an alley. Same killer.” She bit her lower lip as she remembered the cartoon she saw anytime she thought of the two deaths. “I keep seeing the grim reaper. It’s like it’s the killer’s calling card or something.”
Dylan said nothing, just stared at her for several uncomfortable seconds.
He finally relented. “Get in the car.”
“Are you going to keep being an ass?”
“Probably. Would you just get in the car already? I want to show you something.”
“What?”
“Something that will help me trust you or prove you’re just taking advantage of the situation.”
Ah, he wanted to test her. That she could handle. She was used to skeptics. She usually reached out to the nearest spirit, asked them to peek over the skeptic’s shoulder, so to speak, and tell her whatever the answer was to his secret test. Piece of cake.
It was the uncertainty she felt over everything else that had happened that caused her to hesitate. It was as if everything she thought she knew about ghosts was turning out to be questionable. People came to her for help because she knew these things, dammit. How could she be so wrong? Was it this city? That old woman? What?
It took all of her effort to bury her pride and get in his vehicle. This wasn’t about reuniting her new boss with his brother anymore. This was about catching a killer, and she figured she didn’t really have a lot of choice in the matter.
One thing was certain though. As soon as she helped Dylan find the sadistic sonofabitch using Charleston as his personal playground, she was out of here.
The sooner, the better.
Chapter Four
How the hell was he going to pull this off?
Dylan rifled through the drawer, pulled out an old manila file, and then shoved it back in again. His idea had seemed like a good one on the ride back to the station, foolproof, even, but now that he was trying to figure out the specifics of it, doubts began flooding his mind.
His plan had been to give Alexandra some crumbs on an old case, one that had already been solved, and watch her flounder on the details, thus proving there was nothing extraordinary about her. When his plan worked, she’d hightail it out of here with her tail between her legs, and he could get down to business catching this killer.
But what if he chose a case that had gotten extensive media coverage, and Alexandra had caught some of the details on one of those forensics shows on cable? The case he’d originally intended to use went back in the drawer. It hadn’t been high profile, but he knew reporters had picked up on it. Damn. It didn’t help that his own knowledge of the solved cases here was limited. He’d only been here for a little over a year.
Maybe something older?
Detective Reedus walked past, and Dylan called out to him. As the bureau’s senior detective, Reedus had been the first person to welcome Dylan on board and had worked in Charleston forever. The man seemed to know everything. “I need a case that’s been solved without a lot of public knowledge.”
Reedus tilted his head and frowned, so Dylan waved him closer and kept his voice low as he explained why he needed the file.
“Psychic?” Reedus perked up. “Ah, geez, Collins, don’t tell me the Cap laid one of those on you.” He reached into the drawer, glanced through some files and retrieved one. He cocked a smile. “Pretty clever idea you had to call her out. Mind if I watch?”
Dylan opened his mouth to say no but thought better of it after glancing through the file. “Did you work on this case?” He gestured with the folder. It was thicker than he would have liked.
“Damn straight. Did half the paperwork in there.”
He didn’t want to waste any more time than necessary. “Then come on.”
Reedus walked into the conference room first, and Dylan almost plowed into the back of him when the older man suddenly planted himself on the carpet.
Reedus turned and backhanded Dylan’s bicep. “My colleague didn’t tell me he was working
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