Ava got Zander a cup of coffee and they took seats next to the woodstove. Bingo laid his head on Zander’s knee, staring at the agent until he received a head rub.

“We found Heidi Nickle,” Zander said with a grim look. “I didn’t tell you about the initial discovery two days ago because I wanted confirmation from the medical examiner.”

“He killed her,” Ava said flatly.

“We found remains buried in a shed near the home. One of the investigators had questioned some odd pavers that’d been laid in a rectangle in the corner of the shed. They seemed to serve no purpose, and we brought in a cadaver dog to see if there was a point in digging beneath them. Euzent had theorized that Scott had killed her and buried her body somewhere close to the property, because we couldn’t find any recent records of her. It was like she’d vanished.”

“Did the shed have two narrow high windows? And the rest of the floor was dirt?” asked Mason.

“Yes. We also found a couple of baseball bats with blood on them in there. We’re having them analyzed.”

I shared a room with a corpse?

“She was in a shallow grave under the pavers. We covered the rest of the property with the dog, but didn’t find anything else.”

I could have ended up under the pavers, too.

“What did the ME say?” asked Ava.

“Based on dental records, it’s her. She had one huge fracture from a bash to her skull and her hyoid was broken. Dr. Rutledge suspects the blow to the head came first and then Scott strangled her.”

“And continued to live in her home as if nothing had happened,” added Mason.

Sick.

“One of the bedroom closets was full of her clothing. And the attached bathroom still had a woman’s hygiene products.”

“I wonder when he killed her.” Ava gave a deep sigh. “He seemed so normal. I genuinely liked him when I interviewed him.”

“That’s the general consensus. He was a master at hiding his other side.”

“What pushed him to target the cops?” asked Ava. “Why now?”

“Euzent theorizes that Regina Zuch might have triggered some anger in him.”

“Micah’s mother?”

“Yes, Scott mentored Micah for an entire year, and Regina admits she pursued him pretty hard. I guess his position as the director appealed to her as much as a uniform.”

“She’s at least ten or fifteen years older than him,” stuttered Ava.

Mason elbowed her.

“We’re different,” she argued.

Mason straightened. “Scott didn’t believe that his mother pursued me. He said I crushed her with my lies and behavior. Maybe he didn’t want to believe his mother had been like Regina.”

“What’s Micah doing now?” asked Ava.

“We released him to his mother. He confessed he’d been stalking Scott Heuser for a long time, even following him to the coast when Scott targeted Denny Schefte. He was a bit obsessed with the director. Regina says he’s supposed to take medication for OCD, but she suspects he throws it away. I think this shook her up enough to reevaluate how much help her son needs.”

“It’s over now,” said Zander. “We’ll probably never know what went on in his brain, but Euzent will do his best to figure it out.”

Mason didn’t doubt it.

“We also found more horror masks and a silicone finger with the happy face fingerprint at Scott’s place. All he had to do was touch his nose with it to pick up some oils and press it where he wanted to leave the fingerprint.”

“Did he plan for more victims?” Ava asked.

“Good question. No other mentors had worked with him, but he killed Vance Weldon for some reason. I suspect his mother hooked up with Weldon through a different element of Cops 4 Kidz and Weldon’s wife didn’t know about it.” Zander met Mason’s gaze. “You were lucky that rope was an inch too long.”

“Tell me about it.”

“It was a brand-new rope. Somewhere I read that the experienced hangmen would use an old, well-conditioned rope because it doesn’t stretch. New ropes stretch.”

Mason shuddered. He hadn’t meant for Zander to literally tell him about it.

“Can you come for Thanksgiving dinner?” Ava changed the subject. “I’m excited to cook in my new kitchen and we’d love to have you.”

A small smile crossed the agent’s face. “I’d be honored.”

“Good. My neighbor Cheryl is coming, too.” She paused. “I’m not trying to set you up. You both happen to be two of our favorite people. No pressure.”

The smile faded a bit. “None taken. I’m looking forward to meeting her.” Zander stood. “I need to be going.”

Ava watched Zander’s car back out of their driveway and wondered if she’d pushed too hard. “Did I scare him?” she asked.

“He needs a little shaking up,” said Mason. “He’s too set in his ways.”

She gave him a side eye.

“I’m proof,” Mason stated. “Shaking up is good. You just don’t appreciate it until it’s over.”

“I’m glad you appreciate it now,” she stated.

“I do. I’m stunned at how dense I was. I’d sat back in my easy chair and was content to let life stream past me. You came along and yanked me into the rushing water.” He took her hands and made her face him. “Now. When are we holding this wedding?”