Read Online Ruthless by Steven F. Freeman - Free Book Online

me.”
    “That’s cool,” said Mallory. “Does he talk?”
    “Oh yeah—a lot. I make up a sentence, and before you know it, it’s coming out of his mouth. He’s so funny sometimes.”
    “You make up sentences just for him?”
    “Well, yes,” said Ruth, looking away. “I like to write stories. So when I come up with a good line, sometimes I teach it to Ruso.”
    “I’ll have to have a chat with Ruso when we get back home,” said Mallory.
    “Okay. You could teach him something if you want to. He learns fast. Sometimes he only needs to hear you say it once.”
    They arrived at the grocery store, and Kayla slowly pulled into a parking spot. While Kayla and Ruth shopped, Mallory remained in the car and called Agent Stewart to get up to speed on the Mancini case. She ended the call as the girls approached.
    When they arrived back home, Mallory looked for Alton to share the latest information from Stewart. His laptop remained in the same spot on the dining-room table, but Alton himself was nowhere to be seen. Mallory moved from room to room with a growing sense of unease, still unable to locate him.
    She moved to the back bedrooms and swung open the door to Ruth’s room.
    She smiled when she saw the parrot, but its words sent a thrill of fear through her body: “And now you die!”

CHAPTER 19
     
     
    “Alton!” cried Mallory, now running through the house. She burst into the back yard and saw him calmly talking on his cell phone.
    “Hi, Mallory,” he said. Noticing her wide eyes and accelerated respiration, he asked, “What’s wrong?”
    With a look of relief spreading across her face, she replied, “What are you doing out here?  You had me worried.”
    Covering the mouthpiece, he whispered, “I can’t get a good signal inside, so I had to come out here to talk. I’ll be done in a minute.”
    True to his word, he quickly finished the call. 
    “I’m sorry I scared you. It didn’t even occur to me you’d be worried when I wasn’t inside, but I should have anticipated that.” He put his arms around her. “Will you be angry if I tell you it felt kind of good to see your reaction just now—not seeing you worried, of course, but rather seeing how much you care?”
    She picked at a button on his polo as he held her close. “No, of course it doesn’t bother me. And you’re right. I do care.” Her expression changed to one of vague concern. “I don’t want anything to happen to you.”
    Alton hugged her once again. “So, did you have a nice trip to the store? I hope my sisters didn’t talk your ear off.”
    “Yeah—it was a good trip. I love them. They’re big fans of yours, you know. And I learned about Ruso,” she said with a laugh. Glancing around her shoulders, she continued, “I talked with Stewart while they were in the store. Is this a good time to debrief you and Chelsea on the latest progress?”
    “Sure, let me go find her.”
    To avoid upsetting the members of Alton’s family with the somber topic of their discussion, Alton, Mallory, and Chelsea met out of earshot in the back yard.
    “So, what’s the latest?” asked Alton.
    “Unfortunately, the Organized Crime Division hasn’t made much progress.” Mallory described Ortega’s visit to Doug Mancini’s bungalow. “After spotting the airline boarding pass, Ortega has been trying to track down Doug Mancini’s itinerary, but she hasn’t discovered it yet.”
    “Couldn’t they simply review the airlines’ passenger manifests?” asked Chelsea.
    “They did. Not surprisingly, Doug’s name didn’t appear. That’s not unusual. The mob is pretty skilled at forging documents. A well-made counterfeit passport would be sufficient to board a flight under an assumed name. The Los Angeles FBI office is working that lead and trailing Doug’s current movements. Other than that, they’ve hit a dead end.”
    “Surely the circumstantial evidence has to point to a homicide either carried out—or at least commissioned—by the