Page 23 of Nothing Hiding

Then she was racing toward him, and although he turned and tried to run again, she was now too close and too fast. She grabbed hold of his arm.

He tried to twist out of her grip, his body flailing as he fought back against her.

“Let go of me!" he snarled.

But Juliette wasn't letting go. She knew this could be her only chance to catch him, and she wasn't going to lose him again. She dug her feet into the plush carpet, using her entire body weight to keep him from escaping.

She tightened her grip on his arm, twisting hard, and he winced, the pain etched across his face.

"All right, all right," he said, now without the malevolence she'd heard in his voice earlier. "You're hurting me! I'm just an innocent, ordinary person doing some shopping!"

That, she doubted, as she fastened the handcuffs tightly around him and then looped then over the handle of one of the store's access doors. She needed him to stay put for long enough that she could call Wyatt. Quickly, Juliette got out her phone.

"Wyatt, I got him. In Harrods. Pierre Cardin room. I've got him handcuffed to a door. We need to take him in," she said.

"On my way, and I'll organize," Wyatt said breathlessly.

Now, Griggs had changed tactic yet again. Begging words were spilling out of him. "Look, I'm an innocent man, I swear, I was just … just doing some shopping. Don't arrest me! Please!"

Too late for that,Juliette thought, not even bothering to answer as she stood guard over him, waiting for Wyatt.

Without a doubt, he was guilty.

Now, all that remained was to find out what, exactly, he was guilty of. And whether he was the killer.

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

His pillars of life. That was how he thought of them. They started out as raw material, waiting to be molded. To have the shine on their face, the glow to their lips, the perfect posture that would sear their shape and form into the observer's eye. Shaped, sculpted, and formed. The energies seared and crackled from them when they were correctly positioned. He could feel it, sizzling through him, flaring into the air.

Two, so far. He'd placed two beauties. And now, he was busy preparing for a third.

He'd only take her in darkness. That was the rule. Darkness had to fall for the entire process to be meaningful, to have the power it needed to. Images flashed into his mind. What he was doing was no easy job. It was a complex, difficult task with so many facets.

The thrill of it all sent shivers down his spine. The anticipation of capturing the third model, of molding her into perfection, was enough to make his fingers tremble.

He had watched her from afar, ever since the first moment she'd caught his eye. He had taken in every detail, every curve and angle, studying her movements, her habits, her routines. He needed to know everything about her to ensure she would be the perfect addition to his collection.

She was a tall, stunning brunette with piercing blue eyes and a figure that would make any man's jaw drop. He knew he had to have her.

But first, he needed to plan. He couldn't afford to make any mistakes. This was his life's work, and it needed to be a triumph.

He moved forward in the queue. He was watching the place where she worked, a wildly popular cookie shop with a few franchises in London. They sold every imaginable flavor and style of cookie, and at lunch time and on the weekends, people queued to buy.

"Do you mind?" the woman in front of him said.

He stepped back, quickly, aware that in his eagerness, he'd jostled forward too fast.

"I'm sorry," he said. He put genuine feeling into his words. He met her eyes briefly. He meant what he said.

She looked at him with slightly less annoyance, thanks to his timely and sincere apology.

"We all want the cookies," she scolded. "But patience is a virtue, right? They're not running short of anything so far. What are you getting this time?"

"Triple chocolate," he said without hesitation.

He had studied the layout, the timings, everything about it. He had even tried some of the cookies once, just to see what all the fuss was about. "And perhaps a white chocolate cranberry."

"Oooh, those are my favorites, too," she shared. "But the other day, I tried a salted caramel, and I must say, it won me over."

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