Kelly Jamieson - How to Save A Life

"Why don't you try me?"

"You know," she said slowly, "maybe you could help me." Then she shook her head. "Nah, never mind. You're just passing through."

"Help you with what?" His curiosity aroused, he turned his body to face her.

She eyed him. "Never mind."

"Just tell me," he said. "If it's something I can help with, I will."

"It's a long story." She bent her head and her long curls hid her face.

"I got all night."

"Okay." She blew out a long breath, lifted her big, tortured eyes to meet his. "My best friend was murdered."

Oh, Christ. He couldn't speak. Just stared at her.

The bartender slid a plate of nachos onto the bar in front of them. They both ignored it.

"We...we'd been here that night," Marli continued, her voice low but controlled. "At Cactus Jack's. Krista and I, and some other friends of ours. We were celebrating her new job. She met a guy...she really liked him. They left together. The next day, she didn't show up for work. Nobody knew where she was." She swallowed a sob. "The police found her car with her body in it. She'd been raped and s-s-stabbed. And her car was set on f -fire with her in it."

A chill ran down Trey's spine. "Holy Christ."

She nodded and brushed moisture from her eyes. "The guy she left with that night had to have been the one who did it. I thought... I know it's crazy, but I thought maybe he'd come back here. To the bar."

His heart lurched to a stop. "You're not serious. Is that who you're looking for?"

She nodded. "I saw him that night. I got a really good look at him because he was flirting with me a bit, too. I'll know him if I see him."

"What the hell do you think you're going to do if you see him? Jesus, Marli."

"I don't know. Call the police." Then she made a rude noise. "They aren't doing anything about it."

"That's crazy. I'm sure they're investigating it."

"You said you're an FBI agent." She looked up at him. "That's why I thought maybe you could help somehow."

He made a noise that was almost a growl. "When did this happen?"

"Two weeks ago." She dug into her purse and pulled out her wallet, found a small photograph and handed it to him.

Trey gazed down at the image of a very pretty woman. The candid photograph captured her quiet reserve. His eyes narrowed as he took in her heart-shaped face and long, platinum blonde hair.

"This is Krista," Marli said, her voice thick. "She was my best friend."

"She was blonde," he murmured.

Marli nodded. "Yeah. I was always jealous of her perfect straight hair."

He looked up at her. He loved Marli's hair, the way it bounced and gleamed with fiery highlights. His gut clenched hard. "You're blonde, too."

She blinked at him.

"What do you know about the case? What have the cops told you?" he asked, the hairs on the back of his neck lifting.

"Not much. I heard more on the news than I heard from them. They interviewed me a million times, until I barely remembered my own name. But they sure didn't tell me much."

"They have a suspect?"

"Oh, yeah. It was all over the news." She gulped. "Apparently some serial killer. He's been traveling across the country raping and killing women."

Trey froze. His skin went iceberg cold. Son of a bitch.

Time stood still as he processed what was going on here. It was un-fucking-believable. The room shifted out of focus, then back in.

Marli shuddered and swallowed hard. "That bastard. I can't believe... Oh, shit." The tears started again and she furiously wiped them away with her fingers. "Damn it."

"It's okay." He set the photograph carefully on the bar. He brushed her tears away gently with his fingertips. "It's okay."

Why the hell hadn't he heard about this? Jesus Christ. Sheldon Barnes had killed again, and where had he been? Wallowing in self-pity. He hadn't been watching the news at all lately, and no one from the Bureau had bothered to pick up the phone and tell him. Shit. Guilt struck him like hammer blows.

"Not only is it hard because she died, and how she died...but I've been a basket case ever since." She drew in a long breath. "The cops told me not to worry, said if it is this guy, he doesn't usually stick around. He takes off for somewhere else."

"That's true," he murmured.

She opened her mouth, then closed it. "What do you mean, 'that's true'?"

His lips twisted and he ran his tongue over his teeth. He needed to think.

Now he understood the shadows he'd seen in Marli's beautiful eyes. She was nuts, of course, even to think of trying to find Sheldon Barnes, although he couldn't help but admire her courage. After everything she'd been through, it was a wonder she wasn't cowering in her house twenty-four-seven. He didn't know whether to be impressed or pissed. This was one gutsy woman.

But, overwhelming guilt poured through him. That motherfucker had gone on to kill again, and he'd killed this sweet woman's best friend. The agony in her eyes was like a jagged blade sawing at his insides.

"Trey?"

"Mmm?"

"You know about this guy, don't you?"

His heart beat once, twice, three times. "Yes."

She waited patiently. Something was going on and she wasn't sure what.

"I've been working on the Sheldon Barnes case....I mean, I was working on the Sheldon Barnes case. Since he murdered Kathy Richards in San Diego about seven months ago."

She continued to gaze wordlessly at him. Dear God, he knew all about the serial killer, then. His eyes met hers, then looked away.

"I...was having some personal problems," he continued, his voice low and raspy. "And I screwed up big time. I got suspended from my job."

"Oh."

Emotions played across his face--disgust, anger, frustration. "I also... was in the hospital for a while. Then I had physical therapy. And they made me go for some counseling." He shook his head. "My suspension was up a couple of weeks ago, but I took another month's leave of absence. My plan was, like I said, to drive up to San Francisco, see my buddy Kent. We trained together at Quantico."

She put her hand to her mouth, her heart constricting. What on earth had he done that was bad enough to get him suspended? It was obviously corroding his insides like powerful acid.

"So I was taken off the case, obviously." Bitterness edged his voice. "But I know that guy." He stared across the room, past people laughing and talking and dancing, his eyes so intense she shivered. "I've studied him, talked to his family. I know that bastard better than anyone does. But I didn't know he'd killed again."

He looked back down at her. "I'm so, so sorry, Marli."

"What are you sorry for?" The corners of her eyes tightened as she looked at him and her insides squeezed at how disturbed he seemed to be by what had happened to him, and how he clearly didn't want to admit it.

He shook his head. "Marli." His voice was suddenly urgent and he settled his hands on her shoulders, holding her away from him so he could look into her eyes. Her body tensed. "Sheldon Barnes doesn't stick around after he kills someone. He's done this before and always takes off. Travels across the country. It's not likely he's still around here. And if he is, you can't be looking for him. He's a psychopath. He's dangerous."

"But--"

"Marli, you asked for my help. And here's my advice--let the police do their investigation."

She hated controlling, domineering men. At that moment, however, her body a quivery mass of stressed-out, stretched-thin nerves, she wanted to listen to this man, lean on him and let him tell her to forget about trying to find a murderer.

She was terrified. Terrified for what Krista must have endured the last moments of her life. Terrified for herself. Afraid of life without her best friend. Afraid of finding the guy and what she would do then. More afraid of not finding him.