Valentine Killer: Die For Me Part 19

"If the guy had wanted," Dane muttered, the fury he felt directed at Valentine and at himself, "he could have killed her right then."

Marcus shook his head. "That's not what he wants." Now his voice was far more confident. "That's never been what he wanted."

"Then tell me. Make me understand. Just what is it that the p.r.i.c.k wants?"

"Katherine."

He'd had her, been alone with her in that dark gallery. But from what Dane could tell, the woman didn't have so much as a scratch on her.

"I should have realized he'd go after Dr. Lancaster," Marcus continued.

Was that guilt in the man's voice? Dane studied Marcus and saw that, yes, it was.

"One of the reasons I thought Katherine was originally a partic.i.p.ant in the killings was...well, it was because she was tied to one of the victims in Boston."

"Tied how?" He'd gone over Hobbs's report and hadn't seen a connection.

"Katherine and Stephanie Gilbert, the final victim in Boston, were both foster children at the same home years ago."

Katherine had walked in on Stephanie Gilbert when Valentine was killing the woman. No, after the kill.

"From what I could gather, she and Katherine stayed in the same home for two months. Just two, but during that time, Katherine went to the hospital twice. Once for a broken arm, and once because she'd been stabbed in the right thigh with a kitchen knife." His lips tightened. "Stephanie was relocated after that, sent for additional therapy."

Dane lifted his hand. "What are you telling me? That you think Katherine wanted Valentine to target Stephanie because the woman had hurt her when they were kids?"

"That was one possible theory."

"It's possible bulls.h.i.+t."

Marcus flinched but held his stare. "Do you know what a killer's signature is?"

"It's the way he kills," Dane said instantly. "The slashes on the arms, the carving of the chest. All of that s.h.i.+t is Valentine's twisted signature."

"A killer's signature doesn't change over time. The signature is what the killer has to do in order for the kill to give him a feeling of completion. Satisfaction."

Twisted f.u.c.k.

"With Valentine, part of his signature is that he's controlling his victims. He's tying them up, torturing them, dominating them. He's punis.h.i.+ng those who wind up on his table, the same way he was punished by his own mother. That's why he re-creates the same wounds on their arms." He paused. "Three years ago, I thought Katherine might have been involved in the Gilbert murder-"

"Didn't we decide that was BS?"

The profiler's cheeks flushed. "I've been working the Valentine case for three years. Three years. I now believe that with the murder of Stephanie Gilbert, his motivation changed."

Dane's brows snapped up.

"Gilbert's attack wounds were more savage than those of the other victims, showing a more emotional response. I think Valentine was angry with her because he knew what she'd done to Katherine. As far as Valentine was concerned, Katherine didn't deserve any punishment."

"What did she deserve?"

"Protection."

That wasn't the answer Dane had expected.

"Trent was here yesterday shouting at Katherine. Threatening her."

"But Valentine wasn't here. He wouldn't have known-"

"Control, Detective. Remember...control. Valentine will always want control over Katherine, so I suspect that he has been watching her, and those around her, very closely for some time." Marcus's breath shuddered out. "With Lancaster, Valentine crossed a lot of lines that he hasn't crossed before. He broke his own rules."

"He took the body to her."

A slight nod. "He wanted to give her a present. Lancaster upset Katherine, Valentine perceived that the shrink had hurt her, so he-"

"Hurt the b.a.s.t.a.r.d back."

Another nod. "Katherine changed Valentine. Perhaps more than I realized. Until Trent, his victims-those we know of-have been female. This evolution is showing that he feels he has no boundaries. He can and will attack anyone he perceives to be a threat to Katherine."

"h.e.l.l." Dane jerked a hand through his hair. "Savannah wanted to do a story on Katherine-"

"And Katherine refused, but the reporter kept pus.h.i.+ng her." Marcus's lips tightened. "Another threat to Katherine that had to be eliminated."

So how the h.e.l.l had Amy Evans been a threat to her?

Marcus must've had the same thought. "If you dig, I think you'll find a connection to Amy."

A light rap sounded at the door. Then the captain came in. His face was tense as he stared at Dane. "The sonofab.i.t.c.h was in her gallery?"

"Yes."

"With f.u.c.king cops right outside? Why the h.e.l.l weren't the uniforms able to stop him?"

"Because the uniforms didn't see him. Katherine went in alone, and when she realized the lights weren't working, she sent one of the cops to check her breaker box." The cops should have d.a.m.n well been in that building with her. They'd made a mistake that no one would be repeating. "He was waiting for her."

"He had to get close," Marcus said. "He had to let her know he was there, taking care of her."

The captain's eyes narrowed. "I want to know every single thing that man said to her. I want to know every detail."

Dane knew they had to question Katherine. She just looked so d.a.m.n fragile that he wanted to wrap his arms around her and tell her that everything would be all right.

Even if the words were a lie.

"Bring her in," the captain ordered.

"I will," Dane said, "but I want the two of you out." They could watch. They could listen. But he wanted to be alone in that room with Katherine.

He had to make her relax, feel safe, and that wouldn't happen if the profiler and the captain were breathing down their necks.

Harley gave a grim nod. "Do what you have to do."

Dane knew the order for exactly what it was. But before he left the room, he had one more question for the profiler. "Why the f.u.c.king roses? What's their message?"

Marcus rubbed his chin. "Originally, the roses could have been a sign of remorse. He'd taken their lives, so he gave his victims a token to remember him. But when he met Katherine..." Marcus shook his head. "Roses used to be her favorite flower, did you know that? She revealed that fact in her Boston interrogations. She even kept a small rose garden behind the house she shared with Valentine. When Valentine found out about her love for roses, the guy must have seen that as another sign that Katherine was perfect for him."

Sick f.u.c.k. She wasn't perfect for him and never would be.

With his jaw locked, he headed out of the room and went straight to Katherine.

Her shoulders were still hunched, and she looked so beaten. He hated that. He tried to control his rage as he reached out and touched her shoulder.

She flinched and jumped to her feet. "No!"

All eyes flew to her.

Her breath came fast and hard. Her eyes seemed desperate. Then she focused on Dane and gave a little shudder. "I-I'm sorry."

He wanted her in his arms. Screw it, he pulled her against him. Held her tight and didn't care who saw them. She needed him. She needed to know that someone was there for her.

And he'd d.a.m.n well be that someone.

"I wanted to kill him," she said, her stark whisper barely reaching his ears.

He wasn't surprised by her confession. Full truth, he wanted to kill the b.a.s.t.a.r.d too. The badge was the only thing holding him in check.

"But he took the bullets from my gun. He figured out where I kept it hidden, and he took my bullets."

The profiler's words whispered through his mind once more. I suspect that he has been watching her. He had been.

Katherine stiffened in his arms. She shoved against him, catching Dane off guard, and he stumbled back.

"Stay away from me!" she told him as dark color flushed her cheeks. "You have to stay away from me!"

"Katherine?"

"If you don't, he'll hurt you, too." Her whole body was stiff. Her eyes stark. "He told me. You have to stay away."

The b.a.s.t.a.r.d thought he'd be afraid? Dane grabbed her hands. "That's not happening. No one will keep me away from you."

He heard a gasp, then looked to the side. Evelyn Knight had just been led into the bull pen. Her tear-filled gaze was on him. Katherine. Their linked hands.

Mac hurried forward and tried to steer Evelyn away, but she wasn't moving. She just stared at Katherine.

Katherine pulled away from Dane again. She wrapped her arms around her stomach and rocked back and forth as if trying to soothe herself.

The silence in the bull pen was deafening. Dane cleared his throat. "Come on, I need to talk to you in interrogation."

Katherine didn't flinch. Didn't even look at him. She just turned woodenly and headed for interrogation room one.

Evelyn was still there. Watching.

Katherine paused in front of her. "I'm sorry about Trent."

A tear leaked down Evelyn's cheek. "I don't think you are, Kat."

Dane stiffened.

"I'm not sure you can actually be sorry about anything, especially something as insignificant as another person's life." Another tear trickled down her cheek.

Dane stepped in front of Katherine. "Take her out of here, Mac," he ordered.

Evelyn's shoulders straightened. "Because I'm the one who's out of control, right?" Her tear-filled eyes found Dane's. "Why can't you see what she is? Trent couldn't see either. Now it's too late."

Then she was gone. Being led-pulled-away by Mac.

Dane turned back to Katherine. He saw a woman struggling to hold on to her self-control. Was she a monster?

No, he didn't see it.

But he knew, based on his own life, that monsters could hide anyplace.

"I need to see him," Evelyn said. The tears wouldn't stop flowing. The detective named Mac was trying to force her out of the station, but it wasn't happening.

She needed to see Trent.

One more time.

"He's in the morgue. You don't want-"

"Yes, I do." She lifted her chin. "Someone has to identify the body, right? Or did Katherine do that already?"

"You ever been in a morgue, ma'am?"

"I'm a doctor-I have a medical license. I've seen plenty of bodies." And she knew where the morgue was located. So she headed for the elevator. She couldn't look at Katherine anymore.

The woman was standing there, offering her apologies.

I don't believe her.

But before she could get in the elevator, the detective moved to block her path. "You can't see him yet."

"I have to see him."

He shook his head. "No, ma'am, not yet, you don't. Once I get the clear from the captain and the ME, then I'll take you down. You should go home. Get some rest. We'll call you."

They'd call her to see Trent's remains.

Trent. He'd been far from perfect, she knew that. But he'd also been her best friend.

"I'm not leaving until I see him."