Hunt and Prey (Kelsey's Burden Series Book 8) by Kaylie Hunter (novels to read for beginners txt) 📕

his head in disappointment. “Have you looked in a mirror lately? You look like a racoon.”

I stuck my tongue out at him before walking down the hall to the bathroom. Looking at myself in the mirror, I saw Spence was right. The swelling in my nose had gone down, but no amount of makeup was going to hide the bruising which extended above my eyelids and went downward to mid-cheek. I did the best I could with another layer of foundation before I fixed my hair into a twist.

Returning to the dining room, I tossed my purse inside my oversized crossover bag and grabbed my keys.

Spence looked up from his laptop. “Where to now?”

“The truck stop where Roseline worked. I want to interview her coworkers. If nothing else, maybe I can get a name for next of kin.”

“Beast and I will come with you.”

“No. Stay and work the backgrounds.”

Spence closed the laptop and tucked it under one arm, then held up his phone in the other hand. “I have hotspot internet on my phone. I can run the backgrounds while you drive. Besides, Beast isn’t ready to call it a night yet.”

I looked down at Beast who stood at my feet, his backside swaying in excitement as he stared at the keys in my hand. “Fine. But don’t interfere. I don’t need a partner.” I looked down at Beast again. “That goes for you, too.”

Beast barked twice. I opened the door and let him run ahead of us downstairs.

~*~*~

I sat in the car an extra ten minutes, just watching the customers and vehicles at the truck stop. I had parked in the shadows of the parking lot, just outside the circle of flood lights stationed closer to the store.

Spence didn’t question my reasoning. He worked silently on his laptop from the passenger seat. Beast, with his head extended between our seats, panted in my ear.

I grabbed my bag.

“Here,” Spence said, handing me something.

“What is it?” I asked, not being able to see the small plastic object in my palm.

“A screamer. Pull the cord if you run into trouble. Beast will come to your rescue.”

“A screamer?” I laughed. “I’m not a teenager going to her first unsupervised concert. I’m a cop.”

“A cop working without a partner on three different cases. Either clip the damn thing to your jeans, or I’m tagging along.”

I rolled my eyes but clipped the screamer to my side as I got out. When I closed the door, I saw Beast jump into the driver’s seat. “Pains in the ass,” I muttered to myself as I walked toward the well-lit store entrance.

Inside, the abundance of fluorescent lights overwhelmed my eyes. I squinted until they adjusted, then walked over to the register.

“Is there a manager working tonight? I’m here on behalf of the Miami PD.”

“Am I in danger?” the young kid asked, looking around the store at the handful of customers.

“Not that I’m aware of,” I answered honestly.

He released a big breath. “Whew. You scared me. I gotta stop watching all those action movies.”

Everything about the kid screamed pot-head. Including his short attention span. “A manager?”

“Oh, yeah, right.” He jogged over to a side door behind the counter, popping his head in the other room. A minute later, a burly woman with a five o’clock shadow walked out.

“I’m Sue Dodd, the manager. What’s this about?” she asked briskly.

“Can we talk in private, Sue?” I asked.

She led us past the slushy and coffee machines, over to a nook which held a handful of mini tables and chairs. “This will have to do. I’m not allowed to let anyone in the back office.”

“This is fine.” I took a seat and waited for her to sit. “I’m here about Roseline Pageotte. I understand she didn’t work last night.”

At the mention of Roseline’s name, I had the manager’s full attention. “Is Roseline all right? I’ve left about a dozen messages for her. In the five years she’s worked here, she’s never missed a shift. Never even been late as far as I can remember.”

I didn’t remember seeing Roseline’s cellphone on the evidence log. I’d have to follow up with Gibson on the phone. “We found her body this morning. She was murdered. I’m one of her neighbors, but I also work for the Miami PD.”

Sue’s shoulders slumped as she dropped her head and closed her eyes.

I gave her a few minutes to grieve before I laid a hand on her forearm to get her attention. “Does Roseline have any family? We need to notify next of kin.”

She shook her head. “I’m not aware of any family. I’ll check her application to be sure, but she never mentioned her parents or any siblings.”

“What about close friends? A boyfriend?”

She shook her head again. “Roseline kept to herself. I was probably her closest friend, but I knew better than to pry. She even told people she was an illegal immigrant as an excuse to avoid social outings.”

My head snapped back as I realized Roseline had lied to me. She’d confided to me she was an illegal just after she moved into the building. I remember it was when I asked her to join me for a drink at Bailey’s pub. I didn’t recall any indication that she wasn’t being truthful. “Are you sure she wasn’t an illegal?”

“Positive. We run backgrounds on all employees, and the corporate office in New Jersey has to approve every application before we can hire anyone.” A frown formed on her face as she stared at the floor.

“What? What did you remember?”

“I didn’t hire her,” Sue said as she looked at me. “The corporate office called and said she was a good employee, relocating from one of their other stores in Lauderdale. They transferred the file to me.”

Red flags, I