Читать книгу Killer's Prey - Rachel Lee - Страница 10

Prologue

Cranston Langdon sat in the chair in his den, pant leg pulled up so he could study the tracking bracelet that had been attached to him when he’d been released on bail. Just the sight of it made him furious. He was an upstanding member of this community, a business owner. They should have released him without this damn bracelet.

Hell, he wasn’t even being charged with murder. Rape, yes. Aggravated assault, yes. But guys who’d done a lot more than take a knife to a woman had been allowed to walk out of court on bail alone.

But not him. He blamed his soon-to-be ex-wife for that. She’d gone into that hearing and claimed he was a violent man, that the whole reason their child was receiving counseling from Nora Loftis was because of his violence. She had even said she was afraid of him.

He would never forgive her for that. Just as he would never forgive Nora Loftis for surviving. He’d dragged her to a ditch in the woods and she should have rotted away before anyone found her body.

Instead, she had managed to climb out of that ditch hours later and flag down help. So now here he was.

He knew he could cut that bracelet. He’d read about it online. It could be done. He could set himself free. He just had to be sure he did it right, because he wouldn’t have much time.

Ten or fifteen seconds before the alarm sounded at the police station. Five to ten minutes before the cops managed to respond.

So he had to plan it carefully. Very carefully.

Then, one way or another, he was going to take care of that cheating wife of his and finish off the Loftis woman. Two birds. Then off to Canada and parts unknown. He’d already moved his money. He’d taken care of that a long time ago, stocking away most of it in the Caymans.

So he’d be fine. He just had to make sure that he cleared out fast enough. That he dealt with his wife swiftly. Hunting Nora Loftis might take more time, but no one would expect that. No one would even begin to guess how badly he wanted to see her die, not when he’d insisted in the face of the evidence that he’d never hurt her, that they’d been lovers.

No, they’d think his wife was the end of it, because he’d never told them the truth. He’d let them think he was having an affair with Nora. Little did they know that he still wanted that woman’s blood and her essence.

But he knew.