Serial Games (Virginia Justice Book One) Read Online Free PDF Page A

he asked rather incredulously.
    “She’s dead. Burrows had a rather unnatural attachment to his mother. A gorgeous woman, actually — a timeless beauty. She died shortly before he claimed his first victim.” Maggie looked out of the window at the passing cars. Rush-hour traffic piled up and the early glow of dusk spread across the clear sky. “He was an only child, and she raised him as a single mother. No one exactly knows the story with his father, but he never provided any support, financial or emotional. When she passed, people said he turned inward. I believe he suffered from overwhelming grief.”
    Brandon half snorted. “So, he just started killing women?”
    “I often wondered at that part. But I agree with his visiting psychiatrists’ assessments. Burrows possesses an equal amount of hatred and love for his mother. The love kept him near her all his years, and the hatred manifested itself in the murders of nine women.”
    “A hatred?”
    “Yes, but I’m not exactly sure why. They lived in a modest home. He didn’t seem to lack anything as a child except a father. They weren’t poor, but Maxine didn’t make a fortune either. Yet, from what doctors deduced, the anger in him is acute. Probably because she died and left him, honestly.”
    An eerie silence settled between them. Maggie unfiled details of Burrows case in her head to make them fresh for the investigation. Brandon’s phone rung and Maggie overheard him discussing the specifics of his next move with his supervisor.
    “Absolutely, we’re in agreement. I’ll be heading down tonight and I’m not sure—” he turned his eyes on her, “when she’ll follow but I’m sure it will be soon.” Maggie nodded her head to assure him. “Okay, okay, so he’ll contact me? Great, thanks.”
    Maggie bit her lip and raised her brows in question.
    “I’ll be heading down to Culpeper tonight. My supervisor will have the local sheriff’s department contact me, and I’ll set up a base of operations. I’ll give an initial briefing to law enforcement about how the Marshal Service will be conducting the searches and who our suspect is. If you want to fill them in on anything important when you arrive, we can hold another conference.”
    “I hope to follow tomorrow. Of course, that’ll depend on how quickly we can get some sort of workup on Burrows completed. Plus, we’ll need to contact all the potential victims.”
    Brandon’s brows knitted. “How many do you think they’ll be?”
    Maggie groaned. “Anywhere from half a dozen to a dozen or more. Although the county is not terribly populated, the last time we compiled a list of targets, the number was significant. Not to mention they are spread across the rural areas.”
    “That could be a problem.”
    “It would be easier if they were all in Culpeper, but if not, that may dictate where Burrows will travel if he picks up where he left off. If that’s the case, the one who got away, Sally Mayes, would most likely be his first target. She would be the most tempting.”
    Brandon raked a hand through his thick hair. The thought of her own fingers kneading his locks shocked her. She took a deep, calming breath but a spicy musk scent assailed another sense. She breathed in again. A peek at his side profile offered a firm jaw dusted with the beginnings of a five o’clock shadow.
    “Just get me what you can and as narrow as you can. We’ll have more success finding the needle if the haystack is small.”
    Easier said than done. More than one issue presented itself. Cross-checking the women’s addresses with the post office, and then verifying any new addresses: each step impeded the speed of the investigation and consumed necessary resources. Would Burrows have had access to that information while he was incarcerated? Sally Mayes still claimed residency in Culpeper. Maggie knew of no other stop for Burrows to make first.
    Brandon pulled up at the front entrance to her building. “Do me a favor, would