Autumn's Chase by Mary Stone

Author:Mary Stone [Stone, Mary]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2024-05-30T00:00:00+00:00

21

Autumn ripped open a candy bar and waited patiently for Keaton to return to the SUV. They’d driven away from Hugh Yardley’s manor in near silence and agreed to stop at the nearest gas station for a snack break before conference calling Aiden and Sun.

We have nothing. A philanthropic, massively agreeable businessperson who literally handed over everything we need to prove his innocence.

Closing her eyes, Autumn chewed in silence until Keaton yanked the passenger side door open and climbed in. “That had to be the sweetest old checkout lady I’ve ever met. Loretta. She shouldn’t be working. She should be at home watching The Golden Girls and knitting a sweater or something. Isn’t retirement a thing anymore?”

Autumn opened her mouth to comment on the state of their country’s economy and suffering social security benefits, but paused as she took in Keaton’s selections. “Spreadable cheese, slices of…what kind of meat is that supposed to be? No, don’t tell me. Crackers, apple slices, and a bag of…animal cookies?” Sputtering into laughter, she momentarily forgot the case and their absolute failure of an interview.

Keaton ripped the plastic top off his “meal” and began making a stacked tower of heavily processed foods. “Say what you want, but these are classics. You know it, I know it, and Loretta knows it too.”

This made the situation even funnier, and the happy flow of chuckles was enough to remind Autumn that life wasn’t only about the bleak and barren.

Humor would save them all.

Neither of them had a chance to prepare for their call before Keaton’s phone broke through the merriment, boasting SSA Aiden Parrish’s name across the screen as it rang.

“Here we go.” Keaton hit the speaker button. “Agent Holland here with Agent Trent.”

“Good.” Aiden’s serious tone made it clear that he and Sun were not also mid giggle session. “Let’s not waste any time. We spoke with Daniel Ainsworth. He’s an arrogant ass who claims to have an alibi for the night in question but refuses to cooperate any further until we have search warrants.”

“He certainly fits the profile.” Disgust dripped from Sun’s words. “A rich, self-obsessed, British dick with an Audi and a penchant for horses. I plan on digging into him hard.”

Aiden sighed, sounding far too exhausted for two o’clock in the afternoon. “He could be our guy, but we’re far from proving it. The worst part of the meeting being that Daniel could tell we had little to go on. What did you gather from your interview?”

Keaton shot Autumn a glance of panic. “Hugh Yardley is definitely British, rich, horse obsessed, and Audi owning…but…”

Autumn finished with the less-than-stellar conclusion. “He also has an alibi and gave us plenty of ways to corroborate it. He was agreeable, sympathetic, beyond charming…and he runs a horse sanctuary, for crying out loud.”

“And did you?” Aiden barked through the airwaves.

“Did we what?” Keaton voiced Autumn’s exact response before she could spit it out.

Huffing, Aiden made no attempt to hide his irritation. “Did either of you actually corroborate his

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.