Waking Evil 02 by Kylie Brant Page A

have a way of stirrin’ things up.”

    Dev lifted a shoulder. “He was just blowin’ off. Beat up the screen door some, but no harm done.” Easy enough to see now why Robbie Joe had tried so hard to convince them both there was a rational explanation for the red mist and the lights he saw. Banty had seemed much more comfortable about his son finding a dead body than witnessing a possible psychic phenomena, but Dev was in no mood to appreciate the irony. “Hell, I talked to all the other kids with no problem.”

    Mark pushed his hat back and wiped at his forehead. “Well there was never any love lost ’tween you and Banty, so you shoulda known he’d call you out if you gave him the least reason.”

    No, there had never been any love lost between the two of them. And the man’s words about Dev’s daddy were the main reason. He’d heard them before, or others much like them, from the guy for two decades.

    They weren’t any easier to hear now than they’d been when he was twelve.

    “Kendra May’s been houndin’ me somethin’ fierce ’bout you comin’ over to dinner soon. Says she hasn’t seen near ’nough of you since you got to town.”

    “Sure.” Dev strove for a lighter tone he was far from feeling. “Tell her to give me a call. We can sit ’round and talk over old times again. Bet she’s never heard the one ’bout you gettin’ caught top down and pecker up with Carolyn Grimes in your mama’s convertible near Tackett’s woods.”

    The man looked pained. “Just remember, if I land in the doghouse with her, I might end up bunkin’ here with you.”

    “I’ll keep that in mind.”

    They parted on a friendly wave, and Dev went back into the house. But it failed to seem as welcoming as it usually did. The echoes of Banty’s words rang in its empty rooms. Rattled around in Dev’s mind even when he tried to shake them free.

    Yer daddy’s a killer . . . I ain’t the only one thinks that way, neither.

    No, Banty hadn’t been the only one to utter those words to him over the years, although he imagined they were whispered behind his back far more often. This town had passed judgment on his father nearly thirty years ago.

    Dev swung the front door shut behind him with a decisive bang.

    It was high time to figure out once and for all if the town had been right.

Chapter 5

    “I faxed the vic’s picture to headquarters earlier today.” Not finding either of the agents back at the motel room, Ramsey was checking in with Powell by cell phone. “It shouldn’t take more than twenty-four hours to get an artist’s sketch back. We can make copies and have them distributed to law enforcement and nail salons in a fifty-mile area.”

    “Good catch on the nails. If we can get the ID done quietly without havin’ to involve the media, I know Jeffries will be much happier.”

    And the governor would be happier still, Ramsey thought cynically, but the comment remained unvoiced. “I talked to the sheriff and suggested he have the ME clip the victim’s fingernails and bag them as evidence. You never know, maybe we’ll get lucky enough to come up with a match on the polish. Has the TBI lab come up with anything yet on the footprints or fibers?”

    “Nothin’ yet. I planned to call and give them another nudge today.”

    “What about ViCAP? Has a report been submitted?” The Violent Criminal Apprehension Program’s national database would spit out any crimes with similar elements.

    There was a moment of silence. “Check with Rollins on that. I thought he was goin’ to take care of it. If he hasn’t, you could submit the form from his office.”

    “I’ll do that.” Hearing the crunch of gravel under tires, she lifted the shade and looked out. Felt a jolt of satisfaction. “The mobile forensics lab is here that Raiker promised. You’ve got evidence at the sheriff’s office, right?” Running the tests from the mobile lab would mean the results would be available in hours rather