A few moments later, he’d taken the seat across from Casey. His gaze swept over her, narrowing a bit when he saw the swelling and bruising on her cheek.
Josh rolled back his shoulders. He was standing to the side, his back against the wall as he stared at the prisoner—and at Casey. One wrong move from the prisoner, and the guards wouldn’t have to attack because Josh would be on the guy.
“Mr. Anderson.” Casey’s voice was smooth, calm. “Just why did you agree to see me today?”
He was silent—a silence that stretched a bit too long. Tucker had coached a disgruntled Casey before she went into the prison—trying to tell her how to use interrogation techniques. Casey had been adamant that she already knew plenty of techniques to use. And as she’d told Tucker and Josh, it wasn’t her first time interviewing a murderer. Not her first time, not even her fifth.
“Sorry about what he did to you,” Theodore said, hitching his head forward. His eyes were bright in his pale face. “Such a shame...”
“He?” Casey prompted.
Theodore smiled. Josh didn’t like that smile. Too cold. Too calculating. A monster’s smile. But then, he was staring at a man who’d killed his own daughter. Was there a worse monster?
“I heard the guards talking about what happened to you.” With his bound hands, Theodore gestured to the men beside him. “Seems the good people of Hope have more to fear than just me these days.”
“The people of Hope feared you for a very long time. A killer living right among them—someone they never suspected.” Her voice was still low and unemotional. “They felt sympathy for you, pity, because you lost your daughter.” She gave a brief pause. “They never realized that you were the one who’d murdered her.”
Theodore’s hands slammed down onto the table. “That wasn’t my fault!”
Josh—and the guards—immediately surged forward, but Casey waved them back. “Then whose fault was it?”
“Christy was never supposed to die! You think I’d go after my own daughter? No, no. I had a victim. Jill...sweet little Jill, but she got away. She got away and she messed everything up for me.”
Jill... Jillian West. The woman Hayden loved. The FBI agent who’d finally learned the truth about Theodore Anderson.
“Christy was the one good thing in my life.” Theodore’s shoulders slumped forward. “After she was gone...I was only left with...him.”
“Him?” Casey prompted.
Theodore looked up at her, squinting. “You ever stare straight at evil, Casey Quinn?”
She’s staring at it right now. So was Josh. He knew evil when he saw it. But Casey didn’t speak, she just waited.
The woman does know how to work an interrogation. She would have made a good FBI agent.
“I have. I saw it...in his eyes.” Theodore licked his lower lip. “He’s the one who took you. He’s the one who hurt you. Who hurt the others... I tried to keep him in check all those years, but now that I’m locked up in here...there’s nothing to stop him.”
Every muscle in Josh’s body locked down.
“You know the identity of the man who abducted me?” Casey asked, leaning forward.
Josh didn’t like that. He didn’t want her getting so much as another inch closer to Theodore Anderson.
The prisoner nodded. “He took you...and I heard what he did to those other women, too. He killed them. Always knew he’d be a killer.”
“Who is he?” Casey’s voice was strained now.
“Guess sometimes, it is in the blood, huh?” He expelled a long sigh, then looked regretful as he said, “The apple didn’t fall so far away, now did it?”
And Josh knew what the guy was going to say, even before Theodore Anderson smiled.
“The man who took you,” Theodore said, “the man who killed those others...it’s my son, Kurt.”
* * *
JOSH KEPT HIS body next to Casey’s as they exited the interrogation room. After his big reveal, Theodore Anderson had locked down, refusing to say another word. Apparently, he’d wanted to point the finger at his son.
And he had.
Josh opened the door to the right and led Casey inside the observation room. Tucker was on the phone.
“Yeah, that’s right,” Tucker barked into the phone. “I want to know where Kurt Anderson is right now. Find the guy and bring him to the sheriff’s station. I want to talk to him...Yes, yes, get him there, and I’ll meet you.” He hung up and swung to face Casey. “Good job, Ms. Quinn—”
“Casey,” she cut in. “Just...Casey, okay?” she slid away from Josh and moved toward the observation window. The glass showed them the now empty interrogation room. “Do we believe the guy? I’ve talked to Kurt Anderson a few times since coming to town.”
Behind her back, Josh and Tucker shared a long look.
“Kurt struck me as someone who was fighting a lot of grief and anger. He’d just found out that his own father murdered his sister years ago...and that he’d lived with that killer. He was hurting, but for him to suddenly start killing...” One shoulder lifted in a weak shrug. “Does that fit?” She looked back at Tucker, then at Josh.
“It could fit,” Tucker allowed. But he didn’t say more.
Josh just watched Casey. He was worried she was pushing herself too hard.
Her full lips pressed together. “You are not shutting me out now.”
“We should get going,” Josh announced. “It’s a drive back to—”
“I did this interview for you both. I got the guy to talk. Now you’re trying to pull some FBI rank and not share with me?” Her cheeks flushed. “Not cool, gentlemen.”
“You’re a reporter,” Tucker gently reminded her. When her eyes turned to slits, Josh figured she didn’t like—or need—that reminder. “And this is an active investigation. There’s only so much we can say to you.”
“I want the guy who attacked me caught! I want Kylie, Bridget and Tonya to have justice! I’m helping here. What happened to us being a team? What happened to that?” Her gaze raked them. “Or are we only a team when the two of you want to use me?”
“You’re the one who insisted on doing this,” Tucker replied, voice quiet. “And you’re the one who’ll get to air the footage later. You’ll have the scoop of the century, won’t you? So I think it’s a win for you.”
Her expression hardened.
No, it wasn’t a win. Tucker was misjudging her, the same way Josh had. Josh crossed to her side. “We should get going.”
Her gaze jumped to his face. “Do you think it’s Kurt?”
He thought it was possible, but his stare slid to Tucker and he replied, very carefully, “Just because a killer’s in the family, it doesn’t mean you have bad blood. Each person makes his or her own choices.”
“I’m going to find Kurt,” Tucker stated. “Josh, we’ll talk later.” Then he turned on his heel and marched out.
“It’s hitting too close to home for him,” she murmured. “Isn’t it?”
Yes, the case was. Because Tucker had a killer in the family, too. One who’d come far too close to destroying everything that Tucker loved.
Josh caught Casey’s hand in his. His fingers slid over her wrist, and he felt the quick jump of her pulse. “Let’s get out of here.”
“You still didn’t tell me whether or not you think the killer could be Kurt Anderson.”
No, he hadn’t told her, not yet. “Just how many times did you talk to Kurt?”
“Three times.” They walked down the narrow corridor, past the guards. The security doors were opened for them, one after the other. Soon they had cleared the checkpoints. Josh took his gun back and adjusted his holster.
“The last time I saw him...” She’d been quiet as they passed the guards. “We had a brief dinner on Friday night.”
&nbs
p; She’d gone to dinner with the guy? Dinner...the night before she’d been abducted.
“I wanted to hear his side of things.” They walked out of the facility. The sun was bright, beating down on them. “He lost his sister. He was just as much of a victim as—”
“Casey!” a man’s voice boomed.
Josh tensed and his body immediately moved in front of Casey’s. His hand went to his weapon.
A man with black hair and thin-framed glasses rushed forward. He wore a suit and had a flashy watch around his wrist. A short-haired woman was behind him—Josh recognized Katrina, Casey’s camerawoman. And, unfortunately, he recognized the man, too. Tom Warren. Casey’s producer.
“Knew you’d get the exclusive!” Tom cried out. He tried to reach out and touch Casey. Josh just moved his body and prevented that touch. “Wait—what the hell are you doing?”
Protecting Casey.
Tom’s gaze sharpened on him. “Look, Agent Duvane, I get that you saved Casey, and I’m grateful, but you can relax. I’m not any threat to her.”
Josh didn’t relax.
A trickle of sweat slid down Tom’s temple. “Hey... I’ve got an idea.” He flashed a smile. “It would be great if we could get you both on camera. You know, some footage of Casey and the agent who saved her.” He motioned to Katrina. “Get the gear from the van.”
“Not happening,” Josh said flatly. “And for the record, Casey saved herself.”
Kurt Anderson. He’d met the guy before, too. The man had seemed shaken, grief-stricken. And he’d been filled with a lot of rage. But Josh had thought all of that rage was directed at Kurt’s father.
Had he been wrong?
“I know, Josh.” Her soft sigh filled the car. “I lied,” Casey admitted without even a hint of guilt.
He cast a quick glance toward her.
“I wanted to stay with you,” Casey said again. “I...feel safe with you, okay? I mean, I’ve already told you the deepest, darkest secret that I have. You pretty much know me better right now than anyone else has known me in years.”