Page 70 of In His Sights

They hurried out to Gary’s car. “Do you want details, or would you prefer to go in blind?” he asked as he got behind the wheel.

“What’s the name of the victim? And is Riley certain this is the seventh victim?”

“A guy called Jack Noonan. Lives in Dorchester. And yeah, this is our man—unfortunately.”

Dan fell silent as the car sped along Dorchester Avenue, and Gary didn’t feel the need to fill the air with conversation. They’d talked enough over the weekend, although after Saturday, he’d been careful to steer conversations toward safe topics.

He didnotwant to bring up the visit to Forest Park.

I should never have agreed to take him there. What was I thinking?It was the last place on earth to take someone who was more intuitive than anyone Gary had ever met.

“By the way….” Dan cleared his throat. “Thank you for giving up your weekend. I appreciated it.”

He frowned. “I didn’tgive upmy weekend. I chose to spend it with you.”

“Okay, but….”

“But what?”

“When we were in Forest Park, there was a moment—okay, several moments—when I got the feeling you didn’t want to be there.”

Shit.

“Look, that wasn’t you, all right? That was me. You did enjoy seeing Boston, though?”

There was a moment’s hesitation before Dan spoke. “Okay, I’d better come clean. I’ve been to Boston many, many times.”

Gary frowned. “Then… why did you say yes when I suggested showing you around? And then you let me take you to all the tourist spots….”

“I said yes because I got to spend the day with you. Besides, I’d never seen it with you as my guide. That made all the difference.” He pointed through the windshield. “I’m guessing this is our stop.” Three police cars, Del’s vehicle, and an ambulance were parked up ahead. Dan sighed. “I was also hoping you’d enjoy Boston more than you enjoyed Springfield.”

Maybe I should just tell him.Gary had to decide which was better—revealing his past voluntarily, or Dan finding out in his own unique way.

He came perilously close to doing that on Saturday.

“Gary.” He turned, and his throat tightened. Dan’s hazel eyes were warm. “You need to trust me.”

That look threatened to unravel him.

“Not now,” he croaked. He swallowed. “Come on. Let’s see what surprises Kris Lee Arill has in store for us this time.”

The officer at the door let them in, and they creaked their way up a wooden staircase to the second floor. As soon as they emerged into the living room, Gary’s senses were on alert. Three police officers went quiet and regarded him with impassive expressions. Rob, Riley, and Lewis stood by the fireplace, locked in a quiet discussion, but as he approached, all conversation ceased.

Gary’s scalp prickled.Something’s up.

He turned to Dan. “Can you wait here a sec?”

Dan nodded. “Give me a shout when you need me.”

Gary followed Riley and Lewis into the bedroom. “What’s going on?” he demanded in a low voice. Del stood by the bed, on which a man lay facedown. Gary glanced at the body, and cold washed over him.

Oh God.

A letterOhad been carved into the victim’s lower back, but that wasn’t what sucked the breath from Gary’s lungs. A sheet of paper was stapled to the victim’s back, and even at a distance, Gary recognized Dan’s face.

He walked over to the bed slowly, his gaze locked on the white paper. At the top had been typed Robin Fields, but the letters were almost obliterated by another word in slashes of vibrant red—Fake. Dan’s photo was below it, obviously the one from the newspaper, and below that were more letters in red.

Ha Ha Ha.

Source: www.allfreenovel.com