Atlas could not.
“About six-foot-two, two hundred pounds.Wore all black.Moved fast.Showed no hesitation when he attacked Atlas.”Lily’s words were crisp.“I went up to him from behind.I jumped on his back, and I tried to pull him away from Atlas.We fought, and I…he threw me to the ground.That’s when I hit my head.I…” She paused.Frowned.“No.”Stronger.“He loomed over me once I hit the ground.I-I remember that.I was trying to get up, but he grabbed me by the shirt front.Then slammed me back onto the pavement.That’swhen things got blurry.I…passed out a bit.”
She had never mentioned the prick slamming her into the pavement that way.His hold on her fingers tightened.
Sharon scribbled faster.
Kurt stopped tugging on his collar.He frowned at Lily.
“When we got out of the cabin, I remember seeing your car,” she told Atlas.“Guessing maybe he dumped us in the trunk.Then drove us to the cabin?”A bit of uncertainty.“I woke up again when we were at the basement door.Right before he decided it would be lots of fun to shove us down that narrow staircase.”
“Mr.Bennett’s vehiclewasrecovered at the scene,” FBI Agent Sharon Hinkle noted as her pen paused above the pad.When Atlas glanced her way, sympathy filled her eyes as she stared at Lily.
But a quick glance showed there was no sympathy on Gage’s face.If anything, the prick looked furious.“Why were you targeted?”Gage demanded.
“Oh, my.”Theodora leaned forward.“I think we should tone down the tension here.My clients are cooperating.Recounting as much as they remember.I’m sure if you reach out to the hospital, the staff who examined them can back up all of their injuries.The concussions, the bruising—it’s all going to match up with the descriptions they are giving you.”
Lily pulled her hand from Atlas’s grasp.She tugged down her sleeve, pulling it over the dark band of bruising on her wrist.
“We’ve talked to the doctor in charge of the ER.Dr.Phillip Owen.”Gage’s jaw had clenched when he saw Lily’s wrist.His eyes glittered now as he glared at Atlas.“Why were you targeted, Atlas?”
“I’m afraid you’d have to ask the perp that question.”He curled his hand along the armrest on his chair.“Who knows what drives killers?”
Gage pointed at Lily.“She knows.She’s made it her life’s work to know.”A nod.“So, Lily, how about you tell me why this killer targeted your new fiancé?”
Lily blinked.“Different killers have different motivations.”
“Uh, huh.Sure they do.Got it.Understood.”
Sharon was back to taking her industrious notes.
Detective Wry watched the interview but didn’t say a word.Atlas wondered if that had been the deal.Gage told the detective he could attend the interview session provided that the local guy knew he wasn’t to interfere.
“But you and Detective Benedict Swain had plenty of theories about this particular killer, didn’t you?And let’s cut through the BS,” Gage directed with a huff.“I don’t like wasting time, and you know it.The attack from behind, the handcuffs…you and Benedict had already been looking at a serial in this area who hunted and used that exact MO?—”
“Serials require three kills,” Sharon cut in to say as she glanced up from her pad.“There have only been two so far.”
“Not if you count Benedict Swain as the third victim,” Gage returned to his partner, his teeth clenched and the words tight.“The poor bastard wasn’t gutted, and he didn’t have his insides yanked out?—”
“Oh, Jesus.”Theodora flinched and put her hand to her mouth.“Tact,tact.I cannot handle gore, and now that image is in my head and it will never come out.”
“Too bad.The vics didn’t want to handle it, either, but they had no choice.”Gage’s nostrils flared.“The way I see it, Benedict was the third victim, at least if we believe that a serial killer is truly hunting in the city.I do happen to believe that.I happen to believe that a punishment-motivated killer is at work.”His hands flattened on the dining room table.“But I want to know, why did this particular killer target you, Atlas?Just what crimes have you committed that made him think you should be next on his hit list?You were the intended victim, and poor Benedict died in your place.”
Theodora jumped to her feet.“How dare you?How dare you?We are cooperating—my clients are cooperating after their harrowing experience—and youdareto accuse them ofcommitting crimes?”
“I’m not accusing Lily of anything,” Gage said.“Not this time.”
Lily stiffened.
Not this time.Atlas caught that deliberate phrasing, and it certainly made him curious.Just what had the prick Fed accused her of before?And had that accusation been what ended their relationship?
“My clients are not going to answer anymore of your ridiculous questions.”Theodora appeared to be in a fine fury now.“Atlas Bennett is a pillar of the community.”
“Pillar,” he repeated.
“He donates massively to local charities.Do you know he even recently built a cancer wing for children at the very hospital where he was treated last night?”
“I like helping others,” Atlas murmured.“It’s a calling.”
