The Collie Murders: A Serial Killer Crime Thriller by Jared Paul Read Free Book Online Page A

friend to either Travis or Jon. It was too bad Louis’ last name was Kale instead of Harper.
                 
    “I don’t know. I’m just drawing up blanks wherever this is concerned. Where do we look when there’s nothing to point us in the direction we need to go?”
                 
    The feel of the ribbed padding of the steering wheel as he squeezed it in his hands made him feel frustrated. Louis had made a good point, a point that he’d already put to himself a hundred times. Jon replied, “There is a lead at the hardware store across the street from the grocery store. I think it’s safe to assume that all three of these murders are related.”
                 
    “How do you figure that?”
                 
    Jon scoffed. “Louis, this is Collie. When was the last time someone was killed in this town?” Jon saw Louis shrugging and he added, “Precisely.”
                 
    A hand slapped itself against the glass of the driver’s side window. It was slender and manicured, the nails colored a cute pink. Just as Jon registered the hand, it lifted and slapped again.
                 
    Instead of saying anything through the closed window, since at least for today, nothing was going to be that surprising, Jon pressed the button on the door rest to slide the glass into the door. Jon could see the body of a girl, a rather beautiful girl peering down at him with tear-blazed determined amber brown eyes.
                 
    “May I help you?” Jon was nothing if not curious.
                 
    “Sheriff Harper?”
                 
    Jon stuck his elbow on his door and lifted an eyebrow. “The one and only. What do you want?”
                 
    “My name is Abigail Bradley and I believe you have my boyfriend in custody.”
                 
    Jon sighed. This was just not his day. He couldn’t remember all the times he’d had to turn girls down because Travis hadn’t liked to hurt the feelings of women. He’d probably told the girl he was going to see her when he was off duty and she was irritated that he was being held up. The girl looked the part of the stressed-out mall rat whose whole life probably revolved around which of her shoes matched with which purse.
                 
    “Look doll, I’m sure he rocked your world, bu t ”
                 
    “ Excuse me?”
                 
    Jon felt a hand on his left shoulder and then he was being pushed back into his seat so that Louis could lean around him and get a look at the girl at the window. He grinned when their eyes met.
                 
    “You the girl he’s been telling me about, the one who’s got him on the hook for good?” Louis waited for the girl to nod, and then he directed his eyes to Jon.
                 
    “I think you might want to listen to her. She’s Mayor Bradley’s daughter.”
                 
    Jon waved his hand at the woman to back away from his window, gave a glance at Louis and then hoisted himself out of the cruiser. Just what had been going on underneath his nose was anyone’s guess. He never would have expected that Travis would keep a girl longer than an evenin g his version of a relationship was allergic to the sunrise.
                 
    Jon sighed as he let his body rest against the cruiser. “All right, spill.”
                 
    Abigail huffed, as if she were preparing for an Olympic foot stamping event for spoiled brats, and she said, “He couldn’t have killed anyone because he spends all his off duty time with me and he hasn’t been with another girl except for me for the last three months.”
                 
    Jon felt his brows lifting off his eyes in surprise. Three months? Jon frowned. “If he’s been dating you for that long, then how is it that this is the first time I’m meeting