Don't Look Back by Lynette Eason Page B

“Family will be here in about five minutes.”
    A collective sigh echoed around the room.
    Then Serena moved to cover Lisa’s body. Jamie decided it might be up to her to convince the family they didn’t want to see how Lisa ended up.

    An hour later, Dakota marveled at Jamie’s skill in handling the shattered parents. She’d convinced them they didn’t want to see the remains of their daughter, and by the time they left, they’d decided on cremation.
    Jamie had stood in the hallway and watched as Mrs. Dupre sobbed into her husband’s shoulder. They’d walked to the elevator clinging to one another, grieving the loss of their eldest child. Then Jamie had turned to Dakota and said, “You’re right. They’re better off not knowing.”
    “I’ll give them a couple of hours to do some processing, then Connor and I will head over to the house to ask them some questions.”
    They all needed a break from the intense emotions running through the room and had decided to meet at Flannigan’s. Jamie declared she didn’t really have an appetite, but decided she’d like the company.
    Dakota was glad. He felt she needed to get away from the lab for a while. Samantha managed to get away and join them, as did George Horton.
    Monica, a waitress they were all on a first-name basis with, approached them with a smile. Her spiky purple hair didn’t move in her trek across the floor. Today she had on a nose ring and four earrings in her left ear. “My favorite group is back.” She eyed George with a flirtatious smile. “And a newbie. Welcome.”
    Offering her a small smile, George nodded. “Thanks.”
    Jamie asked, “How’s school going, Monica?”
    “It’s going. One more semester and I’ll be done. I graduate in December.”
    “That’s great. You’re going to make a fine teacher.”
    Monica smiled and took their order. After she left, Dakota turned to George. “Do you have anything you can add to your profile on this guy now that we’ve got another body? I’ve got the team at Quantico doing a profile workup too, and everything you’ve said has coincided with what they think. So far, it looks like we’ve found three of his victims. If Jamie’s right and he’s branding each one, we’re up to seventeen. That’s a lot of missing bodies.”
    George shook out his napkin and placed it across his lap. He studied his fingers, then said, “I would say this guy is in his mid-thirties to early forties. Probably well educated. Physically strong. He’s probably something of a loner but can fit in well in social situations. He’s learned to adapt, be comfortable anywhere.”
    “Why do you say that?”
    George spread his hands. “Well, think about it. If he hadn’t, there’s no way he would still be walking the streets of our fair city. Someone would have caught on to him by now. He would have slipped up and made some kind of mistake.” His lips twisted. “From what you’re telling me, his crimes have been darn near perfect.”
    Dakota shifted. “Not perfect. No one’s perfect. Which means there’s evidence out there, we just have to find it.”
    “Be that as it may, I think he’s going to be a tough one to nail down.”
    Unfortunately, Dakota felt like George was probably right.
    Samantha took a sip of water. “What about his background. How he grew up? His home life?”
    “Well,” George shrugged, “of course this is all based on an educated guess, but I would say he suffered a horrible childhood, was probably abandoned by a parent, and most likely suffered continuous abuse that messed up his mind.”
    Dakota snorted. “I understand that children who are abused often follow the pattern and become abusers themselves, but my dad was about as bad as they come and I didn’t grow up killing people.”
    Jamie twisted the napkin between her hands, her eyes on some faraway spot across the restaurant. When her mind registered his comment, she snapped her gaze in his direction. “I didn’t know that.”
    He