Page 35 of Every Deadly Suspicion

“He’s not dead too, is he?” Hanna loved dogs, longed to have one, but her life was too crazy.

“I honestly don’t know. Until I get to Edda’s house, I won’t know.”

“Can I take him?” Mandy asked.

“If she doesn’t have some kind of will giving him to someone, I don’t have a problem with that.”

“I’ll join you at her house,” Hanna said to Nathan. “If the dog is there, I’ll get him for Mandy.”

Mandy hugged her arms to her chest. “I can’t believe this is happening. No one in the world was sweeter than Edda. Catch the monster who did this.”

“I plan to,” Nathan said.

Hanna and Mandy hurried home. They parted at Hanna’s house with a hug.

“I’m so sorry, Mandy. I wish I—”

“Don’t, Hanna, don’t blame yourself. I won’t take any blame either. The only person to blame is the animal who did this.”

Hanna hurried to shower and change, chilled to the bone by a murder hitting so close to home. Murder overshadowed the tragicaccidental overdose of Edda’s son, Bobby. He’d struggled so many years with chemical dependency, his death was inevitable. Edda’s murder was shockingly unexpected.

Hanna called dispatch and put herself on duty. Once in the car, she paused to pray.Oh, Lord, this hurts. This is so hard to understand. Please help us catch the man, please. No more life lost in this fashion. Amen.

In short order she was on her way to meet Nathan at Edda’s house. He’d said he’d wait for her unless there was some indication that he needed to make entry to the house right away.

Edda’s small home was at the edge of town. It backed up to forest. When she got there, Nathan was not alone. And she recognized the SUV behind his county car.

He was in a heated discussion with Marcus Marshall.

“The people need to know there’s a dangerous killer roaming free. Why won’t you admit that three women were killed by the same person?”

“We’re in the middle of an investigation. I can’t say that definitively. I won’t jump the gun and compromise the investigation. Making people panic won’t help us find this guy.”

“You’re not helping either, Marcus.”

Marcus swung around to face her. “Well, this is serious if you’re here. Keeping tabs on these detectives, are you?”

“That’s not what I’m doing. They’re very good at their jobs, which right now you are keeping them from. The sheriff’s department issues clear press releases. Why don’t you wait for that?”

“I don’t need a press release to tell me that we have a serial killer in the county. Three dead women in as many months. You need to tell folks what the common denominators are if there are any, so they can be more careful. The Green River Killer kept killing because information wasn’t shared and broadcast.”

“Let us do our jobs.” Nathan was at the end of his patience, Hanna could tell.

“Are you going to leave, Marcus, or do I have to waste more resources and have someone remove you?”

He threw his hands up. “I think the sheriff’s department is in over its head. They should ask for help. This is going up on my podcast. I care about public safety.” Marcus stalked down the driveway and got into his car.

“Who tipped him off?” Hanna asked as she and Nathan watched him drive away.

“There was a news crew at the scene last night. And Marcus has his own scanner. Do you ever listen to his podcast?”

“No.”

“I don’t regularly, but when I have listened, I’ve heard him give people tips on personal safety. Last month he warned people about connecting with strangers online.” He shrugged. “He’s got an active imagination, that’s for sure. It always goes to the worst possible outcome. He’s convinced that our body count could reach the Green River Killer status.”

“What does he think you’re withholding?”

“Connections between the three victims. He wants to broadcast that we have a serial killer. I can’t help but think he’s hoping for a book opportunity that will launch him into stardom.”

---