Page 40 of Stolen Daughters (Detective Amanda Steele)

Brandon’s posture stiffened, but he leaned slightly forward, showing an interest. “I wouldn’t say all day.”

Amanda cleared her throat. “What is a serial killer anyway… by definition?”

“Not a textbook definition,” Brandon started, “but serial killers usually kill over a span of time. They often have a signature—something that makes them unique, though not always. They typically adhere to a murder method—then again, not always.”

Amanda caught Becky’s eye, and they smirked at each other.

“There’s obviously a little flexibility with the definition.” Becky attributed finger quotes to the last word and chuckled.

“Yeah,” Brandon admitted, “but normally more than three victims. Many of them have a type too, so you’ll notice similarities in victimology. Do you think you have a serial killer?”

Becky’s eyes widened at Amanda. “Do you?”

“I don’t know,” Amanda admitted, feeling defeated yet again. “What I do know is I’ve had two murders fall into my lap within twenty-four hours, and there is a connection between the victims.”

“Oh,” Brandon said.

She took in his facial expression. His mouth had tightened, and the corners angled down. Not quite a frown but smacking of one. “What?” she asked.

“Tell me some details.”

She had a bad feeling, given his grim countenance, that he was already thinking serial killer. “The first victim was a teenage girl pulled from a house fire. We still don’t know her identity.”

“Really?” This from Becky as she curled her legs beneath her and leaned against the arm of the couch.

Amanda shook her head. “And I’m still waiting on a photo I can use.”

“Were her remains badly affected?” Brandon asked.

“No. The fire was stopped before it could damage the body. She’d been strangled before the fire was started.”

“And the other murder you feel is connected?”

“A woman in her forties, killed in her home on the same street. Cause of death is not confirmed yet, but it seems she was drugged and stabbed. The second victim was the person who called nine-one-one about the fire. Her tongue had been cut out and left in her palm. We’re waiting on toxicology results, but it’s possible both victims were drugged.”

“Oh.” Brandon glanced at Becky, back to Amanda.

A second oh in about as many minutes didn’t bode well. She pressed on. “We’ve looked into the second woman’s life, but no one is standing out with motive to kill her. My partner and I—”

“Hey, do you remember Trent Stenson?” Becky interjected, posing the question to Brandon.

“Do I remember Trent? Ah, yeah. Kind of hard to forget that guy.”

Amanda wasn’t sure how to read Brandon’s reaction. Was it in favor of Trent or against?

“Tell me, is he still gung-ho?” he asked. “When he helped us with a case, he had lots of fire and zeal but lacked control. Got himself shot. Twice. Interesting how he wound up with the Prince William County PD and landed in Homicide.”

Amanda shouldn’t be surprised that Brandon knew exactly where she worked and for what department. “Interesting in what way?”

“I got the feeling he wanted to advance rank and work for a bigger police department. Looks like that’s exactly what he accomplished.”

“Yep. Living the dream.” She chuckled. “He came on as my partner back in January.”

“Huh.” Brandon took another drink of his wine, then turned serious again. “As you were saying, you have considered a serial killer?”

“We discussed the possibility, but we figured to qualify as such there would be more victims involved.”

“Could be ones you don’t know about.”