Page 11 of The Clearing Rain

“So, was this a crime of opportunity?”Nico asked.“Was it a sheer coincidence he happened upon them?”

“Don’t know,” Lacey replied.“But we know he must’ve been planning something, because he had the spiked water already in his car.”

Nico scratched at his three-day growth thoughtfully.Lacey liked him a little on the scruffy side, said it made him look dangerous, and who was he to argue?“Unless it wasn’t random.Could he perhaps have been following them?Just biding his time?”

“Perhaps,” Lacey conceded.“If it is the same killer, and if he did, we’re no closer to understanding why he’s switched from killing sex workers, to fresh-faced university students.And why he’s now torturing his victims.”

“No, we’re not.”Nico stared into Lacey’s face.It was still pale and there were lines of tension around her mouth.He tipped Lacey’s chin up with his thumb so that she was looking into his eyes.“But we’ll figure it out.He’s fucked up majorly by leaving Taylor alive.She’s our principal clue to hunting this guy down.”It was looking less likely in Nico’s mind that Taylor had escaped her tormentor; she surely would’ve remembered something about a fight to escape a madman if she had.No, the killer had let her go for some reason.They needed to figure out that reason and quickly.

“Yes, you’re right.”She smiled at him for the first time since they’d found the girl on the farmer’s back road, and a little of the tight band squeezing all the air out of his chest eased.“And I’d better get to the station and file that report.I’ve got a make and model of the car this guy was driving, so we can put out an APB.”

Silently, Nico thought it was a long shot.If the killer had an ounce of intelligence, he would’ve dumped that car like a hot potato as soon as he could.Lacey had dropped her gaze again, but hadn’t made any move to stand up to leave, and something in his gut tingled.

“What?”he asked.

She puckered her lips.“There’s something else.”

That band around his chest tightened a few notches again.

“While Taylor doesn’t remember much about the past few days, as soon as she heard my name, she burst into tears.”

“Yes,” Nico prompted, trying to keep the unease out of his voice, but that tingle was getting stronger.

“When she could finally talk after her tears stopped, she told me that my name was one of the few things she remembered from her time in captivity.She clearly recalls a man’s voice telling her to look for a woman called Lacey.That she could trust Lacey.That Lacey would help her.”

Nico’s blood turned to ice.“What?”

“I know.”Lacey laid a hand on his arm.“I didn’t show it at the time, but it shocked the hell out of me.”She worried at her bottom lip with her teeth, a move Nico usually found sexy as hell, but he couldn’t get his mind off this sickening news.

Now he knew why the killer had left the girl alive.

He was sending them a message.Singling out Lacey for some reason.But why?Was he threatening Lacey?Or was the threat aimed at Nico?Because if the killer knew anything about Nico, he’d understand that Nico would protect Lacey to the death.He’d leave no stone unturned to find this guy and nullify the threat.Why was he taunting them?Did this guy actually want to be found?

CHAPTER SEVEN

LACEY WOULD KILL for a soak in a really hot bath while holding a glass of ice cold chardonnay.But these were two more of the wonderful things she could no longer do while pregnant.Not that she dared look at a glass of wine after the other night.Argh.She needed a way to unwind from the stress of this harrowing day.How did pregnant women relax when they were denied the fundamental ways to do so?The best she could do was to locate the block of chocolate hidden at the back of the cupboard, tune into some Enya on her music app, and sit back in the comfy armchair with her feet up.Smudge sat below her chair, his warm, dark gaze resting lovingly on her face.At least Smudge was here for her.

She bit into a piece of dark, slightly bitter chocolate as she let the music soothe her.A foot massage would be nice, but she needed Nico here to do that, and he was still at work.Probably would be for hours.And she’d better make the most of the chocolate tonight, because it’d probably all end up in the toilet tomorrow morning.Her morning sickness was showing no signs of abating; in fact, it was getting worse.She’d been able to hide it from Linc this morning by nibbling on dry crackers when he wasn’t looking.The small mercy was that she seemed to be okay by lunchtime, and by then she was as hungry as a horse.But she hadn’t had the chance to eat lunch today, because she’d spent most of the afternoon with Taylor.Then she’d crammed down some terribly unhealthy “health food bar” from the vending machine in the hospital on the way out.

At the thought of that poor girl, Lacey’s woes were suddenly put into sharp perspective.She had nothing to complain about.Taylor’s mother had arrived at the hospital late this evening, so at least she was no longer alone.

After they’d found Taylor wandering on that road, Lacey had barely thought about her pregnancy all day.Which was probably a good thing.She’d worked many hours past the official end of her shift today, writing up reports, filing paperwork, and helping Sally-Ann research some of the mountain of things related to the murder case, trying to keep thoughts of Taylor and her absolute heartbreak at the girl’s horrific treatment at bay.One thing that kept circling round and round in her head was the way Taylor had cuts to just about every surface of her body.Why had the killer done that?It was another huge break in his well-established routine.He’d never sexually or physically abused them before.Why now?What did it all mean?

It was times like these that Cindi reappeared from the recess of her mind.The little girl never really went away, but as time passed, and with therapy, the horrible images faded.Lacey found hope the little soul was happy somewhere in a place full of pink dresses—her favorite color—where no one could hurt her ever again.Lacey had already booked in to see her wonderful psych tomorrow, knowing that to stay mentally healthy was always an uphill battle, but there were good people like Imran always on her side.

Her stomach growled, reminding her of how little she’d eaten today.She should get out of the chair and find something more suitable for dinner than a bar of chocolate, but her legs refused to budge.It was all she could manage to lock her gun in the safe in the kitchen, change out of her uniform, and dump some dog food in Smudge’s bowl when she’d arrived home.The best remedy for her would probably have been a workout at her Judo dojo, but she couldn’t even face that.Besides, it was already after nine and she needed an early night more than a training session.

Smudge gave a low growl, then stood and pricked his ears toward the front door.Lacey’s fifth piece of chocolate stalled halfway to her mouth as she strained to hear what had caught the dog’s attention.After Nico’s father had broken into their house right before Christmas, Nico had installed security cameras on every corner and reinforced the old windows with brand new, state-of-the-art security screens.She’d been afraid they’d spoil the colonial look of the cottage, but the screens were so discreet you could hardly see them, as well as being completely unbreakable.Now, no one would get into the house without her knowing about it, and Lacey relaxed as she remembered this.

But she needn’t have worried as Smudge’s growl turned into a happy waving tail and he bounded off to wait at the back door.Lacey heard the low drone of Nico’s motorcycle in that same second, and a wave of relief washed over her.

He was home.Early, considering the big case load, but that was fine by her.She’d be glad of the solace of his arms around her.That’d be just as good as a hot bath and a wine.But it meant she should probably see what they had in the way of food so she could cook them both a healthy meal.

She had her head stuck in the refrigerator when Nico came through the door.

“I’ve bought Japanese takeaway for dinner,” he announced over Smudge’s excited whining.

She straightened and looked him in the eye.“You are a god!”she said.“And I love you to the moon and back.”

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