Bear's Baby (Bear Heat Book 4) (8 page)

“So what are we looking
for?”

Lindy swallowed. This was
the hardest part.

“Everyone.”

Shouts were hurled and some
people got to their feet.

“What?”

“You're nuts!”

“Everyone is a
suspect?”

“What kind of rubbish
is this?”

Lindy put up her hands to
call for silence. “Wait, listen to me. This is a very
delicate, dangerous situation. What I am saying is that the
perpetrator would disguise himself to look like someone you would see
as harmless and benign, perhaps even someone you'd encounter every
day. But beneath that soft, gentle exterior, there is a monster
lurking. You have to be very alert and sensitive, and perhaps and
more accurately,
overly
suspicious of anything and anyone from
now on.”

As voices and emotions rose
to fever pitch, Dr. Ross Manolo, one of the senior profilers from her
department stood up. “I agree with Lindy,” Dr. Manolo
said. “The killer would look ordinary and unremarkable. He
would behave normally until something triggers his murderous
instincts. Lindy hasn't mentioned it, but there is a possibility
that hypnosis may have a part to play in this. Under hypnosis, a
person may act in a way vastly different from how he or she would
normally behave. I do believe the killer may be under a similar
influence.”

Lindy frowned. What her
colleague said sounded logical, but something told her that the
killer wasn't under the influence of any drugs, illusion or hypnotic
suggestion.

“That's not
entirely...” she began.

But no one was listening.
Words were ricocheting all over the room. Lindy winced. Had she
messed up the briefing?

This was a difficult case,
and everyone was on edge, impatient and angry that there was no
breakthrough.

No one in the database had
matched her profile. They were looking at a strange new type of
killer. A killer who could look like anyone and everyone.

She knew the search
perimeters were broad, but there was just no way to narrow it down.
They really had to be on high alert, and anyone could be a suspect.
It was sad and scary, but true.

Maximus walked to the front
of the room. He was the head of the Behavioral Analysis Department,
and almost every officer in the room had worked with him at some time
or other in their career.

Maximus pointed at the
gruesome pictures of the victims' body on the screen and said
quietly, “Do you think that this is the work of a normal sane
human being?”

He waited for the murmurs and
head-shaking to die down.

“Do you think that
these three victims were impressionable, gullible people? Do you
think that with their experience and abilities, they would be easily
hoodwinked and fooled?”

Again there were muttered
comments and opinions.

“Think. Think about
who the victims were, the kind of people they were and how they would
most likely have acted in any situation. Then think about what Lindy
and Ross said. Psychosis, hypnosis, lunacy might have a part to play
in the killings. But as Lindy said, everyone is a suspect. Think
about the people you see and pass on the street. You think you know
them? You think they're like you and me?” He paused, letting
the words sink in. “Think again. You'll see that Lindy is
right. The killer is out there, or maybe, right here. And he looks
just like you and me.”

CHAPTER
TWELVE

The four Black Bears
regrouped in front of Skyflame Casino. Baxter paced to and fro and
scowled at the busy traffic and endless pedestrians. There were
cars, cabs, buses, people, shifters everywhere.

He muttered an oath. “So
many scents, and none of them demon.”

“He's not going to be
wandering around openly, waiting to get caught,” Dylan said.
“He'll mask his scent and appearance. Cunning little shit.”

“We have to work
faster, cover more ground,” Baxter said. “Let's flush
the shit out and send him back to hell by dinnertime.” His
mouth rounded and he slapped his palm to his forehead. “Dinner!
Damn! I almost forgot. I have a dinner date!”

Dylan rounded on him. “The
world is in jeopardy and you're thinking of a dinner date?”

“Yeah. I am thinking
of her,” Baxter said unapologetically.

“Her?”

Baxter deflected the question
by turning the attention to Thor. “Can you say that you're not
thinking of Aubrey? In times of deadly peril, when everything that
is dear to you is at stake...” Baxter clutched at his heart
dramatically. “Who is foremost in your mind, Thor?”

Thor gamely answered with a
smile, “Of course I'll think of Aubrey. She is my mate.”

“Well, Lindy is my...”

Dylan, Luke and Thor gasped
and said in unison, “Your mate?”

“My...friend,”
Baxter finished very carefully.

“Your friend? Ha!
You've never been so anxious and angsty about a dinner date with a
friend before. If she's really just a friend, I'll eat my boot!”
Dylan scoffed.

Baxter puffed out his cheeks.
Much as he would like to see Dylan swallow his words together with
his big, smelly boot, he couldn't bring himself to lie and say that
Lindy was just a friend. She was much, much more to him.

“What's with all this
gossiping? Let's get to work,” Baxter growled. “Stop
looking at me like that. Wipe those inane smiles off your faces, or
I'll wipe them off for you. With my fists.”

The three Black Bears
guffawed and slapped his back. “Never thought it'd happen to
you,” Thor chuckled. “This Lindy must be a real special
lady.”

“She is,” Baxter
blurted out before he could stop himself.

Those infuriating bears
laughed harder.

“Let's go,”
Baxter barked, marching off and flipping them the finger. “I'll
cover the whole central area. Are you guys done laughing? Get a
move on!”

“Right. Luke and I
will do a sweep of the northern and eastern parts of the city,”
Dylan announced. “We'll keep in touch.”

“I'll head west,
towards the industrial district. Will check in soon,” Thor
said, tapping his watch.

“Keep your daggers
close, and your heads on your shoulders,” Baxter said. He
turned and scowled at them. “If I hear any more sniggering, I
swear I will...”

Dylan and Luke laughed and
headed to their car. Thor stood at a distance, staring at him with a
strange light in his mismatched eyes. At Thor's amused, knowing
smile, Baxter threw up his hands and huffed.

“What?” Baxter
demanded. “What is it now? You're looking at me real funny,
Thor.”

Thor's smiled warmed.
“Having someone, not just something, to fight for. Feels
different, doesn't it?” Thor said as he began to turn away.

Baxter stood and watched
Thor's departing back for a moment. Giving himself a hard shake, he
blinked, growled and snapped on his shades. “Yes,” he
mumbled, glad that none of those smart asses were present to hear his
sappy confession. “It does.”

CHAPTER
THIRTEEN

Lindy looked up at the knock
on her office door. “Dr. Manolo would like a minute of your
time,” Siti popped in and announced.

“Oh, of course,”
Lindy said hurriedly. She stood up and tried to move some of the
files out of the way.

“Hi, Ross, please have
a seat,” Lindy said when Ross stepped into her office. “I'll
ask Siti to get you a cup of coffee.”

Dr. Ross Manolo smiled as he
closed the door to her office. “Don't bother with the coffee,”
he said. “I'd just like to bounce some ideas off you.”

“Ah, okay.” She
felt both flattered and flustered. Dr. Manolo was way more
experienced and accomplished than her. He had a great many letters
after his name. It was a great honor if Ross wanted to discuss his
ideas with her.

Lindy went back behind her
desk as Ross sat in the visitor chair. He was a tall, good-looking
man in his late fifties. He always wore a bow tie and with his mane
of silver hair, he looked every inch the distinguished professor.
Ross was a widower and his only daughter had recently gotten married
and relocated to Hong Kong with her new husband. He had joked to
Lindy that his burning ambition now was to be a doting grandfather.
“Unfortunately, my daughter and son-in-law are in no hurry to
start a family,” he'd sighed.

“I think what you said
at the briefing earlier made a lot of sense,” Ross began
encouragingly.

“I don't know,”
she said, blowing out a breath. “When I thought over what I
said, I'm not sure I made sense to anyone. I mean, what are they
going to do with the profile I'd given them? Who exactly should they
be looking for? That's what they want to know. But I'm afraid I
haven't...”

“You've given them a
lot of information, Lindy,” Ross said, pressing his fingertips
together. He leaned forward and said slowly, “Very important,
pertinent and accurate information.”

“Accurate?”

“Yes. In fact, you're
spot on in your analysis. Information is power, but you have to know
how to use that information in order to wield real power.”

Lindy tapped her foot. “Do
you think those officers will be able to use this information to
catch the killer?”

“It depends.”

“On what?”

Ross didn't answer. Instead,
he sat back in his chair and looked around her office. Lindy's brows
furrowed as she regarded him in silence. There was something
different about Ross but she couldn't quite put her finger on it.

“Um, Ross,” she
said gently. “Is there something you want to talk to me
about?”

He turned his eyes back to
her. “Yes,” he said simply. “I do need to talk to
you. It's about...my daughter, Monica. You and Monica are about the
same age, so...” He lifted his shoulders in a shrug.

“Oh. I'm happy to help
in any way I can. But I'm not sure if I...”

“Thank you, Lindy. I'm
so relieved to hear you say that. I've been so worried.” He
paused. “I'd like you to take a look at some of the letters
that Monica sent me. I don't know if I'm reading too much into it,
but it sounds to me like she's trying to tell me something.”
He grimaced and wrung his hands. “I haven't shown her letters
to anyone. This can affect my daughter's reputation, and mine.
But...I trust you, Lindy. You won't blab about this and spread
malicious rumors and gossip...”

“No, of course not,”
she said quickly. “I will never breathe a word about this to
anyone.”

“Thank you.”
Ross stood up. “I have some of her letters in my car. Would
you take a drive with me? You can read the letters in the car and
discuss the contents with me discreetly.” He rubbed a hand
across his eyes. “I don't know who else to turn to. I'm sick
with worry.”

Lindy grabbed her handbag and
jacket. “Come. We can drive to a nearby cafe for a quick cup
of coffee. I need a break anyway. Don't worry, we'll figure
everything out and your daughter will be fine. If she needs any
help, we'll make sure she gets it.” She linked her arm through
his and steered him out the door.

“Siti, I'm going for a
coffee break with Dr. Manolo. Will you hold the fort until I get
back?” Lindy called over her shoulder to her secretary.

Siti nodded and smiled. “You
take your time. You've been working your eyeballs out the whole
day.”

Lindy shivered suddenly as
the vivid images of the three eyeless victims flashed through her
mind. She forced out a strained laugh as she made her way to the car
park with Ross.

She shook away her
misgivings. If Ross wasn't quite himself, it was because he was
worried for his only daughter. She shouldn't dismiss a father's
worry. Her parents had been the worrying type, and now that they
were gone, she missed their fussing, fretting and nagging. Being a
parent was a special, sacred role and responsibility. She would love
to be a mother one day, and have the chance to fuss over her precious
little one.

She smiled up at Ross as they
rode the lift down to the car park. She shouldn't be so suspicious
of Ross. Overly suspicious, in fact.

Again, she stifled a grimace
as she recalled her briefing to the officers and investigators. She
had told them to be overly suspicious when keeping a lookout for the
killer. Those were her words.

Did she use the wrong words?

Did she make a mistake? Was
she...making a mistake right now?

CHAPTER
FOURTEEN

Baxter followed his nose and
his instincts. His bear was an impatient, impulsive creature, but
his beast possessed razor sharp instincts and superior tracking
abilities. His acute sense of smell made him one of the best
trackers in the clan. But demons were difficult, nasty, tricky
targets. They could change their appearance, and mask their demon
scent. They were vicious and savage, and if they were cornered, they
would stop at nothing to get away.