Read Online She Does Know Jack by Donna Michaels - Free Book Online Page A

one
of these girls did this?”
    “Who else has
access?” Jack straightened, staring at the producer through narrowed eyes.
    “Um…well…” Bill
cleared his throat, tugging his collar. “No one, actually.”
    Carla stepped
closer. “That’s not true. The front door was unlocked. Anyone could’ve come
in.”
    “Unlocked?”
Bill’s eyes widened. “Why? You girls are supposed to keep it locked and the
alarm set at all times.”
    “We do, Bill,
honest,” Danni insisted.
    “Yeah,” Carla
agreed, gaze dropping to the floor. “But it was my fault, today. I forgot to
lock it after the groceries were delivered this morning.”
    “Are you sure?
Because it was locked when we got here.”
    Jack’s gaze
narrowed on the contestants, and Brielle fought to suppress a shiver at his
cool tone. At the moment, the man could frost windows.
    A flush covered
Mandy’s cheeks as she gazed down at the floor, too. “That’s because I locked it
as you drove up the driveway.”
    Oh boy. Now Brielle had
to fight the urge to palm her forehead. The women certainly weren’t making the
case any easier. No wonder it was still unsolved.
    “Well, that’s
about to change,” Jack said in a clipped tone. “It’s too dangerous to proceed
with this show if you ladies are going to blatantly ignore security
procedures.”
    Understatement
of the year. Pull the plug, her mind screamed, but the investigator in her…the
puzzle solver wouldn’t allow her to voice the words. She needed to help solve
this case. Needed to prove to herself that she could trust her own judgment.
    “We won’t ignore
them anymore, will we girls?” Danni placed a hand on the other contestants’ shoulders.
“We promise we’ll keep the doors locked from now on.”
    “Yes. That’s
right. We will. Please don’t send us home.” Tears had filled Mandy’s eyes at
the mention of halting production.
    Brielle couldn’t
tell if they were as fake as the woman’s boobs or as genuine as the concern in
Jack’s gaze.
    Bill whipped out
his cell phone. “Don’t worry about a thing, Ms. Bennett. I’ll have wardrobe
send over some clothes.”
    Send over? Oh,
hell no.
     “Can’t I just
get some from home?” The last thing she wanted was the show picking out outfits
for her to wear on national TV. She could see it now, tight, low cut tops,
short shorts, even shorter skirts barely covering her happy junction. Yeah,
letting the studio clothe her was not Brielle’s idea of comfort.
    “The rules state
no one is to leave until they’re sent home.” Bill gave her an apologetic look.
“I’ll have them here within the hour.”
    “The rules never
stated it was open season on my wardrobe, either.” Careful to keep emotions out
of her voice, she regarded the man calmly while simmering inside. She’d just
played right into the perpetrator's hands. How could she let that happen?  Yanking
her sash tighter, she lifted her chin. It wouldn’t happen again.
    “Well, in the
meantime, you can borrow something of mine,” Danni offered.
    “Wait!” Jack’s
hand shot out, blocking the teacher’s exit. “All of you downstairs in the
living room where the cameras can see you. Now.”
    “Why?” Danni’s
brows formed a V in the middle of her forehead.
    “The rooms need
to be searched.”
    Yes, and she
wanted to search them. But how?
    Jack stepped
back and allowed the contestants to leave. “Not you, Brielle.”  Strong fingers
clasped around her elbow. “You stay here."
    A thrill shot up
her arm and sizzled down her back. The sensation had nothing to do with Jack’s
touch and everything to do with being able to look inside the suspects' rooms,
she tried to reason.
    Chewing on her
bottom lip, she stood to the side, and watched the grumbling women head
downstairs with the producer in tow. Her mind jumped back to Jack. How should
she act?
    Should she
become hysterical and cling to him? She eyed the man’s stern profile. Pressing
into his fine form certainly had its merits.