“Yes, you did.”

“This disease is cruel,” Mrs. Weyland said slowly. “I wish I could keep it from hurtin’ you, but that’s not possible.”

River felt her stomach tighten. “Just tell me.”

“When you left the kitchen after supper, your mama . . .” She took a shaky breath. “Your mama asked me who you were.”

Even though River had been mentally prepared for what she knew was probably coming, Mrs. Weyland’s words felt like a punch in the stomach. She tried to respond, but she couldn’t seem to catch her breath.

“Oh, honey, I truly didn’t want to tell you about it, but I felt I had to. She’s your mama, and my job is to take care of her and keep you updated on her progress.”

“No, it’s okay,” River said, unable to keep her voice from quivering. “It just took me by surprise.”

“If it matters, she’s in her room now, watchin’ TV, and she asked me to tell you to come and say good night before you go to sleep.”

“So, she only forgot me for a little while . . .”

Mrs. Weyland nodded. “Yep, just for a couple of hours, but in most cases, if this disease takes it’s natural course, it will happen more and more.” She leaned forward and gazed at River intently. “The biggest mistake we can make is to forget about Jesus in all this. He’s a healer, honey. I don’t want to strip away your hope. Let’s believe for the best, okay?”

“I will. Thank you. And let me think about this thing with my dad, all right? It sounds like a good thing, but I don’t want to jump into it too quickly.”

Mrs. Weyland rose to her feet. “I’ll pray that God will give you wisdom about it. Good night, honey.”

“Good night.”

After Mrs. Weyland left the room, River just stared at the open notebook in front of her. She couldn’t really make sense of the words scribbled on the pages. All she could think about was her mother . . . and the father she’d once claimed she’d never forgive. What was more important here? Her mother’s stability or her father’s need for absolution?

CHAPTER

ELEVEN

He drove past River’s house. The lights were on. They were all awake. River’s time was running out quickly. He would make his move soon, but as he waited for the perfect time, he’d started to believe that a reminder that he was watching her, planning her demise, was needed.

He had to be careful. If his action was too violent, River and St. Clair might pull up roots and put themselves out of his reach. But until their destined meeting, he had to make her wonder if he was still here. Still stalking her.

Whatever he decided to do, it would be soon. River Ryland was facing extinction—and he was her executioner. He wanted her to remember that. Then, when it happened, she would recall that he warned her. That knowledge made him smile.

RIVER WAS GETTING READY to head to her mother’s room when her phone rang. It was Tony. She picked it up.

“Hey there, what’s going on?”

“Just wondering how you’re doing. I’ve gone through Nathan’s phone. Calls from work and to work. A few calls to family and friends. I’ll check out the names a little more, but there’s nothing that makes my inner alarm go off. As far as April’s phone, there aren’t any recent calls listed, but there are several numbers in her phonebook. I’m writing them down. They don’t mean anything to me, but they might be somewhere in April’s notes.”

River sighed. “Well, her notebook is interesting, but it’s going to take me a while to go through it. She took really good notes. Lots of them.”

“What about the Casanova case?” Tony asked.

“I was just looking at it. April believes it was connected to two other murders four years earlier.”

“Anything that makes you think she was right?”

“Photos of the crime scenes look very similar, but she wasn’t able to prove a connection,” River said. “I was thinking about the possibility these kids were killed by the same person, but if they were, we’re missing something important.”

“No one took credit for it?”

“Exactly,” River said. “As we know, serial killers are narcissistic. They want people to know who they are. What they’ve done. I can’t find anything that makes me think the killer got attention for himself. Also, I’m not finding a signature. Except for the way the teenagers were killed, where the bodies were found, and the time of year they died, nothing else links them. And killings in parks during the winter certainly isn’t unusual. It happens because they’re usually deserted. Oh, and the killer didn’t use the same gun.”

“But if these murders are related and we wrote a profile for them, what would we be looking at?”

River paused a moment before saying, “This may be a waste of time, but let’s give it a go.” She thought for a moment before saying, “Okay, the killer would have to be a younger man since he was able to overpower these teenagers. He probably presented himself as someone non-threatening. These parks were basically empty of people or traffic. Perhaps he told them he worked for the park. Like a security guard. Or he could have been dressed like a police officer who was there to tell them they needed to move on.”

“Like Dennis Rader,” Tony interjected. “He was a city compliance officer. That made it easier for him to get close to his victims.”

“Exactly.” River couldn’t stifle another yawn, but she wanted to keep going. She and Tony had worked on a lot of profiles for the FBI. It was a part of her. She couldn’t help but think along those lines.

“He’s probably white since most serial killers are Caucasian. My guess is he chose young lovers probably out of some kind of jealousy.”

“Which means he may not be that attractive,” Tony said. “Or he has something that makes him feel inferior. A disability? Perhaps he’s a stutterer? We’ve seen that combination before.”

“Possibly,” River said. “Honestly, we may be reaching. I couldn’t find much to convince me these cases are related. We can talk about it more tomorrow. I’ve just begun to look through everything. April’s notebook is pretty big. Every page filled, plus notes, articles, and photos stuffed into the sleeve in the back. Like I said, this will take some time.”

“Well, I copied the files from both the laptops to a USB drive.”

“Good. So, I guess I’ll see you in the morning.”

There was a short pause before Tony said, “Yes. Are you still upset about having your own personal chauffeur?”

“I know you’re trying to be careful, but why do I have this picture in my mind of being eighty years old and waiting for you to take me to get my blue hair permed?”

“You plan to have blue hair?” Tony said. “Not sure that would be a good look for you.”

River sighed loudly.

“Look, once the Strangler’s accomplice is behind bars you can drive anywhere you want,” Tony said, his tone firm. “But until then . . .”

“I know, I know. Big Brother is watching out for me.”

Tony chuckled. “I think the phrase is ‘Big Brother is watching.’”

“I edited it. Fits my situation better.”

This time, he laughed out loud. Tony’s laugh erupted from somewhere deep inside him and then bubbled up to the surface. River hadn’t laughed a lot before she met him. Even when they were working at the BAU, he had the ability to break the tension of the job with a dumb joke or by kindheartedly teasing someone in a way that would make everyone laugh. He was able to bring a touch of healing to the horror they faced on a day-to-day basis. River had never really poked fun at anyone before Tony taught her how. Now, she felt free to tease him whenever she wanted to. There was no way to explain the joy he’d brought into her life, or how he’d helped her find her way to a God she’d never really known.

“I need to go,” she said. “My mother wants me to come by her room and say good night. After that, I’m going to look through this notebook a little longer. As long as I can stay awake, that is. April could have worked in law enforcement. Her instincts were excellent. She was a natural.”

“We can talk about it more in the morning,” Tony said. “Breakfast before or after we go by Nathan’s place?”

“If we have to be there by eight o’clock? After, please.”