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

landing spot. When he was in place, I fell forward, low on his body, with the invisible knife driving upward into the back of his thigh.

“Now according to the autopsy,” Chambers moved to stand next to us, “when the knife was removed it was dragged with the handle upward.”

I forced the invisible handle toward Gibson’s head as I scrambled on top of him and shifted so my forearm was braced against the back of his neck.”

“Okay, that’s not comfortable,” Gibson mumbled from beneath me.

“Shit, sorry!” I shifted my feet out to both sides of him, stood and stepped over him, into the grass. When Gibson rolled over, I offered him a hand, pulling him up. “Thanks for playing.”

“I’m not sure I caught everything with my face in the dirt,” he said, wiping the dirt off him, “but happy to help.”

“What was that last part?” Chambers asked, facing me with a confused expression. “How did you know that’s what the killer did?”

“That’s the piece that tied into my cases.” I pulled my phone and showed him the picture of bean-bag Bert and Tasha. “Our attacker chokes his victims using his forearm against the back of their necks, applying enough pressure until they pass out.”

Chambers flipped through the autopsy report until he found the photo of the victim’s back. “Why not just choke her the normal way?”

“Our current theory is that he’s lacking the hand strength.” I walked over to the boxes, setting the top one with the laptop aside, before opening the second box. I dug around until I found the crime scene photos.

“Can I help find something?” Gibson asked.

“I’m looking for the first-on-scene case notes from when the body was found.”

“The file you want is toward the back,” he said, leaning over to dig through the box. “Here.”

He offered me the file but I didn’t take it. “Read me the basics.”

“Terrance Haines reported his girlfriend didn’t come home the night before. He called the police but was told there was nothing they could do. He decided to jog the trail himself and found her body.”

“Slow it down. When? What time? Give me the breakdown.”

Gibson flipped a sheet over and reread the brief. “The first time Terrance came to the park was around eleven. He claims he yelled a few times, then went home. He called each of her friends, which they later confirmed, before he called the police. Then around midnight, he returns to the park and walks the entire jogging route, but didn’t find her. He goes home again. By six a.m. he returns for the third time, but this time brings two of his friends. They found her body at 6:25 a.m. and called it in.”

Chambers scratched his chin while he spoke. “Watkin’s theory was the boyfriend was both building his alibi and building an explanation for his presence in the park if an eyewitness reported seeing him in the area.”

“Which would be smart,” I said, finding myself liking the theory, “if Terrance really was the killer. But the events and timeline also support a worried fiancé trying to find his missing girlfriend.” I looked back toward the park entrance. “Did she drive here?”

“No. They lived two blocks away,” Gibson said. “She liked to run every night after her shift at the hospital. Usually around ten. Terrance was finishing some big presentation for work and didn’t notice she hadn't returned until just before eleven.”

“What month was this?”

“March.”

I looked skyward. “In March, the sun goes near dinnertime. By ten o’clock, the park would be pitch black except the posted lights.” I turned to Gibson. “I need another favor.”

“Anything.”

“I need you to jog the path and figure out why the killer picked this particular spot.”

“How will I know? What am I looking for?” Gibson asked as he took off his suit jacket and then removed his tie.

Chambers took off his suit jacket too, piling it on top of Gibson’s. “I’ll go with him. Two eyes are better than one.”

“Appreciate it. I’d go myself but I injured my knee this week.” I pulled the first-on-scene photos from the file and showed Chambers. “There’s a light post next to every bench. I’m guessing the killer shimmied up the pole and unscrewed the bulb. He planned this location.”

“Most criminals break the glass. Why risk getting caught unscrewing the bulb?”

“I don’t know. But there’s no evidence involving broken glass at the scene and if Terrance really did jog the path trying to find her while it was still dark out, that means the light was out.”

“Let’s go, Gibson,” Chambers said as he started jogging.

After the boys disappeared around the corner, I called Quille.

“You behaving?” he asked.

“Always. You know me, just an innocent little bird.”

Quille snorted.

“I need a favor.”

“I guessed that the second my phone rang. What now?”

“There’s a Detective Chambers in the Belle Aire district who’s proven helpful in our double homicide. The way things are shaking out, we might be looking at four bodies.”

The Belle Aire district was slang for the rich and entitled neighborhoods in the finer part of Miami. They had their own precinct, with their own detectives who spent a considerable amount of time and energy kissing asses just to survive. Their world tended to have fewer cases involving drug dealers, prostitutes, and liquor store robberies.

“Son of a—” There was a pause in conversation as Quille moved the phone away, but I could still hear him mumbling curse words. When he’d recovered, he asked, “Four bodies? How certain are you?”

“Keep your shit together. I’m working as fast as I can to get this contained, but Chambers is already up to speed on part of the case. I could use his help. Can you reach out and see if we can steal him for a couple days?”

“I’ll make it happen.