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.She shot me a curious look.“Laurel, are you okay?""Yeah, fine, just immersed in some loans.” I bent over and rescued the file before glancing up at my cubicle mate.Could the beautiful blue-eyed blonde be a killer?We must have been on the same wavelength.“Have you heard anything new about those murders?” she asked.I dropped the folder again but at least this time it landed on my desk.“No, nothing recent.” Was this the time to mention that two of the loans she underwrote were about to go into foreclosure?"So do you have any more Love Club dates this weekend? I'm still waiting to see how that works out for you,” she said.At the rate the bodies were piling up, it would be a very long wait."No dates in the near future.Say, have you ever met Mike Clark? One of the bank's approved appraisers."Her face clouded up and her smile turned into a snarl.“Stay away from him, Laurel.He's bad news.” She grabbed her purse and sailed out of her cube.What did she mean by that remark? I looked at my watch.Darn.Clues galore but no time to pursue them.The delinquent loans would have to wait until tomorrow.I needed to sneak out a few minutes early so I could say goodbye to the kids before they disappeared for four days.When I arrived home, Hank's black Ford truck was parked in the driveway.Two battered navy suitcases, two backpacks, and a shopping bag full of boy's toys were scattered on the wood planked entry.The squeak of a faulty piece of plywood resonated as one, two, then three bodies clambered down the stairs."Mom,” hollered both kids, making me feel warm and fuzzy, as welcome as Norm when he entered the bar in Cheers."Hi, honey,” greeted Hank.The fuzzy feeling vanished when I realized my ex had been wandering through my home.For some reason, maybe because he designed and built the house himself, Hank still felt he had some ownership in it.As far as I was concerned, the only ownership he possessed was providing the child support for me to make the mortgage payments.I scowled at him.“What were you doing upstairs?""It's okay, Mom.” Jenna laid her palm on my arm in an attempt to placate me.“The upstairs sink was dripping and I asked Dad to fix it."Hank smiled.“If it needs fixing then I'm your man."Okay.I could be a grown up too.“Thanks.I appreciate it.Are you guys ready to go?"Ben threw his arms around my waist.“Dad says we can go sledding if it gets cold enough."I raised my eyebrows at their father."Yep.If it drops below freezing, they're going to make snow at Sugar Bowl."Brrrr.Snow in November wasn't my cup of hot chocolate but I knew they'd have fun whatever they did.I hugged the kids until they complained I was squeezing them to death.Hank was halfway out the door when I had a thought."Hank, you probably know a lot of appraisers, don't you?""Yeah, I've bumped into quite a few of them when they were making their final inspections on the houses I built.Why?""Do you know a guy named Mike Clark?"That Mike Clark sure didn't have much of a fan base.Hank's face turned darker than snow clouds over the Sierra.He clenched and unclenched his jaw then shook his head.“Nope."I was stunned by his reaction, and so stupefied by his obvious lie that I stood there while he kissed my cheek and sauntered out to the truck.I mulled over Hank's surprising response as I waved good-bye to the kids.He backed the truck down the driveway then turned right, passing a car approaching from the opposite direction.A mud speckled white sedan with big brown letters on its side and a bar of red white and blue on its roof.The phone rang and I slammed the front door shut, racing into the kitchen before the caller could hang up."Laurel, it's Tom.""Hi.Hey, do you.” My words were interrupted by the sound of the doorbell ringing.“Someone's at the door.Can you wait a minute?""Yeah, about that.I'll call you later.” He hung up on me.He hung up on me?I was not in the mood to greet whatever maniac was ringing the bell so incessantly.I peered through the narrow window next to the front door.What was Tall, Bald and Homely doing here this time of night, a nervous deputy shifting restlessly by his side? I flung open the door to be greeted by an official looking document covered with the tiniest font I'd ever attempted to read."Ms.McKay, I have a warrant to search your house [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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