Page 152 of Whispers and Wildfire
“Yeah, and everyone was busy watching Owen kill it on the field.”
Anger and fear churned in the pit of my stomach. We’d been through the possibilities at the scene. Whoever he was, he’d taken a big risk. As far as we knew, his other victims had been taken from more isolated places. This had been different. Why?
“Why?” I repeated the thought aloud.
“Why, what?”
“Why did he take her there? Why take anyone right then, when there were people around? Why not grab another jogger or a hiker on a trail or someone coming out of another bar at night?”
“Maybe because we were ready for those things.” He paused, his brow furrowing. “Or maybe he’s escalating. Isn’t that what Garrett said? First victims were at night. Then the others were during the day. Maybe taking a woman from a crowded place was his way of upping the ante.”
“Some kind of sick challenge.”
The door opened and my heart almost stopped dead in my chest. For a split second, I thought it was Mel. But it wasn’t. The woman who walked in had long dark hair and a similar build, but it wasn’t Melanie.
Except… I did recognize her. She was Bella Lewis, The Whisper’s second victim. There were still signs of bruising on one side of her face and her arm was in a sling.
One of the SPS members rushed to the front to intercept her. Roy Lewis, if I remembered correctly. “Bella, what are you doing here?”
“I want to help, Uncle Roy.” Her expression was determined. “There has to be something I can do for her.”
I had an almost irresistible urge to hug her. She’d survived the unthinkable, and there she was, full of defiance and strength.
She was also a link to him. The last thing I wanted to do was traumatize her by asking questions. She’d already talked to law enforcement, but if she knew something—anything—that could help us find Melanie…
“You should go back home,” Roy said to her.
“No,” she said. “Let me help.”
“Wait.” I put my hand up and walked over to them. “You’re one of the survivors, aren’t you?”
She nodded.
“He has my girlfriend.”
Concern flashed across her features. “You’ve got to let me help.”
“Bella—” her uncle said.
“No. I’m not going home. I can’t sit around while this happens to another woman.” Her expression darkened. “Someone needs to catch this asshole.”
I led her to the first open table, just a few steps behind me, and we both sat. Theo and Roy took the remaining chairs.
“I know you already talked to the police, and I don’t want to make you relive it,” I said. “But we’ve got hordes of people out there searching aimlessly.”
“It’s okay, I can talk about it,” she said, her voice clear and strong. “I did talk to the police, and I don’t know if there’s anything else I can tell you. But I’ll try.”
“Do you have any sense of where he might have taken you?”
“Not really. I don’t remember a lot after he grabbed me.”
“Is it okay if I ask about him?”
“Yes, but I didn’t see his face. He had a ski mask on thewhole time. He didn’t seem very big. Kind of skinny, actually. I was surprised he could carry me as easily as he did.”
“You remember being carried inside?”
She nodded. “I was groggy, but awake. My wrists and ankles were bound and there was tape over my mouth. He picked me up out of the trunk and put me over his shoulder. We went inside a building, but I couldn’t see much. There were stairs, though, I’m sure of that. Once we were inside, he carried me down a flight of stairs.”
