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Cy sucked in his breath. “That means both brothers are killers.”
Vic looked equally stunned.
“It happens,” Stan murmured. “Come close and I’ll show you.” He pointed to the subtle differences. “Fingerprints are not entirely a genetic characteristic. They are a part of a ‘phenotype,’ which means they are determined by the interaction of an individual’s genes and the intrauterine environment. One fetus in the womb has different hormonal levels, nutrition, blood pressure, position and growth rate of the fingers at the end of the first trimester.
“Minor differences in fingerprints arise from random local events during fetal development. The genes determine the general characteristics of the patterns of fingerprints. However, inside the uterus, finger tissue comes in contact with the amniotic fluid, other parts of the fetus and the uterus.
“Some experts point out, for example, that touching amniotic fluid during the six to thirteen weeks of pregnancy significantly changes the patterns of a fetus’s fingerprints.
“Overall, identical twins’ fingerprints tend to be similar, but there always will be subtle differences making even their fingerprints unique. That’s why there was no match.”
Cy unconsciously furrowed his hair with his fingers. He felt the same as years ago when his chest had been stomped on by a bull. “If one of these twin brothers was the man who’d targeted Kellie, how am I going to tell her there are two of them? Hell, Vic. What if they work together and committed all three murders?”
“Maybe that’s why the letter in her mailbox had been posted by the one brother here in Austin four days ago while the other brother trailed her all the way home from Oregon.”
He eyed Vic. “The murders of the three women were committed a year apart at different places, making it possible that they’d worked in tandem.” Cy’s body broke out in a cold sweat.
Vic clapped his shoulder. “Take it easy. I know where your thoughts are headed, but it’s too early in the process to go there. Like you said, maybe she’ll say these photos don’t look enough like the man who harassed her in Pendleton to make a definite identification. We know mug shots as well as sketches can be deceiving.”
“Yeah. I know,” he said in a wooden voice. He turned to Stan. “Do you think that partial print from her condo is substantial enough for you to detect if it matches one of these fingerprints?”
“That will take some time. I’ll see what I can do with it.”
“Thanks, Stan. Give me a ring no matter what you find. I’ll be up in my office for a while longer.”
“I’ll go with you.” Vic walked out of the lab with him.
In the space of a few minutes, Cy felt the full weight of this case to protect Kellie. During his career as a Ranger, he’d never been personally involved like this before. As the captain had warned him, this was a different kind of case for Cy. You two will be walking a very thin line.
Cy had no idea he could feel this gutted over the gravity of her situation. He couldn’t think of her as just any woman who needed help. His feelings were more complicated than that, but he had an obligation to keep this situation straightforward. Yes, he was attracted to her and admired her great talent, but he couldn’t allow that to interfere with his judgment and work ethic. When they reached his office, Vic looked at him and said, “Go home, Cy. You haven’t slept for twenty-four hours and won’t be any good on this case without sleep.”
“You’re right. I’ll leave now.” He glanced at his watch. It was one thirty. “Kellie will be coming home this evening. I want to be there when she drives in. Thanks for everything, Vic.”
“Hey—just doing my job.”
“You do a lot more than that, and now I’ve got another favor to ask.”
“Anything.”
“Pick up her phone from Stan when he’s done with it. I’ll get it from you later.”
“What’s your next move?”
“If Kellie identifies this man as the one who approached her, I’m going to fly to Colorado Springs early in the morning and take her with me. She said she gave her cell-phone number to a friend of hers who works in the office of the Women’s Pro Rodeo Association. The stalker had to get her cell phone number from someone.
“I checked out her friends and horse handler while we were at the town house yesterday. They haven’t given her phone number to anyone, so I’m going to check out a hunch. We’ll be back by evening at the latest. Keep a close eye on her place while we’re gone.”
“Will do.”
“Thanks, Vic.”
Cy left the building and hurried out to the car. He couldn’t get to Kellie’s town house fast enough. Once he’d parked in the garage, he rushed through the house to the upstairs bathroom for a shower and shave. After putting on a clean pair of jeans and a T-shirt in the guest bedroom, he felt better. All he needed now was some food.
He ate a couple of peanut-butter sandwiches and drank half a quart of milk. After putting his phone on the floor next to him, he collapsed on the hide-a-bed. He’d catch a couple of hours before she phoned. Cy had her garage-door opener and would have to let her in.
It felt as if he’d barely sacked out when his phone rang. He reached down for it and saw that his mother was on the line. In the midst of everything, he’d forgotten to tell his family that he’d gone undercover on a new case and wouldn’t be available for a while.
That wasn’t like him to let something so important slide. As he lay there, he realized he needed to get his act together in a hurry. Biting the bullet, he clicked on.
“Hi, Mom. How are you and Dad?”
“We’re fine, darling. The point is, how are you?”
“I’m well, but I’m on a new case and have gone undercover.”
“Oh, Cyril—we never see you anymore.”
He knew his mother worried about the career he’d chosen, and she never failed to complain about it. But right now he didn’t give her the chance.
“Sorry about that, but it’s the nature of the job. I promise I’ll leave messages to let you know I’m all right.”
“I guess that means you can’t come to the engagement party we’re planning for Beth and Tom on Sunday night.”
“I wish I could, but I’ll have to wait to see them after this case is solved.” He had to solve it.“Give everyone my love. I promise to call you soon.”
Cy hung up and lay back again, letting out a heavy sigh. His sister was marrying Thomas Adamson in six weeks. He was an up-and-coming attorney in the law firm Cy’s great-grandfather had established in Dripping Springs. Cy was meant to join the business, but law had never held any interest for him. He preferred law enforcement.
After high school, he’d gone the rounds with his father more times than he could count. To make matters worse, halfway through college he’d broken his engagement to a young woman whom his parents really wanted him to marry. He wasn’t anyone’s favorite son.
Cy fell back to sleep until the phone rang again. A look at the caller ID showed Bronco Parrish. It was Kellie’s father. She was calling from the ranch. He clicked on and said hello.
“Hi” came her slightly breathless greeting.
“Are you coming home now?”
“Yes. I’ll be there in ten minutes.”
“I’ll be waiting and open the garage door for you.”
“Thank you. See you soon.”
It was a long ten minutes. Unable to stand it any longer, he hurried through the house to the garage and opened it while he waited for her. His pulse picked up speed when he saw her drive in next to his Subaru SUV and turn off the engine. She got out of the car and walked toward him with a look that led him to believe she was relieved to see him.
He was relieved, too. Night had already fallen.
Chapter Four (#uad94e372-a267-56c2-801d-4b5cb3f10f14)
“How’s Trixie?” Cy asked after Kellie walked past him into the kitchen.
“Happy to be home. We had a good ride.”
He shut and locked the door. “Have you eaten dinner?”
She swung around. “Yes.” Her eyes searched his. “Any news yet?”
“Why don’t we sit at the table? I have something to show you.”
Kellie swallowed hard and sank down onto the nearest chair. He sat opposite her and pulled a paper out of his pocket. “The sketch Jim made was run through the IAFIS criminal database. This is what resulted.”
He unfolded it and placed it in front of her. Her gasp filled the kitchen’s interior. “That’s the man! But his hair is longer here and he looks a little thinner than I remember.”
Cy pulled out another paper and unfolded it. The second he put it in front of her, she jumped to her feet. “This one is exactly like I described to you and the artist. His hair is short here.”
“There’s no doubt in your mind?”
She stared at him. “I’m positive both photos are of the same man who approached me in Pendleton.”
“That’s all I need to know.”
Kellie sat back down again. The photos had caused the blood in her veins to chill.
“We can thank God you came into the police station yesterday before anything happened to you.”
Her hand went to her mouth. “It’s the same man, so why are there different sets of names for him?”
He pocketed the papers. “It turns out they are identical twins.”
She could hardly breathe. “Twin murderers?”
“I suspect they work together, but the FBI agents I spoke to didn’t realize it until the forensics lab discovered that their prints weren’t exactly the same. It would explain why you could receive a letter postmarked from Austin at the same time he approached you in Eagle Mountain.”
Kellie buried her face in her hands, trying to comprehend it. The next thing she knew, he’d put a cup of coffee in front of her. “Drink this. You need it.”
She took a deep breath and sat back in the chair. “Thank you.” For a few minutes she sipped the hot liquid while she tried to absorb what she’d just learned.
“Tomorrow morning I’d like you to fly to Colorado Springs with me. Your friends have sworn they’ve never given out your cell-phone number to a soul. But if your friend at the Women’s Pro Rodeo Association has put your number into the computer, that may explain where these men got it.”
“You mean they hacked their computer?”
“I don’t know. That’s what I want to find out. You’ve been with that association for several years. These men know your rodeo schedule. Your name is on file with them. I’m curious to know if your friend kept your cell phone number to herself or put it in the computer, never thinking about it. Maybe she even saw him.”
Kellie thought back. “When I gave it to her, she knew never to give it to anyone else.”
“That was before she moved. Chances are she didn’t put it in the system, but I need to find out.”
She marveled at the way his mind worked. “What are you thinking?”
He leaned back in the chair drinking his coffee. “These stalkers are cunning. In order to talk to you, the one who approached you had to have done his homework. What you put on your website about belonging to the Women’s Pro Rodeo Association might have given him an idea I want to explore.”
Kellie had a feeling he hadn’t told her everything. “What time do you want to leave?”
“At 5:30 a.m. We have a 7:00 a.m. flight. If we get our business done fast, you’ll be back here in time to put your horse through some maneuvers before evening. This will be our first venture in public as a married couple, so we’ll behave as man and wife when we reach Colorado.”
Man and wife. A tremor ran through her body. He’d anticipated every question and had answered them before she could even think.
“Then I’m going to get ready for bed now.”
“Before you go upstairs, I want you to walk out to the mailbox and bring in any mail you find. Don’t worry. One of the team will be watching you. I’ll be waiting by the front door.”
She got this sick feeling in her stomach over the idea that the stalker might have been near her condo today. Reaching in her purse for her keys, she left the town house and took the short walk to retrieve her smattering of mail from the box.
After she returned, she walked over to the table and put it down. There were three ads, a catalog of home decor furnishings and a five-by-seven white envelope with nothing written on the front. When she saw that it didn’t have a stamp, she froze.
“When does your mail normally come?”
“Between two and three.”
“The stalker may have come after to slip this into your box.”
“You think he had a key?”
“These criminals are professionals and have tools, but we’re going to find out.”
Cy put on gloves and picked it up. After opening the flap, he pulled out a black-and-white glossy photograph of Kellie taken in a beauty salon. She was sitting in a chair with a drape around her neck. Her head had been cut out and it fell on the table. The word liar had been printed on the back of it.
“I don’t believe it!”
He gave her a probing glance. “Where was this taken?”
“At a beauty salon here in Austin where I go to get my hair styled.”
“How long ago?”
“Right before I left for Montana, about five and a half weeks ago.”
“You’re sure about the timing?”
“Yes. Normally I wear cowboy boots all the time and I always get my hair done later in the day. But that particular morning I had an early appointment and I put on those sandals before I left for the salon because I was in a hurry.”
“What time was your appointment?”
“Eight thirty in the morning.”
“Do you remember the date?”
“It was a Wednesday. I had to leave right after to make it to Glasgow in time for the rodeo on Saturday, August 2.”
“That meant you were in the salon on July 30. How big is the place?”
