Page 37 of Investigate Away
She tilted her head and arched a brow. “Why?”
“You should know why.”
“But I don’t.”
Now it was time to make it personal. He took her hand and kissed her palm. “The night I proposed. The night Stephanie died. I promised to love and protect you. I told you I’d always have your back. I also made a joke, though I was serious, that I would always investigate with you. I crossed a line when I told you certain things, and by doing so, I put you and your sister in the line of fire.”
“We both crossed that line.” She set her pen down on top of her notebook and shut off the recorder. “I think I have more than enough. You’ll get a copy before I send it to the publisher. I won’t put anything in there that you don’t want me to.”
“I appreciate that.”
“I want you to know something,” she said.
“What’s that?”
“I blame myself just as much, if not more, than I blame you for everything that happened.”
“Babe, none of this is your fault.”
“You warned me that giving the killer too much attention might escalate things.”
“And I turned around and fed you information to give you the exclusive anyway. Besides, our killer didn’t do anything for the attention of the masses. One thing I don’t want in that book is that I think at some point, our killer started doing things to impress you or for you in some weird way, and that’s why I’ve been so worried the killings might start again with you back in Seattle.”
“I’ve never understood why you thought the killer had some sort of weird vibe for me.”
He lowered his chin. “Seriously? The killer communicated to you, and we can’t rule out that the killer isn’t doing it again.”
“Okay, first off. I was the most aggressive reporter during that time, so it makes sense that the killer would reach out to me. And aren’t you the one who told me the note and the trinkets are just whack jobs fucking with us?”
“That thing is off, right?”
She nodded.
“The raven trinkets were purchased at the same store as the dolphin ones, and they were bought in bulk a month ago.”
“Oh fuck, that might not be good.”
“Nope,” he said. “It could be bad. Very bad.”
* * *
Callie tossed her knapsack on her bed in the guest room. A couple of shiny objects bounced off the bed and rolled to a stop near her feet.
She bent over and picked up two raven trinkets.
One silver and one gold.
She dropped to her knees in search of the third one, but it was nowhere to be found. However, she did find a note with her name on it that read:
Callie: You disappoint me. I thought you’d have more strength. The game has begun.
Fuck.
Fuck.
Fuck.
She raced down the stairs, fumbling with her phone. She paced in Jag’s kitchen with her cell pressed against her ear. “Come on, Kara, answer the damn phone.” She peeked around the corner. Jag had slipped into his home office and shut the door. She’d give him a few more minutes before letting him know what she’d found.
