Killer Scents (14 page)

A couple of girls from the lab were dusting for prints, despite everyone knowing they’d come up empty. The
y
found no sign of forced entry, and that bothered her the most.
Does he have a key? Maybe he’s a jack of all trades and knows how to pick a lock without leaving a scratch.

Regardless, Randy ranting and raving like this wasn’t helping matters. In fact, just the opposite—he was pissing her off.

“Do you know how bad this could’ve ended if that sick fuck was
still here
,
waiting
for you to walk into your bedroom?
”

The genuine concern in his eyes confused her.
You’re the epitome of contradictions.

“Scolding me like a two year old isn’t going to find this guy an
y
faster.” Becca stood toe to toe with him. “So, if you’re almost done, can we please figure out what to do next?”

Randy took her hand in his. “Becca...
.
”

Her cell phone buzzed
,
and she took a step back, removing her hand from his. “Hello?”

“Becca,
he struck again
.
”

The chief’s words chilled the heated exchange between
her and Randy
. She dropped back to sit on the chair. “The
F
lorist?”

“I’m afraid so. I’m sending an officer to pick you and Randy up. Have Rick stay with the lab techs until they’
re done
.”

Becca
looked at her phone
in disbelief as she set
it
on the table. No words needed to be exchanged.

Randy punched the countertop. “
Dammit
!”

In a matter of minutes,
Jerry
arrived. Randy sat up front and
she was
left in the back
again
. This time she welcomed the reprieve the darkness afforded her. Seeing another one of the victims wasn’t on the top of bucket list. Every crime scene opened the wound from
Susan
’s death.
Thank God I didn’t see her
.
The pictures were bad enough.

She
look
ed
up to
flashing lights and
the SUV
now
parked in the midst of all the commotion. Every house on the street
was
lit up like a Christmas tree. Not long ago they
’
d all been tucked safely in their beds while their neighbo
u
r’s life ended in the cruelest of ways.

Chief Thomson stood on the front lawn, his massive arms folded across his broad chest. “Well, this time
he added
a couple twists.”

They walked across the lawn toward the house. “For the first time, he left behind the box and it appears he drugged the guy.”

“Any idea what kind of
drug
?” asked
Jerr
y
.
H
e
stepped up and held
the front door open for them.

Chief shrugged. “I’m guessing some kind of nerve
-
blocking
substance
.”

The guy on the couch was enormous
, even bigger than Big Ben.
The tattoos on his
muscular
arms told of visits to the
state p
en.
The added twist of using a blocker made perfect sense. No
way would The
F
lorist
be
able to subdue him on his own.

The coroner joined the
m
,
clipboard in hand. “He’s been dead less than an hour. It looks like he was injected with a neuromuscular-blocking drug, but I can’t be certain until I run some tests. I’ll bet my paycheck Mr. Baird spent his final hour watching and feeling his mouth being
sewn shut.” He half
-
turned to the corpse. “
If y
ou
look closely you’ll see
this time there is twice the number of stitches woven tightly together. Our Florist took his time with this one.”

“I think the sicko is starting to enjoy his work far too much.” Chief rubbed his stubbly jaw.

Becca looked at the light purple corsage on
the victim’s
wrist. “What kind of
flowers
are they?”

“Asters.”
Jerr
y crouched next to the discarded box. “Why did he leave the box behind this time?”

Randy traced the delicate petals with a gloved finger. “What’s with the change to a box in the first place?”

“I’m sure it has to do with the kind of guy Kevin is, I mean was. I don’t think he would’ve opened the door to a guy holding a flower in his hands.”

“Jerry, go clear a path to the coroner’s wagon.”

The officer nodded and went straight outside.

“Who called it in?” Randy left the body and now stood beside Becca.

“An anonymous call from a disposable phone,” replied Chief Thomson.

Becca surveyed the room. There really wasn’t much for them to do. The forensic team would clear the house once the corpse had been removed. It took four guys to lift Kevin onto a gurney.
A dark stain on his jeans
revealed
how he’d peed his pants.

She shuddered.
What a way to go.

Randy laid her jacket
over her shoulders
and
ushered her from the house. “Here, you look cold.”

She
move
d
to shrug the jacket
off
only
to be stopped by his hand on her shoulder.

“Take the jacket, Becca. We need to talk.”

She stepped
forward, and he blocked
her path. “We
’
re going to talk now. Your choice
—
here
or back at your place.”

Becca sighed. “If I have this talk with you, will you please leave me alone?”

“If you feel the same way after we talk, yes, I’ll leave you alone.”

“We can talk at my place.”

Randy put a finger under her chin and look
ed deep
into h
er
eyes.

“Thank you.”

It was a bold move on his part, but he couldn’t resist—just like he couldn’t resist fucking with Detective Talbot’s mind a little. He quickly hid a smile behind his hand. He blended right in with the TV crews and officers litter
ing
the front lawn.
Even if they noticed him they wouldn’t question why he was there.

A shiver ran up his spine, and he briefly closed his eyes to savor the moment.
Mmm
.
It excited him to be this close to them undetected.
Those dumb asses don’t have a frickin’ clue.

He stifled the urge to laugh
as he savored
the memory of the detective stepping out of the shower, each of her tattoos emblazoned
in
his memory.

I can’t let her get in the way. I’ve come too far to let a nosy detective ruin everything.

She’s definitely trouble
.

An unnecessary distraction
.

A distraction that needs to be eliminated
.

Chapter Fifteen

Becca hadn’t been on the back
of a bike in at least ten years. Randy conveniently left out the part of riding back to her place. She’d never admit to him how good the breeze felt on her face. One of the advantages of being the passenger was the freedom to enjoy the ride with no distractions.

It didn’t take long before she gave into the governing impulse to stretch out her arms and close her eyes. She didn’t care if he saw or not. It had nothing to do with him and everything to do with letting the wind work its magic and carry all of her troubles in the breeze, if only for a little while.

All too soon Randy geared down, dragging her back to reality as he turned into her driveway. Feeling vulnerable, she climbed off and gave him his helmet the second his feet hit the ground

“Can you open the garage door?  It’s probably best if my ride isn’t
visible from the road.”

Her
brow
creased. “I think it will be okay there. You won’t be staying very long.”

She imagined his eyes bor
ing
holes in her back
on the
way up to unlock the door.

Randy nudged her aside. “Let me take a look first.” He planted his feet firmly, not budging one inch no matter how hard she tried to push him out of the way.

“For your information, I’m quite capable of opening my door.”

Randy took hold of her arms and stared directly into her eyes. “I know you are. Just humor me this one time.”

Becca
stepped back
. “Knock yourself out!”

“You stay right here.”

Wh
o
died and
voted
you
C
op of the
Y
ear?
Becca followed him into the house and proceeded to put on some coffee.
Where does he get off bossing me around in my own home?

“Wow, you’re such a good listener.” Randy stepped through the doorway, holstering his gun.

Becca spun around and jabbed a finger at his chest. “Do not talk to me like I’m a two year old. If this is how things are going to go, you can leave right now.”

He raised his hands in defense. “Whoa, chill out. I didn’t mean to talk down to you. I’m just trying to keep you safe.”

“I’ve been a cop for almost
twenty
years. I think I can take care of myself.” She glared at him.

Randy made a T with his hands. “Time out...okay? Can we have a talk without all of this anger and bullshit?”

She
leaned back against the counter, resisting the urge to throw herself
at him
and let him
kiss
it all better. Defiantly, she folded her
arms
across her chest. “It’s your dime. Talk
,
I’m listening.”

Her partner
blew out a rush of air
and sat at the table. “Come sit with me.” He pulled out the chair next to him.

She huff
ed
and stomped to the opposite side of the table and sat. “I’m all ears.”

Randy chuckled and looked sideways at her. “You know, you can be a real bitch when you want to be.”

Becca
tossed
her head back. “Hah! That’s a good start. If you want me to sit here quietly, you might want to shove your
idea of
compliments up your ass.”

The corners of his eyes crinkled, and a slow smile spread across his tanned face
. “I guess I should start with an apology. I probably could’ve handled things better than I have been.”

She cast him a sideways glance
. “Ya think?”

The coffeemaker let out its final gurgles
,
and she jumped up
, h
appy for the break to regain some semblance of composure. Steam rose from the mug she set on the table.

“Black, right?”

His strong hands
engulfed
the mug.
“
Thank you. You remembered.”

Becca kept her gaze diverted and sipped her coffee, mindful of the temperature and the sultry tone of his voice. “So, are you going to tell me why you were acting like such a jerk, or are we going to play a round of
T
wenty
Q
uestions?”