When A Heart Stops Part 34

"Then he put a package in her lap and her head dropped down to look at it. He got up, said something to her, then got back on his bike and left. My friend got here and we started playing Frisbee. The next thing you know, some girl starts screaming that the woman was dead and you guys arrived."

"What time would you say you saw this guy put the girl under the tree?"

Corey's brow furrowed as he thought. He glanced at his watch. "Probably 1:00. The guy got here around 1:15. We've been here ever since." A flush darkened his already sun-pinked cheeks. "When we saw all the action going on, we stayed. I figured I'd better tell someone what I saw, so I waited until you started asking questions."

"Thanks, Corey." Hunter slapped the teen on his shoulder. "Can you give me a number in case I need to reach you?"

"Sure." Corey rattled it off and Hunter wrote it in the little black notebook he carried.

Dominic had one just like it. He looked over at Rick and Serena, who now had the package in front of them. With gloved hands, Rick worked the top off and reached inside.

Dominic moved closer. "What does it say?"

"'Eenie meenie miney moe, I like this game, I love it so. I'll be the winner, I'll come out on top, I play to win. You, I'll stop.'"

"More bad poetry." Dominic gave a disgusted grunt and watched as Serena directed the loading of Hilary's body into the body bag and then the back of the ambulance. They would transport her to the morgue where Serena would take over.

"I'm really beginning to hate the stuff," Serena agreed.

Dominic stood beside her as they watched the ambulance pull away. "That's four. Five, with Howard."

She bit her lip. "We have to stop him, Dominic. Now."

"I know, Serena, I know." He tightened his jaw. "Let's go see what we can find out from your mother."

They rode to the hospital in silence, each lost in thought.

By the time Serena found herself standing in front of her mother's door, she had a plan. A really bad, dangerous plan. One that she kept to herself because she knew exactly what Dominic would say about it. However, the only way to stop the next victim from dying was to stop the killer.

Even if she had to set herself up as bait to do it.

Serena's silence worried him. The little vertical crease in the middle of her forehead told him she was thinking about something. Something serious. And she wasn't sharing it with him. Yet.

Serena knocked on the door.

"Come in." The voice sounded weak. Tired. But at least the woman was alive.

They stepped into the room to find Mrs. Hopkins propped into a sitting position. Her eyes drooped, but she seemed coherent.

Serena rushed to the woman's side while Dominic shook Joel's hand. "How's she doing?"

"Pretty good. Of course she's going to be woozy awhile, but they gave her something to counteract the drug. She woke up about thirty minutes ago."

The two women hugged. Then Serena sat on the bed beside her mother.

Dominic stepped over and said, "I'm glad you're all right, Mrs. Hopkins."

She gave him a small smile. "Thank you."

"Can you tell us what happened?"

The woman lifted a hand to her eyes and brushed aside a stray hair. "I don't really remember much. I remember the doorbell ringing and letting the alarm system person in."

"What time was that?" Serena asked.

Mrs. Hopkins' brow furrowed. "Hmm . . . probably around 11:00 or so."

Dominic caught Serena's glance and knew what she was thinking. That was right there in the range of Hilary's time of death.

"Then what happened?"

"I turned to point to the alarm panel and felt a sting in the back of my neck. The next thing I know I'm waking up here." She cast a frantic glance at her husband, who hovered in the background. "Were we robbed?"

"No, darling," Serena's father hastened to rea.s.sure his traumatized wife. "No, we weren't."

"Then why-"

Serena's father cleared his throat and motioned to Serena not to say anything.

Dominic could see Serena's concern. "I'm sorry, Mom. It was probably someone who just got his kicks out of hurting people. I'm sure the police will catch whoever did this."

Her mother's sharp eyes said she wasn't buying that, but then her glance landed on Serena's father and she held her tongue.

Dominic watched the interaction between the couple. Interesting. Joel hadn't told the woman she could have been the serial killer's next victim.

"What did this person look like?"

"He looked like . . ." She trailed off. "I don't really know. He had on a blue jumpsuit with the security logo on the back and a matching baseball cap. Short hair." She shrugged and bit her lip, looking so much like Serena, he almost smiled. Except there was nothing about the subject matter that was amusing. She said, "You know, I just had a glimpse. He pretty much kept his head down, looking at his clipboard when he talked." Her voice quivered. "I guess that was so I wouldn't get a good look at him."

They visited a bit longer, but Mrs. Hopkins didn't have anything more to add no matter how cleverly Dominic phrased the questions. She'd been unconscious almost the entire time. He'd gotten all he was going to get.

"Thank you for your help."

Her lips twisted. "I don't think I was much help, but I sure hope you catch him."

Dominic waited for Serena to say her goodbyes, then ushered her out the door.

"There's two of them working together," he said. "It has to be."

"Just like you thought by the way things went down with the car accident." She paused. "But it wasn't an accident. What do you call a car wreck that's done on purpose?"

"Vehicular a.s.sault," he muttered.

She s.h.i.+vered and he placed an arm around her shoulders, tucking her up against him. He liked the way she fit there.

"I need to do the autopsy on Hilary," she said.

"We both know what you'll find."

"I know. She'll be just like the others."

"She can wait until tomorrow," Dominic insisted. "Rick's processing the evidence gathered from her. The work is still going on. But you're exhausted and I am too."

"Okay. So . . . what are we going to do now?" she asked.

Before he could answer, his phone rang. He glanced at the caller ID and said, "It's Terry. Let's hope he has something for us on Gwendolyn Lindell." He tucked the phone against his ear. "h.e.l.lo?"

"Your Ms. Lindell is a slippery thing," Terry grunted.

"But not too slippery for the great Special Agent Terry O'Donnell, I'm sure."

A sigh reached Dominic's ear. "Actually, I'm at a loss. I did manage to track her from the States, to Canada, to Ecuador, back to the States about a year ago. And then she vanished. Nothing with the credit cards, couldn't find a fake ID, nothing. She's staying low, working a job that doesn't require prints, and is paying cash."

"Or she's dead and no one's found the body yet."

"Or that."

"All right, let me know if you find something concrete."

"Will do."

Dominic hung up and frowned as he glanced around the area leading into the parking garage. Looked clear. His eyes probed, seeking any immediate danger or threat. He kept Serena close to him, not just because he liked her there, which he did, but he wanted to use his own body as a s.h.i.+eld. If someone decided to take a shot at her, he wanted her as hard to see as possible.

When nothing happened by the time they entered the darker, cooler interior of the parking garage, he still wouldn't let himself relax. His eyes scanned in an arc, his ears in tune with the sounds around them.

"Are you all right?"

"Just fine."

"You're about to squeeze me in half."

He loosened his grip. "Oops, sorry."

They arrived at his car and she looked at him. "Why did you park in here when you could've parked right outside the hospital?"

Once inside the vehicle, he answered, "Because I didn't want to draw attention to the fact that I was here. If someone followed us," he shrugged, "there's not much I can do about that. But my car sitting right out front would be like a neon sign."

"Oh. True. Just wondered."

He nodded to the pole he'd parked beside. "See that?"

"The camera?"

"Right. That one is trained on this area." He nodded to the one across the garage. "And that one is also aimed this way. There's one behind me too."

Realization dawned. "Ah. So if anyone tried anything, you'd have a really good picture of it."

"Exactly."

Her stomach gurgled and she clasped a hand over it, embarra.s.sment staining her cheeks.

He lifted a brow. "Hungry?"

The embarra.s.sment faded and she drawled, "What gave you that idea?"

"Come on, I'll feed you. Katie's on your house tonight. I'll let her know she doesn't need to get there until around 11:00. Does that work for you?"

"Sure." The soft smile she shot him couldn't hide the fear she was feeling-or the bone-deep weariness.

"Hey," he said, reaching over to grasp her left hand in his. He squeezed her fingers. "We're going to get this guy."

"I know."

"What's that verse? Isaiah 40:31?"

She closed her eyes and quoted, "'But those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.'"

"Don't give up, Serena. G.o.d's with us in this. He wants the killing to stop too."

She pulled in a deep breath and opened her eyes to look at him. "Then why doesn't he just lead us to the killer," she grumbled. Bit her lip and looked up, staring out the window. "I'm not giving up. You don't have to worry about that."

He glanced at her, troubled by the sudden hard look in her eyes. "What? What are you thinking?"

She blinked. "I'm worried about Camille. I just wish she would call or text or something."

"You want me to put a BOLO out on her?"

Serena bit her lip. "Let's give it one more day. If I haven't heard from her by tomorrow night, you can do that. Let me check with her father first."

"Sure, if you think that's what you need to do."

"Tomorrow's Sunday."

"A day of rest."

She snorted. "Not for the weary."

He nodded to a local fast-food place. "How about a burger?" She wrinkled her nose and he laughed. "I'm just kidding."

"Cute." Her eyes brightened. "How about one of my pizzas?"

"You really like pizza, don't you?"

"I have to confess, it's my absolute favorite meal ever."

"It's not really a meal, you realize that, right?"

She pursed her lips. "Take me home, Mr. Special Agent FBI man, and I'll whip us up a meal of a pizza."