Side Effects: An FBI Psychological Thriller Read Online Free Page A

can I leave if I don’t know where I am?”
    “Not my problem.” Hal turned to leave.
    “ Wait . Money and a hot meal if you help me get out of here. Even a warm bed if you want.”
    Hal turned back to the man. “I’m not into no rough trade, mister.”
    The man held up a hand. “Whoa, you misunderstand, my friend. I’m not looking for anything like that. All I need is someone to get me outta here—I feel like I’ve been going in circles. I was just offering compensation if you helped me. I’ll pay you whatever you think’s fair.” The man’s smile finally left for a more appropriate look of anxiety.
    “I’ll give you directions, mister, but I ain’t getting in your car.”
    “I’ve already gotten directions— three times . You can see how good they did me. What I need is someone to show me.”
    “Sorry, mister.” Hal turned to leave again.
    “ Please .”
    Hal stopped, sighed, then turned back around. He pegged the man as a typical suburbanite who’d wandered too far from his picket fence. If he left a guy like that to continue driving around aimlessly in this part of town it would only be a matter of time until he was a statistic.
    The man was offering a hot meal. Since Hal had chosen solitude over a good spot in line at the soup kitchen tonight, it was a damn tempting offer. Hal could get him to hit up a drive-thru and buy him half a dozen—heck, a dozen —burgers. Enough to last him the week. The man also said he’d pay whatever Hal wanted. That was nice. Cash was always nice.
    Still, so many crazies around these days, so many perverts, suburbanite or not. In fact, it seemed like all the real crazies Hal read about were creepy white guys from the burbs.
    “How much money we talking?” Hal asked.
    The man quickly dug into his pocket and produced a thick wad of bills. “You can have it all. Just get me the heck out of here, please.”
    Hal gaped at the wad as though it were Jennifer Aniston herself. Even if the wad contained all ones, it was more than Hal would see in months.
    A dozen burgers and a pocket full of cash. If he didn’t take it, someone else would. And then a voice in his head, both genuine and with a selfish need for justification: And that someone else just might kill the poor fool.
    “I get all of that?” Hal asked.
    “All of it.”
    “Dinner too?”
    “Absolutely.”
    “You try and mess with me, it’ll be the last thing your lily-white ass ever does, mister.”
    The man shook his head adamantly. “No, no, never—never.”
    Hal nodded. “All right then, mister.”
    The man started smiling again.

CHAPTER 4
    Towanda, Pennsylvania
     
    The crime scene was in a remote wooded area in the rural town of Towanda. Definitely out there. Morris held up the police tape for me. I thanked him and ducked under. We stood side by side without speaking for a tick, taking it all in. The initial responding officers had done a good job at blocking the area off and setting up grids. Morris immediately took me to grid block A—the grave where the teenage boozers had found the body.
    One of two officers on the scene left his partner and approached us. He was holding a notebook and a thick folder in his left hand. “You the guys who called ahead?”
    “Agent Morris.” Morris shook his hand then paused for a second as he thought how to address me. “This is Maggie Allen…she’s a consultant on the case.”
    “Detective Sill.” He finished with Morris and then took my hand. “You guys mind signing in?”
    Morris and I both said no at the same time, then took turns signing our names in Detective Sill’s notebook. Sill thanked us, then handed the thick folder he’d been holding over to Morris. “Here’s the file.”
    Morris smiled politely. “Thank you.”
    Detective Sill flicked his chin back towards the other detective. “We were about to go grab a bite. You need anything before we go?”
    Morris held up a hand. “I think we’re good, thanks.”
    “We shouldn’t be