Hush Little Baby Read Online Free Page B

well.
    ‘I feel like I’m going to a funeral.’
    ‘If that was the case you wouldn’t be wearing sneakers. Back inside. You’ve got one minute then I’m leaving.’
    ‘The shoes, they came from a thrift store, right?’
    Yoko nodded. ‘I wasn’t sure of your size. There was no way I was going to buy a half-dozen pairs of brand new shoes. Not on my salary.’
    ‘I’m not wearing a dead man’s shoes.’
    ‘Why not? You don’t seem to have a problem wearing a dead man’s suit.’
     Winter made a face and looked down at the suit like he was seeing it for the first time. ‘Jesus, you’re serious, aren’t you?’
    ‘Fifty seconds. If you want to come with me then hurry up.’
    Winter swore under his breath and disappeared back into the room. She heard him thumping around like a teenager. Thirty seconds passed, forty. When he eventually reappeared he was scowling harder than ever. She looked him up and down again, nodded her approval.
    ‘The hair needs a bit of work, but you definitely look more like an FBI agent.’
    Winter shook his head and got in the car.

Chapter 6
    The police department’s headquarters was based in an office block on North Franklin Street. It was utilitarian and drab, a typical government building. TAMPA POLICE was written on the front in large sickly yellow letters that clashed with the blues and greys of the rest of the building.
    They went inside and walked over to the cop manning the main desk. Yoko showed her badge and told him they were there to see Lieutenant Perez. He glanced at the badge, then waved them towards a corridor that was blocked by a metal detector. Winter went first and passed straight through. Yoko laid her gun in a tray, then followed.
    She kept stealing glances at him as they walked towards the elevators. He looked good in a suit. Older, more grown up. More mature. Most importantly, he looked the part. It was amazing the difference a uniform made. Wear the right uniform and people were more than happy to accept the image you were projecting. Wear a suit, a red tie and a white shirt, and people would accept that you were a federal agent. Winter hit the call button then took a step back and looked up at the red numbers. He hadn’t said a word all the way over here, just sat in the passenger seat, squirming inside the confines of the suit.
    ‘What are you thinking?’ she asked.
    He stopped watching the numbers and looked at her instead. ‘The first pair of victims were found a little over six months ago, victims three and four turned up two months ago, and Heidi and Suzy were found this morning. The murders are happening closer together, which means this unsub is devolving.’
    ‘That’s the way I read it. I think we have a month before he strikes again, perhaps less.’
    ‘In that case we must go swiftly, Special Agent Tanaka,’ he said breezily. ‘Time is of the essence.’
    Yoko gave him a look that was part disbelief, part disappointment. ‘This is no time for jokes, Jefferson. Six people are dead. If we do our job properly, then we’ll hopefully catch this guy before he kills again. If we don’t, more people will die. Those are the stakes.’
    He fell silent again and didn’t say a word for the entire journey up to the fourth floor. The doors dinged open, but he didn’t move.
    ‘You’re right,’ he said eventually. ‘It wasn’t funny.’
    ‘These are real lives we’re dealing with here, don’t ever forget that. When someone is murdered it’s like they’ve been ripped away from their loved ones. It’s brutal and catastrophic and, for those left behind, life will never be the same again.’
    ‘I’ll bear that in mind.’
    ‘See you do.’
    Homicide had an open-plan office on the north side of the building. It was getting on for nine at night but the room was still busy. Detectives on phones, detectives scratching heads, all of them searching for that elusive lead that was going to crack the case wide open. Yoko wasn’t surprised to see