Page 58 of Royal
The call disconnected, and I looked at the screen in surprise. He’d almost said he loved me. Damn. We truly did have a complicated relationship. It was too easy to fall back into how we used to be and momentarily forget about the crap that’d torn us apart.
Even after all those years, Royal was still my best friend. He knew me better than anyone. I was thankful he was giving me another chance, but we couldn’t be just friends. We meant way more to each other than that.
I would respect his wishes, though, and give him time to sort things out.
I left the bathroom and walked past my desk, placing my phone on top, before continuing toward the exit. Agent Stone met me at the front doors of the station, giving me an encouraging look. Not a smile, but something close to it. I had a feeling he didn’t smile much.
With his job, though? It wasn’t shocking.
A large crowd had gathered in front of the station. Cameras were everywhere. Some reporters were talking to their cameramen; others spoke into handheld recorders. The conference would be broadcast as an emergency alert and would be on the local channels. In a few moments, my face would be on so many people’s TV screens, phones, and laptops.
Deep breath. In. Out.
I shook my hands at my sides. I’d read that helped loosen you up and shake off the nerves. Pretty sure the advice was bullshit, because I still felt like I was going to puke.
“Think of the victims,” Agent Stone said, watching me with a serious expression. “You’re doing this for them. We haven’t received any reports of deaths with his signature from anywhere else, and this is still his primary killing period. I believe he’s waiting for the festival. He might even have his sights set on someone he knows is attending. Wemustcatch him before then.”
Surprisingly, that helped. Public speaking was nothing compared to my worry over the people of Addersfield. I wanted the psycho caught, and I’d do anything to make it possible.
I went outside and stood in front of the crowd. The talking stopped, and everyone turned their attention on me. My stomach fluttered with nerves, but I composed myself. After introducing myself, I discussed the matter at hand. I repeated what Lieutenant Anderson had told me; that we were doing all we could to catch the guy, and that the FBI was helping us with the investigation.
Then, I opened it up for questions.
“Is the killer still in Addersfield?” a man asked.
“The Vanity Killer has claimed two lives here,” I said, intentionally using his name since Agent Stone had said it could anger him. “It’s been about two weeks since he’s surfaced. To the best of our knowledge, he’s moved on. We are remaining vigilant just in case.”
“Are there security plans in place for the Spring Fever Festival?” one reporter asked before holding out her recorder.
“Yes. None of which I can go into detail about.”
“What do you think drives the Vanity Killer?” another asked. “Why do they kill?”
Okay. Agent Stone had told me if I was asked a question of that sort to try and piss the guy off as much as possible. And I was good at being an ass.
“We believe he’s unattractive, so he targets those he deems beautiful,” I answered, making sure not to cross my arms or talk too fast. Royal’s advice played through my head. I breathed evenly through my nose. “He hates attractive men and women because he’s jealous of them. He targets public figures because they’re who he sees most. And he kills because he’s a sick human being who needs to be locked away. Which we intend to do, once we catch him.”
Yeah. That last line would piss him off if nothing else did.
I answered a few more questions before ending the conference and going back inside. Once out of view of the crowd, I released a shaky breath and pushed my hands through my hair.
“How did I do?” I asked Agent Stone.
“Very good. If he’s still in Addersfield like we suspect, we should be hearing from him soon.”
We walked to the back room where the table and boards were set up, along with the case files. We’d added a map of the town on another board and had stuck red pins in to represent the location where the bodies had been found. Yellow pins symbolized abandoned properties that we’d checked out in case he’d been hiding out in one of them. Blue for factories.
There were still other places we’d yet to check, but we were working hard on searching them. It took time and manpower to check a place from top to bottom, and although Addersfield wasn’t a massive town, it was still big enough to make the process time consuming.
My phone dinged with a text, and I snatched it up from my desk.
Royal:I know you’re probably busy, but I wanted you to know I watched the conference and you did great.
I smiled and sent back a quick “thank you.”
Agent Stone caught my eye over the stack of papers he was looking at.
“Sorry,” I said, placing my phone back on the desk.
