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“The initial report on the vic’s remains was doctored,” she says, impatient. “Eleven of the victims were determined to be deceased prior to organ removal. Colter Childs was one of them.”
I again look at the body, unable to refer to her as a victim even in my thoughts. If Devyn gave this woman so much care and love upon her death, then what did she do with her brother’s remains? Where is his body?
I nod my thanks to Dr. Forrester, and she covers the body before sliding it into the locker.
The chill of the room settles deep into my bones as I imagine Devyn sitting in her ravine, her emotions a chaotic storm after losing her twin brother to the illness they shared. Her belief system being challenged, her optimistic delusion crumbling.
That was her moment of no return, the heartache and rage I felt there in that chasm. That’s where she engraved the philosopher’s stone into the clay wall as she slipped right over the edge.
But she didn’t jump off that cliff all by herself.
She had a push.
I expel the thought as soon as it surfaces. My hand curls into a tight fist as I try to breathe through the tight ache.
Agitated, I push through the swing door and crash into a solid wall of chest. I reflexively step back and am met with the fierce green and blue of Kallum’s eyes.
He uses his foot to catch the door before it swings in, an arresting smile easily crossing his face as his other hand cups my arm to hold me in place. “Just the sexy little criminologist I was looking for.”
A reactive flame licks my skin at the way his gaze brushes over me. “I’m wrapping up my final inspection of the scene before I leave.” Swiping my bangs out of my vision, I add, “Devyn could be in trouble.”
He cocks his head, the intensity of his gaze searching me. “That’s a given,” he says glibly.
“I mean danger.” I sink my teeth into the cushion of my lip as I try to block the doubt creeping in. “But even so, what if her actions were influenced?”
His features draw together in confusion.
“What if someone—” I edge closer to the hallway “—manipulated her to go to extreme measures? Are the consequences solely hers, then?”
He reaches up and grabs hold of the doorframe, effectively blocking my escape. “Like the alchemist,” he says, reasoning with infuriating logic.
“Yeah. I told Rana this person could be tying up loose ends, trying to remain hidden. She suspects that could put Devyn in danger. She’s too much on the feds’ radar. Killing her before she’s caught and can reveal anything incriminating…” I trail off, letting the implication linger in the chilly air between us. “A morally corrupt person could justify doing so, as she’s already terminal to begin with.”
“Hmm.” He makes a sound of thoughtful deliberation. “I doubt having the FBI and media invade his town was ever part of his plan. It’s all gotten very unruly.”
I study Kallum’s eyes—the eyes that swallow me, that I fell into from the first moment he put me in his sights. “Kallum, if there’s something you want to tell me, please. Do it now.”
He lowers a hand and clasps my cheek as his heated gaze bores into mine. “It is not enough to conquer, one must learn to seduce.”
Unease tightens my chest. His cryptic quotes have never felt so damning.
He pushes in too close, his next words dropped hot against my lips. “If you don’t want vague answers, don’t ask vague questions, Halen.”
As footsteps approach from farther down the hallway, Kallum let’s his hand fall away. He takes a step into the corridor, allowing me the chance to fill my aching lungs.
“Noted,” I say.
He releases the door, sending me a wink before it swings closed.
I catch the corner and flatten my palm against the cool surface, dousing some of the heat beneath my skin. “Goddamn him.”
Kallum’s words burrow under my skin as I follow Hernandez outside the building where, once we’re all assembled, it’s decided that Dr. Keller and Kallum will ride with us to the newest scene.
I should be driving my rental out of this town, not cruising down a desolate stretch of road toward the killing fields. Kallum didn’t point that fact out, but his intentional silence was loud.
The internal ticking inside me feels more like a countdown to an implosion than the finality of this case. To divert my anxious thoughts, I pull up my email and scan the reports from Dr. Forrester.
The Bureau’s official lab results state six of the remains’ tissue samples revealed burst cells, denoting the bodies had been preserved via a freezing method. After a reexamination of Jake Emmons, it was confirmed he was alive at the time of his death.
