Deadly Dreams Read Online Free PDF

something connected to his past experiences.”
    He made a dismissive gesture with his hand. “I got most of that from Jett. He also says the vast majority of arson is targeted at property.”
    She gave a small smile. “That’s right. You aren’t looking for an arsonist per se, which is lucky because profiling arsonists can be an iffy proposition. I’m willing to bet this guy has a lot of instances of fire setting in his background, however. And if the link between the victims hold, you aren’t necessarily looking for a typical serial offender either.”
    He nodded in the direction of the burned corpse. “All appearances to the contrary.”
    “If this victim also turns out to be on the force, it’s likely the killer is retaliating for some perceived offense. Maybe the individuals are chosen specifically, or perhaps their selection is merely symbolic. At any rate, you’ll have already started looking for intersections in their case files.”
    He slanted a look at her before nodding. “Haven’t found anything that pans out yet. First victim, Roland Parker, was a detective sergeant who retired out of the northeast division last year. Second was Detective Sherman Tull, central division. Parker’s widow wasn’t sure whether he knew the second victim or not. Tull was divorced a decade ago, so we’re still tracking down his ex. Talking to his friends. We do know the two men were never assigned to the same division as detectives or the same district as officers.”
    “Maybe a task force they both served on,” she suggested. She hadn’t known any of the other detectives on the task force where she’d met Morales.
    He shook his head. “Not that I’ve discovered so far.”
    “But they were both detectives, rather than uniforms,” she mused. That in itself was a link. Much more than coincidence, especially if it held true with this latest victim. It suggested the killer knew the men. It would be difficult for the average citizen to make plainclothes detectives as cops.
    “Detective.”
    They both turned at the CSU tech’s call. “You’re going to want to see this.” They both walked over to where the man squatted, near the thicket of overgrown bushes that separated the clearing from the denser growth of trees a few yards away.
    She and McGuire flanked the man as they crouched on either side of him. Based on what Nate had told her about the first two bodies, she’d fully expected to be summoned over to look at a driver’s license.
    Instead, the tech was pointing at a police badge lying in the uncut spring grass.
    Or—upon closer scrutiny she immediately revised her conclusion—a fake badge. The dull silver plastic sort that was sold in dime stores for kids.
    “Looks like the others.”
    The tech nodded. “Just let me get some pictures and measurements and I’ll bag it.”
    Catching her eye on him, Nate shrugged as they rose. “Besides their IDs, a toy badge like that was the only other thing found at the scene.”
    Risa restrained an urge to send a hard elbow jab to his gut. Like every other cop she’d ever known, he’d held something back when he’d filled her in on the case. Probably more than one thing. But it still burned. And reminded her of the petty annoyances she’d avoid if she didn’t return to her job with Raiker Forensics, which had paired her with hard-headed cops that could have been McGuire’s clones.
    Resolutely, she pushed aside the stab of desolation at the thought. His reticence shouldn’t bother her. It wasn’t like she was going to work this case with him. She still didn’t understand the impulse that had brought her to the scene, but it had been just that. An impulse. Not a return of her natural instincts for an investigation. Not the insatiable curiosity that had once had her following every lead to its end in search of the smallest shred of truth.
    That part of her life was over.
    And as soon as McGuire finished here and returned her to her mother’s house, her part in