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“We understand,” Kaely said.
Alex instinctively exchanged quick looks with Logan and Monty. They’d all heard of Kaely’s unique way of profiling, using files to “see” an UNSUB. A tingle of excitement ran up and down Alex’s spine. Would she get to see her process in action?
When they got out to the parking lot, they said good-bye to Monty before climbing into the SUV. No one spoke on the way to the motel. Alex was tired, but she was also turning the case over in her mind. She was convinced they were looking for someone with a grudge related to Davis’s work, but so far the police hadn’t found a suspect—someone who knew Davis was at that hotel.
She wondered about the people who attended the kinds of conventions where Davis spoke. Could the UNSUB be one of them? Someone trying to show they were smarter than Davis? She was glad they were bringing in thriller writer D. J. Harper. He could provide important information since he was at the same hotel where Davis died and may have been the last person to speak to him. Alex couldn’t help but wonder about the man. He lived in the area and had told the police he’d gone home after the convention ended on Saturday night. The police knew Mr. Harper and respected him. Still, she felt they needed to keep him on the list of suspects. Gorman’s files said he was the person who’d made Davis’s reservation, and he knew what room he was in.
Of course, right now Evan Bayne was at the top of the suspect list, although he seemed pretty unlikely. He was fairly old, and his feud with Davis had been a long time ago. The lawsuit still bothered her, though. Could something like that have set him off enough to kill? She didn’t know. She’d never run across a case like this before. Most behavioral analysts would draw the conclusion that whoever killed Davis was angry. Stabbing a human being was so up close and personal. Hard to do. Messy. Shooting someone from a distance was easier. No blood on your clothes. But the UNSUB hadn’t stabbed him. Davis had stabbed himself. How do you profile that?
She sighed loudly without realizing it ... until Logan looked at her.
“Tired?” he asked.
“Yeah. And a little confused. Are we working a murder or a suicide?”
“Good question. I keep wondering about Davis’s life insurance company. What will they do?” He was quiet for a moment. “If they determine his death was suicide, will they refuse to pay out?”
“I’m not an expert,” Alex said, “but my policy pays on a suicide after I’ve had the policy for two years.”
Logan shook his head. “Kind of morbid, isn’t it?”
Alex wasn’t so sure the question of suicide was just for the insurance company. Wasn’t it part of the profile? How could the UNSUB know Davis would be able to commit suicide? Even if you loved your spouse more than life itself, the act of killing yourself wasn’t easy. But as she thought about it, she realized she knew the answer. Just like her, Davis had lived a life saturated in death and destruction. After viewing the horror that human beings visited on each other, the act of murder began to lose its shock. Whoever backed Davis into a corner knew that. Knew he would be able to fulfill the act he’d been encouraged to carry out.
Logan slowed the SUV. “Here we are,” he said. He pulled into the parking lot of a small but attractive motel. The Foxfire Inn. Maybe this would be all right after all.
Logan jumped out and went inside. He came back a few minutes later. “We’re on the other side,” he said.
He drove around to the back of the structure. There was good lighting. The doors were metal. Also good. More secure. FBI agents noticed these things without really thinking about it.
“You’re in 110, and I’m in 111,” he said. “Right next door.”
Logan had just opened his door when a beat-up car pulled up next to them. The name of a local pizza place was displayed on a lighted sign on the roof, and the fresh-faced teen driver lowered his window. “Chief Gorman ordered some pizza for folks stayin’ here. Is that you?”
“Yeah,” Logan said. He got out of the SUV and stepped up to the car window, where the kid handed him two large pizza boxes and a bag.
“There’s paper plates, napkins, and plastic forks in there,” the kid said. He reached over and lifted a six-pack of cola from the seat next to him. “I’m supposed to give these to you too.”
Alex got out of the car and hurried to Logan’s side. She took the ice-cold cola since his arms were already full.
Logan set the pizza boxes on the hood of the kid’s car and started to reach into his pocket, but the boy waved him off. “I’ve already been tipped. I was told you weren’t supposed to pay anything.”
Logan picked up the boxes and thanked him. The kid nodded, then backed up the car and left the parking lot.
“Kinda late for a pizza place to be open on a weeknight,” Alex said. “It’s gotta be almost one in the morning.”
“You’re right. We better check it out before we eat this. I’ll call the restaurant and confirm.”
Kaely had come up behind them. “It’s sad, isn’t it? I mean, that we’re always on guard, suspicious of everything?”
Logan nodded. “It might be sad, but it’s a good way to stay alive. Too many people hate law enforcement these days.” He asked Kaely to hold the pizzas while he unlocked the doors to their rooms. “Let’s eat in your room,” he said. “It’s bigger. Probably has a larger table.”
“Sure,” Alex said. The pizza smelled awesome, and her thought about going straight to bed vanished when her stomach growled. It was so cold outside that the idea of chowing down on nice hot pizza sounded heavenly.
Logan switched on the room lights and took the pizzas from Kaely. Alex glanced around the room before heading back to the SUV, where she opened the back and began grabbing their bags. The room looked updated and cheerful, and a light scent of lavender made it seem as if it had been recently cleaned. Still, although she should feel relieved by the condition of the motel, she’d disinfect the room herself. Check under the sheets on her bed. Things she had to do before she could sleep.
She really liked Kaely Quinn. But would her roommate take her seriously once she brought out her can of disinfectant?
