispered, pushing the doubts to the back of hermind. "Your job is to get better. Mine is to catch this killer."

"Deal,"Derik agreed, wincing as he settled back against the sterile white pillows."Just promise me one thing, Morgan."

"Anything,"she replied, her heart pounding.

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