Again, he didn’t argue with her, and she knew he couldn’t. One of the scariest things about these killers was the way they seemed to grow in confidence, the way their compulsions drove them harder, possibly escaping any ability to control them.
“I look something like those women,” she said, not for the first time that morning. “They were even tall like me. And don’t tell me you don’t see it.”
“I see it,” he said heavily.
“Tell me what else we’re supposed to do. We have every bit of information we can get. And none of it points to any particular person. No one has seen anything or suspected anything. Not one whisper. In a town this size, if he’d done something weird, it would have come out.”
“Maybe.”
She sighed. “I figure he’s the ultimate normal as far as most people are concerned. Nice, attractive, pleasant, friendly. He’d be among the last people who would be suspected. He’s back in town, but nobody finds that unusual, so he has roots here. Nobody noticed him five years ago, after all. He must do a really good job of blending. People like him. Maybe they instinctively trust him or have a reason to. They don’t imagine him capable of anything approaching these acts.”
“Obviously.”
“All right, I’m beating a dead horse. But the fact is, we’re supposed to find a way to be proactive. Definition of the job. Sitting on our hands is a long way from proactive, and we can’t hope he’s just going to turn himself in. I have to get out there, Cade. Make myself available. Since I know what we’re looking for, I might even be able to point us in a direction before he does anything at all. It’s a slim hope, but it’s the only one we have right now. If he tries to cozy up to me in any way, I’ll smell it in an instant. Trust me.”
He’d been almost like carved stone until that moment, but now his voice took on an edge. “I trust you, DeeJay. I believe you’re capable of looking after yourself. I figure the army taught you lots of useful defensive and martial skills, and you’ve probably used them often enough to know what you’re capable of when it comes to protecting yourself or taking some creep down.”
“But?”
“But I don’t want anything to happen to you. If I could find a better way...”
She knew she had him then. There was no better way. None, not yet. And until it turned up, she had to at least attempt this.
“I’ll take us into town,” he said finally, reluctantly. “We’ll head in different directions, pop into shops, chat up people. But don’t you dare leave the downtown no matter what. Let’s see if this works first.”
She’d won. Why, then, did her mouth taste like ashes?
* * *
By six that evening, she figured her first stab at this was turning into a bust. Not one person had seemed the least untoward, no one had tried to be more than ordinarily friendly. She was supposed to meet Cade at the diner soon, and it was beginning to sound really good. Going into various stores and bars had been like taking saunas followed by cold plunges all day. When she was inside, she perspired even though she unzipped her jacket. Back outside, the cold found that dampness and froze her.
When she got back to the city center, near the courthouse square, she faced the sheriff’s office. Too bad she couldn’t go in there and chat. Or maybe she could.
On approach, she saw Gage Dalton emerge, zipping his jacket. He caught sight of her and stopped. She crossed the street to him while he waited. The traffic light had turned to blinking red for the night.