Read Online Buried Sins by Marta Perry - Free Book Online

want?”
    “He said Tony owed him a hundred thousand dollars.” She closed her eyes for a moment. “He wanted it. From Tony or from me.”
    “Why did your husband owe him the money?” He was relentless. Of course he would be. He was a cop.
    “I don’t know that he did. I don’t know anything about it. I just knew the man scared me and I wanted to get away.” She lifted her hands. “I can’t tell you what I don’t know, any more than I could have told him.”
    “Okay.” He touched her hand in a brief gesture of…what? Sympathy? Or did he just want to calm her enough to get more answers? “Was your husband a gambler?”
    “I don’t know.” She thought of the missing money. If she told him, it would lend credence to the gambling theory.
    But she couldn’t. She didn’t want him, or anyone, to know just what a sham her marriage had been. “I suppose that makes sense. I can’t think of any other way he could owe that much.”
    Zach leaned back, giving her a little breathing room. “So this guy scared you. And instead of going to the police or your friends, you left.”
    At least he hadn’t said “ran away.” She met his eyes. “I have family here. With my husband dead, I wanted to be with them.”
    “I can understand that.” But his eyes held a reservation. “So, this man. You’re an artist. Can you draw his face?”
    She blinked at the sudden change of subject when she’d expected more questions about Tony, more about why she’d left. “I did a sketch right after it happened, but then I tore it up. I’ll do another. Would that help?”
    “It can’t hurt. I can fax it to the authorities in Santa Fe, see what they can come up with. If he’s in my territory, I want to know it.”
    “You think he’s the one who got into the apartment.” She hadn’t expected him to agree with her. “How could he have had access to that letter?”
    He shrugged. “The letter might somehow have gotten into the things you packed.”
    “Or he might have searched the apartment in Santa Fe. Found it in the trash.” That made sense. “He’d been outside the building. I saw him.”
    “Possible.” His tone didn’t give her a clue as to whether he believed her or not. “About that sketch?”
    The thought of him watching over her shoulder while she drew that face tightened her nerves. “I’ll work on it and drop it off at your office later this afternoon.”
    “Fine.” He rose. “But you don’t need to bring it to me. I’ll stop by for it.”
    If she argued, it would sound as if having him here bothered her. It did, but she’d rather he didn’t know.
    Of course, he’d probably figured it out already.
    “All right.” She stood, too, walking him to the door as if he were any ordinary visitor. “Thank you.”
    “Just one other thing.” He paused, holding the door.
    She looked at him, eyebrows lifting.
    “What he said about your husband. Do you think your husband is still alive, Caroline?”
    “No.” The word was out, harsh and emphatic, before she thought. She took a breath. “No, I don’t.”
    Zach nodded. Then he stepped outside and closed the door behind him.
     
     
    Caroline spread a length of black velvet over the metal folding table Rachel had unearthed for her to use at the craft show. All around her, the cement block fire hall echoed with the clatter and chatter of a hundred-plus crafters getting ready for the event. The doors opened at nine, and everyone wanted to be ready.
    The aroma of coffee floated from the food stand at the end of the row. Maybe, once she was set up, she could ask the stall holder next to her to watch the stand while she went for a quart or two of caffeine.
    She smoothed out the cloth with her palms and bent to retrieve the first box of jewelry. Silly, maybe, but being here made her feel at home. Veterans of craft shows were a friendly bunch, and Caro had found that no matter what they made, they shared a common bond.
    That love of creating something beautiful with