Read No Chance in Hell for Free Online Page B

breath. “Fine. Let’s take a look at the intel you’ve collected first.”
    Marcus settled in the chair next to Chris. Diablo dropped at his feet. The first few pages were standard documents. Proof she’d been to the police a number of times. Her complaints hadn’t fallen on deaf ears. The cops just hadn’t found evidence to track back to who had sent the flowers. A throwaway phone and a prepaid credit card were impossible to trace.  
    “Holy shit,” Marcus muttered, turning to Chris. “You don’t have to see these pictures or hear the discussion we’re going to have. Kay’s going to drive you to your Big Sisters meeting. It might be best for you two to leave now.”
    “No. I can do this. I’ve seen the pictures, but was never given copies. Please. Do what you need to.”
    Marcus took a deep breath and read for a few minutes before speaking. “The medical examiner’s report says Chelsea Holland had been tortured for hours prior to having her throat cut. Multiple stab wounds covered her body, gashes deep enough to hurt and make her bleed but not lethal. The body appeared to have been posed. Why would you pose a dead body? Shock value? A message to the cops?”
    “Fuck,” Nate growled. “Baby, you didn’t look at these, did you?”
    “I did. You can’t shield me from these things. Not if I’m going to work cases with you.”
    “Marcus,” Nate said. “You get to the pictures?”
    “Yeah.” Marcus slid the glossies from the folder onto his desk. He stared into the face of a thinner, washed-out version of Chris. Stale coffee shot up his esophagus and flooded the back of his throat. “This is one sick bastard.”
    The pictures confirmed the medical examiner’s report. Chelsea Holland’s naked, bloody body had been posed. Anger rolled into a knot in Marcus’s gut. Even in death, a human being deserved respect, but she’d received just the opposite. Her legs had been spread open, leaving nothing to the imagination. One hand rested on her stomach. Blood had run down her body from the knife wounds into puddles on the floor. Some had pooled between her legs.
    He turned the pictures facedown. “Killer took his time.”
    “He wanted to humiliate her,” Kay said. Her tone dripped with disgust.
    “Yeah,” Nate commented. “The question is why?”
    “Track marks on her arms are obvious and multiple.” Marcus felt a stab of sympathy for Chris. Discovering her sister in this condition had to have devastated her.
    “Chelsea was still using,” Chris said, speaking for the first time in minutes.
    “You thinking the murder was drug-related?” Nate asked Marcus, turning his copies facedown, too.  
    “No. It took her a long time to die. This bastard had her death planned out. He stuck around and watched. Probably got off on the suffering he was inflicting. He made a statement. Now we figure out what’s he saying and who he’s talking to.” Marcus feared that they’d just scratched the surface of this case.
    “Statement, my ass.” Kay stopped pacing and fisted her hands on her hips. She’d copied and put the files together. Marcus had no doubt that she’d read them. “He’s screaming. He’s a thrill killer, or he hated this woman a lot.”
    “I don’t disagree. Which is why I think he’ll kill again. If he hasn’t already.” Marcus reread the police report on the murder. “No semen was found at the scene or on the body.”
    “Read on,” Chris said. “The medical examiner’s statement says there was no evidence of rape.”
    Nate scowled. Deep concern was written all over his face. “I don’t like exposing you or my wife to this crap. You’ve both been through enough.”
    Kay’s expression softened. “I love you, too. But you’re not shutting me out of this case.” She turned to face Chris. “We’re going to catch this bastard.”
    Nate opened his mouth, but Marcus waved him off. “Maybe you and Chris should head downtown before you get caught in rush-hour