Free All the Pretty Faces by Rita Herron Page B

his chest.
    Of course, he was a man and he lusted after those beautiful women. What man’s body didn’t harden at the sight of sparkly sequined dresses tightly wound around luscious hips? At deep cleavage inviting a man to touch, plump breasts overflowing skimpy tops? Short skirts and crotchless panties showcasing endlessly long legs?
    What man wouldn’t want eye candy on his arm and his cock between a pair of perfect thighs?
    He would have that tonight.
    Yes, he’d bury himself into a woman’s sweet center and live while he could.
    Then he’d go back and clean the bones he’d just collected and add them to his wall.

CHAPTER SIX
    Dane’s phone was ringing as he finished dressing the next morning. He quickly connected the call. “Agent Hamrick speaking.”
    “It’s Dr. Wheeland. I have an ID on your victim.”
    “Her name?”
    “Charity Snow. She was twenty-two years old, born and raised in West Tennessee. No family except for her younger sister, Bailey. The sisters left home for LA to be actresses.”
    “Current address?”
    “I don’t have one. But Peyton did some digging. The girls were both in Graveyard Falls to try out for parts in that movie.”
    Dane was glad to hear Peyton was on the case. She was a top-notch analyst.
    “Where were they staying?”
    “The Falls Inn.”
    “Did you notify the sheriff yet?” Dane asked.
    “No, you’re my first call.”
    Good. “I’ll fill him in, find the sister, and make the notification.” Maybe Bailey Snow knew where her sister was the night before and had some clue as to who’d killed her. “Anything else?”
    “According to the preliminary background check, she has no police record.”
    “How about the cleaner?”
    “Definitely a strong antiseptic soap,” Dr. Wheeland answered. “Peyton is trying to trace the origin now.”
    “How about drugs or alcohol in her system?”
    “Traces of red wine but not enough so she was drunk. But this is the interesting part—we found evidence of pancuronium bromide in her system.” The ME muttered a sound of disgust. “It’s an injectable neuromuscular blocking drug that causes paralysis. The victim can’t move but is aware of what’s going on.”
    Dane frowned. “So she felt the pain?”
    “Yes.”
    “Is that something they would have tested for ten years ago?”
    “If it was present, a good ME would have found it,” Dr. Wheeland said. “Why?”
    “I’m thinking of a past case.” Had the ME working Betsy’s murder missed something? “How would someone get access to that drug?” Dane asked.
    “It wouldn’t be easy, but it’s not impossible,” Dr. Wheeland said. “It’s federally regulated and used by physicians, surgeons, hospitalics, clinicians, and researchers.”
    Dane assimilated that information. “That means our killer might work in the medical field.”
    “True. Or he knows someone who does, or he stole it from a hospitalic or research facility.”
    Dammit, that opened up a field of suspects. He could have Peyton check medical facilities nearby to see if any had gone missing. “What else can you tell me?”
    “Her last meal was barbecue.”
    Dane liked the man’s attention to detail. “Probably had that at the party. Was she raped?”
    “She did have sex not long before her death,” Dr. Wheeland said, “although there is no bruising or suggestion that she was forced.”
    “So it could have been consensual. A boyfriend, then things went wrong?” Dane rubbed the back of his neck. “Or she parted with her lover, then she either met up with the killer or he somehow took her.”
    “That’s possible.”
    Dane shifted, his head throbbing as he considered all angles. “If it was a boyfriend and he was this violent, he might have acted out with a former girlfriend.”
    “Peyton is already looking into that angle,” Dr. Wheeland said.
    “What about DNA?”
    “Afraid we didn’t find any. The man must have worn a condom.”
    Dane mentally reviewed the facts. The killer had