Page 50 of In His Sights

AN OFFICERescorted Dalmont out of the room, and Gary waited for Riley to show. He wanted to hear Dan’s reaction too.

“Is it me, or did he not seem all that upset at finding out his boyfriend had someone else in their bed?” Lewis commented. “And I know for a fact the officers who contacted him didn’t mention how the body had been found. All they told him was he’d been murdered.”

“This feels off,” Gary murmured as Riley and Dan entered the room.

“That’s what I said.” Riley gestured to Dan. “And we both felt it.”

“He’s hiding something,” Dan blurted out. “That’s what I meant when I said he was wearing a mask.” He shuddered. “When he said Robin was the seventh victim… I felt it most strongly then.”

“I thought you had to touch something to know all that,” Lewis remarked.

“He said sometimes he gets visions,” Riley retorted. “I’m guessing this is one of those times. Like Dan said, it’s not exact.”

Lewis widened his eyes. “Whoa, there.” He glanced at Dan. “Looks like you’ve got yourself a fan.”

Gary let out a sound of exasperation. “NowI know why I keep thinking of Agatha Christie. There was this one book where a serial killer was bumping people off alphabetically. I think he got as far asDbefore Poirot got wise.”

“What’s that got to do with this?” Lewis demanded.

“What I’m getting at is the whole point of the story was that the best way to hide a murder was in the middle of a bunch of murders. Okay, in Agatha’s story, the killer bumped off three random people to hide the one murder that mattered. This is the other way around.”

Dan’s eyes gleamed. “You think Dalmont murdered Robin. That he took advantage of all these killings to make it seem as if Robin was the next victim.”

“That’s why there’s no letter,” Riley announced. “Because he didn’t know about those.” He frowned. “But there’s no motive. Why would he kill Robin? They were engaged. Dalmont had no reason to kill him.”

“Yes, he did,” Dan murmured. When they looked at him, he lifted his chin. “You just haven’t found it yet, because it’s hidden.” He cocked his head to one side. “I know Robin Fields was a wealthy man, but was he a greedy one?”

“Why do you ask?” Gary frowned.

“Because that was part of what I was picking up in that apartment—greed.” He met Gary’s gaze. “You need to find out what kind of man Robin was. How he died. Who benefits from his death. And whether Dalmont painted an accurate picture of the state of their relationship.” Dan crumpled a little. “Sorry, but….” He looked as if all the energy had drained from his body.

What overwhelmed—and shocked—Gary was the need to get closer to him. Something in Dantuggedat him, the irresistible pull of invisible yet strong-as-steel threads slowly bringing them together.

Into a collision.

He had to make do with comforting words. “This has wiped you out. Do you need to go back to your hotel?”

“Maybe for an hour? I could come back this afternoon.”

Gary smiled. “Sure. Go recharge your batteries. I think we’re going to need them.”

Dan nodded. “See you all later.” He walked toward the door.

“I’ll walk you to your car.” Riley followed him from the room.

Gary turned to Lewis. “Okay. Start doing some digging. Let’s see what we can find out about Robin Fields—and Dalmont too.” When Lewis didn’t respond, Gary arched his eyebrows. “Something wrong?”

“I agree, Dalmont is kinda suspicious, but don’t you think you’re relying too much on what Porter says?”

Gary went over to the door and closed it. “Okay, let’s have this out. What have you got against him? You’ve been on his case since he arrived. He’s already proved he’s on the level. How else could he have known about Cory?”

“That’s easy. Someone in the department told him.”

Gary stilled. “You really believe that?”

Lewis snorted. “I find it easier to believethatthan some crap about having visions and knowing things just by touching.” He aimed a hard stare at Gary. “And the fact that you aren’t even considering my suggestion tells me your judgment is cloudy when it comes to him. Now why would that be?”

Gary ignored the question, although his pulse quickened. “And what if he’s right? What if it turns out Dalmontdidkill Robin?”

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