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"Agreed,"Fiona said, nodding determinedly. "But we can't give up here, not yet.There has to be something we're missing, some clue to where he might behiding."
As theypressed on, Jake couldn't help but wonder if it would be enough. The shadowsseemed to close in around them, the exhibits now bearing an ominous air. In therace against time, would they find Bradley Caine before another life wassnuffed out, or would the killer slip through their grasp once again?
CHAPTER TWENTY FIVE
He madehis way through the overcrowded exhibit, shaking with anger. He couldn’tescape, not with everything on lockdown, but he also couldn’t sit still.
Theworn carpet absorbed the sound of his footsteps, leaving only the faintest echoin the air. He had never done two within two days, but what he'd seen tonighthad shaken him to his core. It reminded him too much of her. Annie. Hisex-wife...
She hadbeen an awful woman. She had despised his precious collection of rare insectswith such intensity that it often left him feeling cold and empty inside.
"Chooseme or those disgusting bugs," she had demanded one night, her eyesnarrowed into slits and her lips thin with anger. He had stared at her for amoment before making his choice without hesitation.
"Annie,"he'd said softly, "I choose my insects."
Thememory brought a bitter smile to his face, and though he knew he should feelregret, there was only satisfaction. Those creatures were beautiful, delicate,and rare – qualities that had been distinctly lacking in his ex-wife.
Butthen, one day, when he'd returned home from work, his world had shattered.
"Annie!"he'd called out, dropping his briefcase to the floor, his hands shaking withrage as he surveyed the destruction before him. Every cage had been opened,their tiny inhabitants either dead or released into the unforgiving world. Hisheart had broken at the sight of their crushed bodies scattered across thefloor like discarded trash.
"Lookwhat you've done!" he'd screamed, his voice cracking with grief and fury.He had searched the house for her, desperation mounting with each empty room.As the terrible truth of her actions settled like a weight on his chest, herealized just how cruel and twisted she truly was.
Hisheart pounding, he'd stormed through the house, seeking the woman who haddesecrated his sanctum. He found her upstairs, lounging in their bedroom, awicked grin staining her lips. The contrast between the disarray of insectcorpses below and the pristine state of this room was staggering.
"Lookwhat you made me do," she taunted, her voice dripping with venom."All those disgusting little creatures, squished like the pests theywere."
"Annie,how could you?" His voice trembled with rage and sorrow, eyes burning withunshed tears.
"Simple,really." Her laughter echoed through the room like the tolling of afuneral bell. "Just a bit of pressure, and they're gone. Poof! Like theynever existed."
"Getout," he growled, hands clenching into fists at his sides.
"Orwhat?" She leaned closer, delighting in his torment. "You going tokill me over your precious bugs?"
At thatmoment, something inside him snapped. A darkness he never knew existed surgedto the fore, eclipsing reason and remorse. Before he even realized what washappening, he had picked up a knife from the kitchen and driven it directlyinto her heart. When it was over, when her body lay limp and lifeless on thefloor, he felt no regret – only a cold determination to ensure her actionswould have consequences.
Heburied her deep in the woods, beneath the earth that teemed with the insectsshe had despised. An anonymous phone call informed the police she'd run away tostart a new life elsewhere, and as they were already in the midst of a bitterdivorce, no one questioned her sudden disappearance. Annie had few friends,fewer still who cared enough to search for her. In time, her name faded fromthe town's collective memory, leaving him free to carry on with his life.
But hewould never forget the woman who had torn apart his world. Nor would he everforgive her for the senseless destruction she'd wrought. As he stood overAnnie's unmarked grave, a vow took shape in his mind – a promise to honor thememory of his fallen insect companions by meting out justice to those whoshared her callous disregard for their lives.
Themuted hum of the air conditioning filled his ears as he walked through thedimly lit corridor. The wallpaper, a faded pattern of intertwined vines, seemedalmost to wriggle and squirm in the shadows, like countless insects crawlingbeneath the surface. He had donated his precious collection of rare insects tothis traveling entomology exhibit, and now he traveled with them, safeguardinghis former companions from those who would do them harm.
He hadbecome something of an avenger – a silent sentinel who struck down the crueland unthinking, teaching them the same respect for life that Annie had neverlearned. Each time he snuffed out another existence, each time he watched thelight fade from another pair of eyes, he felt a shiver of satisfaction – asense of equilibrium restored.
Hereturned to the main room, where most of the guests were crowded around. Thefeeling of being in a crowd was oppressive and suffocating—he’d had to stepaway to gather his thoughts, but he also knew it was too risky if he keptwandering off alone. Being in the crowd was his safest bet.
"Gross!"a woman's voice suddenly exclaimed, causing him to halt in his tracks. She was ina group across the crowd, her face pale with terror as she stared at somethingon the floor. A spider, he realized, its eight legs splayed wide as itskittered across the tile.
With ashriek, she stomped down hard on the helpless creature. The fragile bodycrunched under her heel, its life extinguished just as easily as he had snuffedout Annie's.
A coldfury coiled inside him, tightening his chest until he could barely breathe.This woman, this casual murderer, had callously destroyed a life as if it heldno value, no meaning. She had killed without thought or remorse, and it was upto him to make her understand what she had done – to make her feel the samefear and helplessness that she had inflicted on one of the earth's smallest,most vulnerable creatures.
Hewatched as the people she was with gave her strange looks, and she shook herhead, shaking off her hands, before she said something to him and took off. Hecould only assume that she was also going to cool herself off with a short walkor maybe a visit to the bathroom.
He couldwork with this.
Hefollowed her into one of the museum hallways, his footsteps muffled by theplush carpet, as he mentally prepared himself for what must be done. The weightof the task ahead settled heavily upon him, but he welcomed it – for every lifehe took, he knew that countless others would be spared from suffering.
