Read Online Death Takes a Ride (The Cate Kinkaid Files Book #3): A Novel by Lorena McCourtney - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Lorena McCourtney
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older woman desperate to latch on to any available male, alive or half dead, right?”
“Oh, Shirley, I didn’t mean it like that—”
“Yeah. Okay, I’m going to work now. I’m sure they’re tired of seeing me around here anyway.”
Cate repeated what she’d said before. “Keep in touch.”
Back home, Cate checked the newspaper’s website for more information about the shootings at H&B and found that the gunman at H&B had been identified with the name Mace Jackson. Identification on the body showed an address in Salem, and fingerprints from previous offenses confirmedthe identification. The gun used in the shooting had been stolen in a Salem burglary a few weeks ago. The victim in the shooting was listed as being in a coma from the gunshot wound. No mention of a fire at the hospital.
As far as Cate could tell, Shirley might be the only person connecting the fire with Kane’s presence in the hospital. Which didn’t mean she was wrong about a connection.
But the new information sent several thoughts skittering around in Cate’s mind. Did guys with robbery and/or murder in mind usually carry identification to the scene of the crime? Was that meaningful? Jackson was from Salem, where both Kane and his ex-wife lived. Had he come to Eugene with information about, and a deliberate plan to go after, the $30,000 at H&B? The stolen weapon and previous offenses pointed out that this wasn’t a first-time foray into crime for Mace Jackson.
Cate didn’t have a dog-hair itch now, but she definitely had an itch . Maybe this was the real occupational hazard of being a PI. The itch of curiosity.
9
Uncle Joe called to tell her he and Rebecca were heading up to Corvallis to look at a motor home. The third one this week.
Cate spent some time on the internet doing a background check on a potential employee for an accountant’s office. Octavia’s catwalk didn’t extend to Cate’s office, but the cat took her usual place in a wire basket atop a file cabinet to oversee Cate’s work. Once she came down to sit beside the computer and after a while inserted a paw that clicked on a site Cate had decided to pass over. Which turned out to have some incriminating and helpful information on a company the potential employee had formerly worked for.
“Coincidence,” Cate scoffed at the white cat. “You’re always batting at something, and you just lucked out this time.”
Octavia gave a condescending “whatever” flick of tail.
Cate realized she was almost out of paper for the printer and decided to run out to Staples and get a box. Which was when she discovered an envelope on the floorboard on the passenger’s side of the Honda, apparently fallen out of Shirley’s purse. Nothing mysterious, just a power company bill, but, after picking up a ream of paper at Staples, she decided to go on out to H&B and return the bill to Shirley.
There were several cars in the parking area this day. Kane Blakely’s Corvette, Shirley’s borrowed Toyota pickup, Halliday’s SUV, and a sleek burgundy Lexus. Knowing it was a Lexus was not a leap in Cate’s vehicle recognition skills. She read the name on the rear of the car when she parked behind it.
This time Cate went through the front door at H&B. A dark-haired, thirtyish woman sat at the computer behind the counter, cup of coffee beside the keyboard. This must be office manager Radine. The door to Halliday’s office was closed.
The woman started to stand up, but Cate waved her to go on with her work. “Is Shirley out in the warehouse? I need to give her something she left in my car.” She held up the envelope.
The woman pointed to the door that led out to the warehouse. “Sure. Just go through that—”
The door to Halliday’s office burst open, and a blonde tornado in black denim, high-heeled boots, and gray fur stormed out. She headed for the front door but spun and aimed for the counter instead. Cate knew who she must be. The infamous ex-wife. Definitely trophy-wife
“Oh, Shirley, I didn’t mean it like that—”
“Yeah. Okay, I’m going to work now. I’m sure they’re tired of seeing me around here anyway.”
Cate repeated what she’d said before. “Keep in touch.”
Back home, Cate checked the newspaper’s website for more information about the shootings at H&B and found that the gunman at H&B had been identified with the name Mace Jackson. Identification on the body showed an address in Salem, and fingerprints from previous offenses confirmedthe identification. The gun used in the shooting had been stolen in a Salem burglary a few weeks ago. The victim in the shooting was listed as being in a coma from the gunshot wound. No mention of a fire at the hospital.
As far as Cate could tell, Shirley might be the only person connecting the fire with Kane’s presence in the hospital. Which didn’t mean she was wrong about a connection.
But the new information sent several thoughts skittering around in Cate’s mind. Did guys with robbery and/or murder in mind usually carry identification to the scene of the crime? Was that meaningful? Jackson was from Salem, where both Kane and his ex-wife lived. Had he come to Eugene with information about, and a deliberate plan to go after, the $30,000 at H&B? The stolen weapon and previous offenses pointed out that this wasn’t a first-time foray into crime for Mace Jackson.
Cate didn’t have a dog-hair itch now, but she definitely had an itch . Maybe this was the real occupational hazard of being a PI. The itch of curiosity.
9
Uncle Joe called to tell her he and Rebecca were heading up to Corvallis to look at a motor home. The third one this week.
Cate spent some time on the internet doing a background check on a potential employee for an accountant’s office. Octavia’s catwalk didn’t extend to Cate’s office, but the cat took her usual place in a wire basket atop a file cabinet to oversee Cate’s work. Once she came down to sit beside the computer and after a while inserted a paw that clicked on a site Cate had decided to pass over. Which turned out to have some incriminating and helpful information on a company the potential employee had formerly worked for.
“Coincidence,” Cate scoffed at the white cat. “You’re always batting at something, and you just lucked out this time.”
Octavia gave a condescending “whatever” flick of tail.
Cate realized she was almost out of paper for the printer and decided to run out to Staples and get a box. Which was when she discovered an envelope on the floorboard on the passenger’s side of the Honda, apparently fallen out of Shirley’s purse. Nothing mysterious, just a power company bill, but, after picking up a ream of paper at Staples, she decided to go on out to H&B and return the bill to Shirley.
There were several cars in the parking area this day. Kane Blakely’s Corvette, Shirley’s borrowed Toyota pickup, Halliday’s SUV, and a sleek burgundy Lexus. Knowing it was a Lexus was not a leap in Cate’s vehicle recognition skills. She read the name on the rear of the car when she parked behind it.
This time Cate went through the front door at H&B. A dark-haired, thirtyish woman sat at the computer behind the counter, cup of coffee beside the keyboard. This must be office manager Radine. The door to Halliday’s office was closed.
The woman started to stand up, but Cate waved her to go on with her work. “Is Shirley out in the warehouse? I need to give her something she left in my car.” She held up the envelope.
The woman pointed to the door that led out to the warehouse. “Sure. Just go through that—”
The door to Halliday’s office burst open, and a blonde tornado in black denim, high-heeled boots, and gray fur stormed out. She headed for the front door but spun and aimed for the counter instead. Cate knew who she must be. The infamous ex-wife. Definitely trophy-wife
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