Read Online Yuletide Defender by Sandra Robbins - Free Book Online Page A

steal my purse. And why would the sniper want it? If he wanted to do something to me, he could have shot me last night.”
    â€œStill, it could be related.” He paused a moment. “Maybe patrol can spot something this afternoon. I’ll check on it and let you know if they find anything.”
    â€œThanks, Matt. I appreciate that. Also there’s one more thing I need to tell you.”
    â€œWhat’s that?”
    â€œMy source called again right after you and Philip left.”
    â€œAnd?”
    â€œHe wants me to meet him again tonight.”
    â€œDid you tell him that Philip and I want to meet him?”
    â€œNo, but I wanted to tell you because after all that’s happened I’m not sure I want to go to that meeting alone.”
    Matt nodded. “That’s a wise decision. Do you want us to go with you?”
    â€œI’m afraid we might scare him off if too many people show up. I want you to go with me and stay in the car in case I need help. Will you agree to that?”
    Matt pondered the question and saw the logic of not having two policemen accompany a reporter into the park. “Okay, but I don’t feel right about not telling Philip.”
    â€œThis may be our only chance to get more information from my source. If I go out there with two policemen and he finds out, I may lose him as a source and he’ll lose his chance for a better life. You can explain this to Philip later.”
    Matt sighed. “Okay, Rachel. I’ll do it. And I’ll check on your purse this afternoon.”
    â€œThanks, Matt. I had the keys to the rental car in there, so I’ve called for another set.”
    â€œDo you need me to pick them up for you?”
    â€œNo, thanks, they’ll bring them to me. And thanks for understanding about the source. Can you meet me in the Beacon parking lot about ten o’clock tonight?”
    â€œI can do that. I’ll see you then.”
    â€œBye.”
    Matt hung up the phone and shook his head. Why hadn’t he asked her to have dinner with him first? He’d been thinking about how he wanted to get to know her better right beforeshe called, and he had just passed up an opportunity to spend some time with her.
    Maybe his college buddies had been right about him. He shied away from women because he feared he would learn some things about them he didn’t like. In his heart he knew no one was perfect, and he wasn’t looking for perfection. All he wanted was a woman whose eyes he could stare into and see love shining there for him instead of the flashing dollar signs he’d encountered in every other woman he’d ever known.
    He dreaded telling Rachel about his wealthy family. No matter how hard he’d tried to distance himself from all the trappings of his mother’s jet-set life, it had ruined every relationship he’d ever had. Maybe Rachel would look at him as an ordinary man dedicated to police work instead of the wealthy son from a family who traveled in an elite social circle.
    He wanted to believe it but he didn’t know for sure. Only time would tell.
    Â 
    Rachel glanced at her watch. She’d been so busy all afternoon that the time had just slipped away. It was nearly five o’clock. She reached to turn off her computer but stopped when someone knocked on her closed office door.
    â€œCome on in.”
    The door swung open and her eyes grew wide. Matt stood in the doorway holding her purse toward her. A smile curled his lips. “Did you lose something?”
    She jumped up and ran to him. “Where did you find it?”
    He stepped into her office, grinned and held the bag out to her. “As much as I’d like to take credit for some good detective work, I can’t. We received a call at the station this afternoon. The caller said he’d just seen a Santa Claus toss a woman’s purse into the Dumpster in back of Taylor’s Automotives. A patrol officer went over