Frostbite (Modern Knights Book 1) Read Online Free PDF

different?”
    “No, I’m clean. You got a cup?
    “The deceased…Stephen Bausser…he had a rather large supply of crystal meth in his truck.” She paused. “Are you sure no one asked you to wait around the store and get a package? It’s not like you knew what would be in it, right?”
    “She’s soft-selling it, trying to give you a way to confess that doesn’t make us look so bad. It’s their theory: the kill was drug-related and we’re the convenient doped out hippie from out of town.”
    “No, I’ve told you all a dozen times. I just needed a jump for my car.”
    She started to say something else, but as I looked at her, it all finally clicked into place and I interrupted her.
    ”That’s why they sent you in here.”
    “Pardon me?”
    “You look like her. Same height, hair color, build. It’s why you spent so much time asking me warm questions you don’t really care about. You’re just getting me to talk to build rapport.”
    Agent Devereaux’s expression changed, the soft, friendly femininity dissolving into trained steel. “Yes,” she confessed, “You’re far too intelligent for the amateur tactics they’ve been using.”
    “Flattery won’t work, either. I can’t take credit for a crime I didn’t commit.”
    “What about Sarai?”
    I closed my eyes and let the unspoken accusation slap me. Devereaux’s resemblance to her was uncanny. The eyes should have been a deep forest hazel instead of a lake-water blue, a lone mistake. When I finally spoke again, my voice was quiet, but harsh, full of threat. “I didn’t kill her, Agent Devereaux. I don’t know where she went. She just disappeared.”
    “One evening she was there, in your apartment, by your own admission. In the morning, she was gone. Nobody’s ever seen her since. Until...” She let it hang.
    I took the bait. “Until when?”
    “We found the body, Mr. Fisher. Her heart was missing, too.”

3
    I leaned back in my chair. “Well, that’s a relief. For a second, I thought you actually had some evidence.”
    That knocked the wind out of Agent Devereaux. “What?”
    “You’re lying. You know what I’ve learned on the road these last few years…it’s how to read people. You’re bluffing. You’re working under the theory that I killed both people. Most serial killers have a signature, something unique to the way they kill. You guessed mine was cutting out the heart. Accordingly, you lied about finding her body, trying to make it believable by adding my supposed signature to it. You want to rattle me…you were doing a better job when you stuck to the facts.”
    “You’re wrong, Mr. Fisher. Massachusetts State Police found her corpse two weeks ago.”
    “Agent Devereaux, I’m sure you are an amazing agent and that you’re very good at your job. But your theory is flawed. I didn’t kill the store clerk, which means I didn’t remove his heart, which means it’s not my signature.”
    “And Sarai? Are you admitting you killed her?”
    “Not to you. Hell, I can’t even get him to admit it to himself.”
    “Agent Devereaux, again, I’m sure you’re a good investigator, but I’m well past my twenty-four hour holding period on that subject. If that’s all you’re going to ask me about, I assume I’m free to go.”
    She was about to answer when there was a knock at the door. When it opened, an older Hispanic man came in, his attire suggesting that he too lived on a federal salary. Agent Devereaux stood up, looking frustrated. “Sir, I can handle this.”
    He waved her off with his hand. She quickly left us, anger flashing in her stride. He gazed at me, curious, but waited till the door slammed shut before speaking. “I’m Supervisory Special Agent Rick Salazar.” He didn’t offer his hand.
    “Colin Fisher, murder suspect,” I snarked.
    “Mr. Fisher, you’re free to go. I’d like you to know that up front. Your lawyer is downstairs waiting for you. You don’t have to say a thing to me without her present