Murderous Envy (The Veils of Parallel Times Book 1) by C.J. Carson

Author:C.J. Carson [Carson, C.J.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2021-02-28T22:00:00+00:00

Chapter 23

ON THE WAY HOME, I TURNED to the others in the car. “I can’t believe how lucky we were to have found that apartment. It really is rather luxurious and definitely more than I ever thought we could find on our budget. More importantly, it has really great security. Jake, speaking of security, do you think we should let Mr. Channing know what’s going on?”

“I am going to have a conversation with Payne about that. It is, without a doubt, a more secure place to live, but at the same time may make it harder to do protective surveillance. Let’s see what he has to say.”

Claudia reached into her bag and pulled out a small envelope. “I think this calls for a little celebration and I just happen to have this gift card for the Oak Street Bistro! What do you say?”

My response was, “I’m in! What about you guys?”

Josh didn’t hesitate to answer for both of them. “We’re in!”

As we had dinner celebrating our move, we strategized how quickly we could make it happen.

During our meal, our server came to the table and handed me a folded placemat. “Excuse me, ma’am, I was asked to give you this.”

Puzzled, I took it from him. “What? Who gave it to you?”

He turned to point someone out. “It is from—” He looked dumbfounded. “Well, he was sitting right there at the bar not a minute ago.? I don’t know who it was. He is not a regular. I mean, I have never seen him before.”

Closing my eyes, I passed the paper to Josh. “I can’t open this!”

Josh laughed. “It’s just a child’s drawing. What is this about?”

Stunned, I grabbed it from his hand and looked at it. “What the hell?”

I got up from my chair, grabbed the arm of the waiter, and ran to the door and out to the street. “Do you see him anywhere?”

“Uh, no, ma’am.”

“Damn! Look again, look very carefully!”

“I’m sorry, ma’am, I don’t see him anywhere.”

Claudia came out of the restaurant. “Allie, what is on that piece of paper that has you so riled up? Let me see it!”

Taking it from my hand, she unfolded it. “Al, it’s just a kid’s drawing. What the heck?”

I spun around, still panicked. “Where are Josh and Jake?”

“They’re taking care of the bill. Allie, what has got you so wound up?”

Josh and Jake came through the door.

Josh wrapped his arm around me. “Allie, what is going on?”

“This is not just a drawing on a placemat, it’s my drawing!”

“What are you talking about? I don’t understand.”

I took a deep breath, looking at each one of them. “This is not just any drawing! I drew this. It’s mine, don’t you see? This is a drawing I did as a child when I was visiting George’s Café with my grandfather. How could someone have this?”

From his jacket pocket, Jake pulled one of his ever-ready plastic bags and slid it over the paper. “I guess it is going to be another late night for Payne. I need to call the station, report this, and get someone down here.

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.