The Next Victim Read Online Free PDF

all right for himself. Made a small fortune at one point, then lost most of it when the market went south."
    "He's in Tucson now?"
    Kali nodded. "Working for a fraternity brother whose family owns a chain of grocery stores."
    "Your sister's in Arizona, too, isn't she?"
    "Scottsdale. She's a lot more like John than I am, and she keeps trying to make us all one big, happy family."
    "Nothing wrong with that." Bryce sounded almost wistful. From the little he'd told her, his family made hers look like the Brady Bunch.
    "Except that Sabrina wears blinders when it comes to reality," Kali explained. "She keeps trying to make things fit her fantasy." Kali was pretty sure her sister nagged at John as much as she did at Kali.
    Only Kali wouldn't have expected John to give in. Usually, she was the one who reached out--with mixed results. Still he
had
called. It was, she decided, an interesting new twist to their relationship.
     
CHAPTER 4
     
    After a string of late nights, Erling arrived home Monday evening in time for dinner. Sandwiches actually, but at least they were all three eating together, seated at the round pine table in the kitchen. Deena had set out red-checkered place mats and matching cloth napkins.
    "You should have told me you'd be home," she said, reaching her well-tanned arm across the table for the pepper. "I'd have made a real meal."
    "I didn't know myself until the last minute." But he should have called, Erling realized now. Deena continually complained that she never knew when to expect him. "Besides, I love tuna salad sandwiches."
    She made a face like "yeah, sure." "Anyway, we're honored you could make it home."
    Erling was working on a response when she held up a palm. "Wait, I didn't mean that the way it sounded." She smiled at him warmly with dimpled cheeks, then covered his hand with her own. Her fingers were stubby, the nails unadorned except for streaks of indelible yellow marker that must have been part of the day's classroom project. As a first-grade teacher, Deena had a signature style that often involved splashes of primary colors, or grime.
    "I honestly wasn't being facetious," she told Erling. "We've missed you. Haven't we, Mindy?"
    "Geez, Mom. It's not like he's been on a trip or anything. He's come home at night." Mindy shot a sideways glance at the readout on her cell phone, momentarily distracted. Then she frowned. "Hasn't he?"
    Deena brushed the air with her hand. "Can't you put that away, honey? In fact, turn it off. We're eating dinner."
    Mindy moved the phone closer to her plate, but she didn't turn it off. Erling supposed he should jump in and say something stern, but in truth, the phone didn't bother him. If Mindy had friends calling her, all the better. In high school she'd had few enough of them.
    "Of course he's come home," Deena continued, looking again at Erling. "But your dad's been putting in some very long days."
    Long and tough
, Erling thought.
    Homicide investigations were inevitably demanding, but this one was taking a greater toll on him than most. Bad enough he was emotionally entangled with one of the victims. Worse, because of that, he was walking an ethical tightrope. By all rights he should have removed himself from the investigation. With every day that passed, he wondered if he'd made the right decision.
    It was also a high-profile case, and the pressure to close it, intense. Tomorrow would make it a week since the murder occurred, and the lieutenant, eager for a break, was breathing down Erling's neck. The victims' families demanded constant updates. And with Sloane's family ties to the well-known Logan Foods, the press was having a heyday digging for dirt.
    "Unfortunately, it's not over," Erling told his family.
    "How's it going?" Deena asked.
    Erling shrugged. This was one case he wasn't eager to talk about. "How was your day?"
    Deena smiled. "Could have been better, could have been worse." She tucked a strand of silver-streaked hair behind her ear. "I heard on the