A Serial Affair. Natalie Dunbar

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      Driving home she reflected on her first day on the assignment and hoped that past history wasn’t going to make Reed a pain in the ass to work with. Finding the serial killer would be difficult enough.

      She thought about poor Jade and then the unlucky Elliot Washington. He’d obviously chosen the wrong woman to cheat with. Had Elliot’s ex, Lissa, been that woman? Marina was looking forward to their talk with Lissa Rawlins.

      Chapter 3

      Marina Santos always managed to push Reed’s buttons whether she wanted to or not. Wound up from his first day on the task force, and more than a little out of sorts from seeing Marina and trying to adjust to working with her, Reed grabbed a quick hot dog on a bun covered with chili gravy and onions at his favorite Coney Island restaurant. He drove around the city until he reached one of his favorite spots, the Xsport Fitness Gym. He worked out and pumped iron until most of the restless feeling disappeared.

      Instead of heading home this time, Reed turned his truck onto his mother’s street. It wasn’t his evening to take care of her, but he was close enough to stop and check on her. Her blood sugar levels had been fluctuating, her blood pressure was high, and she’d seemed overtired the last couple of days. The area’s streetlights were out again. Porch lights shone like an oasis on several neighborhood homes, but they did little to dispel the gathering darkness. The small one-and two-story brick structures were old and worn.

      Most of the older inhabitants had already given up the warm evening air for the relative safety and security found inside their homes. Like his mother, Trudy, they were clinging to the homes they loved come hell or high water.

      Here and there, youths sat on porches or stood in groups talking. The old neighborhood was rundown and becoming dangerous for those unable to hold their own against the local toughs and predators looking for victims.

      Reed parked the truck in front of his mother’s house. The porch light was off but a warm glow around the edges of the blinds indicated that his mother was still up and about.

      Peering around the quiet block, he got out of the truck. A warm evening breeze enveloped him. Something moved in the dark. Reed froze. His hand moved close to the Glock pistol he wore strapped at his waist. Innate caution and the desire not to hurt anyone unless it became absolutely necessary kept him from drawing the pistol.

      Reed stood listening to the darkness. Nothing but the wind. He studied the surrounding trees and bushes, looking for movement. Nothing. Still his instincts told him that someone was hiding in the darkness, watching him. Instinct had saved his life more times than he cared to remember.

      Fleetingly, he thought about being stalked. He wasn’t the kind of man who saw menace everywhere. In the truck earlier, he’d dismissed Marina’s suggestion that he could be in danger from the serial killer because the profile was still too general, but the possibility remained. He thought of Elliot Washington and Colton Edwards. Maybe someone had stalked and watched them in the dark before moving in close to viciously attack them.

      Dismissing the thought, Reed stepped around the side of the truck. It was more likely that a druggie or neighborhood tough was lurking in the bushes, hoping to mug him. “Police officer. Who’s there?” he called into the dark.

      Footsteps echoed on the sidewalk and changed to the muffled sound of someone running across the grass. The sound of breaking glass fractured the relative silence. His pulse raced. Reed drew the high-powered flashlight from his pocket and switched it on. Illuminating the trees, bushes and sidewalk, he satisfied himself that no one hid nearby. Walking up the driveway, he headed for the back of the house to check for broken glass.

      Easing between his mother’s house and the one next door, he was glad for the absence of trees and bushes to hide an attacker. Behind the house, broken bottle glass littered the area near the trash. He guessed that someone had thrown the bottle to attract his attention.

      Shining his light over the small garage and the few trees in his mother’s yard and the yards on either side of her, he saw nothing out of the ordinary. “Damn fool kids,” he muttered under his breath as he returned to the front. He would sweep up the glass tomorrow when it was daylight.

      Warm light and cooler air hit him in the face as he used his keys to open the security door and enter the house. Inside, Trudy Crawford sat at her desktop computer under a floodlight in a corner of her living room.

      Golden-brown eyes mirrored his. Seeing him, her mouth broke into a smile. “Hey, Be-be,” she said pleasantly as she pulled the reading glasses off her nose and laid them in front of the large magnifying screen on the desk. “What’s up, Lieutenant?”

      She was so proud of him that she never tired of calling him that. “Just you, Mom,” he said with a smile of his own. “How are you feeling?”

      “I’m okay,” she assured him. “I’ve got two wonderful sons who make sure I stay that way.”

      “What was your sugar level?”

      “Four hundred,” she answered, looking properly chastened, “but I didn’t eat anything that wasn’t on the diet today. I even turned down the muffins in knitting class. I must be coming down with something.”

      “I hope not.” Moving closer, he kissed her cheek and enjoyed the warm hug. As she released him, he took one look at the computer screen and burst into laughter. “Computer dating for seniors, Mom?”

      “Why not?” she asked with a straight face. “I’m not looking to get married, but I could sure use some company. I don’t remember the last time I had a date.”

      “I take you out to dinner every week, Mom,” he reminded her.

      She gave him the look and deepened her tone. “And you’re my son. You’re cute, but you don’t count, Be-be.”

      He studied the questionnaire she’d been filling out. He didn’t like the idea of his mother dating someone off the Internet. He knew that all sorts of predators lurked there, hidden behind their computers. Still, Trudy wasn’t his child; she was his mother and would do as she pleased. “Don’t give them any personal information.”

      “Of course not,” she agreed readily, “And you’ll probably want to personally meet and check out any of them before we go out, right?”

      “For sure.” Reed pulled a chair up next to her. “Why don’t I help you with the form?”

      “I’d love that.” She patted his hand. “You sure you don’t have a date or something better to do?”

      “What could be better than you?”

      Trudy grabbed his hand and shook it gently. “Don’t try to play me, son, ’cause I’ve been played by the best of them and am still here to talk about it. Your heart ain’t been into dating since you messed around with Marina and things fell apart. Let’s talk about your social calendar.”

      “I’ve got a date with Sondra. We’re going to dinner and the movies on Friday,” he said as he started adding his mother’s name to the computer form.

      Trudy snorted. “Sondra does not count, and you know it. You’re not interested in her.”

      Still typing, Reed bit back a smile. He’d never said anything, but his mother СКАЧАТЬ