“So you’re saying there’s a serial killer out there who is more or less killing people with his eyes?” Pageant couldn’t believe her ears. “Do you have any idea how this sounds?”
Randon took a deep breath, one that seemed almost erotic given the way he tilted his head, inhaled deeply, and studied her as he slowly exhaled. God, she was delirious. Perhaps the loss of sleep had made her completely delusional.
Still, she stayed the course. She made a somewhat conscious decision to interrogate the newcomer and she needed to hang on his every word. The sheriff would be tied up with the victims’ families until well past midnight. If this guy slipped away in the middle of the night, he could leave with answers they needed to solve this mysterious crime.
She pulled out her phone and searched for the notepad icon. “Let’s start at the beginning.”
“I’d like to go back that far.” He pressed his lips together and his nostrils flared. “Detective, you can search your database for Fort Lurrow, Alabama. You’ll come up empty handed, yet fourteen months ago, a very similar mass murder happened there as well.”
“And you’re saying the case wasn’t documented?”
“It’s not there.”
“Then how do you know about it?”
He looked agonized. “I lost a friend there.”
“I’m sorry.”
He nodded once.
“Why isn’t the case recorded?”
He took a drink of his beverage. “You’ll have to call the locals if you want those answers.”
“But you know?”
“I suspect, yes.”
“Then tell me about these suspicions.” She typed a reminder in her phone. She’d call Alabama and press the locals for answers. When Randon didn’t say anything, she slowly lifted her gaze. “Give me something to go on.”
“Do you believe in vampires, Detective Keen?”
“You’re kidding. Right?”
“No.”
“Assuming that I might believe in supernatural creatures, let me remind you that vampires are blood suckers. If you’d paid attention today, you’d know that there wasn’t a visible cause of death.” She shook her head in disbelief. “Vampires, my ass.”
He smirked. “I’m not sure what vampires have to do with your ass, but the visual was nice anyway.”
Her skin heated and a tingling sensation slivered up her spine. This guy—with his full head of natural curls, good bone structure, nice thick lips, and dark eyes—could do some damage to a woman’s career. She needed to dig for data that would help the case. Sitting there gawking at a possible suspect while imagining a more fulfilling way to probe for information wouldn’t help those victims’ families.
She cleared her throat and made an effort to straighten her shoulders while praying she hadn’t thrust her chest forward. “Tell me what you know. Give me something.”
His expression turned serious. “We’re starting to believe there’s more than one perpetrator—”
“We?”
“I’m a Bold and Free patch member. The MC has been working on this for a while now.”
“I see.” She wasn’t impressed. She knew plenty about the MC. The communities that the Bold and Free members called home weren’t exactly thrilled to have them in their neighborhoods. “So the MC believes there’s more than one ‘vampire’ behind this.” She hurriedly typed another note in her phone. “Okay, tell me about this ‘vampire’.”
“You don’t believe me and I understand how this sounds, Detective, but mark my words. The sooner you buy into the fact that you’re dealing with a supernatural creature, the sooner you can start trying to solve this case.”
“You don’t think this case can be solved.”
“Your biggest concern should be whether or not he strikes again here. If he moves on to another town, then count your blessings. We have reason to believe he doesn’t go back to towns he’s already visited.”