Read Online Disarming Detective by Elizabeth Heiter - Free Book Online

took off on his own, usually chasing skirts. “You’re not letting her out of your sight, are you?”
    “Are you kidding me?” There was nothing funny in Scott’s tone. “Maggie may be the SWAT agent, but I’m still her big brother. I’m sticking close.”
    Not that Maggie should be in any immediate danger, even if Ella was wrong and the Fishhook Rapist wasn’t still in Florida. He had never gone back for any of his victims. But they’d planned the vacation a few months ago, when Maggie had gotten a letter, in which the writer claimed to be him.
    The letter hadn’t made any threats. If the sender hadn’t made reference to an evening in September nearly a decade ago, you might have thought it was a love letter. It made Ella feel nauseated just thinking about it.
    Follow-up by a case agent had revealed that he hadn’t communicated with any of his other victims. The FBI lab hadn’t been able to get anything useful off of Maggie’s letter. And none of them were really sure how the Fishhook Rapist had tracked down Maggie’s address. Follow-up on the postbox in Georgia from which the letter had been sent hadn’t given them anything useful. Without any real leads, that had seemed to be the end of it.
    But ever since the letter had arrived, she and Scott had made a vow to watch out for Maggie. Between the three of them, Scott and Maggie were the most trained and skilled in a fight. Maggie had been with the Washington Field Office’s SWAT team for the past four years and Scott had joined the FBI’s Hostage Rescue Team as a sniper a year ago.
    Ella knew she could help best by being here, and now that she had just Scott on the phone... She opened her mouth to tell him why she’d bailed on their vacation, but he spoke first.
    “Maggie got another letter.”
    Anger flooded her system, mixed with a heavy hit of fear. Sudden contact like this wasn’t good. Especially if it was escalating. “When?”
    “The day we left for California.”
    Which explained why Maggie had looked so uneasy at the airport. The guilt Ella had been holding back burst like a broken dam. “Where was it postmarked from?”
    “Some town in Florida.”
    “Not Cape Coral?”
    “No. Somewhere north of there.”
    So not Oakville, either. “What did the letter say?”
    “Same old crap,” Scott said, fury simmering in his voice. “No overt threats, just...his sick fantasy.”
    “I’m so sorry I’m not there.”
    She’d spoken so quietly she wasn’t even sure Scott had heard her until he replied, “Are you going to tell me why you’re not?”
    “I got a case—”
    “I’ve known you all your life, kiddo.” Beneath the anger over what was happening to Maggie, there was a hint of annoyance in his tone. “Give it to me straight.”
    “Really. Logan came to me with a case. I was planning to read the file, give him a quick analysis, and get to the airport. But when I read it...” Ella let out a heavy breath. “Scott, I’m in Florida. A place called Oakville, south of Cape Coral. The victim here was murdered and dumped in the marsh, but first she was burned on the back of her neck. Too much decomp to tell for sure, but it could be a hook.”
    There was a long pause before Scott said, “You took the case on your own.”
    It wasn’t a question, but Ella answered anyway. “Yes. I still don’t know if they’re connected, but this girl looks a lot like Maggie did ten years ago. And if it is the same person... Scott, I might be able to catch him before another September first comes around.”
    There was a strong protective note in Scott’s voice when he warned her, “Be careful, Ella. And call me. I want updates. Every day, okay?”
    “Yeah, okay. You’re not going to say anything to Maggie, are you? Not until I know for sure?”
    “No, I’ll wait. She actually bought your story. And she’s relaxed for the first time in months. The beach is doing her good.”
    “That’s great.” Ella raised her head and realized she’d