Hunter almost felt like he was betraying Amy by having feelings for Chloe, a woman he would probably never see again but hoped he would. He often thought if he were able to solve Amy’s murder, he would be able to get some closure and allow himself to pursue another woman, guilt free. The only problem was that he had been trying to solve the Black Rose Murders for years and was no closer to finding the suspect than he was on the first case.
Hunter had files and photographs strewn on his desk, trying to put the puzzle pieces together, trying to find the meaning behind the black rose tattoo. Dennis walked into Hunter’s office and took a seat in front of his desk, sipping coffee and watching him with curiosity. Hunter let out a frustrated sigh, leaned back in his chair, and ran his hands though his hair.
“How was your weekend?” Hunter asked. “Did the missus finally get you to the farmer’s market?”
“Hell no,” Dennis said. “I’ll tell you, this gardening thing is starting to drive me a little batty. She came home from the market and asked me if I would help build her a greenhouse. Can you believe that?”
Hunter smiled, knowing that Dennis would build that greenhouse on the moon if his wife asked him to. “Her honey-do list is going to be enormous when you retire.”
“Tell me about it. I would rather buy an RV and drive across the country. Alone. That’s enjoying retirement.” He was joking, of course, and let out a laugh. “So, did you go to the festival?”
Hunter nodded as he thought about Chloe’s piercing blue eyes and the way they drilled a hole right through his gut. He quickly shook off the thought and cleared his throat. “Yeah, I went.”
Dennis glanced over Hunter’s shoulder then gave Hunter a suspicious look. “What’s going on?”
“What?”
Dennis pointed to Amy’s coffee cup sitting empty on the file cabinet. For the first time since Amy died, the coffee cup was not being used. “That’s what.”
Hunter looked at the plain white coffee mug with FBI in bold black letters in front of him and knew Dennis was the only one he trusted to tell. “I met someone at the festival.” Dennis’s eyes widened with intrigue and he gave Hunter a look that said It’s about time and Who is she? “Don’t get too excited. She loved me and left me.”
“At least you got laid,” Dennis joked.
Hunter shrugged his shoulders. “She told me that it would be a one-night stand and I was okay with that at the time. But this girl…” He let out an aggravated growl. “I don’t know. I just have to let it go.”
The conversation went no further as Judd was walked in with a somber look on his face, taking the seat next to Dennis. Hunter suspiciously looked from one to the other, knowing something was wrong and neither one of them wanted to be the one to speak first.
“What the hell is going on?” Hunter demanded.
The way Judd nervously shifted in his seat, trying to get into a comfortable position, reminded Hunter of how he had reacted the first time the job required him to break bad news to somebody, hoping like hell they wouldn’t throw something heavy at him. Dennis didn’t say a word.
Before Hunter could ask again, Judd cleared his throat and spoke with a hint of nerves in his voice. “So, something’s come up. Two somethings, actually. First, Mack Finley is trying to turn state’s evidence.”
Hunter looked at Dennis in disbelief. Dennis’s expression of irritation, along with the sharp nod of his head, confirmed what Judd was telling him.
Hunter let the words sink in for a moment, then said, “You know what will happen, don’t you? He’ll ask for witness protection.”
“Probably,” Judd confirmed. “But, apparently, he’s only willing to give his story if you’re in the room with him and his lawyer.”
“Why?”
“Finley said he thought you would be interested to hear what he has to say.”
“How long have you known about this?” Hunter asked, curious as to why both Dennis and Judd would keep this kind of information a secret.
Dennis jumped in then. “The paperwork came across my desk about an hour ago and I had to prep Fowler on how to break the news to you. You have a tendency to not take bad news very well.”
Knowing this was true, Hunter looked to Judd. “Second?”
The younger man let out a deep breath and gestured with his chin to the files on Hunter’s desk. “There have been two more. One was a missing hiker in Idaho they’re calling an accident. The other one is staying out of the news and as far away from the public as possible. I haven’t seen the file or any photos yet but Vegas PD says we will have a full copy of the file as soon she’s identified. She was found in the basement of an abandoned car repair shop. Vegas said she had been down there at least a month, maybe longer.” Judd’s body gave an involuntary shudder.
Hunter considered what he was hearing. He could understand the authorities wanting to keep something like this out of the news, but Judd was omitting something.
“How soon until we have identification?”
“We don’t know yet. Her fingerprints were burned off so Vegas will try to use DNA.”
“DNA? That takes too long. What about a picture to match to DMV records?”
Judd forcefully shook his head and Hunter could see he was struggling with what he had left to say. Hunter couldn’t imagine what could be so terrible that Judd had to look to Dennis for some kind of reassurance, but after Dennis silently nodded his head, Judd composed himself and looked Hunter directly in the eye. “In order to do that, they’ll need to find her head first.”
Dennis didn’t say a word and Judd let out a breath he didn’t know he’d been holding as they watched Hunter accept what he had just been told. Hunter slowly stood up and paced the room, Dennis’s and Judd’s eyes following his every step, trying to anticipate his reaction. This was the worst murder so far and Hunter didn’t know what to think. He was shocked and appalled. He was angry at the fact that he hadn’t been able to stop it from happening. He was tired of chasing a ghost. He wanted—he needed—to stop the bastard responsible so he could finally stop blaming himself for Amy’s death.
After three laps around his office, Hunter went to his desk, took out his gun, then casually walked out to the shooting range.
***
“You did good, kid,” Dennis said. “You’re going to do just fine.” He patted Judd on the shoulder and left the office.
Left alone, Judd stared at the wall in front of him, glancing over Hunter’s newspaper clippings and handwritten notes stuck to it. He then let his eyes wander over the open files on Hunter’s desk and realized that this was the first Black Rose Murder that Judd would be involved in from beginning to end. The second he found out about this recent death he had resolved himself to put forth everything he had to help solve the case. Not only to put a stop to the killing, but also to help give Hunter a little relief.
By the end of the week, Judd got the report from Las Vegas, studying every word and every picture, making sure to miss nothing. He was going to become intimate with the case and would forever wonder what Sasha Wheeler had ever done to deserve losing her head.