Jack was glad to hear her lighten up a little.

“It’s safe here. No one but Callahan knows where we are. Do you teach at the dental school tomorrow?”

Lacey shook her head. “But I have a case I need to finish sometime soon.”

“Case?”

“A John Doe at the morgue. I already charted and x-rayed the teeth, and the comparison dental records should arrive tomorrow. I need to evaluate them and finish my report.”

“How often do you do this?”

“A couple of times a month. There’re several specialists around that do the same thing for the ME’s office.”

“What’s it like?” Jack rested his forearms on his thighs and gave her his full attention. He studied her face, liking the way her soft hair framed her eyes. They’d bought some basic toiletries for their stay but she’d passed on the makeup counter, so her face was bare and natural. It suited her perfectly.

He took a slow breath. Today, wearing jeans, she appealed to him as much as she had last night in that black dress.

“I like it. I like being able to solve a puzzle. Bring closure to families.” Her lips pressed in a thin line and he knew she was thinking of Suzanne.

He stared at his hands. “Who do you think is doing this? Who’s killing these men and watching you?”

She was silent a long moment. “I don’t know. I’ve racked my brain and laid awake at night trying to find a missing piece to this puzzle. Who would want revenge for DeCosta?”

“You believe it’s revenge?”

“Don’t you? Why else is he punishing the people who put DeCosta away?”

“What if they got the wrong guy in the first place? DeCosta may have kidnapped Suzanne, but obviously someone else killed her. And I think someone else may have done all the other killings back then. These recent murders have been awfully similar to the ones long ago.”

“No they haven’t.” Lacey stood and started to pace the tiny room. He watched the jeans cling to her rear and had to force himself to focus. She was a walking distraction in faded denim and cute cowboy boots. “The legs are broken. That’s the only similarity. DeCosta preyed on women. Young women, athletes. He never attacked a man. He never used the type of torture we’re seeing now. The women found a decade ago had been sexually assaulted and cut.”

What? “What do you mean cut?”

She stopped and frowned at him. “You know. Where they slice the skin. Just for the pain and control over their victims. It wasn’t something put in the papers back then. The police had held back the fact for questioning the freaky suspects that came out of the woodwork and confessed. DeCosta knew all about it when they caught him.” She started to pace. “These men haven’t been cut,” she continued. “Callahan told me that they’ve been killed with their own stuff. Whatever the victim liked to do is what the killer chose to murder with. The first was a cop. So he used the handcuffs and Trenton’s own gun. Golf clubs, fishing poles on the other victims. This guy is creative. DeCosta just killed for the thrill.” She drew a deep breath and stopped pacing, turning to look Jack in the eye. “Right?” She’d put a voice to his theories. Their killer was someone different. But he had to be someone strongly related to the old case.

“Right. But don’t you think he has a connection to DeCosta? Why else is he doing this?”

“Maybe he’s just one of those freaks who obsess about serial killers. I’ve read about them. Some killers confess to idolizing other serial killers. Bundy, John Wayne Gacy. Richard Rodriguez. They have fans. Or maybe he had a partner. That happens. Maybe the partner was never caught and now has decided to pick it up again.”

“What about the girl in Mount Junction? Do you think she’s connected?” Jack struggled to think clearly. Heavy vibes of attraction were sizzling through the room. They were sucking the breathable air right out of the area. No wonder his lungs felt tight.

“I don’t know.” Lacey spoke slowly. “It was weird back then. We had to be careful. I’ve told you how the gymnasts were like celebrities in that town. Continual national championships will do that. The residents were fiercely proud of our school’s reputation for gymnastics. Our phone numbers had to be unlisted. People would stop us on the street just to say they recognized us. Professors liked to single us out in class. We were always in the spotlight.”

“But?” He was watching her face closely. Something had occurred to her.

“I wouldn’t call them stalkers, but sometimes the same guy would show up wherever we went. Several of the girls reported that men would follow them around campus. Not talking to them, just following. I had that happen a time or two. I’d see the same person too many times in different places. I could usually put an end to it by deliberately pointing at him while talking to a professor or campus security. They’d realized they’d been spotted and drop it.”

“That’d take care of it?” Jack was skeptical.

“Usually.” Her lips widened as a memory hit her. “Suzanne liked to take their pictures. She’d make sure the man had seen her snap one. He’d panic and take off.”

“You think she kept the pictures?” Jack’s mind jumped ahead. Could there be old photos of stalkers in a storage box somewhere?

Lacey shook her head, seeing what he was thinking. “No. We’d pin them up on the board in the coach’s office so everyone knew what they looked like. Eventually the pictures just got thrown out. Nothing ever came of it. No one was arrested or even questioned. They were just curious guys.”