Valentine Killer: Die For Me Part 16

"Just your type," Evelyn whispered. "Just like Katherine."

"What is it that you're saying here?" Trent asked as he leaned forward. There was a harder intensity entering his voice.

Evelyn put a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"Are you telling me," Trent continued, eyes glinting, breath coming faster, "that you suspect Katherine was involved in these crimes? That she killed these women?" His eyes widened. "Why? Because she was jealous?" He looked around the room. "Okay, I did hook up with Savannah while Katherine and I were dating, but Katherine never really seemed to care that much what I did or who I did it with."

The guy was such a charmer. And he was sure doing a whole lot of talking.

Evelyn bit her lip. Oh, yeah, that lady had things she was dying to say. But probably couldn't, thanks to good old doctor-patient confidentiality.

Evelyn's fingers tightened around Trent's shoulder. "Are you going to question Katherine?" she asked.

Dane nodded.

"I should have stopped her." Now Evelyn's eyes were haunted. "When she told me about the nightmares and the blood she kept seeing, I should have stopped her." Her breath rasped out. "But I was too worried about my career, about losing everything that I'd built if I didn't keep my mouth shut."

Trent turned his head toward her and frowned.

Evelyn's shoulders straightened. "But I don't care what I lose at this point. I can't let anyone else get hurt."

Dane waited. Even Mac had taken a step closer to the table.

"I've spent hours with Katherine. Many hours..." Evelyn's words were soft. "She can seem so normal, but there were times I'd catch her watching me. She'd give me responses she thought she was supposed to give. All she was doing was pretending." Her voice was now a stark whisper. "When I told her what I suspected, Katherine stopped therapy."

"And you suspected-what, exactly?" Mac asked.

"That Katherine Cole has sociopathic tendencies. Her emotional responses are stunted, if they are there at all. She mimics the behavior of others, but..." Evelyn shook her head. "I'm not sure if she feels anything at all."

Dane maintained his expressionless mask. "So you think Katherine is as crazy as Valentine?"

Evelyn licked her lips. "I think she is just as dangerous as he is."

"But you didn't think she was an immediate threat to anyone, right? Because if you had, then you would have been obligated to report that to the police." Dane knew how doctor-patient confidentiality situations worked. He'd handled cases before in which a breach had been necessary. If there was no specific threat...

"Katherine never said she was planning to hurt or kill anyone." Evelyn's voice was still soft, but her shoulders straightened and she met Dane's stare head-on. "But I've been working with troubled patients my entire professional career. I know what I'm talking about here. I know that Katherine is a threat."

A threat who had an alibi for Amy's murder.

Trent swore.

"I warned you," Evelyn snapped at Trent, sounding both defensive and scared. "You didn't listen to me. The woman is dangerous, but you looked at her and saw some kind of broken d.a.m.n princess. You always do that. You always go for the weak ones."

"Why was she even in therapy?" Mac asked quietly. "Why go to see you in the first place if she was just going to pretend with you?"

Her smile was sad. "Because Katherine knows that something is wrong with her. She knows that the impulses she has are bad. I honestly believe that she wants to stop herself, but she can't."

Not what Dane had been hoping to hear during this little talk. "Don't we all have the capacity for violence, though, Doc? Deep inside, just waiting to come out?"

"Well, yes," she admitted, "under the right circ.u.mstances, I suppose, but-"

"It's all about motivation, huh?" Dane asked, struggling to keep his voice mild. "I mean, it's about the trigger. And I've sure seen lots of triggers during my years in homicide."

Evelyn's frown had deepened.

"People can kill because of jealousy, l.u.s.t, greed..." His gaze returned to Trent. "They can also kill because they're d.a.m.n p.i.s.sed off at an ex who cleaned them out. And maybe-just maybe-one night during a chat with a coworker, the perfect opportunity presented itself."

"What the h.e.l.l are you talking about?" Trent demanded as he surged to his feet. His chair flew back and slammed into the floor with a crack.

"Easy." Mac was there instantly, locking a hard hand around the guy's arm. Mac could always move so much faster than people realized. The quiet, deadly type. One of the reasons he made such a great partner.

Dane also rose to his feet. "I'm saying to drop the act, Doc," he snapped as he dropped his own mild veneer. "You've known about Katherine's past for quite some time, so stop acting like you're shocked to discover her real ident.i.ty."

Trent's gaze flew from him to Mac and then to Evelyn. Dane could almost see the wheels turning in Trent's head as the guy tried to figure out his next move.

Figure faster, jerk.

"Trent?" Evelyn whispered.

Trent gave a grim nod. His shoulders thrust back even as his chin jutted up in the air. And d.a.m.n it all, he even gave that arrogant-a.s.s sniff again as he said, "h.e.l.l yes, I knew. So what?"

And that was what Dane had needed to hear. "Well, that leads me to my next question. What is your alibi for both Sat.u.r.day and Sunday? I want places, I want names. Everything."

"You think he's a suspect." Evelyn rocked back in her chair. "But I just told you about Katherine."

"Yes, you did, but Katherine has an airtight alibi. She's covered for Amy's murder." His stare drifted between Trent and Evelyn. "Are you, Dr. Lancaster?"

"They sure lawyered up d.a.m.n fast," the police captain said to Dane as the two men watched the shrinks huddling with their high-priced lawyers in the interrogation room. Lawyers who had busted a.s.s getting down to the station.

"Figured they would," Dane said.

The more he learned, the more it looked like these murders weren't about a serial killer at all. They were about a jerk who wanted out of alimony payments. Had the reporter just been his setup kill? To make the cops to think Valentine was involved? Or Katherine? h.e.l.l, the guy could have learned all about Valentine if he'd gone through the notes that Evelyn had doubtlessly taken during her sessions with Katherine.

Just then, Trent glanced up and stared at the mirror. There was no missing the fury in his eyes.

The lawyers rose, followed by Trent and Evelyn. They said some final words and headed for the door together.

Dane and Harley moved to cut them off. As they met in the bull pen, another door opened. Katherine appeared in the doorway of interrogation room one as Mac escorted her out.

Perfect timing. Timing they'd planned.

Trent's gaze flew to Katherine. Then back to Dane.

"What's her alibi?" Trent demanded as he pushed his lawyer away.

Katherine flinched.

The captain locked a hand on Dane's shoulder. "This is what we wanted, remember?" Harley said under his breath.

Trent was just a few feet from Katherine now. "Where were you when Amy was being sliced open?"

Katherine's nostrils flared. "I was with the cops. They had me under surveillance."

Trent's head whipped toward Dane. "You're s.c.r.e.w.i.n.g the cop. That's why he's trying to pin these kills on me." His face was mottled with fury. "I knew what you were. I saw Evelyn's files. She thought your case was so d.a.m.n special."

Evelyn gasped behind him.

Trent's gaze raked Katherine once more. "What made a killer spare you when he killed every other woman who looked just like you?" He paused and glanced between Katherine and Dane. "But you got to the cop, didn't you?"

Beside Dane, Harley had stiffened.

"I saw the way you looked at her this morning," Trent continued. "I saw. And I'll be d.a.m.ned if I let you two set me up."

His lawyer finally managed to haul the guy away. With a last, wide-eyed look at Katherine, Evelyn followed them.

"My office," Harley snapped. "Mac, you keep an eye on Ms. Cole for us."

s.h.i.+t.

Dane turned away from Katherine and followed the captain. Harley slammed the door behind him. "Tell me that pompous p.r.i.c.k is wrong."

Dane immediately said, "He's wrong. I'm not setting him up."

"Tell me that you didn't sleep with her."

Angry now, Dane snapped, "She wasn't a suspect. She's a consenting adult." Why the h.e.l.l did he have to explain this? "We didn't do a d.a.m.n thing wrong."

The captain slumped into his chair. "h.e.l.l, Black, you know better!"

"She's still not a suspect."

"If we go to court, that jerk's lawyer will have a field day about your involvement with her."

"We'll get enough evidence that it won't matter what BS story the guy spins."

"You'd f.u.c.king better!" Harley leveled his index finger at Dane. "Because if the killer walks, it's your a.s.s on the line."

"I know how to watch my own a.s.s," Dane said. He wasn't backing down, not from the captain, not from anyone. His record was spotless. Emotion didn't get involved in his cases. He did the job. He caught the killers.

Case f.u.c.king closed.

"Dane..." Harley slumped into his chair, and, just that fast, it wasn't simply the captain talking to him. It was a man who'd been his mentor for more than fifteen years.

Harley's eyes drifted to the framed photograph on his desk. A photograph of a blonde wearing a graduation cap and smiling as she stood next to her proud father.

Margaret Dunning. Harley's only daughter. She'd been at the cafe when Dane went in to get Katherine. She'd been nervous when she saw him.

Maggie knew Dane worked homicide. She hated homicide. Hated her father's job and the danger it brought.

"It's not just about the case." Harley's voice was softer now as he reached out for that frame. He glanced up at Dane. "You know you're the closest thing I have to a son."

They didn't usually talk about Dane's past. Or Harley's. They'd both tried to bury it.

"I don't want to see you get hurt." He put the photograph back down. "I don't want you getting in too deep with that woman, okay? She's got some dangerous ties."

"Katherine won't hurt-" Dane began immediately.

Harley's lips thinned. His cheeks reddened. "Even if Lancaster is the one killing in New Orleans, do you really believe that Valentine has just walked away from Katherine Cole? By all accounts, she's the only thing that ever mattered to the man."

Trent had been reduced to living in a cheap motel room. The cops were at his apartment, tearing through every drawer and file he had.

By the time Trent left the police station and arrived back at his home, the cops had gotten a search warrant. They'd met him in the lobby of his building. His lawyer had said the search was BS, that the cops had just found an overly sympathetic judge who should never have granted the warrant, but there wasn't a whole lot Trent could do at that point. Someone had remembered him threatening Amy-and, yeah, back during the divorce, he'd made a few threats. Heat of the moment s.h.i.+t. He hadn't meant them.

But what he'd meant didn't matter. The cops had a witness to the threats. They had him tied to two victims, and now, thanks to that warrant, the cops were already in his f.u.c.king underwear drawer.

He walked the short length of his motel room. This dump sucks. His body was tense, his hands shaking. Amy was dead-dead. Sure, he'd nearly hated her by the end of their divorce, but he hadn't wanted her dead.

He'd wanted her out of his life, but still breathing somewhere else.

A slight rap sounded at his door.

Tense, he glanced over at the door. He'd told his lawyer where he was going. Told Evelyn. Poor Evelyn. The woman was a wreck-and so sure that Katherine was setting him up.

He should have listened to Evelyn when she tried to warn him. Should have stayed far away from Katherine.

But Katherine just hadn't seemed dangerous to him. If she was truly a killer, he should have seen it. But maybe he'd spent too many days counseling bored housewives and sullen teenagers. Maybe he'd lost his edge. Maybe he couldn't really see the sickness in people's minds anymore.

The rap sounded again.

Trent headed for the door. He glanced through the peephole, frowned, then yanked open the door. "What are you doing here?" he asked.

Evelyn walked inside, her steps determined, but her hands shaking. Her hair had come out of its twist. "It's my fault."

Trent sighed. "Don't worry, Evelyn. This will all be over soon. There's nothing to find at my place."

She shook her head. "I brought her into our lives."

"We can't save everyone, Evie," he said, using his old nickname for her. Trent pulled her against his chest, and for a moment he just held her.

He felt her nod. "I know." She lifted her head. Stared up at him. Tears glinted in her eyes, and she looked vulnerable.

Almost beautiful.

Trent stiffened. He wasn't going there. Not again.

He released her.

A furrow appeared between her brows. "Trent?"