Maximum Guilt (Hidden Guilt Book 2) by Terry Keys Read Free Book Online Page B

Multiple rape cases. A few he did some short time for; a few he pleaded out. Looks like he worked as a fisherman most his life. Graduated from high school in ’91, no siblings. There’s more, but I’m not really sure what you’re looking for.”
    “Told you!” De Luca said.
    De Luca had been right; our guy was indeed a sex offender.
    “What? Who’s that?” Fingers said.
    I shook my head. “She’s with me. Don’t worry. Thanks Fingers. You told me exactly what I needed to hear.”
    “What the hell did I tell you, tough guy?” De Luca said as I disconnected from Fingers. “So she’s targeting sex offenders. Probably feels like she’s doing the world a favor. Hell, if I wasn’t a cop, I’d probably do the same thing. Or something Catwoman-like, ya know?”
    I laughed. “No, I don’t know exactly. So, cop or vigilante—those were you two options, eh?”
    “Better than joining my family in the mob, right?”
    “Too soon to tell if she’s targeting anyone, but I doubt this was random. And yeah, I guess Catwoman would be better than mobbing since we’re dealing in hypotheticals.”
    “You going to tell me what you did to piss this girl off?”
    There was a long silence between us. I didn’t like sharing the story. Most people would hear it and understand why I made the choice I did. Others, including some on the force, would demonize. I wasn’t sure which side of the fence De Luca would be on.
    I frowned. “I wasn’t always a detective. There was a time when I was a stupid eighteen-year-old kid who didn’t know his head from his ass.”
    “Yeah, we all had lives prior to joining the force. Just spit it out already.”
    I told her everything—every ugly detail. After I finished, De Luca just sat there with a blank look on her face. I wasn’t sure how to read her reaction.
    “So basically Stacy thinks you’re a monster who set her up to be gangbanged by the entire football team?”
    “Pretty much. But we were both fooled. The upperclassmen used us so they could get a lay. I wish eighteen-year-old me would have had the balls to stand up to them. It’s not something I’m proud of.”
    “Don’t beat yourself up. Sounds like a pretty stupid hazing gone wrong. Ain’t the first, won’t be the last. Most eighteen-year-olds in your position would have done exactly what you did—stand there and watch, even if it was cowardly.”
    “Well thank you, Detective Big Balls , but it doesn’t really help any of us right now.”
    “I do have one question though: if all of this was as innocent on your part as you make it seem, why didn’t you just come clean with her?”
    “Two reasons. One, the school lawyered us up and told us not to talk to anyone about it. Secondly, she left school. Guess she didn’t want to deal with it. I did look for her—half-assed looked, anyway.”
    With that out of the way, we could move on. I knew she had to ask, had to know, and I was okay with that. I was glad to get it off my chest.
     
     
     
     
     
     
    Chapter 9
     
    We knew Stacy was targeting sex offenders, but there were literally thousands in Louisiana. Same for most other states, for that matter. If I planned on catching her, I’d need more information, maybe a pattern of some sort. If she was smart I wouldn’t get one.
    De Luca and I weren’t far from Sulphur now, only about thirty minutes out. Mentally I was already hitting fatigue, and I knew we were just getting started. The thought of her having Karen and knowing what she’d done to those other kids sent shivers down my spine. My entire career I’d done things as by-the-book as possible. At least I’d tried. There were a few times when I’d allowed my temper to get the best of me, but like a fine wine, I’d gotten better with age.
    “So how do we get in front of her? What made her pick this guy out? Place like this, he couldn’t have been the only perv she found,” De Luca said.
    “I don’t know. Maybe we’ll get lucky. Sadly, she might have