Page 130 of Whispers and Wildfire

I pulled out the whistle Rob had given me and handed it to her. “The SPS is over at the Copper Kettle. They’re handing out whistles for safety. This one’s for you.”

She held it up. “That was nice of them.”

“They’re also organizing sign-ups for a buddy system, so women don’t have to be out and about alone.”

“I guess I’m glad I spent so much of my mom’s money onyou at that auction. It was for a good cause.” She took a bite of her pickle.

“People are calling the perpetrator ‘The Whisper.’ It seems like a bad idea to give him a nickname. It’s just giving him attention.”

“Why do they call him ‘The Whisper?’”

“Apparently, he whispers in the victim’s ear when he first attacks them.”

The color drained from her face. “He does?”

“It’s just what I heard.” I hesitated. I had a bad feeling I knew why she looked so shaken. “Is that what happened to you?”

She nodded. “Just as I was starting to black out, I heard him say, ‘Don’t be scared, it’s going to be okay.’”

“Well, that was a fucking lie.”

“I know, right?” The fire returned to her voice. “If you’re going to whisper something creepy in your victim’s ear, at least be honest. Everything was not going to be okay.”

“Not for him, either, as it turned out. He picked the wrong woman.”

She picked up another pickle. “I think I just got lucky.”

“I think you’re a badass and should give yourself some credit. Also, fuck that guy.”

“Indeed,” she said, gesturing with her pickle, then took a crunchy bite. “I keep wanting not to think about this, because despite my tendency to be dramatic, I actually don’t want to make everything about me. And I really don’t want this to be about me. But…”

I knew what she was getting at. “The similarities.”

“Yeah. Garrett said the first victims had been drugged and put in the trunk of a car. And now whispering in their ear? That has to be a coincidence, right? It couldn’t be the same guy.”

I met her eyes. I didn’t know the answers, but I waswondering the same thing. Could it be him? Was that even possible? The chances had to be astronomical.

“I wonder what he whispered,” she asked.

“Garrett might know. Do you want me to call him and ask?”

Thoughtfully, she took a bite of her pickle and chewed slowly. “Yes, but also no. I’m a little bit afraid of what he’ll say. But not knowing isn’t going to help. And it’s not going to change anything.” She met my eyes again. “You don’t think I’m overreacting to at least wonder?”

“No, you’re not overreacting. And I think Garrett needs to know what happened to you.”

“Okay. Call him.”

I pulled out my phone and called, putting it on speaker so Melanie could hear.

“Yeah,” he answered.

“Sorry to bug you if you’re working, but I have a good reason.”

“Go ahead.”

“Is it true that the guy who’s been abducting women whispers in their ear when he takes them?”

“Yeah, it’s true.”

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