Serial Date: A Leine Basso Thriller by D.V. Berkom Read Free Book Online Page A

bed. The more he got to know her, the more he wanted.
    He pulled out his phone, punched in her number, and got voicemail. He hung up and put the cell back in his pocket. Then he made himself go over the case one more time.
    All the evidence pointed to Graber. His DNA was on the towel with the victim's blood. He had one of the victim's earrings in his possession, a perfect match with the one found on the victim's remaining ear. He could have been in the building at the time of Amanda's death—he had no alibi other than he'd been at home, asleep. He knew his way around power tools and was a gym rat. He'd worked in the food industry and wouldn't eat a chicken if it was the last piece of food on the planet, and had said as much in the interview. That fit perfectly with the rambling letter the killer wrote. Several of the contestants testified that Graber had hung out with Amanda, although none could corroborate their relationship.
    Putnam floated the possibility Amanda rejected Graber and Graber killed her in a fit of anger. But why the letter? He didn't strike Jensen as the manifesto-writing type.
    Jensen didn't feel it. Graber didn't have a violent record and he'd seemed genuinely devastated by her death. Yes, he had the means and the opportunity, but where was the motive? Hitting on her and getting rejected was too weak, in Jensen's opinion. If Graber was convicted, the DA would seek the death penalty. Jensen couldn't let a man die for a murder he didn't commit.
    Not again.
    There was also another small problem.
    The lab never received the forensic evidence taken from the victim's apartment. The van was robbed while the driver was getting himself a sandwich and all evidence in the vehicle had been stolen. Jensen went back with a team to work the apartment again, but everything had been wiped clean. Why would Graber wipe down the vic's apartment after he confessed to having an intimate relationship with her? Two other detectives who watched the second interview through the one-way window at the station had sided with Putnam, indicating they thought Graber's guilt was a slam dunk.
    Jensen couldn't shake the feeling they were wrong.
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     

 
     
    Chapter 9
     
     
    “ Kanesha quit.” Gene Dorfenberger shifted in his chair. He hated bringing bad news. Peter looked up from the folder on his desk.
    “What do you mean, she quit? She signed a contract.”
    “Yeah, I know. She says her lawyer can get her out of it because the environment is what you'd call unsafe.”
    “What's unsafe? We hired more security, the cops caught the guy who did Mandy. Everything's back to normal.” Peter tossed the folder aside. “Don't you have a niece working here?”
    Gene's expression changed from apologetic to wary. “Yeah. Why?”
    “She's pretty, right?”
    Gene nodded.
    “Put her in as a replacement.”
    “Uh, I don't think she's ready for that. She's pretty young, you know?”
    “What is she, eighteen? Nineteen?”
    “Young, as in maturity-wise.”
    Peter snorted. “She's gotta grow up sometime. Might as well be now.”
    Gene's stomach did a somersault. Ella wasn't going to like this. She'd warned him to take care of her baby, or she'd make his life more miserable than it already was.
    “Her mother—”
    “Fuck her mother. She's an adult. She can decide.” Peter reached for the phone and pressed the intercom. “Paula? Get me Gene Dorfenberger's niece—” he glanced at Gene.
    “Brenda Rawls.”
    “Brenda Rawls. Have her come to my office as soon as you find her.” Peter leaned back in his chair, a smile on his face. Gene could swear he enjoyed making him squirm.
    Bastard.
    A few minutes later, Brenda walked in. Gene couldn't help but feel pride that someone from his family could produce such a classic beauty. And, she hadn't become what most of the female