The Green-Eyed Doll (22 page)

He moved a millimeter back and murmured, “Cat. You taste like honey.” His warm breath blew across her hypersensitive flesh.

She wrapped her fingers in his midnight black hair and pulled his mouth back to her burning flesh. He laughed or she thought he did. Whatever he did, the vibration detonated a reaction she’d never felt. Her entire body convulsed, shuddered as if she were having a seizure. If not for Matt’s strong hands, she’d have fallen from her perch. Heaving, panting, her body a piece of Silly Putty, she settled back to earth.
Oh. God.
Had she really pulled his hair? Suddenly, she wished for a place to hide. Finding none, she had no recourse. She laughed a nervous, silly sound.

Matt kissed his way up to her face then gently helped her back into her robe. His strong hands clasped her at the waist and set her feet on the floor. When her knees failed to support her weight, he lifted her onto a chair.

“Hmm.” She intended to say thanks but that word didn’t come out.

“My pleasure,” he said.

Maybe she had said thanks, or maybe he hadn’t noticed her acting like a woman whose house had been on fire.

“Coffee?” He calmly poured two cups and placed one in front of her. Holding the other, he sat across the table and smiled. “You should rest a few hours before heading to work tonight.”

“Hmm.” That was it? She could produce only one single word. Her brain started working again, and she tried to remember another time in her life when she’d been that overwhelmed. She sipped her coffee and watched the most amazing man in the world do the same. Yep. Taking him off the
Never
list ranked right up there with the invention of electricity. It was world changing.

“I wish I didn’t have to go. Ash and I are talking with some of the shop owners this morning. Yesterday nobody remembered seeing anything, but sometimes a day later, things come back.” He refilled his cup and knelt down in front of her. “Take care of my girl. Watch her back. Okay?”

“Yeah. Okay.” She found her legs and followed him to the door. “Sorry, I went off the deep end.”

“I’d have been disappointed if you hadn’t.” He pulled her into his arms, kissed her hard and hot, and then strolled away. He got into his black truck, snapped the seat belt over his black shirt, pushed a lock of gleaming black hair off his forehead, and backed out of the driveway.

Catherine clutched her robe to her chest and watched until he drove out of sight. “God, I love the color black.”

****

Saturday, August 26th, 10:00 a.m.

What a way to start the day. More than Matt’s thumb and fingers still tingled. He’d left Catherine speechless, run home for a shower, grabbed a bag of donuts from the bakery and was about to disturb his best friend. Matt pounded on Ash’s apartment door while wondering if the smile on his face was permanent.

“It’s about time.” Ash answered the door fully dressed, ready to leave. “I thought you wanted to get an early start.”

“We still can. Relax.” Matt pushed past, shoving the sack in Ash’s arms. “Eat first. And I need more caffeine.” He understood Ash’s sense of urgency. They were all going nuts trying to figure out where the killer would strike next.

“Thanks to Sue, I don’t have to worry about a lack of sweets.”

“Why?” Matt called out from the kitchen. “She’s not giving you my apple pie. Is she?”

“Not yet. But thanks for telling me. Her friend Dotty lives in the unit across from me. She brought me cupcakes at eight this morning.”

“That’s nice.” Matt strolled back to the small living room and looked around. Sue and a friend had provided a small brown leather couch, one end table, and a maroon recliner. A small TV sat in one corner. It was better than nothing. Overall, not bad for temporary housing. Matt stretched out in the easy chair.

“Yes, I’ll have another cup, thanks,” Ash muttered on his way to the small coffee pot. When he returned, he sat across from Matt and studied him in silence for a minute. “What gives?”

“With what?”

“Don’t start that shit. You’re never this flip or casual. Remember me? You’re always wound tight as a gnat’s ass. It’s always gotta go, balls-to-the-wall with you.” He strummed his fingers on his knee. “You didn’t go home last night. You dog. Tell me.”

“Where do your stupid ideas come from? Eat or do without.” Matt’s stomach growled. Damn, he was ravenous. Cupcakes, donuts, it didn’t matter. His system demanded food, like his body demanded Catherine. He’d had his share of women, before and after his marriage. None had dominated his thoughts and emotions the way Catherine did.

“This woman’s turned you into a blithering idiot, and I still haven’t met her.” Ash snapped his fingers. “You ran a background check. Didn’t you?”

“Hell no.” He hated that Ash could read him so well. “I got as far as entering her name. Sat there for five minutes watching the cursor blink. Couldn’t do it.”

“Awww. An honorable man.” Ash’s mouth curved into a smirk. “Glad you took my advice.”

Matt tossed back the last of his coffee. “Screw you. You can be a smartass on the way to the park. I can’t sit around waiting on you all day.” Matt crumpled the empty sack, tossing the bag in the trash as he headed for the door.

“Want to let the top down and go in your car?”

Ash looked at him as if he’d dropped in from outer space. “In this heat? In this dust? She’s a high-class, high-dollar automobile. Your pickup is used to it.”

Matt pulled out of Ash’s apartment complex thinking the tenants were lucky to have covered parking and flashed back on Catherine whose car sat in the sun. The temperature on the bank across the street read ninety-nine degrees, and it was still before noon. The occasional lawn where the owner watered daily was a visual shock in comparison with the dead and dried grass that surrounded them. Yesterday, the fire department had issued a burn ban and restricted watering. Soon, nothing would be green. Matt was beginning to wonder if they’d ever see a break in the weather.

“I told Catherine you’d buy lunch before she went to work. Give you two a chance to meet.” He tried to remember if he’d warned her about Ash. He’d be all over her. Beautiful women were Ash’s favorite pastime.

“It’s about time. Pick a place close to that drugstore across from your office. We never got around to asking about this JC guy. What did he buy? Or was he following your girlfriend around.”

“Can’t do it. We’ll have to meet her in Butte Crest. We can hit the drugstore in Curry afterward.”

“By the time I learn my way around, the case will be solved.”

“God. I hope it’s soon.” Matt parked midway off the block across from where Annie had been found. “You start at one end. I’ll take the other. Maybe somebody noticed a car, pickup, anything out of the ordinary.”

Matt headed to the auto parts store. If anybody inside had been watching Friday morning, they had the perfect vantage point. Matt hooked his badge on his belt and went inside. An older gentleman came from behind the counter with his hand extended.

“No need for the ID, Sheriff. I recognized you right off.”

Matt welcomed the man’s strong grasp. “Call me Matt.”

“Avery Sanderson. But folks call me Sandy. What can I sell you?” He rocked back on his heels and peered over the top of his wire-rimmed glasses.

“I’m not buying today. I read the deputy’s report, but hoped maybe you’d remembered something after he left.”

“Can’t think of nothin’. I got here around eight-thirty. Unlocked the front door at nine. Most of the shops in this strip open at ten. Not me. If a man’s car breaks down, he wants the part before half the days gone.”

“But you didn’t notice anyone around the park?”

“Here’s the thing. I didn’t pay any attention. Wish to hell I had’ve.” Sandy pursed his lips and small wrinkles surrounded his mouth. His eyes closed slowly, and Matt could almost see the wheels turning. After a few seconds, Sandy’s eyes popped open. “Nope. Nothing comes to mind.”

Matt chatted a few more minutes before he broke away and moved to the small health food store next door. He learned nothing helpful as he worked his way through the stores. He left the last shop with no news, no clues, nothing.

Ash waited by the pickup, looking as disappointed as Matt felt.

“I got zilch. Call that woman who keeps you up all night.” He snorted a laugh. “I’m hungry.”

Matt raised an eyebrow and glared, but didn’t faze Ash. “You be nice around Catherine.” He got in the pickup, started it, and then called her while ignoring the curious look he was getting from Ash. They agreed to meet at the Dairy Dream in an hour. “We’ll have time for you to take a look around where Annie was last seen alive.”

“Tell me more about your new honey.”

“I’ve told you enough already. Suffice it to say, I’d appreciate you not slobbering all over her.”

He stared at Matt for a second before a smile broke across his face. “I’ll be damned. You let this one get under your skin.”

Matt rolled his eyes. He definitely hadn’t let her do any such thing. She was on his mind a lot. The way she responded to his touch, the way her eyes flared with excitement when he entered her, the way she laughed under her breath after she came—all of these things made her important to him. But there was more. They laughed together, and until she came along there hadn’t been much humor in his life.

The parking lot at the Dairy Dream overflowed to the church parking lot next door. Was there no end to the thrill seekers? Half of the county must’ve taken a drive over to see where the dead woman had worked. Matt jerked his phone to his ear and changed lunch plans with Catherine. Pizza Stop on the square. Again.

“You didn’t have your heart set on a burger, did you?” Matt said, heading to the highway.

“I had my heart set on you answering my question.” Ash continued to dig for information. “Your silence tells me you’re in love.”

“I don’t intend to dignify that with a response,” Matt said. “What’d you learn from your store visits?”

“Nothing. Nobody paid any attention until the cruisers started showing up. However, I came up with a few thoughts and questions last night. You remember last night...while I was alone in my tiny apartment, and you were doing whatever you won’t tell me about.”

Matt pulled into the parking lot across from the café and backed in, where he could watch for Catherine. He ignored Ash’s insinuation, figuring it was best not to egg him on. “I’m listening.”

“The first woman went missing for three days, then she turned up dead. Over two weeks passed before he snatched the second. Why’d he wait?”

“Then it was either a trial run or an accident.” Matt thought back to the two weeks between kidnappings. “The first kill might’ve been unintentional. He decided he liked it, missed the feeling, the thrill. He grabs a second woman, enjoys tormenting her for nine days before killing her.”

Ash stared out the window, deep in thought. “Your scenario doesn’t compute.”

“Then the kill isn’t what he’s drawn to. It’s all about the individual woman.” Matt was convinced a third woman would disappear soon.

“He shopped around for two weeks until he found one he liked?”

“Yeah,” Matt said.

“Then we need to figure out what about these two women appealed to him.”

“Speaking of appealing.” Matt pointed to the small blue Ford with its windows rolled down. He pulled into the lot, kept one eye on the red fire sparkling off the long wavy hair hanging around Catherine’s shoulders.

“Oh. Hell. Yes. No wonder you didn’t want me to meet her.” Ash was out of the pickup and moving toward Catherine before she exited her car.

Matt’s heart rate skyrocketed. The idea of Ash hitting on Catherine fired Matt’s blood like a gladiator going into battle. His best friend wrapped both arms around her and hugged her to his chest.

No. Mine. Mine.
God. A six-year-old kid had taken up residence in his head. Time to rein in the emotions. He curled his hands into fists and got out of his pickup. Catherine extricated herself from Ash’s clutches and slid into Matt’s arms.

“Hey.”

She followed her usual greeting by standing on tiptoes for a kiss. Matt’s chest ached with pride as he leaned down and claimed his prize.

“Hey, yourself. I see you met Don Juan.”

“I did.” She turned her gaze to Ash. “He’s exactly as you described him.”

“Not exactly, I’ll wager.”

Ash pulled her hand into the crook of his arm and escorted her across the street. As much as it irritated him to see Ash fawn over her, Matt wanted them to be friends. He grudgingly walked behind them.

“He failed to tell you I’m a fixer of problems, rescuer of damsels in distress, and an all around great guy. Didn’t he?”

“He might’ve left out the rescuer part.”

Catherine glanced over her shoulder. Her wink was to reassure him, and he returned it with a slight nod. He got the message. When the flirting was over, it would be Matt she’d reach for in the dark.

Chapter Seventeen

Sunday, August 27th, 1:00 p.m.

One thing for sure, he wasn’t waiting two weeks to replace his doll. Last night when Vince went outside to smoke a joint, sweet Jessie had jumped at the chance to flirt with him. What’d she do? She’d followed him down the hall toward the restrooms. Given him the “fuck me” look before she ducked into the women’s toilet. Shit. He’d almost come on the spot. Oh yeah, Jessie wanted him.

And he was going to give her exactly she wanted. In spades.

He’d hung around until Vince and Jessie left and followed them home. This morning he’d returned to their neighborhood, he’d parked down the road, and waited. Sure enough, Jessie drove off in her car alone. He tagged along, stayed out of sight, and followed her to a local grocery store. Interesting, she parked way over to the side of the building. She got out and put on one of those orange vests the employees wore...sweet Jessie had a job. He’d have to be careful, these big-box food marts had cameras trained on the parking lot. It would be better to follow her, pick a safe spot, and bam, she’d be his. It worked the last time. This shit got easier and easier.