Lethal Game (GhostWalkers 16)

“You don’t really have to worry,” Malichai said. “I don’t know anything more than you do. I just thought they were a nice couple. So don’t start worrying when there’s no reason to.”

“You don’t know that. There could be a serial killer on the loose. Maybe this nutjob likes blond women. Anna was blond, so are we.” Lexie looked around the room again. “There’s an entire smorgasbord right in this room for a serial killer if he’s looking for blondes to off.”

“It’s probably his ex-wife that started the entire thing. He hates her but can’t kill her,” Lorrie contributed. “So, he substitutes every blond woman about her age.”

“Oh, for heaven’s sake,” Linda burst out. “You have to stop. Malichai, before they decide to write the book of the century on serial killers offing blondes, can you tell us anything about what’s happening? The investigation? Did you talk to the cops?”

She knew he had. Amaryllis had told all three of the women that he had spoken at great length to the detectives the night before. She was trying to divert her sisters from their odd path of feeding each other fantasy horror stories.

He nodded slowly. “I did. The night they came to inform Marie that the Coopers were dead, I was with Amaryllis and we saw the flashing lights of the cop car and went down to let them in. Marie was there as well. They wanted to see the bedroom and cordon it off so no one could go inside.”

“Looking for evidence,” Lorrie whispered. “In case the serial killer had been in their room.”

It was all Malichai could do not to roll his eyes. He lifted his gaze to Amaryllis, conveying to her with one look that he was considering murder, but whether it was hers or Lorrie’s he was uncertain.

Linda glared at her sister. “It makes sense that they would want to make certain no one would go in their room. Did they tell you anything at all? Do they believe Bryon would really kill Anna?”

“I have no idea what they believe, Linda, they played their cards very close to their chest. Mostly the detectives asked questions about them. I think they wanted to know if the couple ever fought in front of us. I said no, because I never heard them fight. Did you hear them fight? Did Anna ever tell you Bryon was abusing her?”

The three women exchanged another long look. Again, it was Linda who answered. “No, she always said wonderful things about him. I really hate that it was her. She was such a nice person.”

Again, Malichai felt sorry for them. Genuine sadness loomed over the table. He looked across the room to Amaryllis again. His woman. She put another tray of ribs on the long counter and then, using tongs, heaped several onto a plate, got her own food and took both plates to the small table where they always ate together.

“Do you think we’re safe?” Linda asked.

“Absolutely, you should be safe,” he said. What else could he say?

Something big was lurking under the surface, but he had no idea what. It most likely had something to do with the Ideas for Peace conference at the San Diego Convention Center. It was a guess, but several of Henry’s victims could be tied back to the center itself. He was uneasy, very concerned that some faction had decided to hit the peace convention to make a statement and disrupt any real ideas that might be kicked around by the various planned panels.

“Do you plan on attending the convention?” he asked.

“We volunteer to work them,” Lexie said. “That way we get in free. This one, we went back and forth about, but we’re on the list. We’ll do it.”

“Boring,” Lorrie said. “No movie stars. I love Comic-Con.”

“Everyone loves it,” Linda said. “This might be interesting. Informative.”

“Political,” Lorrie said with some disgust. “You know how much I hate politics. No one can agree on anything, so what’s the point of it all?”

“To change that,” Linda said. “Maybe get a climate of tolerance so everyone is willing to discuss issues rather than call each other names.”

Lorrie rolled her eyes. “I find people who don’t think the same way I do ridiculous. They’re morons and can’t see logic. How can you talk to that?”

Linda met Malichai’s eyes and shrugged as if to say, “See what I deal with?” He gave her a faint grin. He’d met more than his share of Lorries.

He knew without turning around that Amaryllis was close. Her scent reached him first, that delicate fragrance that seemed to put him instantly into a heightened sense of awareness. Every nerve ending. Every cell in his body. He inhaled deeply, letting her settle into his lungs so he could carry her throughout his body.

“Hey, babe.” Amaryllis bent down, her lips whispering along his neck.