Page 49 of His to Possess

Slaughtered.

I closed my eyes, gritting my teeth. I’d felt the stabbing notion in my mind for hours. I still had been unable to make any direct connections between the three victims. Nothing. They’d simply been in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Or so the killer wanted us to believe.

Us.

There was no ‘us’ in this case, no matter what my captain had ordered. I couldn’t trust Max in any way. Here I was, frightened to be alone. I took quick steps into my bedroom, grabbing my Beretta. As I walked out, I checked the ammo, sliding the gun into the back of my jeans. I was ready in case some asshole decided to make me his next meal.

I swallowed hard and headed back to my desk, nearly jumping out of my skin the moment I heard the sharp ring of my cell phone.

“God!” I barked out the word as I took long strides toward the dining room table, almost pitching the phone across the room in my effort to glare at the screen. While the number wasn’t one I recognized, at least the listing didn’t state ‘unknown.’ “Detective Kelly.”

Whoever was on the other end of the line said nothing, but there was a hell of a lot of heavy breathing.

“Okay, jerkoff. I’ve had just about enough of the bullshit games. I’m hanging up now!” I snapped, still holding the phone against my ear.

“Wait! Kathleen?”

I recognized the voice but from where? “Yes?”

“I’m sorry,” the male said, laughing. “I was thrown by you being all business. It’s Tyler. Tyler Ridgefield.”

I glanced at the time, another pang of anger slicing through me. “Look, Tyler, you seem like a nice guy and all but my advice to you is to stop being my father’s lackey. That’s not going to get you anywhere. I already told him I wouldn’t accept his generous offer and if you find it necessary, you can relay that to him again.”

There was ten seconds of dead silence.

“Um… I honestly have no idea what you’re talking about. Your father has no idea I’m calling, and I assure you, it has nothing to do with making you an offer, at least not in a professional manner.”

I slapped my hand against my forehead, biting back laughter. “Then what else is there?”

“I wanted to see if you’d consider grabbing a cup of coffee or a drink with me. Nothing nefarious, I assure you.”

I was so taken aback, I had no idea what to say. “That’s very… sweet of you, but I’m not certain it’s a good idea.”

“I promise you, we won’t discuss business,” Tyler insisted.

For some crazy reason, my thoughts drifted to Max. I wasn’t in a relationship with the special agent by any means, yet I felt guilty for even remotely considering accepting. Even my throat tightened up. “I’ll be honest with you—”

“You’re seeing someone. Of course you are. I’m so sorry,” he interrupted.

“No! Yes. Maybe. Hell, I’m not certain but it’s more about the time. I have to work on this case.” I heard the disappointment in his voice and he did what men usually resorted to when they were shut down. They formed an edge. “I really appreciate the offer.” In retrospect, I had the feeling he was information gathering more than anything.

“Well, maybe we can do something at a later time. I’d really like to get to know you.”

“That’s very sweet, but I have to go, Tyler. Thank you for calling.” I ended the call far too abruptly, but I simply wasn’t good with dating and I definitely wasn’t giving him any information.

When the phone rang again, I bristled, ready to snap at the man. I breathed a sigh of relief seeing the number of the coroner’s office. “Detective Kelly.”

“Kathleen, Lois Smyth. I’m glad I caught you although I know it’s late. I just wanted to touch base since I’m now going to be working with you.”

If the chief medical examiner had been assigned to the case, then there was a hard push from the mayor and the police commissioner’s office to secure a suspect.

“You know I work late, Lois. How is the third autopsy going?”

Lois exhaled. “Against my better judgment, I went back and took a look at the autopsies for the first two victims as well as performing the work on the third.”

“Cause of death the same as the others I assume.” The first two reports indicated the carotid arteries had severed, but not until after the victims had endured massive trauma.

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