The Seventh Victim by Mary Burton Page B

was kinda pleased at the way her own portfolio was coming along. Who’d have thought Danni Smith, the kid who hated high school, would ever be thriving in college?
    The kids ambled into the classroom and took their seats. The jocks tended to stick together, and they always sat close to the cheerleaders’ table. Everybody was always looking to score.
    At exactly seven o’clock Lara Church breezed into the classroom, a coffee in one hand, backpack on her shoulder, and her dog, Lincoln, in tow. Danni was pretty sure that dogs weren’t allowed in the classroom, but Lara had not cared about rules. Lincoln stayed with her.
    “Today in the darkroom I’ll be looking at edging and burning techniques.” She set her coffee on her lectern and her backpack on the floor beside her. Lincoln stretched out and went to sleep. “But before we head into the darkroom I wanted to toss out a word of caution. I was having a look at the photos some of you downloaded to the class site, and I see you’re having a little trouble with mood. Too much light. Flat photos. Washed-out images. Many of the photos will need to be redone, but I’m on hand as always to answer questions.”
    A bit of sniggering from the cheerleaders had Lara tensing. “You all are adults and can use your time this evening as you wish, but I’ll expect you to upload your pictures to me by eight tomorrow night. No photos means an F. And, please, no photos taken earlier in the semester. This last portfolio is about applying what you’ve learned.”
    A tall jock named Tim yawned and checked his watch.
    “If you need to leave, Mr. Gregory, go right ahead. But I should remind you that you’ve got a lot of work to do.”
    Tim winked at a cheerleader. “Whatever.”
    “Your failing grade. Not mine.”
    The football jock leaned back in his chair, narrowed eyes glaring at Lara, who appeared unconcerned by his angry stare. Instead of backing down, she tossed out one or two more instructions and dismissed the group to the photo lab.
    Danni grinned, not sure if Lara’s dismissal of Tim was super brave or just crazy.
     
     
    Beck arrived down in San Antonio just after seven, parked at the Ranger offices, and climbed the steps to Santos’s office. He found Santos at his desk, leaning forward and frowning over paperwork.
    “That bad?” Beck said.
    Santos glanced up and shrugged. “I hate paperwork. Hate. It.”
    Beck laughed. “What cop doesn’t?”
    “You’d think it would get easier with time.”
    He eased into the chair in front of Santos’s desk.
    “I had an interesting visitor,” Beck said. He updated Santos on Raines’s arrival and his own visit to Lara Church.
    Santos leaned back in his chair. “What’s Lara Church like?”
    “She’s wound a little tight when she’s approached by a stranger. She held a shotgun on me.”
    Santos raised a brow. “And?”
    “I convinced her to put it down.”
    “And you didn’t arrest her?”
    “Having read her file I’m not surprised by her reaction. The Strangler left her in bad shape.” He listed key details related to the seven-year-old attack. “The Texas victims fit a profile that is more like Lara than the Seattle victims. Students. Ready to move out of state.”
    Santos nodded. “The killer’s tastes changed.”
    “Seems so.” He flexed his fingers. “Did you go back to the first victim’s site and look for the penny?”
    “We looked. Took metal detectors. But we didn’t find it.” He tapped his index finger on his desk. “But we got a lot of rain last month. Gulley washers. Could have washed away.”
    “Send more officers out there. Work the area like an archeological dig. I need to know if the first murder is connected to the second.”
    Santos nodded. “I’ll have another team out there tomorrow.”
    “Good.”
    “So what is the deal with Raines?”
    “First stab, I’d say he’s a lot like us. A cop with a case that got under his skin that he can’t forget.”
    “He came a long way to