She was drowning in the beauty of his shocking, bright, blue eyes. It was such a contrast to his tanned skin and dark hair. Slowly, she reached up and laid her hand gently on the side of his face. His arm slid around her waist and pulled her closer to him. She breathed in the scent of his cologne, intoxicating her.
He dipped his head, bringing his lips closer, never taking his eyes off of hers. His other hand came up, slid around to the back of her neck and his fingers wove into her hair.
She reached up, running her hand over his arm, feeling his muscles move and play responding to her touch. Without hesitation, she moved towards him closing the gap between their lips. Just as they touched the sound of a door banging close by made them jump apart.
They stood staring at each other, their chests rising and falling, trying to catch their breaths. Evie couldn’t believe she almost kissed him. Serious, curl your toes kind of kiss. Her body felt heavy with want. Needing distance, she stepped away and went over to the table where there were photos laid out. “Ok, well, where were we?”
It was something she didn’t want to look at, but felt that she had to. They were crime scene photos. She picked up a photo that showed a tree. Setting it aside, she picked up the next one. This one showed a woman that had been twisted and broken in ways that weren’t natural. She was skewered through metal sculpture at an art gallery.
Anthony walked over to see what see was looking at. “That was Monique Diaz. She was a model and full of life. I was only in Paris for a short period of time; we went to that art opening together. They found her like that a couple of days later. There was an emergency at the London house so I’d left earlier than originally scheduled. I was never questioned since it was documented I was already out of the country. This was one of the ones that I didn’t know about until after Jeremy told Lexi there had been others.”
“Who was next?” Evie didn’t want to look at any more pictures, but she knew she had to. She also knew that she was going to be having nightmares tonight.
“Chelle Michaels. She was in L.A. for a teacher’s conference, originally from Pittsburg. We were staying at the same hotel. There was a mix-up and they ended up booking us in the same suite. She was very understanding about it, she was supposed to be in a regular room, the hotel didn’t have any available. Since it was a two bedroom suite, we ended up sharing it for a night. I checked out early and let her have it. They found her two days later in the room. It seems that her whole family is in law enforcement, they made sure that all of the photos and reports were sealed. I don’t have much on her. At the time of death, I was in a meeting surrounded by other people, so nothing came of it.”
Evie was thankful for one less crime scene she had to look at. Hearing about the lives they lived before being brutally murdered made the weight of what they were trying to accomplish even heavier.
Placing another smiling photo in front of her, Anthony continued. “Then we have Heather Roberts. A kick-boxing instructor from Phoenix, Arizona. She was on vacation in the Caribbean. We met at a club one night, hit it off. We were supposed to meet the next day and go sailing. She never showed up. I just figured I’d been stood up. This was another one I didn’t know anything about. It seems she’s still missing. Since she fits the profile, we can only assume that Jeremy was there, too.”
“Oh no! Her poor family. What they must be going through.” Evie didn’t want to think about it.
“It seems that he took a break while I was in prison. So the next one is Christina Cooper, the one found at the carnival. She liked men and was a little wild.”
“Maybe we could go talk to her ex-husband? Since we have extra time before Lexi and Noah get home, we shouldn’t waste it.”
“What could he tell us?”
“Who knows, but it’s better than just sitting around reading these reports over and over. Maybe we can get some little piece of information. Every little piece helps the puzzle come together. We should also go to motels around the area and talk to people who rented him rooms. We’ve gone over all of the police investigations, including the international ones. Maybe we can find something they couldn’t. I know, it’s a long shot, but we don’t have to worry about protocol.”
He sighed. “Well, you are right in the fact that it would be better than just sitting around waiting. So we start tomorrow?”
“Sounds good. Now, I’m sorry, but I need a break and it’s getting late. I think we should call it a night.”
He followed her to the door. “Evie, thank you.” When she started to shake her head, he stopped her. “Don’t say it’s nothing, because you know it isn’t. I really appreciate what you are doing not just for Lexi, but for me, too. She’s got a very special friend in you.”
“I’d do this for anyone.”
“Yes, I believe you would. Now try to get some sleep and forget about this for a little bit.”
She turned and walked out the door. With the screen door between them, she placed her hand on the screen. “Good night.”