Free Love Inspired Suspense July 2015 #2 by Alison Stone, Terri Reed, Maggie K. Black

officers be sent to the hotel as quickly as possible.
    â€œThey’ll call back,” he assured Sami after he hung up.
    She nodded. “I have to be missing something.” She walked into the dining room. “There has to be a clue here that I’ve overlooked.”
    This was taking a toll on her, eating away at her. He doubted she’d overlooked anything but he’d give everything a second glance. “Do you have the autopsy reports for each victim?”
    Glancing at him, she shook her head. “I don’t have copies but I have spoken to each medical examiner.”
    â€œI’m just wondering if any of the women had defensive wounds.”
    Sami sighed. “I’d thought of that, too. Especially with Lisa. She was a fighter. But there was no bruising on her hands to indicate she’d fought back. No DNA under her fingernails.”
    â€œTox screens?”
    â€œHe used chloroform. The medical examiner believes our unidentified subject makes his own batch to use for drugging his victims because the ratio between chemicals has been inconsistent. Apparently, chloroform can be made with bleach and alcohol. So not only does it knock the victim out, the mixture burns the skin and membranes of the nose. Not that our killer cares. He then somehow transported them to the kill spot.”
    Drew turned to the map again. “What do all the cities have in common?”
    Sami joined him. “Highways. Airports. Tourist trade. Hotels.”
    â€œOkay,” he said. “Who would most likely travel easily through these cities?”
    â€œBusiness travelers,” Sami said.
    â€œBut would a business traveler have the means to transport an unconscious woman from place to place?”
    â€œHmm. How about truck drivers? We see a lot of illegal immigrants coming across the southern border trapped inside cargo trucks.”
    â€œTrue. But the timing wouldn’t work. Right? A truck is a slow way to go. He needs to move his victims from point A to point B rapidly.”
    â€œHe found several of his victims at airports,” she started to say.
    He swiped a hand through his hair. “Our unidentified subject could work at an airport, say as a baggage handler. He targets a victim, renders them unconscious and somehow puts them in the cargo area of a plane. Then someone on the other end receives the victim?”
    Sami shook her head. “That would mean there was a team of murdering baggage handlers working together. I don’t buy that.”
    â€œYeah, that’s a bit far-fetched.”
    The landline rang. Sami went into the kitchen to answer the call. “Hello?”
    â€œThere’s a surprise for you in your bedroom,” the breathy voice whispered in her ear.
    A shudder of fear worked over her flesh. “Who is this?”
    The line went dead. Sami dropped the phone and swallowed back the panic clawing its way up her throat.
    Drew stood in the doorway. “Sami?”
    She reached for her weapon. “The killer. He said there’s a surprise for me upstairs.”
    Unholstering his sidearm, he beckoned her to him. She nodded with grim determination. Together they made their way up the narrow stairwell leading to the second floor of her little home. The sense of violation crowding her chest unleashed rage that heated her skin. At the top of the landing, she motioned toward the right and led the way to her bedroom, grateful to not be alone.
    Sun poured in through the overhead skylights. Her dresser and nightstand were undisturbed. But the rose-colored wall behind her bed had been defaced with a crudely drawn bird, the same bird that Birdman left as his signature. The red paint—blood?—dripped down the wall.
    Her gaze fell to her pillow.
    An ear.
    She spun away. The irony of the offending gift he’d left on her bed was clear. Birdman had been listening.
    Was he still in the house?
    She dropped to the floor and checked under the bed while Drew