Texas Target by Barb Han

Author:Barb Han
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2020-08-11T16:03:11+00:00

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CHERYL TANNING HAD no visible signs of molestation. There was no DNA left on her body or found on the scene. Nothing under her fingernails. No sign that she’d fought back.

She’d been secretly dating someone. There was nothing in her cell phone record that would indicate she’d been seeing someone. Her credit cards showed no unusual activity. At least one of her friends regretted teasing her about being a call girl, saying she started having a lot more cash than usual. The response had been that Cheryl stopped returning calls and texts for a while.

The strangulation came from behind. The method of killing was personal. The killer would have to have been literally standing right behind Cheryl. She didn’t fight back, so maybe she thought her lover was playing a joke or trying to arouse her.

There were several bruises on Cheryl’s body in varying stages of healing. She worked as a waitress and took night school classes. A waitressing job could explain the bruises on her thighs and arms. But so could sexual exploration.

A defense attorney might argue Cheryl Tanning liked it rough in the bedroom. Or, at the very least, participated. Even if her lover had been identified, he wasn’t necessarily guilty. Although, this kind of killing was personal. Staring at the evidence and the summary, Dawson was convinced the murderer was someone inside her circle despite the way the body had been dumped down the well.

The killer might have panicked. The police officer’s report stated there’d been leaves tossed into the well after her body. Covering her up? Or covering her? As strange as it sounded, the sicko might have been covering her so she wouldn’t get cold.

Dawson had seen enough deranged and sadistic people to last a lifetime. So, the leaves could actually be a sign of caring in a twisted way. Or a type of burial depending on religious affiliation. Even some cold-blooded killers believed they were spiritual. Hell, some killed out of ritual.

In this case, though, this bastard seemed well on his way to becoming a serial killer. The rule of thumb was three murders spread out over time.

If this killer believed that Autumn had lived, he would stop at nothing to silence her. There were all kinds of questions racing around in Dawson’s mind.

“She didn’t have a family, either,” Summer noted.

“But Autumn did have a family. She had you.”

“He didn’t know that. Think about it, she hid me from you, too. I barely knew about you and the two of you were married.” She made a good point. “Except that you weren’t really.”

“True.” He rocked his head. “Then, that’s part of his MO.”

“Maybe he thinks no one will notice that they’ve gone missing and it’ll give him more time to cover his tracks.”

“I was thinking the same thing.” Dawson pulled out the notepad and pen that he’d tucked into his emergency bag. He jotted down the fact the perp isolated his victims.

“Why did he decide to kill her, though?” she asked. “Like when did he know? The minute he started the affair?”

“It’s possible.

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