Killer Moves by Mary Eason

tidy kitchen. “It is like the others,” he insisted quietly. The look in his eyes frightened her.
    Kara forced the question out. “What do you mean?”
    “There’s evidence that Rachel may have known her assailant as well.” After a moment, he added, “There’s more. You remember in El Paso you asked me about the connection between the victims. You thought that maybe they knew the same people. Well, you were right. They did. They all knew me. I’m the connection between the victims.”
    “Oh my God,” Kara whispered into the shocked silence that followed his confession. She saw Davis’s mouth twist into a bitter grin.
    “Yeah, I thought that would be your reaction. I went to university with one and I dated the other. I was married to Rachel and then you know I stopped in at your shop and talked to Justine, so I guess in a way I knew her as well. So, there’s your connection. Are you satisfied?”
    “Why didn’t you tell me this before?”
    “ Why ? Why do you think? It would have changed your mind about the case and about me, that’s why.”
    “Yes.” Kara turned away. “Probably—I don’t know.” It took everything inside her to let the obvious questions go for the moment. She was there for Ava and the other victims. Nothing more.
    “But the first Angel killings were all picked at random, except for Amy. This is clearly different.”
    Davis looked relieved that she wasn’t walking away just yet.
    “Or maybe it’s not. Maybe he’s just perfecting his MO.”
    Davis retrieved his cell phone and called Ryan. “The place is clean. She’s gone. Yes, it appears she knew her attacker. What?”
    Something in Davis’s voice drew Kara’s attention back to him. He sounded frustrated. He hung up the phone and turned to her, his expression scaring her again.
    “What is it?”
    “Nothing. Let’s get out of here, okay? I can’t think straight in here.” He held the door open and waited for her before relocking it and placing the key back inside the plant.
    They drove in silence for a time. But Kara couldn’t let Davis’s connection to all the victims go. If he’d lied about knowing all the victims, what else hadn’t he told her about the case?
    He brought the car to a stop in front of a sprawling, red brick home in the affluent Georgetown neighborhood.
    Davis got out of the car and waited for her to do the same. Kara realized her things were still at the Bureau.
    And no one knew where she was.
    “Don’t worry, Kara. I would never hurt you.”
    She forced aside her fear at those words. “Where are we?”
    “Home. We’re home. This is my home.”
    “Why are we here?” she asked, but Davis ignored the question. Unlocking the door, he waited for her. Reluctantly, Kara stepped inside the two-story house, not sure what to expect.
    Davis closed the door behind her but made no move to step away.
    “You didn’t answer my question.” She tried to keep her voice steady. She couldn’t let him see she’d become frightened of him.
    “No, I didn’t,” he said with a heavy sigh before stepping past her into the living room. “I expected more from you, Kara. I never expected you to turn on me.”
    She followed him slowly, waiting for him to say more. When he didn’t, she asked, “So why are we here, Davis? We should be out working the case.” When he ignored her entirely, she added, “Davis, we’re running out of time!”
    “Ryan’s got it covered for now. He promised to let me know the moment he hears anything. Look, I just needed to think for a minute, okay? Clear my head. Explain to you privately what’s happening,” he added quietly.
    Kara stood before him, trying to control her anger and frustration. None of this made any sense. Davis had been determined to find Jessica just a short time earlier.
    “What’s wrong with you?” she asked at last.
    He walked over to the bar and poured a drink, downing it in a single gulp. “My director—you remember Ed Zamora, right—well, he wants me