Free Trust Me by Brenda Novak Page A

others. Was that part of the fun for him? Probably, or he would've chosen easier targets. Likes the chase, David added.
    --Brazen. He dared to intrude, even when one girl's parents were home, so it followed that he liked flirting with the threat of capture. David guessed it gave him as big a rush as showing women that they weren't safe in their own homes, that he held the power.
    --Disciplined. Or he would've left some evidence behind.
    --Probably watches a lot of crime shows on TV in an effort to figure out how to avoid detection. Many violent criminals were fascinated with police, and Burke was no different. When David searched his home, he found no souvenirs taken from the victims, no bloody clothing, no knife, which was the hard evidence he'd been hoping to recover. But he did find bookcases full of true-crime books, many of them detailed accounts of slayings by serial killers.
    Sitting back, David reread what he'd written. Every item fit the man who was already in prison. Equally compelling was the fact that there'd been no similar attacks since he'd been put behind bars. A dentist would be more comfortable cutting a person than someone who'd never sliced human flesh, he reasoned. A dentist would know how to make the most efficient incision and wouldn't be afraid of blood. Burke definitely considered himself
    "normal." He was smart, short and had a slight build.
    But even David had to admit these points could apply to a lot of men.
    It was his own gut feeling that convinced him more than anything else, that and the strange look Oliver Burke had given him during the initial interrogation--as if he was tempted to confess...
    A gut feeling and an expression were tough to sell to a prosecutor. Or a jury, for that matter. He needed more.
    With a sigh, he closed the files. There was nothing else here. He'd been through all of this before. He had to come up with some fresh information or these cases would never be solved.
    And, in order to do that, he had to appeal to the people who knew Burke best.
    When I get out, I'm going to slit your throat....
    Skye sat at her desk, staring into space. She hadn't been able to work all morning. Whether that call had come from Oliver Burke or not, she still 56

    believed he'd want revenge against her for testifying in court. He'd come after her....
    "Hello, this is Peter Vaughn, a volunteer with The Last Stand. We're a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting the victims of violent crime...."
    From the other room, Skye could hear the telephone soliciting that went on for three hours a day as volunteers helped raise the funds to keep their doors open. Volunteers came and went. It was difficult to sustain people's motivation when they weren't being paid. But there were a few who stuck around, usually those who knew someone who'd been killed or raped, and Peter was one of them. He'd lost an older brother to a drive-by shooting and, although only eighteen, he was a pro on the phone.
    As distracted as she was, Skye could easily sit and listen to Peter all morning. But she had her own work to do. She had a list of current cases to follow up on and several messages to return. One was from Jonathan, who'd learned that Sean Regan's wife sometimes met a certain heavyset but wealthy stranger for lunch. Another was from a client who'd gone back to the man who was abusing her, always a worry. Skye also needed to find a dress for the fund-raiser, as well as a date. And she wanted to draft a new press release with the details of Burke's release, emphasizing the importance of continued support for charities like TLS.
    She began the press release first, hoping it'd ease her mind to be taking some action to defend herself, but it wasn't as cathartic as she'd hoped. She kept stopping and staring at the phone, waiting for word from David. Their earlier conversation hadn't ended well, but she was so tired of hoping for something she wasn't going to get. She needed to permanently relegate David to the realm