When she thaws out. My God.
A crowd had gathered on the street. Everyone was watching and whispering. News crews were filming.
She heard a reporter saying the coroner had to be careful with the body transfer. The man stared earnestly into a video camera and explained to the viewers at home that there could be evidence in the freezer. Evidence that they didn't want washed away as the body melted.
I'm so sorry, Jinx.
"She wasn't in there long." Macey came to Dawn's side. Her voice was low, probably because she didn't want her words carrying to any of the reporters who watched the scene with eager gazes. "I could tell that much. She wasn't-"
"I saw her two days ago." Just two days. So she'd already known that her friend hadn't been in the freezer for an extended time. Is that supposed to make it better? Because it doesn't. Knowing that she was alive forty-eight hours ago means that she died while I was close by. She could have been dying when Dawn was pounding on her door that morning. She could have still been alive then-
Macey caught her hand. Squeezed tight. "This isn't on you."
"No, it's on the sick bastard who tortured my friend and then shoved her into her own freezer to die."
An image flashed in her mind. Jinx, tied, bound, slices all over her body. She squeezed her eyes shut, but when the vision was forever branded in your head, there was nothing you could do to block it out. "She died when I was one floor above her." And Dawn had never heard a thing.
"We are going to find him."
Her eyes opened. She stared into Macey's gaze. Dawn saw the other woman for exactly what she was. A kindred spirit. A survivor. She'd known that, though, long before she'd seen the scars that Macey carried.
///
It's in our eyes. The truth is there. She'd gone to a few support groups over the years, and the survivors always looked the same.
"Two more of our team members are flying in from DC," Macey told her. "With the second victim-"
"It confirms he's a serial." She already knew this.
But Macey nodded. "And the fact that he killed your friend, that he left roses on your bed...that means he's put a big, shining target on you."
Tucker was just steps away. He'd looked different ever since they'd found Jinx. His features were sharper, his gaze harder. She could practically feel the tension rolling off him. He hadn't wanted her opening that freezer, probably because he didn't want her to have that last image of Jinx branded in her mind.
"She was my friend," Dawn murmured. "I had to lift up the freezer and look inside. I had to find her." Her gaze was on Tucker as she said those words. Was he close enough to hear her?
Macey looked over her shoulder. "There are things we all have to do." She squeezed Dawn's hand and then let her go. "I hope you remember that. I hope you understand just what he has to do now."
Dawn opened her mouth to reply, but Tucker was already there. He lifted his hand, offering his palm to Dawn. "We need to go now."
"But...that's my home." She'd left a light on in the bedroom. She could see it glowing as the sun started to dip beneath the sky. Just how long had she been out there, watching the authorities work? Watching as Jinx was slowly removed and taken away by Julia? "I have to stay here."
"Both floors are crime scenes. You're not getting back in there tonight." He still had his hand out, waiting for her. Her hand lifted and pressed to his. Seemed to fit his. "I'm going to take you someplace safe."
Safe. She stiffened.
"I'll follow Julia and assist with the exam," Macey murmured. "I'll see you both later." Then she slipped away.
Dawn didn't move. "You're talking about a safe house." He was talking protective custody again. Basically, locking her up.
"I'm talking about a secure environment for the night. A place I know that bastard can't get to." He stepped even closer to her. "He was in your bedroom. He killed your friend. He is coming for you. The son of a bitch wants to finish what the Iceman started."
What if the Iceman didn't die? What if it's Jason, finally coming back to kill me? But she didn't say those words. She'd already told Tucker what she feared once. He'd been so adamant that Jason was long dead.
What if you're wrong, Tucker?
"So I'm just supposed to run and hide?" Before he could speak, she shook her head. "That's not really my style." She didn't hide from life. "Not anymore. But then, I guess you wouldn't know that, since you don't know me any longer." He only knew the girl she'd been. The broken girl who hadn't even been able to let her lover touch her without seeing a monster coming at her.