She was, after all, the officer in charge of the investigation. But it still felt like he’d taken a hard right hook to his gut when she took the stand, averted her gaze from him and swore to tell the truth. She looked as cool and professional as she always did, dressed in a subdued but nicely fit...
Kate took a step backwards, confusion warring with fear. Commander Hannaford’s smile was wide and welcoming—and reminded her of a snake waiting for its prey. She tried to hide her unease beneath a veneer of bravado. “Commander Hannaford, what a surprise. What are you doing here?” The smile remain...
Another night shift, her last one before she had time off. Twelve hours and it would be over, at least for a couple of days. She’d be free to sleep in, take Sam to the park, touch up the highlights in her hair, talk to her mother. It felt like they’d barely spoken the last couple of weeks, doing ...
Clayton heard Tom’s knock on the front door and his shoulders slumped in relief. He stood and met his brother halfway down the entry hall. Another brother, Brandon, was right behind Tom. Emotion tightened Clayton’s chest at the sight of them. “Clay, thank Christ you called me,” Tom said, his expr...
She felt the weight of it like a tangible, living thing in her chest. Something about Andy inspired trust and invited confidences. She wanted to tell him. Besides, it would be a relief to have someone else to talk to about it. Ever since the death of her aunt, there’d been no one but Kate to conf...
“Savannah! Hi, you’re here. I finally got out of the bathroom. I hope I don’t have to go back there in a hurry. It took me forever to reach the front of the queue. What is it with women and the bathroom? I know I should have gone before we left home, but you know, we were running late and the tax...
The fact that the man she’d been in love with for more than a decade still held the power to hurt her, stirred her anger. She was no longer an innocent young teenager, high on life and love. She’d grown and matured; she had a successful career. She didn’t need a man in her life to make her feel w...
Physical pain will eventually dull and fade away; my emotional pain is like a cancer; it’s silent and slowly gnaws away at anything that was ever good in my life. Being with my husband has been like experiencing a living death. How can I explain it to someone who has never been through this other...
A monster was luring a string of young Canberra girls into their clutches and then savagely beating them to death. As a senior profiler with the Australian Federal Police, he’d been asked to put together a profile of the perpetrator, but try as he might, today his mind wouldn’t stay focused. It m...
Ellie thumped her fist on the steering wheel and shook her head in frustration. With Evelyn Ward’s pain still fresh in her mind, the last place she wanted to be was waiting outside yet another house to confirm the news no parent ever wanted to hear. Clayton remained silent. He opened the passenge...
Police and ambulance vehicles littered the front lawn. Another van, this one parked closest to the walkway that led up to her front door had the word “morgue” stenciled across it in reflective gold lettering. A small crowd had gathered in the far corner, right beneath the ancient gum tree, its ba...
Pale morning light filtered in through the tinted windows that lined two walls of the squad room. Cameron sat at his desk, methodically going through files and feeling less than enthusiastic. “Cameron, have you got a minute?” Cameron looked up from his computer screen and nodded toward his boss. ...
Another rush of adrenaline surged through him at the thought of what lay ahead. A call had come over the radio about a two-car pile-up that also involved a fuel tanker. He didn’t want to imagine what might happen if the tanker was leaking and they didn’t get there in time. He glanced across at hi...