Read Online Shelby's Secret (Once a Marine, Always a Marine Book 4) by Kori David - Free Book Online

for her office was already on the way, because she’d let her co-workers handle the heavy lifting.
    Stepping carefully to avoid the cracked concrete, she picked her way through the overgrown weeds and glass that littered the sidewalk. She didn’t want to nose dive into the parking lot because one of her heels got stuck in a crack.
    “I’m sorry, lady, but you can’t be here.”
    Casey looked up to see a plain-clothed detective standing in her way about midway to the warehouse. “Excuse me?”
    “This is a police matter. And we won’t allow the press inside. You should know that.”
    His tone rankled, like he was talking to an errant child escaping from the romper room. Good thing she wasn’t armed because she might have shot him, just for the tone. Clearly, he was new.
    Giving him a scathing look, she weighed her options of getting around him without explaining who she was. But the heels were problematic. “Who says I’m press?”
    He frowned at that.
    She was glad. Casey reluctantly admitted the guy was cute. Tall, but with a thinner build than most of the cops she was used to dealing with. Not that he was skinny—no—he was well muscled. He had serious blue eyes that contrasted interestingly with sandy brown hair that would look great tussled after sex. She noticed he was giving her a thorough once-over as well.  
    While he liked what he saw, his gaze remained serious and he was still frowning. “I guess you could be a hooker with a hard-on for crime scenes.”
    She burst out laughing because it was such an outrageous thing to say. Casey didn’t even take offense at being called a hooker, especially since her heels were fuck-me red to match her lipstick. He clearly hadn’t seen the local flavor if he thought the Phoenix hookers took this much time with hair and make-up. Seeing a shadow over the new guy’s shoulder, Casey peeked around to see Mike. “You gonna help me out over here? Your rookie thinks I’m a hooker.”
    “High-priced call-girl maybe, but hooker?” Mike’s eyebrow was raised.
    Casey smiled at him and shook her head. “At least it’s more accurate. You call—I’m a girl—here I am. All dressed up and unable to get to the body because Deputy Do-Right here is blocking my way.”
    “Daniel Wolfe meet Casey Henderson, senior medical examiner.” Mike made the introductions. “You look great, Case, sorry to pull you out of whatever you were doing.”
    “No worries, Mike. My date was a dud.” She tossed her keys to the cute detective saying, “Be a doll and grab my case out of the trunk, will ya?” Then she swept around Detective Wolfe and followed Mike toward the building. By then, she was all business. “I expected more patrol cars. Who found the body?”
    “Your errand boy. He played a hunch off a video feed our suspect sent to a witness. Turns out he was right. We’ve got a couple of patrol units enroute now to secure the perimeter, but they’re not coming inside so the scene has stayed as pristine as I could make it.”
    “New guy has some chops, huh?”
    Mike nodded. “He’s a good guy. Came over a couple of weeks ago from burglary where he was making a name for himself. This is his first homicide investigation.”
    “He’s cute.”
    “Well, I’m not really into guys, so I’ll take your word for it. And if you start talking about his ass or package, I’m leaving you alone with the rats.”
    She laughed as she followed Mike though the remains of an office space and out into the warehouse. The smell was enough of a warning that she knew her heels were toast. When they stepped into the warehouse and she saw the poor girl lying on the bed without any eyes, Casey got mad. “I’d like to peel off this asshole’s face while he squirms.”
    “Stand in line,” Mike muttered.
    “This is Shelby Lynn’s third video, isn’t it?” She’d made a point of looking them up after the first murder.
    Mike nodded and moved to the side.
    She would need more light, but she could