Page 101 of In His Sights

What chance? They don’t even know who they’re looking for.

Dan tried hard not to believe that. Chance had brought him to that clinic, to the very man they sought. He had to believe it was also at work to guide them to him. And in the meantime, Dan needed to touch Christopher and pray he learnedsomething, no matter how small.

Remember the guilt? So overpowering you could’ve drowned in it? Work on that.

Christopher was keeping his distance.

Come here. Let me touch you. Just once.Dan prayed once would be enough.

He stared at Paul’s photo.He’s the key, the lever. Dan forced himself to speak calmly. “Killing all these men won’t get you closer to the truth.”

Christopher frowned. “What truth?”

“The knowledge that’s eluded you. The man who was responsible for your brother’s death.”

He sneered. “I already know. It was someone exactly like the sluts I’ve already dispatched.”

Dan kept up a silent litany to whoever watched over psychics and police officers. “And what if I could give you a name? Don’t you want to know?”

Stupid question. The longing on Christopher’s face….

He straightened his expression. “What are you talking about?”

Dan attempted a shrug. “You know all about me. You know how I work. It was in the papers, remember?”

That earned him another sneer. “Didn’t work so well for you this time, did it? You didn’t have a clue who I was when I approached you on Dix Street. And I don’t believe in yourgift.”

“You should. Because it’s real.”

“Oh really?” Christopher retook his seat, leaning forward, his elbows on his knees. “We’ve got time to waste. No one is coming. So how do you intend proving any of this?” His tone held amusement.

Come on. Give me something to wipe that smug smile right off of his face.

Something to shake him, and maybe buy Dan a little more time.

“I work primarily by touch.” Dan cocked his head. “Do you have something that belonged to Paul? Something personal?”

“What if I do?”

“If you give it to me, there’s a good chance I’ll know who was with him when he died.” He hoped. Hereallyhoped.Please, God, just this once? Let it work because I need this.Dan breathed deeply. “You said the police told you there’d been someone else in Paul’s apartment that night. Don’t you want to know who?”

Christopher swallowed, and Dan knew he had him on a hook. “Yes, I want to know.”

Dan glanced around the bare room. “Well… what do you have of Paul’s?”

Christopher didn’t move for a moment, and Dan’s heart hammered.Come on, come on, you know you want this.Then he got up and walked over to the desk again. He opened another drawer and withdrew a small carved box. He placed it on the table, opened it, and removed a gold chain. “I bought him this for his eighteenth birthday. He was wearing it the day he died.”

Dan gave him a hard stare. “I can’t touch it if my hands are tied, can I?” He was clearly no physical risk to Christopher, too slight to even contemplate overpowering him.

Christopher regarded him in silence, and as the seconds ticked by, Dan’s pulse quickened.He’s not going to do it.

“Will one hand be enough?”

Thank you, Lord.Dan nodded. Christopher put the chain on the table, went behind Dan’s chair, and freed one hand. Dan kept still as he fiddled with his bonds, not wanting to give him a thing to worry about.

Christopher placed the chain almost reverentially into Dan’s palm, and for one brief moment, Dan grasped his hand until Christopher pulled free.

It was enough. The emotions he’d felt as he’d held items from the crime scenes surged over him in a tide, only stronger and more vibrant.

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