A Deadly Row by Casey Mayes Read Free Book Online Page B

asked.
    “I’m sure it means something, but who knows what the killer’s mind is like? This could be a recipe for cereal, for all we know.”
    “It’s significant, I know that much,” Zach said as he shook his head.
    “How can you be so sure?”
    “I can’t explain it. It’s something in my gut,” he told me, and that was good enough for me. My husband’s years as a police officer had given him instincts based on experience that I would stack up against anyone’s intuition. Added to that was his uncanny ability to cut through the fog to see what was really happening, and it was no wonder that his consulting business was starting to pick up. The problem with that was that the cases he got were only the very hardest, and that put a strain on him that I didn’t like.
    “Where’s your minion?” I asked as I looked around the room.
    “Steve had to take care of a problem with his landlord,” Zach said. “I’m having him reassigned to me, so at least there’s that. He’s going to be my gopher so I don’t have to run all over Charlotte tracking things down.”
    “I like the sound of that,” I said as I hugged him.
    “What was that for?”
    “You looked like you could use a hug.”
    “Thanks, but we should probably keep that to a minimum around here. We don’t want people talking.”
    I laughed at him. “Zach, it’s okay. We’re married.”
    “You know what I mean. This is serious business, and I don’t want anyone to think I’m treating it otherwise.”
    I broke free. “Message received.”
    “You’re not mad, are you?”
    “Why should I be mad? My husband doesn’t want to hug me, but other than that, I’m just dandy.” I smiled at him to show that I was teasing.
    “Thanks. Did you get us set up in a room?”
    “You might say that.”
    “Savannah, what’s with that smile?”
    “We’re in a suite on the top floor,” I explained.
    He shook his head. “And you let them put us there? We’re on the taxpayer’s dime here. We don’t need a suite.”
    He reached for his phone and I put a hand over his to stop him. “It’s compliments of the hotel’s owner, so it isn’t costing the people of Charlotte a dime.”
    “Why on earth would the owner of the Belmont put us up for free?”
    “I asked him that exact same question, and he told me that he had a personal stake in this.”
    Zach nodded. “Barton Lane.”
    “How did you know that? It’s supposed to be some kind of huge secret. I’m fairly certain that he’s not going to be happy that you figured it out so quickly.”
    Zach tapped a copied photograph, and though I didn’t want to look at it, after a second I drove back my queasiness and examined it. At least it wasn’t a crime scene photo, or one from the killer. The photograph appeared to be from an employee ID badge, and even though the conditions weren’t ideal, it was a decent picture of a pretty young woman with a nice figure and coppery hair.
    “She’s really pretty,” I said. “Was, I mean.”
    “Grady thought so, too.”
    I stared openly at my husband. “How could you possibly know that?”
    “They were dating when she was murdered,” Zach said.
    “Is that why we’re here?” I asked my husband. “Did someone kill her because she was close to Grady? It sounds like a pretty big coincidence, otherwise.”
    “You know I don’t believe in coincidences,” he said. “At first, Davis thought that it might have something to do with Barton Lane, but with the threats against Grady, they have to be tied together.”
    “What about the first victim?”
    Zach shrugged. “If he has any connection to Grady, nobody’s been able to find it so far.”
    “So, you’re not the only one who noticed the original connection.”
    “That’s why Davis hired me. He knows that if something happens to the mayor on his watch, he’s through.”
    That angered me. “It’s a matter of self-preservation, then. And here I thought he called you because he was worried about