“I’m here for a couple of reasons.” Arnie sat down in the chair near Tony’s desk. “First of all, that reporter? Brent Wilkins? He was taken in for questioning a little while ago in connection to the deaths of those young people you were concerned about. He hasn’t confessed, but officers found some interesting things in his apartment. Could be souvenirs from the crime scenes. From what I was told, he seems pretty shaken up—and very guilty.”

Tony looked at River and smiled. “Great job,” he said. “I know you went on instinct, but you were right. I’m proud of you.”

“Thanks, but we both profiled him. And April provided the real clues.” She frowned at Arnie. “Any disabilities? We profiled him as someone who might feel uncomfortable around people.”

“The officers said he had trouble talking to them. He’s a stutterer. Seems he writes his articles from his apartment. Doesn’t get out much. I’m not saying he’s their man, but if I had to bet my pension on it, I’d say he did it.”

Tony shook his head. “That’s amazing.”

“Yes, it is. Thank you both for your help. Now,” Arnie continued, “I know you said you’d come to get the thing we talked about, but I decided to bring it to you.” He frowned at River. “You sure about this?” He took a small metal box out of his coat pocket and put it on Tony’s desk.

“I am,” she said. “It’s the only way.”

“Before we get into that,” Tony said, “we have something else to discuss with you. In going through April’s cases, we may have uncovered a serial killer.”

Arnie’s eyebrows shot up. “Another one? Let me get this straight. April Bailey’s information has led to solving several cold cases—and now may uncover another serial killer? If this young woman is found alive, I want to talk to her. She needs to come to work for me.”

River grinned. “I was thinking she should come to work for us.”

Arnie grunted. “You know as well as I do that there are more serial killers out there than the public knows about. Too many of them are getting away with it. A recent study said that there are over two thousand serial killers active right now. Killers who haven’t been caught—and might not be. So any time we take one down, I’m relieved. Even if it’s only a drop in the bucket.” He sat down next to Tony’s desk. “So, tell me about this one.”

As Tony began to go over the flowers found at both murders, Arnie’s face turned pale. “Are you okay?” he asked his friend.

“Not really. Recently, one of my detectives pointed out something about silk dogwood flowers discovered near a couple of bodies. One was in an apartment. We assumed they were some kind of decoration. There were a lot of broken items in the room, including a vase that was full of fresh flowers. The detectives in charge assumed the dogwood flowers were added to the vase to make the arrangement look larger.”

“The two deaths April was investigating happened outside,” Tony said. “Doesn’t mean they’re not connected, but as you know, serial killers are usually driven to follow established patterns. Even to the point of obsession.”

“But what if our killer’s signature is leaving the flowers at a crime scene—not where he leaves the bodies?” River interjected.

Tony nodded. “We’ve seen that before.” He frowned at Arnie. “You mentioned a couple of bodies?”

“One was recent,” Arnie said. “Very recent. A body found not far from here. She was in an alley, behind a small mall. Head bashed in. Our Crime Analysis Unit processed the items discovered at the scene. One thing they found was a sprig of white silk flowers. I might be wrong, but I have a strong feeling they were probably dogwood. Can you compile your information and email it here?” He picked up a pad of paper from Tony’s desk. “She’s the lead detective on the case. Before you send it, I’ll let her know it’s coming.”

“Sure,” Tony said. “By the way, were either of these victims disabled or sick?”

Arnie’s eyebrows knit together. “I don’t think so. I don’t remember anything like that. Why?”

“Shelly Evans had MS, and Ted Piper was diabetic. Could be a coincidence, but we wondered about it.”

“I’ll check, but I don’t think so. Were these physical problems readily apparent?”

“You mean would the killer have noticed it by just observing them?” Tony asked. “No, I don’t believe so.”

“Then I’d mark that down to coincidence, but I’ll still run it by my detective. Sometimes catching these guys is like putting together a puzzle. You’re never sure what piece goes where.”

“You’re right,” Tony agreed. “Will you keep us in the loop? This might be the person who’s been threatening us and Nathan—and who may have killed Kevin Bittner.”

“Sure, not a problem.” Arnie looked back and forth between them. “I’m still hoping for a confession from your Casanova guy. I’ll keep you updated.” He smiled at them. “So do you two plan to solve all of April’s cases?”

Tony shrugged. “That would be nice, but it’s probably unrealistic. Right now, we’re trying to focus on our client, Nathan Hearne. He wants to know what happened to April. If this guy is responsible for these other murders, he may be the one trying to keep us from looking too closely at her cases. Which is good news and bad news.”

“What do you mean?” Arnie asked.

“The good news is that we can give you a profile that should help you find him. The bad news is that if he’s the one who took April, we can be almost certain that she’s dead.”

CHAPTER

TWENTY-NINE

River had to agree with Tony, but she wished it could be different for Nathan’s sake.

“Before I leave,” Arnie said, “I want to talk to you about this.” He tapped the box.

“I’m not crazy about this plan either,” Tony said. “But we agreed that this was our best option. We have to make certain this ends now. Without any evidence, I can’t come up with a better plan. This may be our only way. At least now we have control, and we’re better off than we were just waiting around for something terrible to happen.”

“I hate to agree, but I do. I just wanted to check with you one more time.”

“I’m convinced it will work,” River said. “I’m confident everything will work out just the way we planned it.”

“All right,” Arnie said. “But be careful and stick to our arrangement.”

“Trust me, we will,” Tony said.

After promising Arnie they’d send him a profile and that they’d also email him everything they had on Shelly and Ted, Arnie left to go back to the station.

He’d only been gone a few minutes when someone else opened the door. A young woman stuck her head inside and asked, “Is River Ryland here?”

“I’m River.”

The woman came inside holding a vase full of white lilies and baby’s breath. She set it down on River’s desk and smiled. “Have a good day,” she said. Then she left.

“What in the world?” River said. She stood up and removed the card from the flower arrangement. When she read it, she looked over at Tony. “Can you guess who this is from?”

“Not a clue. It wasn’t me.” River walked over and handed him the card. Tony’s face flushed and he looked angry. “Sorry for your upcoming loss?” he read. “This makes me furious.”

“I know, but he’s just reminding us he’s around.” River smiled at him. “I’m not afraid of him anymore, Tony. God is teaching me that no matter what, I can rest in Him. I’ve been memorizing Psalm 91. It ends with this: ‘Because he has set his love upon Me, therefore I will deliver him; I will set him on high, because he has known My name. He shall call upon Me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him and honor him. With lone life I will satisfy him, and show him My salvation.’” She put her hand on Tony’s arm. “This guy may think my life is in his hands, but it isn’t. I believe God will deliver me. There are things I want to do. I need to be here for my mother . . . and you. I’m not worried. The only person who should be afraid is the Strangler’s accomplice. He’s almost done.”

Tony nodded. “I’m so proud of you,” he said, his voice husky. “You’ve changed so much. Now you’re the one reminding me that I need to trust God.”

“You showed me how.”

Tony smiled at her. “Should I call the flower shop? See what they can tell us?”

“No. We can do it later if we need to. Besides, you know as well as I do that he paid cash, and he went to a shop without cameras. He’s too smart to have done anything else.”

“All right. We’ll let the police follow up if they need to.”

“Let’s get back to work,” River said, walking back to her desk.