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She scrolled through her contacts and found his name. She hesitated, then hit the call button.

Thirteen

“Cassie? What’s wrong?”

David’s voice was gruff, but warm. He was a bear of a man whose bark was far worse than his bite, though he could still hold his own in a fight. Cassie had met him a few years ago on a gruesome case and over the years he’d gone out of his way to check on her. He sat behind a desk these days, but he was still one of the sharpest cops she knew and one of the few who believed in her gift.

“Why does something always have to be wrong?” She injected as much sweetness into her voice as possible. “Maybe I want to catch up with an old friend.”

“You never were a good liar, Cassie.” David chuckled. “But I promise my ego can handle it.”

That was another reason she liked David. He was both a professional and a friend, at least to those who hadn’t made it onto his shit list. When he was on the clock, he was all business. But when he went home to his wife and grandkids, he transformed into the gentlest soul Cassie had ever met. He and his wife had invited her over a few times, and it had always made her feel like she had family in Savannah when hers was hours away.

There was no point in beating around the bush. “I’m calling about the three women who’ve turned up dead.”

David cleared his throat. “Have you seen something? I can put you in touch with the lead detective.”

“Harris, right? Yeah, I’ve met her.”

David chuckled, but there was no humor in it. “She’s a great detective, one of the best I’ve ever seen.”

“But?”

“But her bedside manner could use some improvement.”

“I’ll have to agree with you there.” Cassie cradled her phone against her shoulder and took another bite of her sandwich. “I talked with her last night about the victims, but she seemed pretty cagey about giving me too much information. I was hoping you could fill in some of the blank spaces for me?”

David sighed. “I gotta be honest, I don’t like the idea of going behind her back. Professional courtesy.”

“I know, I know.” Cassie put her sandwich down and took a sip of water before she continued. “I don’t want to put you in a position that could get you in trouble and if I’m crossing the line here, tell me to back off. But I could use some help.”

There was shuffling in the background and David’s voice lowered to just above a whisper. “Why don’t you tell me what you know, and I’ll see if there’s anything I can add?”

Cassie sat back in her chair and stared up at the ceiling tiles above her head. “I know each woman had her throat slit and her heart removed. I know their bodies were all dumped in the woods. I also know there’s no connection between any of the victims, other than they’re women.”

“You’ve got most of the facts then.”

“Harris sought me out because she thought I had a ‘proclivity for the occult.’” Cassie paused to hear David’s reaction and was not disappointed by his amused snort. “When I started asking about possible ritualistic aspects, she shut down. Granted, she was the one who came to me about that sort of thing.”

“I don’t think the bosses are putting much credence in her theories at the moment. To be honest, she seems to be grasping at straws.”

“Do you blame her?”

David sighed. “No, I don’t. I’d be exploring every option. Including you.”

“You suggested my name, didn’t you?”

Cassie could feel his shrug through the phone.

“I did,” he said. “She had me look over the case files, but I couldn’t come up with anything she hadn’t already thought of. Other than you, of course.”

“I’m sure that was an interesting conversation.”

“She’s heard about you. Hard not to around here.”

“But I’m sure having a referral from the great David Klein didn’t hurt.”

“Now you’re trying to make me blush.” David drew a deep breath. “When she came to you, did you feel anything? See anything?”

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