Jackson 05 - The Immortals Read Online Free PDF Page A

eye out for more drugs.”
    â€œI’ll take care of it right now.”
    â€œThank you. Hey, what’s your first name?”
    â€œBarclay. Barclay Iles.”
    â€œOkay, Barclay. I’m Taylor Jackson. This is Supervisory Special Agent John Baldwin.”
    â€œI know,” he said, his voice tinged with the kind of awe that made her cringe. Ah, well. Better awe than derision.
    â€œGet on it,” she said. The ’gator scooted from the room. Taylor heard him breathing deeply in the hall. This was bound to be rough on all of them, heck, half the investigative staff were fresh out of college themselves.
    She stared into the room one more time, at the touching, the carving, the silent agony Xander and Amanda had experienced. She wished she could rewind their day and prevent this. It was a fruitless wish.
    â€œWhat do you think happened here, Baldwin? Is there something I’m missing?”
    He was stalking around the room carefully, taking everything in. She knew that look—he was there, but completely abstracted, thinking about the incidents that would have led to the murders.
    â€œI’m just wondering about the timing.”
    â€œHalloween?”
    â€œNo, the time of death. All of the victims died around the same time. If the killer was in every house…”
    â€œWe have to wait for Sam to determine time and cause of death, but I think you’re right. Too many dead for just one person—is that where you’re going?”
    He looked at her with a smile of appreciation. “I am.”
    â€œHow many killers, do you think?”
    â€œI don’t know.” He turned away from her, ran his gloved finger along the spine of a book. Taylor saw it was one of her favorites, Wuthering Heights, and felt a pang. Amanda Vanderwood would never read again.
    She heard a commotion from downstairs, voices raised.
    â€œNow what?” she asked, resisting the urge to pull her hair down and run her fingers through it to help her think. The gesture was so compulsive, so ingrained that she had to stick her hands in her pockets, the nitrile catching on theedge of her jeans. Baldwin leaned his head toward the open door, where the voices were growing louder.
    â€œWe better go find out what’s going on.”
    â€œI know.” Taylor sighed. Please, God, not more bodies.
    They made their way downstairs to see Lincoln arguing with an older couple. Taylor was surprised, she thought the Vanderwoods were out of town. When Lincoln made the introductions, she understood and immediately went on guard.
    â€œLieutenant, this is Laura and Aaron Norwood, Xander’s parents.”
    Taylor took off her gloves and shook hands with them. The Norwoods were an older couple, the husband still dressed for work in a blue suit and light blue tie, his wife in a brown velour jogging suit that stretched tight across her ample chest. She’d been weeping and her eyes were swollen and red, but dry of tears at the moment.
    â€œI’m so sorry for your loss,” Taylor said automatically, knowing the words were hardly a comfort.
    Mr. Norwood nodded brusquely. “We came when we heard. We wanted to be close. We want to see our son. Who did this?”
    â€œWe’re trying to figure that out, sir. Can you excuse us for a moment?”
    She stepped into the hallway with Lincoln and Baldwin, speaking to Lincoln in a low undertone.
    â€œWe need Father Victor and some more chaplains. Can you get him over here?” The department chaplain was required to be a part of notifications to family members, and Taylor was so used to having a member of the clergy along that she was uncomfortable speaking to the Norwoods without him.
    Lincoln whispered, “He’s at another scene. We’ve asked for backup, and we’ll get it for tomorrow, but right now, we’re it. Just FYI, Norwood’s being awfully pushy. I had to restrain him when he first got here. He’s calm now,