Free In a Heartbeat by Rita Herron

kidnapped her and that woman, Joann Worthy?”
    Brad nodded. “He’s calling the reporter White used to deliver his messages, Wayne Nettleton.”
    “Why him?” Lisa asked.
    “He must have enjoyed the way Nettleton sensationalized the story about White. White admitted he chose Nettleton because of his propensity for printing gruesome details.”
    His gaze met hers as if to study her reaction. Lisa sipped her coffee in an attempt not to reveal her surprise or disgust. Wayne Nettleton was a sleaze.
    “We’ve questioned him just like before, but so far, he’s clean,” Brad said. “He has an alibi for the nights both women were reported missing, although it’s shaky.”
    “Where was Mindy when she was abducted?” Lisa asked, trying desperately not to picture the scene in her mind.
    “She left the hospital when her shift ended, around three. Caught the MARTA train. She doesn’t have a car. Never showed up at her apartment that night. Police have questioned neighbors and no one saw anything.”
    “Does she have family?” Lisa asked softly.
    “No.”
    Lisa’s heart ached for her. If they found her, she’d need a support group to recover. Then again, Lisa’s own father hadn’t exactly been Mr. Mom after the attack. Not that he ever had been. After her mother’s death, he’d closed himself off, thrown himself into work. She’d tried to get his attention by being the perfect child.
    But she hadn’t been perfect.
    And he’d seen all those flaws at William’s trial.
    “We found the first woman in the woods near Lake Lanier,” he said quietly. “I don’t know if you read the entire article, but he buried her in the woods surrounding the lake by my cabin.”
    Lisa set her cup down with a clatter. “Brad…you think this is personal?”
    He shrugged, but the bitterness that suddenly darkened his whiskey eyes to brown confirmed the answer. “He’s throwing it right in my face. How can it not be?”
    “Don’t do that.” Lisa automatically reached for his hand, then drew back at Brad’s rigid posture. “This isn’t your fault, Brad.”
    Just like it wasn’t when I got attacked.
    He shot her a closed look, daring her to argue, then downed his coffee with one big gulp. “Let’s stick with the case. I’m running a check on everyone I’ve had contact with the past five years. Maybe something will turn up there.”
    “And I suppose the police are questioning her friends and neighbors.”
    “Yeah, just like they did Joann Worthy’s. But if this killer sticks to the same time frame as he did with Joann, Mindy has only a couple of days at best.”
    Lisa moaned quietly. Was Mindy suffering now? Wishing her abductor would go ahead and kill her, as Lisa had wished with William? Or was Mindy holding on, clinging to life, praying Brad would find a way to save her?
    “We’ve set up a stakeout in the wooded area where Joann’s body was found,” Brad continued. “But I don’t expect him to choose the same burial spot twice.”
    Lisa shivered.
    “I’m sorry, Lisa, I didn’t mean to resurrect the memory of your experience.”
    “Forget it.” She quickly dismissed his apology, although the image of her own grave flashed in her head like a still photograph that had been framed in her memory forever. “Do you have any suspects in mind?”
    “My partner’s gone to question White’s old cell mate. He was paroled a few days ago.”
    Lisa’s hand tightened around her mug at the implications. William’s cell mate was free. Knew William’s secrets. Even where he might have held her and the other women.
    He might be copying William’s crimes.
    And if he did, would he choose her as one of his victims?
    The appearance of her new neighbor suddenly resurfaced, and her suspicions mounted. “Brad, I’m sure I’m being paranoid, but this morning a strange man came to my door.”
    Brad’s head jerked up. “What happened?”
    Lisa explained about the visit. “He said his name was Aiden Henderson.”
    Brad