Whispers in the Hollow Room by Dan Padavona

Author:Dan Padavona [Padavona, Dan]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Amazon: B0CR76Q9QY
Published: 2024-08-23T00:00:00+00:00

24

Scarlett Bell awakened in the dark to the insistent buzzing of her phone. Wolf was in the next room, asleep on the couch. She rolled over in bed and reached for the nightstand, squinting at the screen. Deputy Director Carter's name flashed. This could only mean one thing.

The clock read 3:47 a.m.

"Bell here."

"Agent Bell, there's been another murder."

Bell sat up. "The Laughing Man?"

"It must have been him. The MO matches. You need to get to the scene before the locals compromise the evidence."

This was the impossible dance he’d forced her to learn. Bell and Gardy would meet with the police and investigate the murder scene, then circumvent the officers so Wolf could lend his expertise. And somehow they’d switch into vigilante mode and kill the murderer before the authorities brought him to justice.

He read her the address. Before she could respond, a knock sounded at the front door. Nobody should be here at this hour.

"I'll get there as soon as I can," she told Carter before hanging up.

Her bare feet touched the floor. She was still in her nightshirt, and she felt a pang of discomfort as she passed Wolf on the way to the door. His hand shot out and grabbed her arm.

“Not so hasty, Scarlett. Allow me.”

He unsheathed the hunting knife and listened at the door. After the hesitation, he grabbed the handle.

She stood on tiptoe to see over his shoulder. Gardy stood in the doorway, fully dressed and ready to go.

“Would you put away the knife?” Gardy growled. “It’s me.”

“As you wish, Agent Gardy,” Wolf said, slipping the knife into its holder.

"How are you already up and dressed?" she asked, feeling self-conscious.

Gardy gave her a confused look. "Carter phoned me thirty minutes ago. Didn’t he call you?"

“Yeah, just now.”

She knew why. Carter trusted Gardy more. This was because Fairbanks had poisoned the well with her accusations. Ironically, it was Gardy who knew the Nguyen family, not Bell.

Bell felt a flush of embarrassment standing there in her nightshirt, but she pushed it aside. She hurried back into her bedroom and threw on a suit, then pulled her hair into a ponytail, grabbed her jacket, and slipped on shoes.

"It’s safe to say the Laughing Man took another victim?" Wolf asked when she returned.

"Yes. Hurry. I don’t know what we’ll encounter at the crime scene."

“Don’t wait for me, Scarlett. I’ll follow at a safe distance.”

Gardy stepped closer. "Is there any reason Carter called me instead of you?"

Bell didn’t want to upset him, but she saw little choice.

“He believes I’m concealing information about the Nguyen murders.”

“What information?”

“That I knew them.”

“But you don’t. David was my friend, not yours.” His face reddened. “Fairbanks. She suspects one of us knew the victims, and she blabbed to Carter.”

“Nailed it.”

“As I said, it’s time we dealt with Fairbanks.”

She looked over Gardy’s shoulder and saw Wolf grinning.

“Say the word, Agent Gardy,” Wolf said. “I’ll fix the problem.”

She didn’t have time to argue. Murdering Fairbanks was the worst plan Wolf had ever devised, and Gardy seemed to support the idea.

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