Alone (A Bone Secrets Novel) (22 page)

He pulled out his phone and started subtly taking pictures of the people who were watching.

“What are you doing?” she whispered. She had a hunch, but why didn’t he leave it to the investigators?

“Fire starters like to see their handiwork,” he stated. “I haven’t noticed anyone else shooting the crowd yet. Why wait? I’ll offer the pictures later.”

Three police cars and two fire trucks blocked her street. Not many people were gawking. It was about the number she’d expect on her quiet street at one in the morning. Several people were headed back into their homes. The excitement over for the night.

“If I was setting a fire, I wouldn’t stand and watch where someone could notice me.”

“They like to try to blend into the crowds. We had a serial firebug two years ago in Sacramento.” He pressed his lips into a tight line, and Victoria wondered how many burned bodies he’d dealt with.

“It started off with empty buildings and rapidly escalated. I spent some time reading up on what makes these guys tick.”

“I’ve never understood the appeal.”

“It’s control and excitement factors. With the single act of lighting a match, they can regulate events that aren’t normally controlled. They manage to orchestrate the fire, the exciting arrival of the loud fire engines, the creation of the fascinated crowds, and the thrill of the destruction. At first they’re satisfied with property destruction. But many move on to destruction of life. They get a taste of the excitement and need to feed it. It takes more and more to satisfy their needs.”

“Christ. It’s like a serial killer who can’t stop killing.”

“Very similar. Sometimes there’s even a sexual release that comes with seeing their power—”

“That’s enough.” Victoria cut him off. She didn’t need to hear about that aspect. She had enough on her mind.

Seth raised a brow at her. “Too much for you?”

“No. Some things I don’t need to research. I work in the ME’s office, I hear enough about the deviants out there. And see some of their results.”

“It’s really a fascinating area of study.”

“I’m good. Thanks. I’ll stick to bones.” She sought for a topic change and glanced at the dwindling crowd. “I think most of these people are my neighbors.”

“You
think
?”

“I haven’t met everyone. And even the ones I have, I don’t recognize unless they’re standing in front of their house. Occasionally someone will greet me in the grocery store, and I’ll be totally lost about how I know them.”

“She’s getting better. Didn’t know anyone for the first year she was here.” A new voice entered their conversation. “Everyone okay? No one got hurt?”

Victoria turned to see her neighbor, Jeremy. He held a small umbrella over his gray head. He wore a brightly colored housecoat and rubber boots. The sight of the man gave her heart a much-needed happy jump.

“Seth, this is my
neighbor,
Jeremy. No one was home, thank goodness.”

The men shook hands.

“Seth Rutledge. I work with Victoria,” Seth added.

“You the new medical examiner?”

“Not yet. I’m currently in the middle of a working interview for the position.”

Sharp eyes studied Seth as he placed his arm back around Victoria’s shoulders. She tried not to cringe. Jeremy was always threatening to introduce her to the straight men he knew, but she always declined. “Soooo, I guess I missed quite a bit while I was laid up with that bug.”

Seth gave his slow half smile. “Don’t tell me you’re the person to ask about the latest goings-on in Tori’s life.”

Jeremy’s eyes narrowed. “Tori, eh? Sounds like you and I need to have a glass of wine and a long talk, Dr. Rutledge.”

“Deal.”

“Not tonight, we won’t,” Victoria quickly added. “You’re not a hundred percent yet, Jeremy. And I don’t like you running around in the middle of the night in the cold.”

“Heck. I don’t sleep anymore at my age, anyway.” He met Seth’s gaze. “See how she mothers me? Doesn’t let a man have any fun.”

“Did you see the fire before the fire department got here?” Victoria asked, shifting his focus away from herself. “Hear or see anyone around?”

Jeremy shook his head. “Nothing. I was watching TV and didn’t know anything was up until the trucks came screeching up the street. Who called it in?”

“We did. Seth was driving me home when I spotted it.”

“Home, eh?” The old man’s eyes sparkled in the dim light.

“Stop that,” Victoria ordered. She felt a laugh rumble through Seth’s chest.

“Victoria, I think we’re ready to go,” Katy said as she and Trinity approached. Trinity looked exhausted and half-dead on her feet.

“I’ll be there as soon as they let me grab a few things,” Victoria said.

Trinity seemed deflated, like half the oxygen had been sucked out of her cells. The girl was in desperate need of sleep. Victoria moved out from under Seth’s arm, feeling the cold air wash over the spots he’d warmed. She touched Trinity’s arm. The girl met her gaze and gave a wan smile. “You two head to the house. I’ll be there in a minute.”

“Wait a minute, Ms. Peres?” One of the firemen stepped up to their circle.

“Yes?” Victoria said.

The fireman glanced at the group. “I need to ask you about something we found inside. We’re wondering if it belongs to you.”

“What’s that?”

“Maybe you could step aside with me for a minute?”

Victoria looked at her neighbors and Seth. “There’s no one here to hide anything from. What did you find?”

“We think the window was broken with a large rock we found inside. Then they threw in an accelerant in some sort of lit glass bottle.”

“Right. They told me this already,” Victoria said impatiently.

“Did you have any bones in that front room?” the fireman asked.

“Bones? No. You found bones? Like someone was in there?” Victoria’s brain shot into high alert.

Trinity gasped.

“No, not a body. Just a skull. Looks real, but I’m no expert.”

“I am,” said Victoria firmly. “Let me see it.”

The fireman raised an eyebrow at her. “This skull was on the floor close to where the fire started. If it didn’t belong to you, it was probably thrown in with the accelerant. Now it’s evidence.”

“Dr. Peres is the forensic anthropologist for the medical examiner’s office,” Seth interjected before Victoria could speak. “The skull will probably end up in her hands for confirmation anyway. Let her save you some time and tell you if they’re human or fake.”

The fireman studied Victoria for a long moment. “Okay. One look. No touching.” He turned and raised a hand to another fireman by the truck, gesturing for him to bring something over. The second man walked over with a large paper bag and handed it to the first. He opened it for Victoria to peer inside. Her heart speeding up, she peeked in the bag. Too dark. She smelled a familiar scent. Burned bone. Seth held up his cell phone and shone its light in the bag.

A woman’s skull glowed. Its lack of brow ridges and small size stated its sex. Its fused seams and teeth stated its maturity.

I knew it.

A small part of her knew it would turn out to be one of her skulls.

Whoever had burned her house had stolen her bones.
But why?

“It’s human. Female,” she reported. “And please contact Detective Callahan at OSP, because I suspect it’s related to a case he’s working on.”

“What?” The fireman and Katy spoke at the same time. Jeremy took a step closer to look in the bag, shaking his head. Victoria noticed Seth was silent and knew he’d had the same suspicions as she.

“Just one skull? That was all?” Seth asked.

The fireman nodded, an odd look on his face. “You expected more?”

Seth shrugged.

“It was stolen from your lab?” Katy asked Victoria. She looked stricken. “Why was it thrown in your house along with starting a fire?”

Victoria had no answer. The fireman left with his bag and startling information. Victoria’s mind spun.
Why? Why return the skull like that? Assuming it’s one of the skulls that was taken.
She wouldn’t know for certain until she compared it to the photos and X-rays. But why would they steal it and then return it?

“Does someone know where you live?” Seth said under his breath for her ears only.

“I don’t know.” Her brain hurt. “I need to talk to Callahan.”

“We’re heading in,” Katy said. “We both need bed.”

“Go ahead,” said Victoria. “I’ll be right there.”

The two women walked away. Trinity’s feet dragged in her boots.

Victoria turned back to Seth and Jeremy. “I need to go. Seth, I’ll see you tomorrow. Jeremy, get back to bed.”

“Yes, Tori.” Jeremy winked at her with his use of Seth’s nickname. “Good to meet you, Dr. Rutledge.” He headed in the direction of his house.

Victoria didn’t have the energy to reprimand him.
Does it really matter?
She sighed, placing all thoughts of the skull out of her head. There was nothing she could do about it tonight. She looked at her ruined home and tried not to cry. There was nothing she could do about that tonight either.

She’d check in with the police tomorrow. And find someone to clean up her house. The mental checklist to restore her home came to a screeching halt.
Tomorrow. Take care of it tomorrow.
She was too exhausted to think about it.

She looked up at Seth, seeking a distraction from the voices in her head. It was nice to have to look up at a man. Most men were about the same height as her or a little shorter. Something about a taller man made her feel a bit feminine. Few things did.

He rested the umbrella against his shoulder, angling it to keep the both of them dry, and met her gaze, studying her face.

For a long moment, Victoria didn’t hear the mumblings of the firemen and onlookers. The rain splashing on the street was the only sound. Seth’s eyes were dark in the poor light, and she wished she could see their beautiful blue shade. How many times had they stood like this on campus long ago? It felt completely familiar and comforting.

She didn’t want to let him go home.

Seth reached out a hand and brushed back her hair. “The rain sparkles in your hair.”

“It makes it frizz,” Victoria added unhelpfully.
What a stupid statement.

Seth’s smile grew. “I remember how you hated the dampness in the air at school sometimes.” His brows angled down. “I remember a lot of things. Sometimes it feels like it was just yesterday, our days together. I have to think hard to remember a lifetime has passed. That Eden has grown from a toddler into a young woman. Almost the same age you were when we met. How is that possible? My daughter is still a girl. You were a woman.”

“I suspect it is all in the eyes of the beholder.”

He smoothed her hair again. “Tori…”

She closed her eyes at his touch on her hair and the memories washed over her. He’d loved to touch her long hair. So many nights they’d spent together simply watching TV in bed while he ran his fingers through her hair. It’d been soothing and relaxing. After they’d split up, she’d struggled to fall asleep for months and suspected part of her issue had been the loss of the soothing gesture before she slept.

She felt him gather her hair into his fist at the back of her neck and gently tug her head backward. She arched her head back, her eyes still closed. Rain hit her forehead and eyelids, shocking her with its chill. He must have moved the umbrella, because more drops hit her mouth and neck. She shuddered and parted her lips.

She felt his heat touch her lips before his mouth pressed against hers. Warmth blasted through the sensitive nerve endings of her lips and shot down to her toes. She lit up inside.

Seth.

His mouth commanded hers, leading the kiss, challenging her to keep pace. His fingers pressed into her scalp, stroking in a way that made her want to crawl inside him and avoid the
world. Nothing compared to being touched and kissed by Seth. Nothing.

He’d always had this power over her. The power to make everything around her disappear until only he existed. Nothing had changed between them. Only the calendar marked the years. Their souls and minds ignored the fact that time had passed and acted as if they’d never been separated.

After a long moment he pulled back, and she was exposed to the rain again. Her eyes opened, meeting his gaze. He’d lowered the umbrella so they both stood in the cold wet. It wasn’t a pounding, soaking rain at the moment. It was a good rain. Soft and gentle, the type that refreshes. She needed the coolness to offset his heat.

She watched a drop run down his cheek and bounce off his coat, feeling the same action repeated on her face.

She didn’t care. Right now, the Pacific Northwest could throw whatever type of weather it wanted at her, and it wouldn’t change that all she wanted to do was stand next to Seth Rutledge.

She wanted to forget that she needed to go to work tomorrow, forget her house had been deliberately damaged, and forget her lab had been robbed. She wanted three days and nights alone with him to immerse herself in him. She wanted to talk and eat and have glorious sex without interruption. The way they used to. She wanted to talk about the future and map out their plans. She sucked in a giant breath, feeling the cold touch the bottom of her lungs.

“I should go,” he said.

Were there any sadder words?

“I know,” she answered. Inside her brain screamed for him not to leave again. The cold had exposed her, opened wide her
vulnerable center, ripe for a man to easily destroy with the wrong words. Or salve with the right ones.

“I don’t want to. Not tonight. Not any night again.”

His words were a balm that smoothed her raw nerves.

“I don’t want to ever hurt you again,” he whispered. “I know that can be hard to accept, but I hope you will. I want another chance. And I think you do, too. What we had never died. It was hibernating until our summer could come again.”

But what a long cold winter it’d been.

“I never stopped loving you, Tori. That’s the honest truth. If I could go back in time, I’d figure out a way to do right by both you and Eden. I was wrong to sacrifice you the way I did.”