Had a Great Fall (An Olivia Thompson Mystery) by Jullian Scott Read Free Book Online Page B

straight at Olivia.
    She moved closer to the glass, straining to see his face. He was wearing a black raincoat with the hood pulled up, making it impossible for her to see anything. Even though she couldn’t see his eyes, she was certain that they were locked onto hers.
    Olivia probably should’ve been afraid, but she wasn’t. She was angry. She was tired of other people controlling her life by attempting to dominate her. Olivia was ready to take back her life. She slammed her laptop shut and shoved it into her bag. Less than a minute after seeing the figure, she was running through the rain in that direction. Her feet kicked up more water and she was drenched by the time she got to the spot.
    Whomever she had seen from the window was long gone. Olivia was so mad that she wanted to punch something. That was when she noticed the sign. It was destiny. She hurried through the frosted glass door.
    “Hi,” she said to a large man standing behind a counter. “I would really like to hit something.”
    “You’ve come to the right place,” he said with a laugh. “I just need you to sign some paperwork, and then I’ll set you up with some gloves.”
    Ten minutes later, Olivia was taking her first ever boxing lesson. Each punch that she landed on the bag was a step toward the closure that she so desperately needed. She had to take it easy because her side was still sore, but by the time she left the boxing gym, she felt strong again.
     

CHAPTER SEVEN
    This crime scene was nothing like the previous one. Madison Lee was fully clothed, her body relatively injury free. Instead of strangulation, Madison had died presumably from a severe head injury.
    “This is a completely different type of kill,” Vince said, circling the body.
    Nate had knelt close, trying to see if this body had any of the same characteristics as the first victim. Her face was unharmed, her teeth intact. Her fingers hadn’t been burned. He couldn’t be sure about the sexual assault until a full exam was done, but Nate was fairly sure that this death hadn’t been sexually motivated.
    “It almost looks like a second killer is responsible,” he said out loud, thinking about Olivia’s suggestion that the killer may not be acting alone. “Or it’s possible she made him angry and he snapped, killing her before he could enact his usual torture.”
    Vince looked around. “This is a much different dumping ground.”
    The body had been found in a condo building that was under construction, not outside like the last one.
    “We got lucky. With the storm today, any possible evidence would’ve been washed away if he left this one outside.” Nate knew that it was cold to talk about them as bodies rather than as people, but it was easier for him to do his job if he didn’t personalize them.
    “Leo’s team is here to collect the body,” Vince said, noticing them through the hole in the wall that would eventually become a window.
    “At least we don’t need him to ID this one for us.” Nate paused and looked at the body one last time. “We found Madison Lee.”
    “We didn’t find her,” Vince corrected him. “She found us.”
    Nate nodded. “Since you’ve got such a good handle on this, I’m going to let you be the one to tell Barnes.”
    “I thought you two were besties.” Vince teased. He enjoyed being the more enigmatic of the two partners. Where Nate had a lot of respect at the station, Vince had a lot of friends.
    “Shut up.” Nate walked away, pausing just a second before stepping into the pouring rain. He instantly became drenched.
    His clothes were still damp hours later as he and Vince hunkered at their desks, desperately searching for something that connected the victims to each other or the killer. Nate read and reread his notes until his vision started to blur.
    “Hey, man.” Vince threw a pen at him that landed in his lap. “Your phone is ringing.”
    Nate looked up, startled. Sure enough, Olivia was calling.
    “Hey, Liv.” He