Read Online Silent Fall by Barbara Freethy - Free Book Online Page A

there been any new information on the missing woman? Did the sheriff search the woods?"
    The woman hesitated, then shook her head. "I know some people have been looking, but I don't think they found anything."
    "That's too bad," he muttered. "Thanks."
    "No problem. I hope everything was satisfactory for your stay."
    "It was just dandy," Dylan drawled as he walked away. "Apparently I'm presumed guilty until I'm proven innocent," he said to Catherine as they headed across the lobby and got in the elevator. "Management definitely doesn't want me hanging around."
    "But the sheriff does. Where will you stay?" She groaned at his pointed smile. "Not with me."
    "Hopefully it won't be for long. Once things are cleared up I'll return to San Francisco, and you'll get back to your life."
    "What if things aren't settled before tonight?"
    "How do you feel about having a roommate?"
    "Not thrilled. My room has only one bed, so you'll be sleeping on the floor," she warned.
    "If you insist." He grinned as her cheeks flushed. She certainly wore her emotions on her face. He wondered what had gotten her so worked up now. He knew he should leave it alone, but he couldn't help himself. He liked seeing her rattled. He didn't appreciate being the only one off balance. "Is it me you don't trust, Catherine? Or yourself?"
    "What? You think I can't resist you?" she asked.
    "It's a question."
    "A stupid question," she snapped. "Maybe if you weren't always thinking about sex, you wouldn't be in this mess. Did you ever consider that? If you hadn't slept with Erica and avoided her calls, she might not have been inclined to help anyone set you up for murder."
    "I told you before, she didn't do this because I didn't call her back. She wasn't in love with me. We weren't having a relationship. We were both on the same page."
    "Or so you thought. Never underestimate the fury of a woman scorned. When you tell a woman you're going to call her, you should call her."
    "Just for the record, I didn't tell her I would call her." He followed her off the elevator. "I don't make promises I can't keep." He paused. "It sounds like you're speaking from personal experience. Have you missed a few calls over the years?"
    "Men can be pigs sometimes."
    He smiled at her bluntness. He liked the way Catherine didn't mince words. "Don't tell me you've waited for the phone to ring?" He suspected she had too much pride for that.
    "When I was young and stupid," she admitted. "But not anymore."
    "You don't have a high opinion of men, do you?"
    "Not the ones who have been in my life. I've never met one yet who would stick around when things got tough."
    "Maybe you haven't met the right man."
    "Are you suggesting that would be you?"
    "No," he said quickly, although he had to admit he'd always liked a challenge, and he'd love to prove Catherine wrong. If he wanted to stick, he could. At least, he thought he could. Oh, who the hell was he kidding? He didn't know if he had it in him to stay with anyone. Because it wasn't just the staying part that bothered him; it was all the rest of it—the emotional investment, the intimacy, the sharing of thoughts and feelings, the constant pressure, the incessant need to make someone happy. Shit! Who wanted that?
    Shaking the distracting thoughts from his mind, he slipped his key card into the lock and opened the door. His room was not at all as he'd left it, which had been neat and in order. He'd arrived at the hotel the day before only an hour before the wedding ceremony and had used the room simply to change his clothes.
    So who had messed up his bed, tossing around the covers, the blankets, and the pillows? Who had moved his computer out of its case and onto the desk? Who had unzipped his overnight bag and strewn his clothes on the floor? Someone had been in his room. Why? To search for something or to plant evidence?
    "So, are you normally a slob?" Catherine asked.
    "I didn't leave the room like this. Someone was in here."
    "It appears that way," she