Lorie OClare - Strong, Sleek and Sinful

Praise for

TALL, DARK AND DEADLY

The best book Ive read this year!

New York Times
bestselling author Lora Leigh

OClare writes edgy suspense with tough-as-nails characters who endure more than most can imagine and come out stronger on the other side.Romantic Times BOOK reviews

A gripping novel.

A Romance Review

Ms. OClare has written a gritty, dangerous, and sexy story. The action starts on the first page and doesnt let up until the last. Tall, Dark and Deadly is a page-turner packed with sensuality and suspense. You wont want to miss this one.

Fallen Angel Reviews

Praise for Lorie OClares previous novels...

OClare [writes] page-turners filled with well-developed characters, and sparkling, sharp-witted dialogue...and attraction so strong you can feel it!

Romantic Times BOOKreviews

Intriguing [and] highly stimulating...a fantastic blend of mystery and suspense.

All About Murder

The passion and steamy sensuality are great, as are the action and emotion.

Romance Reviews Today

St. Martins Paperbacks Titles by

LORIE OCLARE

Tall, Dark and Deadly

Long, Lean and Lethal

Strong, Sleek and Sinful

LORIE OCLARE

NOTE: If you purchased this book without a cover you should be aware that this book is stolen property. It was reported as unsold and destroyed to the publisher, and neither the author nor the publisher has received any payment for this stripped book.

This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the authors imagination or are used fictitiously.

STRONG, SLEEK AND SINFUL

Copyright 2010 by Lorie OClare.
Excerpt from Play Dirty copyright 2010 by Lorie OClare.

Cover photograph Shirley Green

All rights reserved.

For information address St. Martins Press, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010.

ISBN: 978-0-312-94344-8

Printed in the United States of America

St. Martins Paperbacks edition / April 2010

St. Martins Paperbacks are published by St. Martins Press, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010.

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Is this a joke? Chief Murphy Radisson wasnt laughing.

Hardly. Lt. Perry Flynn couldnt sit facing the Chief any longer.

Tell me where you found these again. Rad hated anyone pacing in front of his desk. Perry didnt care. He walked over to the window and returned to loom over the Chiefs desk.

I sure as hell wasnt looking for a date. Perry focused on the printed Internet pictures that Rad held in his hand.

Id like to think not, Rad bellowed, his expression hardening fiercely. His immediate outrage was proof enough that he was taking this seriously. Do you want to tell me what your sudden fascination with kiddy porn is doing on my desk?

Flynn blew out a breath. It had been a long day, and it was far from over. He nodded to the pictures scattered across the Chiefs desk.

I did some searching earlier. And only printed the ones that I would swear are legitimate.

Rad glanced once again at the pictures before dropping them on his desk and then leaning back in his chair, lacing his fingers together and clasping them behind his head. He relaxed although still managed to look ready to pounce, and stared at Perry for a long moment. Theres no such thing as a goddamn legitimate pornography Web site. Why the hell did you print these? Start making some fucking sense or get the hell out of my office.

Flynn ignored the crass tone. You know damn good and well what I mean. These come from Web sitesin fact, four of them from the same sitewhere you can buy these children off an auction block if you want.

And youve got proof?

No, I dont have proof other than what is printed on the site. You need to subscribe to these sites, and register with a fair amount of personal information.

And you did that?

Ive saved the links if youd like to take a look. I used the same credit card I got over a year ago when I worked that casino case. Someone would have to do a fair amount of digging to link the card to me as a cop. He couldnt look at any of those pictures without seeing his nieces, all of whom were about the same ages as the girls in those pictures. It made him sick, pissed him off. He would kill any bastard with his bare hands who tried doing anything demented or perverted to any of his sisters girls. In the past year two high school girls have disappeared. He stalked over to the window again and tugged at the collar of his uniform, more than ready to get out of it and chill in front of the TV for the night. Like that would happen at this rate. Yesterday we bring in a sixteen-year-old, Sally Wright, who was convinced she was talking to a boy her age over in Topeka. If she didnt have overly protective parents, as she called them, who watched out for her and followed her to the rendezvous point, we might have had three missing girls. Perry rested his fist on the edge of Rads desk and stabbed at the pictures with his index finger. And the worst part is the ISP for those goddamn sites is right here in Mission Hills.

That grabbed Rads attention. Youve verified that?

I looked into it myself. But just to make you happy, he added, offering a wry grin, although he was anything but amused by this conversation. Ive contacted a Web site expert and am verifying it.

There is nothing to pin Sally Wrights interrupted rendezvous to anything as serious as child pornography.

Perry dragged his fingers through his short dark hair and took his time choosing his words. Rad was a damn good Chief of Police, but he was a hard-ass, too. Present his argument right and hed get a chance at this. Fuck it up and hed get his wish at watching TV all evening. He wasnt going to win either way on this one.

The MO is wrong for runaways. Youve agreed with me on that on more than one occasion. When Sally Wright was in here yesterday with her parents, we saw a mother and father frantic over the fact that they almost lost their daughter. If Charlie Wright hadnt followed his daughter to the mall and spied on her, some prick would have snagged her up. Mr. Wright brought your proof to you.

Rad didnt move but continued resting his head against his hands while eyeballing Perry carefully. So whats this all about? You think snooping around on porn sites will help you nail some online predator?

You never know. But I think possibly creating a trap might draw our perp out from behind his Internet shield. Perry moved the pictures around with his finger, making it easier to see all of them. We create a fictitious teenager, start chatting online, and get ourselves lured in. Our perp is here in town, Rad. And quite possibly hes the same man who killed Maura Reynolds last October. We documented proof on that case that she was talking to someone online who claimed to be a teenage boy. Shed arranged to meet him the night she disappeared.

And if you catch a sixteen-year-old boy what are you going to do?

It wont happen like that. There are things you say, ways that you talk to a predator, and of course ways to behave online that attract a sexual predator.

So suddenly youre an expert on online sexual predators. Rad lunged forward in his chair aggressively enough that it almost snapped him into a stand. You dont have any experience tracking an online stalker. Dont insult me and pretend that you do. Unless of course theres something you need to tell me. He raised one thick, shaggy brow, silently challenging Perry.