Officer out of Uniform (Lock and Key Book 2) Read Online Free PDF

devices.”
    “Hey! I was ready to defend myself when you showed up.”
    He gave her what might’ve been a pitying look. It was an expression she’d never seen on his face before. “A kitchen knife and a frying pan? It’s pretty resourceful, I’ll give you that, but I think our killer is more heavily armed. And much more dangerous.”
    “How do you know? The news report only said that Riley Correctional Center’s warden had been killed at his home, not how.”
    Henry’s frown deepened.
    This conversation wasn’t exactly how Sasha had imagined their reunion playing out.
    “I’m the one who found the warden. Found his body, I mean.”
    A bolt of shock arrowed through Sasha, making her stomach flip. She hadn’t expected that . “Really?”
    “Yeah.”
    “Okay, so how did it happen?”
    She braced herself for his reply. She’d never met the warden, but he was a local … in a small Southern town like Cypress, deaths were noticed by the community. She felt a twinge of sadness, a sense of dread. Violent deaths didn’t happen often here. It wasn’t at all difficult to feel bad for someone she didn’t even know.
    Henry averted his eyes, and as she stared at his face in semi-profile, she was aware of lines she’d never noticed before. Shallow and fine, stress markers around his mouth and eyes. He was 32 – she knew because weeks ago she’d asked Alicia, who’d asked Liam – so not old enough to have real lines yet. This was the first time she’d ever noticed a flaw in his skin, other than the heavy scar tissue on his back.
    “You don’t want to know,” he finally said.
    “Yes I do. They’ll announce it on the news eventually… If the killer’s really a danger to everyone, like you say, I’d like to know what we’re up against.”
    For a few moments, he said nothing.
    Eventually, he met her eyes. “You ever hunt?”
    “No.”
    “Know anyone who does?”
    She shrugged. “Not well. I guess I’ve had a few acquaintances who were into hunting. I know a lot more fisherman than hunters, though.”
    “Well, when you hunt deer, you hang your kill up for a few days so the meat is tender. Hunters use hoists and gambrels to string up animals.”
    Sasha nodded as a feeling of foreboding swept over her. “I’ve seen deer hanging up like that – I know what you mean.”
    “The warden was hanging up like that, in a tree at the edge of his property. Strung up by his ankles by the road, with his throat cut. I think he was shot first – there was a hole in his chest.”
    Sasha’s stomach roiled, and her mouth went dry.
    “Oh.” For once, she couldn’t think of much to say. “That’s … awful.” Awful didn’t even begin to cover it.
    “He was a big hunter,” Henry said. “Brought deer home every fall. He was a great shot – I went to the shooting range with him and some other guys from work a couple times. He…”
    Henry grimaced, and a part of Sasha withered up inside as she watched his perfect lips twist into an expression of deep uneasiness.
    “It’s just a shame he died like he did,” he finally finished.
    “I’ll say. Sorry if I pushed you to tell me about it… I can’t imagine being the first to find someone like that.”
    “Better me than someone else. Can you imagine if someone had driven by there with kids in their vehicle? Jesus… At least it’s nothing I haven’t seen before.”
    “It’s not?” Now it was her turn to frown. What he’d described sounded like something out of a horror movie. What were the odds that he’d encountered anything like that before?
    He shook his head. “I don’t mean the part about the hoist and gambrel, exactly – I mean death. The mutilated body… War is just as cruel as all that. Worse, really. You see things you can’t forget. All that blood just sort of sticks with you, in your head. There’s a body count permanently etched somewhere inside your brain.”
    “Oh.” She couldn’t remember the last time she’d had so little to say.