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that crossed their desks, all the calls from desperate family members. He traced the edges of her phone with the pads of his fingers. Which family members would claim this one?
    “Why did he send that to me?” Elise buried her face in her hands. “I’ll never be able to get that image out of my head.”
    “He’s a sadist.” And somehow he’d dialed into him. Maybe the killer knew about his past, maybe he didn’t, but now they were tied together. That message on the mirror tied them together.
    “Ms. Duran, I’m all done with the locks on the front door.” The locksmith poked his head around the front door. If he’d heard any of their conversation, he gave no sign.
    Elise tried the locks and then settled the bill with him, but it was obvious her mind remained on that picture on her phone.
    “He’s a serial killer, isn’t he? He’s a serial killer you don’t know about yet. He’s just getting started and he wants to play some sick game with you...and now me.”
    It was a game he knew too well. He gestured around the small house. “Are you going to be okay here? I have to get to the station, turn in your phone and purse.”
    She glanced over her shoulder toward the hallway. “I have to take a shower.”
    “Do you want me to wait here? When you’re done, I can take you to the station with me and you can look through some mug shots.”
    “Would you do that?” She was already moving toward the back rooms. “I won’t be long.”
    He waved a hand. “Take your time. I’m going to call in and report this picture. Maybe they can get a trace started when I give them your phone number.”
    She ducked into her bedroom and then darted across the hall to the bathroom, clutching a bundle of clothes to her chest.
    Sean let out a long breath and collapsed onto Elise’s colorful couch. What the hell was going on? Why did the guy who abducted Elise share a similar tattoo with him? Why did he write a message to him on Elise’s mirror? This had to be a coincidence.
    Serial killers had toyed with homicide detectives way before his father’s time, and they’d continue to do so long after Sean’s career. When he saw the message, Dan Jacoby hadn’t jumped to any conclusions and Dan definitely knew the story of his past.
    He was probably overreacting. That’s what his brothers would tell him, but as the eldest the burden had weighed most heavily on him. Hell, Judd could barely even remember the old man, couldn’t remember the life they’d had before...before everything had been sucked into the bay by a strong, merciless current.
    He plowed his fingers through his hair and shifted to the end of the couch. The soft cushions made it tough to sit up straight, so he gave up and slouched against the back of the couch while he made his call.
    When he heard the water in the shower shut off, he struggled off the couch and began to pace the small room.
    Elise emerged from the bathroom on a cloud of fragrant steam. She’d pulled her blond hair into a ponytail and had replaced her ridiculously small dress with a pair of tight jeans and a beige cable sweater, giving her a blond-on-blond look that made her jaw-droppingly beautiful. He kept his jaw in place.
    “Do you still think it’s a good idea to stay here on your own?”
    “Probably not. I’m going to have to change my cell phone number when I get that new phone.” She slid a knotted scarf from the back of a chair. “I don’t want any more surprises from this guy.”
    She headed to the door leading to the garage, and Sean stopped. “You’re not coming with me?”
    “I think it’s easier for me to take my car, so I don’t have to bother you for a ride back here.”
    “It’s no bother.” Bother? He didn’t want to let Elise out of his sight.
    She slid her new key in and out of the dead bolt. “I decided I’m going to call my friend Courtney to see if I can crash at her place for a few days. If it’s okay with her, I’m going to head over there this