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“Nina’s engaged.”
Gary grinned. “That’s awesome. Who’s the lucky guy? Have they set a date yet?” Cory’s little sister had been a royal pain in the ass when they were in high school, but she’d blossomed into an intelligent, beautiful woman Gary didn’t get to see enough of.
“He’s called David, he’s an engineer, and he’s crazy about her. And no, no wedding plans yet.”
“What about you?”
“What about me?”
“You still young, free, and single?” Gary snorted. “Oops. Scratch the young part.”
Cory gave him the finger. “Bitch. I’m thirty-eight, same as you. Way too young to settle down.” His eyes held amusement. “We talked about this, remember? I’m busy looking for the next guy to play with.” He folded his arms. “And what about you?” Before Gary could respond, Cory placed his hand on his heart and heaved an exaggerated sigh. “Oh, I forgot. You’re single because you’re already hopelessly in love—with me.”
“That must be it.” Gary smiled. “Do you know how rare we are?”
Cory arched his perfectly sculpted eyebrows. “A gay man and his closeted cop friend?”
“Jerk. I mean, we were best friends in high school, and we still are.” Cory glanced over Gary’s shoulder again with a clearly coquettish expression, and Gary gave him a mock glare. “Hey, I’m right here.”
“And I’m flirting, so hold your water.” He chuckled. “I think my luck is in.”
“Another potential notch for your bedpost?”
“Honey, please.” Cory had his eye roll down to an art. “Nothing so crude. We’re digital these days.”
“You’re careful, aren’t you? I might be straight, but I know there are nasties lurking out there. And if you’re seeing a lot of guys….”
Cory laughed, a bright sound that turned heads and gained him a lot of appreciative glances. “Aw, I’m touched. You care.” He patted Gary on the knee. “Well, you don’t need to worry. Every three months I get to pee in a cup, have a legalized vampire draw blood, and I get swabbed at both ends.” He grimaced. “Joy. Only I don’t get the finger poke anymore, not now they take blood.” He pouted. “Pity.” Cory picked up his empty glass and made loud coughing noises. “I’d hate to cross a desert with you.”
Gary laughed. He stood. “Same again?”
Cory beamed. “Please. And when you get back, I can tell you all about the hunky guys I get to work with.”
“To quote you—joy.” Not that Gary minded. He could sit and listen to Cory talk for hours. He’d walked into the bar with a load on his shoulders, and Cory had taken all that weight and drop-kicked it out of sight. Monday morning was only a matter of hours away, but he wasn’t going to think about work.
When Monday arrived, he’d walk into that room, five faces would stare back at him, and Gary would pull out all the stops to ensure another face didn’t join them.
For this hour or so, he’d do his damnedest to blot out their silent entreaties.
Chapter 6
Monday, May 21
GARY SCOWLEDat the evidence board. “Why do I get the feeling that right now our guy is laughing his ass off? We’ve got his DNA from four of the crime scenes. He could’ve taken the condoms with him, but he didn’t. So why leave them unless it’s to taunt us?”
“He knows he’s not in the files, that’s why,” Riley remarked. “It’s weird. He leaves his spunk but not his prints.”
Aclackingsound followed. Gary twisted to look at him and blinked. Riley had a bag of Scrabble tiles on the desk and had five of them lined up in front of him. “What’s your best word score so far?”
Riley snorted. “Looking better by the minute.Xis worth eight points.” He shuffled the tiles, then pushed his glasses higher on the bridge of his nose. “I’m gonna make a prediction, though. I think his next letter will beT.”
Gary peered at the tiles. E-X-P-E-R. “Which is probably how he sees himself. Andwe’rejust the jerks who can’t find him.” He locked gazes with Riley. “Except there isn’t going to be a next, is there? Because we’re going to catch him before then.”
Riley gave a solemn nod. “From your lips to God’s ears, boss.” He got up from his chair and wandered over to join Gary. “I’ve been looking at the intervals between deaths.” He pointed to the first photo. “March 2016, Trey Hopkins. Then nothing until December that year.” He rubbed his stubbled chin. “Why did he wait eight months? Did he only intend killing once and then changed his mind?
“We won’t know the answer to that until we catch him.”
Riley stabbed a finger at the next photo. “He waits six months and then does it again. Another six months. And then goes to five.” He glanced at Gary. “You spoken to Kathy Wainwright about that?”
