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She sucked in a lungful of much needed oxygen, and was surprised to note her heartbeat thudding loudly in her ears.The air around the trio was still humming with tension, and she never took her gaze off Pederson, even as she pushed hard against Nico’s chest, forcing him backward.Now there was breathing space between them, she turned to Nico and gave him a warning scowl that Pederson couldn’t see.He scowled back at her, but she continued to narrow her eyes at him until his face changed and she could see a semblance of sanity return.His hands slowly unclenched and he finally ran a hand through his hair.
“Can we go now?”she asked him quietly, feeling the weight of Pederson’s stare boring into her back but choosing to ignore it.
“Yep, let’s get outta here,” he growled in reply.
“Oh, I’ve got one more bit of interesting news before you go,” Pederson said and Lacey hated the smugness in his voice.She was quickly reevaluating Pederson’s motives in this whole interview.At first she’d thought he was unbiased, merely wanting the best outcome for this case.But now, she wasn’t so sure.There was definitely resentment brewing under that cool façade.“Remember how Saito and Sally-Ann were working together on the unsolved cold cases?”he said leisurely.
Lacey snapped all the way around to face him.What was Pederson up to now?
“Sally-Ann only put the pieces together a few hours ago once we found out the link with your father.They think they might’ve found something.A murder in Canberra with many similarities to our serial killer’s case, except that the girl wasn’t a prostitute.She was like Danika, young, a university student, who’d been strangled to death, seventeen years ago.Right before Serge faked his death.”
She felt Nico go as rigid as a statue behind her.Oh, shit.This wasn’t what they needed to hear.This meant that Serge had been a killer right back when he’d still been a family man.It changed everything.Including Nico’s memories of the father he thought he’d known back then.Not only had he been an unsatisfactory father figure, but Nico’s family had been living with a murderer in their house without even realizing it.But this news would also change the way they ran this investigation.Because if there was one linked murder, there were probably more cold cases that might be attributed to Serge.
“Why didn’t you tell us this earlier?”Lacey couldn’t keep the accusation out of her voice.
“I wanted to get your accounts of this morning unimpeded by any prejudice or sentiment first.We certainly didn’t need to add any more melodrama to your story.”
Ooh, how could he have been so duplicitous?Coldly withholding that information until he decided it was the right time to tell them.Lacey pulled her lips back in a snarl.Now she was sure Pederson was enjoying this.Enjoying Nico’s pain.She wanted to smack him, feel her palm hit his face with satisfying force so that it left a red welt.But she couldn’t be the one to lose her cool.Not with Nico so close to the edge.She took Nico by the hand and led him out the doorway without so much as a backward glance.
CHAPTER TWELVE
NICO WAS STILL seeing red forty-five minutes later as he drove up the driveway and parked his Jeep in the shed.“That little twerp.Who does he think he is?”he growled to himself under his breath.Lacey gave a quiet sigh from the passenger seat beside him, letting him know that she’d heard him for the umpteenth time.But keeping up his rage at Pederson was better than the alternative—thinking about the bombshell news he’d dropped on them just as they were leaving.
His father was most likely a killer even before he chose to leave his family behind.
Perhaps that was why he’d abandoned his family.To keep them safe from the homicidal maniac he was becoming, or more likely, to keep them from discovering his secret proclivity.But either way it was a small comfort to Nico at the moment.
He was taking no chances.Not this time.He was going to make sure everything was safe and secure.Although it was highly unlikely Serge had discovered yet that they’d fled back to Burnie, followed them here, and was now lying in wait.Highly unlikely, but not impossible.
“Got your weapon?”he asked, slipping out his door and taking his gun out of its shoulder holster.“We need to make sure the grounds and house are clear.”
He had to hand it to her, she simply nodded and followed his lead without comment.Humoring him.At least he knew how to handle this kind of threat.Using hand signals, he directed her to flow right as they exited the shed through the large garage door, while he slipped around the corner to the left.There was no welcoming bark from Smudge as he was still happily ensconced at Margie and Herb’s place.Which also meant someone could’ve broken into their house unimpeded.Nico focussed on the fence line that surrounded the orchard at the rear of the property, trying to peer through the low-hanging branches of the apple trees into what lay beyond.His flock of geese were happily dust bathing in a bare patch to the far right, and their total lack of concern gave him grounds to think there was no need for his heightened security.The guard geese, as Lacey now called them, would alert if there was a stranger on the property, or if they felt threatened in any way.
Lacey appeared around the other side of the shed, gun raised and indicated everything was clear.He signaled her to take one side of the orchard, while he took the other, and they diligently checked the area.Nico stopped at the farthest fence line, narrowing his eyes and glaring into the dense forest at the back of his property.It was too much to expect to search the entire forest, but Nico wanted to.Lacey glanced at him and shook her head, and he begrudgingly turned around.
They didn’t speak until after they’d searched down each side of the house before entering the house and painstakingly clearing each room.
“Right, can I get my bag out of the car now?”Lacey asked, tucking her gun back into her shoulder holster.“And we should let Margie know we’ll come and collect Smudge soon.”
Nico’s guts were still roiling, but he had no other choice than to acquiesce.All he wanted was her safely locked inside this house until Serge was caught, however long it took, impractical as that might be.Instead, he followed her out to the car and helped her carry their luggage back to the house.
“I’ll make a cuppa,” Lacey announced after they’d stowed their bags and put away their guns.“I just called Margie, and she said that Herb has taken Smudge for a walk, and he’ll bring him by in about half an hour.She was surprised we’d returned so early.”
“Yeah,” Nico grunted in reply.They were supposed to have been gone two nights minimum and it was only Sunday afternoon.Normally, they’d be taking it easy, relaxing and getting ready for the coming week ahead.Instead, he was wound tighter than a loaded spring.
He forced himself to sit at the small kitchen table while Lacey busied herself making tea.When she placed a mug in front of him and took her seat opposite, he took her free hand in his.“I hate all this,” he said forcefully.Everything about this situation sucked.From him finding out about his father, to being taken off the team, to having to hide out in his house, afraid of everything that moved.
“I know,” she said, entwining her fingers in his.“Nothing about this is ideal.But we have to stay confident that they’ll catch him quickly, then this will all be over.”
It wouldn’t be over for him.Just because his father was in jail wouldn’t necessarily mean he’d be any closer to answering the million and one questions he had.
“Shadbolt is assembling a huge task force.He’s even pulling in units from Hobart to help us catch him.He doesn’t want Serge getting away.”
Nico nodded at Lacey’s words.Even though Pederson hadn’t mentioned it, the junior officer on the front desk had been all too keen to tell them they were preparing for even more officers to arrive shortly, not only from Launceston but all the way from Hobart.
“I think he wants Serge almost as much as you do,” she added.
That wasn’t possible, but Nico merely gave a wan smile.No one could want to catch that dirtbag of a father more than him.It was his right as the maligned son to stop Serge in his tracks.To gain some form of retribution from this game his father was playing with him.
