Read Online Tara Holloway 03 - Death, Taxes, and Extra-Hold Hairspray by Diane Kelly - Free Book Online Page A

to their downtown loft for a movie afterward, I begged off, instead going home to wallow in loneliness. Well, relative loneliness. My creamy white cat, Anne, was thrilled to have me all to herself and curled up, purring, in my lap. Henry, a robust and furry Maine Coon, maintained his usual post atop the armoire that housed my television, occasionally reaching out to swat at an errant fly that had sneaked into the house with me.
    When the ten o’clock news concluded, I went upstairs to my room. I felt lonely in my bed, forlorn, forsaken. It was odd, really, given that Brett and I didn’t spend every night together and I often slept alone. I guess there’s a psychological difference between being alone by choice and having solitude forced on you.
    Sheez. What a whiner, huh?
    I turned off my lamp and turned onto my side, lifting up the patchwork quilt so Anne could climb under it with me. She tiptoed under the covers, turning to poke her head out the top, and lay down next to me. I cuddled her to my chest, the vibration of her purr against me a welcome comfort. Brett might be half a continent away, but I’d always have my Annie girl. I kissed the top of her milky head.

 
    CHAPTER NINE
    Get Me to the Church on Time
    My landline rang at nine the next morning. Probably a telemarketer. I put my pillow over my head and tried to go back to sleep. Seconds later, my cell phone bleeped from the nightstand. Dang. Whoever was trying to reach me knew my private cell number. Not a solicitor, then. I only gave my mobile number to a select group of people.
    Without opening my eyes, I picked up the phone, punched the accept button, and held it to my ear. “Hello?” I croaked.
    “You sound like a frog.” It was Nick’s voice. Why would he be calling so early on a Sunday?
    “I was asleep. This better be important.”
    “Rise and shine, lazybones. You and I are going to church.”
    My eyes opened again and I sat up. “What are you talking about?”
    “The Ark Temple of Worship,” Nick said. “Let’s go check it out. They’ve got a ten-thirty service.”
    Not only had Nick woken me up, he’d gotten my ire up, too. “The Ark is my case,” I reminded him. “ I’m the lead agent. I make the decisions.”
    “All righty, then. What say you and I head over there? Your decision, boss.”
    “I suppose it can’t hurt.” The guy may have pissed me off, but his suggestion was nonetheless a good one. Nick and I had a meeting scheduled for tomorrow afternoon with Pastor Fischer. It couldn’t hurt to get a sneak preview of the man we’d be dealing with. Maybe we’d learn a thing or two to give us an edge tomorrow. It wouldn’t be an easy meeting. We planned to take one last shot at securing the Ark’s agreement to comply with their tax reporting requirements, to give Fischer a final chance to pay his long-outstanding bill. This game had gone on long enough.
    “I’ll swing by in an hour to pick you up,” Nick said. “Make yourself purty.”
    *   *   *
    The Ark Temple of Worship was a behemoth of biblical proportions, no pun intended. The church property fronted one of Dallas’s many highways, stretching back a full half mile to encompass a sprawling parking lot as well as the extensive parsonage and grounds.
    According to the information I’d read in his file, Noah Fischer had obtained the capital needed to buy the land and build the church from a wealthy elderly spinster whose soul Fischer allegedly saved mere weeks before her death. Perfect timing, huh? She’d revised her will to leave the bulk of her estate to Fischer’s then-fledgling ministry.
    The façade of the church building was designed to look like an enormous wooden boat. Though I understood the church was going for a theme here, I found the design to be a bit tacky. The place looked less like a place of worship and more like something you’d find in an amusement park. But who was I to say such things. Judge not, right?
    Nick drove up and down the lanes,