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“I’m sorry,” Sam said softly. “And now you have to break in a new partner.”
“Already did. Connor Robinson.”
“I thought that was just temporary.”
“It was. His partner decided to retire and move out east with his girlfriend.” But she didn’t want to think about the upcoming changes, so she looked down at the dogs and remembered the other gift. “Pop made you something.” She pulled it from her pocket, bringing the cat-bird with it. She separated the two carvings, holding Sam’s out to him cupped in her palm.
So that he’ll have to touch you to claim it. Just once.
He did, sliding one of his fingers over her palm before bringing the carving closer to his face. He broke into a delighted smile. “It’s Siggy.”
She tried to ignore the shiver that danced across her skin at his touch. “Pop found a picture of him on Facebook. He and Mom are so grateful to you for your help in bringing Rita home.” She drew a breath that hurt. “I don’t think we could have made it through that again.”
He looked at the cat-bird she held in her other hand. “Did he make that, too?”
She nodded. “Every year he makes me a wren.”
“For your sister.”
“Yes. This year he made this one, too.”
Sam gently gripped her wrist, bringing her palm closer so that he could study the carving she held. “A cat and a bird?” Then recognition filled his eyes. “Because he calls you Kitty-Cat.”
This man was far too observant. Get it done and get out of here.
“Yes.” She tugged her wrist and he immediately let her go. She slid the cat-bird back into her pocket. “I thought you might like some of the blanks filled in.”
Sam leaned back, seemingly at ease with her subject change. “That would be nice.”
“First, your phone.” She pulled the evidence bag with his phone from her jacket pocket. “The special master finally confirmed it was in Joshua Tree.”
He gave her a wry look as he set the phone aside. “Thank you. And the park ranger?”
“He finally got back to us Thursday afternoon, confirming that he’d seen you. I’m sorry it took so long.” He didn’t say That’s okay, but she hadn’t expected him to, because it wasn’t. Folding her hands on the table, she pressed forward. “Dr.Scott isn’t talking about the victims.”
He lifted his coffee cup to his lips, his gaze fixed to hers. “Not surprising. You want him to tell you where his victims are all buried, but he’ll want something for the information. It’s like a dance and, when he thinks he’s leading, he’ll talk.”
“I agree, but we’re matching the photos of the grave sites in his living room to the local parks. It would be easier if he told us, but eventually we’ll figure out his burial places. Connor found cell phone videos on Driscoll’s laptop of Scott burying some of the victims, so that should help us narrow down at least a few of the locations.”
“I figured that Colton had followed Scott—at least with Jaelyn—since he knew where she was buried. It’s good to know for sure, though.”
She sighed. “We’re going to be looking for bodies for a long time.”
“Three dozen bodies.”
She nodded grimly. “He’s been killing for twenty years, two victims a year for most of that time. He likes order and patterns. And gardening, apparently. He was on the board of several private parks and gardens in San Diego County and volunteers with them. He helps them plant in the spring and fall. That’s how he knew about which parks he could bury bodies in without raising suspicion. He also knew about the employee-only gates, which was probably how he was able to get the bodies to wherever he buried them. We’ve heard from parks all over town saying how they were fooled. He was a very charming liar.”
“He’s also a narcissist and needed to have the evidence posted on his wall for anyone to see. Made him feel smarter than the rest of us. Did you find out how he was connected to Orion School?”
“He was on their board when they developed the scholarship. He did a bit of community theater in college and acting, along with gardening, were his hobbies.” Along with killing, she thought bitterly. “He was on Orion’s first admissions committee.”
“T’s crossed, i’s dotted.”
“Exactly. We’ve gotten a lot of information from Colton Driscoll’s laptop, too. CSU found it in Scott’s apartment. Driscoll had been recording Scott for five years.”
“Ever since he lost his job and when Scott cut him loose as a client.”
“Yes,” she said. “You were right about that. Driscoll had purposely gotten a job in that mail room because that’s where Scott’s other office was. Driscoll was the one who installed the cameras in Scott’s office and his house. We found the footage on his laptop.” She sighed. “Rochelle Hamilton, the victim who went missing five years ago, had been in his office. He was her therapist, too.”
