Read Online To Have and to Kill by Mary Jane Clark - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Mary Jane Clark
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in frustration at the repeated ringing before the call was finally transferred to voice mail.
“Piper? It’s me. Dad. Are you all right, honey? Call me back as soon as you get this. And whatever you do, don’t go near the water that Travis York drank.”
Sitting on the old couch, Vin waited anxiously and thought about the news report. The symptoms that the onlookers described reminded him of a couple of cases he’d worked on. Those cases involved cyanide poisoning.
Chapter 21
T he police asked for a list of names of those who had attended the auction and questioned all the people remaining in the ballroom. Every single person described the reaction Travis York had after he drank the water. The crime scene investigators confiscated the glass, the pitcher, and the remaining contents for testing.
Glenna was somber as she joined her fiancé and friend after the police had finished interviewing her.
“I still can’t believe all this,” she said as she sank down in the ballroom chair beside Piper. “I can’t believe that Travis is dead.” Glenna tilted her head back and closed her eyes.
“I know,” said Casey, taking her hand and bringing it to his lips. “But what I can’t believe is how close it came to being you, Glenna. You almost drank that water instead of Travis.”
“Casey’s right,” said Piper. “Thank God that didn’t happen.”
“I do thank him,” said Glenna. “But we don’t know for certain that it was something in that water that killed Travis.”
“I overheard one of the cops talking,” said Piper. “That’s what they’re thinking.”
Glenna straightened in her chair. “So somebody poisoned Travis?” she asked incredulously. “Why in the world would anyone do that?”
“I don’t know,” said Piper, shaking her head. “But here’s the thing, Glenna: if it does turn out that the water was poisoned, what if it was really meant for you?”
Glenna looked at Piper with skepticism. “No way,” she said.
“It could have been,” said Piper. “And maybe it has something to do with that letter you got.”
“What letter?” asked Casey.
Glenna shook her head. “I didn’t even want to tell you about it. Nonsense, that’s all it was. I burned it.”
“You’ve got to tell Casey about it, Glenna,” said Piper. “And now you have to tell the police about it, too.”
Chapter 22
M artha Killeen had followed the paramedics out onto Fifth Avenue, taking pictures until the body of Travis York was loaded into the back of the ambulance. Then she hailed a cab and directed the driver to take her downtown to her studio. As she sat in the back of the taxi, Martha scrolled through the photos that appeared in the playback viewer of her camera.
The pictures were powerful and graphic. Martha was well aware of the fact that, because she had taken them, they were more valuable. Even if somebody had taken some pictures with their cell phones, they weren’t going to be in any way comparable to hers in terms of clarity, composition, and pedigree. The photographs she had taken tonight were worth a fortune.
The appetite for the pictures was going to be tremendous. Once word got out that she had them, broadcast and Internet news agencies would be after her like voracious hounds. She had to decide how she was going to handle things.
Martha ran her fingers through her short, layered hair as she considered her options. She could sell the whole series of pictures to a single buyer, an exclusive arrangement that would net one enormous sum of money. She could sell to multiple buyers and possibly make even more. Or she could let the pictures out one or two at a time and try to stretch things out, choosing buyers based on their offers for a particular picture.
But she also had the police to consider. Once they learned of the pictures she had taken, they might confiscate them as part of their investigation. Then she’d have nothing.
She had to act quickly.
The cab pulled up in front of her
“Piper? It’s me. Dad. Are you all right, honey? Call me back as soon as you get this. And whatever you do, don’t go near the water that Travis York drank.”
Sitting on the old couch, Vin waited anxiously and thought about the news report. The symptoms that the onlookers described reminded him of a couple of cases he’d worked on. Those cases involved cyanide poisoning.
Chapter 21
T he police asked for a list of names of those who had attended the auction and questioned all the people remaining in the ballroom. Every single person described the reaction Travis York had after he drank the water. The crime scene investigators confiscated the glass, the pitcher, and the remaining contents for testing.
Glenna was somber as she joined her fiancé and friend after the police had finished interviewing her.
“I still can’t believe all this,” she said as she sank down in the ballroom chair beside Piper. “I can’t believe that Travis is dead.” Glenna tilted her head back and closed her eyes.
“I know,” said Casey, taking her hand and bringing it to his lips. “But what I can’t believe is how close it came to being you, Glenna. You almost drank that water instead of Travis.”
“Casey’s right,” said Piper. “Thank God that didn’t happen.”
“I do thank him,” said Glenna. “But we don’t know for certain that it was something in that water that killed Travis.”
“I overheard one of the cops talking,” said Piper. “That’s what they’re thinking.”
Glenna straightened in her chair. “So somebody poisoned Travis?” she asked incredulously. “Why in the world would anyone do that?”
“I don’t know,” said Piper, shaking her head. “But here’s the thing, Glenna: if it does turn out that the water was poisoned, what if it was really meant for you?”
Glenna looked at Piper with skepticism. “No way,” she said.
“It could have been,” said Piper. “And maybe it has something to do with that letter you got.”
“What letter?” asked Casey.
Glenna shook her head. “I didn’t even want to tell you about it. Nonsense, that’s all it was. I burned it.”
“You’ve got to tell Casey about it, Glenna,” said Piper. “And now you have to tell the police about it, too.”
Chapter 22
M artha Killeen had followed the paramedics out onto Fifth Avenue, taking pictures until the body of Travis York was loaded into the back of the ambulance. Then she hailed a cab and directed the driver to take her downtown to her studio. As she sat in the back of the taxi, Martha scrolled through the photos that appeared in the playback viewer of her camera.
The pictures were powerful and graphic. Martha was well aware of the fact that, because she had taken them, they were more valuable. Even if somebody had taken some pictures with their cell phones, they weren’t going to be in any way comparable to hers in terms of clarity, composition, and pedigree. The photographs she had taken tonight were worth a fortune.
The appetite for the pictures was going to be tremendous. Once word got out that she had them, broadcast and Internet news agencies would be after her like voracious hounds. She had to decide how she was going to handle things.
Martha ran her fingers through her short, layered hair as she considered her options. She could sell the whole series of pictures to a single buyer, an exclusive arrangement that would net one enormous sum of money. She could sell to multiple buyers and possibly make even more. Or she could let the pictures out one or two at a time and try to stretch things out, choosing buyers based on their offers for a particular picture.
But she also had the police to consider. Once they learned of the pictures she had taken, they might confiscate them as part of their investigation. Then she’d have nothing.
She had to act quickly.
The cab pulled up in front of her
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