Shadow of Danger Read Online Free Page A

twelve and a half minutes to walk to where the three women were found. I’d imagine it would take our guy about the same, even if he ran it, because he was carrying dead weight.”
    “So, say twelve minutes there, he could sprint back, maybe round trip you’re looking at twenty plus times three,” Roy said, staring in the direction where the three women had been found lying side by side.
    Mitchell nodded. “Plus it was dark. He probably couldn’t use a flashlight because his hands were already full.”
    “Right. It might have taken him even longer.” John pointed to the woman a few feet from them. “This last victim…he adjusted his plans because he knew he was running out of time.”
    Mitchell eyed him for a moment. “Of course this is all based on the assumption that they’re decomposing at the same time.”
    “Of course,” John conceded. Although he knew in his gut he was right, he also knew the CSU tech would follow procedure and waste time.
    “Good theory, but after the bodies have been removed, I’m still going to have my people do that search. You never know.” He shrugged then walked off toward the embankment to one of the CSU vans parked alongside the road.
    Roy motioned him to do the same, but John stopped him, and scanned the highway again. “Sheriff, how many truckers do you get through here?”
    “Quite a few, but my deputies, Ed Young and Dan Malvern would be able to tell you more on that. This is the area they’re assigned to patrol.”
    “Are they here?”
    “Both of ‘em. Ed’s the one who’d found the first body. Hang tight.” Roy pulled out his cell phone, and punched his speed dial. “Ed, grab Dan and meet me at my cruiser.”
    John followed Roy up the embankment leading to the sheriff’s car. “Who found the others?”
    “That’d be Deputy Lloyd Nelson. He was that big guy working with the CSU techs down by the three vics.”
    The Viking. He remembered the man now. As tall as Roy, only trimmer, leaner, and more muscled, with a shock of white blond hair drifting from beneath his department-issued tan hat.
    “Do you want me to call him in?”
    A deputy, who looked like a mustachioed Howdy Doody on steroids, approached Roy’s county squad car. Another man, big, lean and looking as if he’d just watched someone run over his dog with a tractor trailer, stood next to him.
    Tractor trailer.
    John viewed the highway as if for the first time, then turned to the sheriff. “I’ll talk to Nelson later. Young and Malvern?” He thumbed to the two deputies.
    The sheriff nodded.
    “How many truckers do you get through this area?” he asked them.
    “Plenty,” Ed Young said, bobbing his head, a bit of color returning to his pale cheeks.
    “They like this run because it’s a fast detour to the interstate. Considering how short staffed we are, there aren’t many deputies to patrol the area so they can speed on through,” Dan Malvern said, his red mustache twitching as he curled his lips. 
    “How often do you pass through here in a night?”
    “Every two hours or so,” Dan said. “Sometimes longer if we’re held up by a speeder or maybe a DUI.”
    “Hell, John, that would fit right in the time—”
    “Thank you. Give us a moment.” John waited until the deputy walked away, then turned to Ed Young. “So you were the one who found the first victim?”
    “Yeah, I traded shifts with Dan. He didn’t have anyone to look after his wife last night. I was making my last run, and had to take a leak...” His cheeks reddened. “And that’s when I...I found.” He shut his eyes. “I found the body.”
    “You didn’t touch anything?”
    “Nothing,” he said with vehemence.
    “Thank you, if we need anything else—”
    “Roy knows where to find me,” he finished, his blank eyes on the CSU team working the crime scene. “Am I dismissed, Roy? I need...”
    “Head home,” Roy told the deputy.
    As the deputy walked off, John noticed a rusted, silver minivan pull up behind