Read Online Hot Money by Sherryl Woods - Free Book Online

courtroom savior of more than one major South Florida development and the woman who professed to be dedicated to saving the environment from the encroachment of just such developers.
    Admittedly Tessa was no Marjorie Stoneman Douglas, the well-known, feisty environmentalist, who had been an outspoken proponent of preserving the Everglades well past her hundredth birthday. But Tessa had been widely regarded as antidevelopment. Obviously her ethics, such as they were, had never carried over into her bedroom, something that probably should have been clear from the first indication that she had affairs the way some women changed hairstyles.
    “No comment?” Ted prodded, obviously pleased that his revelation had rendered them speechless.
    “What’s to say?” Molly said discreetly. “Do you think that has some bearing on the case?”
    “Roger Lafferty was here tonight, right?” the reporter said. “With his wife?”
    “Yes. What’s your point?” she responded, being deliberately blank in the hope that Ted Ryan would spill more valuable information.
    “So was Clark Dupree.”
    “With Patrice MacDonald,” Liza reminded them.
    “If you ask me, that raises all sorts of possibilities,” the reporter said. Then, as if he were expounding on a Ph.D. dissertation thesis, he added, “Jealousy always tops the list of motives in cases like this. We’ve got triangles all over the place.”
    “Then I suggest you share your insights about the geometric arrangement of the suspects with the investigating officers,” Michael said stiffly. He glared at Molly and Liza. “Are you two coming or not?”
    “We’re coming,” Molly said, defeated. Michael wasn’t about to let them trek back inside for more sleuthing. They might as well go on home and compare notes. Maybe one of them had noticed something that would yield a clue when added to what the others had seen.
    Ted Ryan sidled closer to Molly and edged her away from the car. “I’ll call you later, okay?” he said in an undertone not meant to be overheard.
    Something in his voice set off warning bells inside her. “What for?”
    “So we can talk without the cop listening to every little word.” He gave her a conspiratorial little smile that she belatedly realized was meant to make her heart flip over. Instead her stomach turned. Surely he wasn’t flirting with her.
    “Mr. Ryan …”
    “Ted.”
    “Mr.
Ryan
, I really don’t have anything more to say,” Molly said dutifully.
    It was one thing to snoop around herself. It was quite another to share her observations with the media. Michael had been right about that much at least. That really would be asking for trouble with her boss and her ex-husband. The fewer times her name was mentioned by the media, the better they both liked it. It had appeared all too often in recent months and usually in connection with messy murder cases just like this one. It was past time for her to start maintaining a very low profile. Vince had already been pressed to fire her, twice in fact. He’d held out so far, but she couldn’t count on that happening again.
    Engaging in some fast talking, she did her best to discourage Ted Ryan from calling. Unfortunately, judging from his expression and his persistent nature, it was unlikely to do any good.
    “What time is he calling?” Michael inquired when they were finally on their way home.
    “Who?”
    “The young stud.”
    Molly regarded him in astonishment. “Ted Ryan? A stud?”
    “The man has the hots for you.”
    She laughed aloud at the mere idea of that, then wondered if that hadn’t explained the way he’d made her feel, that hint of flirtatiousness she’d caught in his voice. “Please,” she protested, though not as vehemently as she might have moments earlier. “He’s barely into his twenties.”
    “And you aren’t out of your twenties. I’m telling you he’s got a thing for you. I could see that last time we bumped into him during the Miami Beach