“Take it,” she instructed. “It might be important.”
It hadbetterbe, given the conversation the detective had just interrupted.
She waited as Lucky answered the call.
“Hey, Knox,” he greeted the ill-timed man. “Hang on, I’m going to put you on speaker.” Tapping the screen, Lucky sat the phone down onto the counter between them.
Resting her elbows on the edge of the smooth, cool granite, Ellie leaned in a smidge closer to ensure she could hear what was about to be said.
“Okay, I’m here with Ellie, and you’re on speaker. Please tell me you’ve got something.”
“I take it neither of you have seen the news?”
Feeling like she’d already lived this moment once before, Ellie met Lucky’s confused stare. “We just sat down for breakfast,” she told the other man. “Why, what happened?”
“Turn on one of the major news stations and then unlock your door.”
“My door?” Lucky frowned. “Why the hell would I—”
“Because I’m about thirty seconds from knocking on it.”
He’s here?
As if they’d rehearsed it, Ellie jumped up in search of f the remote while Lucky grabbed his phone and headed for the door. She pressed the power button, anxiously waiting for the screen to come to life. In the meantime, Lucky was already opening the front door to his apartment.
As promised, Detective Knox’s masculine figure suddenly appeared.
“Is it on?” The other man entered the apartment uninvited.
“Sure, Detective.” Lucky’s tone was laced with thick sarcasm. “Come on in.”
The corners of Ellie’s lips began to twitch, and it wasn’t lost on her that the same smartassness she’d once rolled her eyes at was now a trait she found ridiculously endearing.
My how the tables have turned.
That burgeoning smile, however, was lost the second she saw the newest Breaking News banner scrolling along the bottom of the screen. Or, rather, the shocking headline plastered in bold lettering just above it…
SERIAL KILLER GEORGE RAY HARVEY FOUND DEAD IN ABANDONED CABIN
Every ounce of air in her lungs escaped in a loud, disbelieving rush. “Is this for real?” Her focus bounced between Knox and the flatscreen. “Harvey’sdead?”
“It’s true.” Knox came further into the room. “I just came from the scene. Saw his body with my own eyes, but I figured you’d want to see for yourself.” In an unexpected move, the Seattle detective offered her his phone.
Ellie didn’t hesitate to grab the device from his hand. Her gaze fell to its small screen, the macabre image there leaving her stunned.
“Oh, my god.”It’s really him. He’s really dead.
Tuning out the reporter’s comments, she studied the picture closely. In it, a clearly deceased Harvey lay sprawled on the cabin’s worn and ragged wooden floor. A dark pool of crimson blood had formed beneath his head, and from the looks of it, the nice, neat bullet hole in the center of the killer’s left temple was fairly fresh.
Lucky placed a comforting hand against her lower back as he stood beside her. “Jesus.” He glanced down at Knox’s phone. “You thinking suicide, or—”
“It’s too early for a definitive ruling, but yeah.” Knox regained possession of the cell. “Looks that way. Techs are going over the place now.”
“If Harvey did off himself, it’s the only good thing the man ever did.” Lucky huffed out a breath. “And if he didn’t, well…when you find the guy responsible, I hope your department pins a fucking medal on his chest.”
“Jason!” Ellie scolded him before thinking better of it.
If the man was bothered by it, it didn’t show. Instead, Lucky simply shrugged the same shoulders she’d held onto that very morning—while the insatiable man drove himself into her body over and over again.