Deception (A Miranda Murphy Thriller) Read Free

photos on the hard drive of Hackett’s laptop. The files were stored in the Sample Music subfolder of the Music folder.
    What conclusion followed from all this? Apparently, Jeff Hackett was bisexual (after all, he did sleep with women). Well, everyone had secrets, some more than the others. It was possible that Dean Harris and Gabi Mornell knew about Hackett’s sexual orientation but had deemed it unnecessary to divulge this secret during the interview.
     
    8.
    “You were right,” said Ashley Scholl, the Boston PD forensic pathologist Miranda had asked to take a closer look at the victim’s anus. “The victim does appear to have had anal sex the day he was killed. We found abrasions consistent with anal sex as well as traces of condom and personal lubricants in and around his rectum.”
    “It sounds so poetic from your lips,” Miranda said, scanning the forensic report. “Thanks for the job well done, Ashley. I’m sure you enjoyed it, too.”
    Both of them laughed.
     
    9.
    “First of all, I’d like to show you something.” Miranda put one of Hackett’s gay porn DVDs, which was entitled Hard Twinks 2: Monster Cocks, on the desk in front of Gabi.
    “What is this?” After realizing what was depicted on the cover of the DVD box, Gabi quickly looked away from the DVD and frowned.
    “If you’re turned on by this, don’t be embarrassed. I feel hot and heavy myself, looking at it.”
    “No, I’m not.”
    “It was a joke. We found this and a couple more in Jeff Hackett’s house.”
    Surprise flashed in Gabi’s eyes. “That’s impossible. Jeff would never watch this.” She pointed at the DVD.
    “Nevertheless, he had these DVDs in his house. We also found gay porn movies and pictures on his laptop.”
    “Absolute nonsense. I’m his girlfriend, do you understand that? I know firsthand what turns him on, okay? He’s not gay, if that’s what you’re getting at.”
    “I’m not getting at anything, Miss Mornell. I’m just stating the fact. After all, it’s a free country and people can sleep with anyone they want. Right now, I’m trying to identify the victim. It’s possible, and let me stress it’s only a possibility, that the victim and Jeff Hackett were sexually involved with each other. My objective is to find out if there was anything going on between them. You need to understand that I have to consider all plausible theories, and according to one of them, that man was killed by Jeff Hackett.”
    “It’s impossible. Jeff is incapable of murder. You are wrong, believe me.”
    “Then why is he hiding?”
    “He’s not hiding. What makes you think he is?”
    “Jeff hasn’t been home for almost a week now. And nobody knows where he is.”
    “Maybe he just can’t come back home. Maybe he’s been kidnapped.” Gabi paused to think. “I’m sure Jeff didn't kill that man. Those DVDs and those movies on his laptop are not his.”
     

Chapter 2.
    1.
    After her meeting with Gabi Mornell, Miranda received the fingerprint search results for the victim. Luckily, they had gotten a positive match. The name of the man murdered at Hackett’s place was Patrick Flynn. He was twenty eight at the time of his death and had previously served three years in prison on a fraud conviction.
    Quite a curious twist, wasn't it? It gave food for thought.
    Let’s recap the facts. They had found ex-convict Patrick Flynn’s dead body in Jeff Hackett’s house. Flynn had had Hackett’s house keys with him. There were gay porn DVDs in Hackett’s house and gay porn movies and pictures on Hackett’s laptop. Flynn had had anal sex the day he’d died. Hackett had vanished.
    Who killed Flynn?
    Could it be Hackett? Sure.
    Maybe Jeff Hackett had picked up the Flynn at a gay bar, brought him home, and then murdered him. Why? There could have been a dozen reasons for that. For example, Flynn had tried to steal something, Hackett had caught him red-handed, gotten furious, and shot him. One night stands turned violent all the