Journey's Terror (Journey Russo FBI Mystery Series Book 2) by Mary Stone

Author:Mary Stone [Stone, Mary]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Mary Stone Publishing
Published: 2024-03-05T00:00:00+00:00

23

Next morning, Journey stepped into the hotel lobby, her low-heeled boots nearly silent on the recently vacuumed carpet. Rays of early sunlight streamed in through two tall windows, reflecting off the newly polished surfaces around her. In the bright light of day, her midnight worries seemed far away. It was time to get to work.

Breakfast was included, and the smell of warm baked goods and coffee filled the air. But Journey knew from experience that the coffee would taste terrible and the eggs powdery. The investigation would be better off with her well-fed and happily caffeinated, and that meant breaking her fast elsewhere.

Lucas had agreed to meet her in the lobby at nine a.m., and he appeared right on time, his hair still damp from a shower. A hint of the same hotel soap Journey had used tickled her nostrils as she took a deep breath.

“I ran outside this morning.” Lucas smiled exuberantly. “The weather was perfect!”

Journey patted her damp ponytail self-consciously and smiled back. “And to think I was going to give you a hard time about not seeing you in the gym.”

When they drove downtown, a small bakery on Main Street had a sign in the window boasting the best coffee in West Virginia. Most places that made that claim were full of crap, but the little bakery had a line queued out the door, so they must have been doing something right.

“I’m going to trust that the good people of Ashville don’t waste time in line for terrible coffee.”

Lucas scowled. “It may be the best coffee in town, but that doesn’t make it good.”

“Aw, c’mon. Take a chance.” Journey pulled into the first parking spot she could find. “You were Mr. Sunshine back at the hotel.”

“What can I say?” He raised his hands in surrender. “I’ve got exacting standards, and I’m slow to trust.”

“Good qualities in an investigator, I guess.” She jumped out of the car and headed for the line. “But as your partner, I’m now praying extra hard that this place lives up to its reputation.”

Five minutes later, they found an empty park bench on the sidewalk, coffee and breakfast in hand. Journey waited for Lucas to take the first sip.

He rolled his eyes up in his head in mock delight. “Oh, yeah. That’s the business.”

She laughed and raised her cup in the air. “Hallelujah.”

Once they’d finished stuffing themselves with breakfast sandwiches and caffeine, it was time to talk strategy.

Mitch, the bartender they’d spoken with, had told them Monica Porter and Colin Abbott had stayed at the Countryside Motel. Journey thumbed through the manila folder in her lap that contained the missing persons photos of the twelve victims they’d identified. She planned to ask the motel’s owner if he remembered seeing Monica, Colin, or any of the others.

“I did a quick search last night.” She flipped to the notes she’d added to the folder. “The owner of the Countryside Motel is Lewis Ballard, age forty-eight. He seems to have taken over the business about ten years ago when the title was transferred from the previous owner, Terrance Ballard.

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