Read Online Speed Trap by Patricia Davids - Free Book Online Page A

his parents’ bedroom, he replaced the key and left the room as he’d found it.
    The ghost of his past couldn’t be erased, but it was welcome to keep the top floor. At the bottom of the stairs, he pulled the door shut again and turned his back on the place where his nightmares lived.
    Â 
    Thursday morning, a week after her visit to Judy Bowen’s attorney, Mandy sat at the cluttered oak desk in her office and stared at the crime lab reports in her hands. The only sound in the room was the crackle of paper as she flipped over a page and continued reading, then flipped back to read it again. Finally, she looked up at the man seated on the other side of the desk.
    â€œThe paint’s not a match to Garrett Bowen’s truck. It’s cheap black spray paint, the kind you can buy at any automotive or hardware store. It’s not going to help us much.”
    She wasn’t sure if she was relieved or disappointed that she had no evidence to tie Garrett to the crime.
    Thomas Wick, the county attorney, tapped his fingers on the arm of the chair. “I assume this lets Mr. Bowen off the hook.”
    A man in his midfifties, Thomas was neatly dressed in a dark blue suit over a pristine white shirt and a bolo tie witha large silver concho. He sat at ease in one of the brown leather wingback chairs that made Mandy’s small office seem even smaller.
    She closed the folder and leaned back, hoping her frustration didn’t show. “For now. The paint on his vehicle is original from the factory. He had motive. He had opportunity. It would have been nice to tie this up in a neat package. Instead, I’m back to square one. Who wanted Judy Bowen dead and why?”
    â€œMaybe it was a simple case of road rage.”
    She gave a slight shake of her head. “Maybe, but my gut tells me there’s more to it. Have you been out to the site?”
    â€œOf course.”
    â€œThen you might have noticed her car ended up in the deepest ravine anywhere along that highway. I think someone knew the road and knew exactly where to run her off.”
    â€œWhat about the murder she was supposed to have witnessed in Kansas City?”
    â€œI had Donna request the files on the case, but we haven’t received them yet.”
    â€œSocial Services will be pushing to find placement for the baby. I understand he can be released from the hospital soon.”
    Mandy nodded. “I talked to their social worker this morning. The paternity test is conclusive. It’s Garrett’s child.”
    â€œBecause we’re not swearing out an arrest warrant for him, we can’t keep him from his son much longer.”
    Drumming her fingers on the desk, Mandy said, “I’ve got no legal reason to keep him away, but the situation is a recipe for disaster. He should honor his ex-wife’s wishes and go through with the adoption. A man like that doesn’t have a clue about raising a baby.”
    â€œSingle parents raise children all the time,” Thomas chided.
    Mandy shook her head. “It’s not that.”
    â€œThen what is it?”
    â€œThe man is hiding something. I feel it in my bones. He has one arrest for drugs—”
    â€œThat was three years ago. Nothing since then. His financial records don’t show anything out of line. We’ve got nothing tying him to his ex-wife’s death.”
    Mandy knew that as well as Thomas did. “Something about the man has me puzzled, but I can’t put my finger on it.”
    She’d already lost enough sleep over Garrett’s behavior, over the way he could shut off his emotions at the drop of a hat. Was she projecting guilt onto him because the case was similar to one she’d blown years ago? No, it was something more.
    She steepled her fingers on the desktop. “If he keeps the baby, I’ll be keeping a close eye on both of them.”
    Tom blew out a long, slow breath. “I’m afraid that’s all