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

bunch of questions about you.” She faced me. “Told you he's interested.”
    My heart sank right down to my feet. I could feel my blood pumper drop like a run-away elevator. Given his stern behavior at the studio, he’d gotten something else out of his conversation with Ginger.
    “Do you happen to remember details?”
    Something about my expression reached my friend. “What? What's wrong?”
    “What kind of questions did he ask? Please, think back.”
    Ginger went into head tilt mode again, this time with a frown. “He just asked how long we've known each other. How we got the Demonic Duo name. Why two such disparate people are friends.”
    Her frown deepened and she looked scared. My voice hit scream volume. “What, what?”
    My friend took a deep breath and looked sad. “I told him we've been protecting each other since second grade.”
    Our gazes met and held. I could tell we were thinking the same thing. Motive and opportunity. I had them both.
    ****
    A heavy knock at the door woke me. Disoriented, I raised my nose and sniffed but didn't smell smoke. My clock read five-thirty, so I pulled a pillow over my head before I became jolted alert. Normally, if a problem is happening before I'm awake, I don't want to know. That was before the recent break-ins.
    Then the knocking started again. “Police, open up. We have a warrant.”
    I looked out my bedroom window. Sure enough, a black and white sat in my drive with an unmarked behind the squad. Didn't take hours of watching crime show television to know an officer guarded each door. The pounding resumed.
    “Hold it to yourself, will ya? I'm coming. Just give me a minute.”
    Grabbing my oldest, rattiest bathrobe, well, my only robe to be honest, I stumbled for the front door and threw it open.
    “Detective Johnson. Just who I wanted to wake up with this morning.”
    The nearest policeman grinned. He looked like a boy I knew in middle school. He slanted a look at Dirk and his mirth disappeared. I checked the officer's name badge. Yep, the cop was Allen. Wow, he'd filled out. My observations took a backseat when I saw the look in Dirk's eyes.
    “Ms. Kathryn Sheridan, we have a warrant to search your premises. Will you allow us to enter and carry out the warrant?”
    “What? What are you looking for? You're kidding, right?”
    Dirk handed me the warrant. I stumbled through the legalese. I wished I'd made time to call a lawyer. “Botanical based poison? Ricin? What the hell is that? I don't know what you're looking for, but I bet it's not here.”
    He didn't look at me, just pushed past. The other officers followed his lead. Allen was the last to file past my bewildered self. He took pity on me. “You always sucked in science. Castor beans, Katie. Simple, ordinary castor beans. Got any?”
    My brain refused to work. “I don't even have the oil. Or am I thinking of cod liver oil?” I shook my head “Either way, no.”
    “I hope not, Katie. I really hope we don't find any.”
    I sank into the nearest chair, holding my robe closed with shaking hands. Coffee was the answer. Too bad no one asked the question but me. I watched the search for a few minutes then realized I was all but buck-naked in a house full of men.
    “Hey, Allen, mind if I get dressed?”
    He grinned. “Can I watch?” Yep, same old Allen.
    He waved me on my way. I scooted off, grabbed clothes from my bedroom chair and locked myself into the bathroom. A quick use of the toothpaste and hairbrush later, I returned to the living room with my heart in my throat. Really, I could feel it there, blocking my air intake.
    Allen and I exchanged old home week stories for a few minutes, but that didn’t help my stress level. Dirk walked into the room and breathing became more difficult. Standing over me, he crossed his arms. His taciturn face told me I inhabited one heck of a nightmare. He gestured toward the chair across from me.
    “May I sit? I have a few questions.”
    My voice didn't work, what with my