Page 64 of Her Frozen Heart

As much as she hated to admit it, Nikki did understand. “I remember the first prison interview I went on when I was still in the academy. My mentor told me that I needed to learn to compartmentalize. I remember fighting not to laugh because compartmentalizing is the only way I survived after my parents died. But we needed to get information out of a man who’d raped and killed a thirteen-year-old girl. Listening to Agent Elwood pretend to understand and even feel sorry for that bastard was excruciating. I can’t count how many times I’ve had to do the same thing since then.”

Roth sighed with relief. “I’m so glad you understand. He wanted to write to you, and I suggested it might be beneficial.” He shook his head. “I must admit to you that I gave him that advice for selfish reasons. Now that I have to see the consequences of my actions, I feel terrible. I’m sorry if he sent you something upsetting.”

“It’s okay,” Nikki said. “He would have probably done it anyway just to get to me.”

“He is quite the manipulator,” Roth said.

“Did you scan his brain?” Nikki asked. “For your study?”

“He’s not sure he wants to,” Roth said. “He’s playing the cat and mouse game. He likes the attention of my coming back. But obviously, you didn’t ask me here to talk about Oliver. This afternoon yielded results?”

“To an extent. Three of the bodies were identified. The male was severely sexually assaulted. We’re getting closer to figuring out who Victim A is, I think. We’ve at least narrowed down our search window. I’m afraid it might be too late for Parker Jameson, though.”

Roth sipped his water. “Yes, I heard the family’s statement. You put Detective Dover in charge of them this morning, if I recall correctly.”

Nikki was impressed he’d paid attention and remembered that detail. “Yes, and she’s clearly trying to cover for their delay in notifying Miller and myself. We’re heading out tomorrow to search.”

“For his remains?”

Nikki nodded. “I’m hopeful that he might still be alive somewhere, that the killer is on his heels because we found his bodies, and he knows he’s got to lay low.”

“I pray you’re right,” Roth said. “But I sense you’ll take on immense guilt if you’re wrong.”

“Very observant.”

“That is part of my job,” he said. “I won’t waste your time telling you not to feel bad and that it isn’t your fault. It’s not going to help. That’s a realization you have to come to on your own.”

Nikki leaned back from the power of his gaze. She wasn’t used to being read and analyzed, and she definitely didn’t want to spend the short amount of time she had with Roth discussing her issues. “After what you told us about Monday in Alaska and everything else we’ve learned today, I think we’re looking for a highly intelligent man who never felt recognized in his personal life, who knows how to mimic certain emotions to get what he wants, which is control over another’s life. That’s what gets him off. He also knows how far ahead of us he is, so he’s cocky. Mistakes are coming, I’m certain of it.”

“Interesting,” Roth said. “How can you be certain?”

“Gut instinct, which usually doesn’t fail me,” Nikki said. “He didn’t expect us to find Kesha and he definitely didn’t expect the others to be found. But now he’s also in the spotlight, so he preens a bit and sends the photo of Parker to the police.”

“Peacocking,” Roth said. “That’s what my mother always called it. But you believe it’s a false flag of sorts?”

“Absolutely. This prick has been in control for so long and in less than a week, his misdeeds are being exposed and the manhunt is on. Reaching out to police almost always suggests fear of getting caught, ego or both.”

“I agree with you on the high intelligence,” Roth said. “Let’s hope you’re right about his mental state. You mentioned identifying the couple. When were they murdered?”

“September. The Native American woman was a year before that.”

“Now he’s taken two people within the span of a few months. He’s escalated, but why?”

“I don’t know, but that’s why we need to find Parker. This guy’s pattern suggests he’s going to take another person and probably soon.” Nikki shook her head. “I can’t have that on my conscience.”

“When do you expect additional test results back?” Roth asked.

“Hopefully soon,” she said. “We have people working around the clock. Are you able to come into the task force for a briefing in the morning?”

“I believe so,” Roth said.

Her phone flashed with a text message from Liam:

Jim and Kendra went over mall security videos. Parker’s boyfriend Colton was in the mall that day. He followed Kesha after she left Dion and approached her. Miller going to Forest Lake to ask him to come in and talk.

Colton?She’d bought his story about Parker. He’d told her that he didn’t know Kesha. And what about the mass graves? If the first body was as old as they thought, Colton couldn’t have killed her. But what if he’d been at the lake and somehow stumbled on remains and decided to use the spot for his own? She texted Liam to start looking for connections between Colton and the other identified victims.

“I’m sorry, we just got some new information and I need to get back to the sheriff’s office.” Nikki dug into her bag and found enough cash to pay the bill and leave a tip. “Thank you for coming, Doctor Roth. I’ll touch base with you later.”

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