The Dying Breath: A Forensic Mystery

feel the sensation of Justin’s mouth against hers. Yes, that was the thought she wanted. She savored the feel of his cheek pressed into her forehead, the prickles from his five-o’clock shadow against her skin, and the way he’d wound his hand through her hair before he’d said his last good-bye—yes, these were the images she could replay forever.
    Smiling, she remembered Lyric’s squeal when Cameryn delivered the news. With the phone cupped in her hand, Cameryn had whispered the story from the kitchen’s land line, aware that her father would be home at any moment but intent on sharing with her closest friend. When she’d finished Lyric had cried, “I knew it! I knew it! This is karma—I told you from the very first day you’d end up together. I told you I had a feeling! All those times you were in denial of my powers. Take that, doubter!”
    Now, Cameryn found herself chuckling quietly at the thought of her friend’s over-the-top reaction. Lyric, with her crystals, had been on to something after all.
    As her lids slid open she studied the pattern the moonlight made on her ceiling, trying to remember when things between herself and Justin had changed, realizing there hadn’t been an exact moment—it was more of an awareness of what had always been. In the same way the lake of her dream had turned into the ocean, her feelings had grown bigger, more precarious. Dangerous, the dream-Justin had said. The perfect word.
    But could it last? In the autumn she would move to Durango to go to school while he remained in Silverton. Then again, they each had a car and weekends could be worked out easily, perhaps meeting at Purgatory since it was almost in the middle. Stop! she commanded. You haven’t even graduated from high school. One kiss doesn’t mean you’re a forever couple! Get a grip, Cammie! He might change his mind tomorrow and decide she was too young after all .
    Even as she said it to herself she knew it was a lie. Whatever this was, it was real. Justin. Justin and Cameryn. As though she were moving through her rosary beads she touched that idea over and over again, allowing herself to become accustomed to its feel. Cameryn and Justin. Another smile tugged at the corners of her mouth and she sighed, ready to return to her dreams. Her eyes were just beginning to close when she heard it again—the soft two-note chime that had awakened her in the first place. It came from the computer, signaling that another e-mail had arrived. Spam, she thought, and hopped out of bed to turn it off. Sleeping would be hard enough without interruptions, no matter how small. Dancing through the cold, she dropped into her chair and moved the mouse, which caused the screen saver to vanish, revealing the biology paper she’d been working on. She maximized her in-box. Two new e-mails had arrived since she’d gone to bed. Who would send her e-mails at three A.M.?
    It took a moment for her mind to comprehend. The mouse froze in her hand.
    Each message bore the name Kyle O’Neil. Her brain, her heart, everything seemed to stop as she stared at the single word on the subject line and its reflection in the message below. She couldn’t catch her breath as she read:
    Angel
    The letter-shaped icons shimmered in pale yellow.
    The beginning of the message screamed at her in cobalt blue:
    This is my last hope for reaching you. I’m begging . . .
    Her eyes snapped to the second e-mail:
    Angel,
    I know they took your BlackBerry and you keep your computer on. Please, open this letter . . .
    She stared for a minute, or five, or ten—she had no idea, because it seemed as if time itself dissolved and there was nothing but the screen and her body.
    He had found her. Again.
    Angel
    She should go and wake her father. Even though it was the middle of the night she knew she should call the sheriff. Justin would want to be the first person she turned to—yes, he should be the one. But she found she couldn’t move. Cold air wrapped up her legs and slithered up her arm like a snake as she stared, trying to push down the terror that welled inside. The words branded her soul. Closing her eyes, she hoped for a moment that this was part of the dream, but when she looked at the screen they were still there. The words had not moved.
    Angel
    And then something inside burst through the frozen dam. Her blood rocketed as she read the word again and again. Angel. How dare he call her that! This inhuman machine who would kill without mercy, who was