Ripped in Red Read Free

right away. My poor baby.
    Back outside, Cassidy faced Colin. “We should check her room now.”
    “Let them grieve. We’ll be back in the morning.”
    “What if something is disturbed?” She crossed her arms. “What if they know her murderer and hide evidence?”
    “I can sense things about people.” He opened the car door for her. “They are nothing more than grieving parents. Let them be. Besides,” he grinned, “we have her cell phone. You can spend the next few hours going through her phone log. Come on. We have a killer to catch.”
     

2
    “F or a pretty girl, she didn’t get many calls.” Cassidy nursed a cup of coffee while Colin scanned printouts of Amber’s phone log.
    “How long ago did she leave here?” He peered over the papers. “Maybe she cut her ties so badly no one wanted to remain friends.”
    Cassidy shrugged. “Maybe.” In her experience, the beautiful, popular people were usually surrounded by not-so-true friends. Other than a couple of calls to her modeling agency in California over two weeks ago, Amber’s phone was disturbingly empty. “We’ll send it to the forensic analyst in Little Rock. They might be able to retrieve something.”
    “Hmm.” Colin leaned back in his chair. “It’s possible the killer deleted most of the messages. The question is why?”
    “Do you think she was a random target?” Cassidy didn’t think so. Instinct told her she knew her killer, at least for a short while before her death. Who in Clear Springs would want the beautiful dead? Someone tormented by them?
    “I don’t think so, and I don’t think she met that person while she was wearing that red gown, either. I’m still puzzled as to why she had only one shoe. Do you think her killer took the other as a souvenir?” Colin stared out the small office window. “Are there any modeling agencies around here?”
    Cassidy shook her head and reached for yesterday’s newspaper. “Find someone to get us a copy of every paper printed this week. Maybe our killer placed an advertisement that Amber couldn’t resist.”
    She watched him leave the room. Colin was the epitome of tall, dark, and handsome, towering over her five foot three frame by a foot. His eyes, a starburst of dark and light blue, oh, yes, she had noticed, pierced through to her soul while having the ability to soften and console grieving parents.
    What was God thinking to make such a man her partner? Cassidy needed to focus on her job. She glanced at the framed photo of her mother, murdered in cold blood ten years before. She needed to bring her mother’s killer to justice. Her case had been cold for too long. Cassidy sighed. She was no closer to solving the death today then she was on her first day as a cop.
    “A very distraught mother brought this in.” Laura, the over-worked receptionist of the tiny police office set a sheet of lined paper on Cassidy’s desk. “She said you were waiting for it.”
    “Thank you.” Cassidy scanned the paper. On it was five names. Written across the top was the heading “Amber’s friends”. Thank you, Mrs. Wilson . At least now they had a place to start.
    “Here are the newspapers.” Colin dropped them on her desk and leaned over her shoulder.
    Her senses went into overdrive at his musky cologne. “Ah, the friends.”
    “Yes.” She handed him the list and reached for a paper, flipping to the classifieds.
    On the third paper, Wednesday’s edition, she found the first clue to help them solve Amber’s murder. “Colin, listen… Needed. A beautiful woman to act as model for evening gown advertisement. Audition in person at …” She read off the address. “That’s a warehouse by the river. Let’s go.” She grabbed her holster from the back of her chair and dashed from the building, followed closely by Colin.
    He snatched the keys from her hand, flashing her a wide smile. “I’ll drive.”
    She rolled her eyes and changed direction to the front passenger seat. It was her jeep. She