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

agreed. "What were they looking for? Or do you think it was the police who came in here?"
    "Doubtful. It would take some time to get a search warrant, and the hotel clerk certainly didn't mention it." Although he did wonder if the hotel had the authority to let the sheriff in without a warrant. That might be possible, since they were the legal owners of the property. "At any rate, the only thing someone might want would be my computer, and it's still here. I'll have to go through my files, see if anything was opened."
    "Maybe we should call hotel security and make a report."
    Dylan considered her suggestion but quickly dismissed it. The last thing he needed at the moment was to deal with more questions. He wanted to get a handle on what was happening first.
    "Nothing was taken, so it would be difficult prove a crime was committed and would probably just focus more attention on me," he replied.
    He repacked his overnight bag, slipped his computer back into its leather travel case, and surveyed the room one last time. Just to be extra careful, he opened all the drawers and the closet and even glanced under the bed, hoping not to find anything of Erica's in the room. Once he checked out, the room would certainly be searched. Of course, what he couldn't see were possible fingerprints. "If Erica came in here and touched things, her prints could be all over and would certainly hurt my alibi."
    "Just because she was here wouldn't prove you were. And the fact that you got a new key from the manager supports the idea that your key was taken."
    "I agree, but I can see how the sheriff might be able to build a circumstantial case against me. Everything that happened last night was plotted out beforehand. Someone took a lot of time and forethought to set me up."
    "Maybe we should wipe down the tables and the doorknobs and other surfaces," Catherine said, striding into the bathroom. She grabbed two towels off the rack and tossed one to him as she reentered the room. "At least we can make sure they don't find her prints here."
    Dylan nodded. "Good thinking. Have you done this sort of thing before?"
    "Maybe," she said, giving him a cryptic smile. "But that's not important now, is it?"
    "You're a very interesting woman. I like a good mystery, you know."
    "Then you must be loving your life right now."
    "I like a good mystery when it doesn't involve me," he amended. "I'd rather be the detective than the victim or the villain."
    They worked quickly, wiping off all the furniture and doorknobs; then Dylan tossed the towels in the tub and doused them with water—for what reason he didn't know, except that it seemed like a good finishing touch. When he returned to the room he picked up the phone by the bed and punched the number for the front desk. "I'm checking out of room three oh four," he said when the clerk answered. "I'll leave the key in the room." He gave one last look around as he hung up the phone, remembering the one item he had not located. "Erica must have taken my car keys, unless I lost them in the woods. But I did see my car in the lot when we pulled in, so she didn't take it."
    "How will you get home?"
    "I'll figure that out later. I guess I'm good to go."
    "My room is just down the hall," Catherine said as she opened the door.
    Catherine's room was set up the same as his, but her bed was made and everything was in order. Obviously the maid had been in. As Dylan set his bags down on the bed, his gaze caught on the painting displayed on the easel. It was an abstract slash of dark colors that collided with one another in an angry, sinister manner. He'd seen other such paintings at Catherine's beach house and had been struck before by their intensity and passion.
    Catherine immediately moved in front of the picture. "Don't look," she said, holding up a hand. "I meant to put it away, but it was still wet when I went downstairs."
    "You know that makes it impossible for me not to look," he told her. "Besides, I saw the gruesome pictures