Page 6 of The Sinners Touch

“Don’t call me that. You don’t have the right to call me that.”

“I…”

“Just don’t, Kade. Please.”

Her soft-spoken plea nearly did him in. He wanted to console her but knew it would be a futile attempt. She was too angry. The only option left to him was doing his job.

“All right, then, can you tell me what you saw tonight?”

She took a deep breath and stared out the only window in the small office. The flashing lights of the patrol cars blinked at them as Kade watched her gather her thoughts. “I was on a break. Jess had gone back inside, and I was about to when I had the bright idea to pick up some trash and throw it away. That’s when he pulled up and set that poor girl down…” Her voice trailed off, and Kade forced himself to stay where he was. She wouldn’t welcome any comfort from him, even though every instinct he possessed told him to hug her and reassure her.

“I think I made a noise or something, because he looked right at me.” She frowned, thinking. “I might have dropped the dumpster lid. I don’t know. It’s all starting to blur together on me.”

“Take your time. Close your eyes and think about the moment. Remember the sounds, the smells…”

“You don’t have to tell me, Kincaid. I do watchCriminal Minds.”

Sarcasm dripped like vinegar from her tongue. Kade refrained from making a snarky comeback. She used it to cover up how afraid she was. He understood that.

“It was the strangest thing. You think in that situation you’d scream or run, but I couldn’t. My feet refused to move, and we just stared at each other. It could have been minutes or an hour. Again, I don’t know. Jessie came back out to tell me something, and when she started screaming, he left. Only he didn’t run. He moved slow and casual. That’s what really freaked me out. He didn’t care if I’d seen him or that he might be caught.” She rubbed her arms, her face pensive. “He just seemed so…carefree, almost blasé about the whole thing. It scared me.”

“Bailey said he might know your name?”

“Yeah, Jessie said my name before she saw him. That’s bad, isn’t it?”

He didn’t want to scare her any more than she already was, but he refused to lie to her. “Yes, Angel, it’s really bad. He has your name, and he knows where you work. It won’t be difficult for him to figure out who you are and where you live.”

Her breath whooshed out, and her head dropped.

“It’s going to be okay, sweetheart. I promise.”

Her head snapped up, eyes spitting fire at him. Such a temper. He’d rather have her angry than scared shitless, though.

“What did I just say, Kincaid?”

“Sorry.” He held up his hands in surrender. “Old habits.”

“Can you at least try to be professional, Agent Kincaid?”

“I can try, but it probably won’t last. Back to your serial killer adventure…”

“Did you honestly just call the most terrifying moment of my life an adventure?”

“Too soon for jokes, huh?” He smiled and saw her fight not to return the smile. “Okay, then, back to business. What do you remember about him? Short, tall? Was he white, black, Asian, Hispanic?”

“White, tall, but not as tall as you, maybe six feet or a little under. He had a five o’clock shadow. Dark hair, his eyes were blue. I saw them in the light. Pops always keeps it well-lit back there. He had on a dark blue hoodie. It slipped off his head at one point and that’s how I got a good look at his face. Jeans. Dark sneakers, I think.”

A knock sounded, and Kade turned to open the door. The owner of the bar and Bailey stood there, a mixture of morbid curiosity and concern on their faces.

“Is everything okay in here?” Pops eyeballed Kade warily.

“Everything’s fine.” Kade stepped aside so they could enter. “Angel was just telling me about what she remembers.”

“You good?” Pops, as he’d told Kade to call him, went over to stand by Angel, his arms crossed much like her own were. His stance breathed hostility.

“Yeah, I’m good, Pops.”

Kade gave the detective a brief rundown of everything she’d told him, while she and Pops spoke quietly.

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