Read Online Deadly Sanctuary by Sylvia Nobel - Free Book Online Page B

Castle Valley or still here at Ocotillo Village?
    On a hunch, I doubled back to a row of mailboxes I’d seen near the entrance gate. I ran my finger along the names and when I came to number seven I whispered, “Bingo.”
    Fortunately, it was on the end, out of sight of the office. I knocked softly and when a pretty dark-haired girl of perhaps nineteen or twenty answered I asked, “Yolanda Reyes?”
    “Yes?”
    “I was wondering if I could talk to you for a few minutes about John Dexter?”
    A look of sheer hatred blazed in her eyes. She screamed something in Spanish and for the second time that week I had a door slammed in my face.

8
    A brilliant sunrise lit the eastern sky as Ginger and I headed toward Phoenix for our day of shopping. It was sheer delight to see a few thin wisps of clouds stretching outward from the horizon like long, white fingers.
    As I drove, I tried to concentrate as Ginger jumped from subject to subject, conferring upon me bits and pieces of information about the residents of Castle Valley.
    Every now and then I’d interject a word, but my mind was on something else. I wasn’t accustomed to having doors slammed in my face and my first instinct had been to knock again and keep on knocking until the girl answered. Yet I had no desire to attract the attention of the sleazy apartment manager.
    I felt discouraged on the one hand and hopeful on the other. She couldn’t elude me forever. And her violent reaction convinced me that she might be a valuable link to information concerning John Dexter.
    As far as Claudia went, I didn’t know what her problem was. She’d seemed more than a little edgy.
    Too bad for her, but I was going to show up again like a stray cat on her doorstep. It was curious indeed that my questions appeared to have caused her such agitation.
    “Sugar? Did y’all hear what I said?” Ginger’s demand interrupted my thoughts.
    “Uh…I’m sorry. I was thinking about something else.”
    “Bet you a dollar to a doughnut you’re daydreaming about tonight. Now listen up, if y’all play your cards right, I’d say you got yourself a mighty fine chance of snagging Eric Heisler. Here’s some of his vital statistics.”
    “Ginger, I’m going to smack you in about one minute.”
    “Oh piddle. You mean to set there and tell me y’all ain’t even the teensiest bit curious about him?”
    “No.”
    “You lie!”
    “Okay, maybe a little.” I learned a lot in the space of two minutes. He was gorgeous, forty-one, and divorced.
    “How long has he been single?” I asked braking the car to avoid a jackrabbit streaking across the highway.
    “Hmmmm. Five years, six maybe.”
    “What happened?”
    “Well, from what I heard, it was a real messy business. Seems one of the gals working at his office was his mistress, so his wife really stuck it to him in the divorce settlement.”
    I glanced at her. “This sounds like a good plan. You want me to get involved with a man who cheated on his wife?”
    “That was never proved, and besides she wasn’t no saint herself. Seems she was real friendly with one of the tennis pros at their country club. So don’t be too quick to point a finger. Anyhow,” she said with a defensive sniff, “Doug says Eric’s a real fine man. Generous to a fault. Bonnie said so too. She told me yesterday he’s not even going to charge them his regular fee.”
    What a pill she was. Bent on matchmaking, Ginger wasn’t going to be satisfied until she carried out her plans. It would be useless to argue with her, so I just laughed. Secretly, I was curious to find out if he could live up to all the rave reviews.
    As we neared the outskirts of town, I pushed my thoughts aside and concentrated on the swell of traffic and unfamiliar streets.
    Phoenix was a kick. Like Philadelphia, it was big and bustling, but all similarity ended there. Instead of soot blackened, ivy covered monuments and crumbling ghettos, this crisp looking desert city boasted wide thoroughfares