The Profiler by Chris Taylor Read Free Book Online Page B

Coop. Don’t be like that. How could you be out of sorts with the sun barely two hours above the horizon? It’s not like you to come to work in a bad mood.”
    She threw her hands in the air, her frustration evident. “Who knows? Maybe it has something to do with the unsolved cases piling up on my desk. Or the fact that Ben’s seen it necessary to bring in outsiders before we’ve even had a chance to put together something ourselves.” Collapsing back into her chair, she blew her breath out in an effort to relieve the tension that had her wound as tight as a guitar string. She looked up as Ben strode in.
    “Where’s Clayton?” His eyes narrowed on her face. “You did pick him up, didn’t you?”
    She only just managed to suppress a roll of her eyes. “Of course. I promised you I’d show him the utmost respect, and I am.”
    “So, where is he?”
    “He’s at the morgue. He wants to talk to Samantha. Obviously, Luke and I can’t be trusted to get it right.” She checked her watch. “I’m supposed to be picking him up shortly.”
    “Don’t sound so enthusiastic, Detective.” He swung around to face Luke. “How’d you do with the TV stations? Any chance of keeping the story alive for a bit longer?”
    Luke took another sip out of his coffee mug, his expression glum. “It’s a bit of a battle, Ben. The story broke two weeks ago.” He shrugged. “With no fresh leads and that big drug bust down at Kings Cross a couple of nights ago, they’re not that interested.”
    He set his mug down on Ellie’s desk. She frowned at the wet puddle it formed amongst her mountain of paperwork. Luke continued, oblivious.
    “I did manage to get the papers to run it one more time. They’re going to focus on the earrings. It’ll come out this afternoon. Let’s hope someone recognizes them. At least then we’ll have something to go on.”
    Ben’s attention returned to Ellie. “How about the Ward girl? Anything new?”
    She squirmed under his regard. “No, sir. Not yet, anyway. We tracked down Josie Ward’s supervisor. He’s been off sick the last couple of weeks. He showed us a copy of the security tape from her last shift. Unfortunately, there’s not much to see once she leaves the store. She heads off in the direction of the taxi stand with Drew McNeill and after that, there’s nothing.”
    “Keep me posted, won’t you? Those poor families must be going out of their minds.”
    Ellie held her breath as he turned abruptly and headed toward his office. With a sigh, she tilted her head up to meet Luke’s somber gaze.
    “I can’t imagine what he’s going through.”
    She suppressed a shiver. “Yeah. There but for the grace of God.”
    “You got any kids, Coop?”
    The question hit her without warning, as if she’d been whacked in the stomach with a baseball. Visions of Jamie flooded her mind, cutting short her air supply. She sucked in her breath and felt the blood drain from her face.
    “Cooper, are you all right? Christ, you look awful.”
    Luke bent over her, his eyes full of concern. Ellie struggled to regain her composure. “I’m fine. I’m fine. I just… You just…” She shook her head. “Forget about it, Baxter. I’m fine. I might just step outside for a bit and clear my head.” Her lips twisted. “I’ll go and pick up the Fed.”
    She collected her coat and scarf from the back of her chair and headed toward the locker room to retrieve her handbag. She was almost outside the door when Ben called out to her.
    “Ellie, I’ve just received another call from Jim Whitton.”
    She frowned, searching her memory and coming up blank.
    “The man I told you about a couple of weeks ago. His chest freezer’s gone missing. Actually, I should say he’s the latest victim. There have been a couple of earlier freezer thefts reported, haven’t there?”
    “Yes,” she replied, relieved to have made the connection at last. “I’m still chasing up a few leads.” Tying her red woollen scarf around