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

any care for my well being—”
    “Suppose you decided to knock over a diner. Would you plan the heist first thing in the morning?”
    There was no stopping Danny. He’d keep hounding her until he got his way. She blew out a resigned breath. “Well, there wouldn’t be many people that time of day. But then again, there wouldn’t be much money either. No. I guess I wouldn’t. I’d wait for the end of the day, when the customers were all gone, and the cash register was full.” She frowned.
    “That’s right. A rookie thief, a kid, might do something stupid like that. But a career criminal like Jack Spurlock would know better. A career criminal after cash would wait until the coffers were full.”
    The smell of chicken was filling the room, and Sky’s stomach was roiling.
    Danny didn’t let up. “And once you had the money, would you hang around and grab a hostage even though there were no police surrounding the building? Why take a hostage with no cops around? What would you do, Sky? Grab a hostage or high-tail it out of there with the loot?”
    Choking back the bile in her throat, she whispered, “High-tail it.”
    “You see my point. The violence was atypical…and unnecessary.”
    “I don’t know…”
    “Well, I do. I’ve sniffed enough cheese to know the difference between gouda and gorgonzola and this robbery flat-out stinks.” His eyes locked with hers. “What if Jack Spurlock wasn’t there to unload a cash register? What if Jack Spurlock was there to unload his Colt on Edmond…or someone else?”
    Sky didn’t know how much longer she could keep down her stomach contents. She scanned the hallway beyond the kitchen, looking for a bathroom, just in case. “What do you mean?”
    “I mean I think the robbery wasn’t a robbery at all. I mean I think the robbery was staged to cover up a murder. The most likely targets are those who were shot. Edmond and Nevaeh. I’d rule Cookie out, though. If he’d wanted him dead, Spurlock wouldn’t have aimed for the foot. But that’s not to say he couldn’t have been after someone else.”
    “Someone else?” Clutching her gut, Sky managed to get to her feet. When all hell broke loose, Spurlock’s plan might’ve spun out of control. If Danny was right, and it wasn’t about money, then Spurlock could’ve been after anyone… If Danny was right.
    She took a deep breath and felt her heart rate slow. “You’re wrong. I may not have administered an IQ test to Jack Spurlock, but I was there in that diner. I watched his reactions. I observed his behavior under pressure. And I simply don’t believe he was smart enough to plan a robbery as a cover up for murder.”
    As if waiting for her to see the implications of her own words, Danny just looked at her.
    Oh, God .
    Her throat closed, and she couldn’t catch her breath. Danny didn’t believe Spurlock was smart enough to plan it either. And if it wasn’t Spurlock who planned the robbery… On boneless legs, she managed to find her way out of the kitchen and back to the front room. Gathering her things, she fumbled in her purse for her car keys.
    Following on her heels, Danny said, “Don’t go. At least have something to eat first. You’re upset, and I don’t think in any condition to drive.”
    “I can’t stay for dinner.” She opened the door.
    “I believe someone hired Jack Spurlock as a hit-man. Someone bad. And that someone is still out there. And if Edmond wasn’t the real target, if Edmond was collateral damage…”
    Collateral damage .
    A cover up for murder .
    Her head was spinning. “If Edmond wasn’t the intended victim then who? My brother?”
    “Maybe.”
    She barely heard his response above the thundering pulses in her ears. The case was open and shut. Everyone said so. She wanted to slap Danny for making her doubt that. She couldn’t keep the biting sarcasm out of her voice—or the tremor. “I’ll speak to Garth and warn him about your murder-for-hire theory, even though I