Marcus raised an eyebrow.“You think the bathroom was a reminder that Gloria couldn’t wash away her sins?”
“I think so,” Kate said.“Gloria tried to make things right, but in Cox’s mind, they couldn’t be made right.”
“So he’s not into repentance?”
“He is, but he views correction as necessary regardless of repentance.”
Marcus nodded.“Okay.So the bathroom is a reminder that Gloria couldn’t wash away her sins.What about the living room?”
Kate chewed on her lip.“Warren Schulz’s home was bare of anything decorative.The only object that wasn’t an appliance or furniture was that ceramic bird.But therewereother objects.”
Marcus raised an eyebrow.“Other stolen objects?”
“I think so.I think Warren was trying to make amends by giving back what he stole.The bird was the last one.”
“So Cox was making it clear that even making it right didn’t make the sin go away.”
“Yes,” Kate said.“I think that’s it exactly.And Karen De Luca’s music box was pushed outside of the curtains she used to hide her house.”
“Can’t hide it, can’t wash your hands of it, and can’t take it back.That leaves the kitchen, the key bowl, and the bedroom.”
“It could be that the kitchen suggests Prescott was feeding off of his theft.”
“How?There’s no record of him pawning the watches he stole.”
“Not feeding literally.Feeding spiritually.”
Marcus nodded.“Okay.I buy that.So the bedroom is what?Dreaming of theft?”
“Or maybe loving it.”
“Okay.So what’s the key bowl?”
Kate shook her head.“That part I still don’t know.”
Marcus rubbed his chin.“Well, I think we’re on the right track.Let’s let it percolate over the night.”He headed to the nearest of the room’s two beds.“I’m going to bed.I’ll shower in the morning.”
“Sounds good.I’ll go ahead and shower now, then.”
He gave her a thumbs up and climbed into bed.One of the beds.He’d made sure to ask for a double.
Kate grabbed her change of clothes and took them into the bathroom.She’d make sure she was fully dressed before she came out.After all, they were just partners, not lovers.
She felt a pang at that thought.Shedidlove him as a friend, if not more.And shewantedto love him as more than a friend.Heaven knew she was attracted to him, but it wasn’t just sexual desire.He was funny, he was kind, he was strong, he didn’t seem to mind that she was broken and messed up.
Her shoulders slumped.Except hedidmind.He felt that her fragile emotions would lead to her getting hurt.So it was a noble, protective feeling that caused him to resent her brokenness, but he resented it anyway.
Maybe that was the true wall between them.She could get over his fumbling around the divorce in time.Could he ever reconcile himself to the shell of Kate left behind after her father’s death and her own near-deaths at the hands of Robert Denton—the first killer to obsess over her—and Elijah Cox—the latest evil man to decide she was the key to their evil plan?Could she ever be anything more than that shell?
She focused on brushing her teeth, and when she was finished with that, she focused on lathering shampoo into her hair and soap onto her body.As long as she focused on that, she didn’t have to focus on the answers to those questions.
She finished showering and toweled off briskly.She avoided looking at herself in the mirror.It was too easy lately to notice all the imperfections, to wonder if they were why Marcus had never asked for more physically.It was stupid and childish, but like many stupid, childish things, it was unavoidable.
By the time she dressed and returned to the room, Marcus was snoring softly, out like a light.Kate lay in bed—her own bed—and hoped the dream wouldn’t come.
But it did.It always did.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
