Murder Stalks Read Online Free PDF Page A

Michael’s. He couldn’t
afford to coddle one of his key team members. Either Rains got his
act together or Tony would have to request his transfer. “After you
finish up in here, I want you and Rex to go door-to-door. Question
everybody in the apartment complex. Go back as far as last
Saturday. Sekorski thinks she was murdered yesterday, but we don’t
know for sure.” Tony did another quick visual sweep of the
apartment. “How the hell did this guy get out of here without being
noticed?”
    “ I’m surprised no one
heard anything,” Rex said.
    “ No roommate, and with the
college closed, who would hear anything?” Janice answered, poking
her head around the corner.
    “ I need to find the
manager, see if anyone moved out recently.” Tony pulled out his
notebook and made a few markings, mostly detailing the
body.
    The blood was minimal, which meant her hands
were cut off post mortem. The bruises on her inner thigh indicated
she had probably been raped. Her shoulders carried bruises, almost
like hands forcing her from above. Forced oral sex? That was a
dangerous position for the suspect to be in. What if she bit? Tony
cringed and resisted the urge to cross his legs. He forced his mind
away from thoughts of pain and turned his attention back to the
apartment. The way too clean apartment.
     
    ****
     
    If the killer had taken the time to dust,
what did that say about this crime and the criminal? Was the
suspect so arrogant he believed no one would walk in on him, or had
Angela dusted earlier in the day and the clean apartment had
nothing to do with the killer? Tony mulled over the information,
letting the facts settle into his consciousness and wrap its
tentacles around his brain. “I wonder how many close friends Angela
had in Juniper.”
    “ Do you want me to search
for a set of sheets?” Michael asked as he put away his equipment.
“It’s clean here, I’m done.”
    “ Sure, this complex has a
laundry room.” Tony pulled off the latex gloves, glad to set his
hands free from the sweat producers. He carefully removed the bags
on his shoes at the front door, slipping them into the box Sekorski
had left.
    He hated this part of the investigation.
There was too much information, but it was all uncollected and
unaccounted for. Everything to solve the crime was here, within his
grasp, but nothing stuck out. The killer hadn’t left a sign behind
that said ‘I did it.’ Somewhere in this apartment, or on the ground
in the parking lot, was a telling fiber or strand of hair with the
follicle still attached. Now all Tony and his team had to do was
find it.

Chapter 4
     
    The south Texas heat gripped Tony, forcing
its imprint on his skin, leaving a trail of sweat down his back. At
the pool, that’s where he wanted to be. He wanted to be at the pool
with Marissa, drinking an ice-cold beer while he listened to his
wife talk about her day.
    It was the little things he missed the most.
Like the way she would tilt her head and listen to him talk about
his current case. Marissa would’ve hated this case, but she would
have listened quietly as he spoke about the different aspects.
    Tony’s mind ticked through the elements they
had discovered so far. This murder was big time. Juniper’s typical
murder case was between friends who had drunk too much, or a
husband tired of his wife’s cheating ways, or the wife sick of the
husband stepping out one too many times. That last thought stuck
with him. Damn, he had been a stupid prick, and he didn’t know how
to make it right.
    He needed to stay focused on the case if he
wanted it solved quickly. They needed a list of Angela’s friends
and boyfriends, places where she hung out and the people she hung
with. Moving towards the front of the complex, he rounded the
building and ran into Officer Sally Gerrig. His chest tightened and
his stomach turned over before sinking.
    “ Gerrig, don’t let anybody
into the apartment, even other uniforms. The only people authorized
inside