Hearts on Fire 9: Her Shadows of Light(6)
Jeffrey immediately saw the pictures of the victim burned to death. The coroner had stated the flesh was burned prior to the room being set on fire, and it had obviously been done to destroy evidence.
“We also matched the same chemical substance on the clothing remnants of the victims in the last three cases you felt were linked because of the MO. I’m currently getting a hold of the material sampled from previous female arson victims around Connecticut that you believed could be linked. So far, three others contain that same white substance, and my technicians are running those through testing. I should know within the day if the same chemical was used on the others.”
“Holy shit. This is great news,” Investigator Voight told her.
“Do you have a list of the chemicals so we can look into where a person can get these things?” Jeffrey asked.
“Sure do.” She handed him a copy.
“You can’t buy the chemicals in regular stores, but there are sites online, and you can have it shipped right to your home.”
“Shit, that doesn’t sound like it will be easy to track,” the arson investigator said.
“No, but as we continue to look into these women who were burned and murdered, we might be able to find that one link, that person they all knew and, from there, who that person was and where they are now. We’ve got our work cut out for us, but now that the other few cases are linked, we can get all the info on those women and start looking for the connection. Let’s move. I want to find this asshole before some other beautiful redhead gets killed,” Jeffrey said, and they all agreed and headed out of the lab.
* * * *
“Thanks for picking me up,” Pat told Tobin as he got into the truck. “The truck is all finished. Mercury and Frank said it needed a new power steering hose. They ordered it in and should have the truck ready by seven tomorrow morning.”
Pat was in uniform from the police department, and Tobin still had on his dress pants, badge, and gun from working, too.
“It’s not a problem. I was working late on a case.”
“Anything interesting?” Pat asked him.
Tobin shook his head. “It’s been going on for months. Just as we get close to our suspect, some new information arises and makes it seem like there’s more people involved. I’m hoping for an arrest by next week, if not sooner.”
Pat chuckled. “I hope so, too. Maybe you’ll be able to make it to the Station with us Saturday night for some college ball?”
“Sounds good to me. I’m sure I’ll need the break by then. Are Reece and Rusty off from work?”
“I think so. We’ll have to check with them.”
“Hey, you see that over there,” Tobin said to Pat.
Across the way, there was a beat-up convertible with hazards on, and it looked like the tire was going flat.
“Yep. Flat tire.”
As they slowed down, his brother made the U-Turn and came back around. Just as he approached, he saw another car pull up.
“Good Samaritan is going to help,” Pat said just as Tobin flipped on the police lights.
A woman got out of the convertible, and her long red hair whipped around in the wind. The car that had slowed down stepped on the gas and took off.
“Guess not. Looks like we’re the Good Samaritans,” Tobin said and put the car in park, and they both got out.
“Got some car trouble?” Pat asked.
As the woman walked by the tire, dressed in a sexy business dress that showed off one hell of a body, Pat heard the horn honk, looked over his shoulder, and saw a sports car cut off a truck. The truck swerved, and Tobin grabbed Pat and the woman, pulling them to the side. Pat grabbed the woman tight, heard her scream, and then the truck whizzed by, clipping the side mirror of her car.
“Jesus! Are you both okay?” Tobin asked.
Pat nodded.
“Miss, are you okay?” he asked her, still holding her close as he looked down into the most beautiful green eyes he’d ever seen. She looked shocked and about ready to cry.
“Oh God, you both saved me. They would have killed us. God.”
He felt her shaking. He caressed her arms, and Tobin was calling into his cell phone, giving license plate numbers and the make of the car and the truck.
Pat couldn’t believe how beautiful the woman was.
“Are you all right?” he asked again, and she nodded.
“I’m sorry. Holy God, that was crazy.”
She pulled back, and he didn’t let her go a moment. She was stunning, and he wanted to know more about her.
“Uhm, you’re a police officer?” she asked him, and he gave a soft smile and released her. “Just got off duty. My brother Tobin, he’s a detective, picked me up because my truck is in the shop. Looks like you got a flat tire.”
She nodded. Tobin was putting out safety flares.
He approached as she and Pat looked at the tire.
“You should stay in your vehicle when you have car troubles. Especially on a highway like this. That guy could have killed you,” he said to her as he approached. But the woman blinked as if she were shocked by his abrupt tone.
She looked Tobin over. “So this is my fault?” she asked with attitude.
“No, my brother isn’t saying that. He just got a bit frazzled like we did. We’ll help you change the tire,” Pat told her.
“I don’t have a spare. I’ll just call a tow truck.”
“I’ve got a number of a friend,” Pat said to her.
“You don’t have a spare?” Tobin said.
She shook her head.
“Why the hell not? What if you were stranded on the side of the road somewhere and no help was coming? A young woman could get herself in quite the predicament if unprepared for emergencies,” Tobin said, reprimanding her.
She lifted her phone, shook it, and gave him a wise-ass expression that had Pat covering his mouth to stifle a laugh.
“What do you call this? For your information, buddy, I used the spare tire a few weeks ago, but I just moved here with a job transfer and haven’t gotten around to getting a new spare. And don’t worry. I know how to change a tire,” she snapped at him and then looked at Pat.
“You said you know a tow truck service? Can I get the number?” she asked Pat.
“I’ll call for you,” Pat said and then gave her a smile. She smiled back but then looked at Tobin, who absolutely towered over her, and she gave him an annoyed look. Pat couldn’t get over it. He also wondered why his brother was being so hard on her.
* * * *
Tobin was shocked at the attitude, never mind the beauty, of the redhead they pulled over to help. One look at her gorgeous green eyes and long red hair and, of course, the snug-fitting business dress she had on and he was shocked at his body’s response. She was sexy, classy, and, Jesus, built like a woman aiming to please. He was a big guy, and she was petite, and she smelled so good it was hard not to stand closer to her to get a better whiff. It was so carnal and wild to feel like this about a stranger. He was still shaken up a bit about her and Pat nearly getting killed by that truck driver, and now it seemed his attitude pissed her off. Well, he wasn’t exactly a friendly guy, so what the fuck?
“He can’t get out here for about an hour. He said lock it up, and you can come by tomorrow morning for it,” Pat said to her.
She worried her bottom lip.
“Uhm, that’s okay. I should figure something else out. I don’t know the guy or you for that matter. I don’t feel comfortable leaving it here. I guess I’ll wait or maybe try Googling another tow service.”
She looked down at her phone, and Pat covered her hand. She froze in place and Tobin watched, finding his brother’s attraction to her interesting. Seemed he wasn’t the only one affected by this knockout redhead.
“Don’t be crazy. I’m a cop here in town. The name is Pat. My brother Tobin, is a detective. How much safer could you feel? We’ve known these guys with the tow service for years. This is what they do. So if Freddy, Frank’s main guy, says an hour, he’ll be here in an hour. You and I can exchange numbers. I’ll give you his number, and we’ll coordinate you picking up your car from him in the morning. I’ll even go there, too, so you feel safe.” He winked.
Her cheeks turned a nice shade of red, and Tobin watched the tip of her pink tongue slip from between her lips and lick the lower one, and then she sealed her lips. It was so damn sexy his cock hardened in his pants.
“She’ll need a ride to her place and then in the morning unless you have a way of getting to the garage,” Tobin added, now wanting to learn more about this woman, maybe get her number and ask her to meet them for drinks.
She looked around. “No taxi service around here?”
“You don’t need one. You’ve got your own pair of law enforcement officers to keep you safe and get you home in one piece.”
She looked at Pat’s nametag. “Well, Officer McQuinn, I guess I should be thankful that you and your brother were driving by. Let me just get my bags and lock up the car.”
Tobin watched her walk back to her car and open the passenger side of the door. Pat gave him a wink, and Tobin couldn’t help but feel a little excited. But with their luck being so bad, he wouldn’t be one bit surprised at all if this woman had a boyfriend. There was no possible way she was single. No way.