wife died while the firefighters were working to remove her from the vehicle. The metal had torn into her chest. She bled out.”
He looked at the image. Fuck.
“And finally…” Richardson jutted up his chin. “We come to our most recent victim. Donnie Adams. Found beaten to death in a dirty alley. Cops interviewed folks who knew Donnie and the general consensus is that he was a drunk who liked to hurt whoever got in his way. Donnie is the third vic who fits my profile.”
“His profile is bullshit,” Chloe said in her ever-so-proper voice. So proper that it took Joel a moment to realize she’d even called bullshit.
And that her voice had, um, actually been quite loud.
Someone snickered.
Joel found himself smothering a laugh, too.
What the hell? When was the last time I laughed? And this sure as hell didn’t seem the right time to laugh.
Richardson did not look amused. His eyes lasered in on Chloe. “All of the victims are approximately the same age. In their late twenties. All have a similar body type. They’re big, physically imposing. Their personality traits are the same, as well. Simply put, they are bullies. They attacked the weak. They enjoyed hurting others.”
There were murmurs. Agreement.
Chloe began to tap her left foot.
“Oh, damn.” Cedric sighed. “Here we go. It’s on now. When the foot starts tapping, she’s losing patience.”
“I never had patience,” Chloe corrected, her voice brisk. “But I’ve stood here this long to be polite. I was doing that for you, Cedric. I hope you appreciate my effort.”
“Consider it appreciated.” Cedric winked at her.
Okay, so…Chloe and Cedric were friends. He’d wondered about their relationship at the bank. But there definitely seemed to be a bit of camaraderie going on between them. But if Cedric liked Chloe, then why had he warned Joel to stay away from her?
“These men committed bad deeds.” Now Richardson looked proud. Satisfied. “And the perp who killed them, he was punishing them for their crimes. He knew what they’d done, and he was delivering justice—his justice—to them.”
It almost sounded as if Richardson admired what the guy was doing.
“Payback,” Richardson threw out dramatically. “It was a true bitch in these cases.”
“Utter waste of valuable time.” Chloe turned on her heel. “He’s never going to catch the killer. Let’s go.”
Joel started to follow her but…
“We’re looking for a very intelligent killer. Someone who stalked his prey. Who researched these men. Who waited for the perfect moment to strike. Someone who didn’t mind the wait, who enjoyed it, in fact. He sees himself as an instrument of vengeance, and he is delivering justice. This man does not think he is doing anything wrong, and the people close to the victims…they are grateful to him for what he does.”
Cinnamon had been grateful. She’d said as much. Joel glanced back at Richardson.
Chloe caught Joel’s arm. “That man knows nothing about killers. Don’t let what he is saying get in your head.”
She sure seemed confident. Once more, Joel turned his head away from Richardson—
“Sorry your…ah…services won’t be needed on this one, Chloe,” Richardson called out. “Turns out, you aren’t the only one who can figure out how a killer thinks. Professionals can do the job just fine without you. I have a strong profile for the Bad Deeds killer, and please, don’t let the door hit you on the way out.”
“He’s done it now,” Cedric murmured. He was almost rubbing his hands together.
“He named the killer. He gave him a moniker. What a wanker.” Chloe squared her shoulders. Then she spun and marched right up to the podium.
“Uh, is she supposed to do that?” Joel asked as he sidled close to Cedric.
“I don’t think Chloe ever does what she is supposed to do. One of many reasons Agent Richardson hates her.”
“I am not in law enforcement,” Chloe’s clipped voice rang out, “but I have a PhD in psychology. Dual master’s degrees in both forensic psychology and abnormal psychology…”
“She’s just flexing,” Cedric explained as his head angled toward Joel. “Because Richardson bugged her with something he said. Don’t know exactly what set her off, but she’s about to tear him a new one.”
“I brought down the Sunshine State Strangler.” Chloe’s shoulders were straight. Her chin up.
The who now? Who’d she brought down? Wait, wait…Sunshine State Strangler. That was kinda familiar. The moniker clicked for Joel. Sunshine State—that had been the killer who’d been strangling college co-eds down in Florida a few months back.
“I’m the one who told police officers what he would look like, the type