Read Online A Flight of Fantasy (Sarah Woods Mystery 12) by Jennifer L. Jennings - Free Book Online

could be one of Rita’s escort clients. But I have no idea why she’d come to his home, unless she planned to tell the wife. But that doesn’t make any sense, either.”
    “None of this makes any sense,” Carter said. “Unless Reece just chooses random, wealthy men. She seduces them, and then steals their personal information. Good theory, but the problem is we have absolutely no proof of that.”
    “Maybe it’s time we have another chat with Reece,” I said. “She can’t deny she was here. I have pictures.”
    Carter glanced down at the tracker and the little red dot. “Looks like she’s headed home. Let’s wait until she puts her daughter to bed and then we’ll knock on her door. But I don’t expect she’ll welcome us inside with open arms.”
     

Chapter 14
     
    When we got to Rita’s house twenty minutes later, sure enough, her red Mazda was parked in the driveway once again.
    “It’s almost eight o’clock,” I said. “I have to assume her daughter will be in bed soon. Unless Rita is the kind of mother who lets her kid stay up until she falls asleep on the couch. For some reason, however, I picture Rita as someone who sticks to a schedule.”
    Carter said, “I’m thinking you should go and talk to her by yourself. She might be more inclined to trust you if I’m not there.”
    “If you think that is best, I don’t have a problem with it. I don’t imagine she’ll go crazy on me with her daughter there.”
    When I got to Rita’s front door and knocked, I was surprised to see the little girl peering out at me from behind the screen door. She just stared at me with wide, curious eyes but said nothing.
    “Hello sweetheart,” I said in a soothing voice as I leaned over. “Is your mommy home?”
    She didn’t respond, but I heard her mother calling out from the other room. Apparently, the girl hadn’t learned the dangers of strangers. When Rita came into view, she was out of breath, a momentary look of panic. But when she saw me, her shoulder’s relaxed a bit. “Amy, please go back to your room like I asked.”
    The girl pretended not to hear her mother. She kept staring at me with those big blue eyes. When Rita finally got to the door, she reached down and picked her daughter up. She said to me, “Can I help you with something?”
    “Yes,” I said, showing her my private detective license. “My name is Sarah Woods. I was hoping to ask you a few questions.”
    She seemed annoyed but was making an effort to be polite. She adjusted her glasses on the bridge of her nose. “I’m not sure what this is about but now is not a good time. I need to put my daughter to bed pretty soon.”
    “No problem,” I said. “Take your time. I can wait.”
    “You don’t understand.” Rita’s tone was becoming more clipped. “My daughter doesn’t fall asleep unless I lie down with her. Some nights it takes hours.”
    “I understand,” I said. “I have a son. He’s in college now, but I remember when he was little, he wouldn’t fall asleep unless I had read five of his favorite books. Every single night. I kinda miss those days.”
    Rita smiled wearily. “Yeah, well. Could we do this another time?”
    “I could stop by your office tomorrow,” I suggested. “Would that work?”
    By the tight expression on her face, I could tell she was less than pleased with that idea. Her daughter was starting to fidget, so Rita let her down and said to her, “Amy, go to your room and pick out which pajamas you’d like to wear to bed, okay?”
    The girl nodded and ran out of sight. When Rita turned back to face me, her eyes bore into mine. “Now what’s this all about?”
    “What were you doing at Dr. Wheeler’s house tonight?”
    She blinked rapidly. “What are you talking about?”
    “I have pictures of you at his house. Would you like to see?”
    “You’ve been following me?”
    I sidestepped that question and decided to take a different approach. “Does the principal at Fitch High School know