Wedlocked?! by Pamela Toth

Author:Pamela Toth
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Silhouette
Published: 1999-04-18T16:00:00+00:00

Seven

As Annie made her way to the employee bunkhouse early that evening, she was relieved to see that her hunch had been right. Everyone appeared to have gone to the exhibition down at the outdoor arena. She could hear bursts of cheering and applause. Cole was there and he’d already paged her once to let her know he had Lockhart in his sights.

Adrenaline bubbled through her veins as she deliberately slowed her pace on the off-chance someone might see her and question her intentions. The last thing she wanted was to appear furtive. She’d learned long ago how important it was to blend in, to act as though everything was ordinary and routine.

Annie quenched a smile. For her this was routine.

In moments she was inside the building, headed for the room Ralph had so helpfully pointed out.

She listened, but all was quiet except for the now-fainter noise from outside. Taking a deep breath, she drew her picks from her pack and went to work. She hadn’t lost her touch and the lock was no challenge; in less than a minute she was inside.

Heart pounding, she leaned against the closed door and looked around the empty room. The heavy curtains were drawn against the fading light, so it took a moment for her eyes to adjust. She had a flashlight tucked into her pocket, but she hated taking the risk of being noticed if she didn’t have to.

As well as being a slimeball and a murder suspect, Lockhart was also a slob. The narrow bed was a tangle of sheets and blankets. Clothes were scattered all over the floor and heaped on a chair. With a shudder of distaste, Annie stepped over a pair of underwear. The dresser was covered with an assortment of loose change, playing cards, beer bottles, unopened mail and other clutter.

Methodically she began searching for anything that might link him to Sophia’s death. Even though the fruits of Annie’s search couldn’t be used in court, she might find something, anything, that would give her a clue. Although the prosecutor had to share his information with the defense, the deal wasn’t reciprocal. It was one of the little quirks of criminal law that Annie didn’t mind at all.

Swiftly she made a visual search and then went through the dresser drawers, careful to put everything back the way she found it. She found a jumble of underwear, socks, a couple of bandanna handkerchiefs, a belt and an extra pair of leather gloves. In the back of the drawer was a small manila envelope. She looked inside.

Newspaper clippings! With a speeding pulse, Annie pulled them out and glanced through them. Several were starting to yellow. Puzzled, she skimmed each one carefully, mindful of the passage of time. They were all about Bryan Fortune’s kidnapping, from the time he first disappeared until the most recent ransom note was found. She wouldn’t have pegged Lockhart as the kind of man to take such an interest in family business that didn’t concern him directly, even when it was such a tragedy.

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