Read Online A Promise to Protect (Logan Point Book #2): A Novel by Patricia Bradley - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Patricia Bradley
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Andre, would hound him about coaching, and no matter how much he’d like to coach, he truly didn’t want everyone to see him in full-blown panic mode. Kids, little ones or teenagers, came with a high price tag, and the plain fact was, he couldn’t take the responsibility.
He slowed for the intersection ahead as a car and boat shot across the highway. One of the most popular boat landings on Logan Lake was Caney Point, two miles from the intersection. A cloud crossed the sun, dimming its brightness. Tommy Ray Gresham had been fifteen with his whole future ahead of him when he drowned at the Point. Ben blew out a deep breath and white-knuckled the steering wheel down the road.
His radio crackled to life. “Ben, found something interesting at Billy Wayne’s.”
“Be there in five.” Ben pressed his foot to the gas. Minutes later he rolled to a stop in front of a brick bungalow and parked behind Wade’s truck. Weeds brushed his legs as he cut a swath to the front door. He opened the screen door and stepped into a tiny living room. “Where are you, Wade?”
“In the bedroom. Down the hall on the right.”
Ben’s footsteps echoed on the hardwood floors. “What did you find?”
Wade sat at a desk in front of a laptop. “For starters, that,” he said, jerking his head toward the dresser. A .38 Smith and Wesson lay on the dresser, with a numbered card beside it. “It was under his mattress. Has Olivia Reynolds mentioned what caliber gun was used on Tony Jackson?”
“She won’t know until she gets a report back from the crime lab in Nashville, but she thought it might be a .38 or 9 mm. Anything on the laptop?”
Wade scooted his chair where Ben could see the monitor. “See for yourself. He was a big-time gamer.”
Ghoulish images against a blood-red background filled the computer screen. Hooded or masked cartoon images depicting death and murder. Ben read over Wade’s shoulder as his deputy scrolled the page.
“Looks like he’s a game programmer,” Wade said.
“Apparently for some pretty violent games.” Ben shook his head.
“Look at this.” Wade moved the cursor to another link. “He played them as well. And evidently he was pretty good—this one has twenty levels and four bonus ones.” The deputy glanced up at Ben. “He’d made it to the bonus rounds.”
“You sound like that’s something good. Real or not, all that killing can mess with the mind.”
“Not saying that people don’t get the game world and the real world mixed up, just pointing out he thinks like a killer. It could be a motive if he killed Tony and then went after Leigh.” He popped another screen up. “Read this. It’s a teaser for one of his games.”
Ben read the first lines and sucked in a breath. The Assassin read like a script for stalking and murdering a victim. He scanned to the bottom of the page. “What does that link to?”
“His fan page on Facebook.” Wade clicked on the link and another page opened.
“He chose the Reaper as his name?” Ben muttered. “Really classy.”
Wade nodded toward the gun. “If that matches the slugs found in Tony’s body, I’d say you have your killer. And Leigh’s shooter.”
“Which begs the question of why,” Ben said as he slipped his cell from his pocket and surveyed the blacked-out windows, the clothes littering the floor. He could imagine the oily-haired gamer hunched over the computer, plotting death. He shuddered. It wasimpossible to understand the depravity that existed in the world. He turned back to the computer screen as he punched in Livy’s number.
She answered without any preliminaries. “Did you find anything at the house, Ben?”
“Maybe. We found a .38 Smith and Wesson at Gresham’s.” He filled her in on the rest. “I’ll send two deputies over with the gun.”
“A .38, huh? I’ve seen a lot of fired bullets, and what the coroner dug out of Tony could have been fired from a .38.”
“I’ll email you his websites,” Ben said.
He slowed for the intersection ahead as a car and boat shot across the highway. One of the most popular boat landings on Logan Lake was Caney Point, two miles from the intersection. A cloud crossed the sun, dimming its brightness. Tommy Ray Gresham had been fifteen with his whole future ahead of him when he drowned at the Point. Ben blew out a deep breath and white-knuckled the steering wheel down the road.
His radio crackled to life. “Ben, found something interesting at Billy Wayne’s.”
“Be there in five.” Ben pressed his foot to the gas. Minutes later he rolled to a stop in front of a brick bungalow and parked behind Wade’s truck. Weeds brushed his legs as he cut a swath to the front door. He opened the screen door and stepped into a tiny living room. “Where are you, Wade?”
“In the bedroom. Down the hall on the right.”
Ben’s footsteps echoed on the hardwood floors. “What did you find?”
Wade sat at a desk in front of a laptop. “For starters, that,” he said, jerking his head toward the dresser. A .38 Smith and Wesson lay on the dresser, with a numbered card beside it. “It was under his mattress. Has Olivia Reynolds mentioned what caliber gun was used on Tony Jackson?”
“She won’t know until she gets a report back from the crime lab in Nashville, but she thought it might be a .38 or 9 mm. Anything on the laptop?”
Wade scooted his chair where Ben could see the monitor. “See for yourself. He was a big-time gamer.”
Ghoulish images against a blood-red background filled the computer screen. Hooded or masked cartoon images depicting death and murder. Ben read over Wade’s shoulder as his deputy scrolled the page.
“Looks like he’s a game programmer,” Wade said.
“Apparently for some pretty violent games.” Ben shook his head.
“Look at this.” Wade moved the cursor to another link. “He played them as well. And evidently he was pretty good—this one has twenty levels and four bonus ones.” The deputy glanced up at Ben. “He’d made it to the bonus rounds.”
“You sound like that’s something good. Real or not, all that killing can mess with the mind.”
“Not saying that people don’t get the game world and the real world mixed up, just pointing out he thinks like a killer. It could be a motive if he killed Tony and then went after Leigh.” He popped another screen up. “Read this. It’s a teaser for one of his games.”
Ben read the first lines and sucked in a breath. The Assassin read like a script for stalking and murdering a victim. He scanned to the bottom of the page. “What does that link to?”
“His fan page on Facebook.” Wade clicked on the link and another page opened.
“He chose the Reaper as his name?” Ben muttered. “Really classy.”
Wade nodded toward the gun. “If that matches the slugs found in Tony’s body, I’d say you have your killer. And Leigh’s shooter.”
“Which begs the question of why,” Ben said as he slipped his cell from his pocket and surveyed the blacked-out windows, the clothes littering the floor. He could imagine the oily-haired gamer hunched over the computer, plotting death. He shuddered. It wasimpossible to understand the depravity that existed in the world. He turned back to the computer screen as he punched in Livy’s number.
She answered without any preliminaries. “Did you find anything at the house, Ben?”
“Maybe. We found a .38 Smith and Wesson at Gresham’s.” He filled her in on the rest. “I’ll send two deputies over with the gun.”
“A .38, huh? I’ve seen a lot of fired bullets, and what the coroner dug out of Tony could have been fired from a .38.”
“I’ll email you his websites,” Ben said.
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