Cold Fear Read Online Free PDF Page B

levels.”
    Randall’s brows rose in surprise.
    If it weren’t for the bracelet, he’d be thinking Helena had probably been killed by someone she knew, or during some sort of drunken gang rape gone horribly wrong—not that gang rape ever went right. He pinched the bridge of his nose trying to relieve the tension headache building. Gang rape would make his life easier compared to the alternative, and that realization made him shut down his feelings and concentrate on the facts. It was twisted. Deal with it. “Any evidence suggesting Ferris Denker ever made it out this way?”
    Randall shook his head. “Not as far as I can tell.”
    At Frazer’s questioning look he added. “I asked a friend who works in Columbia to send me a copy of Denker’s files. I told him I had a personal interest in the case. The agents working it always assumed Denker never left the mainland.”
    Assumptions were dangerous. “I’ll need a copy of that file.” He could go through official channels, hell, he could probably ask Hanrahan for his personal notes on the case, but he wasn’t ready to take that step yet. Denker had a date with a hypodermic, and Frazer was going to do everything in his power to get him there on time. “Did you mention Sandal or Denker to the police chief?”
    Randall shook his head. “As soon as I ran the numbers on the bracelet I recognized the name and significance. I called Rooney because I knew the BAU would want to be involved.”
    “You talk to your own boss, yet?”
    Randall shook his head, eyes narrowing. “Nope, but I’ll have to tell her something soon.”
    SSA Petra Danbridge was easy on the eyes and hard on everything else. “You opened a case file?”
    Randall shook his head. BAU only consulted on cases. They didn’t run the show, which put Frazer in a difficult position.
    “Hold off as long as you can. Afterward you can tell Danbridge I pulled rank.”
    Randall’s lips twisted. “Isn’t that what you’re doing?”
    “Yes.” He stared hard at the other man to see if he had an issue with that.
    “Okay, then.” Randall nodded and looked relieved. Maybe he had a better idea what was going on than Frazer gave him credit for. Controlling the flow of information and, therefore, controlling the press was vital in this investigation. Randall continued, “Chief Tyson’s only been on the Outer Banks for a few years so he wouldn’t know if Denker was ever rumored to be here or not. Former chief retired to Roanoke.”
    “We need to talk to that retired police chief. We need to know if anyone ever reported sightings of Ferris Denker in the Outer Banks.”
    “What are you thinking?” Randall asked.
    Frazer swept his gaze over the area. Remote. Quiet. Undisturbed. The perfect dumping ground. “Denker confessed to killing Beverley Sandal, but her body was never found.”
    “You think he buried her around here?”
    Frazer shrugged. “It might account for her bracelet being found on a fresh victim.”
    “So where’s Beverley’s body?” Randall’s eyes scanned the dunes, as did Frazer’s. Frazer knew where he’d hide a body he didn’t want found.
    Randall shoved his hands deeper into his jacket pockets and swore. “Someone might have discovered Denker’s souvenirs and decided to mess with law enforcement. Denker could be orchestrating this from the inside. Maybe hoping to get the execution stayed while casting doubt on his conviction?”
    Frazer nodded. He had no doubt the sadistic psychopath was involved. “But the fact remains, Denker is in prison and a young woman is dead, so regardless of motive, we have a new killer to catch.” And not an inexperienced one. Taking two victims at once? Both young and fit? That was not the work of a novice just finding his feet.
    The myriad of indentations in the sand, the snaking trails of footprints trampled in every direction meant the chances of finding anything useful out here was unlikely. Except for maybe the shovel. Yellow insulation tape was