Deadly Secrets (Mapleton Mystery Book 1) by Terry Odell

Author:Terry Odell [Odell, Terry]
Language: eng
Format: azw3
Publisher: Terry Odell
Published: 2011-12-01T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Sixteen

Gordon rushed to Angie's side, gripped her by the shoulders, and thrust her toward Ozzie. "Behind the counter. Down. Both of you."

Ozzie wrapped his massive arm around Angie and dragged her behind the counter.

Following the rule he'd established at their briefing, Gordon radioed Dispatch for backup. "Roll a unit to cover the entrance to Angie Mead's apartment. Two officers. One in back, the other in the diner with me."

"On it, Chief," Connie said. Seconds later, she was on the line. "Solomon and a deputy will be there in three."

"Roger."

Gordon unsnapped his holster, his hand resting on the butt of his Glock. Taking a cleansing breath, he stood flat against the wall in the alcove and flipped the switch to illuminate the inner stairwell leading up to Angie's apartment. No sounds came from above.

"Angie. Did you sense anyone was in there with you?" You'd think with all her feelings, if she had company, she'd have been aware of it on some psychic level.

"No," she said in a shaky voice. "But it's not like I routinely check under the bed or behind the couch."

"What about smells? Perfume? Aftershave? Cigarette smoke?"

"No."

"What made you think someone had been there?" So help him, if she said one word about ghosts, he'd whack her.

She emerged from behind the counter, Ozzie close beside her. "There must have been signs that registered on a subconscious level, but I didn't want to stick around and check them out. Not when I heard you down here. I figured you could do that."

He apparently failed to keep the skepticism out of his expression, because she crossed her arms across her chest. "Come on. Don't tell me you've never had the feeling someone's watching you? Or you're thinking about someone, and they call on the phone right that minute?" She caught Gordon in a steely stare. "Or the way you can tell when someone's hiding something when you question them? You don't think about how you know, you get that…feeling."

He wasn't going to debate that now. Cops learned to read body language and facial expressions, see red flags waving. Angie could believe in her forms of communication. He preferred things he could point to. "I suppose," he said. Meanwhile, he needed more information.

"Ozzie," he said. "You happen to notice anyone head for the restrooms and not come back?" The rear entrance to Angie's apartment was through a small storage room next to the restrooms, clearly marked "Employees Only."

"Can't say that I did."

"Angie, anyone else have a key to your place?" Gordon asked.

"Not really."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"I leave a spare key down here, on a hook in the kitchen. Donna goes up sometimes on her breaks. Especially now. Her son and his wife are staying with her with the new grandbaby, and she needs a nap more than lunch. But she always tells me. And she puts the key back."

Ozzie cleared his throat. "I found it by the register yesterday. Not the first time Donna's forgotten. I took care of it."

Angie's eyes widened.

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