Page 55 of Be Very Quiet

“Another one? It looks like he is killing every single day.”

Luca placed it on the table and shook out the contents. Reese took a pen and moved the bracelet. “This was documented as missing from Emilee Carden. There hasn’t been a report of another—”

Before he could finish the sentence, Detective Torres arrived and announced, “We have another murder.” He noticed the jewelry. “When did that arrive?”

“Early this morning.” Luca showed them the tape from the parking garage.

“Damn it,” Torres cursed. “Four victims and we have absolutely nothing to go on.”

#

Audria was itching to go undercover and snare The Mortician. After they found out about Daisy May, she’d wanted to do it yesterday, but things needed to be set up, so she had to wait. Patience wasn’t her strong suit.

Then another woman had been murdered. Maybe they could’ve caught him yesterday if she’d gone out last night, maybe not. The odds weren’t great that he would pick her up, but they needed to be proactive.

Kelli Gilbert showed up with a pile of clothes and a tacklebox full of cosmetics. “You’re beautiful, Audria. Let’s make you gaudy.”

The vice cop proceeded to back up her claim. After Audria had inserted green contacts, Kelli layered on the eye makeup, using a shade of blue Audria didn’t think appeared anywhere else in the natural world. Her lips were a cherry red, her lashes could be used as fans in any nearby harem, and her hair was teased to Tina Turner proportions circa 1987.

The clothes Kelli chose were loud, tight-fitting, and frighteningly scandalous. Audria looked in the mirror and didn’t recognize the person staring back at her.

“I won’t be wearing a Kevlar vest with this,” she muttered.

“That is a drawback,” Kelli agreed. “But you are looking good, Audria. You’ll be a hit.”

“Great.” Audria only hoped she attracted the attention of one man—Ted Rader.

She fluffed a portion of her hair, but it’d been sprayed into concrete status and refused to budge. The underwires of the pushup bra pinched her skin, and she felt out of sorts. T-shirts, sports bras, and yoga pants were her clothes of choice, and she felt comfortable in them.

In front of Audria’s eyes, Kelli transformed into a hooker to rival Audria. She covered her auburn hair with a black wig and accentuated her big blue eyes with shades of green and white.

“You are not going out like that,” Reese blurted when Audria teetered into the conference room where the others were waiting.

She adjusted the mini-skirt that barely covered her ass and shifted the padded bra that added much-needed fullness to her modest chest. She wobbled in the electric blue stilettos but caught herself. “The wire and camera are in place, as is my Sig Sauer.” She patted the faux fur clutch. It would be harder to defend herself in the heels, but she’d simply kick them off if necessary. Plus, they would make magnificent weapons. Aim one of the sharp points at an eyeball, and it was goodnight, Irene.

“I didn’t even recognize you,” Luca admitted.

“That’s the point.”

Reese grumbled the entire drive to the red-light district.

“The command center is behind that building over there.” Reese pointed to where the mobile unit had parked. Reese, Luca, and Detective Torres would be in there, as would Liliana. They needed Christian’s eyes on Audria, and Luca didn’t want to leave her while they conducted the operation. Audria suggested having Liliana wait at the police station, where she’d be surrounded by people with guns, but Luca nixed the idea. He didn’t trust anyone else with her safety. Audria didn’t blame him. It was hard to put your faith in people you didn’t know, even if they swore an oath to serve and protect. Sometimes, rotten apples ended up in the bunch.

Christian was sitting in a vehicle near where Audria and Kelli would station themselves. He was Audria’s backup and would follow if she got picked up.

Reese dropped Audria and Kelli off a few blocks away, and they walked to an area buzzing with activity. Her feet were screaming in pain already—damn high heels.

“Diamond said Daisy May was picked up after seven-thirty,” Audria told Kelli. It was seven now, so they had time to get in place, assuming The Mortician kept to the same timeframe. “He probably picked her out instead of her soliciting him, so let the person call you over.”

Audria eyed the other women prowling the streets, some walking into traffic to stop cars and proposition the drivers, feeling an overwhelming sense of sadness for them.

“You can’t let it get to you,” Kelli said, obviously reading Audria’s mind. “It will depress the hell out of you.”

“I don’t know how you do it,” Audria murmured.

“When I was younger, I wanted to be an actress. I look at this as playing a part in a movie. It’s how I separate myself from the debasement.”

Audria had gone undercover before, but never as a woman selling her body to pay rent or feed a child or a drug habit.

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