Page 99 of Line of Sight

Gary narrowed his gaze. “Smartass. I won’t be long. I might get some chips too. And maybe some cookies.”

“Wait!”

He frowned. “Is there something else I need to pick up?”

“Maybe I’ve been reading too many of these thrillers, but….” Dan took a breath. “You’re about to go out there where weknowthere’s a killer on the loose.”

Gary blinked. “You want me to stay home?”

“No, I’m just saying it would be beyond embarrassing if we got suckered into what has to be the oldest trope in the murdergenre. How many times have you watched a thriller and yelled at the screen, ‘Don’t go in there!” Or ‘Stay in the house!’”

Gary’s lips twitched. “Crap like that only happens in really bad slasher movies, and I don’t think for one minute that our killer would be that obvious—or cheesy. And besides….” He stared at Dan. “I’m coming right back. Okay?”

“Just keep your wits about you, that’s all I’m saying. Keep that detective brain switched on.”

Garry huffed. “My detective fell asleep about half an hour ago. It needs its rest.”

“Well, don’t be so asleep that you forget the cookies.”

The door slammed, and Dan picked up his book once more.

American Psychowasnotthe easiest thing to read.

For one thing, the main character, Patrick Bateman, was obsessed with labels. He commented on every single thing that someone was wearing. And there were chapters where he spoke about a particular rock group, delving into their history, analyzing the music, the lyrics….

Dan grabbed his phone and called Riley. “Am I disturbing you?”

“I’m eating a sandwich from the cafeteria. I don’t think I wanna know what’s supposed to be in it. What’s up?”

Dan told him what he was reading. “You were right, this book is creepy.”

“The thing is, after the movie came out? A lot of people got the idea that all the murders were in Bateman’s head. You know, the ‘it was all a dream’ ending?”

Dan scowled. “I hate those. I always feel cheated.”

“I think at the end, Bateman was living in a kinda fantasy world, but I also think the murders were real.”

Dan chuckled. “Hey, don’t spoil it for me. Anything we need to know about?”

“It’s weird that you called because I was about to call you—well, as soon as I took the last bite of this dubious sandwich, and I might not even do that. I know what I said, but Travers wants you both back here, and Gary’s not answering his phone.”

“He’s at the store. As soon as he gets back, we’ll be on our way.” Dan hung up, then glanced at the clock on the fireplace.

Five thirty? What the hell?

He’d been so engrossed in the book, he’d almost lost all track of time.

Then it struck him.

Gary should’ve been back a half hour ago.

Dan called him, but there was no answer. There was always the possibility that he had it on mute, but that wasn’t likely, not in the middle of a case.

He tried again. And again. And again.

He sent a text. And another. And another.

By the time the clock showed six, he was starting to panic.