Alex Kava Bundle - Alex Kava [154]
“I don’t know. Father Keller said he wouldn’t be needing it anymore. He asked me to take it back for him.”
“You mind if we take a peek?” She pried it out of his hands. His resisting arrest justified a search. The bag was heavy. She swung it up onto a nearby chair, stopped, then leaned against a pay phone until the faintness passed.
“You sure it’s not your bag?” she said, grabbing the familiar brown cardigan and several well-pressed white shirts. Howard’s face registered surprise.
A stack of art books accounted for the bag’s weight. Maggie put them aside, more interested in the small, carved box tucked between several pairs of boxer shorts. The carved words on the lid were Latin, but she had no idea what they said. The contents didn’t surprise her: a white linen cloth, a small crucifix, two candles and a small container of oil. She glanced up at Nick and watched his eyes examine the contents, his confusion replaced with frustration. Then Maggie reached underneath the pile of newspaper clippings to the bottom of the box. She pulled out a small pair of boy’s underpants tightly wrapped around a shiny fillet knife.
CHAPTER 103
Sunday, November 2
Maggie punched another code into the computer and waited. Her laptop’s modem was excruciatingly slow. She took another bite of her blueberry muffin, homemade, special delivery from—where else?—Wanda’s. The computer screen still read “initializing modem.” She sat down and looked around the hotel room, her foot tapping nervously, impatiently, but not making the computer work any faster.
Her bags were packed. She had showered and dressed hours ago, but her flight didn’t leave until noon. She rubbed her stiff neck and still couldn’t believe she had slept the entire night in the straight-backed chair. Even more surprised that she had slept through the night without visions of Albert Stucky dancing in her head.
Bored, she grabbed the huge Sunday edition of the Omaha Journal. The headlines only added to her frustration. However, she was glad to see Christine’s byline back on the front page. Even from her hospital bed, Christine continued to crank out articles. At least she and Timmy were safe and sound.
Maggie scanned the article once again. Christine’s writing now stuck to the facts, letting quotes from the experts draw the sensational conclusions. She found her own quote and read it for the third time.
Special Agent Maggie O’Dell, an FBI profiler assigned to the case, said it was “unlikely Gillick and Howard were partners. Serial killers,” Agent O’Dell insisted, “are loners.” However, the district attorney’s office has filed murder charges against both former sheriff’s deputy Eddie Gillick, and a church janitor, Raymond Howard, for the deaths of Aaron Harper, Eric Paltrow, Danny Alverez and Matthew Tanner. A separate charge has been entered for the kidnapping of Timmy Hamilton.
There was a tap at the door. Maggie tossed the paper aside and checked the computer screen again. “Redialing first number” flashed across the screen along with the low hum and a succession of beeps. It was Sunday morning. Why was it taking so long to make the connection?
On the way to the door, she checked her watch. He was early. They didn’t need to leave for the airport for another thirty to forty minutes.
As soon as she opened the door, the uninvited flutter arrived. Nick stood smiling at her, the dimples in full force. Strands of hair fell across his forehead. His blue eyes sparkled at her as if there was a special secret his eyes shared with hers. He wore a red T-shirt and blue jeans, both tight enough to outline his athletic body, teasing her eyes and making her fingers ache to touch him. Why did he have this effect on her? she wondered as they exchanged hellos, and he came into the room. She caught herself checking out his backside, shook her head and silently chastised herself.
“It must be warm out,” she heard herself say. Yes, resort to the weather. That seemed safe, considering the electrical current he had just brought into the room.
“It’s hard to believe we had snow