by Mary Stone
After a couple hours of absentminded perusal, Ryan perked up when he came across a familiar forum—a forum devoted to racist and extremist points of view. Unsurprisingly, the patrons of that particular site were enamored with people like Tyler Haldane and Kent Strickland.
He’d come across plenty of false positives in his search for their manifesto, but one of the newer posts on the site had already racked up dozens of comments. In the search for the killer of five young women, he’d neglected to check the forum for the past couple days.
According to the title of the original post, the poster had located a scanned hard copy of Tyler and Kent’s manifesto. As he pulled up the document, Ryan fully expected the image to be a photo of an upraised middle finger or a picture of Rick Astley. He’d been Rick-rolled once already in his search.
Users of the dark web had a bizarre sense of humor, though Ryan assumed the so-called troll uploads had been intended to prank the Nazis and white supremacists who sought Tyler and Kent’s manifesto. For that, Ryan couldn’t find fault.
But this wasn’t a picture of a middle finger with the words “Nazi punks, fuck off” written in block text behind it, nor was it a photo of the handsome singer.
This was text. Handwritten text.
Eyes wide, he rolled his chair backwards and glanced to the doorway. “Agent Welford? Are you still here?”
Within moments, the agent stepped into the room. “I’m here. Do you need help with something?”
Ryan shook his head and pointed at the laptop screen. “No, but I found something I think you might want to see.”
42
Though Winter arrived at the FBI office in good spirits the next day, a cloud of anxiety still seemed to follow her wherever she went. She suspected that, until she learned more about her brother’s fate, the sense of trepidation would remain. But overall, she couldn’t complain.
She’d slept for an entire ten hours. Ten hours of deep, restful sleep at the side of one of her favorite people. They’d both awoken refreshed before either of their alarms had started to buzz, and they had used the extra time to have sex in the shower. According to Noah, it was by far his favorite way to start the day.
On their way to work, they had stopped by a coffee shop for a morning treat. When the barista asked for Noah’s name, Winter had been quick to interject.
With one hand on his upper arm, she had leaned in, looking perfectly serious. “He’s Duke Noah Dalton of Somewhere Around Dallas, Texas.”
The young man behind the counter was thoroughly confused by Winter’s subsequent outburst of laughter, and Noah had raised a hand to cover his own chortle as he shook his head. “Just Noah,” he had said. “Like the guy with the boat and all the animals. Noah.”
His succinct description of the biblical figure had only renewed her amusement. On and off for the remainder of their trip to the office, she had chuckled to herself periodically.
It felt so good to laugh. She felt heady at the tension-releasing emotion.
By the time they arrived in the Violent Crimes Division, Winter had managed to don an air of professionalism. They had only just set their coffee and pastries on their desks when Max strode down the row of cubicles.
The SAC’s gray eyes shifted from Winter to Noah. “Agent Dalton, Agent Black. Briefing room. Two minutes ago.”
Their response was merely a couple silent nods. After shrugging at one another, they followed Max down the hall to the largest conference room in their section of the building. Though they used it for routine briefings, there were occasions when the space was utilized for training courses or meetings.
Sun Ming and Miguel Vasquez arrived shortly after Winter and Noah had taken their seats. Other than Max and Ava Welford, they were the only four occupants.
Worry and something close to dread settled on Winter as she casted another glance around the room. “Is this everyone?”
Shaking his head, Max gestured to the open doorway. “No, but now it is.”
Bobby Weyrick nodded a greeting to them as he closed the door behind himself.
Max returned the nod. “Now, this is everyone. Parrish isn’t here yet, so I’ll give him the rundown when he gets in.”
The feeling of dread grew. Aiden wasn’t here yet? If she hadn’t seen his apartment for herself, she would have been convinced that the man lived at the FBI office.
“Agents.”
Max’s gravelly voice snapped her out of the contemplation.
“Last night, our newest informant, Mr. O’Connelly, came across Tyler Haldane and Kent Strickland’s manifesto. Until now, it’s only been rumored that it even exists. It’s handwritten, and we’ve already matched the handwriting to samples of theirs that we have on file.” Max’s expression was as grim as Winter had ever seen. “It’s a dead match. There’s no doubt that this was written by them.”
Winter’s eyes widened for a split-second, but she promptly reined in the expression of surprise, even as she wondered where all this was leading.
Looking grim, Max crossed his arms. “That’s not all of it.”
Sometimes, Winter wondered if Max possessed the same ability to read people as Autumn.
He swept his intense stare over the room one more time. “There was a third person involved.”
This time, Winter didn’t bother to conceal her surprise. To the best of their knowledge thus far, the mass shooting that occurred on the same night Winter, Aiden, and Noah confronted Douglas Kilroy had been planned and carried out exclusively by Tyler Haldane and Kent Strickland. Neither man had mentioned a third person involved.
And why would they? They’re loyal to one another.
“A third person?” Bobby Weyrick echoed. “Someone else helped them plan that? Did they do anything else?”
Jaw clenched, Max nodded. “They were at the Riverside Mall that night. We don’t know where, but they were there to conduct reconnaissance for the two shooters.”
And just like that, the web of killers grew bigger.
The End
To be continued…
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Winter Black Series by Mary Stone
Winter’s Mourn (Winter Black Series: Book One)
Winter’s Curse (Winter Black Series: Book Two)
Winter’s Redemption (Winter Black Series: Book Three)
Winter’s Rise (Winter Black Series: Book Four)
Winter’s Ghost (Winter Black Series: Book Five)
Winter’s Secret (Winter Black Series: Book Six)
Acknowledgments
How does one properly thank everyone involved in taking a dream and making it a reality? Let me try.
In addition to my family, whose unending support provided the foundation for me to find the time and energy to put these thoughts on paper, I want to thank the editors who polished my words and made them shine.
Many t
hanks to my publisher for risking taking on a newbie and giving me the confidence to become a bona fide author.
More than anyone, I want to thank you, my reader, for clicking on a nobody and sharing your most important asset, your time, with this book. I hope with all my heart I made it worthwhile.
Much love,
Mary
About the Author
Mary Stone lives among the majestic Blue Ridge Mountains of East Tennessee with her two dogs, four cats, a couple of energetic boys, and a very patient husband.
As a young girl, she would go to bed every night, wondering what type of creature might be lurking underneath. It wasn’t until she was older that she learned that the creatures she needed to most fear were human.
Today, she creates vivid stories with courageous, strong heroines and dastardly villains. She invites you to enter her world of serial killers, FBI agents but never damsels in distress. Her female characters can handle themselves, going toe-to-toe with any male character, protagonist or antagonist.
Discover more about Mary Stone on her website.
www.authormarystone.com
