9780778326045: The Murderers' Club
Softcover
ISBN 10: 0778326047 ISBN 13: 9780778326045
Verlag: MIRA, 2008

Inhaltsangabe

Six months ago, a case nearly cost Sophie her life. So when a detective friend asks her to visit Arizona, she welcomes the break. But her vacation ends abruptly when bodies are found at a university and she gets pulled into the case. The horrifying methodology--deliberate body positioning, a distinctive red heart scrawled on each victim--indicates to Sophie that a new serial killer has claimed the area. Oddly, though, certain signature elements differ between killings. Fortunately, the FBI database has a record of many of the signatures--but each belongs to a different serial killer.

As the bodies continue to appear, Sophie must hone her terrifying skills and suffer the horrors in her head in order to stop this killer.

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Über die Autorin bzw. den Autor

P.D. Martin was born in Melbourne, Australia, and developed a passion for crime fiction and storytelling at an early age. This interest was backed up with formal education through a bachelor of behavioral sciences (with majors in psychology and criminology) and a postgraduate certificate in professional writing (creative writing). Please visit her at www.pdmartin.com.au.

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I hold my Smith & Wesson 9mm semiautomatic in front of me, legs shoulder-width apart, and line up the gun's sights, aiming at his chest—the heart to be precise. The middle sight is pointed squarely at the target, and the outer sights are horizontally level. I take a breath, hold it and squeeze the trigger. The gun recoils, but after each backward motion I readjust my aim and fire again. I empty my whole magazine—eight shots—and revel in the muffled yet rhythmic click… click… click as my shells are thrown onto the ground near my feet.

"Nice grouping, Anderson."

I jump slightly, instinctively tightening the already firm grip on my gun. My rational mind wins out over my impulses and I resist the temptation to swing the gun around and point it. I turn to see Andy Rivers, the head of the Behavioral Analysis Unit, standing next to me. I relax my grip. Rivers's dark, wiry hair is offset by patches of gray at his temples, the only sign that time—or perhaps stress—is catching up with him. In his midforties, he's been the head of the unit for nearly ten years, and I don't imagine he'll be leaving any time soon. He's too good at his job. I take off my earmuffs and goggles and the muffled world returns to normal.

"Hi, boss." I look back at my target and the bullet holes clustered around the heart. "Thanks."

I'm standing in booth twelve of one of the FBI's firing ranges at Quantico, Virginia. Our unit is part of the National Center for the Analysis of Violent Crimes— NCAVC—and we get to share the FBI Academy's three hundred and eighty-five acres with new recruits and several other active units. The impressive complex includes three dormitories, a dining room, a library, an auditorium, a chapel, a gym, a large running track, a defensive-driving track, several firing ranges and the famous Hogan's Alley—a simulated town. Over the past year, since I started with the Bureau, I've spent a lot of time here… it's home now.

I push the button in my booth that initiates the pulley system and the target sails toward me. The range consists of fifteen booths, each with a pulley system to move the targets backward and forward—from the booth to the twenty-five or fifty-yard mark. When I first came to the States I was constantly converting to metric, but now I'm used to the American way. The targets contain the impression of a person, an outline of someone's upper body in black ink. My paper target arrives and I take a closer look. I've emptied three rounds into the paper and the heart region is just one large hole where bullets have penetrated it again and again.

I was always one for firing practice—and not just in the few weeks before our yearly firearms test like some of the agents. But since one especially intense case I worked, I've been coming here a lot. An awful lot. Sometimes I spend hours in a trancelike state, my gun pulsating as I fire over and over again.

Rivers smiles for an instant before staring at the target. "Anyone we know?" he asks quietly. I know what he's hinting at, but I don't want to talk about it. My compulsory fortnightly sessions with the Bureau psychologist Dr. Amanda Rosen are bad enough. It's been six months; I should be over it.

I shrug. "Just practicing." I'm lying and he knows it, but we both leave it. I bite my lip and reload, distracting myself with the repetitive motion of forcing bullets into the gun's magazine.

Rivers watches my hands. "Practicing," he says with a hint of disbelief.

I release my lower lip from my teeth and consciously alter my body language, acting for my boss. "You know me, I'm a perfectionist." I force a light tone into my voice.

He pushes his gold-framed glasses higher onto his nose, masking his dark brown eyes. "That's why I wanted you in my team."

I nod and smile genuinely, still humbled by the fact that Rivers handpicked me to work as a profiler in his team. The Victorian police sent me out here for the Bureau's six-week International Program and I wound up with a job offer. Funny how things work out.

"Anyway, I better get to it. I've got my firearms test coming up." He gives me a wink and moves into the booth next to me.

"You don't fool me. I know you come down here more than once a year."

"Maybe. But keep it to yourself, Anderson." I laugh, put my earmuffs and goggles back on and attach a fresh target to the clips. Once the target is back at the fifty-yard mark, I raise my gun and let him have it.

Today, Dr. Amanda Rosen wears her pinstripe pant-suit—straight, classy pants and a plain white blouse that pulls slightly across her chest. The white shirt highlights her olive complexion, making it seem even richer, darker. Hanging on her chair is the suit's matching jacket, a short, bolero-style number. She's covering old ground, dotting her i's and crossing her t's. The case I was involved with six months ago got out of hand and she needs to know I've dealt with everything that happened.

Usually our expertise is requested for cases the police have been unable to solve. We do most of our work remotely, examining crime-scene photos and reports, which are sometimes months or even years old. Then we draft our profile of the perpetrator and send it to the cops. Occasionally we work in the field, in the thick of it, and this case was one of those times. It was a big case, pursuing a killer dubbed the DC Slasher, and two profilers were assigned to the task force. But things turned bad when the killer targeted the Bureau… and me.

Dr. Rosen's eyes fix on me, trying to read my body language, trying to break through my defenses. If my plan's working, she thinks she's in. Her dark brown hair is cut so it falls around her face in wisps, but today she wears it swept back in a French roll. Small strands have broken free and arc across her face. Her full lips are pursed, waiting for my response, and her dark brown eyes are sympathetic. Her eyes are her most powerful weapon. Sometimes when she looks at me I feel stripped bare as if she can see right through me, through the charade.

"Yes, it's going well," I say.

I haven't told her what disturbed me most about the case, and I never will. I can't tell the Bureau shrink that I had dreams and waking visions that came true. Hell, I can hardly believe it myself, especially given I haven't had any psychic episodes since.

"So you feel you've put the case behind you now, Sophie."

I take a breath, careful not to answer too quickly. Desperation could give me away. "It's hard, of course, but I love my job. I like being part of the fight."

"Yes—" she studies her notepad and then looks up "—the fight. You've clocked up a lot of time on the range and in the gym recently."

I shrug. "I'm keeping busy." A half truth. "I'm not the kinda gal who likes to sit around and watch TV."

"No. That doesn't match your personality profile. But maybe there are other reasons too?"

She leaves the conversation open, prompting me for the response. I know what she's looking for and decide it might be in my best interests to give it to her.

I nod. "It's true. I am more—" I search for the right word "—security conscious these days."

"Does it give you a sense of control?"

"Yes." I answer slowly, pretending to think about what I'm saying. "Being physically fit, strong and a proficient marksperson make me feel safer."

"How much gym time are you doing?"

I know the summary's right in front of her. We have to swipe our ID card every time we enter and exit the gym, and that data is automatically compiled. Same for the firing range.

I shrug, pretending I'm not overtly aware or conscious of my movements. After a respectable pause I say, "Probably an hour a day." I keep my mouth shut about the morning runs...

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Verlag
MIRA
Erscheinungsdatum
2008
Sprache
Englisch
ISBN 10 
0778326047
ISBN 13 
9780778326045
Einband
Taschenbuch
Auflage
1
Anzahl der Seiten
448
Kontakt zum Hersteller
Nicht verfügbar
Verantwortliche Person
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