Until Dark - Mariah Stewart [90]
“He might be fixated, as you say, in some way, but the women he’s killing, they’re nothing like me. I’m not blond, I don’t have children, so I’ve never done the super-mom thing . . .”
“That may just be a part of it. Maybe he’s trying to get your attention by attacking women of a certain type for a reason that has nothing to do with you.”
“What do you mean?”
“We all agree that he wants to get your attention, but the means he chooses to do that may mean something only to him. Obviously his choice of victim is personal to him, he’s deriving great satisfaction from killing these blond mommies. But the fact is, he’s committing acts that are going to draw you into his world, regardless of who he kills. Since he’s obviously been following your career, odds were that the Bureau would bring you in to work the case, which would bring you into his drama.”
“I agree with Miranda, and so does our profiler.” Adam nodded. “Which is why I asked Miranda to stay with you for a few days.”
“What makes you think I need a baby-sitter?”
“Think of me as a house guest,” Miranda offered. “One who just happens to carry a Sig Sauer semiautomatic.”
“You think he’s going to come after me, don’t you?”
“The phone call I had while at the airport, that was Anne Marie McCall. I’d called her earlier and left a message for her, told her everything we learned while we were in Arizona. She’s convinced that the messages the UNSUB is sending are directed to you. The hair clips, the crosses, he’s telling you that he’s watching you, that he’s been watching you, very closely. That he notices every little thing about you.”
“But why? Why me?”
“I don’t know. The truth is somewhere in this jumble. We just haven’t figured it out yet. And until we do—or until we find him—you and Miranda are going to be new best friends.”
“Then you really do believe that Webster is telling the truth. That someone else killed Ian and Zach.”
“I think it’s a possibility we simply can no longer ignore.”
Kendra got out of the car and walked around the front to the driver’s side. Adam caught her hand.
“I’m not willing to risk your life while we find out,” he told her. “It took me too long to find you again.”
“Where are you going?”
“To Virginia. I have a meeting with John in the morning.” He leaned down and kissed the side of her face.
Miranda cleared her throat; when she met Adam’s eyes her expression was one of amusement. He raised an eyebrow, as if waiting for her to comment. When she did not, he smiled.
“A wise move on your part,” he murmured. “You two keep in touch.”
Adam closed the car door behind Kendra and waited until Miranda had moved from the backseat to the front before stepping back from the car. He waved, then stood in the parking lot, until the sedan disappeared around the first curve on its way toward the exit, praying that Miranda’s presence would prove in the end to have been unnecessary. Kendra hadn’t seemed wild about the idea, but sending her home alone was a chance he hadn’t been willing to take.
“Can we stop at a market or something?” Miranda asked, after Kendra announced that they were nearing Smith’s Forge. “I want to pick up a bottle of shampoo and some conditioner.”
“Sure. There’s a market right up ahead.”
“Do you need anything?” Miranda asked. “Anything I can pick up for you?”
“Nothing that I can think of.”
“I’ll just be a minute.” Miranda hopped out of the car as soon as Kendra stopped in front of the store.
Miranda had been more than a minute. By Kendra’s calculations, it had been closer to twenty by the time she wandered back out of the store, several plastic grocery bags hanging from her wrists.
“I hope you don’t mind.” Miranda opened the back door on the passenger side and put the bags on the floor. “I picked up a few things to munch on.”
“It was Adam, wasn’t it?” Kendra glared as Miranda got back into the car. “He told you that all I’d have to eat in my house would be junk food, didn’t he?”
“Why, no.” A slow smile spread