Free Armed and Dangerous by Jo Davis

me. Oh, God.”
    â€œDon’t be too hard on yourself,” Taylor said. “There’s no way you or Vanessa could have predicted anything like this would happen. There’s a predator out there who’s clever, but he’s not going to get away with what he’s doing. We’re going to catch him and put his ass behind bars.”
    â€œPlease,” Mark begged. “It’s the only way I’ll ever sleep again.”
    â€œBefore you leave, write down a list of names of everyone in that group.”
    â€œAbsolutely. I’ll do anything to help.” His voice and expression were eager, sincere.
    â€œWe’ll get you a piece of paper and something to write with.”
    Standing, both detective shook his hand and then left. Seconds later, both returned to the observation room where Daisy waited with Shane. “What do you two think?” Taylor asked.
    Daisy gestured to the stricken boyfriend. “He’s innocent, but he’s connected to the killer somehow. I think it’s someone in that group.”
    â€œI agree,” Shane said. “We have opportunity. Now what we need is motive.”
    â€œAnd a connection to Nikki Thompson,” Chris put in.
    That was the fly in the ointment. Nobody could figure out how she fit in with the big picture. But she would, eventually.
    Chris went on. “I’ll pull the phone records for all the names on the club list Mark gives me and go over them with a fine-toothed comb. It’ll take a while, but I’ll be damned if I don’t turn up something.”
    Daisy turned to Shane. “Maybe we should go ahead and blow our cover, visit some of our illustrious club members and see if anyone gets a bit too rattled?”
    â€œI like the way your devious mind works.”
    â€œThat’s not all that’s devious about me that you like,” she murmured in his ear on the way out.
    â€œYou’re so right.” He laughed softly.
    After getting the list of names from Mark, they spent a while putting together addresses to go with them. Shane pointed to one of them. “This one’s a PO box.”
    â€œSome people don’t like using their home address for privacy reasons,” Daisy said. “And if the PO box is designated for private use and not business, we’d need a warrant to force the post office to give us the address.”
    â€œToo much red tape. We’ll get it from the club, or one of the other members. Surely someone knows it.”
    They decided to start with Ivana and Giorgio, who were a little put out by the deception at first.
    â€œYou’re both cops?” Ivana frowned, clearly unhappy. Her lover’s expression was puzzled.
    But their tunes changed when Shane revealed the disappearances had turned into something much more sinister. They had never heard of Nikki Thompson, and were horrified by the murders.
    â€œOh, that poor lamb!” Ivana exclaimed, growing tearful. “Vanessa was such a bright girl, so full of promise. And Mark must be destroyed.”
    â€œWe’re going to do everything in our power to catch the monster responsible for her murder, and find Valerie, Dan, and Jason.” Daisy hated that the statement sounded so cliché, but it was sincere.
    â€œI know, love.” Ivana wiped at a tear. “Just do be careful.”
    â€œBy the way,” Shane said. “Jimmy mentioned a big shot in your group that he didn’t seem to care for very much, but he didn’t get to finish what he was telling me. Any idea who he was talking about?”
    She thought for a few seconds. “I don’t know. Jimmy gets along with most everyone, and I haven’t noticed him disliking anyone in particular. The group does abound with important, powerful men, however. Mark being an exception.”
    â€œHow would you categorize Mark?” Daisy asked out of curiosity.
    Ivana paused. “A good boy. But a bit too innocent and