station. He must have seen the protestors––and he’d definitely agree that Randall should serve time. But thankfully he said nothing.
Captain Hale greeted her as they entered the conference room, and Heath glanced up from his computer and two other officers joined them. Derrick made himself at home by taking a section of the conference table, setting up his laptop.
Just as she started to attach photos of the first two victims to the whiteboard, footsteps pounded in the hall. A second later, the sheriff’s voice boomed as he stormed into the room. He stopped in his tracks when he spotted Derrick.
“What the fuck is going on, Detective Reeves?” Bryce shouted. “You called in the feds without asking me?”
Ellie stiffened, but Captain Hale stood. “I called him in, Sheriff. And I’ll thank you not to talk to my detectives like that.”
Bryce glanced at Ellie, his feathers ruffled, and she couldn’t resist. “We’ve got a serial killer here, and he took one of our own, your very own deputy,” Ellie said. “We’re going to be spread thin, as I know you’ll make finding Shondra a priority.”
The darkening of Bryce’s eyes indicated she’d touched a nerve, and a warning flickered in his eyes as well.
Derrick cleared his throat. “I am here to assist, Sheriff,” he said calmly. “Any way I can.”
Ellie bit back a smile. How could the sheriff argue with that?
Hell, she wanted to point out his incompetence, how he’d blown her off the night before when she’d first called him about Shondra. How she knew Shondra had threatened to file a complaint against him for gender bias. That she knew he was just looking for a reason to get rid of her.
But she kept her mouth shut. She’d dealt with her share of bullies at the police academy. Men who thought they were stronger and smarter and more resilient than her. She’d had to work harder, think fast on her feet, and develop a thick skin. A few had even exerted their power and physical strength to intimidate her. Sexual harassment had even been part of their tactical game. They’d cornered her in the locker room once and pushed her around, had teamed up to cut her off when they’d gone on runs, had even tried to grab a feel when they’d practiced defense moves.
But she hadn’t allowed them to make her quit, and she sure as heck wouldn’t let Bryce Waters intimidate her either.
The killer had challenged her. And Ellie Reeves did not back down from a challenge.
Thirty-Three
Ellie opened her mouth to speak, but Bryce cut her off. “As a matter of fact, I’ve got men searching for Deputy Eastwood now. We’re looking at abandoned properties and rentals in case this maniac is hiding out in the county somewhere.”
Chair legs scraped the floor as Bryce seated himself at the head of the table, marking his territory as the leader. His arrogance knew no boundaries.
While everyone else claimed seats, she handed Heath a sticky note with the name Carrie Winters on it.
“Dr. Whitefeather identified our second vic. See what you can find on her.”
The deputy nodded and instantly went to work on his computer.
“All right, then,” Ellie said as she stepped to the front of the conference room. “It appears that we have a serial killer targeting young women in the county. If he holds true to his pattern, we may be looking for another body today.” She paused for effect. “So let’s see if we can find him first.”
She wrote the nursery rhyme on the whiteboard, reciting it as she did.
“Monday—Monday’s child is fair of face.
Tuesday—Tuesday’s child is full of grace.
Wednesday—Wednesday’s child is full of woe.
Thursday—Thursday’s child has far to go.
Friday—Friday’s child is loving and giving.
Saturday—Saturday’s child works hard for a living.
Sunday—And the child that is born on the Sabbath day, is bonny and blithe, good and gay.”
Next, Ellie attached a photograph of Courtney Wooten to the board underneath the heading “VICTIM 1”. The stark sight of the dead woman with the bramble wrapped around her neck, smothered in unsightly makeup and her hands in prayer, silenced the room.
“Monday, we found our first victim, twenty-nine-year-old Courtney Wooten, at a place on the AT called the Reflection Pond. Inside her mouth, he left a piece of paper with the ‘Monday’s child’ part of the rhyme typed on it.” She explained what they’d learned about Courtney from Heath’s research and her conversation with Courtney’s sister.
“We are looking into the lawsuit angle,” Captain Hale interjected. “So far no one is talking. The lawyer insists