Seeking Evil (Looking Into The Mind Of A Killer Series) by Mary Eason Page A

gathered her scattered cloth ing, and then slipped into the tiny bathroom down the hall . She did her best to ignore the woman in the mirror condemning her, showered and dressed , then went in search of coffee.
    She had just started the pot when John found her . He ’ d dressed in jeans and nothing more. His bare chest hard and defined. Tempting.
    “ You ’ re up early ,” h e said from the doorway.
    She turned away from the temptation he represented and poured coffee. “ Would you like some? ”
    He read the gesture for what it was. An attempt at dodging the confrontation that was sure to follow.
    John ignored her question. “ What is it? Are you worried that what happened between us will get in the way of the case? ”
    Anna steeled herself to say the things she needed to say to him. She had to define their relationship, clarify the boundaries. She’ d muddied them last night.
    “ John, what happened between us last night was great, but it was a mistake. You know it was. ” She hated the small hint of pleading in her tone. She turned back to him.
    He left his position against the door and came to her , his eyes never leaving hers . “ Mistake? What are you talking about? What happened between us last night and before was no mistake, even though you may want to deny it. ”
    Anna shook her head. “ No, that ’ s not the truth. And even if it were it doesn ’ t matter. It can ’ t happen again. ”
    His frustration was clear in his tone. “ Anna, why can ’ t accept that we have something special. I care for you. It was the same back then. It still is. I know you care for me as well. Stop fighting it. ”
    She couldn ’ t look at him and not want to believe him. “ No, whatever is between us , is just physical, some residual feelings from the past. This case, seeing each other again, has brought it all back, but that ’ s it. ”
    John reached for her , but she backed away.
    “ You don ’ t believe that ,” he said, the hurt in his eyes hard to take.
    “ I do. John, I do. We don ’ t have a future together. Our lives are as different as we are. ” Anna tried to soften the force of her words. “ John, what happened last night was wonderful. We both needed it, but it ’ s over. Let ’ s just leave it at that and move on. We have a case to solve. Time is running out. ”
    She saw how difficult this was for him to accept and part of her was thrilled. “A l l right. I guess I can ’ t force you to admit how you feel, but , Anna, you do feel something. You can deny it all you want. ” He held up a hand when she would have argued. “ Let ’ s leave it for now because y ou ’ re right . W e need to get started on the case. I ’ ve had Rick send over the records for all the victims. We have a lot of work to do. ”
    John disappeared for a moment and came back carrying a stack of files. “ This is everything. All the case files. And the medical records. ”
    He hesitated then sat down across from her at the kitchen table . Anna needed space to think clearly without John ’ s image invading every inch of her mind .
    “ John… ”
    “ I know. You need me to leave, but I thought you might have questions. ”
    She met his gaze. He knew what she wanted to know.
    “ It ’ s not there, Anna. Whatever you think you ’ re going to find out about Aaron ’ s secrets aren ’ t going to be found in these files. ”
    Anna tried to get into his head . “ Why? Did you remove his notes? ”
    Anna could see t he fact that she couldn ’ t trust him didn ’ t set well with John. He shook h is head. “ No, I didn ’ t take anything out of the files. All of Aaron ’ s notes are in there. There ’ s nothing. I know. I ’ ve gone over th em a thousand times. ”
    Anna dropped the file she’ d been using as a shield to shut out his image. “ Then why don ’ t we just stop playing games and you tell me what I want to know. ”
    That shot in the dark re warded her with the truth. He knew something. Even if