"When Imove inwithyou?"
He nods. "Yes," he says, taking my shoulders in his hands. "You'll live with me and protect me, as I said. We'll be together at all times, even when Isleep."
I frown. "What about myapartment?"
"You can keep it if you want, but you won't needit."
I smile, but I don't know if I like this – moving in with him so soon. "We've only just met," I say, unable to hide the hesitance in my voice. "I havecats."
"Eve," he says and pulls me into his arms. "Remember – all in or all out. I'd say you could bring your cats, except I have several Dobermans who patrol the house. We'll make sure your cats are caredfor."
I force a smile. "I said all in. I meant it." Of course, then I think about meeting Julien in Montana when I went outside early in the morning to get a cup ofcoffee.
When Michel kisses me, then he must sense my thoughts for he pulls away,frowning.
"He wasthere?"
I clench my fists, a surge of guilt and frustration flowing through me that I'm unable to control his access to mymind.
"Don't be upset with me. I have no control over what Juliendoes."
Michel shakes his head, clearly upset. Finally, he leans his forehead against mine and exhales. "Of course you don't. I'm not upset with you. I just wish Julien could let this drop, but he'sstubborn."
Then he pulls away and stares in my eyes as if searching for my feelings for Julien. Yes, Julien is beautiful – like Michel – but he'snotMichel.
He's completelydifferent.
It'sMichelI want. As if he senses that, Michel leans in again and kisses me and I'm once more completely unwound by his touch and by the connection we share. I feel his need for me to be his, and his alone, totally under his control. It makes me weak, but also a littlefearful.
Then he's gone and I'm alone again. I creep into my bed and pull the covers over my head, wondering what tonight willbring.
* * *
Igoto the office the next evening, expecting to see Michel there waiting for me, but Ed tells me Michel's not in yet. I'm relieved and sad at the same time. I thought he'd be there when I arrived. I hoped he hadn't got second thoughts after lastnight.
"I have to talk to you," I say to Ed. "Soren's the RiverMan."
"What?" he says, making a face. "You're crazy. We already cleared him of the murder in Montana. He had analibi."
"Ed, I read him on the plane. He's the one. Iknowit."
"Did you see hiskills?"
I frown. I didn't see his kills. But I know he felt the same as the one who touched those items I did – the beach glass – the slip of paper with my name onit.
"No, but I read him, Ed. I know he's the killer. Maybe he ordered them or maybe he was there, but he didit.
"Sorry, Eve. You need to see him doing it for it to stick as a blood witness. Otherwise, it's notevidence."
I sit alone in the room and wonder what it was I felt. I spend the first part of the evening just reviewing the case, mulling it over in my head. Other than the building manager, I'm alone in the main SCU office after Ed leaves for the on-call room down the hall because he pulled an all-day and nighter. Terri had a lecture earlier that evening and reception afterwards and wasn't coming in so I'malone.
I glance over at Terri's office, which is beside Ed's. The door's ajar and so I go in and turn on the light, wondering if Terri has any less-dry reading material on the cases they'd prosecuted in the past. Julien said everything was in the files here and in my mother's files, and so I'm tempted to go sleuthing. Several filing cabinets are off to the side of the room and so I go to each and open them up, checking to see what they contain. Two of the three open, and contain a lot of material but none of it looks really interesting. The third islocked.
That's the one with interesting material, as Julien said. I open the top drawer of Terri's desk, fishing around in the assortment of paper clips, glue sticks and pens for a key to the file cabinet. Sure enough, there's one stuck to the side of the metal drawer with one of those magnetic keyholders.
Bingo.
Breathless, knowing I shouldn't really be snooping, I go to the filing cabinet and open it up. Inside are personnel files dating back to the inception of the SCU almost thirty years earlier. The files are old and faded, the edges frayed, and a slightly musty scent wafts up when I pull a fileout.