Page 43 of Whispers at Dusk
Nope. He wasn’t getting her phone.
Generally, police officers in Norway did not carry firearms, but they did keep weapons in their patrol cars. Luckily, specialized units were allowed to carry, and Jackson had seen to it she and Mason were under thespecializedcategory when they arrived. She had an FN Baby Browning pistol, small but lethal, tucked into the side of one heeled boot. Mason, she knew, was carrying in the small holster stuck into his waistband at his back.
Neither one of them wanted to shoot anyone. They desperately needed any suspect alive in order to get to the bottom of things. Although she wondered how Wilhelm was feeling. It was difficult when a killer had taken down someone close. No matter how enlightened a law enforcement officer might be, it could be difficult to separate revenge from justice.
But Wilhelm wasn’t with them. It was just Mason at her back.
And the killer...or one of the killers.
Just as she had expected, their suspect came upon her in the street, calling to her politely.
“Excuse me!”
She stopped and turned and waited, a brow arched.
“Miss, I’m sorry to bother you, but I couldn’t help but see you were upset and I—”
“I’m fine, but thank you,” she said.
He was a good-looking man, just as she had seen in the artist renderings of him. Today, his hair color was very light and wavy and fell slightly over one side of his forehead. His eyes were blue, and his physique was nicely displayed in casual jeans, T-shirt, and jean jacket.
She didn’t think English was his first language, but she wasn’t sure where he was from.
“I’m Tom,” he offered. “Okay, Tomaso, but I go by Tom. Tom Romero. And honestly, I’d just like... Well, I can tell you’re American.”
“I’m that obvious?”
He smiled. A charming smile. The kind of charming smile and slightly humble attitude that had helped killers like Bundy seduce victims with kind hearts into helping him.
“In the best way. I just happened along and... Well. I am sorry, I don’t mean to be a bother, and I will leave you alone at any time, but...let me show you a bit more of the main area. There are other great hangouts. I can get you a drink and walk you back to your hotel.” He winced. “There’s a vampire running around, so they say. Let me escort you, at least. And forgive me, it may just have been a lover’s spat, but that man had no right to treat you that way. Let me improve your evening just a shade.”
She hesitated as if she were truly torn.
“No strings attached. I promise.”
She smiled. “One drink. And... Well, yes, that would be nice. I seem to attract the wrong... Well, never mind. You do seem to be nice and courteous and... Sure. One drink.”
She could see Mason was behind them, leaning now against a whitewashed pillar that supported one of the few new buildings on the street.
“Come along, beautiful. Oh, I didn’t get your name yet!” he said.
He had lied about his name, she thought. “Serena,” she told him. She’d always liked the name. If she ever had a daughter, she was going to name her Serena.
“Serena, beautiful, like you,” he said. He offered her his arm. She took it.
They walked another block and took a slight turn toward the north. As he had promised, there was another pub with cocktail tables inside and out. She opted for a drink. When he suggested she take a seat and he go retrieve their cocktails, she smiled and said, “Oh, no, please, let me come! I love seeing the bar areas in Lillehammer. They’re so pretty here!”
She might have frustrated him. He might have intended to spike her drink before it ever reached her. But he smiled. “Sure. Come with me!”
She did so. When he ordered, she told him she’d have whatever he was having. He bought two stouts and then suggested they sit outside where they could feel the ambience of the town and do some people watching.
They sat. She sipped her stout and asked him, “So, where are you from? Your English is so perfect, and yet there is a hint of something there!”
“Ah, because I’m a child of the world!” he told her. “Italian father, French mother, but a Spanish grandparent—and a Norwegian grandparent on the other side. We moved all over Europe when I was young. And I opted for college in the US. And you? Where in the US are you from?”
“The Sunshine State,” she told him.
“Florida! Raised on sunshine,” he said. “A water baby?”
