Alex Kava Bundle - Alex Kava [85]
“So you looked for murdered boys in the area at the time he was there.”
“I didn’t have to look very hard. This murder matches right down to the X. Circumstantial or not, Father Keller needs to be considered a suspect.” She closed down the program and shut off the computer.
“I’ve got to meet George in about an hour,” Maggie said, “then I’m meeting with Father Francis.” She started taking clothes out of the closet and laying them on the bed. “I need to leave for Richmond tonight. My mother’s in the hospital.” She avoided looking at him while she pulled more of her things from drawers.
“Jesus, Maggie, is she okay?”
“Sort of…I guess she will be. I’ll have some information for you on disk. Can you access Microsoft Word?”
“Sure…yeah, I think so.” Her matter-of-fact attitude flustered him. Was something wrong, or was she simply concerned about her mother?
“I’ll leave my notes from this afternoon’s autopsy with George. If I find out anything from Father Francis, I’ll call you.”
“You’re not coming back, are you?” The realization struck him like another fist to the jaw. It also stopped her. She turned to face him, though her eyes darted from his to the blank computer screen to his to the mess on the bed. She had never had a tough time meeting his eyes before.
“Technically, I finished what I was asked to do. You have a profile and maybe even a suspect. I’m not even sure that I need to be involved with this second autopsy.”
“So that’s it?” He shoved his hands into his pockets. Suddenly, he felt nauseated at the thought of never seeing her again.
“I’m sure the Bureau will send someone else to help you.”
“But not you?” He caught something in her eyes. Was it a flicker of regret, sadness? Whatever it was, she didn’t let him see it. She started filling her suitcase. “Does this have anything to do with what happened this morning?”
“Nothing happened this morning,” she snapped, and stopped shoving things into her bag. She kept her back to him. “I’m sorry if I gave you the wrong impression.” Then she glanced over her shoulder at him. “Look, Nick, I don’t mean to sound ungrateful.” She kept her hands busy folding, tucking and shuffling items into her bag.
Of course, she hadn’t given him the wrong impression. He had done that all on his own. But what about the heat, the electricity? He certainly hadn’t imagined that.
“I’m gonna miss you.” The words surprised him. He hadn’t meant to say them out loud.
She stopped, straightened and turned slowly, this time meeting his eyes. Those luscious brown eyes made him weak in the knees, like a high-school kid admitting to his first girlfriend that he liked her. Jesus, what was wrong with him?
“You’ve been a pain in the ass, O’Dell, but I’m going to miss you giving me a hard time.” There. He corrected his slip.
She smiled. There was the hair-tuck behind the ears. At least she wasn’t totally in control.
“Do you need a lift to the airport?”
“No, I have a rental I need to turn in.”
“Well, have a good flight.” It sounded cold and pathetic when what he really wanted to do was wrap his arms around her and convince her to stay. He crossed the room to leave in three long strides, hoping his knees didn’t buckle.
“Nick.”
He stopped at the door, his hand on the handle, and glanced back at her. She paused, and in a brief moment he saw her change her mind from whatever she was going to say.
“Good luck,” she said simply.
He nodded and left, feeling lead in his shoes and an ache in his chest that made it hard to breathe.
CHAPTER 47
Maggie watched the door close as her hands strangled and twisted a silk blouse.
Why didn’t she just tell Nick about the note, about Albert Stucky? He had understood about the nightmares. Maybe he’d understand about this. Maybe he’d understand that she just couldn’t allow herself to be psychologically poked and probed by another madman. Not now. Not when she felt so vulnerable, so damn fragile, like she could shatter into a million tiny pieces, just as she had earlier on the bathroom floor.