Read Online Running for Her Life by Beverly Long - Free Book Online Page A

whispered.
    “There’s nobody inside. You can come in.”
    She walked past him but stopped no more than three feet into the house. The heavy drapes were all closed, making it seem as if the daylight had suddenly disappeared. Jake flipped on the light switches in both the kitchen and the living room. She sank down on the couch.
    “Are you all right?” Jake asked, crouching in front of her. “You’re still pretty pale.”
    If he were lucky, she wouldn’t vomit on his shoes.
    “I checked the bedroom and the bath,” he said. “Everything seems to be in order. The doors were locked, Tara. Both doors, both locks.”
    So no one had been in her house. That was the easy explanation. She was crazy.
    Except that she wasn’t. Her house felt different. The rug in front of the door seemed slightly out of place. The drawer of the corner desk was almost closed, as if someone had hurriedly brushed a hand toward it but hadn’t taken the time to make sure it was shut tight. Like she would have.
    “Do you still think somebody was inside?” Jake asked.
    She felt old and brittle and desperately wanted to scream. But she needed to be very careful. The ability to move quickly, without anyone expecting her to do so, was what had saved her once before. If anyone knew she was spooked, she’d lose that element of surprise and that could prove deadly.

Chapter Six
    She forced a smile. “I’m sorry I brought you out here on a wild-goose chase.”
    Jake shook his head. “No problem. Does anybody besides you have a key?”
    Her turn to shake her head.
    “No ex-boyfriends?” he asked. For the first time, his gaze wasn’t meeting her eyes. He was staring somewhere above her head.
    “I don’t give keys to men that I date.”
    “Even Bill Fenton?” He shrugged. “I couldn’t help overhearing the conversation at the picnic.”
    Right. He saw and heard too much. That was what made him so dangerous. “Last year, Bill was living with Alice and Henry and he spent a lot of time drinking coffee at Nel’s. He was between jobs and probably bored.”
    “You never went out?” he asked.
    “One time we went to the Big Dip and got ice cream cones. I think—” she hesitated “—it is possible that he might have exaggerated our relationship. When he left town suddenly, I got the impression from Alice that she thought I might have had something to do with his sudden departure. I didn’t know if Bill inadvertently or purposefully misled her. I hoped it would blow over, and it must have because Alice hasn’t mentioned it lately.”
    “So Alice and Henry must have a key?”
    “Yes.”
    “Maybe they stopped by?”
    It was possible but they weren’t expected back until tomorrow. “Maybe,” she agreed.
    “Or maybe somebody else stopped by, knocked, realized you weren’t home and then left. But they didn’t realize they needed to latch the screen door.”
    “You’re probably right.” There were a thousand reasonable explanations. They could play this game all day.
    Jake stared at her. Then he sat down on the chair opposite the couch. He looked very serious. The irony didn’t escape her. They were in the same positions they’d been that first night he’d come to her home. He’d looked very serious that night, too.
    “Anything you want to tell me, Tara?” he asked.
    Damn . “No. I mean, thank you. I appreciate your help. You must have a hundred things to do. I mean, being new and all. I’m sure you need to get back.”
    He shook his head. “No. I got a text from Andy. He’s feeling much better and will finish out the shift. I’m done for the day.”
    This was getting worse by the minute. “I imagine you’re pretty tired. Hot day in the sun and all.”
    He looked around her kitchen. “I wouldn’t turn down a cup of coffee.”
    Act like a normal person. Did she even remember what that was like? “Of course.”
    Tara ran the water and filled the pot, making sure she only made enough for one cup for each of them. She fiddled