“Did you get what you wanted?” she asked.

“Let’s just say that the police were not forthcoming,” he said. “I was informed that the case is closed, and they have no intention of talking about it.”

“I guess we could try contacting the families,” River said. “Of course, Shelly Evans’s father is gone. We’d have to locate someone else.”

“That wouldn’t be hard. Just pull up the obituaries.”

River told him about her call concerning Cheryl Armitage.

“Do you think he’ll really reach out?”

“I don’t see why not, although April hasn’t drawn a dogwood flower by Cheryl’s name. I also noticed that this happened in the summer and the others occurred in December. Could be coincidence—or it might just mean that we have serial killers on the brain.”

“That’s not impossible,” Tony said. “I’ll see if I can scare up some numbers for Ted’s mother and Shelly’s family. See if they know of any reason April would make a note about a dogwood flower.”

“The dogwood symbolizes rebirth, resilience, and renewal,” River said.

“My turn to ask once again how you know that.”

River grinned at him. “I looked it up once.”

Tony shook his head. “Isn’t there some kind of religious meaning to it?”

“Yes. Some people believe the cross Jesus died on was made of dogwood. However, the dogwood isn’t native to Israel, so that’s not likely. I think the symbols can relate to faith though. But I wouldn’t put too much stock into it.”

“Well, it’s possible someone did,” Tony said.”

“You really think we may have another serial killer on our hands?”

Tony shrugged. “Probably not. But I want to know why April drew a picture of the same flower in reference to both of these cases, don’t you?”

“Maybe it was some kind of wish that both victims would be reborn with God. A drawing of a flower is pretty flimsy.” She sighed. “These deaths are so similar though. Both victims were found by the side of the road. Both had blunt force trauma to the head. No one saw anything. And . . .”

“They both had a physical condition. Shelly had MS and Ted was diabetic.”

River shook her head. “I can’t imagine that had anything to do with their murders. I mean, diabetes isn’t something anyone would know about unless Ted told them. And Shelly probably wasn’t showing clear signs of MS. I doubt most people would notice anything different about her. She may have been too weak to walk all the way to that ravine, but she was in the early stages.” She met Tony’s gaze. “You’re thinking of that case we worked three or four years ago when we were still at the BAU.”

“How could I not? The only time we ever profiled someone who killed people he decided were damaged.”

River and Tony had seen some awful things when they worked for the FBI. This case was one of the worst. A man named Edwin Siebert killed people he thought were impaired—marred in some way. He believed he was ridding the world of human beings who were a drain on society.

“His abusive father was deaf,” River said. “Siebert’s hatred for him triggered his killing spree. Thankfully, the police were able to catch him. He’ll never see the world outside of prison again. That was one time our profile was completely on target.”

“One time?” Tony said. “We did pretty well. Of course, we can only profile with the evidence in front of us, but you and I had a pretty good track record.”

“That’s because we are the queen and king of profiling.”

Tony laughed. “Okay, your highness, so what do we do next?”

“I think we need to work these three cases. Find out if there are any other connections besides the fact that they died near or on a road.”

“Cheryl Armitage was drunk,” Tony said. “Does she really tie into the other two cases?”

River thought for a moment. “Alcoholism is considered a disease. Could the killer have decided she was an alcoholic?”

“I don’t know. I mean, being drunk once doesn’t mean she had an ongoing problem. If she did, the killer would have to be someone who knew her.”

Tony and River just looked at each other. Had they just uncovered another serial killer from April’s cold cases? Could he be aware that they were investigating April’s cases? Was this the person who killed Kevin Bittner? The possibility sent a chill up River’s back.

CHAPTER

TWENTY-SEVEN

While Tony tried to find Shelly Evans’s family and a number for Ted Piper’s mother, River’s phone rang. Mrs. Weyland.

“Hello?” she said after accepting the call.

“Hi, honey. I’m sorry to bother you at work, but I thought you’d want to know.”

“Know what?”

The elderly caregiver hesitated a moment. “Your brother called. Instead of just comin’ by, they asked if they could have dinner here tomorrow night. I told them it was okay with me, but I’d have to see how you felt about it.”

“That’s fine. Eating supper might actually help to ease some of the awkwardness,” River said. “Are you sure this is all right with you? I can help with dinner.”

“I don’t mind cookin’, honey. I just wish I could be certain how your mother is going to take this. She’s . . . she’s a little flustered today.”

“What do you mean by flustered?”

“Confused. When I told her your father was comin’ tomorrow she got quite upset. Angry. It was as if he’d just left. I finally got her calmed down, but now I’m a little worried.”

River took a deep breath to calm herself. “You said that in the natural course of things, she won’t get better, Mrs. Weyland. I agree that this may be the only chance she’ll have to get things straightened out with my father. I think forgiveness could be very healing . . . for all of us.”

“All right, honey. I’m gonna call ’em back and tell ’em to come. We’re gonna need some things from the store. If you’ll watch your mama in the mornin’, I’ll fetch what we need.”

“Sounds good. Let’s just pray that dinner will go well. All we can do is give it to God.”

“You’re right. Thanks. And sorry to bother you. I know you’re probably busy. We’ll see you tonight.”

River said goodbye and hung up. She truly hoped her father and mother would finally find some peace, but the truth was, she really wasn’t that concerned about how her father would react if her mother was antagonistic toward him. He should have been here. He was the one who should be taking care of his wife. Not River. And not Mrs. Weyland. River’s only real concern was Rose. She planned to do everything she could to help her mother through this. She didn’t want to see her upset or humiliated. Since it appeared that all the details were worked out, River decided not to call her brother. There wasn’t really much point. When she saw Dan, she’d do her best to let him know she wasn’t angry with him. Hopefully, they’d also find a way to move on and mend the past.

River forced her thoughts back to the case she and Tony were working. The woman she’d spoken to at the police department had said that the Cheryl Armitage case had always bothered Detective Porter. The chance that Cheryl’s death was related to Shelly’s and Ted’s murders was a long shot. River certainly didn’t want Detective Porter to get his hopes up, but if there was any chance that all three were killed by the same person, she and Tony had to follow up.

The phone rang and River answered.

A man with a gruff voice asked for her.

“This is she. It this Detective Porter?”