Read Online Death Stretch by Ashantay Peters - Free Book Online Page A

This is an ongoing investigation. If you have evidence, bring it to me.”
    Dirk switched his angry look from Justin. Yep, as I imagined, his intensity made me feel like a bug facing an entomologist. “And that includes you, Ms. Sheridan. Leave the investigation to me.”
    “I am. I only stopped to give Justin my condolences.” A sniff escaped before I could stop expressing my disdain. “Not that he accepted them.”
    I turned away but my temper encouraged further confrontation. “Justin, whether you believe me or not, I didn't kill Morgan. I'm sorry he died.” I caught his gaze. “I did try to save him.”
    Justin's expression glazed over. His shoulders shook and I moved away. Joining in on a good cry isn’t my forte, even if Justin would appreciate my participation.
    Ten steps later, a firm grip stopped my forward progress. Dirk.
    “Katie, you mean well, but you have to stay away from the principals.”
    His words didn't take long to sink in, along with disbelief. “So I'm the main suspect? Why? I didn't even know the man.”
    “We are investigating all leads at this time.”
    I looked at the man who had eaten pizza at my house and helped me install locks earlier. He didn't look familiar anymore.
    “Including me.”
    His jaw tightened. “Yes, including you.”
    “Do I need a lawyer?”
    His hesitation said more than words.
    “Just shut your mouth. You don't say anything to me. Not now. Not later. I’ll get a lawyer. You can talk to him. Or her.”
    His silence as I left told me I had more trouble ahead. My gut instinct agreed.
    ****
    Ginger pulled open the door, eyes puffy. “Come on in. Rob won't be home for another half hour.”
    “He's working late again?”
    She hesitated then nodded and closed the door behind me. We headed to our kitchen hangout. Ginger set the table with tea mugs and a plate of our favorite cookies. I grabbed a tea bag and tore it open, only to feel Ginger's hand on mine.
    “Katie, put that down. You hate green tea.”
    I threw the bag onto the table and focused on making a choice from the basket in front of me. I was more rattled than I thought. Ginger selected a chamomile tea bag and handed the paper wrapped packet to me. Guess my upset was obvious.
    I took a deep breath and tackled a question I'd put off asking. “Does Rob know about Morgan?”
    My friend gave a small laugh. “Are you kidding? Maybe he doesn't want to make love with me but God forbid any other man would. He'd kill the guy then he'd kill me.”
    She stopped and stared at me. Her face paled. “You don't think?” She took a deep breath. “No, that's not possible and I won't entertain the idea.”
    We sat in silence for a few minutes, but the quiet wasn't our usual peaceful companionship. I broke the awkward pause.
    “So what happened with your police interview? The session couldn't have lasted long.”
    Ginger poured hot water into our mugs. The scent of herbal tea wafted up. I grabbed a cookie and munched while my friend remained silent. Our gazes met across the table. Mine hopeful, hers, not so much.
    “Actually, the questioning went better than I expected.”
    “Did it?”
    “I told Detective Johnson everything. The fling with Morgan and the blackmail note.”
    “What did he say?”
    “He took one long look around the living room and asked why I thought the blackmail amount was so low.” She paused. “I told him what you said, that someone must be scheming to hit multiple victims.”
    My breath started again. “Did Dirk ah, Detective Johnson buy that theory?”
    Ginger smirked, but on her the expression looked good. Everything looked good on her. Damn it all. “First name basis, huh? Nice work.”
    “Just answer me, Miss Smarty-Pants.”
    “Dirk,” the brat emphasized his name, “seemed to think that made sense.”
    “Anything else?”
    “Not really.” She tilted her head to the side, a move that indicated she thought something through. “I didn't realize it at the time, but he asked me a