Drained (Edgars Family #6) - Suzanne Ferrell Page 0,60

I’m doing here,” Brianna said as they rode the elevator in the homicide unit’s building.

Aaron squeezed her hand. He’d been holding it since they parked in the underground garage. “You’re here, because you know one of the victims and helped search for the other. You are extremely smart and think outside the box. Jaylon does too, a little, but we’re policemen. We tend to approach a case based on motive and circumstantial evidence. You bring a different perspective and I’ve got a hunch that solving this is going to take all of us and our talents working together.”

“Well, if you put it like that, I guess I’ll stick around.”

He grinned down at her. “I think you should.”

The elevator stopped and he released her hand. She missed the contact immediately but understood. This was his job. He had to show professionalism, especially if he wanted to bring in an outsider. Despite what he’d just said, she doubted including her in the investigation was anything close to protocol. Another reason he was different than any other man in her life. He’d put her above his needs, even putting his job at risk.

He led her to a conference room where Carson and Jaylon were already seated talking with an older, thin man. When he stood to be introduced, she realized he was a couple inches shorter than her five feet nine inches.

“This is my boss, Captain Stedaman,” Aaron said. “This is Brianna Matthews, sir. A friend of the victim discovered today. She has also been involved with the case from the beginning. Actually, she’s the reason we even have a case.”

The firmness in Aaron’s voice leant authority to his belief that she should remain involved and the point was not lost on Captain Stedaman.

“Please have a seat, Ms. Matthews,” he said, motioning one of two chairs opposite his. Once they were all seated, Aaron next to her, the captain leaned back and fixed Aaron with a you’re-getting-your-way-for-now-but-don’t-test-me look. “I’d like to hear everything that has happened from the beginning.”

“I asked Detective Jeffers to accompany me Wednesday to check on my friend. She’d been absent from work and wasn’t answering her phone,” Brianna said, wanting to be sure the Stedaman understood Aaron had been helping her when they stumbled into this case.

“And this is the woman found this morning?” he asked.

“No, sir,” Aaron said. “We found Paula alive, but very ill.”

“She’d been out searching for a friend who was homeless and contracted pneumonia,” Brianna explained. “So, we got her to stay in the hospital for treatment by promising to take Stanley out to search for her friend.”

“And Stanley is?”

“That would be the four-legged witness,” Jaylon said with a half-grin.

Aaron shot him a you’re-not-helping-glare, which only made the younger officer struggle harder to keep from laughing. Brianna cast a glance at Carson expecting to see the same thing. Only, he wasn’t. He was staring off into space as if he were somewhere else.

“What is it?” she asked.

The profiler blinked as if coming back to the homicide conference room. “Nothing. What happened next?”

Her gaze met Aaron’s. He was as puzzled by Carson’s actions as she was.

“Paula explained Art never went anywhere without Stanley. That’s how she knew something was wrong. We began a systematic search for Art, our first victim,” Aaron said. “We hit the homeless shelters in the area he’d last been seen. Then Stanley led us to the abandoned factory where we found Art. You know all the details from there.”

“And you were friends with the victim found this morning?” Stedaman asked Brianna.

“Yes. She was a resident at the secure women’s shelter. I work there as an accountant. Mia lived there up until a year ago.” She stopped and willed back the tears that threatened again. Crying for her friend wouldn’t help her. Finding her murderer was what mattered now.

“And the preliminary autopsy report confirms what we suspected. She was frozen immediately after she was killed,” Jaylon said.

The captain’s brows slammed down in confusion. “Was your other victim frozen?”

“No,” Aaron answered.

“So, this guy is changing his MO? And his victimology?” This was directed at Carson.

“Not necessarily. Unfortunately, we don’t have enough crime scenes to determine what his scenario for killing is. So far, we know he’s killed one man and one woman. One white, one mixed Asian descent. One old, one young.”

“So far?” Stedaman asked, focusing in on the Special Agent. “You think there will be more?”

“Or there already is.”

“What do you mean already?” Brianna asked, glancing at each of the men’s faces etched