AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“The one who did it. He ran that way,” she points toward the north.
“You saw him?” Fletch’s words come harsher now. Faster. “You actuallysawhim?”
She nods and looks up at my partner with innocence in her gaze. “Yes, Detective. I saw him with my own eyes.”
“Can you describe him? Hair? Height? Age?”
“He’s so young,” she chokes out, a croak in her voice. “Can’t be more than twenty-something.”
“Which end of twenty?” Fletch asks. “One or nine?”
“One.” She nods, as though to confirm it to herself. “Definitely closer to twenty than thirty. He must’ve heard me running, because he turned for a moment and saw me.”
“He turned and faced you?” I demand. “Did you get a clear view?”
Adrenaline skitters through my veins as we circle closer and closer to our killer. But when Delia shakes her head, my stomach drops.
“It’s dark out, Detective. And the streetlamp was behind him. So all I saw of his face was shadows.”
“Alright.” I concentrate on my breathing. On my temper and my disappointment. “What was he wearing?”
“A jacket that cinches in at the waist. Ya know, so the bottom sits on his hips, but the middle puffs out a little. Makes him look like he’s got a bit of a stomach.”
I frown at that. “Are you saying he might be a little round?” I point at my stomach. “Hanging over his pants a little?”
Immediately, she shakes her head. “No. I think his jacket might’ve been a size too big. I didn’t get to look for long, but he seemed on the smaller side. The way those jackets are designed give an odd illusion of larger size.”
“What color was the jacket?” Fletch asks.
“Dark,” she answers instantly. “And it’s dark out, so it’s hard to know. But I think it was a dark green color. Like olives. And he was wearing dark pants too. Like, dress pants. Or maybe a uniform, like what paramedics wear.”
My heart thunders harder. Harder. “Like a paramedic?”
“Like… the same kind,” she explains. “Dark navy color. Straight lines. A couple pockets on the side.”
“So our guy was wearing a uniform tonight.” The moment we break away from Delia, I drag Fletch in the direction of the ice cream place she pointed out. “In the club, he wore jeans and a hoodie. With Perrone, he wore jeans again, and a coat. Tonight, Mrs. Monroe’s saying we have a bomber jacket and cargo pants.”
“Each time he comes out, he’s dressed for the part.”
“Except maybe not tonight.”
Turning back toward the M.E.s, I move fast and don’t slow again until Minka pushes up to stand and her eyes come to mine. The moment our gazes lock, her expression falls.
“What?” She looks around—to the body, and then to Aubree. “What happened?”
“We got an eyewitness who saw him.”
I step to the side and take her arm when transport rolls a gurney closer. While they’re busy carefully loading Lana onto the bed, I look down into Minka’s eyes.
“Do you know anything yet?”
“No, I—”
“He’s either getting lucky and catching these women in random places, or he knows them.” I wrap my hand around her arm when we have to move a little more to make room for the guys to work. “Heknowsthem, Mayet. They’re all the same age. Same color. Same class.”
“Same school.” Fletch steps up on my left, and showing off his phone, he scrolls a screen lit up with social media posts. “They’re all from the same graduating class. And get this,” his eyes come to mine, “theyjusthad their five-year reunion a couple of months back.”
“We need a complete list of that graduating class.”
