Read Online The Best Man to Trust by Kerry Connor - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Kerry Connor
Ads: Link
reached the door. “But why?”
“Because the killer wanted her to be discovered.”
It was Rick who drew the conclusion, but Tom nodded an instant later. “It makes the most sense. If she’d simply been left in here, she most likely wouldn’t have been found until morning, maybe when she didn’t come down for breakfast. Putting her in the middle of the hallway, where someone would absolutely see her if they needed to use the bathroom, guaranteed she would be found sooner.”
Goose bumps raised along her skin as the implications of it sank in.
“The killer wanted everyone to know this had happened,” Meredith said numbly. “He—or she—wanted everyone to be afraid.”
“I’d say mission accomplished then,” Tom said.
“It makes sense, since the knife was left in her,” Rick said. “It couldn’t have been easy to move her like that. Or else the killer stuck the knife back in after she was moved.”
“The killer wanted to make sure everyone not only knew that she was dead, but exactly how she died.” It would have been horrifying enough to find Haley lying in the middle of the floor with her chest coated in blood. But actually seeing the big knife, leaving no doubt exactly what had killed her, had made it so much worse.
Meredith let out a long, deep breath, trying to control her racing pulse. “It’s not just to scare everybody, is it? It’s a warning. Whoever it is intends to kill again.”
As much as she wanted someone to disagree, no one argued the conclusion.
“Maybe we should get out of here,” Tom said. “I have everything I need.”
“Good idea,” Meredith agreed. She reached in her pocket for her keys. “I’ll lock the room so no one else can come in until the police get here.”
They quickly filed back to the exit. Rick and Tom ducked through first. Shutting off the light, Meredith pulled the door shut and locked it behind her.
Turning around, her eyes fell back on the trail of blood on the floor. Frowning, she automatically checked the floor around the rest of the body. “There’s no blood leading to any of the other rooms.”
Tom nodded. “I noticed that.”
“That’s strange, isn’t it? I’m no blood expert, but wouldn’t the killer have gotten some on him—or her?” Given Haley’s injuries, it seemed inevitable.
“I would say so,” Rick agreed.
“Yet they managed to not leave a trail leading back to them.”
“Whoever it is was very careful,” Tom observed. “Most likely, the killer knew what he was doing.”
Meredith didn’t miss the glance Tom shot at Rick, his steady gaze full of suspicion. A wave of indignation rose inside her, and she had to bite back the retort that rose to her lips, not wanting to say anything in front of Rick. In all fairness she knew Tom had every right to suspect him. Everyone had to be considered a possible suspect, but it only made sense that he would especially question someone who was a complete stranger to him.
But Meredith was equally convinced Rick couldn’t be responsible. “There’s something else,” Meredith said. She forced herself to look back at the body. “That knife,” she said, indicating the item still jutting out of Jessica’s chest. “I don’t recognize the handle. It’s definitely not one from the house.”
She watched Tom process that information in light of what they’d discussed earlier. “Which means it probably belongs to whoever did this. They must have brought it with them.”
It did seem like the most likely explanation. The only alternative she could think of would be that the knife belonged to Haley and it had somehow been used against her, but she couldn’t imagine why Haley would have brought a knife like that. No, the most reasonable explanation was that it had been brought here for this very purpose. “So this wasn’t something that happened on the spur of the moment. It was premeditated. Whoever it was came here intending to do this....”
Her voice faded as it hit her
“Because the killer wanted her to be discovered.”
It was Rick who drew the conclusion, but Tom nodded an instant later. “It makes the most sense. If she’d simply been left in here, she most likely wouldn’t have been found until morning, maybe when she didn’t come down for breakfast. Putting her in the middle of the hallway, where someone would absolutely see her if they needed to use the bathroom, guaranteed she would be found sooner.”
Goose bumps raised along her skin as the implications of it sank in.
“The killer wanted everyone to know this had happened,” Meredith said numbly. “He—or she—wanted everyone to be afraid.”
“I’d say mission accomplished then,” Tom said.
“It makes sense, since the knife was left in her,” Rick said. “It couldn’t have been easy to move her like that. Or else the killer stuck the knife back in after she was moved.”
“The killer wanted to make sure everyone not only knew that she was dead, but exactly how she died.” It would have been horrifying enough to find Haley lying in the middle of the floor with her chest coated in blood. But actually seeing the big knife, leaving no doubt exactly what had killed her, had made it so much worse.
Meredith let out a long, deep breath, trying to control her racing pulse. “It’s not just to scare everybody, is it? It’s a warning. Whoever it is intends to kill again.”
As much as she wanted someone to disagree, no one argued the conclusion.
“Maybe we should get out of here,” Tom said. “I have everything I need.”
“Good idea,” Meredith agreed. She reached in her pocket for her keys. “I’ll lock the room so no one else can come in until the police get here.”
They quickly filed back to the exit. Rick and Tom ducked through first. Shutting off the light, Meredith pulled the door shut and locked it behind her.
Turning around, her eyes fell back on the trail of blood on the floor. Frowning, she automatically checked the floor around the rest of the body. “There’s no blood leading to any of the other rooms.”
Tom nodded. “I noticed that.”
“That’s strange, isn’t it? I’m no blood expert, but wouldn’t the killer have gotten some on him—or her?” Given Haley’s injuries, it seemed inevitable.
“I would say so,” Rick agreed.
“Yet they managed to not leave a trail leading back to them.”
“Whoever it is was very careful,” Tom observed. “Most likely, the killer knew what he was doing.”
Meredith didn’t miss the glance Tom shot at Rick, his steady gaze full of suspicion. A wave of indignation rose inside her, and she had to bite back the retort that rose to her lips, not wanting to say anything in front of Rick. In all fairness she knew Tom had every right to suspect him. Everyone had to be considered a possible suspect, but it only made sense that he would especially question someone who was a complete stranger to him.
But Meredith was equally convinced Rick couldn’t be responsible. “There’s something else,” Meredith said. She forced herself to look back at the body. “That knife,” she said, indicating the item still jutting out of Jessica’s chest. “I don’t recognize the handle. It’s definitely not one from the house.”
She watched Tom process that information in light of what they’d discussed earlier. “Which means it probably belongs to whoever did this. They must have brought it with them.”
It did seem like the most likely explanation. The only alternative she could think of would be that the knife belonged to Haley and it had somehow been used against her, but she couldn’t imagine why Haley would have brought a knife like that. No, the most reasonable explanation was that it had been brought here for this very purpose. “So this wasn’t something that happened on the spur of the moment. It was premeditated. Whoever it was came here intending to do this....”
Her voice faded as it hit her
Similar Books
