Gone in a Flash by Lynette Eason Read Free Book Online Page A

except for one thing. They’d both had a baby.
    If this third dead girl showed evidence of giving birth, Connor would know without a doubt they had a serial killer on their hands. He hoped he was wrong.
    Was pretty sure he wasn’t.
    It was why he and Andrew had been called in on this case. Sheriff Chesterfield usually hesitated about calling in outside help, but was professional enough to admit he needed their help and resources.
    Dead girls and terrified parents. Not a pretty combination. Add gullible kids who thought bad things only happened to other people, and he had a potentially explosive situation on his hands. The attorney general’s office and the governor demanded answers he didn’t have, the media wouldn’t let it go, and the mayor had resorted to threats.
    Unfortunately, Connor had no idea what to tell them.
    And very little to show. A fiber here, a hair there, but nothing that matched up with anything or anyone in the criminal database. Witnesses whose stories conflicted left them with nothing solid. And even the similarities in the witnesses’ stories hadn’t panned out. The killer was so good it was terrifying.
    And then there was Jenna.
    Connor’s angry sixteen-year-old daughter defied him at every opportunity. When her mother died four years ago in a car wreck, it turned his little family’s world upside down—and dropped him and his daughter into the midst of a battle of the wills.
    Flashing lights and a yellow tape barrier ahead demanded his attention. Right now, he had another murder to solve—and at least three more missing girls to find.
    Connor wheeled to a stop and hopped out of the vehicle. Even in the wee hours of the morning, a small crowd had formed to gawk at the sight of a crime scene. Quiet murmurs and speculation filled the air as yellow crime scene tape flapped in the occasional gust.
    He pushed his way through and flashed his badge to the uniformed officer on the other side of the tape. “Detective Connor Wolfe.”
    The man handed Connor a paper suit and booties for Connor to don in order to protect the crime scene, then wrote Connor’s name, badge number, and time of arrival down in the logbook. Connor ducked under and paused for a moment to get a feel for the place. A light breeze held the smells from the various fast-food restaurants, cigarette smoke—and the unmistakable odor of a dead body.
    Crime scene investigators worked the area. Serena Hopkins, the medical examiner, hunched awkwardly over the side of the dumpster. She looked up and saluted Connor when he approached, then went back to her scrutiny of the body that lay very near the top. She spoke with her back to him. “Hey there, Connor. Good thing she was discovered when she was. The truck comes first thing in the morning to empty this particular bin. I’ll be finished in a minute and you can come up and have a look.”
    “Thanks, Serena.” He shook his head as he did every time he saw the woman in action. Tall, willowy, with straight as a stick, raven-colored hair and ice blue eyes, she was runway model perfect—with a mind so quick Connor finally quit trying to match wits with her.
    Never in a million years would he have picked this job for her, but after getting to know her and working with her over the past year, he couldn’t see her doing anything else.
    Connor walked closer. The stench in the air grew stronger.
    Jake Hollister, thirty-five years old with gray-streaked blond hair, efficiently led the crime scene unit. He knelt easily, examining the asphalt about six feet away from the dumpster. Connor had worked with him in the past. From their first case together, he’d quickly grown to respect and appreciate Jake as a professional who took his job seriously. They often met at the gym for a game of one-on-one basketball.
    Connor stuffed his hands in the front pockets of his jeans. “Hey, Jake. Is it Leslie Sanders?”
    Jake looked up and nodded, his eyes shadowed. “Yep.”
    “Found anything in common