The Hunted Girls by Jenna Kernan (best book club books for discussion txt) 📕

selected his targets at random because he was not trying to lure them. He was trying to lure me.”

Demko rose to his feet, shoving the chair backward. He lifted his hands from the glass surface, and she watched the heat outlines evaporate.

“That’s not it,” he said, leaning in, hands pressed flat to the glass surface. But he’d gone pale.

He thought it possible, terrifying, but possible. No one else objected, though both Juliette and Tina gaped at her.

“Unsubs often watch investigations. Even insinuate themselves into them,” said Skogen.

She shook her head. “Not the investigation. Me.”

“Explain,” said Skogen.

“First he chose this region. Intentionally because it was Arleen Howler’s territory. Then he made two kills designed to bring me here. Once he had accomplished that, he selected females with whom I had contact. I only once spoke to Bianca Santander. Linda Tolan and I had a confrontation in the hotel hallway. She clearly made herself a rival. April Rupp may have as well because we argued outside the rental when she learned we were FBI tied up in this case. Demko was there. And Jo Summerville greeted us every time that we went out to supper as a team.”

Tina gasped. Juliette looked stunned.

“She was a hostess,” said Nadine. “Check her taxes. She worked at the gastropub. My team ate there often.”

“Our favorite spot,” mumbled Tina.

Tina started to shake. Special Agent Coleman stepped forward to press a hand to her shoulder and Tina seemed to pull herself together.

“Santander, Tolan, Rupp and Summerville belonged to my outer circle. But he’s moving inward, toward me.”

Skogen’s digital forensic expert, Special Agent Wynns, spoke up. “She’s right.”

The pause stretched as each considered her theory.

“Following that logic,” said Special Agent Coleman, “he might attack any of the females in this room.”

“Yes. I believe that’s true. Eventually.”

Demko thudded back to his seat.

“We all need protective details,” said Juliette.

“Agreed,” said Nadine.

“He was targeting you before the leak?” asked Skogen.

“That’s my theory. He’s showing me how competent he is as a hunter. How capable of securing a territory.”

“How did he even know you were here?” asked Juliette. “How did he know where you were staying?”

Nadine shook her head. “I don’t know.”

She used her thumb to rub the spot where the engagement ring had been.

“Why?” asked Demko.

“Because he thinks we’re the same. I’m the child of a killer. Whatever motivates him to kill, he thinks he and I are alike. This is not his home territory. We need to go over the database again looking for people who have moved into the area within the last year.”

Wynns nodded. “I’m on it.”

He reached in his bag, retrieved his laptop and powered up.

“If I’m right, he’s done this before or something similar elsewhere. We need to find that series. Look for other cases like this one,” said Nadine.

“We need to surveil other possible targets,” said Skogen. “Nadine, you need to give us a list of any other women with whom you’ve had casual contact in this area.”

“I’ll work with her on that list,” said Coleman.

Even considering the limited time here, she thought that would be quite a list. Her mind started popping names and faces. The medical examiner for District 5, the cheerful receptionist at the hotel, the tattooed daughter of the gun shop owner. She nodded, momentarily flattened by the enormity of the task.

“He’s been targeting you from the beginning,” said Demko. His shoulders dropped.

“Yes. I think so. Maybe since my name appeared in the media with the last case. That might be when he moved to this location.”

Wynns scribbled something on the notepad beside his laptop.

“I understand why he’d pick you,” said Demko. “But I don’t understand what he wants with you. Is he planning to do to you what he did to those other women?”

“No. Mating ritual. A bonded pair,” she said, using the words from the manifesto and expecting one or more of them to laugh. None did.

“What?” asked Coleman.

She knew what she would say next was narcissistic in the extreme. It was a character flaw she had struggled with. But that did not make her conclusions any less true.

“He’s cleared my home territory. Impressing me with his displays of his victims. He’s moving closer. He’s not trying to outwit me. Has never been trying to outwit me. He’s trying to intrigue me.”

“We need more protection,” said Demko.

“Yes and no,” she said. “If I’m right, I’m your logical decoy. He wants me and he’ll come after me. Especially if he senses another male in his territory.”

Demko and Skogen faced off across the table.

“You’re a profiler. Not an investigator. You’ve never done undercover work,” said Demko.

“I won’t be undercover. I’ll be myself.”

“You don’t even carry a gun, for Christ’s sake.”

She regarded him, silently begging him to trust her. She needed to stop this killer. This was the logical way. Then she turned her attention to Special Agent Jack Skogen.

“Jack carries a gun. What do you say, Jack? Care to help me trap this bird?”

Demko was on his feet again, clearly realizing what she intended.

“Act as your ‘bonded pair’?” asked Jack.

She nodded. “That’s what I’m suggesting.”

“I’m not going to let you act as bait,” growled Demko. “This is a terrible idea.”

Jack ignored Clint and seemed to be weighing his options.

“Since we have a leak, only the people in this room can know about this. To everyone else, Nadine and I need to appear to be a real couple.”

“If he’s been following your first case, he’ll have seen in the news that we were together last year,” said Demko.

She shrugged. “We’ll make it clear that I’ve moved on.”

Demko gripped the seatback and thumped his chair. He stormed from the table, pausing in the doorway.

“Nadine. Could we have a word?” Then he continued out.

She looked from one silent staring face to the next. Tina and Juliette had her back. Coleman’s look was assessing. Skogen’s agents shifted uncomfortably. Only Jack smiled, seeming to enjoy Clint’s outburst.

“Excuse me,” she said.

She passed her security detail en route to the master bedroom. There she found Demko pacing from the