CHAPTER TEN

– MARVIN –

I lean back in the booth while I let Kathleen talk with Dean. She's giving him all the details we found out and even if she already messaged him the headlines, it's good to talk things through.

There's no need for me to take lead, besides I like watching Kathleen work. She's fierce in everything she does and there's enough space to divide the workload. Fighting crime is a joint effort, it's never a one-man action.

Leaning forward, I grab my coffee and take a sip while I quickly glance over the diner we're sitting in. Only two other people are sitting on the other side of the room. It's still early and I guess rush hour will come in about thirty minutes or so…the silence before the storm so to say. Good enough for us to take advantage of the quiet moment to have enough privacy to talk in hushed voices about the case.

"I agree," Dean states. "After I received your message yesterday, I had someone swing by Lucian Riggs' half-brother's place."

"That someone being our father?" I guess. "What did he find out?"

"Our person of interest uses the name Davey Carville. He's been using Riggs his half-brother's last name for the past six years," Dean states. "According to Carville, Davey never returned to the ranch where his grandfather worked."

Placing my empty cup on the table I ask, "He ran off to Carville and his wife's place after Davey's mother went missing?"

"Yeah. Davey kept visiting the Carville's without his mother while he grew up. Six years ago he came to live with them permanently until about eight months ago. They haven't seen him since." Dean turns to Kathleen. "Your hunch was correct on all fronts. Davey was trained to work as a crime scene cleaner, and the fucker didn't allow any woman to give him any lip about shit. Carville said it was because of the way his mother treated him."

Kathleen frowns. "If Carville was looking after his half-brother's grandson, why the hell would he share details instead of protecting his family?"

"Good question," I murmur.

Strange how someone would spill these details freely about a relative who he took into his own home, and even uses his last name on top of it. Dean chuckles when Kathleen shoots me a glare.

Smirking, my brother asks, "She doesn't take compliments well on the job?"

He's now receiving Kathleen's glare, but it switches to horror and is aimed at me when I tell him, "The only time I praise her as a good girl is when I fuck her."

Fire burns my skin when Kathleen smacks her flat hand against my chest.

"What the hell, Marvin?" she hisses.

"Shame your old lady doesn't have a sister. I'd like a feisty woman with a great brain and a smart mouth for myself."

"Could we focus?" Kathleen growls. "Why did Carville mention Davey was a certain way because of Iris?"

Dean instantly starts to rattle off details. "Eight months ago, a woman by the name of Anne Rose went missing. She was employed by Carville's wife and Davey's supervisor to be precise. I ran the name and–"

"She was murdered," I state.

Dean starts to give her the details. "Her body was found three months ago. The case was closed. She was stabbed to death, they assumed it was a robbery gone wrong with the neighborhood she was found in and all. She was reported missing first, and found months later because the body was dropped in the sewer. Carville didn't believe she was robbed. Anne and Davey were working on cleaning a house that night and had a huge fight. He was there when it happened. Davey left angry and Carville and Anne finished the job. Anne's car was at the shop, so he dropped her off at her house. The robbery happened across town, not somewhere she would go. And for real, crappy police work. There was evidence that some of the injuries were post-mortem. Who would stab a dead person during a robbery? That's a lot of anger right there."

"So, Carville suspected Davey?" I question.

"A bit when she went missing, more when our father showed up at his doorstep. Especially when our father showed up telling him about Iris's body being found after six years and asking questions about her son who's now a person of interest in a serial killer case."

"Was there any other information Atticus managed to get from Carville?" Kathleen asks.

"Oh yeah." He pats the file in front of him. "Carville had no issues hanging out the family's dirty laundry for all to see."

"What the hell does that mean?" Kathleen's eyebrows scrunch.

I know my brother's idiotic sentences and tell her, "It means the fucker was a fountain of information."

"Then why not say that instead?" Kathleen grumbles.

The corner of his mouth twitches just before Dean continues to explain. "Carville knew Beth Bronson's death wasn't an accident when she was trampled. The reason Davey came to live with Carville six years ago was because Davey witnessed his mother kill Beth."

"What?" Kathleen and I both grunt in sync.

"Major family drama at that ranch." Dean shakes his head in disgust. "Turns out, Beth couldn't carry any children due to medical issues. They fostered kids to try and fill a void. Unsuccessfully, but they liked the new angle of money coming in. Beth treated them like shit, just like she did Iris. Then the whole Arthur, Iris thing was brought to light due to Iris getting pregnant and things changed. Tension in their marriage, Iris left for a few years, had the kid and all…then she came back and, well, Carville said Beth fell in love with Davey because he looked like her husband. With Arthur choosing his wife, he never laid a hand on Iris again, which caused Iris to turn bitter and blame the kid."

"Oh, that's so freaking wrong," Kathleen growls. "So, Davey witnessed Iris kill Beth, the one woman who treated him like a son, and he killed his own mother out of revenge?"

Dean shrugs. "Technically Iris went missing. Lucian and Arthur came running after they heard the screaming and Davey told them what went down. Iris was hysterical, screaming it was an accident and it was Davey's word against his mother."

"They decided to cover it up?" I grit, knowing where this is going with all the facts out in the open.

"That's why Davey left," Kathleen muses. "Changing his name because he had no one left at that ranch with those men ignoring his version of what happened."

"And kill his mother before he left, let's not forget about that little fact. He took matters into his own hands the way they handled everything after Beth's murder," Dean says. "Arthur and Lucian probably thought Iris ran because of what she did. They only reported her missing to cover their own asses in case someone came asking or whatever, who knows."

We all fall silent when the waitress wanders our way to give all of us a refill then stalks across the room to a different table.

It's then Kathleen says, "Okay, all of this explains motive and places huge arrows at Davey being our prime suspect, but do we have evidence to tie him to any of it? A headshot so we know who we're looking for? Where the hell he is so we can bring him in?"

Finally, Dean slides the file he was keeping in place in front of him over to us. "Remember the body in the back of the trunk?"

I open the file and glance at the papers inside it when Dean continues to explain.

"Well, they had an intern making a remark about flossing the teeth of the body. According to the intern, he found a tiny piece of rubber from a glove in the victim's throat. He wanted to check if there was any epithelial tissue caught by the teeth because the killer's fingers were in the victim's mouth." Pointing at the papers he adds, "The intern was right. I had them run a check with Iris's DNA and it shows the killer's her kid."

"He fucked up," Kathleen whispers in relief.

"He fucked up," Dean affirms. "We have the evidence to tie him to one murder."

"The similarities in the killing of all the others will make any jury see him as the serial killer he is," I state.

"Which still doesn't answer my question as to where the fucker is right now." Kathleen shoves the papers back into the file before sliding them back to Dean.

My brother nods. "Correct. Since we have a name, a face, and enough evidence to arrest him, I've already put an APB. Every officer will be on the lookout for a man matching his description. We might not know where the fucker is hiding, but we're going to make sure he doesn't have a lot of places to hide."

"He could already have a new victim or is searching for one. He keeps them alive to torture and when he kills and dumps them, he won't go days without getting his next fix. Davey has been escalating ever since he killed his superior. Killing his mother out of revenge was his first kill. We might need to dig into cold cases involving stabbings. For someone like him to have killed and then six years of nothing until another woman pisses him off again?"

I know what Kathleen means by her statement. "He could have killed others, though it also makes sense that Anne triggered something that reminded him of the day Beth was killed, along with him killing his mother."

"I agree," Dean mutters. "Carville mentioned Anne and Davey had a huge argument the day she went missing. I will still check, though."

Dean slides out of the booth. "With this said, I gotta get some work done now that we've blown this case wide open."

"Anything we can do?" Kathleen questions.

Dean rubs two fingers against his chiseled jaw. "Just watch your back." His gaze slides to me. "I know your old lady won't like it, but I suggest you take point until we catch this fucker."

"I'm the sheriff," Kathleen snaps.

Dean holds the file up. "I'm more than aware, darlin'. I'm only trying to warn you guys of the fact that I got a heads-up that the press got wind of a serial killer in town."

"Fuck," I grumble.

"Dammit," Kathleen mutters and releases a deep sigh. "I know what you mean. I even suggested to Marvin I could draw him out."

"Not happening," I instantly growl.

"I'm with my brother on this." Dean pins her with a hard look. "We already lost two agents along with a few other strong women. We're going to handle this the smart way and catch the fucker without putting anyone at risk. No undercover shit, no martyr actions, or vigilante shit."

"Old fashioned policework?" Kathleen grins. "Good thing we excel in all fields of law enforcement."

"Damn right." Dean lifts his chin in my direction. "Call Dad, he was asking about the ranch you bought. And dude? Why the hell didn't you say anything to any of us?"

I want to snap how it's none of anyone's business, but I take satisfaction in the way Kathleen takes it upon herself to answer, "It was a spur-of-the-moment thing. The ranch went on sale as soon as he placed the bid. It's gorgeous. I've had my eye on it for years and knew it would become available soon. The man who lived there wanted to move and he finally decided it was time."

"With both of us working non-stop we'll keep our horses at the Iron Hot Blood ranch for now. After we've made a list of what work needs to be done and shit, we'll invite you over," I tell him. "Mind passing Dad the message? 'Cause I know you'll be giving him an update anyway and we have to get back to the station now."

"Sure thing," Dean states. "But I'm going to hold you to the invitation. Also, name your first kid after me. You are trying to knock her up, right?"

"Fuck off," I growl with a smile tugging my mouth, liking the way Kathleen's cheeks heat.

All the shit going on around us doesn't diminish the fact that I'm fucking happy. And I do hope I knocked her up, or she will be soon enough. Moving forward step by step. We're together, bought a house, and the sex is off the charts. I'd say we're skipping toward a nice and bright future together.