Plain Jane Read Free Page B

the killer’s truth.
    Standing here attending to Nicole’s feelings of abandonment was not going to help him catch Plain Jane.
    Nicole must have sensed the emotional wall he had erected. Her words were meant to be stern, however, her tone already sounded defeated. “You’ve got to come back to the station with me.”
    Kent looked down at his clothes. His pants were soaked through with dirty rainwater, grease, blood, and who knew what else from his failed attempt at resuscitation. His shirt and coat were streaked crimson with Joann’s arterial blood. Even if he did not need to get the hell away from here, he could never show up at the station looking this much the worse for wear.
    He looked up into the eyes of the woman who he had once hoped would be the mother of his children. That was years ago, though. Now this woman just sighed, silently agreeing that he was not fit to present to her captain.
    “Fine. I’ll explain to Glick, again, that you had no way of knowing for certain if Joann was Plain Jane’s next victim.”
    Nicole paused, waiting for confirmation. Kent gave a noncommittal shrug even though her statement was patently false. He had known Joann was the killer’s next prize. Known it in his gut every time she tucked her hair behind her ears. Known it in his groin each time she flashed that lopsided smile. Kent had known Plain Jane could not resist Joann’s perfect blend of humility and inner beauty.
    “Even if Joann was the target, you had no way to know if the killer was going to strike tonight .”
    Again Nicole waited for confirmation.
    Kent thought the clarification was more for herself than for Glick. She wanted reassurance that there was nothing they could have done to save Joann.
    Again he shrugged.
    Again he lied to Nicole. For Kent had known tonight was the night. He knew Plain Jane could not resist Joann any longer. The urge to kill. The urge to slash her throat and get up to his elbows in her belly was near to overwhelming.
    Kent had known because his hands had wished to reach out to her. He had almost betrayed his presence on the street. The need to know her had grown that strong. His and Plain Jane’s desire merged into one. Yet Kent still could not keep Joann from that long, sharp knife.
    “Anything else?” she asked, searching his face. Kent forced his muscles to go slack.
    Nicole did not need to know his sense of distress. If she did, the detective might balk at his next course of action.
    As the silence lingered, the air closed in around them. The barometer fell as rapidly as the temperature. It was only a matter of minutes before a deluge. Nicole inhaled as if to speak, then sadly shook her head, dropping the hold on his arm.
    Free, Kent continued walking down the alley.
    Away from the body. Away from his failure.
    Nicole was not done with him yet. “Still…” Her voice lingered on the air as thunder rumbled overhead. “When you lost her, you should have called for backup.”
    As a heavy rain began to fall, Kent turned to Nicole, the scent of Joann’s perfume fresh in his nostrils.
    For the first time tonight, he did not lie to the woman he once loved. “I know.”

CHAPTER 6
    The killer charged down the stairs, two steps at a time.
    Panting more from excitement than from exertion. The five-block sprint was not as much of a rush as coming that close to being caught.
    Hurrying over to the sink, the killer snapped off bloody gloves, rinsed them over and over again under hot water, then balled them together and set off down another set of stairs to the furnace.
    Opening the door, the killer threw the gloves into the blasting heat, then pulled off a long, blood-smeared overcoat and tossed it in as well. The fire flared brighter, burning hotter for a brief second. Just as Joann’s eyes had done before being extinguished forever.

CHAPTER 7
    Kent crouched in the bushes outside the morgue’s loading dock. The building seemed squat and quite unattractive even for government work. All