An Act of Deceit: Book 2 of the Sarah Woods Mysteries by Jennifer L. Jennings Read Free Book Online Page A

marriage?”
         Ted shrugged. “It’s hard to say.”
         “I understand. I don’t expect you to put words in Marty’s mouth. I’m just trying to get an overall picture of the man.”
         “You don’t plan to write anything . . . derogatory, do you? Marty deserves to be remembered in a good way.”
         “Of course, Ted. That’s my intention, I assure you.” He seemed to relax a bit upon hearing my reply, so I decided to take a chance with my next question. “Did Marty ever talk about his lady friends?”
         Ted’s eyes narrowed. He shifted and placed his hands in his lap. “Yes, well . . . Marty was a ladies man.” He chuckled and looked away, breaking into another fit of coughing.
         “So it was common knowledge?”
         Ted nodded. “He had that reputation.”
         “Oh,” I said with mock surprise. “Did he ever mention names?”
         “He seduced so many, I’ve lost track. Whenever Marty talked about them . . . I subconsciously blocked it out.”
         I figured even if Ted knew, he wouldn’t divulge names. I admired his loyalty.
         After asking a few unimportant questions about Marty’s restaurant for effect, I thanked Ted for his time, and insisted that he not get up to walk me to the door.
                                                                                    
    * * *
        
         I dug Carter’s cell phone out of my purse and dialed his number as soon as I got back to my car.
         “What’d he have to say?” Carter asked.
         “Not too much. He’s not in very good health, so I didn’t press it.”
         “Did you mention Harding?”
         “I showed Wilcox the photo. He didn’t recognize him.”
         “Were you able to get hold of that attorney, Jason what’s-his-name?”
         “Not yet. I left him another message. How’s the tracking device working?”
         “He’s sticking to his route, so far. I’ll be waiting for him when he gets back to the shop. I’m gonna try to swap the tracking device from the van to his car.”
         “What’s our next move after that?”
         “Can you still meet with the restaurant manager, Abigail Rodrigues?”
         “Sure. I don’t have any massage appointments scheduled.”
         “Good. Meet me at the diner at nine.”
     
    * * *
     
         It was after eight in the evening when I pulled into my driveway. I found Brian sitting at the kitchen counter with his laptop.
         “Hey, honey.” I tossed my purse on the table and slipped my arm around his waist.
         “Hi, mom,” he replied without looking up. “I just finished my essay for class tomorrow.” He closed his laptop, slid it under his arm, and politely extricated himself from my motherly embrace.
         “So how was your day?”
         “Fine,” he replied, barely looking at me before heading off.
         “That’s all? How was dinner at Allie’s?”
         “Good,” he said, disappearing into his room.
         I followed. “Hey, what’s up? You’re acting a little strange,” I said, catching up to him before he closed the door.
         “Nothing, mom, I’m just tired. G’night.” He promptly shut the door in my face. I stood there wondering what to do. My first instinct was to rap on the door and demand that he come out and talk to me. Instead, I slowly turned away, walked to my bedroom, and got into my pajamas.
                                                               
     
     

 
     
    Saturday, March 10
     
     
     
    I awoke to a message signal coming from my cell phone. It ended up being a missed call from the office of Jason Wells. His secretary informed me he had an opening at 8:15. I glanced at the clock on the nightstand. His office was a twenty minute drive