Twisted by Laura Griffin Read Free Book Online Page A

hard to keep people out, so yeah. Think we got everything, though. I talked to one of our CSIs. They spent a lot of time here.”
    Mark crouched beside the freshly turned earth, where crime-scene investigators had removed soil and debris. It had been carted off to the state crime lab with the other evidence, in the hopes that some of the blood might belong to the perpetrator and not just the victim. Of course, given the backlog at the lab, it was unlikely they’d see those test results anytime soon.
    Mark stood up and glanced around. There wasn’t much to look at, and she suddenly felt silly for bringing him all the way out here to view a patch of dirt.
    “Anyway,” she said, “thought you’d want to see it.”
    He made a 360-degree survey of the surrounding blackness.
    “He chose this place,” she said, “so I would think it reveals something about him. I mean, I’m no profiler, but that seems pretty obvious.”
    “You’re right. Turn off that light, would you?”
    She did. Darkness enveloped them. She stood silently beside him and wondered what thoughts were goingthrough that mind of his. Everything surrounding them was quiet except for a faint gurgle of water.
    “That’s Sage Creek,” she whispered. She wasn’t sure why she felt compelled to whisper. Maybe because this place felt hallowed in some way. A woman’s life had ended here.
    An owl hooted in the distance. Allison shivered.
    “I can’t imagine her fear,” she said quietly. “Being kidnapped and dragged out here, probably knowing what he had in mind, or at least an idea of it.”
    “Fear is a good thing.”
    She glanced in the direction of his voice, but it was too dark to see him.
    “If more people listened to their fear, we’d have far fewer crime victims.”
    “You’re not blaming the victim, are you?” She couldn’t keep the disdain out of her tone. “For all we know, he pulled a gun on her.”
    “I’m not blaming anyone but the person who killed her. I think—”
    “Shh.” Allison touched his arm. “You hear that?”
    Snick.
    She whirled around. Footsteps in the distance. She switched on the flashlight and took off in that direction, plowing through vines and branches toward the trail.
    Leaves rustling. Muffled words. A grunt. Allison rushed toward the sounds. Her toe snagged on something, but she caught herself on a tree. Footsteps crunched. Bushes snapped. Her flashlight beam bounced over the path as she pursued the noises, which were getting farther and farther away.
    Something lashed her cheek.
    “Ouch!” She staggered backward and bumped into a hard body.
    “Easy.”
    Mark’s hand curled around her arm. She tried to pull away, but his grip tightened.
    “Let go! They’re getting away!”
    “They’re already gone.”
    Squeaking metal. Slamming doors. An engine roared to life and she heard the squeal of tires on asphalt.
    Mark’s hand dropped away. She stood there, clutching her cheek and brimming with frustration as the noise faded into the night.
    “Chances are it was just kids, right? I mean, what are the odds it was him returning to the crime scene?”
    Mark glanced at Allison in his passenger seat. She was still hyped up from the chase.
    “Happens more than you might think,” he said. “Serial killers frequently return to the scene to relive the moment, re-experience the thrill. But in this case, I’d say you’re right—it wasn’t him.”
    Allison flipped down the vanity mirror and craned her neck to see her cut. It was still bleeding. She’d found some hand sanitizer and started dabbing it on her face with a woolen glove.
    “I’m guessing it was bored teens. Although it would be nice to know.” She sent him a glare. “I can’t believe you stopped me from going after them.”
    “A tree stopped you from going after them. Want me to pull into a pharmacy?”
    “No.” She wiped the blood off her face. “I just wish I could be sure.”
    “Trust me, it wasn’t him. That was at least two people back