Read Online Never Cry Mercy by L. T. Ryan - Free Book Online Page A

the idea that brought on a cold sweat was the possibility that someone had remained outside, where I couldn't see them. They could've waited for me to arrive and then called the cops.
    They would've been here by now. The town wasn't that big. The station was a couple minutes away. Hell, even if they were on a call, they'd have dumped it and come to get me. Murder takes precedence.
    I debated whether to leave then, or call the cops myself. Not sure how they'd react, I called Reese instead.
    "Billie," she answered.
    "It's me."
    "What's going on?"
    "I need you to come over."
    "Where?"
    "You know where."
    "Have you seen the weather?"
    "Ree—," I paused, corrected myself in case anyone snooped on her calls. "Billie, listen to me. Forget the weather and get over here."
    "You think I'm taking my car out in this?"
    "I don't have time for this." I split the blinds and checked outside. Rain poured heavy. The street remained deserted. "Find a way to get over here as soon as you can."
    There was a break in the storm a few moments after hanging up. Reese showed up not too long after. She came in through the backdoor dressed in sweats, her hair matted from the rain during her short jog from her car to the door. I was standing in the kitchen, backed up against the fridge.
    "The hell, Jack?" Her gaze swept past me and froze on the living room. Her furrowed brows lifted. Mouth dropped open. Angry eyes grew concerned.
    I turned, headed into the room. "Follow me."
    "Dear God," she said, stepping through the threshold from the kitchen to the living room.
    "It gets worse." I climbed six steps, stopped on the landing, looked back at her. "It's bad, Reese. Probably as bad as anything you saw in the city."
    "I can handle it."
    "You sure?" It was one thing to strip away human emotion when you were looking at just another homicide. Sure, there'd be some that would stand out more than others. But when it came to people you knew, it was almost impossible to ignore it.
    She nodded, pushed past me. At the first step she hesitated and whispered Herbie's name. I followed her up, trying to see everything for the first time again. Perhaps I missed something due to the shock and surprise of the situation.
    There were no bloody footprints on the carpet. No torn clothing left behind, at least not anything clearly visible. No casings. They probably wore gloves.
    Reese stopped in front of the bedroom door, reached out and let her hand hover in front of Ingrid's bloody print. I remained behind, near Herbie's body. The detective in her had to process what she was seeing without my interference. First, she had to get past what she knew she was bound to see.
    She pushed the door open, took a step inside, froze. Her head turned to where I could see her profile. Tears streamed down her cheek. Her gaze was fixed on Ingrid's lifeless body.
    I broke my plan to stay behind and joined her in the bedroom.
    "She was murdered over there." I aimed a finger toward the window. "I figure she was with Herbie when he was murdered, judging by that bloody handprint on the outside of the door. Or she managed to get upstairs shortly afterward, while the killer was still there. She ran to the room, stumbled and hit the door, crawled along the floor there where there's blood stains, then tried to get to the window to escape or call for help."
    Reese glanced back at the bed. "She was shot in the front."
    "Right," I said. "She faced her executioner. She looked into the son of a bitch's eyes, probably pleading by name for him to let her live."
    "But he didn't," she said. "He took her life, and then put her to bed."
    I nodded, said nothing.
    "They knew her." Reese looked at up me, tears still welling in her eyes. The detective was losing the battle with her emotional side. "I mean, everyone in this town knows each other, but this person knew her well enough to want her corpse to rest comfortably. In some way, they loved her. They didn't show Herbie that same consideration."
    I continued