Ripper Read Online Free

you’re interested in sex again. Come on. Put on your ‘serious PI’ face and let’s go back to college. It’ll be fun. Maybe we can find a hot college boy for you to play with. You’re a mysterious older woman. I bet they’ll go crazy for you.”
    I groaned at the thought of Liv pointing out potential boy toys the rest of the afternoon.
    But I put on a little lip-gloss before I left anyway.
     
    * * * *
     
    I turned off Mockingbird onto Ownby Drive while Liv shoved another CD into the player.
    “When you get all big time with this gig, I think we should get you a better car,” Liv said as she fiddled with the volume.
    “I like this car.” I’d had the blue Jeep since I was twenty. I’d gotten her after saving up for two years, and even then my mom had chipped in. Jamie had done the needed mechanical work to get her running at full speed and still did the upkeep on her. I had zero desire to drive anything nicer than the navy blue Jeep I’d lovingly kept running for the last six years.
    Liv laughed as I started looking for parking. “Do you ever get rid of anything? Okay, how about this? How about you get a couple of big paychecks and we replace the sound system in here?”
    “That’s a deal.” I had no idea where she thought those big paychecks would be coming from. Mrs. Taylor had given me a five hundred dollar retainer and I wasn’t sure she could afford much more than that.
    Liv liked her music loud and very rock and roll. Though she dressed like the high school teacher she was, her tastes tended toward hard rock and punk. I wondered if her students knew how much time we used to spend in clubs banging our heads and drinking beer. I always got wistful when I thought of those days. It seemed hard to believe they were gone. I was only twenty-six. I should still feel young, right?
    “Will you just park, please? The building is right there.” Liv pointed to the stately looking dormitory.
    “I have to look for an open visitor space. The campus police are always on the lookout for a ticket writing possibility.”
     She pointed. “Take that one right there.”
    It was a prime spot and obviously reserved for staff. I pulled in anyway because Liv can be bossy at times and I didn’t have the energy to argue with her over how far she had to walk. “I’m sending you the bill for the ticket.”
    She reached into her stylish bag. She pulled out a piece of plastic. It was shaped like one of those parking stickers that hang from your rearview mirror, but it was completely blank. “Oh, ye of little faith.” she said as she placed it properly.
    “New charm?”
    Liv was a practical witch. She was always looking for new ways to use her talents to make our lives less expensive.
    “They’ll see exactly what they expect to see,” she said with a proud grin on her face. “I already tested it out. I left my car at Love Field when Scott and I went to Vegas. I parked in the arrivals section for three days and presto…no ticket.”
    We got out of the car and started to walk up the lovely tree-lined sidewalks toward Joanne Taylor’s campus home.
    I reached in my bag and pulled out a business card. I hoped Helen Taylor had done her job as we approached the front desk. It was manned by an efficient-looking girl in her early twenties.
    “Hello, how may I help you?” Her nametag identified her as Sharon.
    I smiled my most professional smile as I handed her my business card. “Hi, Sharon. I’m Kelsey Atwood. Helen Taylor was supposed to call and inform…”
    Sharon’s eyes went big and tears started to form. “Yes, absolutely she did. The director told me you were coming. We all love Joanne. I can’t believe this is happening. Do you think it’s a serial killer? Do you think she’s just the first? How should I protect myself?”
    The questions were rapid fire and hit me with the blast of a machine gun. It was all I could do not to step back because she was leaning forward over her desk. I shot a look at Liv. We