NEXT BREATH by Kate Bold

Author:Kate Bold [Bold, Kate]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2025-09-18T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

Meg thought they might just have their strongest lead yet in the possible stalker, Robert Herron, who'd supposedly bragged about the crime. The only impediment to their investigation was the worsening snow. With every drift that blew across the car's windshield, Meg felt the coil of worry in her stomach tighten.

This was the ideal weather for the killer to strike again. And if they found Herron at home, she acknowledged there was a chance he might already have done the deed. Snow was building up on the sidewalks fast, and she knew some minor roads would already be impassable, clogged with snow.

The main roads were clogging up with traffic. As her wiper blades flew back and forth, the row of taillights on the road ahead cleared, before the snow blurred them again.

“Come on, traffic,” Alex said through gritted teeth, sounding the way Meg felt inside.

“We’ll get there,” Meg replied calmly.

“My stomach is in knots.” Alex took a water bottle from her purse and offered Meg a sip before gulping some down herself. “I feel like time is running out.”

This wasn’t a conversation that Meg could afford to participate in. Right now, Alex was struggling, her anxiety surging, and Meg needed to provide a calm alternative so that she had someone to lean on.

This happened during cases. Everyone had a low point.

Even Morrison – or perhaps, especially Morrison.

Trying not to add to the sense of impatience that was filling the car, Meg finally managed to get her foot on the gas again as the line of cars eased up. She checked the map. Only one more mile to go.

Alex had her phone open and was alternately scrolling through the news and social media for the area, looking out for any alerts or mentions of a scene that could be the fifth murder.

But by the time they turned onto the quiet side road, there were no alerts as yet. Of course, as they drove through the winding hills, tires skidding occasionally in the snow, Meg started to wonder if the killer might have decided to skip a day. The optimistic voice in her mind started offering alternate scenarios. Perhaps the snowstorm was too violent, perhaps the killer had only wanted to commit one murder this time, or it might even be a copycat crime, with this new killer not as hell bent on maintaining the rhythm as the first killer had been.

“He lives quite a way out of town,” Meg said.

“Yes. He does.” Picking up on her calmness, just like Meg had hoped she would, Alex sounded more settled now.

They were driving in between hills dotted with pine and maple trees, their branches already covered in a thin layer of snow. The tires skidded again, and Meg gritted her teeth as she steered out of the skid. Getting back into town was going to be challenging at best, and if they cleared the author, they’d need to get back as soon as possible. Meg wanted to help with the patrols. If other reservists and civilians were participating, then so could she.

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