“I know you are, dear, that’s why I’m calling. I knew you’d know how to handle everything. You have to promise me no one will find out about this. It would kill my husband if he found out.”
“Absolutely, Mrs. Kincaid. You have my word that I will keep this limited to the people working on the investigation.”
“Thank you, Lieutenant.” Taylor heard her take a big breath, steeling herself. “When Shelby called me, it was early Sunday morning. She knew her father would have already left for church, he always goes in early on Sunday mornings. She was crying so hard, completely hysterical. I finally got her to calm down, and she told me she had been…” Mrs. Kincaid was sobbing uncontrollably. Taylor made sympathetic noises until the woman calmed down. She finally got herself together and finished the story.
Taylor hung up the phone in shock.
Fifty-Six
Taylor was walking back to the conference room when Sam appeared at the end of the hall.
“T!” she shouted.
Taylor held up, and Sam jogged down the hall to her. Taylor could see this wasn’t going to be good news. Sam’s face was drawn, and she looked tired. Little wonder, they were all burning the candle at both ends. But there was something else in her face that sent a shiver down Taylor’s spine. Sam grabbed her arm and pulled her into Price’s office.
“Have you heard anything about the floater that was pulled from Old Hickory this morning?”
Taylor thought for a moment. “Oh yeah, the prostitute. Lincoln said he’s given you a positive ID. Why?”
“Better sit down, Taylor. You’re not going to believe this.”
“What? You already called off the wedding?” she joked half-heartedly.
“No, I’m serious. We’ve got a big problem.” Taylor sat down and Sam started in with the details.
“The prostitute didn’t drown. She was poisoned. Her liver presented just like Shelby and Jordan. Fox caught it and called me down. She was dead before she went into the lake.”
Taylor’s thoughts were spinning, and her chest tightened. “Aconite again? What the hell? She’s a complete breaking the pattern. Why would he…could she have been a test case? Was he trying out the poison on her to see how it worked?”
“Girl, I don’t know, but this thing is getting really screwy. Whoa there, are you okay?”
Taylor was having a hard time catching her breath. “He’s been out there doing this for fun. Just to see what would happen. My God, I can’t stop him. None of us can stop him.” She was wheezing and losing her focus on Sam’s face.
“Head between your knees. Good girl, now breathe. C’mon T, give it a shot. There, that’s right.” Sam was smoothing her hand along Taylor’s back. It was comforting, but she couldn’t seem to get a grip on herself. This was the second one today, damn it all.
She started to catch her breath just as Baldwin came into the room.
“Hey there, Sam, have you seen…Jesus, Taylor, are you okay?” He rushed over to her and knelt down beside the chair. “Is it like this morning?”
Taylor gave him a dirty look. She didn’t want anyone to know about this. She hadn’t hidden it from Sam; her best friend knew she was riding on the edge, but now Baldwin was on board, and Marcus and Fitz. And she suspected Fitz might have said something to Price too, damn his eyes.
Sam leaned back against the desk. “Second one today? You had one earlier?”
Taylor had her voice back and was feeling a little more in control. “It was nothing, Sam. I saw Jill’s posters and got upset. I spent two hours with the grand jury this afternoon, and I’m just worn out. I feel like crap. I need some antibiotics and a good night’s sleep, and everything will be just fine. Okay? So back off, both of you. Baldwin, Sam has another poison victim.” Good job girl, she thought. Focus their attention elsewhere.
“What?”
Sam pulled up her legs and sat cross-legged style on Price’s small desk. “We had a floater this morning. Black prostitute named Tammy Boxer, alias Mona Lisa. We thought she had drowned, but the post showed the same necrosis that was present in both Shelby’s and Jordan’s organs. This may have been your first victim.” She held up a hand, anticipating Baldwin’s next question. “And yes, I’m having the tox run on the fire vics. Maybe that’s your commonality, I don’t know.”
Baldwin was shaking his head. “Wow. This guy is getting around. How long had she been in the water?”
“At least a couple of weeks. Taylor said something about her being a test case.”