Dixon's Duty Read Online Free Page A

Donna the previous night.
    “Can I bring you anything else?” she asked pleasantly.
    “No, everything was great.” Dix inserted a credit card into the vinyl ticket folder. “I do need to ask you a question, though.”
    Bryan slipped an arm around the girl’s waist. “Sami, this is Detective Dixon from the KCPD. A woman was killed near here last night, and someone said they thought she’d come from the bar before it happened.”
    Sami swallowed. “I didn’t work last night.”
    Dix held up the photo. “Do you recall seeing her before? Might not have been yesterday. Could have been earlier.”
    She studied the shot. “She looks vaguely familiar, but not really. I don’t think so.” Sami put her hands on Bryan’s chest. “She was killed near here?”
    “In an alley a block over.” Dix watched their interaction.
    “I’m sorry, sweetie.” Bryan kissed her forehead. “I didn’t want you to find about it, but I guess you do need to know, so you can take precautions.”
    “What kind of precautions, Daddy?” She blinked.
    Dix gulped . Daddy? He was her father?
    Abby leant back with a satisfied smile.
    Bryan said, “Like, when you get ready to leave at night, you girls should walk out together. Or have someone walk you out. Right, Detective?”
    Dix pulled his thoughts together. “Absolutely. Stay in groups of two or three—more is better. Have your car keys in your hand, you can use a key as a weapon in case of emergency. Carry your cell phone and maybe even some pepper spray. But be sure of what you’re doing so you don’t spray an innocent bystander.”
    She chuckled.
    Dix heard his own words echoing back in his head. Innocent bystander . Abby had suggested that was what Bryan was. Had he got his vibes crossed earlier in the day? Had the niggling feelings of guilt and suspicion he’d sensed actually been something completely different?
    Like lust?
    Dix cleared his throat, and tried to calm his thudding heartbeat.
    When their gazes locked, Bryan licked his lips.

Chapter Two
    “There’s been another murder.”
    Dix had got the dreaded call early the next morning. This victim had been discovered by someone she knew, so her family had found out at the same time as the police. It had made for quite a scene—distraught family members and a squad of police officers standing together in an alley off Baker Street.
    He returned to the squad room and tacked a photo of Norma Lear on the evidence board. She appeared much like the other victims, twenty-five, with long blonde hair and happy blue eyes. The second picture he posted didn’t show the happy eyes. Just a brutalized woman who’d been raped, burned and strangled. Probably in that order . Dix sighed.
    “What do you think?” His captain, Rick Alvarez, leant back against the nearest desk. “Same guy?”
    Dix shrugged. “Not much to go on, but the similarities are striking. The victims were all Caucasian with long blonde hair. The killer’s MO has been the same in all three cases. We’re crazy if we don’t think they’re related.”
    “But no other connecting factors.”
    “Not yet. We’re looking. Each of the women was last seen leaving a bar or a restaurant. No one remembers seeing them leave with any particular person, or even talking to someone who stood out. Mac’s running down Norma Lear’s final hours.”
    Alvarez touched the latest photo. “So we’re looking for someone who doesn’t stand out. Imagine that.”
    “Yeah. Go figure.” Dix rubbed his face with his hands.
    “Hey, Dixon,” someone from the front of the office called. “You have a visitor.”
    He glanced up and saw Bryan Scott looking at him. His heart skipped a beat. What the hell is he doing here? Dix’s mind went in several different directions, all of which caused the stirrings of another erection in his trousers.
    He shook his head. Don’t be an idiot. He’s here about the case. He motioned for Bryan to come back and met him by his desk. “Hey. How’s it