Past Will Haunt by Morgan Kelley Read Free Book Online Page A

run the FBI one day. If he was asking you a question, it wasn’t for your opinion. It was because he had a reason behind it. This meeting screamed of ulterior motives.
    She was a newbie, but she wasn’t an idiot.
    “It was bad,” Elizabeth stated, “but you knew it would be, didn't you?”
    He steepled his fingers as he studied them. While he knew Elizabeth would be okay with this case, he was worried about Livy. It wasn’t that she wasn’t capable because she and Elizabeth scored at the top of their class tied for first. It was because she was a redhead. After he got back to the office, telling the director who was handling it, he’d been given the order.
    Livy was perfect for the job.
    “We have a serial killer.”
    Elizabeth crossed her legs and pulled the riotous mass of black curly hair to the top of her head with a hair tie. “We figured, since that’s the criminals we chase. Why are you being so guarded? We have a history.”
    He glanced over at Livy with an embarrassed look on his face. He was worried what she thought by Elizabeth’s comment.
    Curious.
    Elizabeth grinned. Yeah, this man was smitten. He was flushing red as he hoped Livy didn't get the wrong idea.
    “What I’m about to dump on you is pretty heavy shit,” he said, leaning back in his seat to control the thumping of his heart. His office smelled like jasmine, and he knew from stakeouts that it wasn’t Elizabeth. She was spicier in the fragrance department.
    “What is it, boss?” Livy asked.
    “Here.” Gabe slid the dossier across the table to them. He was well known for his ability to pull files together on the fly. It was one of his skills, and he’d saved many an agent’s ass in the field.
    Elizabeth and Livy leaned over it as they flipped through the pages. On the first one, there was a bunch of information about Boston.
    At first, Elizabeth didn't get it.
    Then, as she continued reading, she saw what he wanted them to see. It was now crystal clear.
    “Shit! We have a serial killer who is city hopping. This asshole started in Boston and turned up on our doorstep, didn't he?” she asked.
    He nodded.
    Great!
    They were going to be cleaning up someone else’s mess. That was going to be worse than the actual case. The two agents in Boston let him slip away.
    “He started in Boston, and we had two local agents working it. The trail went cold, and then he turned up here. To our knowledge, this is his first kill in our city.”
    “How do we know it’s the same guy?” Livy asked. “Could it be a copycat?” She knew that serial killers didn't often hunt far from their comfort zone. It closed off a safe place to hide if the heat was put on them.
    He liked when his agents asked questions. It showed they were all on the same page.
    “Flip through the pages and you tell me what you think,” Gabe stated. One of the things he liked about them was that they didn't take long to figure things out.
    They were newbies, but they were his best chance at closing this case.
    That’s why he felt guilty.
    Elizabeth would be the brains, and Livy…she was the bait. He hated that he was going to risk her, but he’d be there to watch her back. When the director demanded they use these two as their best chance at solving it, he wasn’t kidding. This case was at the top of every agent’s priority list.
    If they failed, heads were going to roll.
    He knew it.
    The agents knew it.
    For Gabe to risk two women, there had to be no other choice. His back was to the wall. At that moment, he had to hope he would be able to cover their backs.
    As they checked out the pages in the dossier, Elizabeth quickly put it all together. She saw the one thing that would prove that this maniac was the same one.
    “There’s one way,” Gabe stated.
    “The only way we’re going to know if it’s him is when Chris does the autopsy. The killer leaves something behind.”
    Livy read where Elizabeth pointed. She’d missed it. The whole notation was one line