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Chapters (62)
  1. Cover
  2. Love best-selling fiction?
  3. Also by McGarvey Black
  4. Dedication
  5. Epigraph
  6. 1
  7. 2
  8. 3
  9. 4
  10. 5
  11. 6
  12. 7
  13. 8
  14. 9
  15. 10
  16. 11
  17. 12
  18. 13
  19. 14
  20. 15
  21. 16
  22. 17
  23. 18
  24. 19
  25. 20
  26. 21
  27. 22
  28. 23
  29. 24
  30. 25
  31. 26
  32. 27
  33. 28
  34. 29
  35. 30
  36. 31
  37. 32
  38. 33
  39. 34
  40. 35
  41. 36
  42. 37
  43. 38
  44. 39
  45. 40
  46. 41
  47. 42
  48. 43
  49. 44
  50. 45
  51. 46
  52. 47
  53. 48
  54. 49
  55. 50
  56. 51
  57. 52
  58. 53
  59. Acknowledgements
  60. A note from the publisher
  61. Love best-selling fiction?
  62. You will also enjoy:

“The captain told me the man Zoe Brandt killed in her apartment may not be the Strangler. They’re checking right now to see if—”

“Detective Williams,” said Tommy Devlin walking towards the two police officers with his cameraman in tow, “what a pleasant surprise. What brings you down to the hospital?”

“Hello Devlin,” said Daryl Williams, not hiding his disappointment at seeing the aggressive and often obnoxious reporter. “What brings you to Regency Memorial?”

“I’ve been keeping tabs on the Brandt apartment ever since Zoe Brandt flatlined her attacker last Thursday,” said Devlin. “If she offed the West Side Strangler, that’s big news. When are you going to call it? In an odd coincidence, I interviewed Ms. Brandt right after the Central Park murder of that teacher last week. What’s going on? Why was Zoe Brandt taken out of her building by ambulance today?”

“It’s a private matter,” said Daryl shaking his head as he moved away.

“C’mon detective, there are no secrets from the press,” said Devlin staying close to him. “It’s my job to leave no stone unturned, to hunt for the truth until I get the story.”

“Was that what you were doing in Alaska when that moose chased you into the frozen lake,” said Heather, “hunting for the truth? When you got to the edge of the water and that moose snorted and went at you with his antlers, you were screaming like a freakin’ baby. The look on your face was incredible. Last time I checked, that video had over a million views. Guess Alaska wasn’t for you.”

Devlin’s photographer stifled a snicker.

“That video was very misleading,” said Devlin gritting his teeth and shooting his photographer a look. “Most people don’t know but moose are very dangerous animals. I told CNN that I was going back to my roots in New York. I’m only doing this gig at The Echo until I finalize my contracts with a different cable network. Pretty soon you’re going to see my pretty face on the evening news every night.”

“Thankfully, I get my news online,” said Daryl.

“What do you say, detectives? The guy Zoe Brandt offed in her apartment last week, was he the West Side Strangler? Love to get the scoop and be the first reporter in New York to break the story.”

“No comment,” said Daryl just as he saw Sean waving to him from inside the ER doorway and signaled for Heather to follow him inside.

“I think Zoe’s coming around. She said something,” said Sean when the detectives approached.

“What did she say?” said Daryl, moving the three of them from the doorway and Devlin’s prying eyes and ears.

“It sounded like she said ‘mask.’”

48

Wednesday—June 10, 2020

Zoe remained unresponsive in the hospital for two days.

“Doctor, can’t you do anything? When is my wife going to wake up?” Conner asked at the end of the first day.