Page 35 of Breathe Me In

Suddenly the door swung open, and Wes, in his white lab coat and goggles, held up the envelope I’d given Bostwick to give to him the other day. “My favorite detective’s here.” He beamed as he turned down the music. “And he brought me a treat?”

“This is Bree Jaminson, our newest consultant. She’s also a PI.”

“Consultant?” He eyed Bree playfully.

“Let’s go with PI.”

“Yes, let’s.” He peeled off his eyewear and looked Bree up and down. “So, does this PI carry cuffs?”

“No.” Bree smiled. “No gun either.”

“What?” Wes’s eyes popped. “So, what does a pretty thing like you do when you catch someone or you’re attacked?”

“I’ve been lucky enough not to have dealt with that yet, but if the moment arises, I have pepper spray.”

Wes looked at me. “Yet,” he repeated grimly. “Good God, man, you’d better stick to this little thing like glue or get her a weapon. Now I say that, maybe you’re on the right track.” He smirked and wiggled his brows.

“Don’t worry, Wes, I’m on it.” I shook my head at his sly grin and had to laugh. “So, you said you found something?”

“I did.” He turned his playful expression on Bree again, and I rolled my eyes—he was such a flirt. “The substance found on the envelope is the very same that was found in your two victims. It’s butterfly root moss, like you said.” He nodded at me. “It has a very special quality. Highly concentrated and very poisonous.”

“So, chances are this one”—I handed him the envelope, now sealed in a plastic evidence bag, that we’d gotten from Mrs. White—“will test the same.”

He held it up and studied the coloring. “I’d put down good money that it’s the same. I’ll run tests regardless, but your killer risked a lot to send these.”

“But there wasn’t any DNA found?”

“No.” Wes shook his head. “And to be honest, the fact that there was a green smudge on both envelopes leads me to think he did it on purpose to screw with you guys. There’s no return address, and they were mailed from the main post office in town. You could check the cameras, but it would be nearly impossible to pinpoint who actually mailed them.” His mouth dipped like he wished he had more for us to go on. “The postmark doesn’t really make sense on the timing of the death, and why send one to Sophia, who is alive? Though this was obviously done purposefully, I can’t see the point of it.”

“I agree.” I added, “It feels a bit like an afterthought.”

Bree studied the envelope. “So why do it?”

“To play with us.” I shrugged. “Which means these girls are more than likely not his first kills. He’s too cocky.” I rubbed my head. “Tell me there was something inside we could run with.”

Wes pulled the letter out through the tear on the side of the envelope and held it up. “Nothing but traces of the butterfly root.”

“Why go through the work of mailing it? What’s the point?”

I let that swirl around my head. “Like I said, he’s playing with us.” Wes grunted in agreement.

“Oh, Wes, could you check for DNA on this napkin?” She handed him the bag, and he gladly took it.

“Of course.”

“Thanks.” Bree turned away as she answered a call, and Wes wiggled his brows at me.

“She single?”

“No.” I pinched the bridge of my nose. “Never in a million years did I expect my new partner to attract so much attention.”

“Have you looked at her? She’s gorgeous.” Wes lowered his voice. “All I can picture is her in a pair of lab glasses, a white coat, and her hair pinned up with a pen.”

“Fuck,” I huffed and tried to push the idea of her with her hair up in a messy bun that exposed her neck out of my head. Flashbacks to my mouth there didn’t help.

“What’s wrong?” Bree was suddenly at my side.

I shot Wes a look to behave. “Nothing.”