Bring Me Flowers (Detectives Kane and Alton)

Prologue

He imagined how she would look dead.

The fixed brown eyes, gaping mouth, and the cool feel of her young, bloodless skin against his flesh.

His would be the last face Felicity Parker would see.

The idea thrilled him; having the power over life or death was something he craved. Felicity would beg and scream but in the end, she would respect him before he cut her throat. He stared at the images lined up on his desk of the girls he had chosen, but for now, he had one girl on his mind.

He traced the trembling tip of his index finger down the image of Felicity. A pretty girl with a full figure and glossy raven hair, long enough to twirl around his fingers. He loved to stroke his girls’ hair and let the silken strands slide across his palm. Even in death, their hair remained untainted and he could add a small piece to his collection as a reminder of their time together.

Excitement curled in his belly. Meticulous planning and three long months of watching led to his choice. He had secretly gained intimate details of their lives. She would be his first in Black Rock Falls County.

No one could hide from him.

Inside the confines of their bedrooms, he observed his girls parade in their skimpy underwear, chatting about boys or discussing how they wished the local cowboys would screw them. He had seen the way they enticed with their short skirts and brief tops. The way they used their well-practiced moves and sultry looks to lure men. At the free Wi-Fi benches at the local computer store that sold everything from games to candy, or at Aunt Betty’s Café, he would make an excuse to speak to them, but his girls often ignored him. Engrossed in the latest game app, they hardly lifted their heads from their smartphones to take nourishment.

Teeming with anticipation he picked up his bag and got in his car After a short drive, he parked deep in the forest. His last image of Felicity was her tossing her hair over one shoulder and smiling as if she knew he watched her every move. Girls like her drive men insane with lust. So many wicked girls to choose from, so many eager to join in the fun. He called them “his” girls because they would all come to him eventually.

Soon Felicity would come to him.

He let out a long breath. Time to get into position. He took the bag from the seat, slid from the car, and headed deep into Stanton Forest. He had planned the route with care, taking a remote hiker’s trail rather than the direct pathway to the river, then making his way along the riverbank, walking along the water’s edge to disguise his footprints. Forty minutes later, he reached a clearing beside the river. The out-of-the-way nook was a popular place for the local teenagers to make out during summer break. The large, flat boulders running from the riverbank to a secluded clearing in the pine forest offered a place to sit.

Surrounded by dense trees, the area was too far from the road for anyone to hear her screams, and the wall of black mountains opposite offered him complete privacy. He wanted his girls to fight and beg for forgiveness—it made the experience oh so deliciously memorable.

Felicity would approach from the opposite side of the clearing, take Stanton Road, and walk adjacent to Black Rock Falls High School then follow the well-worn path through the forest. She would be relaxed and excited entering the woods. The clearing posed no threat—until now. Oh, how he loved to leave his mark on a town; he would change the idyllic place forever.

As he checked his watch, his belly quivered with anticipation. She would be hot and fragrant from the long walk. He remembered how sweet she smelled the day he accidentally bumped into her at Aunt Betty’s Café. His palm still tingled at the memory of brushing her bare arm. He gave himself a mental shake. He needed to concentrate.

He glanced around but the place, as usual, was empty. The preparation would only take a few moments and he had plenty of time to savor the rush of adrenaline. He removed his clothes and pulled on a pair of shorts. After observing the area for a week, he discovered the only visitors in the mornings appeared to be two kids who ventured to the river to fish, and always at the same time. It would be over an hour before they arrived and the teenagers never arrived until the afternoon, no doubt most of them slept until noon.

He selected a flat boulder close to the river but within sight of the clearing to display his offering and another small rock close by but well hidden from view to act as a table. Satisfied he had found the perfect place, he pulled on a pair of surgical gloves and laid out his impedimenta in a row, meticulous to have each item within easy reach. He attached a hunting knife to the belt on his shorts and slipped a sock filled with coins inside a pocket.

The flat boulder would be a perfect canvas, and he would create a work of art for all to see, for all to remember. As he checked each detail, excitement surged into tremors. He strolled back along the path and searched through the bag to retrieve a wrapped packet of cord. His shaking fingers hampered an attempt to untie the skein. He sucked in a deep breath to calm himself then played out the string. After selecting a suitable spot toward the riverbank, he tied the rope between two trees at neck height. If Felicity tried to run, the cord would stop her and she would be his.

His groin ached and he checked one more time for the strip of condoms inside his pocket. A shimmer ran down his spine as he melted into the cover of the trees to wait for his prize. He could creep up on her and she would not hear him. Girls deafened by loud music thumping through their earbuds made such easy prey.

One

Felicity Parker sat at the table and picked at the bowl of cereal her mother had insisted she eat before heading to her friend’s house. Dying to read her messages on her phone, she huffed out a long sigh. Her parents hated cellphones at the table, and if she broke their stupid rule, it would mean no phone or social media for an entire long boring week.

Summer vacation meant one thing: the rodeo at the local fairgrounds and the arrival of cowboy stars Lucky Briggs and Storm Crawley. Sure, she had asked her parents—no, begged them—to let her go to the rodeo dance with her friends, and

in fact she had made a point of doing extra chores to show her appreciation. Of course, the idea of them being at the dance to watch every move she made would be embarrassing. She had to persuade them that at sixteen she was old enough to attend a dance with her friends alone.

She glanced at her father, who was engrossed in reading a pile of documents. “Dad, have you thought over letting me to go to the dance with Aimee and Kate?”

“Are you planning to go with Derick?” Her father’s gaze remained fixed on the papers spread out before him.

Felicity stood and took her bowl to the sink. “No, we had an argument last night and he isn’t speaking to me right now.”

“I’m not sure why you want to go.” Her father lifted his annoyed gaze and looked at her. “It will be a rowdy crowd of cowboys and who knows how many criminals with the number of drifters in town. I’m not sure I’m happy for you to go. Why you are so set on having no adult supervision?”