Her Leading Man by Laura Liller

Author:Laura Liller [Liller, Laura]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: FIC027110 FICTION / Romance / Suspense
Publisher: The Wild Rose Press
Published: 2023-08-23T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twenty-Two

Ash Baldwin called The Highland Casino, a hotel an hour away from Cromline. The place was a beacon of steel and smoky glass settled between a gorge in the nearby mountains. Rooms were luxe with thick carpeting, sconces aglow against pearly wallpaper, jet tubs, and layers of silky linens on plush, king-sized beds. “I’d like to book a room for Friday night. I also want a plate of chocolate covered strawberries, chilled champagne, and a dozen red roses in the suite.”

After finalizing the reservation, he stripped out of his jacket, and hung it on a hook in the corner of the construction trailer. Stopping in front of a mirror, he tightened his pectoral muscles so they danced beneath his shirt. He smiled. “She’ll be sending me roses after I’m done with her.” He dialed the number of Jenna’s store.

“Rhapsody,” she answered.

“I hope we’re still on for Friday night. I made arrangements for something special.”

A length of silence yawned through the line. “I’m sorry. I have other plans.”

He gnashed his teeth together but steered his voice into an easy register. “Anything you can get out of?”

“Afraid not.”

“Another time then. We’re still on for the hospital benefit next week, right? You wouldn’t cancel on me and break my poor lonely heart, would you?” Not waiting for a reply, he laughed and said goodbye. His next call was to Willy Parks.

Ten minutes later, the police chief was at the construction office rolling his tongue around a double-dip, chocolate ice cream cone.

“You were supposed to arrest him.” Ash hammered the words into Willy’s face, and it almost caused the top tier of the ice cream to topple onto his uniform shirt.

“Be reasonable. I said I’d find a way to hold him as soon as he drove into town, but he never leaves the Cummings’ place.”

“Well, if my guess is correct, he’ll be leaving it Friday night. You have him picked up.” Ash stepped behind his desk and sat. An e-mail confirming his booking at the Casino opened up on his tablet. Stabbing at the screen, he pressed “cancel reservation.” He turned to Willy. “By the way, the next time I call you to my office don’t make any pit stops. You don’t need that ice cream. You’re getting fat.”

****

Over the phone, Bree gave instructions to photographer Larry Belka. “Book a flight into any New York airport and get a rental car. From the city you’ve got about a two-hour drive to a place called the Trails End. It’s right outside of a small town called Cromline. Write it down.”

Bree listened as he mumbled while jotting his instructions. “C…r…o…” and so on. “Got it.”

“Get her routine down, but make sure she doesn’t see you.”

The strike of a lighter clicked and Larry made a sucking sound. Bree wondered how he was always able to get such clear shots with a cigarette perpetually dangling from his lips.

“Not my first rodeo,” he said.

“Don’t pull an attitude with me, Larry. You’re going to be paid very well for a very easy job.

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