“We really do,” she hums. “What are we going to do?”
I push her wild hair back behind her ear, but it instantly pops out again. “That’s up to you. I want to be here for you. I don’t want to go back to how it was before. I like you, Katie. I can’t give you up now.”
It’s more than that. It’s fifteen years of pining. Fifteen years of watching from the sidelines as she dates assholes not worthy of her time. But I can’t tell her this now. One, it’s too soon; she’s not ready to hear it. And two, if I have to leave, I don’t want to pressure her into committing to me. Even if my body is screaming for her to be mine in every sense of the word.
Her eyes shine with tears. “You mean that?”
“I’m not scared to admit that I’m a bit obsessed,” I concede.
Her smile stretches, her watery eyes lighter. “I knew it.”
“You’re a real pain in my ass. Can you just kiss me now?” I say, grabbing the underside of her chair and pulling it closer to me.
“We have things to discuss.”
“Sure.”
“Important thin—” I cut her off by crushing my lips against hers, cupping her face as I do. Her cheeks are damp, and I swipe away the tears she’s already shed. My poor princess. So much going on in that busy brain of hers. I’d do anything toget into her head and tidy up. Help her sort out all her thoughts. We’ve made so much progress in the last few weeks, and now she sleeps so much better. How can I leave her knowing what she’ll have to deal with alone if I do?
Chapter Twenty-Three
Katie
Hannah Spears is twenty-five, blonde, soft-bodied. You can tell she’s pretty despite the tiredness in her eyes and the puffiness of her cheeks. A friend sits beside her, rubbing her back as she sniffs into a used tissue. The red rims around her eyes suggest she sleeps as well as I do. Well, as well as I used to before her boyfriend allegedly murdered someone and Jonesy started sleeping with me every night.
“I’m Dr. Murphy. I’m a forensic psychologist and consultant for the Seattle Police Department. Although they contract me, my reports are completely independent, and I have no incentive, financial or otherwise, to put someone away. I want you to know that I will do my utmost to give a fair and honest assessment of this case. My colleague here is Dr. Jones. He works on the base with your boyfriend, although I don’t think they ever worked together.”
I look to Jonesy for confirmation, despite knowing the answer. He nods and smiles softly at Hannah. “I’m sorry to meet under these circumstances, Miss Spears.”
She rocks in her seat a little, and I’m concerned she may need medical assistance if this has been going on for weeks now.
“Can you tell us about your relationship with Connor?” I ask.
She doesn’t respond until her friend whispers something in her ear that pulls her from the brink. She swallows, takes a sip of water, and starts to talk.
“We’ve been together for years. I thought he was it for me. But I didn’t know him at all.”
“I want to know what Connor was like when he was with you, Hannah,” I say softly, clasping my hands on top of the notepad I take with me into interviews.
She pauses for a moment, swallowing down the tears. “He was always so nice and kind. He made me feel special. Even when he was overseas, he would have flowers sent to me every week, just so I would be reminded how much he loves me. Even now, he’s written me so many letters from prison. I haven’t even gone to see him since that first week because I’m scared he won’t look like my Connor anymore.”
“Has Connor ever...” I choose my words carefully. “Given you reason to think he would be capable of a crime like this?”
She doesn’t hesitate. “No. Never.” Her eyes shoot to mine, and a stern expression fills her eyes with stark determination.
“He’s never been verbally abusive? Tried to control you?”
“Never. He would never.” She sits up a little straighter now.
“Okay, thank you.” Jonesy jots down a note, and I do the same. “Typically, would you stay here or would you stay at his house when you were together?”
“Always here,” she answers, taking a sip of water.
At least she didn’t sleep over at the house of horrors. It makes sense that Connor wouldn’t take her there, considering there were three bodies buried in the yard.
Still, though, it’s a little strange that she never stayed there. She must have thought it was odd. “Did you know he had a house?”
“Of course...he just said it was a fixer-upper that needed a lot of work. And he wanted to renovate it before we lived there.”
