If Looks Could Kill by Eileen Goudge

Author:Eileen Goudge
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Open Road Media
Published: 2023-11-15T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 12

Hope typed in the secret code she’d copied down in the deputy warden’s office at the prison. She pushed the enter key and held her breath. Work. Please work, she pleaded silently.

Her computer hummed softly. In rapid sequence the most incredible words appeared on the screen. STATE OF CALIFORNIA, CLASSIFIED INFORMATION. Hope let out a cheer and raised her right fist in the air. This was it! This was the key that would unlock Mark Woolery’s secret!

She worked the keyboard for a few minutes until she discovered the part of the file she wanted. Finally, she got the prompt she’d been searching for ever since she’d seen Mr. Woolery’s school file in the computer. LAST NAME, FIRST NAME.

WOOLERY, she typed. What was that outside? Hope raced over and looked out the open window. Nothing. No one. “Who’s there?” she called into the thick, dark night. Her only answer was the rustling of leaves. She went back to her machine. MARK. She glanced at the window, but saw only the reflection from her desk lamp in the top pane, like the sun at the top corner of a child’s drawing. She hit the enter key …

… And Mr. Woolery’s secret unfolded in front of her eyes.

STATE OF CALIFORNIA DIVISION OF CRIMINAL JUSTICE SERVICES read the top of her computer screen. CONFIDENTIAL TO SACRAMENTO POLICE HEADQUARTERS. NAME: MARK P. WOOLERY. DATE OF BIRTH, RACE, SEX, HEIGHT, SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBER. Hope skimmed the information. OTHER NAMES USED BY SUBJECT. That one was blank. CRIMINAL HISTORY. Also blank. ARREST INFORMATION. This was what Hope was looking for. date. Hope did some quick arithmetic. Mr. Woolery had been arrested five years ago, almost to the day. PLACE. MORRISTOWN NUCLEAR POWER PLANT, NEW YORK STATE.

Mr. Woolery had been arrested at a nuclear plant? ARREST ARRAIGNMENT CHARGES. CRIMINAL TRESPASS AND CRIMINAL MISCHIEF. DISPOSITION. CRIMINAL TRESPASS AND HOLDING A DEMONSTRATION WITHOUT A LICENSE.

Criminal trespass! Mr. Woolery wasn’t a murderer. He’d been demonstrating against a nuclear power station. Hope had a moment of relief, followed by a new worry. If Mr. Woolery turned out to be innocent, there was even more reason to suspect that Spike Navarrone was guilty. Somebody had killed April Lovewell.

Since April’s death, it seemed as if good news was only the prelude to bad. Just a short while ago, Jess had called with the welcome message that Vaughn and Raven were home and safe. Then he’d told her the rest of it: Raven’s mother was sick, and Vaughn’s parents had declared war on their own son.

Where will it end? Hope wondered as she picked up the phone to call Kiki. She felt so confused. She was glad Mr. Woolery wasn’t a criminal. But there was no resting easy until April’s killer was found.

“Hello?” Kiki’s voice came over the line.

“Kiki? Hope.”

“Hope, hi! Did you find out something about Woolery?”

“Yeah. He’s guilty. But he’s innocent.” She laughed and told Kiki what she’d discovered.

“Oh, wow! What a relief!” Kiki said.

“Yeah,” Hope agreed. “We were getting suspicious of the wrong person.

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