AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“You know that’s mere coincidence, nothing more, right?”He gave her shoulder a light squeeze.
“My cop brain knows that,” she replied, but there was no reassuring smile to accompany her words.“But tell that to my small, but very vocal, superstitious side.”This didn’t sound like the Lacey he knew.She rarely doubted herself and would never think to let coincidences or random facts rattle her.
Linc called over, “All secure, Detective.”His gaze flickered between Lacey and Nico as he rolled up the rest of the police tape.
“Thanks.Can you guard the body until forensics get here, please?”Police procedure; a body was never left alone until it was taken away by the forensic pathologist.That could mean a matter of a few hours or sometimes even days, depending on the state of the body or how much ground there was to cover and evidence to collect.
“Sure.”Linc packed the tape into the trunk of the police car and grabbed his police hat from the back seat before he took his place at the edge of the road.The sun was searing, even through the odd patches of shade cast by the trees along the roadside.But Linc bore it with stoicism, standing with hands behind his back, legs akimbo, tall, broad-shouldered and indefatigable.
“Walk with me,” he suggested to Lacey, as much to keep her close as to take her mind off all those dark places it seemed to want to go.“I know you’ve already done a preliminary sweep of the area, but I’d like to take a closer look, see if we can find any clues as to how the girl died, where she died, and how the killer got in and out of the area.”
“Right,” Lacey agreed.But to Nico’s way of thinking, she agreed too readily, not once questioning Nico’s motives.Something was going on with her.
They walked in the middle of the road following Lacey’s earlier footprints, careful not to disturb anything, shoulder to shoulder, neither of them talking.It was just nice to feel her presence, know that she was safe beside him for the next little while.But they found nothing.Not a single footprint that didn’t belong to a police officer.Not a single tire track.It was as if the body had been spirited here and the killer had left without a trace.If it hadn’t been for the screams the old farmer had heard, the girl might’ve gone unnoticed for a long time.
“Where does this road lead to?”he asked, not taking his gaze from his surroundings.“Nowhere,” she replied.“Pacca said the council shut it off years ago.At least at the city end.Not sure about the other end.”They both swiveled in unison and stared back in the direction they’d come.All the police vehicles had accessed the site through Pacca’s property, and no one had yet traveled the length of the track.“I walked a little way along in that direction.”She pointed toward where the road disappeared into a shimmering heat haze.“No tire tracks I could see.”
“So how do we explain the screams the farmer heard?And the flashing lights?”he asked, posing the question as much for himself as to her.“If he killed her here, then there should be some sign, some clue.No one can scrub an outdoor crime scene of every single clue.”That might be true for an inside crime scene, but not out here.A person was bound to leave tracks in the dirt, broken grass, snapped twigs, all signs of a struggle.But there was nothing that he could see.
“Shadbolt’s probably going to call in extra help on this one,” Nico said as they turned to make their way back to where Linc stood like a statue in the distance, on guard.During the double murder case before Christmas, Shadbolt had called in two extra detectives from Launceston, Pederson and Saito, to lend a hand with the high-profile case.If his hunch was correct, this was going to be an even bigger shit-show than the one previous.
“Why?”Lacey shot him a sharp look, and he grimaced.But she needed to know.
Nico drew in a deep breath.“Similarities with the suspected serial killer MO.”He didn’t have to elaborate, he could see the exact second comprehension hit Lacey as her fists clenched by her side and she closed her eyes for a brief second.
“I was afraid of that,” she replied at last.
“So was I.”It was the last thing he wanted, but everything about the dead woman screamed that this was the same killer who’d come to their attention less than a year ago.A spate of murders, all young women who worked in the sex industry, which started around nine months ago.Three women so far, cause of death had been strangulation.Two of the murders had taken place in Hobart, then there’d been a lull in activity until a third death had been reported over in Zeehan on the northwest coast, unsettlingly close to Burnie, six months ago.This was around the same time as Rania’s death, and for a while they’d suspected she might’ve been one of his victims.But the MO didn’t fit, and they’d disregarded a connection fairly quickly.
A profiler had come up with an outline of the suspected killer.Male, most likely a drifter.These were possibly not his first murders, as he seemed experienced with killing, and the crime scenes were always left spotless—the killer was careful not to leave anything behind that might give him away, one sure connection to this crime scene.The profiler also thought perhaps the suspect had a military or religious background, because when the bodies were found, they were laid out neatly on their backs, hands folded onto their chests above their hearts.Exactly the same as this poor girl Lacey and Linc had found today.
* * *
Nico smothered a yawn and sat upright.It’d been after one am when he’d crawled into bed last night, but he hardly felt like he’d got any sleep.He’d spent hours interviewing people yesterday afternoon, then more long hours back at the station collating the information and reading reports until his eyes were red rimmed, and then taking his findings to Shadbolt.The chief inspector had agreed with his preliminary theory that this could well be the work of the elusive serial killer and had immediately requested more manpower as Nico suspected he would.Nico would be lead on the case, the same as last time, but they’d need many more feet on the ground and minds on the case if they hoped to solve this one quickly.
Lacey had been fast asleep when he’d arrived home, and he hadn’t had the heart to wake her.But when he’d opened his eyes this morning, she was already gone from their bed, which was unusual, especially given that her shift started at midday today and she often liked to lie in if she could.Smudge too, was gone from his cozy bed on the floor.
Dragging himself up wearily, his feet landed on the cool wooden floorboards as he sat on the edge of the bed, orienting himself into the new day.With yet another murder to solve, sometimes he wondered what he saw in this detective job; all the long hours and misery he often endured over another wasted life.The dead girl remained unidentified; there’d been nothing on her body or in the vicinity of the crime scene to help determine her name or where she was from.It was frustrating to say the least.
Nico dragged a T-shirt over his head and padded into the kitchen, wondering where Lacey had got to.There was a fresh pot of coffee made, and with a sigh of relief, he poured himself a mug.As he lifted it to his lips, he caught sight of Lacey outside on the back lawn over near the garage.She was practicing her judo moves.He caught a flash of movement behind her and saw Smudge nosing through the long grass in the orchard at the rear of the property.
His gaze returned to Lacey, as if drawn by a gravitational pull.Graceful and long-limbed, flowing from one stance to the next, she was beautiful.Dressed in skintight yoga pants and a small crop top, her outfit showed off her athletic body to the max, and he felt his cock stir at the sight of her because he knew exactly what it felt like to run a hand down those muscular thighs.Knew exactly how to touch her so that she sighed and urged him for more.
But watching her early morning workout made him wonder.Her mood had been…odd yesterday at the crime scene.He’d been distracted by the newest murder, and so had she, but there was something else going on in her head that he just couldn’t fathom.He’d become pretty good at reading Lacey’s thoughts and state of mind.But yesterday, she’d been a closed book.It was a little peculiar, considering the amazing weekend they’d just spent together which’d left him feeling more connected to her than ever.Now it was almost as if an invisible wall had gone up in her mind.But why?He didn’t think he’d done anything wrong.Everything had been fine between them over the last two days.
Mug of coffee in hand, he opened the door and trod quietly down the back stairs, not wanting to disturb her.The morning air was cool against his bare legs, but the dew on the grass was already burning off and he knew it’d be another warm day—by Tasmanian standards.
She had her back to him as he stepped barefoot across the grass and he watched her unabashedly, drinking in every graceful movement.He must’ve made some sound, however, because she turned suddenly, already in a fighting stance, eyes cold as ice.Deadly and ready to defend herself.It shocked him how sharp and dangerous she looked.But just as quickly, the woman with the dangerous edge disappeared behind a self-deprecating smile.
“You scared me,” she said, lowering her hands and opening her palms.
“You didn’t look scared,” he countered.“You looked…powerful.”And he was reminded of that night when he’d first encountered Lacey; she’d knocked him to the ground in one swift move when he’d been unwise enough to approach her unannounced.So, of course he knew how dangerous she could be.But this little lesson was good; it helped him remember not to overstep, and to stop worrying about the vague threat Serge presented; she was indeed capable of taking care of herself.
“Really?”she asked, lowering her gaze modestly.
“Yes, really,” he replied, kissing her on the cheek, then stepping back so she could continue her practice.Smudge came bounding across to say good morning, his cheerful antics making them both smile.
Instead of going back to her judo, however, Lacey came and stood next to Nico, bare feet buried in the damp grass, her gaze thrown out over the vista of the early morning sun glinting off the ocean in the distance.He could feel her mood change, a strange sort of tension descending over them.
