Read Online First Do No Evil: Blood Secrets, Book 1 by Carey Baldwin - Free Book Online Page A

she didn’t know how else to keep herself going. Her hands twisted in her lap. Maybe keeping herself going was the crux of the problem. As it stood now, she was surviving, but she wasn’t really living.
    “I owe it to Edmond—I owe it to you , to see justice served,” Danny said.
    “According to the mayor and your commanding officer, justice has been served. Jack Spurlock is dead.” The coarse fibers of her woolen pants scratched her palms as she wiped moisture from them. “Nothing you can say or do will bring Edmond back to me.”
    The look on Danny’s face made her wish she could take back those last words. Obviously he’d been torturing himself with that very thought, and she’d just handed him a fresh batch of bamboo shoots to stick under his fingernails. Her remorse overtook her discomfort. “I appreciate your efforts though, so if you’re determined to ask your questions, you may as well fire away.”
    Leaning back in his chair, he pulled out a notebook. “Let’s start with the basics. Did you know Jack Spurlock? Ever see or hear of him before?”
    Danny’s initial question hit her wrong. Way wrong. Her face flushed, and her empathy for the anguished detective evaporated. “What kind of asinine question is that? If I knew anything about Jack Spurlock don’t you think I would’ve screamed it from the diner’s tabletops? How dare you accuse me of hiding the truth from the police?”
    Danny put up his hand. “Take it easy. I’m not accusing you of anything. You and me, we’re on the same side. Maybe you should try and remember that.”
    “ You try and remember that.”
    His eyes squared with hers. “I’ll ask you again. And this time, don’t knee-jerk your answer. I want you to really think about it. Have you ever heard the name Spurlock before? Could he have been a patient at the clinic?”
    “The police checked that already. Spurlock wasn’t a patient.” Closing her eyes, she searched her memory, but her brain began to fog, her chest to burn, as if she were breathing in poison gas instead of the aroma of potpie. The bell on the microwave sounded. She opened her eyes. “I haven’t heard the name Jack Spurlock before. Ever.”
    “Your hands are shaking.”
    “I’m cold.”
    Danny rose and cranked up the heat on the kitchen thermostat. Took the pie out of the oven. “Dig in.”
    “Next question please. I’d like to get this over with.”
    “All right. You were the person closest to Edmond. Did he have any enemies that you know of? Anyone who might want to see him dead?”
    She jammed her fork into the center of the pie and left it standing at attention. “This is pointless. A man robbed a diner. A greedy, heartless criminal who cared nothing for the lives of others, or for that matter, for his own life. I didn’t know him. Edmond didn’t know him.”
    Danny’s eyes narrowed. “I asked you if Edmond had any enemies.”
    Her nails dug into her palms. “Edmond was a good man. A family doctor, beloved in this community. Why would anyone want to hurt him?”
    “That’s what I’m asking you, Sky. No one is perfect. Maybe he had gambling debts—owed money to bad people. Maybe he wronged someone in his past.”
    “Are you suggesting Edmond had a dark side?”
    “I was thinking more along the lines of a human side.”
    Her back straightened. “I’ve never known a more human, more humane man than Edmond Guerretin. I don’t believe he had any enemies, and I don’t know where you’re going with these questions. It was a robbery, plain and simple, and the culprit is dead.”
    “Things aren’t always what they seem.”
    “Maybe you should take that up with your captain.”
    “I already have. The mayor wants this wrapped up yesterday, and the captain refuses to reopen the case unless I come up with something concrete. I know it seems open and shut. But, Sky, think about what happened in that café.”
    “I wish I could stop thinking about it. But you refuse to let me. If you had