Drained (Edgars Family #6) - Suzanne Ferrell Page 0,96

get used to how free and easy this man demonstrated his love for her and their son?

“I couldn’t see his face,” Paula said, dejection in her voice.

“Actually,” Katie said, “we learned quite a bit about him.”

“Like what?” Brianna asked, grabbing a glass and joining them at the table. Aaron pulled out two beers, opened them and handed one to Matt.

“He’s white, has dark hair, is taller than average, but not too tall. Probably average weight,” Katie said, pouring tea into her friend’s glass. “And he probably knows Paula.”

28

Brianna sat back in her seat, stunned and trying to process what Katie had just said. She looked up at Aaron, his facial features hard and his mouth pressed into a thin line. Beside him, Matt’s expression matched his. She swung her gaze to Paula who stared wide-eyed at Katie.

“I didn’t say I knew him,” Paula blurted out and nearly dropped Stanley as she defended herself. “I told you I never saw his face.”

“I didn’t say you did,” Katie said calmly. “I said he probably knows you, as well as other members of the volunteer community. It’s why he kept his back to the serving table. Why he wore his hat inside and avoided getting in the line for food.”

“Because he didn’t want any volunteers to remember he was there.” Aaron set his beer bottle on the counter and pulled out his phone, texting in something.

“It’s also how he’s finding out about the homeless people’s lives, their histories,” Brianna said, following the dots along the path that Katie had set out. “At some point he’s been a volunteer in the homeless community.”

“It’s also why they trusted him.” Matt pulled up a chair. “The homeless are very wary of strangers.”

Paula nodded, relaxing once more, her fingers stroking Stanley’s fur. “You don’t trust anyone who is suddenly wanting to help. They could be a NARC or someone wanting to exploit you. You know, pat themselves on the back in the news at how much they’re helping. Politicians running for office. You make friends slowly, and you only trust those you’ve known a while.” She shifted her sad gaze to Brianna. “Why didn’t I think of that?”

“Because you’ve been ill. You’ve been grieving. And why would you suspect someone you knew would do this to people you loved?” Brianna laid her hand over Paula’s. “This is not your fault.”

“No, but maybe we could’ve found him before he killed Art.”

“We couldn’t have,” Aaron said, coming to join them and setting his phone on the table. “Our killer has had a plan for at least months, given how he preserved Mia’s body until he could use her body.”

Brianna liked how he still referred to Mia as a person with a gender and a name. Not the impersonalized way some of the other police had called her a victim or body in the meeting earlier. She suspected he did it in deference to Mia being her and Paula’s friend, as well as his own respect for Art and Mia as people.

“Is he really a journalist?” Paula asked.

Aaron shook his head. “I don’t think so. He used the article ruse to get close to the homeless. A way to cull the herd until he found his target.”

“You make him sound like he’s a lion hunting a baby zebra, like I saw on one of those British television shows,” Paula said.

“He is very much a hunter. A predator searching for the weakest target,” Matt said. “He’s also very intelligent.”

“Because he’s planned this out to some point he wants to make to us?” Brianna asked.

Matt nodded. “That and other things. He’s pretended to be a journalist in such a way people want to tell him their stories, reveal their pasts, which the homeless usually like to keep hidden from others, even themselves. Also, he knows quite a great deal about blood collection and processing. He might have some sort of medical or scientific degree.”

“You think he’s a doctor?” Paula asked.

Aaron shook his head. “I think our man may have once been in or applied to medical school, but he ended up working in a lab. Possibly a hospital or blood bank lab somewhere in the city. Not because he flunked out or didn’t make the grade, but because he chose to take a different path.”

“You think this has been on his mind for years?” Brianna asked, wondering how Aaron had come to that conclusion.

“It was what Carson said in the meeting today.” Aaron pulled a note pad from his pocket and flipped