Read Online Thou Art With Me by Debbie Viguié - Free Book Online Page B

being torn in two. He hated that he’d left Cindy and Jeremiah behind, even if he knew Jeremiah could almost certainly handle whatever was thrown at them. He had decided to investigate Malcolm on his end and see what he could find out about the man including whether he had any enemies and whether there was anything suspicious in his financial records.
    Even as he tried to focus, though, his thoughts kept getting pulled back to Not Paul and the strange fact that the attorney he had entrusted things to was now dead. Even though he had finally learned Paul’s true identity he had never felt like he could close the case on the mystery that was his old partner. The other attorney, Fred Mitchell, was supposed to call him back tomorrow with what he’d found in the man’s files about Paul.
    That was assuming that Paul hadn’t used an alias when dealing with the attorney.
    That was also assuming that Fred wasn’t busy destroying evidence right at that moment.
    You’re being paranoid , he told himself. It didn’t make him feel any better. The way things had been running for him the last couple of years his paranoid thoughts had been turning out to be not so paranoid. That in itself could certainly make a man twice as paranoid.
    Pull it together.
    The problem was, the law firm in northern California was a seven hour drive away. It wasn’t like he could just show up there on a whim. This wasn’t even an active investigation. If he did that, he’d be doing it on his own time, and leaving his friends and family in the lurch.
    There was something, though, something pulling at his insides, that wouldn’t let him drop it. With a sigh he put on his bluetooth and turned his car around. He called Liam and a few seconds later his partner picked up.
    “Hey, how did the trial go?”
    “Good. I don’t see how the jury could come back with anything other than a guilty verdict,” Liam said.
    Mark grimaced. “Yeah, and yet sometimes they surprise you and come back with a verdict that makes absolutely no sense. Those are the times I’d pay money just to be in there watching everything fall apart.”
    “I think it would be too hard to watch and not intervene,” Liam said. “At any rate, my part of it is over finally. No more testimony required.”
    “That’s good, just in time.”
    “In time for what?” Liam asked, sounding justifiably suspicious.
    “To cover for me.”
    “With whom?”
    “With everyone. I need to take a quick trip up north to check on a couple of things.”
    “What things?”
    “Leads.”
    There was such a long pause that Mark thought that the call might have dropped. Finally Liam asked, “Does this have something to do with Paul?”
    Mark weighed his answer carefully. Liam was a good man, a good cop, and he trusted him with his life. Liam was the only one who’d been willing to work with him after Mark had tortured that one suspect. Liam was kind, forgiving, and easy to get along with. He also walked the straight and narrow more than anyone else on the force. Although Liam had proven that he was willing to adapt to some unconventional police methods, Mark wasn’t sure how he’d respond if he knew the truth.
    Still, Liam was his partner and Mark owed him that much. After all, it’s what he wished Paul had given to him.
    “Yes, it does. There’s been a new development and I need to run it down before evidence is destroyed.”
    He was only stretching the truth a little bit. After all, the whole reason he wanted to drive up there was to make sure it wasn’t being destroyed.
    There was another pause before Liam said, “Good luck, Mark. Let me know if there’s anything you need from me.”
    “Thanks, Liam, if I need you or your arsenal I’ll be sure to let you know.”
    As soon as Mark hung up with Liam he called Traci. He briefly told her where he was headed.
    When he had finished she said, “You haven’t really thought this through, have you?”
    “No, why?”
    “By the time you get there