Hearing Cathy’s voice, so cheerful and positive and seemingly unafraid, had gone a long way in reassuring Maleah. But she still couldn’t completely shake her fear that the copycat might choose a member of her family as his next victim.
It was only a matter of time until he killed again.
After a thirty-minute conversation with Cathy, she had flipped on the television, zipped through the channels, and turned it off three minutes later.
Now, she had to find something to do. But if she went over the copycat killer files one more time, she would scream her head off. She had practically memorized everything they had on record about Jerome Browning, as well as information about Wyman Scudder, Cindy Di Blasi, and the real Albert Durham.
If only they had some information about the fake Durham. But at this point, the man was a complete mystery, except for Derek’s preliminary profile. However, having so little info to work with made Derek’s job more difficult.
Pacing the floor, wishing she really could take a long nap, she nearly jumped out of her skin when her phone rang.
When she noted the caller ID, she sighed with relief. “Hello, Nic.”
“Hey, are you okay? You sound odd.”
“I’m fine. I was lost in thought and the phone ringing startled me.”
“How are you? Really?”
“You want the truth?’
“Always,” Nic told her.
“I’m thinking seriously about selling my soul to the devil in the hopes he’ll give me some information that will help us find the Copycat Carver. And as if making that decision isn’t enough to deal with in one day, I’ve just discovered that I genuinely like Derek Lawrence and . . .” She wasn’t sure she could admit, even to her best friend, how she really felt about Derek.
“And what?”
“And I’ve got the hots for the guy.” She could tell Nic anything, couldn’t she? They were best friends. Nic would understand.
Nic laughed.
“Do not laugh at me. This isn’t funny.”
“I already knew,” Nic said.
“Knew what? That I’d do whatever it takes to get information out of Jerome Browning or that I had the hots for Derek?”
“Both actually, but I was referring to your having a thing for Derek. You do know that he’s got it bad for you, too, don’t you?”
“Having feelings for Derek complicates my life and I don’t like it. So, before you say another word, I’m telling you right now that I refuse to become another notch on his bedpost.”
“You’d never be that, just as I wasn’t for Griff,” Nic said. “You and Derek remind me so much of Griff and me in the early stages of our relationship.”
“Bite your tongue.”
“Want my advice?”
“I have a feeling you’re going to give it to me whether or not I want it.”
“Have sex with him.”
Maleah growled through her clenched teeth.
“And don’t sell your soul to the devil for info from Browning,” Nic told her.
“Derek said the same thing.”
“Then listen to the man. Not only is he smart, but I suspect he has your best interests at heart.”
“Save your breath. I’m going back to the prison tomorrow to see Browning again. It may be my last visit, but I have to try one more time.”
“If I thought you’d listen to me, I’d try to talk you out of your decision, but I know you too well to even try. No one can talk me out of doing something once I’ve made up my mind. You and I are both as stubborn as mules.” Nic paused for a moment and then said, “Griff is sending Meredith Sinclair to London tomorrow in the hopes she can help Luke.”
“I bet Luke’s thrilled. Is Yvette going with Meredith?”
“No, Griff believes it’s too dangerous for Yvette to leave Griffin’s Rest.”
“He’s probably right.”
“Listen, Maleah, I have some rather important news for you and Derek. Griff and Sanders are both busy handling other matters, so I’ve been delegated to touch base with you two and give you the latest information.”
“Please tell me you have good news to share, or at the very least information that can help us.”
“It’s information that possibly confirms Derek’s tentative profile of the Copycat Carver as a professional assassin.”
Maleah sucked in her breath.
“A contact in Austria sold Luke information concerning a man named Anthony Linden, a former MI6 agent who went rogue. He supposedly killed himself ten years ago instead of allowing the authorities to capture and imprison him. But apparently the rumors of his death were greatly exaggerated.”
“Meaning that Anthony Linden isn’t actually dead.”
“So it would seem.”
“And this information is important to us because?”
“Because this same contact told Luke that the man rumored to be impersonating Malcolm York hired a very-much-alive Linden, who is well-known in certain circles as a professional assassin. And York sent Linden to America six months ago.”
“That’s quite an interesting story, one I’m sure Griff has bought into, right?” Maleah said. “But what about you? Are you buying it?”
“It’s plausible. It’s possible. I don’t know if it’s true, but . . .” Nic’s voice trailed off into complete and utter silence.
“Nic?”
“Oh God, Maleah, if the copycat continues killing, if we can’t find him and stop him soon, I don’t know how Griff is going to bear it. He’s not sleeping. He’s lost his appetite. He’s drinking too much. He’s preoccupied and edgy and keeps shutting himself off in his study, sometimes alone, sometimes with Sanders. I try to talk to him, try to convince him that he’s not responsible for all these deaths, but it’s as if he doesn’t even hear me.”
“I wish I knew what to tell you,” Maleah said, her heart aching for her dear friend. “Griff’s a strong man. He’s not going to fall apart. You know that when he shuts you out, he thinks he’s protecting you. Nic, you know he loves you.”
“If he would only tell me everything, all the horrible things about Malcolm York and Amara, then maybe I could help him. Whatever secrets he’s keeping from me are part of what’s tearing him apart. He knows that the real York is dead, and yet . . . Oh, Maleah, I wish that the copycat killer would turn out to be someone seeking revenge against me because of one of my cases when I worked for the Bureau. Or if the copycat is a professional killer, then I wish someone with a grudge against the Powell Agency and not someone from Griff’s past hired this man to exact revenge against the agency.”
“We can’t rule out either of those possibilities. Not yet. That’s one reason I have to go back to see Browning. If only I could persuade him to tell me what he knows.”
“If he actually knows anything. And you do realize that the odds of that are very low. Besides, all the evidence is beginning to stack up in favor of Griff’s theory.”
“I’m sorry, Nic. I’m so very sorry.”
“There’s nothing for you to be sorry about. None of this is your fault. I’m the one who’s sorry that the copycat deliberately involved you by choosing to emulate the murderer who killed Noah Laborde.”
“If Griff’s theory is correct, then someone very badly wants to torment Griff by whatever means necessary,
