Anger grabbed her. “He had no right to tell you.” So what if he chose cop rules over his relationship with her?
“Hold on. He called this morning to tell me they recovered the skull at Steven Dalton’s place. She’s safe and sound in police lock up.”
The relief caught in her throat was replaced with annoyance. Why hadn’t Hunter had the courtesy to tell her himself? “That’s wonderful.” She knew she sounded less than enthusiastic.
“I think he plans on going on the news with the skull. Maybe we’ll get our ID yet.”
“Not yet, he can’t. I only glued on the tissue depths markers. I need to put the clay on the face. I guess that will be my job for the next week.” Not to mention preparing for her classes.
“Well, good luck.” Her mentor gave her a quick hug.
“Thanks.”
Kerry turned away before the tears came. She wasn’t so much upset because she was leaving this office, because she could visit, but losing Hunter... He hadn’t trusted her enough to share his find. He knew she worried about going to jail, so why hadn’t he called?
Sure, he’d phoned once or twice this past week and asked how she was feeling, but now the threat of the killer was gone, he’d practically disappeared. She thought they’d had something special. What a fool she’d been.
She punched in the code for her lab door, left it ajar to air out the place, and dragged herself over to her chair. The sterile room looked as lifeless as her soul.
The bright lights hurt her eyes. She’d miss this place, but not the trauma. Teaching, at least, would be a safer job than trying to find the victim’s identity.
Safer, yes, but also more boring.
And lonelier without Hunter.
God, why did everyone abandon her?
Her shoulders slumped as the lab door eased open. She looked up.
“Hunter?” Her heart beat so fast she thought it might burst.
He was dressed in black slacks, a fitted white shirt open at the throat and loafers. Loafers? Hunter wasn’t the loafer type. But man, did he look hot.
“In the flesh.” His smile melted her heart. She pushed everything bad aside.
He swung his right hand around as he came near. In his grasp were twelve blood red roses. He held them out to her.
“For me? I thought –”
“I know. I’m sorry. I’ve been busy thinking.”
Before she could say anything, he lifted her up from the chair and kissed her. Wow. Her lips sizzled from his touch and his musky cologne nearly sent her over the edge with desire.
“Hunter.”
He grinned. “Save that thought. Gather your things.” His voice held a mystery.
“What’s going on?”
“You’ll see.”
The depression that had taken over her was suddenly gone. In a flash, she picked up her brown satchel with her now clean tools along with her purse.
Outside, the heat hadn’t relented, but at the moment, Kerry didn’t care if the temp shot up to a hundred and ten. Being with Hunter was all she cared about.
He escorted her across the street and stored her gear in his trunk.
“I don’t want to leave my car in the lot,” she said.
“Not to worry. Susan picked it up an hour ago.”
“Susan?”
Hunter held open her door. “Your sister. She even packed a bag for you.”
“A bag?” Why did she keep repeating everything he said? Kerry slid onto the passenger seat not comprehending what was happening. Hunter jumped in and jabbed the key in the ignition.
Kerry wanted to clear the air between them. “Dr. A told me you found #3’s skull. Why didn’t you tell me?”
“I wanted to surprise you.”
“Surprise me?”
He pulled out of the parking lot and headed toward the Interstate. “You’ll just have to trust me.”
Trust. There was that word again.
31
After a wonderful lunch at a restaurant overlooking the Gulf of Mexico, Hunter headed further south toward Siesta Key. Windswept trees and colorful plants, abloom with pinks, oranges and yellows surrounded the homes that faced the Gulf.
Natural, beautiful, serene.
“Where are we going?” Kerry asked for the umpteenth time. She hadn’t been able to contain her excitement ever since he’d picked her up. No one had ever surprised her like this before.
“As I said, it’s a surprise, but I will give you one piece of good news to help tide you over.”
She wanted to smash him. “Tell me.”
“When we searched Paul Dalton’s house and office, we found mementoes from the women he’d killed.”
“Mementoes? Like what?”
“Mostly jewelry. Something to remind him of the women he saved or so he claimed. I’ve been spending every waking moment meeting with the victim’s relatives and friends, trying to confirm the jewelry belonged to the deceased. Believe me, it wasn’t easy.”
“Wait a minute. Paul Dalton admitted to killing those women?”
“Saving those women, you mean? Yes.”
That made no sense. “How did killing them save them?”
Hunter pulled to a stop at a light and turned to her. “He said he and his older brother had been abused as children. Seems his father had an untimely death. Paul Dalton was never sentenced, but the locals are still convinced he killed his dad.”
“Steven Dalton told me how his father, Paul’s brother, would beat him when his dad got drunk. He also admitted to killing his dad. Their stories sound the same.”
“Abuse runs in families.”
“In a way, I don’t blame either of them for killing their abuser.” The look on Hunter’s face made her hold up her hands. “I know that’s illegal, but I can see why he’d be pushed to murder. Abuse can destroy all sense of morality.”
“I see you two bonded before he buried you.”
“Not so much bonding—more like bondage.” God, what a nightmare that had been.
The light changed and Hunter drove on. Kerry pushed aside the Dalton family saga. Instead, she marveled at the clean row of upscale shops and sidewalks lined with palm trees.
Hunter pulled into a pink and green one-story motel. Small cabins dotted the shore. “I thought you could use a little R&R after your experience.”
“That sounds wonderful, but I wanted to work on skull #3. She’s not finished and I wanted to get her in front of the camera as soon as possible.”
“That’s part of the surprise. Once we had proof that a serial killer murdered the women in the field, Jack Andries was willing to foot the bill for someone to finish the recreation. In fact, he found your old instructor from the FACES lab for the job.”
“Kimberly?”
Hunter nodded.
“That’s wonderful. Now I know we’ll find #3’s identity.”
Kerry was able to relax for the first time in months. Once Hunter checked them in, he carried their bags into the tiny efficiency. Clean, with a seaside motif, it was a perfect for a romantic getaway.
“Change into something cool.” Hunter opened his suitcase and pulled out a pair of blue swim trunks. “I want to walk on the beach with you by my side.”
Excitement rippled through her. “That sounds divine.”
As she turned, Hunter’s cell rang. “Hi, Jack.”
Now what did his boss want? If Hunter had to leave on another case, she’d scream.
“No fucking way. You sure?” Hunter faced her, his brows raised to the sky. Then came a chuckle. “I never would have guessed.” A smile lit Hunter’s face.
She mouthed the word, what, but Hunter held up a finger.
“Sure, I’ll tell her.” He disconnected. “You will not believe this.”
“What?”
“Paul Dalton is a woman.”
The wind through the palm trees, along with kids screeching on the beach must have made her misunderstand. “Did you say Dr. Paul Dalton, our resident killer, is a woman?”
“Yup. Carla Pendowski, who’s a computer wizard at the department, researched Paul Dalton’s background once they saw he was missing his man parts when they checked him into jail.”
Man parts? “It’s called a penis. You can say it.”