“What news?”

“It’s Ashley Wittman,” he said, while staring at his computer screen. He was shaking his head. He looked up at me.

“The girl who was with Henderson?” I asked.

“Yes. She’s been admitted to the medical center at Sebastian.” He looked up and met my eyes. I saw fear in his. “And get this. A guy came in with her, and he was found dead in her hospital room. Strangled.”

I grabbed my car keys and forgot all about dinner and homework with the kids. Joe had to take care of that tonight. My killer was escalating, and I had to stop him before he killed again.

FIFTY-SEVEN

Then

Kitty held the newborn tight in her arms. She was mesmerized by the beauty of his tiny face and loved feeling the warmth of his body against hers. Even the smell of him was divine. She smiled, feeling happy for the first time in a long time, as the baby fed from her. It had only been a week, and her body was still in pain sometimes. It looked different, and she was tired, consumed by caring for her little angel.

She thought for a moment about her own mother, and tears filled her eyes instantly. She would have loved to have shown her the baby, her grandson. She could use her advice now on getting the baby to sleep, and if he was getting enough food. She missed being able to talk to her.

Kitty sniffled and touched the baby’s soft black hair. He was so amazing, this little creature. So wonderful. She couldn’t dwell in the past now and think about her own mother. There was no time for it. She needed to focus on her baby boy and the future they held together. As a family. Even if it was taking place in this hot small shed, it was her life now, and as long as she held him in her arms, she was happier than she ever was on the outside.

She did miss the fresh air though. Damian hadn’t been coming to let her out like he did when she was pregnant. He had only been bringing her food and rarely spent any time with her and the baby. They never watched TV anymore either.

She kind of missed those days.

Maybe he is just busy with work. Saving the world from dangerous criminals.

Kitty still admired him for his heroism. He would often tell her stories of criminals he had chased down and locked up. She liked those stories. Of justice being served. Mostly because she could feel how it made him happy to tell them. He liked the way she looked at him, like a true hero.

In her mind that’s what he was. And she loved him for it.

Suddenly, she heard the bolt being pushed aside, and soon the door to the shed opened. Kitty looked up expectantly. Damian and Linda stepped inside. At first, she was happy to see Damian, but less so as she saw his wife’s face coming up behind him. There was something about the way she had looked at her lately, since the baby came, that made Kitty think she resented her. Maybe because Kitty could have a baby and she couldn’t? Damian had told her about it, that they hadn’t been able to make her pregnant. That’s why he was so surprised at how fast Kitty had become pregnant. And happy. He had been so happy too. He had always dreamed of expanding the family, he told her. And she had helped him with that. She was proud to have done that. Proud to be his woman.

But today something was different in the way he looked at her. When Kitty saw Damian’s expressions, she froze in place.

They both had an almost sinister look about them. It worried Kitty. Usually, Damian was so sweet and smiling when seeing her. He had no love in his eyes today. Had he stopped loving her? How did this happen? What had changed? Was she not good enough? Was he not happy with the baby?

Damian spoke first. He stepped closer.

“We need the child,” he said.

Kitty’s body tensed, and her grip on the baby tightened. She could not and would not let go.

What did he mean? Why did he ask for the baby?

“No,” she said, her voice shaking. “This is my baby.”

Damian’s wife stepped forward and put her hand on Kitty’s shoulder.

“It’s all right,” she said in a soothing voice. “You can trust us.”

Kitty looked into the woman’s eyes and saw compassion in them. It made her ease up. Slowly, she loosened her grip and handed over the baby, heart racing in her chest, fear rushing through every vein in her body. Damian took the child without a word, and his wife followed him out.

“Wait. Stop. When will he come back?”

But it was too late. The door slammed shut, and she heard the bolt close on the other side.

Kitty screamed, her heart aching with the sudden absence of the baby. She needed him back; she needed him close. She couldn’t live without him. Didn’t they know that? Crying, Kitty fell to her knees inside of the shed.

She had thought that this joy, this moment of bliss, was the start of a new life for her and her son. But instead, she was left in her prison, with only her memories of him for companionship.

FIFTY-EIGHTBILLIE ANN

I hurried inside the old hospital building and went up to the front desk. I noticed a couple of police cars out front and wondered if they were there because of the guy. I feared they were already interviewing Ashley. I hoped I could get to talk to her right away.

“Ashley Wittman’s room, please?” I said to the woman at the lobby.

She gave me the room number, and I rushed into the elevator. I got onto the floor, then walked out, seeing a lot of distressed faces on my way. The place was crawling with police, and that puzzled me. I stopped a nurse to ask for directions.

“I’m looking for Ashley Wittman.”

She clasped her mouth and shook her head. “You’re… you’re too late.”

“What do you mean I’m too late? Too late for what?”

She let out a small shriek. “She was… one of my colleagues walked into her room about an hour ago, and found her…”

“What do you mean, found her?” I asked, heart throbbing in my throat. “What happened?”

She shook her head, fear in her eyes. “She was dead.”

My heart dropped. Dead? How was this possible? Was I too late? Was I too freaking late?

I spent most of the evening in Sebastian, at the medical center, talking to the investigators in charge. I got as many details as possible from the medical examiner, and only had to take a brief glance at both victims’ necks to know that the bruises around their throats were a little too similar to those found on Cassandra Perez and Bryan Henderson. There was no doubt in my mind we were dealing with the same killer.

And possibly the same as Cole Durham, don’t forget that.

I called Tom and got him to find out everything on this Alex guy who had come in with her, and it didn’t take him long to find out that he lived in Sebastian, and we concluded that Ashley had to have been staying with him, probably hiding there, when the killer found them. The thought terrified me.

I requested that the casefiles be transferred to me and my department, so we could investigate further. What bothered me the most was the fact that Ashley had been alive when she got to the medical center, they told me, but died in her bed later. They couldn’t tell yet if she had died from her initial injuries, and just taken a turn for the worse, or if she had met her killer again in the hospital room.

I feared the latter.

Unfortunately, there was no surveillance showing anyone entering her room since the police came to talk to her, they told me, which struck me as odd. There were no recordings of anyone else going in there. Could the killer be someone from the hospital?

It was past midnight before I made it home to Cocoa Beach and drove into my street. I was so exhausted as I parked in the driveway and got out. The house was completely dark, and only Zelda came running to greet me as I walked inside. I took her out so she could pee, then went back inside and found Joe in the kitchen getting a glass of water.

He nodded to greet me. “Hi,” he said.

I took the leash off and the dog ran to her bed and lay down with her favorite toy, a stuffed porcupine that she had been gnawing on for so long she had pulled out all the stuffing and now it was completely flat. But she still loved it more than any other toy she had.