Chasing Evil (Circle of Evil) by Kylie Brant Read Free Book Online Page A

firearm is a felony. You’ll get another ten years for that charge.”
    Price jerked around to stare hard inside the open doorway. The jacket was still hanging on the knob where it’d been earlier. Cam could see the glint of the firearm in the pocket. “Dumbass,” the man muttered. Then he turned to face Cam again. “It’s not my coat. Or gun.” He shrugged again. “You’re welcome to take it. You’ll see the jacket isn’t my size. Won’t find my prints on the weapon, either. Doubt you’ll get a warrant once the judge knows that, but even if you do, you won’t find nothing in my house. I’ve stayed out of trouble for four years. I’m not going back inside.”
    “Maybe not,” Cam responded, watching the man closely. “But your brother is.”
    There wasn’t a hint of emotion in the other man’s expression. “That’s his problem.”
     
    Cam looked up from the laptop he was manning at Beckett’s desk as the sheriff re-entered the office. “Got the younger Price brother booked?”
    “He’s not going anywhere for a while.” He held up an evidence bag with the weapon they’d taken out of the pocket of the jacket found in the Price home. “Figured I’d send this with you to drop off at the lab.”
    Cam nodded. The jacket had turned out to be a least a size smaller than Gary Price could comfortably wear. Which didn’t mean the gun didn’t belong to him but Cam knew what a judge would say. Unless they found the man’s prints on the weapon, they were out of luck. “We don’t have a prayer at this point of getting a warrant, which is too damn bad because I’d like to get a look inside that machine shed.” He picked up the thick packet of paper he’d printed off and offered it to the sheriff. “Here’s some light reading on your newest guest. Unlike his brother, Jerry Price does have a record of sexual assault. A lengthy one. He’s currently on parole after serving ten years of a sixteen-year stretch for rape. His dirt-bag lawyer got him off on the kidnapping charge, even though he held the woman for three days in the basement of his house. Choked her unconscious several times, just to revive her and rape her again. A mailman heard her screams for help on his delivery and called 911. She was rescued before Price could kill her.”
    Beckett stared at him, the sheaf of papers in his hand forgotten for the moment. “So we’ve got one brother beating women half to death in order to steal their cars and another who’s a sexual deviant.”
    “Throw in a property isolated from prying eyes, and Gary Price interests me enough to keep him under surveillance for a while.”
    “So happens that I’ve got a deputy with a broken foot who isn’t up for much else.” The sheriff grinned. “Teach him to stay off ladders anyway.”
    Relief flickered. Cam knew he couldn’t spare anyone from the task force to watch the Price place long term. Not without something solid linking the brothers to his case. “Glad to hear it. You might want the name of your deputy’s doctor, though. That lump on your head probably needs looked at.”
    The other man touched his head gingerly. Managed not to wince. “I’m fine. Probably lucky the damn board was half rotted. And that my head’s as hard as it is. Maybe you should follow your own advice.” He raked Cam with a look. Smirked. “I’m guessing that suit’s a goner. Too bad. You can never go wrong with pinstripes.”
    For the first time Cam looked himself over to assess the damage. “Shit,” he muttered, taking in the multitude of small tears in the gray fabric. Even his white shirt bore a couple holes. And both sleeves of his suit coat looked like he’d been on the wrong end of a tug of war with a roving band of Chihuahuas. “This means I have to shop . You know how much I hate shopping? I should have taken that snake down harder.”
    Beckett grinned. “Don’t forget about a tetanus shot. No telling how old that barbed wire was. In the meantime, I’m going