Evidence of Marriage Read Free Page A

“I’m busy here, Diana.”
    â€œDryden Kane contacted us.”
    Kane. An extra shot of acid added to his misery. He looked up, searching her face. “When?”
    â€œHe sent Sylvie a wedding gift. A family portrait of us as children.”
    â€œNice.”
    â€œShe’s kind of upset.”
    He could imagine. He knew Sylvie wouldn’twant his pity, but he couldn’t help giving it all the same. The poor girl had grown up in foster homes, dreamed of having a family, only to discover her father was notorious serial killer Dryden Kane. To get this “gift” the day after her wedding had to be a blow. “How did the portrait arrive? Delivery service?”
    She shook her head. “It didn’t come in the mail either. The only thing I can figure is that he must have had someone drop it off at the reception last night.” She tensed her shoulders in a protective shiver.
    Reed knew what she was thinking. The same thing he was. That someone who’d delivered the package might very well be the Copycat Killer, the serial murderer who had claimed three women’s lives the past fall using the same techniques as Dryden Kane. The killer they believed was being controlled by Kane himself. “Do you have the portrait with you?”
    Nikki pulled the cup away from her lips. “Fingerprints?”
    He nodded.
    Diana gestured at the street outside the café. “It’s in my car.”
    â€œGood. Nikki can take it over to the lab. They can lift the prints there. Maybe the frame will tell us something, too.”
    â€œThat’s not all.” She dipped her hand into herpurse and pulled out a large plastic bag with a greeting card inside. She extended it to him.
    â€œA card. I guess he must have read the etiquette books.” He opened the card a crack through the plastic-bag cover. Bold handwriting scrawled at the bottom of a wedding verse. A father should have the privilege of walking his daughter down the aisle. I miss my girls. I look forward to your visit.
    â€œI’ll bet he does,” Reed muttered under his breath. The opportunity to emotionally torture his two beautiful adult daughters must be a dream come true for a sadist like Kane.
    â€œThere was a newspaper clipping about the Copycat Killer inside, too. It’s tucked in the envelope.”
    Manipulating the bag, he opened the envelope. The slightly yellowed shadow of newsprint peeked from inside. He shook it out into the bag. The headline was more than six months old, originating from around the first time the press had officially named the Copycat Killer. The killer hadn’t killed since, at least not that they’d detected. But with summer here, Reed feared the total would start to rise.
    The pain in his gut hardened to anger. Diana might not want him to take care of her anymore, but she’d have to accept certain precautions. “You and Sylvie need to move to a hotel for a few days.I’ll arrange for protection.” He braced himself for an argument.
    Diana merely nodded. “I’m worried about Sylvie. She’s pregnant.”
    Pregnant. So they couldn’t wait until the actual wedding to start their family. No surprise. Sylvie and Bryce were so in love and wanted a family so badly, he’d been amazed they’d put off marriage and babies for as long as they had.
    The familiar ache bored into his stomach wall. Last October he would have bet the couple married and expecting would be him and Diana. How things had changed. “Aren’t they planning a honeymoon?”
    â€œShe won’t go. She says she doesn’t want to leave me alone with this.”
    â€œAnd Bryce?”
    â€œHe wants to get his hands on the man who killed his brother, naturally. But he intends to do what’s best for Sylvie and the baby.”
    â€œI’ll see what I can do to convince her. And I’ll have an officer assigned to you.” He handed the plastic bag to