Read Online Just to be Left Alone by Ginny Lynn - Free Book Online Page B

station tonight or possibly tomorrow, depending on how long it takes to
fill them out. I’m already on the way, so I’ll see you in a few minutes.”
    Fifteen
minutes later, Chastity knocked on the door. I went to get it and laughed as I
heard her telling me who she was through the wood barrier.
    “What
are you doing out here talking?” I asked as she slid into the doorway.
    “I
wanted to make sure you knew who was knocking. You can’t exactly see anyone out
here. You need to have them install a peephole with all this mess going on,”
she exclaimed.
    I
grabbed the forms from the kitchen counter. When I handed them to her, she had
a strange look on her face.
    “What’s
with the face?”
    She
kept looking around me.
    “Something
feels off to me. I just can’t figure out what it is. It just doesn’t feel as
warm in here as it usually does when I come over. Maybe it’s the vibes from the
stress we’re under. Hey, don’t listen to me. Tell me how to fill these out and
which person to take them to.”
    We
went over them for a few minutes and only stopped when we heard Bella growling.
I looked over my shoulder and saw Bella running away from the front door.
    “I
have no idea what has gotten into her. Ever since they started cleaning the apartment
next door she has been acting unusual.”
    “Well,
I’ll explain the forms to Parker. We’ll get them to the station tomorrow.”
    I
walked her to the door before locking up again. I got into my pajamas before
turning the TV on. Conrad called to check in before I curled up with a bowl of
ice cream and a good movie. It wasn’t long before I was settled in for the
night and sleeping peacefully.

 
    * * * *

 
    I
woke up to a loud bang from next door. I looked at the clock to see it was
already 10:00, to my surprise. I lazily slid out of the bed to feed Bella and
then checked the online weather report. Seeing that it would be a clear day and
only having housework ahead of me, I decided to do a little sun bathing.
    While
eating a bowl of cereal, I got ready to go downstairs. I was balancing a glass
of iced tea, my pool bag and my keys when I jumped at another bang coming from
next door. I looked over at the window of that apartment and noticed that the
blinds were still drawn.
    I
went about my business and found only a few people by the pool. I pulled a
lounger over to the fence and applied sunscreen on myself. Half way through my
cell phone rang.
    “Hello?”
    “Ms.
Malone? It’s Detective Montrose. I wanted to touch base with you this morning.”
He had a tired edge to his voice.
    “Sure,
go ahead. Has something come up?”
    “Well,
yes and no. I got two statements on your case and decided to rush the order
through to the judge. You were lucky he happened to stop in today before
heading out to golf a few holes.”
    “Great.
So why do I get the feeling something didn’t go as planned.”
    “He
approved it and I got permission to drive by Mr. Strickland’s home to try to
serve him. I waited for a while and even saw one of the neighbors. However, no
one has seen him in a few days. His mail was still in the mailbox from
Thursday. This order may be in effect, but we can’t enforce it until he is
served.”
    “Okay.
Thank you for the effort.”
    “Just
hang in there with us and we’ll touch base later.”
    He
hung up and I let go of the breath I was holding. I called Conrad to tell him
the update. He sounded very busy.
    “Do
I need to call you later?” I said.
    “No,
I have a minute. Just let me turn this saw off.”
    I
heard more noise in the background and then he was back on the phone again.
    “What’s
going on, hot stuff?”
    “Well,
besides being by the pool, I just got off the phone with Detective Montrose.”
    I
filled him in on the details. He didn’t seem at all surprised. I asked him
about that.
    “He
either got smart and left town for a while or he’s laying low until he decides
to pop up again. We’ll hope for the first one. Make sure you