Stella pressed her fist against her chest. Admitting it aloud meant that she knew this serial killer. That she’d touched him. She’d known it, of course, somewhere deep down, but she hadn’t wanted to admit it to herself just yet.
“Elizabeth loved her coffee and she would take me to this one shop all the time. It was where we would go for our discussions, as she always called them. I think she wanted to make them fun, so it was always an outing. He was a customer there. He was there a few times when we were there. I only noticed him because he dropped his wallet going back to his table. I had been in line behind him. I picked it up and brought it to him. When I put it on his table, he thanked me, and when I went to turn away, he caught my arm and asked if he could buy our coffee. I thought that was sweet, but said no and thanked him for the offer. So, he had touched me. It wasn’t much of a connection, but there had been physical contact.”
“You said you saw him more than once in the coffee shop. Did you ever have physical contact again?” Raine asked.
Stella nodded. “He wasn’t there often when we were. Maybe four or five times. Elizabeth never spoke to him. I don’t think she even noticed him. But I slipped on some spilled coffee when I went up to get our drinks and he caught me, kept me from falling. I remember laughing and saying we were even for the wallet.”
“That was before he started killing?”
“As far as I know. It was before the nightmares started, at least a year before. Elizabeth was diagnosed and our world was turning upside down.” She swallowed hard. “We thought she had beat it. She had a double mastectomy, did chemo, and we were told she was good to go. She followed up, but everything looked good.”
“I’m so sorry, Stella. I can see why you wouldn’t have even thought about having ever laid eyes on the killer.”
“He looked different at the time, but I recognized him after they arrested him. I never saw him in one of my nightmares. I just didn’t think it was pertinent to tell the FBI that I’d seen him in a coffee shop after he was arrested. I just didn’t care, not with Elizabeth so sick. All that mattered to me was getting her better.”
Raine sighed. “The serial killer here has to be someone you physically have come in contact with.”
Stella nodded. “Unfortunately, that’s most likely the case, but I come in contact with a lot of people during the season, Raine.” She tacked on the last because this killer wasn’t one of her friends. It absolutely wasn’t. She had to believe that.
“You’re certain it’s a male.”
“Yes.”
“And he’s not Sam.” Raine didn’t take her gaze from Stella’s, looking her steadily in the eye. “You’re absolutely certain the killer from this dream isn’t Sam.”
Stella didn’t hesitate. “I’m absolutely certain. Sam would protect me with his life.”
Raine visibly relaxed, taking her at her word. “You have good instincts. I’m grateful you have him, because he’s a huge asset to you. So far, who have you told about this?”
“I still have to bring Shabina and Vienna in. I’m trying to go slow and tell only those who need to know so there’s no chance of tipping off the killer. I have no idea who he is, but even if he doesn’t live and work here, if he’s a temporary, he’s still here. It’s hard to keep one’s facial expressions from showing anything if you know ahead of time it’s murder and not an accident.”
Her greatest fear was that the killer was a local, someone they all knew.
“You have to bring Vienna into the loop. She’s head of Search and Rescue, Stella. She has to know, if she’s called, what she’s facing.”
Stella rubbed her suddenly pounding temples. “And then what? She treats it as a crime scene instead of an accident? What if the killer is watching? What if he’s close enough and that makes her a target? I don’t want him suddenly putting his sights on her.”
“Vienna always treats every accident as a crime scene, you know that. She’s careful. Everyone knows that about her. She’s going to be first on scene if we can’t save these people. She’ll know what to look for. She’ll be able to preserve evidence. We have to trust her.”
“I trust Vienna implicitly,” Stella assured. “She’s always putting herself at risk, Raine. Of anyone, her life is on the line on these rescues. She’s the one hanging off a cliff when some idiot climbs way beyond their level. She goes out in a snowstorm, risking her life, to find a family who should never have gone for a drive in the snow. I know what Vienna is willing to do to keep others safe. She doesn’t keep herself that safe. The minute I tell her what’s going on, she’ll find a way to be on Whitney.”