Criminal Behavior by Amanda Stevens

Author:Amanda Stevens
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2019-02-11T16:37:48+00:00

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THE SQUAD CAR had already departed by the time Ethan returned to Naomi Quinlan’s house, but he wanted to make certain the black Charger wasn’t lurking somewhere nearby. He took a position down the street where he could watch the house without being detected.

After several minutes went by with no sign of countersurveillance, he circled the block and came in through the alley, using Ida’s key to let himself in. He went through the house quickly, clearing each room before he returned to the office for a more thorough search. Then he headed down the hallway to the bedroom. He’d just opened a nightstand drawer when a sound checked him. He turned his ear to the hallway, listening for the click of a closing door or the telltale creak of a floorboard. Nothing else came to him, but he had the strongest premonition that he was no longer alone in the house.

Drawing his weapon, he moved silently across the room, flattening himself against the wall as he peered out the door. He listened for a moment longer before slipping down the hallway to inspect the rest of the house. He checked the rear rooms first, easing through the kitchen and onto the sun porch. The windows were closed and the dead bolt on the back door was still engaged. Nothing seemed amiss, and yet Ethan couldn’t shake the notion that he had company, well hidden and malevolent.

He opened the door and went down the steps, lingering at the bottom as his gaze moved along the fence line. A mild breeze blew across the garden, rustling the banana trees and stirring a distant wind chime. The sky was clear, the sun warm and bright. Perfect weather to be lying on the beach or drifting on a lake. Not a good day to be searching a dead woman’s house.

He went back inside and retraced his steps, examining the windows and doors at the front of the house. Another sound propelled him back into Naomi’s office. A black-and-white cat sat atop the desk, cleaning his paws. Ethan’s sudden appearance startled him. The cat paused midgrooming, ears back, fur puffed.

Ethan looked around the room and then glanced over his shoulder into the foyer. Then he moved to the desk. The cat hissed and backed away from him.

“Ferocious, aren’t you?” Ethan examined the window locks. “How did you get in here, anyway?” Ida had said something about feeding Naomi’s cat, but surely the animal hadn’t been locked up in the house since the hit-and-run. He looked healthy enough. Had someone let him in after Ethan and Addie fled earlier?

Ethan went back into the foyer and opened the front door. The cat shot out of the house like a rocket, lunging off the porch and sprinting across the yard to Ida’s garden.

Glancing both ways down the street, Ethan closed the door and made his way back down the hallway to Naomi’s bedroom. He stood on the threshold, his senses still on alert as he waited for another giveaway sound.

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