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Cami was at my place an hour later with a pizza loaded with cheese and pepperoni. I hadn’t realized how hungry I was until the heavenly smell consumed my house.
She sat it on the counter while I collected some plates from the kitchen cabinet.
“I said bye to Dad this morning. It was really hard.” I flipped open the box lid and grabbed a piece, plopping it onto my plate.
Once Cami did the same, she hopped onto her favorite stool and focused on me.
“I’m sure that was hard. Hell, I bawled my eyes out when I saw him yesterday.” She took a bite of her pizza, the cheese leaving a string from her mouth to the crust. She swiped a finger through it and licked it off.
I couldn’t help but laugh. “I’m sure Mom will call me later when she and Dad are settled in. Until then, it’s not going to do me any good worrying. Besides, I need an update. Are you ready for your big date tomorrow?”
She shook her head, her lips pursed. “No, I’m scared to death, Ella. I really like this guy.”
“Yeah? What’s so special about him?”
“He’s not from Portland, for starters. He’s from Connecticut.” She grinned at me around the food in her mouth. “Plus.” She leaned toward me. “Can you keep a secret?”
If she only knew the dark secrets I was already keeping.
“Of course.” I waved her off as if it were the silliest thing she’d ever asked me. It was.
“Not a soul, Ella. But Ryan is working on the Portland serial killer case.”
My phone clattered to the floor, and ice flowed through my veins, rendering me momentarily immobile.
“Are you okay? What did I say wrong?”
Fear bubbled up inside my chest. “Did you tell Ryan about my stalker, Cami?”
She shook her head slowly. “No, you’ve not mentioned it again, so I figured it wasn’t as concerning as we first thought.”
I mentally sighed with relief, but the concerns weren’t over. “It wasn’t. I only saw him once, and honestly, I think he was just passing through the neighborhood and decided to scare me on the way out.” My pulse spiked with my lie. How would I protect Death if Cami’s boyfriend was sniffing around? My heart skipped a beat as I realized that I actually would protect him. He’d saved my life and there was no doubt in my mind that he would kill for me again.
“With everything happening, I forgot all about it. I should have told you sooner that he hadn’t been back around.”
“Yeah, it was weird, but I’m glad he’s not been around anymore. Honestly, I don’t think the man who scared you and the serial killer are the same guy, anyway. I’m sure there would be some seriously weird behavior going down with you if it were.”
She had no idea how much she’d hit the nail on the head. “No shit.” I massaged the back of my neck, trying to see how to play this. “Has Ryan given you any details about the case at all? I mean, I realize we hear things on the news, but it’s only what we’re allowed to know.”
Cami chewed, then swallowed her bite of pizza. “You can’t tell anyone. You swear on your life?”
“Who am I going to tell, babe? You’re my best friend and you’re giving me the tea, so that pretty much cuts down who I’m going to blab to.” I laughed.
She pondered for a moment. “Yeah, you have a point.” She rubbed her hands together as if she had a super juicy secret. Hell, she might, and I needed to know what it was.
“It’s a male, for sure. They’ve not found any evidence as to who, though. It’s like the killer is a clean freak or something because he hasn’t left anything behind except once. There was a partial boot print at a murder scene. From that clue, they can guesstimate he’s about six foot three and approximately two hundred pounds.”
I nearly choked on my panic but instead played into Cami’s fascination with what the man might look like. Hell, I was also curious about who Death was beneath the mask. “Hm, maybe broad shoulders and a solid wall of muscle. I mean, you’ve got to be strong to kill someone, right?” I pulled at the cheese hanging off my slice of pizza and popped it into my mouth.
“The way he’s doing it, yeah.” Cami flipped her long hair behind her shoulder.
Frowning, I took another bite and said, “What do you mean? The news hasn’t said anything about his methods.” Neither had Death. Other than Stephen, I had no idea how or who he was murdering. I stared at my feet, realizing that Cami was sitting only feet away from where Stephen died. Images of his lifeless, bloody form played through my head, and my feelings about the sorry bastard bounced around inside me like a kangaroo on crack. All in all, I was glad the fucker was dead.
“Girl, Ryan said they found a body in the lake near Bend. Rocks were sewn into his stomach to keep him from floating to the top of the water.”
I scrunched up my nose. “Gross, but efficient.”
“The guy wasn’t small either, so whoever did it is strong enough to snatch and carry his victims.” She tapped her chin for a moment, pretending to be deep in thought. “I wonder if Ryan is strong enough to carry me?”
