The Fourth Victim Read Online Free PDF

play?”
    â€œWe have no proof of anything….”
    â€œI was kidnapped by the deputy who was running things.” Kyle Evans spoke up, looking him straight in the eye. “He told me Abrams was his partner. He also gave me details on the running of the operation. They’d stolen chemicals from my farm. And were running the lab on the farm of a family friend who’d just died of an overdose. Sam was getting close to finding them out and the deputylured her to the farm where he was holding me hostage. His plans were to kill Sam and then me.”
    â€œExcept that when I arrived, Kyle tackled the man. The deputy’s bullet went astray and I managed to get a round off before he could take a second shot. Unfortunately, my shot killed him so we had no firsthand testimony. But every single detail of what Kyle said checked out,” Samantha added. “Other than Kyle’s hearsay testimony, though, there was nothing to tie Abrams to any of it.”
    â€œAnd your opinion of the man?”
    â€œHe’s the kind of criminal you most dread. Highly intelligent. Educated. Well liked and well respected. And completely without conscience. I believe the man is a serious danger to this town.”
    Maggie moaned, seemingly unaware that she’d done so, her fingers working back and forth, back and forth, in the little dog’s fur. Clay raised his eyebrows, glancing from her to Samantha. The detective shook her head and he knew there was more.
    And that he’d have to wait for answers.
    â€œHave you vouched for Abrams’s presence today?” he asked over the teenager’s bent head.
    â€œYeah. He was in court all day.”
    Maggie rocked forward, over the dog in her lap.
    â€œOdd, isn’t it? To have an attorney in court, pleading cases, when you know he’s guilty of a heinous crime?” Clay watched the girl as he spoke.
    She didn’t seem to have heard him. No one else responded to his comment.
    â€œMaggie?”
    The girl’s gaze was wary as she looked up. He had to get past that wariness. Earn her trust. He had a feeling he was going to need her. “What can you tell me about Kelly? Anything that strikes you?”
    Her fingers still busy along the dog’s back, she mumbled, “Kelly’s addicted to pens and pencils.”
    â€œWhat?”
    â€œIt’s true.” Sam nodded, her pretty face pinched-looking. “Kel takes notes a lot. And when she’s not writing, she’s usually chewing on a pen or a pencil. It’s just…I don’t know. It’s just Kelly.”
    â€œWhat else? Who does she spend her free time with? Has she been seeing anyone?”
    â€œShe spends her time helping other people,” Maggie explained earnestly. The girl rattled off the volunteer work and other activities Scott Levin had already told him about.
    â€œAnd as far as I know, she hasn’t had a real date in years,” Samantha said.
    â€œEither of you know of anyone in town who had a problem with her? Any quarrels? A neighbor, maybe?”
    â€œWith Kelly?” Samantha asked. “Not unless it has something to do with one of her cases, and I don’t know much about them. Although there was one that was a big deal about six months ago. I already told Agent Levin about it. The guy was a bigamist….”
    â€œRight.” Clay referred back to his notes. “James Todd. He was recently sentenced to prison on domestic abuse charges.”
    â€œYeah, but he’d been charged with murder. Of his second wife. The defense convinced the jury it was a suicide.”
    â€œIs that what Kelly thought?”
    â€œI have no idea. We rarely discuss her cases. I’m not even sure what part she played in it. I just know she testified in court.”
    â€œBut you’re sure this Todd guy is still locked up?”
    â€œPositive,” Samantha said. “I checked myself. This afternoon.”
    Clay wasn’t