The delicious aroma of pad Thai, basil fried rice, and papaya salads wafted into my nose, making my stomach growl. I got out plates for the food and glanced at the news on the TV screen, showing a picture of a woman with a heart tattoo on her face. My heart pounded, remembering the woman from the train.
“Naomi Baker’s family reported her missing two weeks ago. Her body was discovered today in an empty parking lot with her heart and lungs removed. She was also holding a bouquet of bleeding hearts. Naomi leaves behind a one-year-old daughter. Police are looking for her boyfriend, who was the last person with her. If you have any information, please call the number on the screen.”
The news reporter transitioned to talking about the organ black market. Images of hearts and lungs splashed onto the screen and remained there for too long. A tremor rose in my body, making me lose grip on the porcelain plates. They crashed to the floor, scattering into pieces.
I took a deep breath and envisioned Kain and me on vacation in the tropics.
Kain rushed out of his office. “What happened? You’re so pale.” He scooped me up, brought me over to the couch, and cradled me on his lap. “What’s wrong?”
I nestled into his embrace, inhaling his musky scent. His presence soothed me quicker than I realized. The shaking stopped, and I felt my body calm, like the ebbing of a wave.
“There’s a new Bleeding Hearts murder. I recognize the woman. She was on the train with her boyfriend.” I sat up straighter, placing a hand on his chest. “Then the news showed videos of organs, and I panicked. But it wasn’t as strong this time around.”
He pulled me against his chest and kissed my head. We remained like that for a while, with him cradling me and me listening to his rhythmic heartbeat that was almost too hypnotizing. Feeling safe, my racing heart slowed and my breathing grew steady.
I glanced up and kissed his chin. “Thank you. I’m okay now.”
“You sure?” He smiled, patting my bottom.
“You’re the doctor I need.”
“Call me anytime.” Laugh lines bracketed his lips.
“I should call the authorities and let them know about my encounter with the woman. Maybe they can look at cameras on the train or at the stop where they got off.”
“I’ll give Detective McNally a call so you can talk to him.”
Chapter Thirty-Four
Kain
When Detective McNally pulled up recordings from the train, my stomach lurched at the familiar face. Andrew Snow wasn’t the dead woman’s boyfriend, as the media had assumed. He was her kidnapper. The woman’s boyfriend’s family had called the police station, saying he’d been stationed in Japan for the last six months. Detective McNally had confirmed the information.
How many people had Andrew kidnapped? He probably threatened to hurt her baby if she didn’t comply. I made a mental note to have Andrew give me a list of names of people he’d kidnapped. Even though Andrew didn’t kill her, he delivered her to those murderers. He was just as guilty. I wanted to inform Detective McNally, but I needed Andrew’s help to lure out the Bleeding Hearts Killer.
When we got back from the police precinct, Eva wasexhausted. She’d seen too many dead bodies. Though I wanted to erase them from her mind, I couldn’t.
While Eva slept, I logged into the dark web and searched for Francisco Bottego. I didn’t want to browse with Eva around. Her curiosity and desire to assist would push her to ask questions I didn’t want to answer.When she wanted to destroy the monsters for me, warmth and appreciation ignited in my chest. No woman had ever said those words to me.
Eva had courage, kindness, honesty, and gentleness that smoothed out the rough edges of my life. She was exactly what I needed. She was the balm that covered a tattoo so it could heal.
The DNA from the body parts sent to me and the boys had come back. They belonged to Francisco. No trace of other DNA was found on the packages. Who had sent them to us? What was their motive?
Learning more about Francisco could help me uncover who was behind the murders. Maybe he’d left clues at his home that could shed more light on his death. Francisco was marked with Hawthorne’s cross, but I couldn’t tell if he still worked for the organization or for someone else. He’d targeted people associated with Hawthorne’s organization at the Boston Harbor Hotel. Why would he do that if he were still part of Hawthorne’s crew?
In addition, the discovery of Malory Evans’ corpse on the same day surprised me. Was her death associated with the senator’s niece, Shelly Clark? Was this a political statement? Did the same person drop off her body along with Francisco’s body parts? Why didn’t they leave his dismembered parts with Malory in Etched Square? The entire situation baffled me. The two murders appeared to be separate cases, especially since her actual corpse was sent to the hospital. Despite that, my gut told me they were connected.
Also, the authorities couldn’t identify the women who had been found in the alley holding the red roses. I opened the shared file that the boys had compiled and created two new folders for Viewed and Need to View. I clicked on the recordings from the retail store outside of which Malory’s fake corpse was found. After the third video, my eyes got tired, and I stretched and yawned. One more video, and I’d call it a night.
The fourth video was from a camera stationed on top of a light pole. It captured cars driving down the street and people walking on the sidewalk. My pulse quickened when a white van stopped at the corner, but a mail truck blocked my view. When the van drove off, I saw the Bingo Delivery logo on the side. I couldn’t see the driver clearly. Nothing else seemed suspicious on the video after that van.
Could this be the van that dropped off Malory Evans’s body? The video was dated three days before the actual body was discovered. Was he scouting the area?
On a hunch, I searched for the recordings collected that day. The first recording showed the white van again. It was parked at the corner, and a tree and an SUV blocked a portion of it off. The driver knew where to park to obscure the vehicle from the cameras. I didn’t see anyone leave the van. Ten minutes later, the van drove off. I zoomed in on the license plate at the front, but there was none. Based on the angle, I couldn’t catch the back plate. This had to be the van carrying Malory’s body, or the dummy.
My next search brought me to Bingo Delivery, a small courier business based in Watertown, which I’d visit tomorrow.
Chapter Thirty-Five
