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

you?” His gaze bore into hers.
    Maggie held her breath. Did he require anything special for the case? As she stared into his gray eyes, she noticed specks of green. She blinked to break the spell. “Of course.”
    “Give me a call when you’re a few miles out. If there are any changes to the plan, I don’t want you to come all the way into town. Especially if I’m located elsewhere.” His eyes twinkled. “I’ll probably catch him tonight and save you a trip.”
    Maggie relaxed, inwardly amused at his cockiness. You don’t know Burrows . “Sounds reasonable. I’ll do that.” She opened the door and hopped out.
    “Great, then I’ll see you tomorrow…maybe.”
    “Tomorrow…definitely.” Maggie caught a glimpse of his smirk as she closed the door and hurried up the front steps to her building, eager to pore over the case documents she knew all too well.

 
     
     
Chapter Three
     
     
    Brandon’s visit had occurred hours ago, but Maggie and her team continued to work diligently. Every psychiatric profile, every potential victim’s photograph, and every crazy statement Burrows made during his capture received the same treatment as they did a few years ago. Everything remained important to the case unless proved otherwise, considering his current intentions remained obfuscated. Maggie refused to consent to the possibility her team knew less about Burrows’s mind now than they did when first introduced to the case, although her restlessness continued to mount.
    “All of these concerns are noteworthy, but we have to focus on the most likely victim.” Maggie rubbed the skin between her eyes, and then dragged a hand through her hair, which forced her fingers to lacerate the knot at the end of her twisted curl. “If we can’t decide, then we need to agree on where Burrows is headed — and I say Culpeper.”
    The agents in the room remained silent and waited for her instructions. Maggie stared at Burrows’s photograph and basic biographical information split between two television screens. At trial, he maintained the same clean-cut shave, his dark brown hair well-trimmed. She hadn’t seen a photograph of him in a long time. His dark eyes gloomed wide, devoid of emotion. A paralyzing chill traveled slowly up her spine. She remembered how, before his capture, she’d stare at his picture for hours and will herself a new lead for the case. His face used to invade her dreams and it conjured nightmares: nightmares she hadn’t had in a long time.
    Maggie massaged the tense muscles in the back of her neck. In her dreams, his cold hands wrapped themselves around this very part of her body. Knives had flashed in front of her face and forced her to stay awake for hours. His laugh had filled her ears. His voice still nipped at her core. It was all a game to him. She beat him once before, but in her dreams he won. In her dreams, she was the prey.
    Many sleepless nights were spent in prayer until her restlessness finally died and she could sleep without seeing Burrows’s face. Dreams of a faceless presence replaced her nightmares. Her mother would say she ran from the stress of being the best, of beating her sister, but Maggie knew different. She ran because she was the baby of the family, and had something to prove.
    Maggie placed her hands on her hips. She set her jaw and rotated swiftly, eyeing her team. “He’ll return to Culpeper. His mother’s body is there.”
    “How can you be sure?” Doug asked. “It has never been recovered.”
    Burrows didn’t offer a public viewing or funeral at the time of his mother’s passing. The last time she was in Culpeper, Maggie spoke to the local funeral service agency with access to Maxine’s body. They reported an unauthorized removal of her body from their facility. When questioned about his mother’s remains, Burrows only wistfully smiled. This reaction didn’t surprise Maggie. Although she lacked the proof, everyone believed Maxine’s son relocated her