Rennie’s heart soared. “Does that mean…you have feelings for me?”
Mac caressed the side of her cheek, gently kissing her petal-soft lips before replying. “I knew you were going to be different even before I kissed you for the first time. You do something to me, Rennie. Being with you stimulates me on so many different levels. I can’t even begin to understand it.”
“Is it safe to assume this won’t be a onetime thing?”
“Oh, sweetheart, there’s no doubt about that. As a matter of fact…”
He maneuvered himself over her, smiling at the look of surprise on her face when she realized he was going to take her again. It was going to be a long, long night for both of them.
***
Rennie hummed an upbeat tune as she pulled out a few cold case files. She should have been sluggish and tired after getting only a few hours of sleep the night before, but she wasn’t. Far from it, she felt exhilarated and extremely alert and ready to conquer the growing stack of files. Of course, she wasn’t always as successful as she had been with the case on Estelle and Linda, but even the smallest bit of information she was able to provide for the detectives could be enough to ferret out the murderer. If she happened to run across a case where nothing at all came to her, Rennie put it back in the file cabinet and tried again at a later date.
She sat at her desk but didn’t go to work right away. She’d been operating in a dreamy state all day because she couldn’t seem to keep her mind from straying to thoughts of Mac. He’d gotten up early that morning because he had to go home and shower before work, but only after they had made love one more time, and he’d left her with a heart stopping kiss and the promise to call her later.
She was tender in places she’d never known existed until last night, but Rennie didn’t have a single regret. There had been no similarities between what she’d known of sex before and what had happened between her and Mac. It was the first time in her life that Rennie realized rape truly was an act of violence and control and had nothing to do with the intimacies shared between a man and a woman who came together by choice.
She opened up the first file, reluctantly pushing memories of last night to the back of her mind. She needed to focus or she would be of no use to anyone. Rennie pulled out the manila envelope and dumped the contents onto the desk. When a picture of a middle aged man smiled up at her, she sighed with relief, thankful that at least this case had nothing to do with physically violating a woman.
***
Mac was in his office going over a few of his active cases when Ryan stepped in.
“You’re not going to believe this, but Eugene Dalton escaped this morning.”
Mac’s brows furrowed. “Dalton? The man who kidnapped and assaulted Angel Starr?”
“That’s the one.” Ryan dropped into the chair in front of Mac’s desk. “Apparently, he lured the guard into the room somehow and then nailed him on the back of the head with the bed pan. Dalton stripped him, dressed up in his uniform, and walked right out of the hospital.”
“I should have killed him when I had the chance,” Mac growled. “I hope to God they find him soon because he’ll be out looking for a fresh victim as soon as his wounds heal. Damn, this is really going to upset Rennie.”
“So how did it go with you and Miss O’Neal last night?”
Mac couldn’t help smiling. “She’s an amazing woman. I’m taking her to dinner again tonight.”
Ryan stared at him in mock surprise. “Two nights in a row? My, this could be serious.”
“Don’t give me any crap. Tell me about Dalton. Do they have any leads?”
“Not really. We found out he’s been a campus security guard for the past eight months. I’m guessing if we look into our unsolved crimes files, we’ll find he was responsible for some of the other missing college girls over that period.”
“That’s what Rennie meant when she said Angel didn’t know Dalton but trusted him because she had seen him around.”
“I’m sure Angel wasn’t the first either. He’s been working campus security jobs all over the state for the last five years. As for his escape, there was a Chevy Nova stolen from the hospital parking lot this morning and we’re fairly certain he took it. It was found in the South Bottoms area a few hours later.”
“Which means he could be hiding anywhere.”
The South Bottoms was a low rent district that sheltered drug dealers and low life thugs. If Dalton was in that part of town, they could question people all day long and not one of them would admit to having seen him.
“I want that trash off the streets,” Mac said vehemently.
“Technically, it’s not our department since the Starr girl survived. Even if we tried to claim the case because she was kidnapped, there was no ransom demand so the Chief will want it assigned to one of the junior investigators.”
Mac wasn’t dissuaded by Ryan’s reasoning. “It will be ours as soon as we check our unsolved files and connect him to one of the college girls who turned up dead. How many have there been over the last eight months, three?”
“Three that were found. Who knows if there are more missing girls we haven’t located yet.”
“Shuffle some of your load off to Vince and get working on this right away. If you hear anything in the meantime, let me know.”
“What about your psychic girlfriend? Maybe she can help find him.”
“I don’t know. We haven’t really discussed how it works so I don’t know whether she can connect with him or not. I’m not even sure I want to ask her. If you had seen Rennie that night and what she went through, you would understand what I mean.”
“At this point, she may be the only chance we have. If he leaves the city, he could assume a new identity and continue his murder spree someplace else.”
“I’ll ask her,” Mac promised, although his stomach revolted at the idea of Rennie linking with a cold-blooded killer.
Chapter 5
When Mac arrived at her house that night, Rennie barely had time to close the door before he gathered her in his arms as if he hadn’t seen her days. The kiss was hard and fierce, and it certainly didn’t take any of her psychic abilities to sense something was wrong. When he finally came up for air, she asked him to sit with her in the living room.
“Something is bothering you,” she said as she curled up next to him on the sofa.
Mac’s eyes narrowed. “I thought you said you didn’t read minds.”
“I don’t, but the way you were kissing me gave me the distinct impression you needed to push something pretty disturbing to the background.”
He nodded thoughtfully and took her hand in his. “There’s no easy way to say this so I’m just going to tell you straight up. Eugene Dalton, the man who attacked Angel, has escaped.”
Rennie’s stomach lurched dangerously. “When? How? I thought he was being guarded at the hospital.”
“He lured the guard in, knocked him out, and then stole his clothes and walked out of the hospital. They think he also stole a car from the hospital parking lot but abandoned it a few hours later. They’ve hauled it in for fingerprinting to verify he was the one who took it.”
“God, I hope Angel doesn’t find out.”
“I’m not sure her parents will tell her, but we had to let them know. There’s no way to be sure he won’t go after her again so I suggested they take her out of the city for a while.”
“He won’t go after her,” Rennie said with certainty, “but she’ll still be scared to death.”
“How can you be so sure?”
“Because they're faceless to him. As awful as it sounds, one woman is just as good as another. It isn't personal to him.”
“And you know this because…?”
Rennie drew her hand away. “What’s really going on, Mac?”
He leaned back against the sofa with a heavy sigh. “We have no leads. Dalton is probably hiding out in the South Bottoms and we have next to no chance of finding him if he is. We’ve got
cruisers all over the area to make it harder for him to get away unnoticed but I doubt he’ll try to run for at least the next few days because of the gunshot wounds. The truth is…we need your help, Rennie.”
She stared at him in horror. “You want me to link with him? Do you even know what you’re asking?”
“No, I don’t know, and that makes it even harder. I don’t know how it works for you or if you can control how strong the link is, but without you he may get away. As it is, I’m overstepping my bounds unless we can establish a connection with some of the other murdered college girls.”
“Other girls?”
“He’s been taking jobs as a campus security guard for five years that we know of. We think he has been doing this all over the state. I’m sure with more digging we’ll discover he was active in other states as well.”
“Oh, God.” she moaned.
Mac pulled her back into his arms. “You don’t have to do this if you don’t want to, honey. I would understand completely if you didn’t.”
“Maybe you would, but what if he kills again? Would those girl’s parents understand? I hate this,” she said, both angry and resentful. “I wish I didn’t have this awful curse so I could just live a normal life like everyone else.”
“I don’t think it’s a curse,” he said gently. “How could anything that helps capture a monster like Dalton be considered a curse? You have the power to help when no one else can. Imagine how I feel. I know full well Dalton will kill again and yet I’m totally helpless to do anything about it. I could spend twenty-four hours a day trying to find him and not even come close. I know you must have some ability to link with him because you knew he wouldn’t go after Angel. Tell me how it works, Rennie, and if there is any way I can make it easier on you, I will.”
She was quiet for a few minutes, mulling over what he had said. “I’ve never had someone with me when I deliberately tried to link so I’m not sure if there is anything you can do. But you’re right about Dalton; I did link, although not completely. I’m not even sure myself how it works. Normally, I don’t link with a live victim like I did with Angel, and if by chance I do, it’s usually too late to do anything to stop the murder.
"The victim is linked to the killer from the moment the violence begins, possibly because of the intense emotions on both sides, or perhaps they cling to the killer because the power of life is in their hands. My only connection with the killer is through the victim, which generally doesn’t transpire until after the murder has taken place. What I believe happens is that the victim’s link with the killer is briefly transferred to me at the moment of death, but the connection doesn’t last long so there is a very small window of opportunity for me to gain any information about what happens afterwards. To be honest, I don’t know if I can even do it with Dalton because Angel survived.”
“Would you be willing to try?”
Guilt assaulted her from all sides. She had purposely omitted the possibility of linking with Dalton through another of his victims because she was terrified of what she would discover. More than anything she wanted to say no, and if it had been anyone except Mac asking, she would have declined. Instead, she relented with a weary sigh.
“Okay, I’ll try, but I’ll need a few things.”
“Just tell me what they are and I’ll get them.”
“A picture of Dalton and a piece of material from the clothes he was wearing when you caught him. If there were any personal items on him at the time like jewelry or a wallet, I’ll need that too.”
“He had a knife…” Mac started, but Rennie interrupted him.
“No, the knife was merely a tool to him. It needs to be something he valued or kept with him all the time.”
“I’ll get everything together and bring it to you tomorrow some time. I’m sorry, honey, but I had to ask.”
“I know you did and I don’t blame you, but linking with a killer is almost harder on me than linking with a victim.”
“In what way?”
“I told you I don’t read minds, but I can pick up on emotions and receive impressions of things a person has done. People tend to hold onto their worst experiences as well as their happiest moments, so it’s not always bad. Unfortunately, I can’t determine what I’ll pick up before that connection is made, which is why I avoid physical contact as much as possible. For the most part, I’m able to hear the same conversations and sounds they experienced, similar to listening to a radio. When that happens, I can remain somewhat…detached.
“Acts of violence or crime are different. Sometimes, not always, the emotions are so strong I’m able to put them into words like when Angel was praying her father would find her. In those instances, it’s more like being inside a dream that you can’t wake from. With a criminal like Dalton the emotions are so dark, so vile, it makes me physically ill. It’s like crawling around in a cesspool of brutality and death.” Rennie shivered. “It’s awful, Mac, and I have nightmares for weeks afterwards.”
“I’ll be here for you, honey. I promise you won’t be alone in this.”
Somehow, she found comfort in Mac’s firm belief that he could keep her safe from the nightmares. Maybe he was right. She hadn’t dreamed about Angel the night before. Of course, that could have been because they hadn’t actually slept for more than a few hours, but in her heart she believed it was because he had been beside her.
Mac cupped her chin and tilted her head back. “Let’s not spoil the evening by talking about Dalton. What do you say we go someplace nice for dinner?”
“I’m not very hungry and really don’t feel up to going out. I’m probably just going to go to bed early, so I guess…I’ll see you tomorrow when you drop Dalton’s things off.”
“Oh, no you don’t, sweetheart,” he admonished. “You’re not going to double my guilt by pushing me away. Like it or not, we are an item now and I’m not leaving you alone tonight. We don’t have to do anything if you don’t want to, but I am going to sleep with you in my arms and that is final.”
Rennie smiled at the stubborn set of his jaw. “That’s final, huh?”
Mac grinned. “I was pulling my he-man routine, did it work?”
“This time, but don’t get cocky. I’m only giving in because I find you incredibly irresistible and I’m feeling a bit vulnerable at the moment.”
“Whatever works.” he shrugged. “So what do you feel like eating for dinner?”
She opened her mouth to argue that she wasn’t hungry but that obstinate set of his chin had migrated to his eyes. She smiled sweetly.
“How about Chinese?”
***
Slipping back into the decadent dream she’d been having was incredibly tempting, but Rennie had already slept much longer than she should have. Even so, she took a few more minutes to indulge herself by drawing Mac’s pillow close to her face and inhaling deeply. She loved the way his masculine scent lingered on the pillow. It helped alleviate the irrational rush of loneliness she felt in a bed that suddenly seemed too big without him in it.
They’d had a very pleasant dinner the night before, mostly because any conversations that might lead back to Dalton were carefully avoided. Afterwards, they went to her house and made a pretense of watching an old movie for all of thirty minutes before the sexual tension that had been building all evening finally snapped.
Making love with Mac had been no less devastating than their first night together and she had fallen into a deep and dreamless sleep until early this morning. There was something deliciously sensual about waking to a man who couldn’t seem to keep his hands off of you. There simply wasn’t any better way to start the day.
Throwing the covers back, she climbed out of bed and trudged off to the bathroom to take a shower. The hot water felt good and she lingered longer than usual and took her time dressing before heading downstairs to make a pot of coffee. Her heart melted when she saw Mac had already made it for her, but it was the note on the counter that made her stomach flutter.
I
miss your lips already. I’ll be thinking of you, Mac.
Short, but incredibly sweet. She missed his lips too, not to mention various other parts of his fabulous body. Rennie was just finishing her second cup of coffee when the phone rang. She didn’t get many calls unless it was from one of the detectives asking about a particular case, but it occurred to her it might be Mac so she hurried to pick it up instead of letting the answering machine get it. A woman whose voice she didn’t recognize was on the other end.
“Miss O’Neal?”
“Yes, may I help you?”
“You don’t know me, but I believe you helped find my daughter.”
Rennie’s hand tightened around the phone. No one was supposed to know she worked with the police, and certainly no one except Mac knew she had been responsible for locating Angel.
“I’m not sure I understand. Who is your daughter?”
“Angel Starr.”
“What makes you think I was the one who found her?” Her voice was stiff and unfriendly, although she hadn’t meant it to sound like that.
“Oh, dear, if I’ve gotten this wrong then I apologize because it’s going to sound horribly ridiculous. Angel said…she heard a woman’s voice asking her where she was. She thought the woman was there with her, comforting her, but when the detective broke in and rescued her, no one else was in the room. One of the police officers who arrived shortly afterwards escorted the ambulance to the hospital. When Angel asked about you, he told her he didn’t know your name but knew you had helped Detective Logan track her down.”
“Wait…I’m a little confused. First you say the policeman gave her my name, now you say he didn’t know. Which is it?”
“I’m sorry, Miss O’Neal, I didn’t mean to upset you. I just wanted to thank you for what you did.”
Rennie made an effort to soften her tone. Her entire career could be jeopardized if people learned she worked with the police. “You haven’t upset me. It’s just that I was under the assumption that only Detective Logan knew I had helped. So, how did Angel find out who I was?”
WHISPERS TO THE HEART Page 6