Page 13 of Scorched

Elise laid her fist in her lap and raised her chin. “Just tell me.”

“They found her in the Guadalupe River bound with Ethernet cable.”

His words hit her like a punch in the gut.

“Oh, God, oh, God.” Elise wrapped her arms around herself and rocked back and forth in her seat.

“The woman had been strangled, tied with Ethernet cable and dumped, just like the women in the Dakota Strangler case,” Paul continued. “One other disturbing item to note,” he paused, “she went by Lauren, but her first name was Alice.”

CHAPTER 4

Elise’s eyes burned,tears held in check by the cold wash of fear snaking through her body, stiffening her limbs. “It’s him.”

“We don’t know that, but Mel and I will be working with the local sheriff’s department and city police to find the man responsible.”

“It’s him.” Her voice sounded hollow, even to her own ears. “He didn’t die in the fire.”

“That wasn’t his usual M.O.” Paul shifted into Drive and pulled out of the school parking lot, careful not to hit loitering teens waiting for parents to get off work. “Stan didn’t care about first names. He chose smart women.”

True. Her grip on the armrest loosened slightly. She no longer believed in coincidence, not since the Dakota Strangler. She wouldn’t let herself. “But it’s too much ofa coincidence. It has to be him.” And if it was him, even the kids at school could be in danger, especially the girls.

Elise fumbled for the button to lower the window so that she could shout out a warning to the female students still loitering on school grounds. Her hands shook and the tears filling her eyes made it impossible to see. “How do I open the window?”

Paul brought the truck to a halt. He reached across her lap and laid a hand over her shaking one. “Alice, it’ll be all right.”

She jerked her face toward his, heat rising up her neck and into her cheeks. “Don’t call me that! Alice Klaus is dead as far as I’m concerned. She was stupid and deserved to die along with all the other women her husband killed.”

Paul grabbed her hand and kept her from lowering her window. “No. Alice didn’t die. You’re alive and kicking and living in Texas.”

“No, she’s not.” Her faith in herself had died a little more with each one of the women Stan had murdered. How could this man think she was the same woman?

“Alice—Elise...” He touched a finger to her jaw and turned her to face him. “You’re beautiful and smart enough to realize you aren’t to blame for what happened. Stan, and only Stan, was responsible.”

“How can you say that? I lived with the man. I should have stopped him. Now that maniac is out there. These kids could be in danger. I have to let them know.”

“You can’t Elise. You’ll have an entire town up in arms and like you said, you’ll lose your job.”

Anger burned in her chest. She wanted to take it out on Paul but knew it wasn’t his fault. He’d been nothing but kind to her and her children when her world had shattered. Even back then, she remembered thinking how nice it would have been to be married to a man like Paul—a man who cared enough to protect them from harm.

The steam fizzled out of her. Elise slumped in her seat, pulling her hand free of his. Paul was a nice man. Stan was nice when Elise had married him. But people changed. She’d changed.

She stared out at the lingering teens. She wanted to warn them. Warn everyone that she was the plague. That a killer had followed her all the way to Texas. “It’s not right for me to keep this secret. So many could be at risk.”

“We can’t be certain that Stan did it. We don’t know if you or anyone around you is the real target. This could all be a fluke.”

“I don’t think so.” She shook her head and stared out at the stunted live oak trees, gnarled and twisted by weather. “But you’re right. I can’t leave. I used all my savings to move us to Texas. I don’t have any money left to keep running.”

“You can’t keep running.” Paul spoke in low, steady tones, his voice caressing her with a calm she couldn’t manage on her own.

She breathed in and out, willing her heart rate to slow. But then it cranked up again. “We don’t know where he’ll strike next.”

“If he strikes,” Paul said.

Elise stared out at the clear blue sky, mocking her dark thoughts. How could it be so bright and sunny when a killer stalked the streets? “We can’t let him hurt anyone else.” She sat up straighter, squaring her shoulders. Now wasn’t the time to go soft. She had to be strong. A glance at the clock made her blood race. “I won’t let him take my boys. Can you go a little faster, Agent Fletcher? Their bus will be there in less than five minutes.”

“Yes, ma’am.” A hint of a smile flashed on Paul’s face before he pulled out onto the street, focused on beating traffic.

For the first couple of minutes, she remained silent, her thoughts churning over her options. She didn’t have the money to gather her belongings and move to another city. Her house wasn’t wired with a security system, and she’d used the last of her meager savings to replace the air conditioner, a must in the blazing heat of a South Texas Indian summer. “Do you think the bank would loan me enough money to install a security system?”

---