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Back The Silenced Women Save as PDF
Chapters (50)
  1. Front Cover
  2. Title Page
  3. Copyright
  4. Contents
  5. Part I
  6. Chapter One
  7. Chapter Two
  8. Chapter Three
  9. Chapter Four
  10. Chapter Five
  11. Chapter Six
  12. Chapter Seven
  13. Chapter Eight
  14. Chapter Nine
  15. Chapter Ten
  16. Chapter Eleven
  17. Chapter Twelve
  18. Chapter Thirteen
  19. Part II
  20. Chapter Fourteen
  21. Chapter Fifteen
  22. Chapter Sixteen
  23. Chapter Seventeen
  24. Chapter Eighteen
  25. Chapter Nineteen
  26. Chapter Twenty
  27. Chapter Twenty-One
  28. Chapter Twenty-Two
  29. Chapter Twenty-Three
  30. Chapter Twenty-Four
  31. Chapter Twenty-Five
  32. Chapter Twenty-Six
  33. Chapter Twenty-Seven
  34. Chapter Twenty-Eight
  35. Chapter Twenty-Nine
  36. Part III
  37. Chapter Thirty
  38. Chapter Thirty-One
  39. Chapter Thirty-Two
  40. Chapter Thirty-Three
  41. Chapter Thirty-Four
  42. Chapter Thirty-Five
  43. Chapter Thirty-Six
  44. Chapter Thirty-Seven
  45. Chapter Thirty-Eight
  46. Read on for a sneak peek at the next Violent Crime Investigations Team mystery!
  47. Chapter One
  48. Acknowledgments
  49. About the Author
  50. Back Cover

“That’s right, 643. Another big number. I didn’t read all of those, but it was good investigative work. I understand the Missouri and Arizona state police are reopening the cases and that—”

“Sir, I don’t think—”

“You found new things: the discrepancies in the Arizona medical examinations, the suspect’s statement in that Tennessee traffic stop that no one else noticed, the girl who survived a similar attack in Texas. And just now, in this case, that whole Kundalini thing. Like I said, it’s really terrific work.”

“I just want to—”

“But right here, right now, Detective Somers, you’re not writing a paper or on a two-year FBI contract. You won’t get a grade or a bump in government pay scale. Behind this…stuff…are dead girls. Not photos in a file. Real people with families and a life. We have to make choices. If it’s like the last time, we’ve got twenty-six hours to find our killer. We need to follow evidence we already have. We don’t have time to look at thirty-seven new homicides that may or may not mean anything.”

“Lieutenant Mahler, sir, I’m trying—”

“Your best shot is to keep working with Jermany and see—”

“…to find direct evidence of—”

“Do you understand what I just—”

“STOP IT,” Eden suddenly shouted. “PLEASE…STOP.”

For a moment, they faced each other without speaking. A phone rang in another office. Mahler felt the migraine rise once more, its starting point behind his eyes.

Eden looked down at the tabletop. “Sir, I’m sorry. Lieutenant Mahler, sir, I’m sorry. I’m sorry I raised my voice. But…you don’t listen to me.”

Mahler watched her face redden.

Eden met his eyes again. “I understand what you’re saying. I know…these girls… These girls are dead. Give me some credit. I know…that.” Her voice shook.

He saw her eyes fill and her face tighten against the emotion.

“You can write me up for disciplinary action for the way I just spoke to you. But I want you to know that…that I can…do this job.” She looked at him defiantly, even as tears rolled down her cheeks.

Mahler stood silently. Eden turned away, wiping at her face. The black thoughts came back to him—that he would never arrest Partridge, that nothing he said to the ghost of Susan Hart would make her alive.