Harlequin Romantic Suspense April 2021 by Karen Whiddon (interesting books to read for teens TXT) đź“•
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- Author: Karen Whiddon
Read book online «Harlequin Romantic Suspense April 2021 by Karen Whiddon (interesting books to read for teens TXT) 📕». Author - Karen Whiddon
“What crap,” Luis grumbled, tossing his tablet aside. Certainly, Darcy was trying her best to appear ill, and therefore not responsible for the heinous crimes she’d committed. Over the years, she’d murdered dozens of men. She was the one who’d killed Sheriff Haak—with his own shotgun. She’d tried to hang both Holly Jacobs and Everly Baker. Kidnapped Liam’s daughter, Sophie.
Attacked Julia with an axe and left her for dead.
No matter what she now claimed, Luis had seen enough of Darcy Owens in action to know that she had always been sure of what she was doing. With a shake of his head, he picked up his coffee cup and took a drink. “I hope nobody buys her story.”
An approaching police car’s siren let out a shrill blast. Luis ambled to a set of tall windows in the living room. With lights flashing, the cruiser was easy to find. It sped down Main Street and stopped at the town park, which was a block north of his apartment. Sipping from his cup, he watched and wondered what in the world was happening.
Blue and red lights strobed in the hazy morning light. Yet, it wasn’t the car or the lights that captivated Luis’s attention—it was the person who met the deputy. Julia McCloud.
He set aside the cup.
Even from a block away, he could tell that her pallor was gray. Her blond hair was damp with perspiration. What was happening at the park?
There was only one way to find out. Returning to his bedroom, he stepped into yesterday’s jeans then shrugged on his Colorado Mustangs T-shirt and a flannel shirt, and finally slipped on a pair of shoes. Within a minute, he had jogged down the stairs and sprinted up the street.
Crime-scene tape had been wrapped around the posts that flanked the entrance to the gazebo. Julia was nowhere in sight.
Travis Cooper, a Pleasant Pines deputy, intercepted Luis on the sidewalk. Luis had already worked with the other man several times during the hunt for Darcy Owens. Rocky Mountain Justice preferred to work independently, but the agency never hesitated to partner with local law enforcement if that meant reaching their goal more effectively. “Julia call you, too?” Deputy Cooper asked.
Luis wasn’t about to admit that he knew nothing about the situation. For sure, he would be told to move along. He gave a nod. “What’s up?”
“There’s not much to tell,” said Cooper. “Except that the guy is dead.”
Shaking his head, Luis made his way to the gazebo, where Julia and Doc Lambert were conversing. Their voices were barely above a whisper. Luis couldn’t make out what they were saying, but he sure knew what they were talking about. Sitting on the bench, head lolled to the side, was the body.
Deputy Cooper had already told him what to expect, yet the sight brought Luis up short. Chest tight and head throbbing, he recalled walking into the bar at the Pleasant Pines Inn. There’d been a table full of men wearing mountain-bike gear.
The dead guy had been a part of the group.
“I saw him yesterday,” said Luis.
Julia turned. Looking at Luis, she gaped. “What are you doing here and how in the hell do you know this guy?”
Luis ignored her first question and answered the second. “I don’t know him personally, but I saw him. Yesterday at the pub at the Pleasant Pines Inn. He was there with a bunch of buddies—looked like they’d gone mountain biking.”
Julia’s color was still ashen. Ash-gray smudges darkened the skin under each eye. Had she slept at all? “That begins to solve the mystery of this guy’s identity. Now all we need to figure out is why he’s dead.”
It wasn’t exactly an invitation to join in the investigation. Still, Luis took a knee next to the corpse and gave voice to his initial thoughts. “There’s no immediate physical evidence to make me think he’s the victim of foul play.” Moving closer, he continued, “There isn’t even bruising around his neck or a contusion to his head.” He stood and took a step back. “A heart attack?”
Doc Lambert said, “I’ll conduct a full autopsy and then we’ll know for sure.”
Moving to the railing, Luis walked the perimeter of the gazebo, examining the expanse of lawn. “There are no tire tracks in the soil,” he said. “Not even a furrow dug through the grass, where a body was dragged. Unless this guy was carried, he walked to this location and sat down.”
“Why would he do that?” Julia asked.
Luis shrugged. “My guess is that he didn’t feel well. Maybe he had chest pains and needed to rest.” Returning to the body, he leaned in close and drew in a quick breath. The smell of meat, on the verge of turning rancid, filled his nostrils. Yet, underneath the stench, was another smell—subtle, antiseptic and sweet...yet unmistakable. “Whiskey,” he said. “It seems like John Doe got good and drunk before he died.”
“I’ll run all toxicology reports during the autopsy. Might take a few days—or even a week—to get results back from the lab,” said Doc Lambert.
A week was a long time to wait during an investigation into a suspicious death. Still, he didn’t doubt that what the physician had said was true. Luis turned his attention back to the gazebo, reassessing the crime scene, wondering how many clues they might find about this John Doe...and how he died. He also knew that he didn’t trust anyone to assist with the investigation, except himself. Now, here was the trick. How could he make sure that he stayed involved in the case?
Clearing his throat, Luis glanced over his shoulder at Julia. “You mind if I take a closer look at the body?” He
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