The Morning After by Lisa Jackson

Author:Lisa Jackson
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub, pdf
Publisher: Zebra
Published: 2004-01-01T05:00:00+00:00

UNTIL THE TWELFTH,

NO ONE CAN BE SURE.

She was suddenly as cold as if she’d been dropped into the North Atlantic.

What the hell did the message mean?

Was the Grave Robber talking to her?

Or…or was it a prank?

Her mind raced. Hadn’t Cliff said just last night that the Grave Robber had sent Reed notes?…What about E-mail? Oh, God. What was the return path…? She tried to respond. The message could be a hoax, of course. Lots of people these days got their jollies by sending spam, but she had a sense, an intuition that the killer was reaching out to her. Because of her stories. Because she’d named him. Paid attention. Somehow puffed up his sick ego.

Biting her lower lip, she replied, sending an E-mail asking for the sender to respond and identify himself. It bounced back nearly immediately. She printed out the E-mail, making two copies and on the second one, cutting off the message. Then she searched through the offices until she found Kevin, earphones in place, browsing the vending machines in the lunchroom. He was just punching in his selection when he saw her from the corner of his eyes.

“Don’t tell me, you can’t make the machine work,” he said, his eyes nearly arrogant as they stared down his nose at her. The corners of his lips twisted up slightly, as if he were pleased with himself.

Because he was smarter than she?

Or because he’d expected her to chase him down?

“No. No. The system works fine. But I need a favor,” she said, grateful, for once, that she’d found him alone.

He pulled down his earphones. “Another one?”

A bag of M&M peanuts dropped into the tray. Kevin snagged them up quickly, as if he thought she might snatch them from him.

“Yeah.”

“It’ll cost you,” he said, and flashed a smile that bordered on a leer.

“Oh, right…look!” She handed him the E-mail address. “Can you find out who sent this to me?”

“Maybe.” He scanned the paper, his eyebrows drawing together thoughtfully. “Why?”

“Because it’s important, okay? Someone sent me a strange message and when I tried to reply, the E-mail bounced back.” She handed him the response again, with the message cut out.

“Is it about the serial killer? That Grave Robber guy?”

She didn’t want to lie and hated the fact that she needed Kevin’s help. “Yes. Really.”

“What’s in it for me?”

“It’s your job!”

“I got lots of work to do.”

Frustrated, she stared at him. “What do you want, Kevin?”

He hesitated and she felt her chest tighten. Oh, Lord, he wasn’t going to ask her for a date, was he? Or some kind of kinky sexual favor disguised as a joke?

“What?”

“Credit, okay? You and a lot of people act like I’m useless, or…or that I don’t exist…or that I’m stupid…or that I only got the job because Tom’s my uncle, but the truth of the matter is that you and Trina and Norm and everyone in this damned place need me.” He hooked a thumb at his chest emphatically, the candy rattling in its bag.

“Credit?”

“Yeah.”

“Okay…” she said, still unsure.

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