01 Only Fear by Anne Marie Becker

Author:Anne Marie Becker [Anne Marie Becker]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: The Mindhunters
Publisher: Carina Press
Published: 2011-10-01T22:00:00+00:00

Chapter Eleven

Ethan’s chest tightened as Maggie spoke to her sister, making dinner arrangements for that night when it looked like she’d rather hole up in her house and shut out the world. After she hung up the phone, he put a hand on her shoulder.

“You okay?”

“Fine,” she replied, but every few seconds she pressed a hand to her breastbone.

Panic attacks. He never would have thought she suffered from them. She hid it well. Her secret vulnerability made him all the more determined to protect her.

“At least I know my family is safe.” She frowned. “For the moment. And thank goodness Marconi’s willing to run another recorded show tonight so I don’t have to face the microphone.” Or the possibility Fearmonger would call in. Ethan was feeling relieved about that, too.

His phone rang and he was relieved that the caller ID indicated Noah was finally getting back to him. “Anything?”

“Just left the state hospital,” the detective replied. “They found some letters Deborah had hidden away in her mattress. Looks like Miss Frame had an unusually close relationship with a male pen pal named Owen. I’m guessing the name’s not a coincidence. If his letters are any indication, he was quite the motivational speaker, encouraging her to ‘break out’ and embrace her desires. The guy’s a real charmer.”

Ethan turned toward the window, away from Maggie, who was now speaking with her parents. “Can your source get us a copy of those letters? Maybe we can lift some prints or match his handwriting or something.” He’d take any lead at this point.

“Working on it.”

“Any ideas how Fearmonger broke Frame out?”

“Like I said, the guy’s a real charmer. He apparently has connections and some serious cash. That’s how he got the letters to Deborah without anyone screening them. There’s a guard missing. According to her fellow employees, she’s been boasting about some extra cash flow lately.”

“Bribed?”

“Sounds like it. Until we find her or check her bank statements, we won’t know for sure. Last night she left her post, and no one’s seen her since.”

“Fearmonger has to have been working on this for a long time,” Ethan said. “Which means he’s holding all the cards. He’s in control.” And that scared the shit out of him. No way was he letting Maggie out of his sight. He was instituting a twenty-four-hour-a-day lockdown, of sorts, and too bad what anyone thought of it. “But why target Maggie at all?”

“Well, there is her radio show. She’s something of a local celebrity. And she’s attractive.”

Right. Like any man in his right or wrong mind wouldn’t want Maggie in his bed. But why obsess about teaching her about fear? She’d already been through some damn scary situations. “There has to be some connection we’re overlooking. There’s a reason he’s toying with Maggie. Let’s hope Lorena has a profile ready when we get back.”

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