by Sarah Barrie
Indy’s lips twitched. ‘Got it, boss.’
‘I wish I could believe that.’
Her smile widened. ‘The coming-out-in-one-piece bit, anyway.’ She rolled her shoulders and got back to her feet. ‘Shouldn’t take too long. Don’t want anything else interfering with your transfer.’
‘You’re so full of yourself,’ he teased.
‘I learnt from the best.’ She wasn’t looking forward to Ben’s transfer from Sydney to Mudgee. He was more than a colleague—he was a friend. More like family. When she’d stepped off the plane to Australia as an eighteen-year-old, sweating on dual citizenship and clutching a few small notes, she knew nothing and no one. And she’d been desperate enough to steal to survive. If it hadn’t been for Ben, she would never have ended up where she was. She’d come a long way from teenage crim to homicide detective. But she was happy for him, and his fiancée, Mia, had become as much like family as Ben was.
‘Here we go.’ Pat came in and waved a folder. ‘This needs to go in too. Your résumé to go with your ID, Jacinda.’
Indy skimmed through it. ‘Thanks.’
‘It’s not bad. I’d hire you,’ Pat said. Then she spotted the photo on the table, picked it up and studied Logan Atherton. ‘This him?’
‘Possibly.’
‘Doesn’t look like your stereotypical serial killer.’
Indy frowned. ‘There isn’t one. You know that. And why is everyone so sure he’s killing the girls?’
Pat’s expression was droll. ‘The big, deadly ligature mark?’
‘She might have done that herself—a way out. We don’t know what’s going on down there and—’ Indy plucked the picture from Pat’s fingers and gave it back to Ben. ‘That man may be innocent.’
‘Sure. But I’m going to say be careful. Because if it is him, I can see how he gets them.’ Pat shook her head. ‘Such a waste of gorgeous.’
The look Indy sent Pat was unimpressed. ‘Assuming he is our guy he can be gorgeous for the rest of his life in prison.’
‘Good luck then,’ Pat said, taking one last look at her suspect over Ben’s shoulder before closing the door behind her.
Ben linked his fingers together on the table. ‘Indy, I need you to promise me that if you think any of them have the slightest doubt about your cover at any stage, you’ll get out of there immediately. And don’t take any unnecessary risks. Got it?’
She smiled. ‘What is that, four warnings? Five? If I haven’t got it by now I’m never going to.’ Ben lifted her pack and she slipped into it, making it as comfortable as possible. ‘Wish me luck.’
‘I thought you were more confident than that.’
‘I meant with the pack.’ With a cheeky grin she waved a hand and walked out.
ISBN: 9781489255280
TITLE: DEVIL’S LAIR
First Australian Publication 2019
Copyright © 2019 by Sarah Barrie
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