EXCERPT
The Defenseless
(Brandon Fisher FBI Series Book 3)
(Brandon Fisher FBI Series Book 3)
by Carolyn
Arnold
The Defenseless is the third book in Carolyn Arnold's Brandon Fisher FBI Series. Also available: Eleven (FREE) and Silent Graves.
The Defenseless is currently on tour with Enchanted Book Promotions. The tour stops here
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Description
The first victim was poisoned. Three others are still missing. One more
turns up dead. But there is one connection that ties them all together.
This case has FBI Agent Brandon Fisher and the team in Colorado to stop a
serial killer targeting men who beat charges of animal abuse over twenty years
ago. With the method of murder changing to match what his victims had allegedly
inflicted on the defenseless, the team questions who is on the side of justice -
them or the murderer. After all, their unsub is seeking retribution on behalf
of the victims who have no voice.
While facing this moral dilemma, Brandon’s loyalty to the bureau is also
tested. But Brandon is up for the challenge - anything to get his mind off his
pending divorce and the upcoming holiday. Being thousands of miles from home,
the forbidden relationship between him and Paige becomes more tempting, but is
he willing to risk all that he’s worked for?
Excerpt
Chapter
1
Current day
December 15th, 6 a.m.
Denver, Colorado
December 15th, 6 a.m.
Denver, Colorado
The plane touched down at Denver
International Airport just after six in the morning. I was happy to have the
tumultuous flight over with, and thought it should have been canceled, but
apparently those responsible for that sort of thing had cleared take-off.
Flying typically didn’t bother me, but
high winds and various temperature pockets had buffeted the plane, rocking it
almost like a ship at sea, only we were thirty thousand feet in the air. Land
never looked so good.
Zachery slapped me on the back and had
me lurching forward from the momentum. “We made it, Pending.”
Months into my probationary period but
still not clear of it—something I was reminded of all the time by his beloved
nickname.
Jack brushed past, leading the three
of us through the airport, no doubt driven by the undying urge for a cigarette.
Paige hung back, and when I turned, she pushed a rogue strand of hair from her
eyes and dipped to the left as she shifted the position of her suitcase strap
on her right shoulder.
We were called to Colorado because
some old-timer detective by the name of Mack McClellan was certain the area had
a serial killer. He believed it strongly enough we were convinced as well.
The label serial killer no longer
fazed me, and it only took a few horrid cases to rub off its shock value.
Regular people, who didn’t have to
hunt down murderers, lived life as if they were merely characters fabricated
for entertainment purposes. The dark truth was, conservatively, there were an
estimated thirty-five to fifty serial killers in the United States at any given
time.
The local FBI office was to provide us
with transportation, but it was the local detective who insisted on meeting us
at the airport and bringing us up to speed.
Stepping out of the warm cocoon of the
airport into the brisk winter air of Denver stole my breath. It had me wanting
to retreat back inside for the warm, blowing vents.
For recreational purposes, Denver
would be an ideal location to spend the Christmas season, with its mountain
slopes and deep snow. Even facing the search for a killer, I’d rather be here,
miles away from home, than facing the emptiness of the house on Christmas day.
This would be the first year without
Deb. The only thing that could make it better was reconciliation, but we were
beyond that point. Truth be told, I wasn’t even sure if I’d take her back. The
divorce was already filed, and knowing my penchant for attracting negative
events, it would be official in time for the holiday. It didn’t matter though.
I had found a way to move forward in my life—at least I told myself that. Maybe
I was burying my feelings, but I preferred to think I healed faster than most.
“Hey, there they are.”
A man pushed off the hood of a Crown
Vic, the cup in his hand steaming in the cold air. At full height, he was all
of five eight. His hair was sparse, and reminded me of a Chia Pet just starting
to grow, but what he did have was a dark blond. He wore a thigh-length wool parka,
zipped up shy of his collar by about six inches. It revealed a white collared
shirt and a blue tie with white dots. I wondered if he dressed this way all the
time or only when the FBI was in town.
He put his cup on the car roof and
came toward us with another man who wore a fur-lined leather jacket paired with
blue jeans, which appeared stiff due to the mountain air.
It had me wondering which scenario was
more uncomfortable, frozen stiff jeans, or breezy dress pants. I experienced
the latter and questioned the wardrobe I had brought, wondering if I’d be warm
enough.
Curse winter and all that’s white.
“Gentleman, I’m Mack McClellan.” The
man in the parka extended his hand, first to Jack. He must have sensed his
authority despite the lit cigarette.
Jack took a quick inhale and blew a
stream of white pollution out the side of his mouth as he shook the man’s hand.
“Supervisory Special Agent Jack Harper, and this is my team.” Jack left us to
introduce ourselves.
McClellan’s gaze settled on me, and I
surmised what he was thinking—I was the young guy on the team, the
inexperienced one he’d have to watch.
He gestured to the man with him. “This
is Detective Ronnie Hogan. He’s also with Denver PD. We’re not partners, but
he’s of the same mind. There’s a serial at play here.”
Hogan bobbed his head forward as a
greeting, but made no effort to extend a hand. His eyes were brown and hard to
read. He had etched crease lines in his brow, but he also had smile lines, so
there was some promise there. Not that we witnessed the expression.
McClellan grinned with a warmth that
touched his eyes, giving me the impression he was used to Hogan’s aloofness.
“Glad to see you made it all right. It’s quite the weather we’re having these
days. How was your flight?”
Jack took another drag on his
cigarette. “Over now.”
His retort killed the expression on
the detective’s face. “A man who is all business, I see. So, the dead body. You
know the name and details.”
Another pull on the cigarette, and
Jack flicked the glowing butt to the ground and extinguished it with the twist
of a shoe.
“We know what the file says, but we
like to go over everything in person.” Paige smiled at the detectives, no doubt
trying to compensate for Jack’s crass behavior.
“Well, let us fill you in on the way
to where the body was found. My, it’s mighty cold out here.” He rubbed his
hands together and grabbed his cup before going around to the driver’s side.
“For everyone to be more comfortable, two of you can come with me, and the
other two can go with Hogan.”
McClellan seemed like an open
book—what you saw was what you got. With Hogan, there was something about him,
whether it was his skepticism or what, I wasn’t sure. A quality that should
repel actually made me want to get to know him.
“I’ll go with Hogan.” Paige and I
spoke at the same time.
Our eyes connected. In the past this
symmetry in thought would have elicited a smile from both of us. These days our
relationship was more complicated.
Paige stepped back and sought Jack’s
direction. “I’ll go with whomever you want me to.”
“It’s fine. You guys go with Hogan.
We’ll all catch up at the crime scene.”
She went past me and held out her hand
to Hogan. “I don’t think we’ve been properly introduced.”
Hogan stared at her extended hand and,
eventually, conceded to a handshake. The greeting was over quick.
As he was getting into the driver’s
seat, I whispered in Paige’s ear. “He’s not really the touchy-feely kind, is
he?”
I received a glare in response.
Praise for the Book
"Once the book begins, it's non-stop action right up until the
heartpounding conclusion. You won't want to put it down, and it's guaranteed to
tug at your heartstrings." ~ American
Daughter
"I read the first two in this series and waited impatiently for the
third book. I was not disappointed. Ms. Arnold has a quality to her writing
that bring her characters to life. [...] The plot races forward with twists and
turns where least expected and brings the reader to a surprising end." ~ Mariannne Spitzer
"In this book she has done what no other author has ever been able
to do. She has us cheering for the villain. But she does that often." ~ Caseyannie
About the Author
Carolyn Arnold is the bestselling author of the Madison Knight series, the Brandon Fisher series, and the McKinley Mysteries. Her love for writing dates back to her teen
years, but her passion was reignited in 2006 when a fellow employee said
"tell me a story." Since then Carolyn has never looked back.
Her writing has since been compared to New York Times Bestsellers such as
J. D. Robb, Mary Higgins Clark, Sue Grafton, Michael Connelly, Tess Gerritsen, and more.
Carolyn was born in 1976 in a rural town of Ontario, Canada, and she
currently lives with her husband and two beagles in a city near Toronto.
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