“It’s only a matter of time,” he continued, his expression dark. “I don’t know what it’s going to do to him.”
Dale would be following him today. Hoping for the big break, hoping it was Owen. What a coup that would be, and that he’d killed his stepfather when he was seven would be the icing on the sordid story. It would ruin the magazine, which would then be associated with a serial killer and not bracing adventures. Adrian would lose his dream, and by default, he would be covered in media soot, too. Then it would be “Beauty and the Beast.”
Even if Owen wasn’t Kiss and Kill Cupid, his unthinkable childhood and crime could be enough to do them in.
“I’m sorry,” she said, her voice sounding very small.
“Let’s go.”
“I’ll be right back. I need to get my purse.”
He accompanied her, though she was sure it was more out of his protective instinct than any desire to be with her. He remained near the front door while she walked into her bedroom. She reached for her purse strap and heard a noise coming from the closet. The door was ajar. Had she left it that way?
Another sound. Definitely coming from her closet.
Oh, God, he was striking early! She had to get Adrian. Swallowing hard, she took a step toward the door. Another one.
The closet door swung open. She lunged forward, but her heel caught on a loop in the carpet and sent her flying to the floor. Footsteps came up behind her. Kristy let out a cry of fear as she pulled her shoe free and spun around to face him.
Or…her?
Berta looked at her, her hands on her hips. “I’m missing my black-and-red skull shirt. I thought you might have taken it, seeing as you were rummaging around in my closet the other day. Lucky for you, I didn’t see it.”
She walked out, leaving Kristy to scramble up from the floor, her heart pounding. Adrian walked toward her, a mixture of confusion and worry on his face.
“What happened?”
She waved it away, just wanting to get out of there. On the stairway she told him what had happened. “It was dumb.” But her quivering voice gave away how frightening it had been when she thought the killer was looming over her.
“Kristy, admit it; you’re freaked-out. You don’t have to do this. We can try the police again.”
“No. Been there, done that, got the T-shirt.”
She walked beside him to the waiting car. They went to a diner that served old-fashioned breakfast fare: grits and sausage and buttery eggs. Neither ate very much.
“I was thinking,” he said, and he sure hadn’t said much, “that if we stage an argument, that will make him feel more confident about approaching you later. And it would make more sense as to why we spent the day together but not the evening.”
That wouldn’t be hard to do in his state of mind. “You could act as though I’d done some horrible thing when all I really wanted to do was put this guy who’s been killing women behind bars.”
He looked at her—he hadn’t done a lot of that, either. “Right now, Kristy, I can’t think about why you did what you did. I know you didn’t set out to ruin Owen’s life. You thought you were doing the right thing. But I thought we were in this together, then you went behind my back and opened a can of worms. Is Dale Soza out there watching you, hoping to catch the big bad killer in action for the morning edition?”
“No. I told him I would be fine on my own. That I was safe. And I tried to talk to you about my suspicions, but you wouldn’t hear of it.” She set her fork on her plate, giving up on the idea of eating. “I thought about my brother, and what if someone told me they thought he was a killer. I’d be incensed and hurt and probably blind to the signs. I wouldn’t be very happy with the person who was telling me. So I wasn’t going to push you on it. Maybe I made a mistake in going to Soza. If I’m wrong, hopefully he’ll keep his word.”
Adrian looked skeptical. “Forgive me if I don’t have a lot of faith in reporters.” He pointed to himself. “Remember, ‘Beauty and the Brain.’”
“Point taken.”
He leaned back in his chair. “I’ve postponed the trip to Wimberly, at least until we see what happens.”
Her heart dropped another notch. He was easing her out, of his magazine and life. She could only nod, her mouth stretching into a frown.
They walked around the city as planned, and the murmur of everyone’s thoughts crowded into her head. Again, she found herself wishing she could read Adrian’s thoughts. She knew she was in a bad state of mind when even the spring fashions in the windows and SALE signs didn’t perk her up. They wandered over to the theater and looked at the movie posters.