Linked. Related. A dull ringing filled his ears. "It's not me." He was the only relative left. His hold tightened on Dawn. He turned his head, needing to stare into her eyes as he said, "It's not me."
Her gaze was wide, stunned.
"No." Samantha spoke quickly. "Your DNA is also in the system, and...after Bowen called me from Baton Rouge, I had the techs triple-check the results for me."
Fucking triple-check? She doubted me, too?
///
"The DNA found on the gloves matches some of your loci, too, Tucker, but not all. Again...our data indicates that the killer is related to you."
He couldn't read the emotions in Dawn's eyes. He only knew his own disbelief and fury were about to tear him apart. Tucker swung his head back toward Samantha. "I have no relatives. My mother is dead, she was an only child, and my father is long gone, too. He had a brother, but the guy passed away when my father was ten. There is no other family. There was me. There was Jason. That was it."
There isn't another relative. There isn't another killer.
Yet...
There had to be.
"There is no mistake with these results," Samantha continued as her chin lifted. "The analysts are paid to be very, very thorough."
"I don't understand." Dawn's hand was still in Tucker's but her gaze had darted to Samantha. "You're saying Jason has...what? A cousin out there? Another family member who is picking up where he left off?"
"Tucker was in New Orleans." Anthony's rough voice. "Did he tell you that, Dawn?"
A furrow appeared between her brows.
Anthony stalked toward Tucker. Anger seemed to hum in the air around him. "I did some digging on you when Bowen called in with that story about Heather's boyfriend. I knew you and Samantha Dark were in Fairhope, Alabama, around that time. You guys made coverage in all the news outlets, didn't you? Stopping the Sorority Slasher." His lips twisted. "But you didn't go back to DC when the case was done, did you?"
Fuck. "No, I didn't." He squeezed Dawn's hand, but then he let her go. "I had some vacation days due and I took them."
Anthony was smirking. "Right. Vacation. And you want to tell Dawn just what town you decided to visit for that vacation?"
Samantha already knew. Bowen knew. He could see it in their eyes. Anthony had done his digging, all right, and he'd immediately told them what he'd found.
"You were more than ready to have my partner play the role of the killer." Anthony's gaze glittered. "But you were holding back truths about yourself the whole freaking time, weren't you?"
"It wasn't relevant." He locked down his control. He couldn't let his own rage out as he talked to Anthony. He had to play this right. Stay focused.
"Hell, yes, it was." Anthony pointed to Dawn. "Does she know that you were in New Orleans? That after you wrapped up your case in Alabama, you came here? Right at the same time Heather was supposedly visiting her FBI lover?"
Fuck me. "I never saw Heather. I didn't know the woman at all. The first time I saw her face...it was when I was looking at her crime scene photos."
"Why come back to New Orleans then? Why were you here?" Anthony pushed.
"Plenty of people come to New Orleans." It was the first time Dawn had spoken. Her voice was stilted. "Happens every day."
Anthony shook his head. "Bullshit. He came for you, Dawn." He paused a moment and his head cocked as he studied her. "You know how you said you felt watched?"
"She was being watched!" Tucker exploded. "The killer was in her home, he was-"
"You were watching her," Anthony accused grimly. "You came to New Orleans then because you wanted to see Dawn. Only that wasn't your first trip to spy on her, was it? I kept checking, kept digging through your travel history. Since she moved to the area, you've come at least once a year to keep tabs on her. To watch her." He swallowed. "You know what I'd call that shit? Stalking."
"Tucker?" Dawn's fingers touched his arm. "You were...here?"
Don't lie to her. But his gaze swept the group. Two agents on his own team and one NOPD detective who hated his guts. "Is this an interrogation?" His voice was mild because it had to be. If he played this scene wrong, he knew where he'd wind up. "I thought you just said my DNA wasn't a match to the killer's."
"Maybe you're covering for another family member," Anthony threw out. "Blood comes before anything else, right? Isn't that the way it always was for the Frost family?"