Harlequin Romantic Suspense April 2021 by Karen Whiddon (interesting books to read for teens TXT) 📕

he’d ever been given. Sure, he’d landed on his feet with RMJ. But what was stopping him from screwing up his life yet again?

* * *

To call the Wyoming headquarters of RMJ an office didn’t do the space justice. Half a mile from the county office building, where the sheriff’s office was located, RMJ had renovated a nineteenth-century home. From the outside, the house was unremarkable. Gabled roof. Dormer windows. Dentils along the eaves.

Yet, Julia had worked inside that building and knew that looks were deceiving.

Planted in the uppermost gable was a high-powered camera that recorded images in 360 degrees. There was also a microphone sensitive enough to pick up a conversation from two blocks away.

Getting into the building was a feat in itself. The door wasn’t controlled by a simple lock and key. Instead, only those with the correct biometrics could gain access. Since she’d left the agency several months ago, there was no way that Julia could get past the front door. That was how secure they were.

But she was with Luis. As they stood on the stoop, his face was scanned, and his fingerprint was verified. The front door opened with a click and they entered a space that at one time had been a foyer.

It was now a steel holding cell. It took only seconds more for Luis to pass all the security devices, and soon they were sitting in a conference room on the first floor.

The team was already gathered and were sitting around a wooden conference table. Holding her breath, she waited for a pang of regret to fill her chest. After all, she’d been a part of this team for years.

No strong emotions rose to the surface...save for an affection for the people in the room. That, along with a burning to desire to find out what really happened to Tom Dolan...and why.

Marcus Jones, bald with a dark brow, was the operative in charge of the RMJ office in Wyoming. He sat at the head of the table. A former FBI agent, Marcus had joined the team in Denver after RMJ’s hunt for a Russian drug lord, Nikolai Mateev, had intersected with an investigation run by the FBI.

Next to Marcus sat Chloe Ryder, the DA. She must have also been escorted inside by someone else. Even on a Sunday, she was dressed for business in jeans and button-down blouse. Liam Alexander and Wyatt Thornton—both operatives with RMJ—sat on one side of the table. The communications expert, Katarina, sat at the table’s foot, leaving two seats open opposite Wyatt and Liam.

Julia took one chair; Luis, the other.

Chloe started the meeting. “Now that we’re all here, I’d like to thank everyone for showing up on such short notice. I don’t like dead bodies showing up in my town. Everyone’s still on edge with what happened with Darcy Owens and this newest case could cause a panic.”

“We don’t even have a cause of death yet,” said Wyatt. “Until Doc Lambert’s done an autopsy, we won’t know what we’re dealing with.”

“I’ll make some calls to Laramie. There are folks at the attorney general’s office who owe me a few favors. I’m not making any promises, but maybe we can get the results back in a few days.”

Julia glanced at Luis. Phone in his hand, he sent a message. “I think we have an idea of what we’re dealing with. Katarina, I just sent you a photograph. This was found in the wallet of the victim, Tom Dolan.”

“Got it,” said Katarina. She pulled out a keyboard that was hidden in the table. With a few keystrokes, a screen lowered from the ceiling. “And this is the picture Luis just sent.” The screen filled with four separate windows of the same image from different angles. “Damn,” whispered Katarina. “A two-dollar bill, torn in half.”

“The calling card from Darcy Owens,” said Wyatt, stating both the obvious and unbelievable. “Should we assume our victim—” he paused “—was murdered and there’s a link to Darcy?”

“Tom Dolan,” she said, filling in his name. Julia didn’t want to forget that the reason they were meeting had been a person with a life. “An architect from Atlanta, in Pleasant Pines on the weekend because his ex-girlfriend had just married another guy.” Chloe might’ve brought everyone together, but this death had occurred in Julia’s jurisdiction—the case was hers. She continued, “As far as the cause of death, I don’t want to assume anything. Still, the ripped two-dollar bill is a strong link to Darcy Owens. We can’t ignore that connection.”

“Agreed,” said Chloe. “I wanted RMJ involved with the investigation when it was only a suspicious death, but now I’m going to insist on having their help.”

Chloe was the youngest district attorney in Pleasant Pines history and the first woman to hold the job. There was a lot to admire about her, yet the sting of insult warmed Julia’s cheeks. Then again, she knew the truth—the Pleasant Pines sheriff’s office was small—only two full-time deputies, two part-time deputies, an office manager and Julia. Already, there were several angles associated with the death of Tom Dolan and plenty of leads to follow. “We should start by looking into the background of the victim. Tom Dolan’s brother-in-law, Sean Reynolds, didn’t know of anyone who might want to hurt him. But that doesn’t mean he’s right,” she said.

“Or honest,” Wyatt added.

“I can definitely use some bodies to find out all we can about Tom,” she said. “And if he has any connection to Darcy Owens.”

“I can take care of Tom’s daily life,” said Katarina, already typing on the keyboard. “I’ll look at his social-media accounts, get an idea of his spending habits, the works.”

“There’s something else I’d like you look into. The desk clerk at the inn sent you two emails with clips from last night.”

“Got those, too.”

“Can you bring up the shorter clip on the main screen?”

Katarina entered a few keystrokes and the grainy image from the hotel’s security camera began to play.

Luis narrated as the film continued. “This